Official 2012 Princess Half Marathon Thread!

[stitchfan18]

WHAT??????? Y'all lose toenails????? OK that just kinda freaked me out! Is that normal? I haven't ever lost a toenail and now I'm a little scared!! Am I about to start losing toenails??? Does it hurt? Do they grow back? YIKES!!!!

I don't think it happens to everyone. *Knock on wood* I've never had problems with sore toes, black toenails, or losing toenails. My shoes seems to have a roomier toe box though.

 

[HockeyKat]

I've lost a toenail too, but that was before I got a half size bigger shoes.

I have driven to the race both in 2010 and 2011 and did not find the traffic to be too bad.

 

[saysay]

If you are not staying at a Disney resort, parking at the parks is $14 per day - but you can leave and come back or go to anther park each day - pay the fee once and if you leave or go to another you just show your parking receipt. I have an Annual Pass which also is free parking.

As for TOES, never had one fall off. I do go up a 1/2 size in my shoes. My husband on the other hand who plays volleyball has lost toenail a few times. Right now both his 2nd toes are black/blue. He says it doesn't hurt.

We stayed at the Swan last year and drove ourselves to the race, it wasn't too bad. Yeah there was traffic, but it moved.

 

[Nishmom]

I don't think it happens to everyone. *Knock on wood* I've never had problems with sore toes, black toenails, or losing toenails. My shoes seems to have a roomier toe box though.

I've never had problems with black toenails (hubby hasn't either) but that's probably because we buy a half size larger shoe than normal. I have lots of toe pains if I don't work really hard to keep them relaxed and push off properly, so a roomy toebox is a necessity. As for minimalist shoes, a few days ago I bought a pair of Asics Gel Blurs, which are advertised as minimalist but are really kind of in between my trusty Gel Nimbus and the Saucony Kinvaras I got to try. The Kinvaras don't give me quite enough cushioning for running but are great to wear around everyday. The Nimbus will still be my go to shoe for long runs but I'll probably continue to use the Blurs for the weekday short runs. My feet are absolutely awful, hurt all the time, so this high praise for the Blurs does not come easily!

 

[freepixie]

*breathing a sigh of relief*

Thanks ladies I was having a minor panic attack with the toes thing - I also size up a half for my running shoes - so hopefully I will be OK!!

 

[stitchfan18]

It's funny that you all mention that you had to size up 1/2 a size in your shoes. I'm the opposite and had to size down 1/2 a size.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

*breathing a sigh of relief*

Thanks ladies I was having a minor panic attack with the toes thing - I also size up a half for my running shoes - so hopefully I will be OK!!

This was the first year I lost one, but I'll say it wasn't entirely due to training. I play in a soccer league in the spring and fall for fun and I got stepped on during a game. Usually my nails are just bruised after that happens and stay on, but I began my training near the end of the season. I guess taking no time off was too much strain on it

 

[Cripey]

I went up to 11 miles this year in training for the Princess and never once had any trouble or discomfort with my toes. I wore the same shoes for the race that I always wore for long runs and ended up with toe discomfort after the race (never noticed anything during the race thank goodness!) and 2 bruised toenails...the second toe on each foot...so I guess it was the extra 2.1 miles that did it FWIW, neither one of them fell off. Eventually the bruised color went away and as it's growing out there's just a little "ridge" in the nail where the bruising was...but it's nearly grown out on both now. So even if you bruise, you still may not lose the nail. I'll be curious to see if this happens again at the DL half...I've done the same training and already completed the longest run with no discomfort or bruising, but those last couple of miles might ruin it again!!!

 

[Cripey]

I've never had problems with black toenails (hubby hasn't either) but that's probably because we buy a half size larger shoe than normal. I have lots of toe pains if I don't work really hard to keep them relaxed and push off properly, so a roomy toebox is a necessity. As for minimalist shoes, a few days ago I bought a pair of Asics Gel Blurs, which are advertised as minimalist but are really kind of in between my trusty Gel Nimbus and the Saucony Kinvaras I got to try. The Kinvaras don't give me quite enough cushioning for running but are great to wear around everyday. The Nimbus will still be my go to shoe for long runs but I'll probably continue to use the Blurs for the weekday short runs. My feet are absolutely awful, hurt all the time, so this high praise for the Blurs does not come easily!

