Marathon Weekend 2016

[Waiting2goback]

Thanks for your detailed response, lots of great info there and plenty of choices with the podcasts I'll have enough to keep me going until January!

I've had issues lately with tight muscles so I really wanted to make sure I'm doing the best I can to stop it affecting my running. I'm also thinking I might need to start doing other exercises to build strength in my legs as the trainers at my gym keep telling me I should be. As a relatively new runner taking on a big challenge I find i get a bit of information overload sometimes and I get a bit overwhelmed and think I'm not doing everything I should be.

As for the fueling I'm sure I'm just overthinking things, I felt fine last weekend with my 16mile, I had maybe 4 cliff blocks and an oreo cookie (that was more a treat than good fueling but it did the trick)

You will have miles and miles of content to listen to if you end up liking even just a few of those podcasts. I like them all for different reasons. So it depends on my mood. Tomorrow I will be doing a long bike ride to try and get ready for my race Saturday and I think it will be a Disunplugged day because I am having Disney withdrawals.

As for tight muscles, the best thing you can probably do for yourself, if you can get into it, is Yoga. It will stretch you out AND strengthen your muscles.

Speaking of my first half marathon: the good news is, I finished. The bad news is I was so super slow, I am very disappointed. Yes, the DLH was super crowded. The park portions were ridiculous. And whoever decided to put the water stops in the narrowest portion of the course should be fired. Even if you didn't want to stop for water, you had to stop and walk anyway. For the first time, I couldn't wait to get out of the parks to actually have some room to run. I've done several DL 10Ks and have never felt this way.

But overall I am pretty proud of myself. It was hard, but I never felt like I couldn't do it. And the WDW half marathon training plans start today! WOOO!

You should be proud of yourself. Congrats!!! A 1/2 marathon is no easy task so finishing, regardless of time, is a huge accomplishment.

 

[SarahDisney]

They're typically pretty fearless in most suburban settings. They normally won't attack you, but they don't back away either. They just like to sit and watch you go about your business. If one starts threatening or attacking you, it's probably rabid. If it's just sitting there watching, it probably is not.

It isn't very normal for them to be out during the middle of the day. They are usually nocturnal animals, but will still be out as the sun is coming up. They typically avoid people, but a few reasons why they may not could be people feeding them, they are just accustomed to seeing people on that path, or something is wrong with it (rabid/or other illness). I had one in my back yard in the middle of the day a few months ago, and he was walking around like he was drunk. Running into the fence and then just laying on its back. I called animal control and they came retrieve the little guy and said some other illness was going around (not rabid). If the one you saw is sick, you probably wont see him again. If you do see him again, I am going to go with he is waiting for a easy meal from people handing him food. Not a great thing, but doubt he will give you any trouble.

Thanks for the info! Now I know that I don't necessarily have to be scared of it ... although I really don't know if I'll ever see it again.
I'm guessing I probably won't see it again, but at least now I know that if I do, I can most likely just keep running and have nothing to worry about.
(Although I did see a dead raccoon a few blocks away from my house, so I'm wondering if maybe there is some illness going around the raccoons in the area ...)

 

[rteetz]

120 days until the 5K!!!

I know I know that's still a long time away yet

 

[dancingtodisney]

As long as it takes me to finish one beer, so about 10-15 minutes. Be sure to wear a fleece top or a sweatshirt. It makes the ice bath much more bearable.

Haha now there's a good answer! I'm going to give it a go, might go go with a cider myself

@Kathymford congratulations on your first marathon! You should definitely be proud of yourself. How did you feel afterwards? I was under-trained for my first half (Wine&Dine 2014) and I really paid for it the next day! As for the stitch it's a funny one because when I was getting them on nearly EVERY run I was looking into it online and there were so many things said to cause them. I think my hydration has always been ok and when another member on here said I needed to focus on breathing that did the trick for me. Since I focused more on it and made sure I wasn't ever breathing too fast I've never gotten another stitch, such a relief after having them so consistently! I'm glad you were able to pinpoint the cause of yours as well

@roxymama , It is a "bar to bar" experience - people use the monorail to visit bars in all Monorail Resorts.
I read about this on the Disney Dining website, and inserted the link below, in case your interest in reading it too:

http://www.****************/walt-disney-world-monorail-crawl/

This is right up my street! When is this happening?

