Marathon Weekend 2019

[Keels]

And... the Expo is SOOOO much easier to navigate...

Not to mention how easy it is to get from your hotel to the corrals.

Ugh, now I'm REALLY missing the Disneyland races. Come back sooooooooon!!

 

[SarahDisney]

SAFD - Of the races I've done, definitely World Showcase as the sun is coming up. I'm not a big Epcot fan, but something about running through WS with the torches on just as the sun is starting to come out ... it's magical.
I'm really looking forward to running down Main Street. That's got to be a magical moment.

Also, when the DL races return, I'll be super excited about Angel Stadium. I'm a huge baseball fan, so I'm bummed that I never got to do that, and I'm definitely hoping it's still part of the DL Half course when the DL races come back. (In fact, I really want to run the race through Angel Stadium and then head to a ballgame in the afternoon so that I can be in the stadium for the race and a game on the same day ... so fingers crossed that the Angels are home whenever I finally get to run the DL Half!)

 

[camaker]

In a related question, they say not to have a time goal for your first marathon. So, what do you train for? Do you assume a marathon pace that matches your best PoT? Do you assume a more realistic pace based on it being your first marathon? Or...something in between?

I think the intent of that advice is a bit different than you’re taking it. A first marathon is a big step into the unknown, with a lot of variables that don’t extrapolate as nicely as they do from the 5k to 10k to half marathon progression. As such, the advice is to not have a hard and fast time goal for your first as you get an understanding of how much different an experience the marathon is and you don’t focus too hard on pushing to an arbitrary time goal during the race itself.

It doesn’t mean “don’t train to a target pace”. You should train using the paces suggested by your current fitness. Look at a reliable pace equivalency table like Hanson’s has or use the McMillan calculator to get a marathon target pace. Train to that so you’re building on your current fitness level and not taking a step backwards. Remember to trust the plan and not get caught in the “I could never run x more miles at this pace” trap during training. That will get you to a peak fitness level for race day and you can see how it translates to a race result from there.

 

[Keels]

SAFD - Of the races I've done, definitely World Showcase as the sun is coming up. I'm not a big Epcot fan, but something about running through WS with the torches on just as the sun is starting to come out ... it's magical.
I'm really looking forward to running down Main Street. That's got to be a magical moment.

Also, when the DL races return, I'll be super excited about Angel Stadium. I'm a huge baseball fan, so I'm bummed that I never got to do that, and I'm definitely hoping it's still part of the DL Half course when the DL races come back. (In fact, I really want to run the race through Angel Stadium and then head to a ballgame in the afternoon so that I can be in the stadium for the race and a game on the same day ... so fingers crossed that the Angels are home whenever I finally get to run the DL Half!)

My first DLH weekend, my beloved Rangers were in town to play the AngeLOLs, so we went to the game on Saturday night and sat two rows behind the Rangers' dugout. Their Manager, Jeff Banister, saw all of us in our Rangers gear and chatted with us - we told him we were in town to run the half that Sunday and he wished us good luck and gave us a baseball. It was so cool to run right past the dugout where they were the night before!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

This is a fun SAFD!

The turn down MS-USA is so hard to beat! Also the finish line is always pretty magical

 

[PCFriar80]

Good morning, runDisney all-stars!

It's that time again, Sundays are for Disney! Let's jump right in...

What is your favorite segment of any runDisney race? If you haven't done a runDisney race yet, what portion of a race are you most looking forward to?

Running the Boardwalk for the 10K and getting beer samples from @Dis_Yoda after mile 4!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Thank you, that is very much what I was thinking.

Based on McMillan's calculator, my 10-mile PR would put me at a 4:51 marathon while my half marathon PR puts me at a 5:02 marathon. Technically, I am capable of a sub-5 hour marathon. But, considering it will be my first, I feel like 5:25 would be a more reasonable expectation.

When determining my training paces, which do I use? Maybe this is a question for @DopeyBadger ???

What are you recent race times within the last 6 months and are they a good assessment of current fitness (injured, bad course, raining, snowing, etc)? That's where I would start with determining training paces. Most end up using their 5k/10k times as a basis for training paces as most have the speed, but lack the endurance yet for a marathon. Then the training will end up much slower than that.

As for expectations for your first marathon. I'd leave that discussion until much closer to race day. But in general, for the people I work with we may train for a 4:45 marathon and then aim to hit a 5:00 marathon. I train everyone at current fitness, regardless of what their "A" race goal may be. Because when the next training cycle comes in Spring 2019, you'll be that much further ahead (if lowering PRs is something you strive to do). The further you get from the anticipated fitness level marathon finish time the "easier" (big quotes) it will feel. It increases the odds that the first marathon is an enjoyable experience and you can strive to chase time goals later on. Get through the first one to learn all the ins and outs to such a long duration and challenging event.

 

[JM735]

What is your favorite segment of any runDisney race? If you haven't done a runDisney race yet, what portion of a race are you most looking forward to?

It’s hard to decide between Main Street and the castle vs Epcot, when it’s still dark with the torches and music. But then there’s also the fireworks at the start. Too many things set runDisney apart - no wonder I so willingly sign up for these expensive events!

 

[CDKG]

What are you recent race times within the last 6 months and are they a good assessment of current fitness (injured, bad course, raining, snowing, etc)? That's where I would start with determining training paces. Most end up using their 5k/10k times as a basis for training paces as most have the speed, but lack the endurance yet for a marathon. Then the training will end up much slower than that.

