Marathon Weekend 2017!

[donk3]

@alexksmith

I tend to get up around 1:45am, but I do go to bed around 5:30-6:00pm the night before. Not a necessity, but I did some mock wake ups during training for my 1st Dopey. It gave me the confidence that a slight downtick in sleep and earlier mornings wouldn't effect me much. However, for the last two years I haven't done any intentional early morning training and haven't really noticed a difference come race day.

I also prefer to race each race and don't tend to take any of them easy. But I'd still agree with others that when I train for Dopey I don't really make any changes to my normal marathon training schedule. I race by effort not by time. Which means when race day comes for the marathon, and I'm tired even at the start line, I just let my equivalent effort for any other marathon (or long run training) guide my pacing. For me personally though, I have a pretty quick recovery system and can be ready to race soon after another race.

wow 145 !!! thats early !!

 

[donk3]

Yes, avoid condiment bars & buffets before the races, no joke, I've said it before & I'll tell people again. My marathon was a basically a disaster due to most likely food poisoning from Pecos Bill's guacamole after the half. Also, we learned to bring movies we know put us to sleep, otherwise it can be rough trying to get to sleep before these races we found out. Bring your own breakfast/pre-race foods that you know work for you. Stick to your training plan and you'll be good to go come January, getting a solid base of miles in is sooo important! Good luck it's a blast!

wow does not sound like fun !!we bring our own pre race food as well and it helped with not having to worry about what to eat in the morning !!

 

[opusone]

POT is required if you are planning on doing half in 2 hours 45 minutes or less-does that mean if you plan on taking longer and you put that time-how are they figuring corrals for us back of the packers? I'm thinking of still submitting POT, thoughts?

So her'es the story on the 2:45:00 cutoff: way back a few years ago, that was the cutoff, too. Corrals were fewer and larger to accommodate the many over 2:45:00 and courses got pretty congested for the last few corrals. Then they started a new system with PoT required for anything under 3:15:00 and corrals were more plentiful, with smaller numbers of runners in each. Course congestion eased up a little, but was still pretty brutal for the last few corrals. So we're now back to that 2:45:00 cutoff, but we have no idea yet what that will mean for corral assignments. My PoT leads to an anticipated half time of 2:43:00... since my only options (this was for W&D reg) were to select 2:45:00 and not submit PoT, or 2:40:00 and send PoT, I went with the 2:40:00 with PoT. I have NO idea what that will bring, but I'm hopeful! I think submitting PoT is better than not, but we really won't know until W&D, the first WDW race with that change.

You two got me thinking about this whole 2:45 cutoff, and since I recently did some analysis for the Star Wars Dark Side half marathon corrals, I have all the data, and I thought I would test out my theory. Sure enough, I think this may be the reason for the 2:45 cutoff now:



For each corral, A through G, the average finisher time increases with each subsequent corral which makes sense; however, once you get to H through K corrals (which are corrals with cutoff times above 2:46), the average finisher time does not continue to increase with each corral. In fact, for this specific data set, the last two of those four corrals have slightly faster average times than the first two. So, the corral placement above 2:46 in this case doesn't seem to matter. Maybe runDisney has seen this same pattern over time. Please note that I have ignored corral L since it is the corral where folks with no POTs are put, so it makes sense that corral L might be faster than earlier corrals.

Also, given that roughly half of the participants are in corrals H or after, this would greatly reduce the number of POT spot checks they need to perform (or gives them more coverage if they perform the same number of spot checks).

 

[rteetz]

One thing I'm wondering where are the Im Training for... Shirts?

 

[croach]

No time goals for these races. Goal I guess to enjoy the races more then I have in the past. Usually just plow through them and then head back to the resort. I'm always traveling solo but goal of trying to be more social this time around and be more a part of the community(not sure if that sounds stupid). And I like the idea of an adult beverage in Epcot!

 

[donk3]

Speaking of the expo, I suggest buying a refillable mug of beer from the cart outside the expo. You can stick it in your check bag and use it to get half-price beer after the finish.



I would ask that whatever you bring to discard is not the rattiest stuff you have. Disney collects all of the clothing and donates them to shelters and other places of need in the Orlando area. I'm not saying your throw-away clothes should be brand new, but leave the ones with the holes and grease stains at home and bring something used but still wearable by a person in need who will like to receive it.

I agree , dont bring the dirty stuff , I lost 25 pounds training for Dopey so most of my "throw aways" were things that just didnt fit me anymore

 

[DopeyBadger]

Thanks to everyone who has shared their goals so far. I appreciate all of your responses. Please others continue to chime in with your goals because I know how much it will mean to look back at a day like today 8 months from now when we're all thinking about what to pack, merchandise previews, and corrals...

I'll add that my goal this year is to finish in the Top 100 Dopey runners by cumulative time and to finish under a combined time of 6:30:00.

@donk3 , yea I'm an early bird. I don't like to be late and like to be relaxed. Timing of things can stress me out so I leave a lot of wiggle room so that I can enjoy the moment and not sweat the small stuff.

 

[donk3]

My goal is to stick to training as well as possible (running, lifting and yoga) and not re-injure myself. And to really appreciate each successful run completed. And to have fun during the races. No time goals.

that should be number one goal for everyone !! not to get injured !!!