You will have miles and miles of content to listen to if you end up liking even just a few of those podcasts. I like them all for different reasons. So it depends on my mood. Tomorrow I will be doing a long bike ride to try and get ready for my race Saturday and I think it will be a Disunplugged day because I am having Disney withdrawals.

As for tight muscles, the best thing you can probably do for yourself, if you can get into it, is Yoga. It will stretch you out AND strengthen your muscles.

I have been contemplating yoga and my gym offers free classes so I don't have an excuse. I think I'll add it to my training plan for next week and see how it goes...

 

[girliea]

For what it's worth, I started getting the stitch as I began extending my distances. I thought it was my breathing too, and it partially was, but I found out that for me it was hydration. I don't drink enough water to begin with, and for the increased activity, I was definitely dehydrated. I solved it when the week of my first half marathon, I only drank water (other than morning coffee, because no one wants to see that!) and no stitches that week at all. Even during my race.

Speaking of my first half marathon: the good news is, I finished. The bad news is I was so super slow, I am very disappointed. Yes, the DLH was super crowded. The park portions were ridiculous. And whoever decided to put the water stops in the narrowest portion of the course should be fired. Even if you didn't want to stop for water, you had to stop and walk anyway. For the first time, I couldn't wait to get out of the parks to actually have some room to run. I've done several DL 10Ks and have never felt this way.

But overall I am pretty proud of myself. It was hard, but I never felt like I couldn't do it. And the WDW half marathon training plans start today! WOOO!

@Kathymford Congrats on finishing your first half! And so what if you were slow...you finished! I am new to running also, and I have my first big race in a month. I'm doing a 10 miler. I have been training but it is a bit nerve wracking knowing I've never done this distance "officially". I have three (OMG!!) halves on my schedule early next year and so I am hoping that putting this 10-miler under my belt will give me some needed confidence!

I have enjoyed reading your posts and am cheering you on!

 

[roxymama]

Congrats to everyone who is completing all these long runs (whether just for training or during races)! You really all are my heros.

@roxymama , It is a "bar to bar" experience - people use the monorail to visit bars in all Monorail Resorts.
I read about this on the Disney Dining website, and inserted the link below, in case your interest in reading it too:

http://www.****************/walt-disney-world-monorail-crawl/

Pixie, this looks like so much fun. I am a complete light weight when it comes to drinking but I would totally hop to a bunch of bars in the name of Disney. Too bad I will be back home but it sounds like a blast and a good way to meet some new people.

Ok - and now for my weird question for the day that has nothing to do with the marathon but everything to do with being a crazy runner.
I've mentioned before about my pumpkin race. If you haven't read my journal, I'll briefly summarize. On 9/20 I will be running a 5k through a giant corn maze (it's roped off luckily to direct us where to go) and through a pumpkin patch/farm...while carrying a pumpkin. I'm trying to earn a tough pumpkin award which I'm not 100% sure what it even will look like. It just sounded crazy and fun.
They say you can choose a pumpkin from a pile ranging in weights up to 12 lbs and looking at pics from last year there are quite a few women carrying 1-3 lbs pumpkins which is what I will be making a bee-line for.
So here is my question. If I want to train for this by doing a practice run in my neighborhood carrying something...what should I carry. I have a fake pumpkin the right size but weighs nothing (it's foam). I am concerned I'd look ridiculous holding it. I also thought about carrying a 2lb weight in my hand. What are your thoughts? I only get my award if the pumpkin stays intact...so I'm gonna be running slower than normal and probably laughing a ton at myself.

 

[dancingtodisney]

Congrats to everyone who is completing all these long runs (whether just for training or during races)! You really all are my heros.



Pixie, this looks like so much fun. I am a complete light weight when it comes to drinking but I would totally hop to a bunch of bars in the name of Disney. Too bad I will be back home but it sounds like a blast and a good way to meet some new people.

