Official 2012 Princess Half Marathon Thread!

[pjpoohbear]

Long run 1:11:48. 7.6km (4.73 miles.) 9:42/km (15:17/mile.) My run program did an update and is showing 9:30/km now, I really like that number.

A little faster then last week. Interesting fact I climb 56.7m on my trail, joy! I really really need to try the trail in the other direction, downhill.

 

[tinkeramy]

Just made my dining reservations for race weekend!!! I'm doing my "I did it" celebration dinner at California Grill. So excited!

For veterans, what did you do after you finished? Dh wants to go to epcot and he was thinking we could eat with the princesses. Yes all my boys are going to take me to eat there. I'm guessing I'll want to go shower first then go back. What's the earliest you'd make a reservation?

Last year I scheduled a massage after the race - not recommended. Not b/c the massage wasn't good - it was - but I was really rushed to get over to it after the half. We did a late lunch (2ish) with the princesses in Norway that was fun. Hung in Epcot for a while and went back to MK. This year we are looking to Canada for our post-race lunch. As I told Julie, we will need the beer to replace the carbs lost and steak to get muscle-repairing protein. It's just the healthy option !

Just got back from 4 miles - my longest since the shin splint nonsense. Yay! Felt great - just have to see how the calf / shin are feeling this afternoon. Tons of people out on the path. Had to laugh - there was one mom out there with her kids. As I passed them, she they were screaming and laughing b/c Mom was chasing them. Way to get a workout in, Mom!

Does anyone else have their kid's music on their iPod? Full confession - I have 3 Big Time Rush songs on my running playlist!!!

 

[saysay]

Just made my dining reservations for race weekend!!! I'm doing my "I did it" celebration dinner at California Grill. So excited!

For veterans, what did you do after you finished? Dh wants to go to epcot and he was thinking we could eat with the princesses. Yes all my boys are going to take me to eat there. I'm guessing I'll want to go shower first then go back. What's the earliest you'd make a reservation?

Last year it took me 3:29 to finish the race. I was in Corral B. The hardest part was getting out of the parking lot, it was a cluster. When I finished, I got my medal, got some water and snacks and went to find my friend. I had to go potty, so we had to walk a ways to find a bathroom and then find the car. If you are taking a bus I am sure won't be so bad and a friend who took a cab back to hotel said no problem getting out.

My roomie Amy had a Massage at the Swan/Dolphin, I think at 11. She ended up taking the boat was given the wrong info about the boats working etc, so I think she also did some extra walking. She does not rec getting a massage after the race BTW...I will let Amy chime in on that one.

I got back to room around 11:00-11:30 I think and took a cold water bath then a shower. Chilled a tiny bit in the room. We headed over to Epcot around 1 I think for our 2:30 lunch reservation. We enjoyed a cold beverage of the adult variety while we strolled and went to Akerhus to wait. Worked for me, I liked going to the restaurant clean and with enough time to stretch a little back in the room. The cold bath felt GREAT on my legs too. I was so relaxed when we were eating lunch! I had NO issues that day or next day. We ended up walking around alot and closed MK - I think it was around 9 maybe......

 

[pjpoohbear]

Thanks for the heads up on ADR making today.

I have picked Artist Point at 7:00pm for dinner on the Sunday, thinking counter service for a 1:30-2:00ish lunch at MK. I figure AP will have red meat, (ugh ugh) and perhaps I will even have a Lodge Fizz with dinner for a change of pace.

Pj

 

[JCH]

Quick question from a newbie...what is the significance of the favorite princess question? I am sure it has been answered on here somewhere in the 168 pages of posts, but I can't find it . Thanks!

 

[tinkeramy]

Quick question from a newbie...what is the significance of the favorite princess question? I am sure it has been answered on here somewhere in the 168 pages of posts, but I can't find it . Thanks!

It is printed on your bib and determines your bib color. Aurora is pink, Belle is yellow, Tiana is a pale green, Snow White is a darker blue and Cinderella is a pale blue. Was there an Ariel? If so, I'm thinking she was a darker green than Tiana's. Can't remember if they offered Rapunzel as a choice this year. Oh - and Jasmine. I want to say she was some form of green, but not sure.

