Official 2011 Princess Half Marathon Thread - Link to new thread Post 3703!

[El&Asmom]

good morning everyone!

i just completed a 5k (by myself) and have my sights set on doing the princess half marathon. i am a SLOW runner and am still huffing and puffing even just to complete one mile.

the half is 6 months away and i really want to do it. i haven't signed up yet. i may have to do it all on my own too. my husband won't really be able to take any time off and i can't bring my one year old with me while i run! i'm a little nervous about that so i'm hoping that maybe i can find some online support through all of this.

i have to go back and read everything on this thread but i wanted to say hello first and introduce myself. i'm nancy and i want to run this for ME. i'll be 30 in october, i have a one year old boy, and i want to run this to prove to myself that i can do anything i put my mind to! i'm also looking for any advice on training and gear for a biggish gal!

Welcome neighbor! You can totally do it. I have a 20m old, (and 4 and 7 yo). I just started really working out again about 6 months ago. I'm up to running 6 miles on my long runs, and can easily go 3-4m now without much effort. In May, I could hardly run a block! There is no way back then that I would have thought I could run a half, now I'm really looking forward to it, and am doing my first triathlon next weekend.
Take your time working up the miles, and have fun. The best part of this training has been taking the time out for myself after so many years of focusing on my kids and job.

 

[MamaCrush]

The best part of this training has been taking the time out for myself after so many years of focusing on my kids and job.

That is so true! Now that my DS is 10 and DD is 8, I feel like I can take some time for myself now. I was the typical cliche-- I let myself go in the interest of taking care of my family. And it definitely helps that my kids and DH are happy that I'm now getting healthy.

I never understood the attraction of running because it seemed so difficult. Now I understand that in some ways, that is it's attraction! I feel that if I can conquer a 5K and then a half-- I can conquer any other challenges in my life.

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

i just completed a 5k (by myself) and have my sights set on doing the princess half marathon. i am a SLOW runner and am still huffing and puffing even just to complete one mile.
i'll be 30 in october, i have a one year old boy, and i want to run this to prove to myself that i can do anything i put my mind to!

LoL I think most of us feel that we are a slow runner. I started running about 8 months ago and I was doing 14:30 for 1 mile, but in only a couple of months I was up to 3 miles and down to a low 12 minute pace. I still feel that I am pretty slow since I would like to be in the 10 mm range, but I am sure even if I made it there I would still feel slow.

I turned 30 in Dec and also have a 1 year old boy.

That is so true! Now that my DS is 10 and DD is 8, I feel like I can take some time for myself now. I was the typical cliche-- I let myself go in the interest of taking care of my family.
I never understood the attraction of running because it seemed so difficult. Now I understand that in some ways, that is it's attraction! I feel that if I can conquer a 5K and then a half-- I can conquer any other challenges in my life.

I am another one who let myself go for the sake of my family. The 4 pgs didn't help much either.

ITA about the difficulty being part of the attraction. I feel the reward is greater and I just love being able to say "I did 3 miles today". Non-runners always seem so impressed.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I don't think that there is one person on this thread that is interested in being the first to finish this race. I think the majority of us decided to take this step because it seemed so impossible. Plus, it isn't like everyone has run a half or full in their lifetime and received a pretty fancy medal just for finishing it! My main goal was to just stay under the 16 min. threshold per mile. I soon found that a 4.0 speed setting was sufficient for 15 min. per mile. So, I stuck with it until it got easier. The good news for anyone with doubts is that your pace will automatically go up on raceday! Having the competition of those around you, the distractions, music, cold weather (you speed up to warm up), etc. is such a great booster.

I don't know about all of you...what levels you are all at, etc. but I can tell you that training is the tedious part, and anxiety will be there up until your corral starts. But, all of a sudden things get better and it doesn't seem nearly as impossible or crazy and you will enjoy yourself. Getting that medal is just the icing on the cake! Even with stopping and being stuck in portapotty lines for what seemed to be an eternity, I never even got close to the 16 min. threshold. In training, there were plenty of times that I did. So, now that I am balancing my water intake so that the portapotties will just be the scenery (hopefully) that I pass, I anticipate that my finish time will go up a bit at the Disneyland Half if I use the same strategies I did for the Princess in March.