Ok - and now for my weird question for the day that has nothing to do with the marathon but everything to do with being a crazy runner.
I've mentioned before about my pumpkin race. If you haven't read my journal, I'll briefly summarize. On 9/20 I will be running a 5k through a giant corn maze (it's roped off luckily to direct us where to go) and through a pumpkin patch/farm...while carrying a pumpkin. I'm trying to earn a tough pumpkin award which I'm not 100% sure what it even will look like. It just sounded crazy and fun.
They say you can choose a pumpkin from a pile ranging in weights up to 12 lbs and looking at pics from last year there are quite a few women carrying 1-3 lbs pumpkins which is what I will be making a bee-line for.
So here is my question. If I want to train for this by doing a practice run in my neighborhood carrying something...what should I carry. I have a fake pumpkin the right size but weighs nothing (it's foam). I am concerned I'd look ridiculous holding it. I also thought about carrying a 2lb weight in my hand. What are your thoughts? I only get my award if the pumpkin stays intact...so I'm gonna be running slower than normal and probably laughing a ton at myself.

If it was me I would go with the weights but while holding your arms out like you would do if you were carrying a pumpkin so you are working on the right muscles and have an idea how they hold up... that's a really cool challenge I'd love to do something like that!

 

[PrincessV]

There's nothing wrong with music affecting your pace. In fact, changing your pace during a run can be good because it keeps your body from getting to used to the same pace all the time.

ITA with this! I shuffle through all 900+ songs in my running playlist on long training runs and iSmoothRun can be set to show my pace during each song... it's all over the place. But my final avg pace for the whole run is right where I want it to be and I definitely feel better varying my pace throughout the run.

Speaking of my first half marathon: the good news is, I finished. The bad news is I was so super slow, I am very disappointed. Yes, the DLH was super crowded. The park portions were ridiculous. And whoever decided to put the water stops in the narrowest portion of the course should be fired. Even if you didn't want to stop for water, you had to stop and walk anyway. For the first time, I couldn't wait to get out of the parks to actually have some room to run. I've done several DL 10Ks and have never felt this way.

But overall I am pretty proud of myself. It was hard, but I never felt like I couldn't do it. And the WDW half marathon training plans start today! WOOO!

Good job getting it done! I'll be honest with you... unless you're in the early corrals, you'll find much the same conditions at WDW. I'm always mid-back of the pack and it's very, very crowded. Rarely can I run through the narrow spots and things do tend to slow way down at water stops. The upshot is that things spread out on the highways and you make up time there.

So here is my question. If I want to train for this by doing a practice run in my neighborhood carrying something...what should I carry. I have a fake pumpkin the right size but weighs nothing (it's foam). I am concerned I'd look ridiculous holding it. I also thought about carrying a 2lb weight in my hand. What are your thoughts? I only get my award if the pumpkin stays intact...so I'm gonna be running slower than normal and probably laughing a ton at myself.

This sounds like a blast, lol! A smallish - maybe shoe box? - box with something weighty in it comes to mind. I once had the brilliant idea to carry a box to the UPS dropoff during my run to save myself the extra trip. It was just awkward enough that it may suffice as pumpkin training!

 

[FFigawi]

So here is my question. If I want to train for this by doing a practice run in my neighborhood carrying something...what should I carry. I have a fake pumpkin the right size but weighs nothing (it's foam). I am concerned I'd look ridiculous holding it. I also thought about carrying a 2lb weight in my hand. What are your thoughts? I only get my award if the pumpkin stays intact...so I'm gonna be running slower than normal and probably laughing a ton at myself.

How about carrying bottles of water? They weigh about a pound or so, and you won't have to worry about looking funny while carrying it.

 

[LSUlakes]

Congrats to everyone who is completing all these long runs (whether just for training or during races)! You really all are my heros.



Pixie, this looks like so much fun. I am a complete light weight when it comes to drinking but I would totally hop to a bunch of bars in the name of Disney. Too bad I will be back home but it sounds like a blast and a good way to meet some new people.

Ok - and now for my weird question for the day that has nothing to do with the marathon but everything to do with being a crazy runner.
I've mentioned before about my pumpkin race. If you haven't read my journal, I'll briefly summarize. On 9/20 I will be running a 5k through a giant corn maze (it's roped off luckily to direct us where to go) and through a pumpkin patch/farm...while carrying a pumpkin. I'm trying to earn a tough pumpkin award which I'm not 100% sure what it even will look like. It just sounded crazy and fun.
They say you can choose a pumpkin from a pile ranging in weights up to 12 lbs and looking at pics from last year there are quite a few women carrying 1-3 lbs pumpkins which is what I will be making a bee-line for.
So here is my question. If I want to train for this by doing a practice run in my neighborhood carrying something...what should I carry. I have a fake pumpkin the right size but weighs nothing (it's foam). I am concerned I'd look ridiculous holding it. I also thought about carrying a 2lb weight in my hand. What are your thoughts? I only get my award if the pumpkin stays intact...so I'm gonna be running slower than normal and probably laughing a ton at myself.

