Marathon Weekend 2019

[Chaitali]

I'm planning on music and earbuds. They have easily accessible controls so I can pause the music when there's on-course stuff going on and start it again when I need the music.

 

[wdvak]

I will have headphones in part of the time. I might want in the corral to calm down - well unless I find some of you folks to talk to - and if I feel I need a boost on the long highway stretches.

 

[wdvak]

You can all thank me for any heat and humidity. I told you early on that since I signed up and would be coming from very dry cold Alaska winter it would be hot and humid For me the humidity is a big factor to deal with, but I’m going to fun anyway.

 

[Neon Cactus]

That is something that's been rolling around in the back of my head. But I definitely need to finish the half before I think too much about it. I might never want to run that distance again.

I did my first marathon 3 years ago because I'd always wanted to do the WDW marathon. I intended for it to be a one and done, and then found out about the Coast to Coast challenge and the did the 10k/Half challenge there. Then a friend wanted to run a marathon so I did the LA Marathon with him. And I again said never again. Then I came back to Disney World in July with my daughters and started thinking about how much fun it had been to do it and decided I needed a challenge and signed up again. You can always look around your area or in places you want to travel and find everything from 5Ks to half marathons that would be fun for you and do those.

 

[apdebord]

Honestly, if that weather trend holds up for the marathon, I am here for it. T&D has been 140+ these last few runs so I feel prepared for that forecast.

No earbuds for Disney races as I run with DH and we talk the whole time. But if I were alone, I’d probably use them for non-park time.

Hey, quick question: Has anyone tried using TENS on a muscle pull other than on the back? I am trying it on my thigh/quad to see if it helps. This has been the most frustrating injury!

I use my TENS on my calf and thigh. I think it helps. I do like to use a heating pad prior as well, then stretch after.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

We don’t arrive until Thursday afternoon. Hopefully the expo has some decent toys available still. The good news is I called today and was able to get a reservation for Cinderella’s castle for Saturday night at 5:30pm. I’ve never been, can anyone let me know if it’s worth the price?

The cost is such a subjective thing for that restaurant. I've dined there twice, once on a family trip back in 1994 when it was named King Stefan's Banquet Hall (apparently a reference to a tradition of naming your dining hall after your closest ally since King Stefan is Aurora's father in Sleeping Beauty) and again in 2012 to celebrate my first Coast to Coast. In my opinion you dine in the castle for the atmosphere and magic of dining in the castle. While the food is fine, it's not on the same level as that at similarly priced Disney World restaurants.

For those that perhaps have taken a RedEye, or have arrived at odd hours... do you recommend one plan over the other? Have any of you dealt with any issues at using Magical Express and checked luggage when you're unable to get right to your room upon arrival?

For Dark Side 2017 and 2018, I took a redeye and arrived after 5:00am. I had no issues either time. The greater trick was having to wait for the buses to start running to the expo or parks.

So what is everyone's plans for music/podcasts during the marathon?

Will you keep your headphones in the entire time? Run without? What will you listen to?

I'm working on a playlist. The tentative plan is to keep it in reserve for the latter half of the marathon since I don't trust the battery to last the entire 6-7 hours of my presumed race length and because I believe the music will help provide a boost and/or distraction as needed. The playlist is a mix of Disney songs and Star Wars music with a few songs from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir thrown in for good measure.

I always have the volume down low enough so that I can hear everything going on around me.

 

[Neon Cactus]

So what is everyone's plans for music/podcasts during the marathon?

Will you keep your headphones in the entire time? Run without? What will you listen to?

I will definitely have headphones, though I keep the volume down to hear others coming around me. I fully believe the reason I finished my first marathon was my playlist and my Hoka shoes. I usually try to run two songs, walk one. It's lots of Disney music of course (Circle of Life and Go the Distance always are my first two) and there are park specific songs like Grim Grinning Ghosts and Yo Ho in MK for example. Then towards the later parts of the race, that's when AC/DC and Van Halen kick in. I've found through trial and error that Pink's music is also good for running and for some reason, there's a live version of Bruce Springsteen's Cadillac Ranch that's a great song to run to. Then again, when I hit Mile 25, I took the headphones out and just enjoyed the atmosphere of the last mile.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

So what is everyone's plans for music/podcasts during the marathon?

