Marathon Weekend 2016

[margitmouse]

WE DID IT

I totally cried at the finish line...

Thank you so much to everyone on here for answering my questions, wishing me luck and just being a great support on this journey so far.

Congratulations!!! Can't wait to hear about it!! How was your fueling?!?

Just so thrilled for you!

... And looove the outfits! And totally know I'm going to do the same thing at the finish line

 

[Neoflynn]

Late to the game marathon question:

I am not registered for the full yet (I know it's at 99% & may sell out any minute - I have explored bib options with some TAs in case that happens). I've only been running about 18 months, and I'm still in the process of losing weight but I'm much stronger & more fit than I was 18 months ago. I'm determined that my first full will be at Disney. Although I haven't registered, I've been amping up training as though I am. However, I've yet to get to a 20 mile run-walk training session.

I've done 6 half marathons this year, including the Dumbo Double Dare (and I'll do the Infinity Gauntlet challenge in a couple of weeks). I run-walk, and while I have improved leaps and bounds over my couch potato fitness level 18 mos ago, I'm still a slow run-walker (average now is 13:30-14 min/mile in a half). I have a half next weekend on a fast & flat course, but if I had to register today, my POT would be a 3 hr half (from several months ago), which will put me in one of the last three corrals for this as my first full. (As an aside, I believe Disney will still accept a POT for a late registration at this point - last year I registered for the WDW half around Thanksgiving with a TA & my POT got me to corral I).

Aside from working out my budget, I guess what I'm looking for is whether it's still fun to run-walk the full if you're doing so (a) solo, & (b) at the back of the pack. I'm concerned most of the fun would be killed by worrying about being swept.

I'm sure it'd take me a solid 6 hrs to finish, and while I'm dying to do it, I'm questioning if I should just wait another year until
I'm more fit & can maybe get to longer run intervals to shorten my full marathon time a bit.

I cant speak to the back of the pack but I would imagine its just as supportive as anywhere else, as for the running solo even though I have run a lot of my races with friends we all run at our own pace so I generally wind up alone on the course I will say you have to be strong mentally because if things go wrong the isn't necessarily anyone there to help pick you up though I imagine at Disney that would be less of a problem just because of the awesome crown support. Also as someone mentioned before don't be afraid to make new friends either in the corral or on the course. During my first half I wound up running next to the same person for virtually the entire race so finally about half way thru we introduced ourselves to each other and helped each other towards the finish, It really helped both of us I think.

***Side note *** When asking should I do Disney race X in this forum the responses will overwhelming skew "Yes!"

This X 1000....this is not the place to come to be talked out of things LOL

WE DID IT

CONGRATS!!!!!

For those of you who don't visit the news and rumors thread a big permit was filed today by Disney indicating major work for DHS will begin in January. The permit was for a large retention pond to be constructed but the maps in the permit also showed some of the other work that would be done like major road construction and parking expansions. No word on when exactly in January work would start but I would imagine ASAP.

I figured this was coming just due to the major expansion plans going on there



Now on to my question, We have ordered the chEAR squad package (just the basic one with the shirt and blanket and clacker) Do we pick this up at the expo or will it be mailed? any have experience previously with ChEAR Squad

 

[margitmouse]

Now on to my question, We have ordered the chEAR squad package (just the basic one with the shirt and blanket and clacker) Do we pick this up at the expo or will it be mailed? any have experience previously with ChEAR Squad

You pick it up at the expo!!

 

[Waiting2goback]

Late to the game marathon question:

I am not registered for the full yet (I know it's at 99% & may sell out any minute - I have explored bib options with some TAs in case that happens). I've only been running about 18 months, and I'm still in the process of losing weight but I'm much stronger & more fit than I was 18 months ago. I'm determined that my first full will be at Disney. Although I haven't registered, I've been amping up training as though I am. However, I've yet to get to a 20 mile run-walk training session.

