Lesson's I learned from the WDW 2012!

[tragicallynuts]

The WDW 2012 Half was my first timed event other than back in the day in high school. I was pretty nervous and started training only 12 weeks ago and during the training I fractured my left foot.

I have to say that it was absolutely thrilling to go and run with so many other people!!! I'm not sure if my time of 2:10:51 is good for a 36 year old male but with what I've learned from this past weekend will help me during next year's WDW.

1. Hopefully the 2:10:51 time or completing in other half marathon's before WDW 2013 will get me better placement in the corral next year. This year I started in the "E" section.

2. Get to the front of the corral (if possible) before starting.

3. I started off with the running partner I trained with and found that I was holding back. The first 1/3 of the race was 5 mins 50 seconds slower than the last third. After 4 miles I told my partner I couldn't stay at this slow pace and took off, I was seriously pumped.

4. I found running in the grass instead of weaving in and out or around people to be much easier. Asking someone to move over didn't seem to work and cutting left and right the whole way played hell on my knees. My right knee and hip are killing me today. This really slowed me down.

5. If you don't need water get in the middle of the road. I almost tripped over someone that grabbed water then cut away from the tables.

6. Go to the bathroom a few minutes before the start. I was so nervous and in the middle of corral "E" that I didn't want to take the chance on getting stuck at the johns waiting in line. At mile 4 I couldn't stand it anymore so I ran off the road into the pine trees and went pee. Of course there were 50 other people doing the same thing but I lost a good minute or two doing this.

7. Be aware of the runners around you!!!! Not just because you may cut someone off but I found that several times during the race a much faster runner was coming up so I'd move over. Also, watch far enough ahead that if you see someone cutting another running off you can be ready to dodge them when they trip or slow.

8. When getting water or protein tell the volunteers "thank you" because they did a GREAT JOB this year!!!!! Thank you guys and gals you did an awesome job!!!!!

9. If you're wearing headphones be sure to turn them off or down when you enter the Magic Kingdom and castle. The crowd there was crazy loud and supportive and I have to say that the rush of adrenaline was a good kick in the butt!

Later and Thanks!!! Can't wait for next year!

 

[FireWoman]

What terrific tips, and GREAT time! Well done!

I wanted to ask you, you fractured your foot and still ran? How did that work? What did you do to help your foot after the fracture, mid-training? I am *pretty* sure that I fractured my cuboid, and it's less than my first half, Tinker Bell. What to do??? I just don't know.

TIA!

Congratulations to you!

 

[tragicallynuts]

My fracture was in the 5th metatarsal in a spot where it caused pain but not to the point that I needed pain meds. I went to a specialist and in week 8 put me in a walking boot and said that it was in a spot that would probably not be too bad if I took care of it. After about 7 days I couldn't stand it and went against his orders and started training. I do not suggest that for anyone else.

As for the foot, there's nothing you can do to keep it safe while running. Maybe some KT Tape but that probably wouldn't help either since the fracture is already there.

I was lucky and was able to get to mile 11 before my foot started really hurting. I'm taking a few weeks off to recover then starting my training for the Super Spartan in Miami.

My suggestion is go see a specialist and get an MRI or at the least an X-ray.

Good luck with your race!!!!!!!!!! I'm probably going to do the Goofy next year or if my body doesn't hold up I'll do the Donald Half and Chip and Dale Relay.

 

[jmasgat]

Congrats on a great race. With that time you would probably move up to C. Sounds like you have some untapped speed. Good luck with your training/races this year.

Maura

 

[FireWoman]

Thanks for the tips! I am making an appt with a Sport Medicine chiro who specializes in extremities. I decided if it's just out of place, it's an easy fix. If it's fractured, she'll be no-nonsense about running, and I need that.

I am so glad it didn't start hurting until mile 11! Yay you!

Good luck on Spartan, and next year - I hope you go GOOFY! That would be grand!

 

[tragicallynuts]

is it hard to recover from the half and still have enough left to finish the full?

 

[FFigawi]

is it hard to recover from the half and still have enough left to finish the full?

I posted an answer to this same question on another thread recently, and I'll do it again here too since I don't remember which thread it was. It all depends on how you approach the two races. I think there are three ways to do this. One, race the half and survive the full. This approach says that you only have one pair of fresh legs so you might as well use them for the half. A friend who did it this way last year ran the half in just over 2 hours and the full in over 5, but others probably have more reasonable times.

The second approach is to go really slow during the half and focus on the full. This tries to keep your legs as fresh as possible for the full.

The third option, and the one that I personally use, is to go easy on both days. I run each race about 1 min/mile slower than my normal race pace, which ends up making them just like two long training runs and leaves my legs feeling good on both days. I like to enjoy the experience of Disney races as much as I can, and I find trying to actually race for a PR on courses that are fairly crowded takes away from that. I'd rather wear my costume, take pictures with characters, talk to fellow runners, high-five the crowd, and soak it all in than worry about hitting a certain pace or goal time. YMMV.

 

[rubato]

I did John's first approach: Race the half, enjoy the full. Finished in 1:48 and 4:55. I had never run a full before, but had run a half, so I didn't feel confident with the full. I recovered from the half by the time the full started because of my training. I had done at least 2-20 mile runs with a 10 miler the day before and felt that I could handle things on a pair of tired legs. People have all different ways of doing it but it all boils down to the same thing: training.

