Official 2012 Princess Half Marathon Thread!

[fashionista311]

I have some questions about the itinerary. All I can find online are the dates for February 24-26. For those who have done the Princess, what is the itinerary like for that weekend? How much of your time is spent with the Princess related things (expos, race, etc.)? I'm wondering how much time we would be able to have to play at the parks.... Also, how does the transportation to and from the start/end points work? Do busses leave as soon as one fills up? Will it matter where we stay?

Kind of what everyone else said - it's kind of up to you. My group either flew or drove (parents coming from miami, the rest from tri-state area) on thurs afternoon, and checked in, grabbed a drink at the bar, ate dinner, etc. friday we went straight to the expo and were pretty in and out since race expos are pretty been-there-done-that for us, and spent most of the day friday in epcot. we did go to a park on sat - but we went to hollywood studios and didn't kill ourselves. sun was race day, and then we went to epcot for the rest of the day to hang out in the world showcase..then we went to dinner at california grill...and somehow made it to magic kingdom for extra magic hours. i have no idea how i made it through that day. we spent all of monday in magic, and then tues we did animal kingdom before flying home. my race time was what i had trained for/was predicted for at the time...so i don't think any of the parks really affected me.

we stayed at port orleans and drove to the race (since my parents had the car anyways) but i think as long as you as stay at a host hotel it doesn't really matter in terms of the buses

 

[disneyfreak1]

Maybe this question has already been asked and it may sound dumb, but I am a newbie. What should I eat the night before?

 

[fashionista311]

Maybe this question has already been asked and it may sound dumb, but I am a newbie. What should I eat the night before?

Not dumb at all - and believe me, theres always plenty of nutrition talk from both newer and veteran runners!

Traditional thought is to "carbo-load" with pasta, breads, etc - but theres plenty of evidence that it's not really necessary. sure you should slightly increase your carb intake the week before...but remember, carbs come in lots of forms (i.e. what do you think veggies are?), and it's never really a good thing to pile on tons of white, processed, carbs regardless of what you are doing. I also don't really believe training for a full marathon gives you license to eat whatever you want...so for a half marathon, certainly not.

But doing a destination race, especially in disney (which is not exactly a health spa vacation), can be tricky. I will usually start with a salad and have plain pasta (bonus points if you can find whole wheat!) with red sauce (brownie points if they can throw in veggies!) and maybe grilled chicken and/or mozz cheese. I don't eat this necessarily to "carb-load"....i just know it's a meal that's easy to digest. but that's only what works for me - I think the key is to eat early enough so you have time to digest it before bed and the meal won't sit in your stomach...and something that you know won't upset you.

 

[fashionista311]

sorry double post!

 

[stitchfan18]

Maybe this question has already been asked and it may sound dumb, but I am a newbie. What should I eat the night before?

It really depends on you and what your stomach likes. Whatever you choose to eat, make sure it's something that you are familiar with (ie: don't make a reservation to eat at a restaurant in the WS the night before if you've never had that kind of food before.) I usually eat some kind of protein, like a chicken breast or turkey and a salad.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Maybe this question has already been asked and it may sound dumb, but I am a newbie. What should I eat the night before?

I try to eat light all day long, but then again I am one who usually does not stop in any bathrooms during the race Before you ask, yes, if I had to go I would stop!

I have a normal breakfast of fruit and some kind of bar (like a Kind or 18 Rabbits), and then probably a salad for lunch with a protein. I like eating pasta the night before just because I know it is traditional, but I try to not have too much. Last year I had lasagna from the counter service place in the Swan or Dolphin (not quite sure where I was), followed by a soft serve scoop.

In the morning I have a banana and a breakfast bar prior to the race.

I absolutely agree, this is not the time to try new foods! Tried and true will get you through!

Maria

 

[Cripey]

Maybe this question has already been asked and it may sound dumb, but I am a newbie. What should I eat the night before?