Will you keep your headphones in the entire time? Run without? What will you listen to?

Being my first RunDisney events, I want to soak it all up and enjoy the crowds and entertainment. For the 5 and 10k, I will probably not bring headphones. For the half and full, I am planning on bringing headphones and putting them on once we begin running on the highways/boring parts.

For the long, straight parts Chet Faker/Flume works for me, but if I want to pick up my pace (likely after the halfway mark), I'll switch to Spanish rap/reggaeton Residente/ PJ Sin Suela (for my Hispanic folks here) and will be using Pandora premium.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Disney is one of the few times I run without headphones. Just like to hear all the stuff going on around me, even it’s just the sound of shoes on the road. Plus I have to concentrate on character names for the text group or people make fun of me.

I'm still new to the boards. Are you doing a group text? How can I PM you my info to be included?

Thanks!

 

[rteetz]

I'm still new to the boards. Are you doing a group text? How can I PM you my info to be included?

Thanks!

Click on the profile and select start conversation to PM.

 

[LdyStormy76]

Is anyone here braving the expo early on the first day? If so, can someone post here on the availability of pins and magnets? I'm running Princess weekend (doing the challenge and the 5K, but it will be my first half marathon), and I'm torn between preordering either the challenge or half marathon bundle to ensure I can get a pin and magnet, or waiting until I get to the expo so I can use my AP discount and get only the pins/magnets I want for each race (instead of paying full price for 3 pins from the same race). I know there are no guarantees but the reports on the lack of pins at Wine and Dine makes me nervous!

It really depends on what pins you want: race logo, medal replica or "I did it". Last year at Marathon Weekend the pins went really fast on Wednesday; I was back at the expo on Friday and they had some of them restocked but not all. I do not remember the status of the magnets.

Has anyone fallen off the wagon this week? I haven't ran since Saturday.

I just got back on the wagon this week. The last two weeks of December were a virtual wipe out (2 of 10 runs occurred) so I knew I needed to get going again.

That is something that's been rolling around in the back of my head. But I definitely need to finish the half before I think too much about it. I might never want to run that distance again.

You sound like me this time last year. Finish your half (and you will). Then think about what you want to do for a few weeks; I ended up signing up for 2 other half marathons (one was a miserable experience and the other a good) and will be doing my first marathon in a few days. Like others have mentioned having a series of goals, or just some "fun" races on the schedule helps with keeping you going.

So what is everyone's plans for music/podcasts during the marathon?

Will you keep your headphones in the entire time? Run without? What will you listen to?

I have both 7 hours of podcasts and 7 hours of music set up. Podcasts are all "Lectures in History" for the sole reason that they are typically an hour long and are also stand alone casts. Music is every high tempo song from iTunes (country, rock, pop and a few Disney). While I typically only listen to podcasts while training I learned during my last half that there are times I need a driving beat to keep moving so I'll have that ready to go when needed. Like SarahDisney I will use one earphone.

As for the weather topic, I would really, really like Sunday to be a high of 60 and cloudy until 2 pm. As a slower runner, not having the sun beating down on me for hours while on the blacktop would be nice.

 

[cavepig]

Given these possible forecasts, if I were coming from the north and training in 30s right now I'd seriously consider starting some heat acclimation training to dampen the effects of the rise in temps.

Does this really work? We'll be above average till I leave, so when I run it will be in the 30s. Normally, I wouldn't bundle up, but will wearing extra layers really help to prepare for the humidity? Even if just a little a bit I may do this, I only have 4-5 runs left here.

So what is everyone's plans for music/podcasts during the marathon?

Will you keep your headphones in the entire time? Run without? What will you listen to?

I always run without music so same for the races.

No headphones for me. I’m going to bring a small Bluetooth speaker and blast “it’s a small world” on repeat.

You really should! I ran past a lady last year with her music on full blast for all to hear.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Does this really work? We'll be above average till I leave, so when I run it will be in the 30s. Normally, I wouldn't bundle up, but will wearing extra layers really help to prepare for the humidity? Even if just a little a bit I may do this, I only have 4-5 runs left here.

