Packing...
I love these race trips. LOVE them. But I hate packing for them. In general I hate packing for any trip (Disney or otherwise), but throw in a race (or two...or three
) and you introduce a whole host of other things to consider. What if I forget my shoes?! What if I forget my race waiver?! WHAT IF I FORGET MY CAMERA????
So I'll just list out what I need for each event here. I've still got time to think about this, right?
For the expo (all of this will be in my carry-on bag):
- $$$...so Disney and the various vendors can take it
- My and bro's signed race waivers for bib and packet pick-up...you CAN print these out at the expo, but it's another line to wait in. If you bring the waivers signed and ready to go, that's less time in line and more time SHOPPING!
- My driver's license (necessary for them to release my stuff to me)
- A copy of my bro's driver's license and a form signed by him stating that I can pick up his stuff
- A copy of my bro's proof-of-time to move him to my corral (I will probably bring mine as well just in case)
General stuff (all races)...have already started setting this stuff aside!:
1. Obviously I'll need my normal running attire, and I find it easiest to go from the bottom up in my head to make sure I don't forget anything. Most of this stuff will be going in my carry-on bag in case my luggage gets lost:
- shoes (one pair for the 5K and half, another for the full...going to ditch my current shoes and start running in the new pairs on Christmas Eve)
- socks (3 pairs)
- bottoms (shorts for the 5K, skirts for the half and full)
- running bras (3)
- running tops (HOPEFULLY warm enough to wear sleeveless - 3)
- Garmin Forerunner 210 + charger
- Sweaty Bands (3)
- Running sunglasses - no hat! I don't think they look as good in pictures
- Throwaway clothes, if needed - I haven't brought these the past 2 years and really regretted it last year, so I'll need to think about this more. The thought is that you're up so early in the morning and the wait in the corrals for the races to begin is long that it's smart to bring old clothes to keep warm. When the race begins, you can toss them along the course. Disney will pick them up, launder them and donate them to charity. I should probably a set for each race...woof.
2. Sweat- and water-proof sunscreen...I am pretty sure they don't provide this at the aid stations along the race courses! For both races I've done I have had good luck with Neutrogena Sport/Wet Skin sunscreen.
3. Body Glide...!!!
4. Race day breakfasts - Bruegger's bagels with peanut butter (Jif-to-go containers) + disposable plastic knives (5 - 3 for me, 2 for the bro). I WILL NOT buy breakfast at Disney on the mornings of the races. Bruegger's + PB for breakfast is the routine for me the morning of long runs, and the #1 rule for race day is DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING. I'm sure Disney's race-day breakfast offerings are swell, but they aren't for me
5. Granola bars to take with us so we can eat them on the bus/monorail to the corrals (5 - 3 for me, 2 for the bro)
6. Disposable coffee cups with lids, along with my normal coffee mix-ins (at least 3...probably will bring more to use throughout the trip).
7. A bottle of water for each race...I'll toss it near the corrals and most likely will share both the water and coffee with the bro (3)...in the past I've made coffee in the room and brought it, along with the water, bagels, PB, knives and granola bars for each of us with the food items in a quart-sized Ziploc bag. I carry that with me to the staging area and we eat/drink while waiting in the staging area/while walking to the corrals. It's worked out pretty well.
8. A few Ziploc sandwich baggies (see below)
9. In my pockets during each race: in its own Ziploc baggie: my phone wrapped in a paper towel (recommendation from company that I purchased my running skirts from), in another Ziploc baggie: my Annual Pass & room key (I imagine this is easy to forget) as well as some cash, an extra hair tie and a small packet of Kleenex. SERIOUSLY with the Kleenex - during the 2012 Marathon I came upon a porta-potty with no toilet paper. Um...er...hmm.
The Kleenex I had on hand saved me. Shouldn't be an issue at all for the 5K, but you never know...
10. Most importantly (seriously, not joking in the slightest): THE POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA and CAMERA CHARGER
if I forget this, Ill weep.
I mean, look at that list ALREADY
And we aren't done yet.
Last year's pile o' stuff:
Note that one thing that is NOT on this list is an iPod! I don't run with music very often and I'm certainly not going to do it at Disney. I had my iPod with me *just in case* in 2011 and 2012 (I even made special "oh crap I hit the wall" playlists to pump me up in case I needed them) and I never used it. I run these things for the experience, and part of that is really taking in everything around me. The cheering, the music playing in the parks, talking with other runners...totally worth not bringing my iPod.
And now we get to the specific races themselves...
5K
Despite the fact that this will be my first 5K at Disney, I know this one is going to be much easier to pack for than the half and full. When I run a 5K race at home, hydration and nutrition really aren't an issue for me since the race itself is over so quickly. Due to that, I think what I have in the above list covers me for the 5K. Like the other races, post-race refreshments are included with registration (fruit, Powerade, bottled water, muffins, etc.), so I should be all set.
Half and Full Marathon
A wee bit more planning here. Same list as above, but now I need to think about fuel, and just like breakfast, I'm not relying on Disney to provide that for me. There ARE fuel stops on the half and full marathon courses, but they don't pop up as often as I like to take fuel (about every 4 miles) and Disney gives out Clif gels, fruit (most likely bananas) and candy (seriously...I think they had Hershey bars last year
), where I like Gu Chomps. So in addition to the above lists, I'll need:
- 2 vanilla Gu gels to take about 15 minutes before the start of the half marathon (one for bro, one for me)
- 3 bags of strawberry or blueberry pomegranate Gu Chomps to split between the bro and myself for the half marathon
- 2 vanilla Gu gels to take about 15 minutes before the start of the full marathon (one for bro, one for me)
- 6 bags of strawberry or blueberry pomegranate Gu Chomps to split between the bro and myself for the full marathon
Good thing I'm a good customer at my local running store...they always give me a little discount on fuel.
: As for hydration, Disney's water/Powerade stops are more than adequate for me. There are 9 stops for the half and 20 for the full, and when I train I normally have water every 2 miles, so this works out well. The stops were very well-stocked in 2011 and 2012, so I'm not worried that they will run out. I'm going to alternate Powerade and water at the stops.
Recovery
New for this year, Im going to make sure to bring my foam roller (might look into getting The Grid foam roller at the expo), The Stick and a tennis ball - great for piriformis pain.
So that's it! All the extra running stuff I need to take with me for Marathon Weekend...
...did I forget anything?!
Side note: The general consensus is that runDisney is going to post waivers TODAY! Excitement! 
Continued in Next Post
Apparently they aren't sending new paperwork though, so that makes me a bit nervous...I hope they can easily fix yours too. But at least we got our DME mail!!!! 
I did the same thing on Friday and I think that's the way to go for me, at least for the time being.
I'm sorry you didn't have a great run. 
I feel like the training is really getting to everyone (and I definitely include myself in that statement as I sit here at work in a fog!)...this really is crunch time. 
I do think that's true to an extent though, because after me having a not-so-great 18-miler and a crappy 14-miler, I'm practically bouncing off the walls after finally having a good long run yesterday. 
That's why I didn't go home to get more chomps when I realized I was short by 4. 
I don't think it's sticking though. 
Planks were super hard today.
I don't know why, but I had convinced myself that yesterday would be the day. The link to the waiver page is floating around, but there's no submit button on the page and I am not HTML-savvy at all, so I don't know how to get the page to submit and pull up my waiver. And I must say, it's pretty annoying when someone (not on this board, a different one) posts the link to the waivers, clearly knows how the pull the waivers up, but won't tell anyone else how to do it. 
Rant over. 
Decisions, decisions...
Glorious.