The preparation for the race is never fun but you will have a blast once you get to WDW even if it is super cold again! You are all an inspiration!

 

[jenelope]

For me, the Princess Half is a combination family trip/birthday party/culmination of my goals and training. The half is nine days before my 40th birthday and is a key event in my goal of being fit by 40! My cousin also planned on walking it to celebrate her 40th, but she is limited by lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. I told her that if she was unable to do the half, we would walk the 5K on Saturday together and she could cheer me on for the half on Sunday with the rest of my family. I think we'll wear our tiaras for the 5K and I'll wait for the end of the half to be crowned by my very own Queen Mum. I think there's a tiara printed Bondi Band that will be a nice nod to Princess-hood without actually running in a tiara.

I might wear the "Slow is the new fast" Bondi Band, instead, though. I'm running 2:1 minute intervals right now and I'm right around a 13 minute mile. I might try to move up to a 3:1 interval by February, but to be honest, as long as I get my mileage up, I'm okay with that pace. A 13 minute mile pace for 13.1 miles gets me a finisher's medal (and maybe a high-five from Mickey) and that's all I really want. The nice thing about being a newbie runner is I'm pretty much guaranteed a PR!

I made my reservations for the post-race family vacation the other day. I have two studios and one two bedroom at Kidani from Sunday-Friday. (And I'll have no points available until August of 2012!) Still need to figure out where I'm staying race weekend. Part of me wants to be practical and stay in a value resort, but a bigger part of me is whispering "AKL... AKL... you know you love it!"

 

[NCrunner]

For me, the Princess Half is a combination family trip/birthday party/culmination of my goals and training. The half is nine days before my 40th birthday and is a key event in my goal of being fit by 40! My cousin also planned on walking it to celebrate her 40th, but she is limited by lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. I told her that if she was unable to do the half, we would walk the 5K on Saturday together and she could cheer me on for the half on Sunday with the rest of my family. I think we'll wear our tiaras for the 5K and I'll wait for the end of the half to be crowned by my very own Queen Mum. I think there's a tiara printed Bondi Band that will be a nice nod to Princess-hood without actually running in a tiara.

I might wear the "Slow is the new fast" Bondi Band, instead, though. I'm running 2:1 minute intervals right now and I'm right around a 13 minute mile. I might try to move up to a 3:1 interval by February, but to be honest, as long as I get my mileage up, I'm okay with that pace. A 13 minute mile pace for 13.1 miles gets me a finisher's medal (and maybe a high-five from Mickey) and that's all I really want. The nice thing about being a newbie runner is I'm pretty much guaranteed a PR!

I made my reservations for the post-race family vacation the other day. I have two studios and one two bedroom at Kidani from Sunday-Friday. (And I'll have no points available until August of 2012!) Still need to figure out where I'm staying race weekend. Part of me wants to be practical and stay in a value resort, but a bigger part of me is whispering "AKL... AKL... you know you love it!"

Mousejunkie! Love that!! THere are more of us out there than I ever knew! Thought I was all alone in the WDW race is the reason and motivation for my running! I am actually thinking of splurging for the Poly for the race! Thats how excited I am!

 

[Lexxie&Nicky]

Mousejunkie! Love that!! THere are more of us out there than I ever knew! Thought I was all alone in the WDW race is the reason and motivation for my running! I am actually thinking of splurging for the Poly for the race! Thats how excited I am!

I am also one that the Princess is the main reason/focus of my desire to run.
If not for that, I would still be sitting on my couch waiting to turn into a real potato

 

[HockeyKat]

The expo is amazing, I was their for 5 hours and LOVED IT!!!

Now I will not even consider an half without an EXPO that is how much I loved it!!

The Chicago RnR half had a GREAT expo!! I thought it was even better than the Princess. A lot more free samples.

good morning everyone!

i just completed a 5k (by myself) and have my sights set on doing the princess half marathon. i am a SLOW runner and am still huffing and puffing even just to complete one mile.

the half is 6 months away and i really want to do it. i haven't signed up yet. i may have to do it all on my own too. my husband won't really be able to take any time off and i can't bring my one year old with me while i run! i'm a little nervous about that so i'm hoping that maybe i can find some online support through all of this.

i have to go back and read everything on this thread but i wanted to say hello first and introduce myself. i'm nancy and i want to run this for ME. i'll be 30 in october, i have a one year old boy, and i want to run this to prove to myself that i can do anything i put my mind to! i'm also looking for any advice on training and gear for a biggish gal!