I've done 6 half marathons this year, including the Dumbo Double Dare (and I'll do the Infinity Gauntlet challenge in a couple of weeks). I run-walk, and while I have improved leaps and bounds over my couch potato fitness level 18 mos ago, I'm still a slow run-walker (average now is 13:30-14 min/mile in a half). I have a half next weekend on a fast & flat course, but if I had to register today, my POT would be a 3 hr half (from several months ago), which will put me in one of the last three corrals for this as my first full. (As an aside, I believe Disney will still accept a POT for a late registration at this point - last year I registered for the WDW half around Thanksgiving with a TA & my POT got me to corral I).

Aside from working out my budget, I guess what I'm looking for is whether it's still fun to run-walk the full if you're doing so (a) solo, & (b) at the back of the pack. I'm concerned most of the fun would be killed by worrying about being swept.

I'm sure it'd take me a solid 6 hrs to finish, and while I'm dying to do it, I'm questioning if I should just wait another year until
I'm more fit & can maybe get to longer run intervals to shorten my full marathon time a bit.

I can't speak about your budget so that is a factor only you can decide on. As for the race, I say DO IT. I ran the Tower of Terror 10 Miler last year by myself. I know it's not a marathon but the experience was so much fun and I'm as introverted as they come. I found the Mickey Milers and hung out with them before the race for a while. As for the race I had a goal of where I wanted to finish so I was running by myself anyway.

What you really need to ask yourself is, what do you want to get out of this experience? If your goal is to finish and have fun, it doesn't matter what corral you start in or how long it takes. Its a Disney race, the fun is built in. If you have done that many 1/2 marathons and you still have 2 months left to train, as long as you get a few long runs in you will be able to finish without being swept. You may not get to stop for many character pics as you might like but you will get a medal saying you did your first full marathon as WDW. And on top of all that, it gives you a reason to go to Disney and that's never a bad thing. And you already have at least one offer of someone to run with you so you might not be alone anyway.

I say don't wait. Sign up and start getting excited like the rest of us are.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I am back to running and I am frustrated. My hamstrings are cramping up at short distances, like 2-4 miles. This never happened before. All the tendons and ligaments in my ankles are killing me. I took a month off and it feels like I have never run before. I was going to use this month to just get back up to 4 days a week, even at just 4-5 miles each, and then next month work on building up the mileage. My foot feels 98% better. The stretching the doctor told me to do is working great and it hurts so much to do because I am so tight, proof that it is what I needed all along.

I guess I just don't know what to do about the hamstrings. I am hydrated and I am starting to stretch those out too. I am just concerned about getting through 26.2 miles if I can't make it through 5. Could it be because of the cold weather?

 

[AThrillingChase]

I am back to running and I am frustrated. My hamstrings are cramping up at short distances, like 2-4 miles. This never happened before. All the tendons and ligaments in my ankles are killing me. I took a month off and it feels like I have never run before. I was going to use this month to just get back up to 4 days a week, even at just 4-5 miles each, and then next month work on building up the mileage. My foot feels 98% better. The stretching the doctor told me to do is working great and it hurts so much to do because I am so tight, proof that it is what I needed all along.

I guess I just don't know what to do about the hamstrings. I am hydrated and I am starting to stretch those out too. I am just concerned about getting through 26.2 miles if I can't make it through 5. Could it be because of the cold weather?

After PHM I took a couple of months off running, I just needed a break. And when I started up again it was really rough! But it didn't take all that long. So don't give up! Just take it slow. As for cold weather, I tweaked my IT band in cold weather. I am sure it was tight, but I do think the cold weather never allowed it to properly warm up and that is what suddenly broke the camels back.

 

[IamTrike]

I cant speak to the back of the pack but I would imagine its just as supportive as anywhere else, as for the running solo even though I have run a lot of my races with friends we all run at our own pace so I generally wind up alone on the course I will say you have to be strong mentally because if things go wrong the isn't necessarily anyone there to help pick you up though I imagine at Disney that would be less of a problem just because of the awesome crown support. Also as someone mentioned before don't be afraid to make new friends either in the corral or on the course. During my first half I wound up running next to the same person for virtually the entire race so finally about half way thru we introduced ourselves to each other and helped each other towards the finish, It really helped both of us I think.

