Official 2012 Princess Half Marathon Thread!

[runner_princess]

Hi everyone! New here, and about 99% sure that I'll be Princess again in 2012!!! Nice to meet you!

 

[Nishmom]

here you go... http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/TeamSparkle

and it looks like they just posted a new one for a Tinkerbell look...perfect because I'm registered for that one too!!!

Wow!! I hadn't heard of Team Sparkle before, but it's now love at first sight!! What great colors and looks!! Thanks so much for posting the FB link, which let me find the website.

 

[kmg148]

Thanks for the link! I'm trying to figure out how to do my Mary Poppins costume! (and if people will actually get it and know who I'm supposed to be...lol!)

I'm with whoever said they are starting their 10k training! I began mine this week!

Maybe some of you know this. Is there anything you can buy that updates with your current MPH? I mostly run on a treadmill, and it's impossible for me to pace myself correctly when not on it. I can't seem to find anything (except expensive watches) that will just allow me to know what my current speed is. Anyone know if something like that is out there somewhere?

 

[Ateam97]

Thanks for the link! I'm trying to figure out how to do my Mary Poppins costume! (and if people will actually get it and know who I'm supposed to be...lol!)

I'm with whoever said they are starting their 10k training! I began mine this week!

Maybe some of you know this. Is there anything you can buy that updates with your current MPH? I mostly run on a treadmill, and it's impossible for me to pace myself correctly when not on it. I can't seem to find anything (except expensive watches) that will just allow me to know what my current speed is. Anyone know if something like that is out there somewhere?

I guess it depends on what you consider to be expensive. I have a Nike plus that I payed about $60 for. It tells me my current speed (in minutes per mile). I love it and don't think I would have been able to train for the princess half last year without it. I hear people say that they aren't accurate, but I have found mine to be very close, at least (I occasionally double check the distance on Map My Run).

 

[tinkeramy]

Maybe some of you know this. Is there anything you can buy that updates with your current MPH? I mostly run on a treadmill, and it's impossible for me to pace myself correctly when not on it. I can't seem to find anything (except expensive watches) that will just allow me to know what my current speed is. Anyone know if something like that is out there somewhere?

I use an app on my phone called "Cardio Trainer". There is a "pro" version for a fee, but the basic CT is free and works just fine for me. You can set it to show either MPH or a per minute pace.

 

[freepixie]

Thanks for the link! I'm trying to figure out how to do my Mary Poppins costume! (and if people will actually get it and know who I'm supposed to be...lol!)

I'm with whoever said they are starting their 10k training! I began mine this week!

Maybe some of you know this. Is there anything you can buy that updates with your current MPH? I mostly run on a treadmill, and it's impossible for me to pace myself correctly when not on it. I can't seem to find anything (except expensive watches) that will just allow me to know what my current speed is. Anyone know if something like that is out there somewhere?

Well, I'll tell ya what I do - I call it my poor-man's method I go on mapquest and make a map from my house to someplace and back, and calculate the miles. Then I time myself. That's about it! It gives me a decent idea of how many minutes each mile takes, although not 100% accurate!

 

[ColleenG]

I just checked out Team Sparkle, LOVE IT!! I choose Cinderella for my race bib. The blue skirt they have would be perfect. I'll stop by Sports Authority to see if they still have light blue tech shirts. I'll get the crown visor from Running Princess, and that will be my costume.

 

[Revkate]

I have an app on my I-phone called "I Map My Run +" I love it. It has a GPS and tells me my pace and how far I have run. I usually don't check the stats till the end of the run, but I think you could check i

 

[kmg148]

Thanks for the suggestions ladies!!

I would be up for trying the Nike+. I'm up for anything that is around $50...I just can't afford a $200-300 dollar watch (I just got a Timex interval watch for $70! I can't justify another watch!) How do you wear it? Like a watch or stopwatch?

Amy, I looked for Cardio Trainer, but I don't believe it's a Blackberry app.

 

[pjpoohbear]

I use Nike+ on my iphone, no shoe tag needed; tracks, maps, encourages, goal setting, overall and current pace and history. Plus you can challenge friends. I plan routes with http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm makes it easy to plan.

Pj

 

[stitchfan18]

Well, I'll tell ya what I do - I call it my poor-man's method I go on mapquest and make a map from my house to someplace and back, and calculate the miles. Then I time myself. That's about it! It gives me a decent idea of how many minutes each mile takes, although not 100% accurate!