I agree, eat something familiar and easily digestible. Use your training time to play around with this and see what works best for you. Last year while I was training if I would have a bad run or get stomach aches or "issues" during a long run, I would first take note of what I had eaten that day or the night before and try not to do that again. A couple of months before the race when my saturday runs started to get pretty long, I chose a "basic" meal that I knew worked well for me...for me it was a grilled balsamic chicken breast, roasted potatoes and fresh green beans...a little plate I could pick up anytime at a particular local supermarket...and one I knew would be fairly easy to replicate (almost) at Disney. I started having that meal every Friday night to get my body used to having that the night before a long run. Then, the night before the race I had dinner at Portobello...grilled chicken, roasted potates and a side of fresh steamed veggies and of course plenty of water. This seemed to work perfectly for me. Scientifically, who knows if my preparation by not changing my Friday dinners for a couple of months actaully had any effect, but at the very least it made me feel better mentally that I was doing what I could, so one less thing to stress about pre-race!

 

[HockeyKat]

Run/Walk question - I would leave your ratios the same for the long runs, and then play around a bit with the 30 min runs and see how you feel with them.


Dinner the night before - I have a no-veggie rule the day before any long run, and I try to go light on any kind of fiber. However, that's just my body. I eat a lot of fiber normally but I do find that it can cause me, umm, issues.

I made the mistake this past year of eating wheat pasta when I am not used to it, and it was a bad idea.

Best bet would be see how you react to certain foods during training and try to approximate it.

 

[ban26ana]

Dinner the night before - I have a no-veggie rule the day before any long run, and I try to go light on any kind of fiber. However, that's just my body. I eat a lot of fiber normally but I do find that it can cause me, umm, issues.

This is actually a very good suggestion, and one I hadn't thought about. I am normally a bad eater, and I'm trying to work on that. But as I increase my veggie intake, especially salad, I increase my trips to the potty. Last year I ate a big salad with my pasta dinner, because I thought veggies are better for me than pasta. Let's just say you don't want to be standing in the Princess porta potty lines if you are having stomach issues.

 

[Qltrgrl2]

I was told to avoid lots of veggies and roughage type of foods the night before a big race. Your stomach will already be jittery prior to a race and lots of fiber filled foods will be a problem. I ate pasta with chicken and vegetables (avoided most of them) and was fine for the Princess.
Happy Running!
Pam

 

[mommylo]

I know everyone recovers differently. I am signed up for the Tinkerbell 1/2 in Jan and am considering this one to get my coast to coast medal. I need to ask the gurus here: how long does it take for you guys to recover from a 1/2 marathon? Am I crazy to do another one in less than a month? TIA.
May

 

[DisneyParrothead]

This is actually a very good suggestion, and one I hadn't thought about. I am normally a bad eater, and I'm trying to work on that. But as I increase my veggie intake, especially salad, I increase my trips to the potty. Last year I ate a big salad with my pasta dinner, because I thought veggies are better for me than pasta. Let's just say you don't want to be standing in the Princess porta potty lines if you are having stomach issues.

I knew there was something positive out of not being a veggie person I wish I had known this when I was a kid battling my parents over eating veggies I didn't like.

 

[SAHDad]

I know everyone recovers differently. I am signed up for the Tinkerbell 1/2 in Jan and am considering this one to get my coast to coast medal. I need to ask the gurus here: how long does it take for you guys to recover from a 1/2 marathon? Am I crazy to do another one in less than a month? TIA.
May

Yes, everyone does recover differently, but doing two half marathons in less than a month is certainly doable. You probably won't be racing* either of them, but if your goal is to complete them, you should be fine. (Heck, if you ever decide to take the plunge and start training for a marathon, you will hit a point where you are running a long run every week that is at least as long as half marathon.)


* Racing, in the sense of running each in a full out effort, gasping for air, leaving nothing behind, and pretty much collapsing right past the finish line. That speed varies from person to person, obviously.

 

[Rose&Mike]

This is actually a very good suggestion, and one I hadn't thought about. I am normally a bad eater, and I'm trying to work on that. But as I increase my veggie intake, especially salad, I increase my trips to the potty. Last year I ate a big salad with my pasta dinner, because I thought veggies are better for me than pasta. Let's just say you don't want to be standing in the Princess porta potty lines if you are having stomach issues.