At a local half I wound up running side by side to a lady. We were both quiet the entire race. The only time we spoke to each other was when she stumbled and I said "glad you didn't trip". It was very peaceful, and super motivating. I wound up tying my PR during the race. After the race I found her and thanked her, and talked for a couple of minutes. It was funny, she was nice and we probably could have had a decent conversation during the race, but just having someone else matching your pace was a real encouragement to not slow.

 

[Juliemomma]

Fingers crossed for me tomorrow. I am getting a steroid shot in my neck and hoping it will allow me to run again. Long story short...was in a car accident early March and got four bulging discs in my neck. Was in really bad shape but therapy got me running again but only for about three months. It's been almost five weeks since I have been able to run.
On a Disney note we decided not to go to Universal day after marathon and instead do another day at Disney. I am all in a tizzy, but in a fun way, trying to figure out what we want to do, fp to get and most importantly....where to eat!!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Fingers crossed for me tomorrow. I am getting a steroid shot in my neck and hoping it will allow me to run again. Long story short...was in a car accident early March and got four bulging discs in my neck. Was in really bad shape but therapy got me running again but only for about three months. It's been almost five weeks since I have been able to run.
On a Disney note we decided not to go to Universal day after marathon and instead do another day at Disney. I am all in a tizzy, but in a fun way, trying to figure out what we want to do, fp to get and most importantly....where to eat!!

My wife went through the same thing - wish you luck. She is still suffering.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Late to the game marathon question:

I am not registered for the full yet (I know it's at 99% & may sell out any minute - I have explored bib options with some TAs in case that happens). I've only been running about 18 months, and I'm still in the process of losing weight but I'm much stronger & more fit than I was 18 months ago. I'm determined that my first full will be at Disney. Although I haven't registered, I've been amping up training as though I am. However, I've yet to get to a 20 mile run-walk training session.

I've done 6 half marathons this year, including the Dumbo Double Dare (and I'll do the Infinity Gauntlet challenge in a couple of weeks). I run-walk, and while I have improved leaps and bounds over my couch potato fitness level 18 mos ago, I'm still a slow run-walker (average now is 13:30-14 min/mile in a half). I have a half next weekend on a fast & flat course, but if I had to register today, my POT would be a 3 hr half (from several months ago), which will put me in one of the last three corrals for this as my first full. (As an aside, I believe Disney will still accept a POT for a late registration at this point - last year I registered for the WDW half around Thanksgiving with a TA & my POT got me to corral I).

Aside from working out my budget, I guess what I'm looking for is whether it's still fun to run-walk the full if you're doing so (a) solo, & (b) at the back of the pack. I'm concerned most of the fun would be killed by worrying about being swept.

I'm sure it'd take me a solid 6 hrs to finish, and while I'm dying to do it, I'm questioning if I should just wait another year until
I'm more fit & can maybe get to longer run intervals to shorten my full marathon time a bit.

Just saw your post, sorry if it has already been answered. I have run most of my races at Disney solo, my sister has run all of the races I have but we have only run the last two half marathons during the Dopey together. Everything else I have been on the course on my own. I also finished my first marathon at Disney in a little over 7 hours, so I have some very real back of the pack experience as well.

My first marathon was in 2013. I had done the Half Marathon the year before and the Marathon was the logical next step. I finished the 2012 half in around 3:20 and despite being in a good amount of pain, felt like I still had something in reserve. This belief played in my mind over the next year, leading me to believe the Full Marathon would just be like doubling my initial half marathon and that even if everything went wrong I would do no worse than finishing than 6:40. Despite heading into the Marathon in much better shape than the Half and expecting to finish under 6 hours; I finished in a little over 7. I came to the finish line feeling so dejected and exhausted. I had drastically underestimated how quickly even a seemingly sustainable pace could deteriorate when my feet started to ache and stamina disappeared. I spent miles 16-22 a little worried about getting swept, and seeing that they were clearing the course at the entrance of WWOS when I was heading out didn't make me feel great, but when I got into Hollywood Studios I felt like I was going to make it. I really wanted to be angry with myself and, as I noted earlier, I was pretty dejected as I was making my way to the finish line but after I crossed my mood changed and I immediately started to realize the accomplishment and couldn't help feeling incredibly proud of myself.

