Official 2012 Princess Half Marathon Thread!

[ColleenG]

Started training today with SIL and really slowed her down. We ran outside on a trail and my hips and left shin were sore after. We did our 30 minutes and went 2.6 miles. I guess it's a good place to start and only room for improvement

Lauren, you are off to a great start!

I got my Garmin watch yesterday and used it today for the first time on my run. I LOVE IT!! I was able to really pace myself much better. I went 5.6 miles, averaged 12:30 min/mi, for 1:09:56. I find it so weird that it takes me about 3 miles to really get into a good groove. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just weird?

 

[ColleenG]

To get into Magic Kingdom as a spectator, do you have to be signed up for one of the ChEAR squad packages? I was hoping DH could catch me in MK and then hop the monorail over to Epcot for the finish. Would hate for him to get over there and not have the right "credentials".

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

To get into Magic Kingdom as a spectator, do you have to be signed up for one of the ChEAR squad packages? I was hoping DH could catch me in MK and then hop the monorail over to Epcot for the finish. Would hate for him to get over there and not have the right "credentials".

When they had it for the Princess a couple years ago - there was the premium Main Street Area reserved for the ChEAR Squad and the rest was for just anyone coming to cheer everyone on. So, he could walk to that area but of course it fills up quickly. My two cents though...it is incredibly crowded in the MK, so I would encourage him to either be by the area behind the resorts (GF, etc.) because it is a nice pick-up to see someone you know or even to be at the Finish Line. Even though they have the bleachers for the ChEAR squad, my other half was able to still get into that area to see me run across the finish line. He didn't have to pay anything. The only time he had difficulty being a spectator was at the Wine & Dine this year and they didn't even have a ChEAR squad package.

 

[flgirl36]

Just registered! This will be my first half-marathon . I haven't been able to convince any of my friends/family to participate, so I may end up doing it by myself, but I'm determined to get it done! Looking forward to getting to know everyone on this thread.

I'm running it alone too. I have plenty of friends/family that want to come up to cheer me on but none that actually want to run. lol

Julie

 

[TiggerAllie]

OK on the page for the Princess half, click on "Event Overview" on the left-hand side, then it brings up all the events for the weekend, and there is a link for the Pasta Party

Thank you! It's amazing I even figured out how to register.

I find it so weird that it takes me about 3 miles to really get into a good groove. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just weird?

I notice that too! For me, it's somewhere within 2 mi-- at that point, I really feel like I can go forever!

I can't believe how much the hill training improved my speed--even just 1 hills workout took my "internal pace" from ~12 min mile to less than 11:30 min miles. (I don't try to pace my runs--I just go with whatever rhythm feels good that day; I must have a pretty consistent internal pacing, as I don't listen to music because I train with DP.) We'll see how the next hills workout goes-- on Thursday!

ETA: Just checked MapMyRun, and I've run about 135 mi since starting training (with C25K) in late June!

 

[Namsupak]

Started my training today also. It felt really good to cross day one off as completed.
Julie

Congrats! It is so great to cross day 1 off

Yup, I started training today too. It was nice and breezy today, great for working out.

It was a little chilly and cloudy here but great day for a run. Nice to see someone else just starting too :good vibes

Lauren, you are off to a great start!

I got my Garmin watch yesterday and used it today for the first time on my run. I LOVE IT!! I was able to really pace myself much better. I went 5.6 miles, averaged 12:30 min/mi, for 1:09:56. I find it so weird that it takes me about 3 miles to really get into a good groove. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just weird?

Thanks so much! Which garmin did you get? I saw someone recommend the 205 but I haven't really looked into them yet. Some of them look really bulky so I'm not sure I would be able to wear it. That's a great run today

 

[mamacate]

Lauren, you are off to a great start!

I got my Garmin watch yesterday and used it today for the first time on my run. I LOVE IT!! I was able to really pace myself much better. I went 5.6 miles, averaged 12:30 min/mi, for 1:09:56. I find it so weird that it takes me about 3 miles to really get into a good groove. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just weird?

Yes, it takes me forever to get into a groove. I guess that's why I like longer runs best. In 5k, I often never get past the miserable stage!

Cate

 

[disney fan 2013]

I'm running it alone too. I have plenty of friends/family that want to come up to cheer me on but none that actually want to run. lol

Julie

Glad to know I'm not the only one alone! I think my family will end up coming to cheer me on as an excuse for a trip . Congrats on getting started today!

