Marathon Weekend 2016

[Ariel484]

I don't think I love the Dooney

It's kinda hard to make out the pattern, maybe it's the kind of bag you really need to see in person to appreciate. Disappointed there aren't more styles of bags (satchel? crossbody??). I really liked last year's bag but didn't run it last year so I was hoping I'd love this year. Oh well, more $$ to spend at the expo!

From what I can make out, it's the race mascots and the park icons. I like the colors a lot. I'm with you though, I don't like the actual bag styles at all. They had tons left over from this year's marathon weekend when they had 5 styles available so I'm guessing that's why they have 3, but I feel like they should have a Crossbody option instead of a tote AND a backpack.

 

[rteetz]

Any idea when or if we will see shoe designs for this year? I'm really hoping there is at least one new design.

 

[Mickey Momma]

It always comes as a shock that life still goes on even though I just ran 18 (or 20!) miles earlier in the day. Why must these people eat and wear clean clothes?!? I much prefer race day where nobody expects me to do anything other than run 26.2 miles.

 

[StarGirl11]

Any idea when or if we will see shoe designs for this year? I'm really hoping there is at least one new design.

Those aren't usually released until a week, two if we're lucky out. Still too early for NB to posting them.

 

[Ariel484]

Any idea when or if we will see shoe designs for this year? I'm really hoping there is at least one new design.

Not sure, maybe the week of the races? I feel like they bailed on the shoes. No new designs for Avengers or Wine & Dine...

 

[StarGirl11]

Not sure, maybe the week of the races? I feel like they bailed on the shoes. No new designs for Avengers or Wine & Dine...

That's because I think NB considers those two to be smaller races (I mean look at Avengers no Virtual Queue, only race besides EEC that didn't have one). Thus the no new shoes designs, plus end of year.

 

[rteetz]

Not sure, maybe the week of the races? I feel like they bailed on the shoes. No new designs for Avengers or Wine & Dine...

Yeah I noticed that. I'm hoping a new design for marathon weekend. I like the Donald ones but not the black and white ones.

 

[StarGirl11]

Yeah I noticed that. I'm hoping a new design for marathon weekend. I like the Donald ones but not the black and white ones.

Having run with NB for a few years now what they release isn't going to be just a new design but whatever the most recent model.

I'm actually hoping they keep the shoe pair that was Steamboat Mickey/Minnie with nicer designs. Or the shoe models that were Goofy/Cinderella (I think?) back in 2014. The former were more expensive yes but those lasted me a good long while (my Tinks lasted only three months before the wear on one shoe became a bit too much but I also run high mileage, Donald so far is holding up but I'm not holding my breath). And the later just lasted a while.

 

[Neoflynn]

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

ill echo what most have already said your co-worker is crazy, Distance running is hard, its supposed to be hard that's why we have to train for months at a time to successfully complete what we are trying to achieve sure you can get to a point where its EASIER but its still hard, all your co-worker is doing is setting themselves up for a one way ticket to injuryville. While its good to be ambitious with goals you also have to be realistic

so, anyone else starting to freak out a little bit? Or will it really hit home next week when the corral assignments are posted?

on one hand I am but I'm also pretty content with where I am at right now, my training hasn't gone perfect but I feel confident so far but ive only just hit the hard part with long runs of 16 last week 18 this week then 20 and 22 before I hit taper time if I can nail these long runs I know I'm ready. What I REALLY want to see is the course I really wanna know how they will handle the speedway section otherwise I assume it will be pretty much the same...

Any idea when or if we will see shoe designs for this year? I'm really hoping there is at least one new design.

my wife was just asking about the shoes, she is currently rocking the Minnie ones but would love a new pair, are preorders an option for them or is it first come first serve at the expo? as for the Dooney she seemed to be a fan of it when I showed it to her though that picture is so tiny its touch to really make out the whole design but she did like the color

 

[MightyDuck001]

Any idea when or if we will see shoe designs for this year? I'm really hoping there is at least one new design.

I feel like the new shoe designs usually come out for marathon weekend sometime in December?

