As a related note, it's a good idea to practice running out of fuel on a long run every so often so you learn how your body responds when that happens. Nothing beforehand except hydration and no refueling other than hydration along the way, and see what happens. Usually, you'll find a point at which you start feeling run down well before you actually get weak or light headed. Once you know that reaction, you know to refuel right away in the future if you get that feeling coming on.
ITA with this, but with a caveat: be careful if you have chronic blood sugar issues. I have chronic and reactive hypoglycemia and already knew before starting distance running that I had to watch my blood sugar... but I learned an important lesson after this past PHM. I'd been taking a gel every 45 mins, as usual, but didn't bother with my final one because I was within 1/2 a mile of the finish: I told myself I'd take it as soon as I finished. And then forgot. Fast forward a half hour or so, I'd been hanging with friends, chatting about our races, drinking some water, and went into a major sugar crash mid-sentence. Shaking, crying, dizzy, unable to think clearly, blood pressure dropping - it was bad, but I was lucky to be with someone who recognized it and got a gel into me ASAP. It was a scary 15 mins or so until my sugar got back on track and I vowed never, ever again to skip a fueling during a run and to always have one more gel than I *should* need on hand, just in case.
For those of you who have run disney races before, especially the 5k that ends in Epcot. How much time did you spend after you were done racing at the race finish site? And then about how much time did it take you to get onto a monorail or bus if you headed somewhere other than Epcot during the day?
I generally stroll slowly through the finish chute to collect medals, food, etc., skip finisher photos, and am in my car or at the bus stop within maybe 15 mins of finishing. Say 20-25 if I stop for ice, to put on a jacket, use a porta-potty, etc.
A curious question/questions for yall... how many days will you be at the resort/park before the event you are running? If you are arriving early, are you planning on walking around the parks like you would any other day, or do you plan to stay off your feet as much as you can and not spend as much time at the parks?
I'm semi-local and spend plenty of non-race time in the parks, so I tend not to hit the parks much during a multi-race weekend. Jan., I'll arrive Thurs, depart Mon. I'm doing the 10K and Full, so I may stop into a park or two for a couple rides Thurs and Fri, but I'll mostly enjoy a weekend of rest and relaxation between races.
Complete unrelated to marathon weekend question. Does anyone know or remember how quickly the princess half fills up.
Fast. GSC will go within an hour, if last year was any indication. The 1/2 may take longer, but I'd keep an eye on it and act quickly when it hits 80% full. 10K is likely to go fast. 5K is hard to say... I think the Frozen theme made it go lightning fast last time, so there may be a little wiggle room this time.