I'm interested to know how the Blurs work out for you. I spotted a pair last weekend...mostly because the lime green caught my eye and I thought it would be cute for the Tinkerbell half (yeah, I know this is not the right way to pick out running shoes!! )...I tried them on and they did feel really comfortable on my foot. Right now I wear Asics Cumulus and the pair I'm in now for long runs are fairly new so don't need to plop down $90 yet to try a new shoe out. I'm hoping that by the time I start phasing my current long run shoes out I might be able to find the green/white blurs on sale for a trial.

 

[Nishmom]

I'm interested to know how the Blurs work out for you. I spotted a pair last weekend...mostly because the lime green caught my eye and I thought it would be cute for the Tinkerbell half (yeah, I know this is not the right way to pick out running shoes!! )...I tried them on and they did feel really comfortable on my foot. Right now I wear Asics Cumulus and the pair I'm in now for long runs are fairly new so don't need to plop down $90 yet to try a new shoe out. I'm hoping that by the time I start phasing my current long run shoes out I might be able to find the green/white blurs on sale for a trial.

So far they are working out well, after 3 or 4 runs in them. I did some speed work today in them and it was actually **fun**! I'll go back to the Nimbus for Sunday's long run, but will keep up weekday running in the Blurs, and I'll keep you posted on how they are working out. (had a $15 off coupon at Dick's for the Blurs purchase)

 

[DisneyBoyz]

Tell me if this is a good idea or a bad idea because it wont work. 2012 will be my first Half, and we are staying at Bay Lake Tower.

I was thinking that my DH and DS4 & DS7 would be able to walk to the course to cheer me on as I pass them ~around mile 4.5. If I were to wear a jacket, would I be able to toss it to him then?

I was going to have my cell phone on me as well, so I could text him with any supplies I might need as well. Would he be able to pass off anything to me like gels or anything? Maybe could he give me my small camera then so I wouldn't have to carry it the first 4.5 miles? (Are there any characters on the route before you reach the MK?

Ready to try out my new heart rate monitor for my early Saturday am run...

 

[John VN]

Tell me if this is a good idea or a bad idea because it wont work. 2012 will be my first Half, and we are staying at Bay Lake Tower.

I was thinking that my DH and DS4 & DS7 would be able to walk to the course to cheer me on as I pass them ~around mile 4.5. If I were to wear a jacket, would I be able to toss it to him then?

I was going to have my cell phone on me as well, so I could text him with any supplies I might need as well. Would he be able to pass off anything to me like gels or anything? Maybe could he give me my small camera then so I wouldn't have to carry it the first 4.5 miles? (Are there any characters on the route before you reach the MK?

Ready to try out my new heart rate monitor for my early Saturday am run...

Should be no problem. DW had a bag with water bottle and a banana for me when I passed her this past Marathon.

Have fun with the HR monitor.

 

[slp1650]

I went up to 11 miles this year in training for the Princess and never once had any trouble or discomfort with my toes. I wore the same shoes for the race that I always wore for long runs and ended up with toe discomfort after the race (never noticed anything during the race thank goodness!) and 2 bruised toenails...the second toe on each foot...so I guess it was the extra 2.1 miles that did it FWIW, neither one of them fell off. Eventually the bruised color went away and as it's growing out there's just a little "ridge" in the nail where the bruising was...but it's nearly grown out on both now. So even if you bruise, you still may not lose the nail. I'll be curious to see if this happens again at the DL half...I've done the same training and already completed the longest run with no discomfort or bruising, but those last couple of miles might ruin it again!!!

I lost one toe nail right before the Disneyland Half last year during one of my longer runs and then I lost another toe nail during the actual race (DL). I ended up pulling my nails out because they felt uncomfortable just hanging there.

Now, I didn't train up to the mileage I did for the DL Half when I trained for the Princess because I was dealing with an ankle injury. So I didn't lose any nails then, nor did I lose any at the race. One pinky toe nail sometimes grows in funny, but I keep it trimmed so it's not an issue...

I'm curious as to what will happen for me at the DL 1/2 in 2 weeks because my distance training is nowhere near where it should be. Maybe the extreme increase in distance will cause something or maybe my toe nails have just gotten stronger... I guess I'll be finding out soon enough!

 

[DisneyBoyz]

End of Galloway week 1: ran 3.3 miles this am with a 13:50 pace, including cool down & warm ups. Also tried out my new Garmin Forerunner 405. Honestly, I prefer my Droid app RunKeeper and will continue to use that.
However, the Garmin records my heart rate which is VERY important to me. My highest rate was 175, which is good. Nothing scary from any of the downloaded results. Pricey piece of equipment though, but worth it to me for the feedback.
I also opted to skip my Weight Watchers meeting this am as I wasn't sure how much fluids I'd be taking on. Lifetime membership has its rewards!