Can you use a bag to carry the pumpkin? It would make things much easier... go for worse case scenario and get a gallon water jug and run with it. ~8lbs and about the same size a 8lb pumpkin would be. If/when someone sees you running with it, tell them you are very thirsty lol. Sounds like a good time. Maybe replace the water with beer and reward yourself after (or during) the run!

 

[IamTrike]

I'm hoping to get some advice. I've got an 18mile run scheduled for this weekend, I ran 16miles on Saturday which was my longest run ever but I got to run it with my sister and my Dad. This time I'll be going it alone and up until now the longest I've run on my own is 10k so I've feeling a bit nervous.

First of all I've read here about podcasts and such, I find I struggle when I listen to music as it affects my pace (fast songs I run faster and slow songs I run slower), any recommendations for specific ones? I've never listened to any before. I'd like a distraction while running.

On top of the running podcasts mentioned I listen to these podcasts as a distraction while I run too:
Communicore Weekly : It's a Disney history type podcast. Lots of interesting information and the show format has it divided into a couple different segments. It's a shorter show so I'll usually listen to more than one per run. (I really like their 5 legged goat segments)
The Unnofficial Guides Disney Dish with Jim Hill. Super long podcast name outstanding information. Jim's is a wealth of information about Disney History and what's coming at dinsey
Jungle Crews: Skippers get together to talk about their experiences on the ride. Some can be really funny.
Nerdist: Pop culture not Disney related. It can have some bad language but it's a group of comedians so it's usually entertaining.

@Kathymford - I was cheering at Angel Stadium on Sunday morning and wondered how you were doing on your first half ... I am so proud of you!!

Thanks for cheering.

Can you use a bag to carry the pumpkin? It would make things much easier... go for worse case scenario and get a gallon water jug and run with it. ~8lbs and about the same size a 8lb pumpkin would be. If/when someone sees you running with it, tell them you are very thirsty lol. Sounds like a good time. Maybe replace the water with beer and reward yourself after (or during) the run!

The milk jug sounds like a good idea. You could easily adjust it's weight and it would be nice and awkward too.

Disneyland Half this weekend was great. I probably enjoyed myself too much in the parks, (I walked 10-15 miles in the parks every day on top of the races) but I still managed to PR the 10k and the Half.

 

[roxymama]

I'm loving all these suggestions. I think maybe I will start with a bottle of water or weight, then upgrade to the gallon jug (whether full or only partially.)
I wish they allowed you to carry it in an apparatus because I'd for sure use my old baby backpack carrier. haha

 

[LSUlakes]

Disneyland Half this weekend was great. I probably enjoyed myself too much in the parks, (I walked 10-15 miles in the parks every day on top of the races) but I still managed to PR the 10k and the Half.

Glad to hear you had a good time and congrats on the PR's!! More details on the race and how much did you improve?

 

[LSUlakes]

Does anyone know if the marathon will have pace groups? If so, where can I find the information about them? TIA

 

[IamTrike]

Glad to hear you had a good time and congrats on the PR's!! More details on the race and how much did you improve?

The 10k was glorious. It was easily one of the best races of my life. I was pretty far ahead of the pack most of the time which meant after the starts there were no crowds. When I ran down mainstreet there were probably around 10 other people on the street with me at that time. Crowd support in the parks was lower than at WDW but I still had a blast. I spent time hi 5ing the crowds and just generally goofing off. I wound up running a 47:46 which was a PR by about 2 minutes and was fast enough to put me at 22nd in my Division.

The half was more of a slog. We had some issues with crowds up front which meant we had to run a couple miles at 15 seconds ahead of goal pace and that really hurt me. I wound up loosing site of my pace group in the last half mile (but I was still able to beat the pace group time by about 30 seconds). The last 3 miles was a struggle but I wound up running a 1:39:34, which put me at 22nd in my division for that race too. It was about a 5 minute PR so I was pretty pleased with it. I'm energized for Chicago now.

Overall the courses were nice. Crowd support to me seemed slightly lower than at WDW. In general the whole course seemed less crowded than a WDW race but that could be partly because I've was running faster. The DL races also seemed to be slower than marathon weekend. The same times would have put me twice as far back at WDW.

