Official 2012 Princess Half Marathon Thread!

[Nishmom]

Wow! Reading this whole thread is a half marathon in itself. Welcome!


If I was just staying a couple of nights and had a discount, I would go with Poly, hands down. You'll have a blast! We are vacationing for 10 days with the kids, so it's mod all the way for me! POFQ to be specific. I love that resort too, so it's no sacrifice, but someday I'll try Poly! I stayed there once for one night as a kid when my dad worked for disney, but it has been a long time lol!

Cate

I LOVE Poly! When DH and I got married 9 years ago (2nd for both of us) I asked him if he had ever taken his kids to WDW when they were young. He said no so I suggested we go for our honeymoon. We stayed at the Poly and had such a good time that we went back the next two years and stayed there as well. Now we are retirees with less income, but I see the Poly in our future at some point. It's worth it for a special treat!

 

[kmchisholm]

Congrats to everyone running and keeping up the hard work around here! Ran my longest yet at 7mi in 1:25 - we stopped for water once and crossing street at lights, but felt great with the cooler weather up here in VA. Prepping for the half on Nov 12th and looking forward to some different scenery when I go visit my parents at BWV in a few weeks for the Food and Wine Festival. Any chance anyone else will be down - 9th - 13th?

 

[princessallegra]

Wow! Reading this whole thread is a half marathon in itself. Welcome!


If I was just staying a couple of nights and had a discount, I would go with Poly, hands down. You'll have a blast! We are vacationing for 10 days with the kids, so it's mod all the way for me! POFQ to be specific. I love that resort too, so it's no sacrifice, but someday I'll try Poly! I stayed there once for one night as a kid when my dad worked for disney, but it has been a long time lol!

Cate

I LOVE Poly! When DH and I got married 9 years ago (2nd for both of us) I asked him if he had ever taken his kids to WDW when they were young. He said no so I suggested we go for our honeymoon. We stayed at the Poly and had such a good time that we went back the next two years and stayed there as well. Now we are retirees with less income, but I see the Poly in our future at some point. It's worth it for a special treat!

Thanks so much for the input! We stayed at the Poly for 4 nights for part of our honeymoon. It was beautiful! I know the Epcot resorts aren't host resorts for the race, but I thought that being near Epcot might be really convenient for getting back to the hotel and showering after. Thoughts? Also we've never stayed at an Epcot resort before so that was kind of exciting.

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

I am joining back in over here. I did the Princess this year and I was planning on doing it again next year, but then my sister (running buddy) saw the Tinker Bell medal and wanted to do that one instead. I decided last week that I am just going to do both.

I apologize because I did not read the 150+ pages leading up to here but could anyone give me a quick rundown on the resorts that are still available/ rumored to be sold out? I plan on registering later this week and booking probably next week sometime. I was hoping to stay at CB. Anyone know if they might still have something available through runDisney? I checked Get Travel online and they are only showing POFQ, which is my back up plan but I am hoping for CB. I haven't called yet since I haven't registered yet.

Also my mom and 10 y/o daughter are going to come with me and do the 5K. I am super excited for my daughter since it will be her first race. I am thinking of crashing their party and doing it with them.

 

[stamot]

What time are you arriving on Friday and departing on Monday?

We hope to get there on Friday by mid day and go on Monday in the afternoon.

There is hope! It was becoming too easy to think that the milestone birthday I had last month made me just too slow and old to consider doing this. Training during the summer was just about the last nail in the lid. But today was wonderful and encouraging - NINE miles of 2:1 and still had something left in the tank at the end. The temp was around 60, it was cloudy, and there was a lot of little league fall baseball (great distraction) going on at the park where DH and I run, so all the pieces fell into place. This week's 9 miles was *much* better than last week's 8! Clothing of choice was capris and a long sleeve tech tee. I still got good and sweaty but that's always the case. The final test will be a half in November, our second, which is supposed to prove that finishing the first last March was not a fluke, and that I can be a DISNEY PRINCESS!

Oh, and Body Glide is our friend, our BEST friend when we're running!

Congrats!!! That sounds so great.

Congrats to everyone running and keeping up the hard work around here! Ran my longest yet at 7mi in 1:25 - we stopped for water once and crossing street at lights, but felt great with the cooler weather up here in VA. Prepping for the half on Nov 12th and looking forward to some different scenery when I go visit my parents at BWV in a few weeks for the Food and Wine Festival. Any chance anyone else will be down - 9th - 13th?

Great timing!