The research I've read supports the idea. In practice, I've done it myself. Now obviously I don't have a cross control of myself running Disney under the same fitness/race conditions to say with complete certainty that it did improve my ability to race (or even if not choosing to race making whatever pace you choose "feel" normal). But with that being said, I came very close to what I predicted my time to be. So I am very confident from a personal standpoint that when these types of situations arise in the future I will always err on the side of heat acclimation training. Even if the temps suddenly drop back to where you were training you have little to lose. It just makes the last few taper workouts at home a tad more miserable sweating up a storm.

Ask yourself personally, when the seasons start to change from Winter->Spring->Summer and the heat and humidity rise, doesn't a temp+dew of X feel awful (X being self defined)? But after a few weeks the temp+dew continues to rise and X+20 feels awful. But the moment the temp+dew drops back down to X, suddenly X doesn't feel as bad anymore. This is a normal cycle for most all of us as the seasons change. Attempting to recreate this situation in a "micro-climate" around your body can help elicit a similar response. The body is forcing adaptations to account for the different environmental conditions that are being forced upon it. Will it work just the same as actually training in those temps? Likely not 100% matched. But it does help thin out the blood and increase the sweat rate which are things that can help the body in hotter/more humid conditions.

 

[JBinORL]

What was your POT submission? That'll be useful data because I have someone with a POT that was 5 off A as well and someone else who was just inside A cutoff.



Wow that is way off. You seem solidly in C (1:53-2:07) based on my guess. But her HM of a 1:57 is being equated to a 4:30-5:00 marathon. She would had to have a Rigel conversion just over a 1.20 instead of a 1.06 like the rest of the calculations. If she somehow even mistakenly chose a 10 mile POT instead of a HM that wouldn't make sense either because a 1:57:23 10 miler would be a non-submittable POT (cutoff of 1:56:30). I'm sure you've already told her to do so, but I would definitely think this is a case that warrants emailing Track Shack to double check their conversion.

Sorry this is so late, but I submitted a 50:22 10k

 

[TheHamm]

For those of you who park post race, what do you put in your gear check bag?

I learned DH made a 7dmt FP for 9am on Saturday, and there is no chance I can finish the half (I assume in corral E and looking for a >2.5 hr finish), bus to Pop, shower, and return to MK by the time our FP expires. Adult trip with out short people, I want to finally ride this! So, I am finishing and going to MK!
I am not sure what else I would need other than a change of clothes and sneakers, and maybe a wash cloth or wipes? My giant grin at finishing AND finally riding the ride will be enough for me to ignore all the side eye from being a disheveled and probably smelly mess, but I'd prefer not to be uncomfortable.

 

[croach]

For those of you who park post race, what do you put in your gear check bag?

I learned DH made a 7dmt FP for 9am on Saturday, and there is no chance I can finish the half (I assume in corral E and looking for a >2.5 hr finish), bus to Pop, shower, and return to MK by the time our FP expires. Adult trip with out short people, I want to finally ride this! So, I am finishing and going to MK!
I am not sure what else I would need other than a change of clothes and sneakers, and maybe a wash cloth or wipes? My giant grin at finishing AND finally riding the ride will be enough for me to ignore all the side eye from being a disheveled and probably smelly mess, but I'd prefer not to be uncomfortable.

I always throw a towel in my bag so I can wipe down or put on the seat on the bus. Body wipes are your friend - you can buy some big sport ones on Amazon.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sorry this is so late, but I submitted a 50:22 10k

Thanks for the data!

 

[Neon Cactus]

Just curious, as a friend and I have both talked about moving to the Orlando area in about four years when my youngest daughter graduates high school and is off to college. Do they have any special medal if you run every Run Disney half or more in a year at Disney World?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Just curious, as a friend and I have both talked about moving to the Orlando area in about four years when my youngest daughter graduates high school and is off to college. Do they have any special medal if you run every Run Disney half or more in a year at Disney World?

Nope

You have the gift of knowing you give Disney too much money

 

[jaxonp]

Just curious, as a friend and I have both talked about moving to the Orlando area in about four years when my youngest daughter graduates high school and is off to college. Do they have any special medal if you run every Run Disney half or more in a year at Disney World?

No but I’m surprised RD hasn’t done thi$