I used to do that as well before I got an android phone that I could download running apps on. I don't know if this is true of all blocks, but around me each block is almost exactly 1 mile. I would do a warm up run to the corner, then time how long it took me to get to the end of the block.

 

[kmg148]

My biggest problem is that I can't pace myself without something to tell me how fast I am going. Whenever I run in my neighborhood, I end up starting off too fast and running out of steam at a half mile when I can comfortably run about 3 miles. The treadmill is great for me since I set it to a certain speed! If I had something to look at constantly to see how fast I was going, I think I'd be doing better outside.

 

[Revkate]

Fortunately, (also unfortunately) we ended up having three plane tickets that had to be used by next June because my husband injured his knee and couldn't travel with two of our kids as planned this summer. I used reward miles for half of my ticket and purchased one for my daughter. Airfare is high right now. We have flown to Disney for less than $200 before.

All our travel arrangements are made. I keep hoping that Disney will send out a special offer like free dining or 40 percent off, but until then I am saving my pennies.

 

[Disfan11]

If I did this right, then you should be able to see the outfit I ran in as my avatar.

I wore a pink running skirt with a tutu over it.
I ran 5 miles on the treadmill to test it and didn't have any problems.
I had on pink Mickey ears that had a crown between the ears.

I'll be wearing the same outfit for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon on Labor Day weekend.

I'm looking forward to doing the 2012 Princess 1/2 next year too!

 

[dopey22]

Thanks for the link! I'm trying to figure out how to do my Mary Poppins costume! (and if people will actually get it and know who I'm supposed to be...lol!)

I'm with whoever said they are starting their 10k training! I began mine this week!

Maybe some of you know this. Is there anything you can buy that updates with your current MPH? I mostly run on a treadmill, and it's impossible for me to pace myself correctly when not on it. I can't seem to find anything (except expensive watches) that will just allow me to know what my current speed is. Anyone know if something like that is out there somewhere?

I use an app on phone called runkeeper. It tells me my current pace, my average pace, how many miles I've completed. I love it! Its a free app, I recommend it.

 

[kmg148]

Is it by any chance a Blackberry app? I know, I'm high maintenance. I'll check it out today. Thanks!

 

[tinkeramy]

My biggest problem is that I can't pace myself without something to tell me how fast I am going. Whenever I run in my neighborhood, I end up starting off too fast and running out of steam at a half mile when I can comfortably run about 3 miles. The treadmill is great for me since I set it to a certain speed! If I had something to look at constantly to see how fast I was going, I think I'd be doing better outside.

I understand this - I like to get a sense of what I'm currently running, too AND I do tend to get a little spunky at the beginning. However, I think even the best app lags just a touch. It used to drive me crazy that mine would jump wildly between paces in a matter of seconds until I figured out that it is not a space age, elite runner's tool - it's a free app! So, shoot for a set pace, but pay more attention to how that pace feels so that you don't have to be constantly looking at the watch / app / whatever. I drove myself CRAZY on an off-day 10 mile run with trying to keep a set pace and continuously trying to adjust my run so a certain pace would "appear". I finally said "BLANK it" and just ran what was comfy.

 

[Bookwood]

I ran with a very cheap ($6 at Walmart) sports watch for the first 3 years or so. I live in the country so it's well marked (mostly) in mile or half mile segments (or you can use mailbox numbers if the segments are smaller) then divided my time by where I was. Very low tech and cheap.

 

[dopey22]

Is it by any chance a Blackberry app? I know, I'm high maintenance. I'll check it out today. Thanks!

I'm not sure if it is on the blackberry. I have the HTC Inspire. It's an android phone.

 

[HockeyKat]

I used RunKeeper as well for a long time, and then finally broke down and bought a Garmin watch. Any Galloway people, there is an Android app called HIIT that will do your intervals, too.

You can occasionally find some good deals on the older watch models - the 205 and 305 are regularly on Amazon for $100-130. I actually found a very gently used 405 on Craigslist for $120 and am thrilled with it so far.

However, this year I went from casual to semi-serious, so YMMV. I am still slow as heck but am doing 5 half marathons this year and training for a full in February, as well as helping to lead my pace group for the Galloway training program here. I figured it was time for a watch!