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

hey guys, im doing the planing for the trip and i was wondering do you guys also buy the park tickets? im planing to get to orlando on friday and leave on monday. i dont know if there will be any time for the parks. can anyone help me decided. what had been your experience?

Last year I came in Friday afternoon (about 2 I think) went to the resort and checked in, caught the bus to the expo, came back and dropped off my stuff and then went to EPCOT for the evening, they had extra magic hours that day so I pretty much did everything I wanted to there. Saturday we went to AK since I knew it closed early and I wouldn't be out too late. Sunday after the race I went back to the room and showered and then went to EPCOT and HS, then Monday I went to MK. I had no problem doing all of this and I don't feel like it affected my race at all.

This year I am arriving Friday morning (earliest flight I can get) going to the expo then hitting MK for the rest of the day (closes at 11). My mom and daughter are doing the 5K Saturday and I am thinking about joining them. I am not sure what we will do the rest of the day but I plan to be back in the room pretty early again. Sunday after the race we will be going to EPCOT and HS and I will be leaving on Monday this time.

If I were you I would probably at least get a day or 2 ticket to have the option of going to the parks. Depending on what time you get in Friday you could always go then, if you are worried about doing too much walking the day before the race, plus you will have the rest of the day after the race as well..

 

[saysay]

WELCOME to all the new signees! Great support here.

hey guys, im doing the planing for the trip and i was wondering do you guys also buy the park tickets? im planing to get to orlando on friday and leave on monday. i dont know if there will be any time for the parks. can anyone help me decided. what had been your experience?

Last year I got in Friday afternoon and hit the expo. We did DHS and MK on Saturday, not rushed, just a relaxing time with friends. Raced on Sunday then back to the parks, EPCOT and MK....we closed MK! Flew home early Monday. I think all the walking Sunday really helped in my recovery, I was not sore AT ALL. Anyhoo, if you have time, go for it, the tickets are discounted through the race about as cheap as you can find. ENJOY!

 

[TiggerAllie]

Congrats to everyone running and keeping up the hard work around here! Ran my longest yet at 7mi in 1:25 - we stopped for water once and crossing street at lights, but felt great with the cooler weather up here in VA. Prepping for the half on Nov 12th and looking forward to some different scenery when I go visit my parents at BWV in a few weeks for the Food and Wine Festival. Any chance anyone else will be down - 9th - 13th?

We'll be there 8th-11th!

Is the expo/packet pickup also available on Saturday? I'm not sure yet if either of us can get half a day off on Fri or not.

 

[kmchisholm]

Thanks so much for the input! We stayed at the Poly for 4 nights for part of our honeymoon. It was beautiful! I know the Epcot resorts aren't host resorts for the race, but I thought that being near Epcot might be really convenient for getting back to the hotel and showering after. Thoughts? Also we've never stayed at an Epcot resort before so that was kind of exciting.

I'm not sure which resorts are host hotels but we're staying at Boardwalk as I love the location. We're flying in so will have to take a cab to the start of the race and ESPN, but as we're staying till Tues, will be able to hit some parks easily. Michelle has a list at the start of the post so will be easy to connect with others staying at your location.

 

[stitchfan18]

I think all the walking Sunday really helped in my recovery, I was not sore AT ALL. Anyhoo, if you have time, go for it, the tickets are discounted through the race about as cheap as you can find. ENJOY!

The walking around definitely helped me after the race. I felt great walking around Epcot after the race (I might have been a little slower than normal, but I was in an upright position!) We left Sunday night, and were the first stop for our ME bus. After sitting on the bus for over an hour I was so sore getting up and moving around after that. My legs actually started to cramp on the bus, and I think it had to do with the fact that I wasn't moving around at all. I was glad I brought an extra pair of compression socks to put on because they really helped on the plane ride home.

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

We'll be there 8th-11th!

Is the expo/packet pickup also available on Saturday? I'm not sure yet if either of us can get half a day off on Fri or not.

Yes! The expo is Friday and Saturday. I just prefer Friday because I have heard it is much more crowded on Saturday for all those people coming in late Friday or Saturday.

The walking around definitely helped me after the race. I felt great walking around Epcot after the race (I might have been a little slower than normal, but I was in an upright position!) We left Sunday night, and were the first stop for our ME bus. After sitting on the bus for over an hour I was so sore getting up and moving around after that. My legs actually started to cramp on the bus, and I think it had to do with the fact that I wasn't moving around at all. I was glad I brought an extra pair of compression socks to put on because they really helped on the plane ride home.