 

[MightyDuck001]

This brings me to a related question I have for people. It's more for people that have run at least one marathon but it could apply to anyone really.

A co-worker (I have mentioned this person before) approached me about running a 100 mile ultra marathon next summer. They wanted to know my opinion. This person hasn't completed a 1/2 marathon yet. They were signed up for Wine and Dine but obviously it got cut short. But they were complaining about the humidity for that race. My response was, "Maybe you should try a marathon before trying to do 4 of them in one day, in August."

So my question is this, am I the only one that thinks some of these races are hard? Do some of you more experienced runners find a marathon to be easy and I am just over thinking how hard it is that this person doesn't even feel the need to complete one before trying 100 miles in a day, in mid summer?

I left that conversation feeling like I might just be a wimp because I couldn't jump from a longest distance run in a race of 6.8 miles and do a 100 mile race 10 months later? I am completely intimidated by the marathon. I'll still do it. I will finish it, even with less than ideal training. But I just don't think I will ever get to the point it feels easy. I don't even see a 1/2 marathon as being "easy". It's not intimidating to me, but still not easy.

OK, hopefully I made some sense with this post. I'm interested in the feedback.

That's like the person I work with who "runs a 7 minute mile." He did a 5k with me and said, "there aren't any mile markers out! What're we at, like mile 2 by now?" I felt bad telling him no, we weren't even at a 10th of a mile yet. I've also had colleagues who, mind you, have never actually done a marathon tell me that my pace was more a "leisurely stroll". Moral of the story: Colleagues are full of $hit and you should never really listen to them.

I've never hobbled away from a marathon and said "Oh THAT was EASY!" (I'm also not a natural runner.) I never say that of a half marathon, either, and honestly, 5ks usually make me kinda sick by the finish.

 

[Waiting2goback]

I don't ever think a marathon is easy, but sometimes they can be not hard. That sounds contradictory so let me try to explain. Racing a marathon all out for a new PR is hard, very hard. It requires 100% effort and 100% concentration every step of the way for the entire race. Running Disney at a relaxed pace and stopping for character pictures along the way is not as hard. Maybe comfortable is a good way of putting it. It's still a formidable amount of work, but it's not hard like going for a PR is hard. In either case, running 26.2 miles is not easy, but they occupy different spaces on the sliding scale of hardness. Put another way, this is why the Clif pace team asks their pacers to run at a pace that is 1 minute or more slower than their typical marathon pace. Trying to pace the 3:30 group when your PR is 3:25 will be very hard. Pacing the 4:15 group when your PR is 3:25 will be more comfortable. I hope that makes some sense. If not, let me know and I'll try again.

On to your co-worker and an ultra, like everyone else, I'd definitely caution them against running 100 miles if they haven't done a full and a 50-mile race first. Not to say they couldn't get both of those done on the way to 100, but I think that should be a matter of years, not months. Just like a full is more than just 2x the distance of a half, a 50-mile race is far more than 2x a full, and a 100 is way beyond 2 50s. It takes a lot of time and experience to teach your mind and body how to handle the volume of training that's required to get through a long ultra safely. You can't get that experience in a few months. The process is much longer than that, and some people learn along the way that their bodies are not capable of such high mileage. I hope your co-worker gives their plan some serious thought and realizes they ought to focus on getting through a full first before they consider making the jump to longer distances.

Wow, so your co-worker, whom has never run farther than a Half wants to do a 100-mile Ultra with less than a year to train?! That sounds like a quick trip to injury-ville. Unless your co-worker is genetically and physically gifted (I mean that in a good way), it MIGHT be possible, but I highly doubt it unless s/he has been running VERY high weekly mileage for a few years.

While I've only done one Full, the 2016 WDW Half will be my 10th Half and I'm at a point where give me a days notice and I can easily do a Half marathon. It might not be the best time but I think I could still keep it below 2:00. A Marathon is more than just doubling a Half. A lot of people today seem to not respect the distance and the demand a marathon requires, let alone a 100-mile Ultra! If your co-worker aimed for an ultra in another two years, I'd think that is do-able. However if your co-worker doesn't respect the distance, he time to physically and mentally training for an ultra of this size, s/he is going to get hurt.

