Do you guys think I should start rotating in the new shoes so that I have two pairs of shoes for marathon weekend (and can wear different shoes for my two races)? Or should I stick with the pair I'm currently wearing and not think about the new shoes until after January?
Neither pair of shoes matches my costumes, so color is not a factor.
Opinions?
(In case you guys forgot, I'm doing the 5K & 10K, and that's the end of my marathon weekend running)
I would say start rotating now.
I agree - start rotating the new ones in now and then wear whichever pair feels best for your races. Even if you decide the older pair is your race shoe, rotating now will reduce their total mileage some. That's exactly what I'm doing now, actually - my new pair doesn't feel perfect for my longest runs yet, but rotating them in now for shorter runs is keeping some miles off my older pair, which is at that perfectly comfortable point.
I have told my husband that he needs to be somewhere along the stretch from Mile 23-24, and I would prefer it would be just him because I'm probably going to lose it at that point.
I cheered at the Yacht Club this year and it was a GREAT location! Anywhere along the Boardwalk, or the path between DHS and the Boardwalk, is good, really.
The first place they can see you is at the TTC on your way up to Magic Kingdom. It's not as exciting as Main Street, but it's a little less crowded which makes it easier for them to spot you and you to spot them. From there, they can walk over to Poly and GF to see you again as you leave MK and get ready to turn to Animal Kingdom. After that, they can head to BW/BC/YC to see you at mile 24 before they walk through Epcot to see you after the finish. If they want to stick with the packages, they'll be able to see you cross the finish line, but there won't be much opportunity to kiss and run at that point.

Exactly what I'd suggest, too!
been looking at the extended weather forecast every few days for Orlando. Looks to be quite a bit warmer than what I'm dealing with now in central TX, so that's a plus. Also, looks like rain doesn't come into the picture until the marathon itself.
Um... Floridian here. Our forecast just changed drastically over the span of 3 hours. Anything looking at marathon weekend is completely useless this far out lol!
I'm not feeling any pain when I walk so do you think it would be worth walk/run my practise in two weeks time or not? I don't usually take walking breaks but if it will help with my fitness (instead of not being able to complete it altogether) then I'm all for it!
So, I deal with chronic ITB problems due to scoliosis: it's a constant battle, and not the normal ITBS most runners deal with, but I feel like the years of dealing with it have brought me some wisdom, lol! Walk breaks
may help - but only if you do them in training, too, and if your walking gait is one that doesn't tax the muscles surrounding and supporting the ITB. Walking uses different muscle groups in different ways than running, so if you've never trained using walk breaks and then do them on race day, you could be in for some serious pain in other spots. For me, with my particular issues, taking too-frequent walk breaks can actually make my ITB tightness worse - but I only know that, and what the "right" frequency is, form trial and error. So I say give the walk breaks a try now, while still training, and see how you feel. Also worth noting, I wear an ITB strap to help delay the onset of the ITBS knee pain. It doesn't help at all once pain has set in, but does seem to keep it at bay when used proactively.