Interestingly, I eat a lot beans the week before a race. I have gluten intolerance that was just recently diagnosed and pasta, bread, etc was what was sending me to the porta potties during runs. My best advice for new runners would be to play around with what you eat before your long runs to see what works best. And don't try anything new the day before a race. We have garden grocer deliver some of our favorites so we know we will have something good to snack on the day before the race.

 

[kappyfamily]

Hi gang- About ready to book my hotel for the race. My question is was there any Disney "general public" discounts for that weekend (and I'm staying the full week after too) during that time in 2011? I know it varies year to year, just trying to get a gauge and decide if I should get a hotel on site and hope for a discount later on or book DVC thru Daves Vacation rentals right now (but will be locked in).

Confused!

Thanks for any input!
Michele

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I know everyone recovers differently. I am signed up for the Tinkerbell 1/2 in Jan and am considering this one to get my coast to coast medal. I need to ask the gurus here: how long does it take for you guys to recover from a 1/2 marathon? Am I crazy to do another one in less than a month? TIA.
May

Well, it's not quite as quick, but I did the Half in Jan. and Princess at the end of Feb. this year, and PR'd with each one! I have quite a bit of weight to lose, and took some off in between, so I'm sure that made a difference, too.

I don't think you're crazy, but I do think you'll want to be really gentle with yourself in between and make sure you are getting plenty of rest.

Maria

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi gang- About ready to book my hotel for the race. My question is was there any Disney "general public" discounts for that weekend (and I'm staying the full week after too) during that time in 2011? I know it varies year to year, just trying to get a gauge and decide if I should get a hotel on site and hope for a discount later on or book DVC thru Daves Vacation rentals right now (but will be locked in).

Confused!

Thanks for any input!
Michele

Well, I didn't find any great rates for the weekend, just booked AAA with a 10% discount. It's Feb Vacation week in the Northeast, and they don't have any problem selling the rooms. Also, every hotel onsite is not a host hotel for Princess (unlike WDW marathon weekend), so if you want to use the expo/race transportation, you need to make sure you stay at a host hotel, or you can get yourself to one. The week after the rates were lower. I stayed until Wednesday and that was more reasonable.

Maria

 

[kappyfamily]

Well, I didn't find any great rates for the weekend, just booked AAA with a 10% discount. It's Feb Vacation week in the Northeast, and they don't have any problem selling the rooms. Also, every hotel onsite is not a host hotel for Princess (unlike WDW marathon weekend), so if you want to use the expo/race transportation, you need to make sure you stay at a host hotel, or you can get yourself to one. The week after the rates were lower. I stayed until Wednesday and that was more reasonable.

Maria

thanks for the quick response Maria. Do you remember there being any discounts the week after the race? I'm pretty much guessing there wont be any for the Fri, Sat before as well as race day. thanks!

Also, anybody have experience booking with Daves Vacations for DVC rentals?

 

[fashionista311]

I know everyone recovers differently. I am signed up for the Tinkerbell 1/2 in Jan and am considering this one to get my coast to coast medal. I need to ask the gurus here: how long does it take for you guys to recover from a 1/2 marathon? Am I crazy to do another one in less than a month? TIA.
May

It really depends on the speed you take each race. If you take Tinkerbell at your full own race pace - you might need about a week to two weeks (depending on how you body reacts) before you can go ahead and go into your weekly mileage. That won't leave you much time for Princess, but you should still have your fitness level from Tinkerbell and you should be able to complete the distance no problem, just not at the same pace most likely. On the other hand, if you take Tinkerbell as more of a "training run" pace...you won't need much downtime, and can make Princess your "PR" race. Or, you can take both of them equally slower, stop for pictures, etc and enjoy Disney. So yes, you can do both, just don't expect to PR at both.

 

[fashionista311]

Fyi if anyone is on twitter and is by their computer now - running extraordinaire Bart Yasso is taking questions on half marathoning