ITA!! I was fine all day Sunday, but after I slept my hip was sore on Monday. Not horrible, but enough that I was aware of it.

 

[TiggerAllie]

I'm not sure which resorts are host hotels but we're staying at Boardwalk as I love the location. We're flying in so will have to take a cab to the start of the race and ESPN, but as we're staying till Tues, will be able to hit some parks easily. Michelle has a list at the start of the post so will be easy to connect with others staying at your location.

Found the list on runDisney.

Disney's All-Star Movies*Resort
Disney's All-Star Music*Resort
Disney's All-Star Sports*Resort

Disney's Port Orleans*- Riverside Resort
Disney's Port Orleans - French Quarter*Resort
Disney's Caribbean Beach*Resort

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Disney's Polynesian Resort

 

[pigletliz]

WELCOME to all the new signees! Great support here.



Last year I got in Friday afternoon and hit the expo. We did DHS and MK on Saturday, not rushed, just a relaxing time with friends. Raced on Sunday then back to the parks, EPCOT and MK....we closed MK! Flew home early Monday. I think all the walking Sunday really helped in my recovery, I was not sore AT ALL. Anyhoo, if you have time, go for it, the tickets are discounted through the race about as cheap as you can find. ENJOY!

Hi,

I didn't purchase tickets through rundisney last year, but I am looking to do so this year. Did they offer parkhoppers? We really love Epcot and will probably want to visit that park twice.

Thanks,

liz

 

[longhorns2]

I am joining back in over here. I did the Princess this year and I was planning on doing it again next year, but then my sister (running buddy) saw the Tinker Bell medal and wanted to do that one instead. I decided last week that I am just going to do both.

I apologize because I did not read the 150+ pages leading up to here but could anyone give me a quick rundown on the resorts that are still available/ rumored to be sold out? I plan on registering later this week and booking probably next week sometime. I was hoping to stay at CB. Anyone know if they might still have something available through runDisney? I checked Get Travel online and they are only showing POFQ, which is my back up plan but I am hoping for CB. I haven't called yet since I haven't registered yet.

Also my mom and 10 y/o daughter are going to come with me and do the 5K. I am super excited for my daughter since it will be her first race. I am thinking of crashing their party and doing it with them.

Do the 5K!!! It was fun!

I called last week and POR was still open, but I can't say about CBR. I would guess you are still early enough in the game to get a room, but I wouldn't wait too long!

Jealous- totally- about Tinkerbell.

 

[tinkeramy]

Geez - I have a busy weekend and I have 3-4 pgs of msgs to catch up on!!!

After attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on Friday (from 5pm to midnight) iin three inch Spider Girl boots, I suffered three blisters on the bottom of EACH foot. Made my Saturday am long run impossible. At least I got in my weekday runs in at AKL. DH suggested I apply Glide to my feet next time with the heels--will that really ward off blisters (you know, in case Spider Girl makes another Halloween Party appearance)?

This makes me laugh! If I had a Spider Girl costume with 3 inch heels, I would DEFINITELY wear it whenever possible!! I don't know about the glide, but if you start feeling something, moleskin is supposed to be really good for heading off the pain.

hey guys, im doing the planing for the trip and i was wondering do you guys also buy the park tickets? im planing to get to orlando on friday and leave on monday. i dont know if there will be any time for the parks. can anyone help me decided. what had been your experience?

SaySay already covered me on this one, but, yes, we had PLENTY of time for the parks. If you are staying at a WDW resort, then you can even take adv. of extra magic hours. I think the MK was an EMH on Sunday and it was supposed to be open until 12; we left after the fireworks and that was quite enough!!

Thanks so much for the input! We stayed at the Poly for 4 nights for part of our honeymoon. It was beautiful! I know the Epcot resorts aren't host resorts for the race, but I thought that being near Epcot might be really convenient for getting back to the hotel and showering after. Thoughts? Also we've never stayed at an Epcot resort before so that was kind of exciting.

We stayed at the Swan last year. It's run by Starwood (I think) but considered "on property" and gets all the WDW perks. After the race last year, I cut through Epcot and took the boat back over with no waiting and no crowd - World Showcase hadn't opened yet, so not a lot of people were in that part of the park.