 

[kmchisholm]

Been following and was honestly a little disappointed that I haven't had any bruised toes yet - thoughts, does this mean I'm not working hard enough, is this a sign that I'm not a real runner? That was until I realized my toenails on the smaller toes were cracking - yes, some progress

Ran 5 miles this morning right at 1 hr, not going for speed, just endurance. Having some new aches and pains with these Saucony's I bought a few weeks ago. Was a Nike girl but switched when I found out I was running in a 1/2 size too small but the 8's swallowed me. Had a few issues with the way these fit across my foot, but trying different looping styles and they actual worked. 12 more weeks till the 1/2 here in Richmond, but more importantly 7 more weeks till the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot! Looking forward to a different place to run as I'm planning to run a few mornings around the Lake between BWV and Beach Club.

Keep it up ladies!

 

[ColleenG]

For those of you who have had stress fractures from shin splints, what did your doctor advise you to do? I saw the doc this week and my knee tendonitis is all better, but my shin still bothers me. He didn't tell me it was a stress fracture until I heard him dictating as I was walking down the hall. He didn't say don't run. I really don't want to take more time off, but I also don't want to make it worse.

 

[kmg148]

Finally registered last night!

I've been doing the Galloway 10k plan, but it really doesn't work with my schedule. I checked out the schedule he made for the January half marathon and decided to start that on Monday and work on it until the schedule for the Princess kicks in.

Who here has done the Galloway plan posted on the RunDisney site? I'm not trying to be skeptical--I've just never seen a plan that only has you run 3 days a week and I'm worried I won't be prepared. I'd love to hear stories of success!

 

[HockeyKat]

End of Galloway week 1: ran 3.3 miles this am with a 13:50 pace, including cool down & warm ups. Also tried out my new Garmin Forerunner 405. Honestly, I prefer my Droid app RunKeeper and will continue to use that.
However, the Garmin records my heart rate which is VERY important to me. My highest rate was 175, which is good. Nothing scary from any of the downloaded results. Pricey piece of equipment though, but worth it to me for the feedback.
I also opted to skip my Weight Watchers meeting this am as I wasn't sure how much fluids I'd be taking on. Lifetime membership has its rewards!

I have a 405 and like it a lot. It does take some getting used to, though, I don't think I got it right until about the 4th run with it!

For those of you who have had stree fractures from shin splints, what did your doctor advise you to do? I saw the doc this week and my knee tendonitis is all better, but my shin still bothers me. He didn't tell me it was a stress fracture until i heard him dictating as I was walking down the hall. He didn't say don't run. I really don't want to take more time off, but I also don't want to make it worse.

I was in a walking boot for 8 weeks with strict orders for no impact exercise until the boot came off and I was fully healed (passed the tuning fork test and could jump on that foot alone with no pain).

How did he diagnose the stress fracture? Did they do an xray or bone scan?

This sounds like something your doctor should be discussing with you in more detail.

Finally registered last night!

I've been doing the Galloway 10k plan, but it really doesn't work with my schedule. I checked out the schedule he made for the January half marathon and decided to start that on Monday and work on it until the schedule for the Princess kicks in.

Who here has done the Galloway plan posted on the RunDisney site? I'm not trying to be skeptical--I've just never seen a plan that only has you run 3 days a week and I'm worried I won't be prepared. I'd love to hear stories of success!

I have been following Galloway for 18 months and have never done more than 3 days a week of running training. I have completed 5 half marathons, all but one (the one after the recovery from the stress fracture mentioned above!) well under the time limit.

 

[kmg148]

I have been following Galloway for 18 months and have never done more than 3 days a week of running training. I have completed 5 half marathons, all but one (the one after the recovery from the stress fracture mentioned above!) well under the time limit.

At what pace are your walk and your run segments?

 

[HockeyKat]

At what pace are your walk and your run segments?

Right now, I am doing 1:1s for my 2 weekly short runs (2-3 miles) and averaging 11:30-12 min miles. My weekend long run is done "Galloway" style (2 min slower than race pace + more for heat per his recommendation), so are more in the 15mm range. Long runs are done with intervals at 1:30 min run, 1 min walk.

If I am on a treadmill for a short run, I run at 5.3-5.5 and walk at 4-4.2. Treadmill for a long run is thankfully something I haven't yet had to do.