I am also a slow runner and likely couldn't run a whole mile straight. I do run/walk intervals exactly like jenelope described. That's taken me through 2 half marathons this year, including an under 3 hour.

I have found that shopping in the men's department is a bigger girl's best friend. I started this journey at 5'8", 220, and a women's XL wasn't cutting it. Even at 175, I am still a women's L/XL and at 150 (thin) I would be in the M/L range.

My shoe size in running shoes is a 10.5 (as you want to go a half size bigger), and good luck finding that! So I have moved to men's shoes.

I have the same problem with short length... with a 34" inseam a lot of the women's compression shorts and such are just too short, ride up, and having the resulting chafing issues.

There is a lot of stuff, but if you are interested in clothing and want smaller sizes, you will have a hard time finding anything. Oh well, in the end it worked out great for my budget because the running skirts they had were too large, (I tend to wear small and that size was pretty much non-existent.

I could be thin to the point of emaciated and would still be a medium.

I might wear the "Slow is the new fast" Bondi Band, instead, though. I'm running 2:1 minute intervals right now and I'm right around a 13 minute mile. I might try to move up to a 3:1 interval by February, but to be honest, as long as I get my mileage up, I'm okay with that pace. A 13 minute mile pace for 13.1 miles gets me a finisher's medal (and maybe a high-five from Mickey) and that's all I really want. The nice thing about being a newbie runner is I'm pretty much guaranteed a PR!

I do *exactly* the same thing, except my 2:1 in shorter runs is an 11-12 min mile.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

you gals all rock! thank you for the lovely support! i'm glad i joined here!

i might have to carry a sign on race day identifying myself. it's looking more and more like i will have to go down to orlando and run the race by myself. it's a little sad, actually, to not have anyone congratulate me when i finish

that being said, i told myself that i was doing this race for ME so being alone is ok...right?

 

[poohs4me]

How do you get faster? Right now I am at 15 minute miles. I can do that for 8 miles, so it seems I can build up endurance, but how about speed.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

you gals all rock! thank you for the lovely support! i'm glad i joined here!

i might have to carry a sign on race day identifying myself. it's looking more and more like i will have to go down to orlando and run the race by myself. it's a little sad, actually, to not have anyone congratulate me when i finish

that being said, i told myself that i was doing this race for ME so being alone is ok...right?

You are never alone! There is something special about being congratulated by strangers and new friends. You know they are being genuine when your family is obligated to do that!

As far as speed, I have found running an advanced hill program on the treadmill a couple times a week has made a difference. Otherwise, things get easier and if you say run for an hour each time, you will find your distance increasing. But I only find that with the treadmill training.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

How do you get faster? Right now I am at 15 minute miles. I can do that for 8 miles, so it seems I can build up endurance, but how about speed.

Try running a little faster for less miles.

 

[cewait]

How do you get faster? Right now I am at 15 minute miles. I can do that for 8 miles, so it seems I can build up endurance, but how about speed.

Attention – Coach’s Chalk talk

Four things will help you get faster and three are in your control.

1. Hill Work – Disney is flat but hill workouts remain in order. Hills are speed work in disguise. I am a firm believer in doing hill work on a treadmill as I know how severe the hill is and I can tune the treadmill slope to add small increments of intensity. Also, I live in a coastal plain so anything resembling a hill takes 5-10 seconds to climb.
   
   My favorite hill workout is a hill-strength workout. It warms up for 5 minutes at 2% incline. After the warm-up we set the mill at 6% for 2 minutes, 7% for 2 minutes… up to 10% for 2 minutes. This is repeated 5 times. The intensity reaches the very upper edge of the aerobic zone or the point where you may be able to say 2-3 words per breath. Ideally once on the hill you keep the speed constant through the workout. It is OK to walk BUT the intensity MUST be there or you minimize the gain.
   