 

[jrigney515]

I ran my first Goofy this year (it won't be my last either)....

I went in with the plan to race the half and have fun with Sunday.

Started in Corral C on both days, but during the half, the course was CROWDED and never opened up until the Magic Kingdom. So I ended up missing my PR by 6 min and my Goal time by 8 min. There seemed to be a large number of walkers in my corral.

Since I had already decided to not Race the full, and have a good time, that is exactly what I did.... I stopped for almost every character and picture opportunity, and would have stopped to ride Everest, but I was in AK too early.

Even with not racing the full and making a bunch of stops, I only missed my PR by 20 min. Corral C was much more "runner friendly" on Sunday.

My plan for this year is to get my times down enough to get into at least corral B so that next year, I can have a shot of a PR in the half

John

 

[tragicallynuts]

Training is my fear.... or I should say over-training. Since I've already had one injury I need to take it slow getting to a full distance. There's a lot of how-to's on the internet but finding the right one can be hard.

I have decided I'll do the Goofy next year. Strangely enough I'm feeling sad that I have to watch so long LOL....

My plan is to try and set my PR for the half (each year) and have a blast during the full. Hopefully I can hookup with a group that's doing the same thing for the full. To work on getting a better starting position for the half I'm going to fly out to Pizmo Beach, CA in April and do the Half event with my sister. That way I don't have to worry about crowds just maybe some of the hills I live in North Florida so it's flat here.

 

[tragicallynuts]

I put this together and hung it on my office wall for about $16... Better than the $75 medal case they were selling at the event.

[/IMG]

 

[rubato]

I ran my first Goofy this year (it won't be my last either)....

I went in with the plan to race the half and have fun with Sunday.

Started in Corral C on both days, but during the half, the course was CROWDED and never opened up until the Magic Kingdom. So I ended up missing my PR by 6 min and my Goal time by 8 min. There seemed to be a large number of walkers in my corral.

Since I had already decided to not Race the full, and have a good time, that is exactly what I did.... I stopped for almost every character and picture opportunity, and would have stopped to ride Everest, but I was in AK too early.

Even with not racing the full and making a bunch of stops, I only missed my PR by 20 min. Corral C was much more "runner friendly" on Sunday.

My plan for this year is to get my times down enough to get into at least corral B so that next year, I can have a shot of a PR in the half

John

I would really shoot to get up that corral. I started the half in A and it was all full time runners. Of course, some of them were so serious that they were intimidating, but that's good. Then, I moved back a couple corrals to run the full with a friend and it was a lot more run/walkers, which was perfect for my non-speedy day.

 

[rubato]

I put this together and hung it on my office wall for about $16... Better than the $75 medal case they were selling at the event.

[/IMG]

Very cool! I made my own for my Goofy collection and love it. Of course, it's huge with the 3 medals, the commemorative pin and my certificate. You'll get to find out this time next year.

 

[Sam G]

The WDW 2012 Half was my first timed event other than back in the day in high school. I was pretty nervous and started training only 12 weeks ago and during the training I fractured my left foot.

I have to say that it was absolutely thrilling to go and run with so many other people!!! I'm not sure if my time of 2:10:51 is good for a 36 year old male but with what I've learned from this past weekend will help me during next year's WDW.

1. Hopefully the 2:10:51 time or completing in other half marathon's before WDW 2013 will get me better placement in the corral next year. This year I started in the "E" section.

2. Get to the front of the corral (if possible) before starting.

3. I started off with the running partner I trained with and found that I was holding back. The first 1/3 of the race was 5 mins 50 seconds slower than the last third. After 4 miles I told my partner I couldn't stay at this slow pace and took off, I was seriously pumped.

4. I found running in the grass instead of weaving in and out or around people to be much easier. Asking someone to move over didn't seem to work and cutting left and right the whole way played hell on my knees. My right knee and hip are killing me today. This really slowed me down.

5. If you don't need water get in the middle of the road. I almost tripped over someone that grabbed water then cut away from the tables.

6. Go to the bathroom a few minutes before the start. I was so nervous and in the middle of corral "E" that I didn't want to take the chance on getting stuck at the johns waiting in line. At mile 4 I couldn't stand it anymore so I ran off the road into the pine trees and went pee. Of course there were 50 other people doing the same thing but I lost a good minute or two doing this.

7. Be aware of the runners around you!!!! Not just because you may cut someone off but I found that several times during the race a much faster runner was coming up so I'd move over. Also, watch far enough ahead that if you see someone cutting another running off you can be ready to dodge them when they trip or slow.

8. When getting water or protein tell the volunteers "thank you" because they did a GREAT JOB this year!!!!! Thank you guys and gals you did an awesome job!!!!!

9. If you're wearing headphones be sure to turn them off or down when you enter the Magic Kingdom and castle. The crowd there was crazy loud and supportive and I have to say that the rush of adrenaline was a good kick in the butt!

Later and Thanks!!! Can't wait for next year!

Careful of the grass. It is not an even surface. During the first wine and dine I did the same thing at the start. During the first mile I stepped in a hole. I was surprised it didn't hurt. I completed the race.. and the pain got more and more intense. I had severally brusied my bone and it took me awhile to recover from the injury.