As for expectations for your first marathon. I'd leave that discussion until much closer to race day. But in general, for the people I work with we may train for a 4:45 marathon and then aim to hit a 5:00 marathon. I train everyone at current fitness, regardless of what their "A" race goal may be. Because when the next training cycle comes in Spring 2019, you'll be that much further ahead (if lowering PRs is something you strive to do). The further you get from the anticipated fitness level marathon finish time the "easier" (big quotes) it will feel. It increases the odds that the first marathon is an enjoyable experience and you can strive to chase time goals later on. Get through the first one to learn all the ins and outs to such a long duration and challenging event.

My 10-mile and half marathon PR's were in April and May of last year. In the past 6 mo. I ran a 15k PR of 1:41 (5:07 marathon) on a very hilly course and a 10k PR of 1:03 (4:58 marathon). So, again, all of my pace estimates over the past year fall around the 5 hour mark.

I have the same 10-mile race and two half marathons scheduled before marathon training begins, so these estimates may change. I gather I should train based on my current pace estimates, realizing what happens on race day is anyone's guess!

 

[DopeyBadger]

My 10-mile and half marathon PR's were in April and May of last year. In the past 6 mo. I ran a 15k PR of 1:41 (5:07 marathon) on a very hilly course and a 10k PR of 1:03 (4:58 marathon). So, again, all of my pace estimates over the past year fall around the 5 hour mark.

I have the same 10-mile race and two half marathons scheduled before marathon training begins, so these estimates may change. I gather I should train based on my current pace estimates, realizing what happens on race day is anyone's guess!

So based on the 10k PR, I'd say these are your current fitness training paces:



I usually schedule about 80% of the training to be at LR or slower (which would be 11:54 min/mile for you). The other 20% can be a mixture of pacing at Marathon Tempo or faster. This comes from the training plan's hard days. And then there's the idea of the 150 min max LR, which for you would be 12.6 miles.

One thing I do is keep the training paces at the same spot through the duration of a training cycle. I don't like to get into the trap of always adjusting the paces down after every race that comes up. The reason is because the cardiovascular and muscular/skeletal system adapt to the training paces at different rates. Cardio in about 8 weeks and Muscle/Skeletal in about 10-12 weeks. So after 8 weeks you might see some indicators in racing or data from training that suggests you could bump it up, but your muscular/skeletal system might not be prepared to handle the new training load. So I usually reassess training paces after "A" races, or usually every 16-18 weeks (or in your case like you said after the Spring racing season is over).

 

[bevcgg]

Sundays are Disney: No doubt- my favorite is running into Cars Land/Radiator Springs as the sunrise turns everything pink! There is something special about Paradise (Pixar) Pier and Mickey's Big Wheel with the fountains lit up. I MIGHT have teared up a bit at Avengers last year- knowing that was the last time for some years to come. Or maybe it was dust in my eye....

Really missing the DL races!!

 

[Desdemona924]

Sundays are for Disney: Definitely running through CarsLand as the sun is coming up. Last year's early start meant that it was still dark when I got there this time, but it was still pretty amazing. And I love seeing Mickey's Wheel of Death and the World of Color water lights on is amazing, which was better in the darker morning. I look for to going back to DL.

At WDW, I think the first time I ran through the castle and Feed the Birds was playing was just... I can't even describe. I haven't done the shorter distances at Marathon Weekend, but I still love World Showcase because it means I'm almost done with the marathon

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sundays are for Disney:

Disneyland: Dark Disneyland Main Street

WDW: World Showcase

 

[Nole95]

Number one is running down Main Street during the half or full of marathon weekend. Nothing else really compares to that.
Number two would be the the final 2-3 miles of the marathon. Once you enter DHS, you pretty much have people cheering you on the rest of the way right when you need that extra push.

 

[croach]

Favorite segment(s)for me would probably the areas of MK - Tomorrowland and Frontierland - during the Marathon. It’s dark still so the all the lights are on and it’s relatively quiet because there’s no one there. I always enjoy seeing the parks kind of empty.

Runner up is world showcase any time because of all the sights. And during Marathon, cast members from each country are usually out cheering with there home flag. Pretty cool.

 

[ZellyB]

I'll chime in with the group that says running down Main Street is the best part of the races. Second favorite was probably running through Carsland out in DL.

 

[Chaitali]

I have two favorites, running down Main Street, which I've only done for the Marathon and for the Avengers races in Disneyland. My second favorite was the boardwalk area because you know you're close to the end and there's usually some good crowd support there

 

[lhermiston]

Favorite segment(s)for me would probably the areas of MK - Tomorrowland and Frontierland - during the Marathon. It’s dark still so the all the lights are on and it’s relatively quiet because there’s no one there. I always enjoy seeing the parks kind of empty.

Good call, re: Frontierland. It was cool seeing the park that way. Still dark, quieter and less crowded than Main Street and the castle, just the sound of feet slapping the pavement.

 

[SheHulk]

Just started thinking about maybe registering for Marathon Weekend next month. Let's check in on that thread...
1) SIXTY-SIX pages and registration hasn't happened yet??!??!!
2) @Keels WHAT is that in your avatar pic? I didn't even notice you were in the pic too for a moment.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

Just started thinking about maybe registering for Marathon Weekend next month. Let's check in on that thread...

Is it normal to feel slightly nauseated every time you think about registering for your 1st marathon?? But excited at the same time? So many emotions!