Does anyone know if the marathon will have pace groups? If so, where can I find the information about them? TIA

I don't know that they've announced this years pace groups. In the past Clif has provided the pace teams. I seem to remember them being in 10 minute increments last year.

 

[SarahDisney]

So, here's something weird ...
I happened to click on the marathon registration link to see if they were still using the "old" system or if they had switched over (I figured they wouldn't switch mid-registration, but with runDisney you never know...). And what did I see?


I clicked on the 10K, which I know is sold out, and it let me go to the waiver and then the part where you enter all your information (I didn't try to move on to the payment page).
I'm a little curious as to whether or not it will let you register (and what happens if it does). Not curious enough to risk it, though (I'm already registered for the races I want and I'm not paying for a race I can't run).

Anyone willing to give it a try? Or speculate on what might be going on?

 

[Ariel484]

Does anyone know if the marathon will have pace groups? If so, where can I find the information about them? TIA

They will have pace groups. Not sure where you can find the information though...I would think in the race program? Sorry to not be more helpful.

 

[LSUlakes]

The 10k was glorious. It was easily one of the best races of my life. I was pretty far ahead of the pack most of the time which meant after the starts there were no crowds. When I ran down mainstreet there were probably around 10 other people on the street with me at that time. Crowd support in the parks was lower than at WDW but I still had a blast. I spent time hi 5ing the crowds and just generally goofing off. I wound up running a 47:46 which was a PR by about 2 minutes and was fast enough to put me at 22nd in my Division.

The half was more of a slog. We had some issues with crowds up front which meant we had to run a couple miles at 15 seconds ahead of goal pace and that really hurt me. I wound up loosing site of my pace group in the last half mile (but I was still able to beat the pace group time by about 30 seconds). The last 3 miles was a struggle but I wound up running a 1:39:34, which put me at 22nd in my division for that race too. It was about a 5 minute PR so I was pretty pleased with it. I'm energized for Chicago now.

Overall the courses were nice. Crowd support to me seemed slightly lower than at WDW. In general the whole course seemed less crowded than a WDW race but that could be partly because I've was running faster. The DL races also seemed to be slower than marathon weekend. The same times would have put me twice as far back at WDW.


I don't know that they've announced this years pace groups. In the past Clif has provided the pace teams. I seem to remember them being in 10 minute increments last year.

Those are big improvements for both races! I would be very pleased with back to back PR's. Would be crazy to think what you could do just on the 10k had you not had a half the following day. I would say sub 45 is easily within reach. I hope to get a similar result for my half this October. I only ran one half last year and did so while sick (Running a fever and cough=bad time). If I don't hit it then, I have another towards the end of my marathon training cycle that should make it. Will either PR help improve your POT for WDW? If so, what kind of finish time is it projecting now?

Again, congrats! Good luck training for Chicago. I was not looking forward to todays run, but your results have me motivated to get the miles in.

 

[Kathymford]

Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts on my first half. It really was fun and it didn't feel like 13 miles for some reason. Ha. I guess Disney races will do that.

I'm actually feeling pretty good. After the race my feet were killing me the most. I guess first time running 14 miles will do that (plus mutant-wide feet). On Monday my legs were pretty tight, but by Tuesday only my hips were still tight and I went for a little 30 minute jog in the evening with no problem.

67 days until Avenger's Half and then on the WDW half! Now that I've finished the distance, I think I will work on adding some cross-training into my program!

@IamTrike nice list of Disney podcasts I haven't heard of! Thanks!

 

[Waiting2goback]

So, here's something weird ...
I happened to click on the marathon registration link to see if they were still using the "old" system or if they had switched over (I figured they wouldn't switch mid-registration, but with runDisney you never know...). And what did I see?
View attachment 122987

I clicked on the 10K, which I know is sold out, and it let me go to the waiver and then the part where you enter all your information (I didn't try to move on to the payment page).
I'm a little curious as to whether or not it will let you register (and what happens if it does). Not curious enough to risk it, though (I'm already registered for the races I want and I'm not paying for a race I can't run).

Anyone willing to give it a try? Or speculate on what might be going on?

It won't let you register. When I decided to do the marathon it looked like that so I thought I could still do Goofy. I tried to register and it won't let you get past the part where you put in all your info.