Again - thanks for all the encouragement previously. I went out for 3 miles on Saturday and it was really good. I am reading the book "ChiRunning" by Danny Dreyer and picked up a few tips from it. His main thing is to work your muscles less - lean forward while running & let gravity do most of the work so that you are more simply picking up your legs than using your muscles to power yourself forward. There's more to it than that, of course, but I tried a few things and I actually made it farther without having to take a walk break in addition to not being as tight or shin-tender the next day. Could have been a fluke, but am looking forward to testing more of these theories this week!

Happy Monday, Princesses! (And any Princes here!)

 

[longhorns2]

Hi,

I didn't purchase tickets through rundisney last year, but I am looking to do so this year. Did they offer parkhoppers? We really love Epcot and will probably want to visit that park twice.

Thanks,

liz

Yep- they had park hoppers available.

I bought 2 day passes last year. I went to Epcot on Sunday (but just for dinner- I was TOAST after the race) and to MK, Epcot, AK AND HS on Monday. I just went for the highlights of each park- easy to do with no kids in tow!

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

Again - thanks for all the encouragement previously. I went out for 3 miles on Saturday and it was really good. I am reading the book "ChiRunning" by Danny Dreyer and picked up a few tips from it. His main thing is to work your muscles less - lean forward while running & let gravity do most of the work so that you are more simply picking up your legs than using your muscles to power yourself forward. There's more to it than that, of course, but I tried a few things and I actually made it farther without having to take a walk break in addition to not being as tight or shin-tender the next day. Could have been a fluke, but am looking forward to testing more of these theories this week!

Happy Monday, Princesses! (And any Princes here!)

I borrowed that book from my mom but I haven't actually started reading it yet.
I was wondering if you have found it pretty easy to implement? I have tried to work on my form a bit and follow Galloway's short quick strides method and it does help, but I find I can't stick with it and I always tend to revert back to my natural way of running.

 

[princessallegra]

First run of my training down! 3 miles at a local park run trail with my coach! I am doing 11 1/2 minutes miles, which is shocking because I felt like I was going so slowly! Maybe that is slow for some, but I was happy for my first run! I can't wait to see my times in 5 months. Then coach and I did hot yoga at my favorite studio ever! It was a beautiful morning, followed by a lot of protein!

I feel like I have so many questions! What's the deal with spectators? In the videos of MK there appear to be spectators. What are your families doing? Coming to the start line and then finish line? Are the roads closed completely to cars during the marathon? I'm running solo, fyi.

Also, I've heard that picking up your race packet is a really fun experience. I'm reconsidering having our friend pick it up for me. Since we will be getting in too late on Friday night to get it, I would have to be there at 10 am on Saturday to pick it up. How long will that take approximately? I had hoped to have a low key park day on Saturday, but if we are at the expo at opening, we won't be getting to the parks until later. I'm considering working til noon and coming in earlier on Friday. I do feel bad asking DH to take the day, or work til noon, because he is already taking off the Monday after, but if I can pick up my packet on Friday night that would free up all of Saturday

What are you ladies doing for meals the day before?

 

[AliceSpark]

So much to catch-up on - I am still trying to figure out if I will be able to do the princess but all of you are so inspiring. My longest run/walk is 3.8 miles and I am using a Galloway interval app on my iphone. I usually run/walk at 20 second run and 40 second walk but I couldn't complete the 3.8 miles at that pace and had to change to 15 second run 45 second walk - so I am still wondering if I can keep to the pace. My plan is to keep trying.

On another subject way back in the thread there was discussion of listening to broadway show tunes - I would love some suggestions as my app requires the songs to be at least 130 bpm - any suggestions welcome.

Good luck to everyone with this week runs.

Martha

 

[tinkeramy]

I borrowed that book from my mom but I haven't actually started reading it yet.
I was wondering if you have found it pretty easy to implement? I have tried to work on my form a bit and follow Galloway's short quick strides method and it does help, but I find I can't stick with it and I always tend to revert back to my natural way of running.

EH - working on it. I've got the lean down, but it's the foot thing that I don't get. I tried to work on that tonight, and ended up feeling like a moronic Clydesdale. He tries to describe it as not pushing off with your toes (which contributes to tight calves and shin splints) but keeping your thighs loose and "picking up" your feet by bending your knee so that your foot comes down as a mid-strike, not on your heel or the ball. I totally did NOT get that form tonight! But I will say that I still felt like I did not put as much effort into running as I usually have to; I'm convinced the leaning thing at least helps with conserving energy. I would just love to get what he is saying about the legs to avoid further shin pain. I got the book from the library and it's due back soon, so I better figure it out!!!