So, I'll echo everyone else and say this probably wouldn't be a good idea for your co-worker. After doing 50-60 miles per week for 5 months for my last marathon PR attempt, I did end up getting better and it made it "easier" than any of my other marathon attempts. However, "easy" is relative, as it was still a very taxing event. You're co-worker would have to be willing to put in hours, upon hours of training.

But bigger issue, is from my understanding one of the main driver's of being able to go the distance is mitochondria. The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, converting carbs, protein, and fat in the presence of oxygen into useable energy (ATP). The density (or size) of mitochondria reaches a maximum after 8-12 weeks of training (this is the point at which you start to feel really ready for your endurance event). The more important factor as to why people incrementally increase their distances over years of training is mitochondria volume (or total number of). Mitochondria volume is increased slowly after years of individual training cycles, the belief is that this increasing can be infinite, but the more you run and the more years you put in, the smaller the increase in volume you see. Thus, a person jumping from a longest distance of 7 miles up to 100 miles in a matter of months probably doesn't have the right physical tools (not enough mitochondria) to be able to complete it comfortably. Can it be done? Possibly. Should it be attempted? Probably not.

This is probably going to sound really harsh, but ...
I blame charities for that.
It used to be that to run a marathon, you had to qualify for the race or enter a lottery ... and you were only going to do that if you were already willing to put in a huge commitment. But now, if you can't qualify through your time, you can just raise money and do it for a charity, even for the most "serious" of marathons. People sign up for marathons because it's a fun way to raise money for their favorite charity, and may not realize going into it what kind of commitment it will really require.
The other issue is "experience" races like Disney or Rock 'n' Roll ... people see a fun experience and want to do it, and don't necessarily realize how much commitment it will be. If we made marathons less fun, maybe more people would see them as the serious physical, mental, and emotional challenge that they are.

That said ... I love the fact that the Disney marathon and other "fun" marathons exist ... I just think that they're contributing to people's perception that a marathon is "no big deal." I wish more people approached the marathon the way the people on this thread seem to approach it - like the time-consuming, hard-work-requiring, all-encompassing goal that it is.

I know there are gifted people out there that can go out and run a ton of miles without ever having to train (or minimally train). Maybe your co-worker is one.

Most people are not.

I will say, that's a great attitude. If the mindset is "I can run 100 miles", that's a start! However, that could be a little fool-hardy, too.

I've run 9 marathons now. I don't run very fast...I'm around 50% on the age/gender grading...but when I'm in the middle of training, I feel I get to the point where a half-marathon is not too bad. I wouldn't call it easy but not difficult either.

But that's the key - after training. Even with training a marathon is tough, both physically and mentally. Good training makes it easi-ER but I've never found it easy.

26 miles with training isn't daunting but it certainly needs to be respected (for lack of a better term). I'm worried that your co-worker isn't giving 26 miles (and certainly 100 miles) the respect needed to run that distance. Without that respect, the training won't be sufficient for the effort required.

So, no, you shouldn't feel like a wimp...as evidenced by your training thus far. I think your co-worker would be wise to follow your advice.

My reply is going to be a little more harsh than most. It is, essentially, that this person has no idea what they want. I know many, many people who wanted to run a marathon, but didn't understand the training required. Then, after putting in the training and running the marathon decided, "never again".

Then there is the jump to a 50 miler. Then double that. They just don't understand what they are talking about.

I want to thank everyone for their responses. I feel better now. See, I feel any race can be hard if you are doing it the right way. Some races just end sooner. What I mean is, every race I ran (with the exception of the race I ran to help this coworker) I run as fast as I can. So, I am always tired after a race because I give it my all. I ran a 10K in July and it was all hills. It was a hard race. Every turn we were climbing another hill, it was brutal.

But I get what FFigawi was saying because this Disney race, while hard, won't be as bad as others because I will be taking my time and enjoying the experience.