   The next Hill workout is a hill interval workout. Several iterations exist but one of the easiest to follow is a pyramid set of hills. Again warm up for 5 minutes then set the elevation at 6% for 3 minutes pushing up to the point where you may be able to say 3-5 words per minute. Then it is down for 1 minute and then back up to 7% for 3 minutes. Then ending intensity should be a little higher. Then down to 2% for a minute and up to 8%....following the pattern it is 6-7-8-8-7-6-6-7-8-8-7-6. Do the math and you end up working for about 50 minutes. Note that it is OK to walk on the 2% segments but do not swell there long.
   
   
2. Speed work is the next. There are several speed workouts but the most common are interval workouts. Your interval distance can be anything from 100 yards to a mile. The recovery distance should be about half the distance of the interval. I would start with only 4-5 intervals and work up o no more than 10. You can also do time based intervals where you run hard for a minute to maybe 5-6 minutes. Recovery should be about half the time.
   
   Another speed workout is a tempo run. Simply you run hard for a period of 15-50 minutes. Ideally this is faster than a 10k pace but below a 5k pace. I never really understand what that means so run it at intensity where you can only say 2-5 words per breath. You want to keep the pace constant as long as possible. Start with a short run in the 15 minute range and work up to the 50 minute range.
   
   NOTE – Hill work will tax the hamstring and inner quads. That is a good thing as one of the more common runner overuse injuries is ‘runner’s knee’ – an over use injury where the patella is pulled slightly out of grove and then is inflamed. The typical runner ‘falls’ from stride to stride essentially running on the outer quads. This over strengthens that set of muscles while the inner quads grow weak in relation. This pulls the knee cap off track towards the stronger outer muscle.
   
   Hill work allows you to run with a more balanced muscle and trains you to recruit the hams in the stride. This creates speed due to the added length strength.
   
   Speed work on the other hand focuses you on leg turn over. Simply states running speed is stride length x leg speed. Optimum length is genetic so all you can work on is turn over.
   
   I default to hill work over speed work if given a choice. There is a lower chance of injury on hill work than speed.
   
   
3. Weight loss is another way to increase speed. There is a rule of thumb that says you gain about the same percentage in speed as the percentage weight lost. I know looking at some of my numbers that this is close but it also works off having similar levels of fitness.
   
   
4. The one item entirely out of your control is the weather. With late summer temps and humidity you are speed limited by your ability to shed heat. You may see about a minute a mile for every 30F loss in temp – down to about 65F. So expect no more than a minute with this.

This is just a basic list of things you can and should incorporate in a well balanced training program. Fell free to ask questions. I had to skip over a boat load of detail.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Thanks Charles! I love hill work and hope others will too. There is just something different about it. A nice challenge I guess. But, I do feel so much stronger now that I have incorporated it into my training. The treadmill with a flat workout is so boring, even when the best movie is on to watch but the hill workout keeps me going and I seem to lose track of time. I wish I had started it a lot earlier.

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

I think there's a tiara printed Bondi Band that will be a nice nod to Princess-hood without actually running in a tiara.

I'm running 2:1 minute intervals right now and I'm right around a 13 minute mile. I might try to move up to a 3:1 interval by February, but to be honest, as long as I get my mileage up, I'm okay with that pace. A 13 minute mile pace for 13.1 miles gets me a finisher's medal (and maybe a high-five from Mickey) and that's all I really want. The nice thing about being a newbie runner is I'm pretty much guaranteed a PR!

I am going to have to see if I can find the tiara Bondi Band.

I have been running 3:2 intervals and am in the high 12 to low 13 mm range, but I have the same feelings as you; as long as I can keep my pace the same and up my mileage enough I will be happy. Although I think in another month or so I will be switching to 4:1 and I am a little nervous about that.

Mousejunkie! Love that!! THere are more of us out there than I ever knew! Thought I was all alone in the WDW race is the reason and motivation for my running! I am actually thinking of splurging for the Poly for the race! Thats how excited I am!

I am also one that the Princess is the main reason/focus of my desire to run.
If not for that, I would still be sitting on my couch waiting to turn into a real potato

Me too. I started running before I knew of the race, but I find it helpful and much more motivating to have the princess half as my goal. I know for sure if I wasn't training for it I would not be running as regularly or doing as much mileage as I am.