 

[FFigawi]

My primary goal is to get to the race. I plan on taking a few weeks off after IMFL, but that should still leave me with enough time to build some strength back up. My secondary goal is to ride ToT and RnR in DHS and TT in Epcot. The beer along the way is a given.

 

[donk3]

Quality advice right there.

AGREE!!!NOTHING LIKE A NICE COLD BEER AFTER RUNING THE HALF AND THE FULL!!

 

[croach]

@donk3 , yea I'm an early bird. I don't like to be late and like to be relaxed. Timing of things can stress me out so I leave a lot of wiggle room so that I can enjoy the moment and not sweat the small stuff.

The first time I did a WDW race I was very stressed about getting to the start. I was staying at the Poly and walked over to the TTC to coach the Epcot monorail. I was a little early as they were still cleaning it when I got there. I've since learned that you don't have to be there super early but everyone has different comfort levels with that kind of stuff. I just hate all the standing around waiting.

 

[donk3]

Can you get a better rate for WDW hotels through RunDisney? I know when I booked DLR through them the savings was significant.

on the phone with them and seems like as of now for wine and dine weekend is up to 25% discount on selected resorts

 

[DHSsenior007]

Based on your goal time a later corral shouldn't be a problem for finishing, but the course will be more crowded and the lines for any characters you may want to stop for will probably be longer. It wouldn't hurt to run a 10k if it fits into your training, but shouldn't be required based on your anticipated pace.

Definitely worth it to do a 10K and submit POT!

Yes, I would highly recommend doing that.

Thanks, everyone, for your quick feedback! Off to look for a 10K that won't be unbearable given Texas' heat this time of year. Yay? But I like having the freedom of being in a different corral, so it will be worth it.

 

[Keels]

Hey my rundisney peeps!! I'm in for Goofy 2017... don't know why I'm just joining the board. (Stupid work) I'm so so so excited to head back to Marathon weekend for the 3rd year in a row!!

Slacker!

 

[Kathymford]

You two got me thinking about this whole 2:45 cutoff, and since I recently did some analysis for the Star Wars Dark Side half marathon corrals, I have all the data, and I thought I would test out my theory. Sure enough, I think this may be the reason for the 2:45 cutoff now:

View attachment 164877

For each corral, A through G, the average finisher time increases with each subsequent corral which makes sense; however, once you get to H through K corrals (which are corrals with cutoff times above 2:46), the average finisher time does not continue to increase with each corral. In fact, for this specific data set, the last two of those four corrals have slightly faster average times than the first two. So, the corral placement above 2:46 in this case doesn't seem to matter. Maybe runDisney has seen this same pattern over time. Please note that I have ignored corral L since it is the corral where folks with no POTs are put, so it makes sense that that corral might be faster.

Also, given that roughly half of the participants are in corrals H or after, this also greatly reduces the number of POT spot checks they need to perform (or gives them more coverage if they perform the same number of spot checks).

I'm curious about this, albeit for Dumbo, since I"m not joining you all this year. So what does that mean for people over 2:45, but have a POT? Does that mean they just don't have to verify it and will take your word for it, similar to the 10k? My new POT is just under 3 hours, so I went in and changed my registration and still supplied the link, just in case.

 

[Keels]

My primary goal is to get to the race. I plan on taking a few weeks off after IMFL, but that should still leave me with enough time to build some strength back up. My secondary goal is to ride ToT and RnR in DHS and TT in Epcot. The beer along the way is a given.

Sweet. My goal is to now be past TT so I can finish the full ahead of @FFigawi!!

 

[mbwhitti]

Slacker!

I know... dumb job.

 

[DopeyBadger]

48 miles in 4.5 hrs?!?!

***!!!

(That stands for 'Wow, that's fast!!' Not anything else)

Edit: They blocked out my acronym - hahahaha. Still - that's amazing!

Yep, he is pretty quick. His splits were:

5K - 16:18 (5:15 min/mile)
10K - 33:53 (5:28 min/mile)
Half - 1:13:11 (5:35 min/mile)
Full - 2:35:23 (5:56 min/mile)
Goofy - 3:48:34 (5:49 min/mile)
Dopey - 4:38:45 (5:44 min/mile)

He finished overall in 2014 (not just Dopey)
5K - 1st Place
10K - 2nd Place
Half - 5th Place
Full - 6th Place

 

[mbwhitti]

My primary goal is to get to the race. I plan on taking a few weeks off after IMFL, but that should still leave me with enough time to build some strength back up. My secondary goal is to ride ToT and RnR in DHS and TT in Epcot. The beer along the way is a given.

Why have I never thought of these rides as an option? Do you just go off course and ride? I'm intrigued and feel like I may need to accept this challenge.

 

[opusone]

I'm curious about this, albeit for Dumbo, since I"m not joining you all this year. So what does that mean for people over 2:45, but have a POT? Does that mean they just don't have to verify it and will take your word for it, similar to the 10k? My new POT is just under 3 hours, so I went in and changed my registration and still supplied the link, just in case.

Not clear if they will even look at your POT if you select over 2:45. They may just randomly assign corrals for all >2:45 runners. But they still may take it into account, so I think you are right to submit your POT anyway.