And, yes, I agonized. Last year I picked Aurora (even though I hate pink) but this year went with Tiana. Just think - if you keep doing this race long enough, you can cycle through 'em all!

 

[Qltrgrl2]

That is the princess name on your bib. Your bib will also be a different color depending on which Princess you chose. I chose Cinderella this year and my bib was blue.
Happy Running!
Pam

 

[JCH]

Thanks! I hadn't registered yet partly for fear of choosing the wrong princess, lol. Oh decisions....

 

[stitchfan18]

Okay, so I made a reservation at Cinderella's Castle for 1020am for after the race. I hope that enough time to get there.

You should be fine. I finished in 2:38 last year, and stayed around the finish line briefly after the race. We got on the bus back to the BW so I could hop in the shower, and we were walking through the IG at Epcot around 9:45 if I remember correctly. If you're at BLT it'll take you a tad bit longer to get back to your room, but you'll be right by MK for your ADR. You could always pack extra clothes in your bag and go straight to your meal after the race if you don't want to freshen up at all.

 

[freepixie]

Haha! We were just sitting here planning out our meals!! How funny, we're all thinking of our ADR's today!!

I think we're looking at:
Fri - arrive and Expo
Sat - MK morning, Crystal Palace breakfast, and def. church!
Sun - RACE!! Relax, Garden Grill dinner
Mon - AK morning, Tusker House breakfast
Tue - EP morning, Le Cellier lunch
Weds - go home

But knowing us, we change our plans a million times even while we are down there we call and change up the reservations lol! One thing I know FOR SURE is the Garden Grill - its my absolute favorite place to eat!!

I think we'll start calling tomorrow, we haven't made our resort reservations yet, hopefully this week we can get in touch with our AAA lady and get things going

 

[NCrunner]

You know what, if they judged everyone by who "looks" like they are going to be running, 3/4 of the population would be under scrutiny! Just remember one of the recurring phrases on this board - no matter your pace, you are still passing all of the people sitting on the couch!!! The one thing I learned from training last year is that this is totally do-able - you might be slow as Christmas, but you can absolutely do it. And this half is so much fun, with all the photo ops, that not many people are in it for speed, I think! I'm planning to do another half in March to get my "real" time. The Princess is all about fun! Congrats on the start of training; this is about the time I started training last year from complete couch potato mode and I found it was plenty of time.

In regards to a previous question about running in the winter weather - if you have access to a treadmill, I would def. hit that rather than risk an ice injury so close to the half. Otherwise, if it's just cold, it actually feels kinda good! Here in GA we don't get much snow & ice (except that one week in Jan where the heavens seem to unload and Atlanta is at a standstill!!) but if you have the right clothes on, you should be fine. I got a great running jacket from Nike.com (with MyCoke Rewards points - boo ya!) that is made for 40 degrees and below. It was great, and I often found myself rolling up the sleeves and unzipping, even in freezing temps b/c on 10 mile long runs, you get a little worked up!! You def. don't want to bundle up too much and then be running with all kinds of extra clothes tucked into your waist band and tied around you!

The quote mentioned so many times.....no matter your pace you are still beating everybody still on the couch! Got me through my toughest 10 mile run sat morning ever! I hit the wall at mile 1 ....and it didn't get much better. I just kept at it, walking more than anything but I did all 10 .....and that quote got me through every mile....just kept saying it! Keep moving ladies even if you have to walk!

 

[mamacate]

A little faster then last week. Interesting fact I climb 56.7m on my trail, joy! I really really need to try the trail in the other direction, downhill.

Nice run there! I live in a hilly area, so it's almost impossible to avoid hills when training (I was thinking on my last long run that I'll appreciate training on 2-mile long hills when it's time for the flat princess). I like to do out-and-back trips where I'm going uphill in the beginning and downhill in the end. It doesn't distort my pace overall, but I get to feel like I'm doing reverse splits.