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

it's looking more and more like i will have to go down to orlando and run the race by myself. it's a little sad, actually, to not have anyone congratulate me when i finish

that being said, i told myself that i was doing this race for ME so being alone is ok...right?

I know how you feel. I was hoping my sister was going to run with me but she wont be, so I asked my mom to come watch me and she is still him ha-ing around about it so I may be by myself too.

How do you get faster? Right now I am at 15 minute miles. I can do that for 8 miles, so it seems I can build up endurance, but how about speed.

This kind of tends to be my problem too. I just get in my comfortable pace and go, regardless of whether I am doing two miles or four. I think Charles has some good tips. I know right now for me weather is a huge part of it. My run on Thursday had a "feels like" of about 10 degrees cooler then the run before and my pace definitely reflected that.

 

[Jeter02]

Great tips Charles! Thanks for sharing. My run this morning went rather nice. It seems my pacing is about 12:46 per mile. You have no idea how thrilled I am. I just went back to training on Thursday due to being out of comission for the past 3 weeks becasue of a pinched nerve in shouulder/arm.

I couldn't agree with the majority on here. As happy as I am with my steady pacing, I am happy to be under the 16 min per mile. The main goal is just to finish, I am not to worried what time I finish.

I also read the part on how many people end up taking off their tiaras and tutus becasue is bothers them when they run. I was telling this my brother who is avid runner and marathon participant. He told me to go for the tutu. As he put it these races are suppose to be fun, so enjoy it. If your worried about timing then he could understand, but if its just to finish it, be a little silly and enjoy it

Well 2 more weeks till my first 5k and super excited to how a race day is like

KEEP UP THE FABULOUS WORK EVERYONE! YOU ARE ALL DOING AWESOME !!!!!!

 

[dumbo_buddy]

ugh! so after my "long" run of 4.6 miles yesterday (hey, it's long for me!) my knees are KILLING me. i was up all night because of it.

i decided not to run today to try to rest the knees. i did some yoga instead.

does anyone have advice on knee pain and how to help it? is it better to rest a day or run through the pain?

i really hope i figure this out because i just HAVE to do this race!!!

i saw the video of last year's race and cried my eyes out

 

[Jeter02]

ugh! so after my "long" run of 4.6 miles yesterday (hey, it's long for me!) my knees are KILLING me. i was up all night because of it.

i decided not to run today to try to rest the knees. i did some yoga instead.

does anyone have advice on knee pain and how to help it? is it better to rest a day or run through the pain?

i really hope i figure this out because i just HAVE to do this race!!!

i saw the video of last year's race and cried my eyes out

I'm going to say ice the knee (otherwise I don't know to much in this department).

Congrats on your job well done on your long run! I will be doing my 4 mile run next week. I would definelty rest a day, DO NOT run if your are hurting or in pain. I think that's the worst thing you can do is run through the pain. Your muscles strenghten the most when you are resting. You will only irrate and aggervate your knee if you continue to push on it.

 

[cewait]

ugh! so after my "long" run of 4.6 miles yesterday (hey, it's long for me!) my knees are KILLING me. i was up all night because of it.

i decided not to run today to try to rest the knees. i did some yoga instead.

does anyone have advice on knee pain and how to help it? is it better to rest a day or run through the pain?
i really hope i figure this out because i just HAVE to do this race!!!

i saw the video of last year's race and cried my eyes out

A good rule of thumb to follow is that if the discomfort is in soft tissue (i.e. muscle) then it's OK to attempt to run through it as long as you don't push..... if it is hard tissue or a joint do not push through the pain.

Best to ice for inflamation, compression for comfort and rest for a few days. The ice causes the small micro tears to stop bleeding. The propoer way to ice is to place the ice on the afflected area for 10 minutes (keeping a damp cloth between the ice and tissue). Then take the ice off for 10 minutes and repeat. After a few days if still in pain heat will work better to help get healing blood flow moving.

I would suggest a NSAID to helpw with the pain and to reduce inflamation while you are on injured reserve.

Finally, if you cannot run again in a week see a doctor.