I can't say my co-worker is crazy or insane. I don't think they have any idea what it takes to do one of these races. I am just glad that I am not the only one that thinks these races are hard because they all feel so hard to me.

 

[rteetz]

Having run with NB for a few years now what they release isn't going to be just a new design but whatever the most recent model.

I'm actually hoping they keep the shoe pair that was Steamboat Mickey/Minnie with nicer designs. Or the shoe models that were Goofy/Cinderella (I think?) back in 2014. The former were more expensive yes but those lasted me a good long while (my Tinks lasted only three months before the wear on one shoe became a bit too much but I also run high mileage, Donald so far is holding up but I'm not holding my breath). And the later just lasted a while.

I bought the goofys last year and that's what I have been running with as of late and they have worked out great. I would like another show similar to that.

 

[derekleigh]

I feel like the new shoe designs usually come out for marathon weekend sometime in December?

The last two years, the designs weren't revealed until after the new year. One would think marketing them sooner would be the way to go. Maybe this year will be different.

 

[FFigawi]

What was going to be my first 100 required a qualifying race (50 in under 15 hrs, so an 18 min/mile pace). Of course after I missed finishing the 50 its back to the drawing board for me.

I'm not sure which 50 you ran, but if you want one that's flat, friendly, and usually with nice weather, check out Rocky Raccoon outside of Houston in February (http://www.tejastrails.com/Rocky50.html). It's run and staffed by really experienced trail runners, so the aid stations are a buffet of anything and everything you could possibly want to eat. Plus, it's a 3-loop course so you can change your socks, shoes, and shirt as necessary when it warms up and then cools down during the day. This was the first 50 I ran many years ago, and it's still one of my favorites of all the marathons and ultras I've done.

 

[StarGirl11]

I'm not sure which 50 you ran, but if you want one that's flat, friendly, and usually with nice weather, check out Rocky Raccoon outside of Houston in February (http://www.tejastrails.com/Rocky50.html). It's run and staffed by really experienced trail runners, so the aid stations are a buffet of anything and everything you could possibly want to eat. Plus, it's a 3-loop course so you can change your socks, shoes, and shirt as necessary when it warms up and then cools down during the day. This was the first 50 I ran many years ago, and it's still one of my favorites of all the marathons and ultras I've done.

I ran Bear Chase which I loved just couldn't finish. Unfortunately I am out for February and half of March the longest race I'll see (and I will be walking) is a 5k maybe a 10k if it has a generous time limit that lets me walk it. I am having the first of two surgeries Feb 2nd to get the excess skin I've accumulated from my weight loss removed so I am out of running for 4-6 weeks. Sounds nice, maybe 2017.

Plus I might have bit off more then I could chew with that 100 unintentionally. Found out post registration it's one of Britains tougher 100s (no Lake District but still not easy) . Whoops. I picked it because it sounded nice, course support sounded good. And they allowed pacer starting at half way. But after my first 50 I think I need to step back actually comfortably finish a 50 before doing a 100. Depending on my summer schedule I all ready am eyeing one in mid June if recovery goes well (technically a 52.4 but I'm familiar with the race company (did my first ultra with them) so I'm not being overly picky on distance).

 

[Barca33Runner]

3.1-, 6.2-, and 10-milers done. Just that pesky 18 left for tomorrow.

 

[CamColt]

I hit another milestone today...20.5 miles! That's definitely one of those things I never thought I'd be saying. I feel pretty good considering, and I also had a better pace than I would have expected. I'm convinced something is off on the pedometer, LOL, and I don't really remember miles 14-18 (did I black out and just keep running???), but I guess I did it and survived! Only 6 more miles to go...I'm not sure if I feel like or about that.

 

[mbwhitti]

New half PR today! 2:06:07.

Was on track to get under 2:05 which was my goal but the last 2 miles were nothing but hills.

 

[SunDial]

New half PR today! 2:06:07.

Was on track to get under 2:05 which was my goal but the last 2 miles were nothing but hills.

Congratulations. That is awesome.