Cate

 

[mamacate]

We're going to have a family vacation the week before the Princess, so I've been making ADRs. I don't usually plan this far ahead, so I'm not used to not having any information on choosing which parks when I make my ADRs. (I'm also not used to having my pick of times for Chef Mickey's or Ohana.)

Anyway, the family is leaving Friday and I'm on my own for the weekend. Is there a meetup planned? Anyone else going solo and want to have lunch? (Feeling a little pathetic here...) I'm freaking out a little imagining myself eating lunch all by my lonesome after finishing a half marathon!

Cate

 

[pjpoohbear]

Nice run there! I live in a hilly area, so it's almost impossible to avoid hills when training (I was thinking on my last long run that I'll appreciate training on 2-mile long hills when it's time for the flat princess). I like to do out-and-back trips where I'm going uphill in the beginning and downhill in the end. It doesn't distort my pace overall, but I get to feel like I'm doing reverse splits.

Cate

I have started the back portion, right now 6.2 is up and 1.5+ is down and every 2-3 weeks there will be more down, .

When I have to do the trail three times to get the 21km in, I will start with a downhill and finish with a downhill, .

Pj

 

[stitchfan18]

Nice run there! I live in a hilly area, so it's almost impossible to avoid hills when training (I was thinking on my last long run that I'll appreciate training on 2-mile long hills when it's time for the flat princess). I like to do out-and-back trips where I'm going uphill in the beginning and downhill in the end. It doesn't distort my pace overall, but I get to feel like I'm doing reverse splits.

Cate

If you are used to training on hills, the princess course will seem so much easier. I took my time and stopped for pictures, but I never got to the point during the race where I was too tired to keep on running. The only negative of a flat course is that there aren't down hills to enjoy. I'm not a huge fan of hills, but at least you get a little break once you get to the top and start going down again.

 

[Bookwood]

I made an ADR yesterday for dinner in the castle (our celebration dinner for all 4 of us running it together.)

Generally once we get back to the room we grab food (or a shower- 4 women it'll take awhile LOL) and have a relaxing few hours (I can never nap but will read and watch TV until at least early afternoon). Lots of times I'll go and throw our sweaty clothes in the wash too while the girls sleep.

This year we'll head over to MK 2:30 ish I think to walk the stiffness out before our dinner. Of course we'll be wearing tiaras and medals LOL.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

The quote mentioned so many times.....no matter your pace you are still beating everybody still on the couch! Got me through my toughest 10 mile run sat morning ever! I hit the wall at mile 1 ....and it didn't get much better. I just kept at it, walking more than anything but I did all 10 .....and that quote got me through every mile....just kept saying it! Keep moving ladies even if you have to walk!

I am one of the slowest members in my run group and I tell myself this every run. I think what good will it be to get discourage and give up...what am I going to do just sit down and do nothing or keep moving as best as "I" can. I need to put this quote on my t-shirt. BIG On the 10 mile run!!!!

 

[shellbelle76]

Y'all are so inspiring. It's so much fun to follow along with the thread and see so many strong and dedicated women chasing their goals.

Hope everyone is off to a terrific start to the week!!

xo,
shelley

 

[Michele325]

No matter your pace you are still beating everybody still on the couch!

Love it! Just put it on my dailymile page. I am so nervous to sign up for my 10K in a few weeks, putting it off and off. I just know I will be about last, but it is my only chance to run a 10K before the Princess. I also haven't registered for the princess yet. But that is more about figuring out someone to watch the kids that weekend than the race itself.

 

[Ateam97]

No matter your pace you are still beating everybody still on the couch!

Love it! Just put it on my dailymile page. I am so nervous to sign up for my 10K in a few weeks, putting it off and off. I just know I will be about last, but it is my only chance to run a 10K before the Princess. I also haven't registered for the princess yet. But that is more about figuring out someone to watch the kids that weekend than the race itself.

Michele - Just wanted to make sure that you know you don't HAVE to submit a 10k time unless you want to enter a predicted finish time of 2:45 or faster, which I think is like a 12:30 pace or better. (If you already knew this - ignore my message!) But I think it is a great idea, either way. It helped me get the feel of running in a crowd and gave me the feel of an "organized" race. Keep up the good work!!