 

[ColleenG]

Congrats! It is so great to cross day 1 off


It was a little chilly and cloudy here but great day for a run. Nice to see someone else just starting too :good vibes


Thanks so much! Which garmin did you get? I saw someone recommend the 205 but I haven't really looked into them yet. Some of them look really bulky so I'm not sure I would be able to wear it. That's a great run today

I got the 205. It does look bulky but its really not. I have pretty thin wrists and it felt fine. It kind of curves down on the bottom so it contours to your wrist. It also comes with a longer band if the one on there is too short. I still have a lot to figure out with it, but for the basics I got it set up to track my run.

 

[NYUBwayBaby]

Hi! I thought I should stop lurking and finally post. My mom, sister and I are running the Princess half marathon this year. It'll be me second half marathon, since I'm signed up for the Richmond half marathon in November. I've never been athletic (and I'm currently about 35 lb overweight), so this should be interesting.
I've been training on and off for a month now, but I've been making an effort to keep to my training program this week. So far so good! I walked/jogged four miles yesterday with an average speed of 3.5 mph. Too slow for the Princess half, but it's the furthest distance I've ran, well, ever. And I felt great afterward!
Anyway, hi!

 

[MHT to MCO]

I find it so weird that it takes me about 3 miles to really get into a good groove. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just weird?[/QUOTE]


Nope, or at least we're not alone! I take about 2-2 1/2 miles to get into a good groove, then it's ok until about 6 miles but after I hit 6 miles, I feel like I could go forever!

 

[stitchfan18]

Lauren, you are off to a great start!

I got my Garmin watch yesterday and used it today for the first time on my run. I LOVE IT!! I was able to really pace myself much better. I went 5.6 miles, averaged 12:30 min/mi, for 1:09:56. I find it so weird that it takes me about 3 miles to really get into a good groove. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just weird?

It takes me a little bit to warm up as well. I don't think there is a distance associated with my adequate warm up, but for races that I have time to run around and warm up before hand, I feel so much better. Usually for longer races I use the first mile or 2 as warm up unless I am super early for the race.

 

[tinkeramy]

Well I just signed up for this race after running the Wine & Dine half this past weekend. I'm hooked now. Being a Dad who has two young girls who are all about Princesses, I thought this would be a fun one to do, especially since my Girls and Wife will be cheering me on. Hopefully there are enough guys doing it that I don't feel totally out of place. I think I will be looking into all pink run wear. Don't think I'm "man" enough to wear the tutu and tiara. I had a blast last weekend as it was my first. Probably need to sign up for the Regular half as well.

How great! Halfs do get addictive - the Princess was my first last year, I think I am doing one in Nov. locally and I am already registered for next year's Princess, with an eye to doing another local half in March! There were plenty of men last year, so you definitely won't look out of place. And what a good example to your daughters - Daddy ran with the princesses in their honor!! Lots of men in costume - frogs, princes, Woody, Mr. Incredible....
One caveat - I think I heard last year that the racer's tech tee only came in women's style - so you might want to register for one in your wife's size

 

[fashionista311]

How great! Halfs do get addictive - the Princess was my first last year, I think I am doing one in Nov. locally and I am already registered for next year's Princess, with an eye to doing another local half in March! There were plenty of men last year, so you definitely won't look out of place. And what a good example to your daughters - Daddy ran with the princesses in their honor!! Lots of men in costume - frogs, princes, Woody, Mr. Incredible....
One caveat - I think I heard last year that the racer's tech tee only came in women's style - so you might want to register for one in your wife's size

I think they changed that this year after all the backlash they got from the Tinkerbell announcement

and my dad ran it with us two years ago. We ended up splitting up because it was my big spring race and I raced it and he was running it as MP workout for Boston - I don't think he's running to sign up to do such a girly race again, but he was a good sport and had fun the whole trip. He just made sure to walk around the entire weekend in his Boston/Ironman/New York gear so everyone made sure to know he does "manly" races. I spotted many, many other husbands doing the same. Why do all males think alike

 

[SummerIrmoma2_3]

I find it so weird that it takes me about 3 miles to really get into a good groove. Anyone else experience this? Or am I just weird?

I heard a lot of people saying the same thing about it being about 3 miles; for me it takes about 1 or 2 miles to get warmed up and settled in.

I'm running it alone too. I have plenty of friends/family that want to come up to cheer me on but none that actually want to run. lol

Julie

I ran alone this year and I enjoyed it. I was worried since I had trained with my sister, but I didn't really feel alone. It was also nice to just do what I could do and not worry about someone holding me back or me holding them back. I will be doing the Tinker Bell with my sister and the Princess alone again.