I don't know exactly how my experience should be interpreted. I know that my first marathon, no matter when it happened, would have likely gone this way. I would never have gained the motivation to get in better shape and do better in the future if I hadn't gone through this initial experience. Running the marathon at the back of the pack was not a terrible experience from an emotional standpoint. The crowds were great throughout the day and while I maybe should have been worried about getting swept, I was never in any imminent fear. Physically and mentally it is very tough to be on your feet for 6+ hours and it definitely will seem like the end will never come; but when it does, the bad parts start to wash away. It very much seems that you will be attempting a marathon in the future, so it is all about when you feel you are ready. I don't regret my first marathon for a moment, but I'm sure I would have had just as good a time if I was more prepared. Hopefully this helps. I'm sure you'll do well and have a great time no matter when you decide to tackle this goal.

 

[derekleigh]

For those of you who don't visit the news and rumors thread a big permit was filed today by Disney indicating major work for DHS will begin in January. The permit was for a large retention pond to be constructed but the maps in the permit also showed some of the other work that would be done like major road construction and parking expansions. No word on when exactly in January work would start but I would imagine ASAP.

I happened to catch the map indicating the working areas, and immediately thought of the marathon route. Given my position in field or working with GCs and such, I would venture to guess nothing MAJOR would happen until after Marathon Weekend. The permit would grant them the right to begin work in January, however most the of first few weeks would involve equipment and materials mobilization, markings, and safety set-ups. Maybe some minor demolition or small things.

However, I've never worked with Disney so the above assumptions could have zero relevance.

Just one more reason why I'm interested to see what the marathon course is going to look like, which is how it will probably remain for the next few years.

 

[rteetz]

I happened to catch the map indicating the working areas, and immediately thought of the marathon route. Given my position in field or working with GCs and such, I would venture to guess nothing MAJOR would happen until after Marathon Weekend. The permit would grant them the right to begin work in January, however most the of first few weeks would involve equipment and materials mobilization, markings, and safety set-ups. Maybe some minor demolition or small things.

However, I've never worked with Disney so the above assumptions could have zero relevance.

Just one more reason why I'm interested to see what the marathon course is going to look like, which is how it will probably remain for the next few years.

I agree but many were surprised that Disney started demolition of the sorcerer hat during the marathon weekend last year. So we will have to wait and see I guess.

 

[michigandergirl]

I leave the thread for a week and it explodes! Lots of good reading. I did my first long treadmill run yesterday (8 miles) - I was supposed to run a 10K race and then finish the long run on the treadmill but the race got cancelled due to flooding. The first hour was ok but after that I started to get disoriented and at one point felt like I was running backwards! Now I realize that I was low on fuel because I felt better after a Gu. I can't wait to get back outside and run!

For whoever was looking for breakfast recommendations - I had the most divine French Toast at Captain's Grille this summer. Highly recommended!

That was me looking for breakfast recommendations and I'm so glad you liked Captain's Grille because that's where I made our reservation! We are moving over to the Beach Club that day for the last 3 nights of our stay, so it just seemed like a logical choice. I'm getting really excited now!

 

[Barca33Runner]

Medals were just posted on Facebook. Someone with more skill than me can probably figure out how to put them up here.

 

[rteetz]

 

[rteetz]

I like them all. Now I really can't wait for 2018 for dopey but one year at a time. My sister is running in a kids race, I love the steamboat Willie on that medal.

 

[Ariel484]

As usual, the kids medallion is PERFECTION. <3

 

[Barca33Runner]

Pretty decent updates to each of them. Would like to see the Minnie 10K medal have a little more continuity with the Donald Half and Mickey Full, but looking forward to adding all of them to the collection.

 

[Kathymford]

I selfishly really wish Minnie was the medal for the half. Should have done the 10k too. Darn. Oh well. I really love the marathon medal!! But not enough to run 26.2 miles ... YET!

 

[MinnieMarathoner]

Love the medals! I can't wait to get the Mickey medal around my neck.
Agree that I wish the Minnie looked a bit more like the Donald and Mickey, but it is still pretty.