I can't believe how much the hill training improved my speed--even just 1 hills workout took my "internal pace" from ~12 min mile to less than 11:30 min miles. (I don't try to pace my runs--I just go with whatever rhythm feels good that day; I must have a pretty consistent internal pacing, as I don't listen to music because I train with DP.) We'll see how the next hills workout goes-- on Thursday!

ETA: Just checked MapMyRun, and I've run about 135 mi since starting training (with C25K) in late June!

I am jealous about the hills. We don't have those in Houston.

I am the exact same way with my pace. I just settle into whatever feels right for that day and go. When I run with my sister or dh they keep pulling away from me at the beginning but at the end they can't keep up. I just have a more natural pacing then they do.

Congrats! It is so great to cross day 1 off


It was a little chilly and cloudy here but great day for a run. Nice to see someone else just starting too :good vibes


Thanks so much! Which garmin did you get? I saw someone recommend the 205 but I haven't really looked into them yet. Some of them look really bulky so I'm not sure I would be able to wear it. That's a great run today

I had the 305, which is pretty much the 205 with a heart monitor. I was worried about it being big but it really didn't bother me. I have since switched over to the Nike GPS watch just because I like how it keeps all my records on the watch. It is also a bit smaller the the Garmins.

I've never been athletic (and I'm currently about 35 lb overweight), so this should be interesting.
I've been training on and off for a month now, but I've been making an effort to keep to my training program this week. So far so good! I walked/jogged four miles yesterday with an average speed of 3.5 mph. Too slow for the Princess half, but it's the furthest distance I've ran, well, ever. And I felt great afterward!
Anyway, hi!

I was the same way; have never been athletic and hated to run. I wanted to do this years princess and so I started running around the time the 2010 princess was and have been running ever since.

How great! Halfs do get addictive - the Princess was my first last year, I think I am doing one in Nov. locally and I am already registered for next year's Princess, with an eye to doing another local half in March! There were plenty of men last year, so you definitely won't look out of place.

The Princess was my first half too! Well actually my first race ever! I am doing Tinker Bell in Jan and then the Princess and maybe even Wine & Dine if I can get dh to join me.

 

[tinkeramy]

I think they changed that this year after all the backlash they got from the Tinkerbell announcement

QUOTE]

I can see that - I heard lots of guys were upset that there were too many "girly" races. I think it would be fun to have a "Princess & Pirate" half - the girls could still get all girly if they wanted, or go piratey. The guys could run with the girls without having to feel stupid. Problem solved!

 

[tinkeramy]

Amazon has a free android app every day - today's is C25K Pro. If you are just starting out, you may want to download it and see if you like it! They had CardioTrainer Pro one time, and my husband downloaded it on his phone but neglected to inform me. SO irritated!!!

Hope this helps someone!

 

[westgre]

I am sorry to hear that your family is going through so much right now. And I just want to tell you how inspiring it is that you are using all of that as a catalyst, not an excuse to get going. Next time I am whining about not wanting to run for the day, I will think of you. Thanks for the inspriration and good luck!

Thanks so much. I don't know how inspiring I am, but I did run my entire 5 miles today! I can't believe I actually did it! Woo hoo! That much closer to Disney!

 

[stitchfan18]

I need some serious help finding my motivation! I've been having a hard time getting the motivation to do even my shorter 3-4 mile runs lately. I have a few fall 1/2's and a full coming up within weeks, and my last long run was about 3 weeks ago. Even though I'm busy during the weekends and fitting my long run in is hard, I still have a hard time getting my short runs in when I have no time excuses.
Any advice for finding my motivation? I'm using the fall races as prep for Goofy and the Princess, so I don't care about time as much. I think that's what's keeping the races from motivating me to get runs in. I've finished the distances before, and they are all big events, so getting lost in the crowd makes me more comfortable with a slower time than I'm used to... I know a lot of people use big races as motivation to get their runs in, so what else motivates you to get out and run?

 

[mountaineer]

I've been having motivational issues this week too. It helps me to take my son out with me. He's 12 and we don't run together, but I like having him there.

I signed up for my first 10k. It's the Sat before Thanksgiving, I'm hoping for no cold rain. I did a 5k this past Saturday and the rain held off. It was chilly, 42 degrees at 9 am but it felt good about 5 min into it.