*Official 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon Runners' Thread!*

[DVCMAUREEN]

A big "THANK YOU" to all who have commented on Jeff Galloway's running book. I purchased for my iPad last night. Let me tell you it's really an eye opener and makes a lot of sense. I coached HS and JH runners for years and always prescribed to the RUN RUN RUN method. I guess if I had it to do over again, I'd have let them take some breaks.

I often wondered why I have had many bouts with tendonitis, plantar fasciatis (SP?) and achy knees. Well, it's because I have been training too hard. Thanks, Jeff. I will insert walk breaks HERE.

Looking forward to January 2013!

-Mandy

Great! I hope it proves helpful in keeping you injury free. Good luck with your training!

 

[DistanceMaven]

Hi All,

I stumbled on to this thread after looking for the registration for the 2013 Goofy. I just ran the WDW Marathon this year and it was a great experience. I can say I was in one of the slower corrals and I did find myself bobbing and weaving around people at some points particularly when the streets narrowed. Over all, not bad for a first marathon experience. Very well organized!!!

But the point to my reply, while I was standing in my corral at the start. I came across a middle aged gentleman who was running the Goofy. He wasn't particularly fit but said that he did this every year for the last 5 years. He didn't train much, only running on the treadmill. And that the pain that he felt from the half marathon was relieved by the full marathon. "I can't explain it." He stated.

Funny enough, he caught up to me at mile 22. I was battling IT band syndrome in both knees. And I was run/walking at my "safe" pace I set for myself incase I became hurt. He looks at me "Only 4.2 miles to go! You can do that in your sleep!"

And with that, he has inspired me to do the Goofy. I have no doubt he made it in a little over 6 hours as I passed the finish line in 5:51:29. Even though, I have my shiny Mickey Metal hanging up. One isn't enough. I've been caught by the bug!

At least I have a year to get my knees to heal!

 

[liznboys]

Ok fellow DISers, a question for you.

I am planning to run the full in '13, it will be my first. I have run 7 halfs so far (with one more on the schedule for this fall). My running coach is going with me to Disney, and he is doing the Goofy. He is really trying to get me to go for it too. But I am nervous about being able to do almost 40 miles of running in 2 days! He is an experienced runner and triathlete, and I don't doubt that he feels I can do it. I am just not so sure for myself.

So my question would be, is it crazy to Go Goofy for my first marathon experience? I would most likely opt to take it easy on the half and give the full all I've got. I am not looking to PR the half, and since its my first full, its an automatic PR!

Talk to me folks!

It might be crazy but I'm doing it too! Goofy will be my first Full. I've done 7 halfs, and will do two or three more this year. I did the half and the relay last weekend so it was nice to get some back to back race experience. I did the first leg of the relay and although I was happy I was turning left to my finish line while the fullers continued on to the right, I was thinking to myself, COULD I keep going right now?? And the answer was yes. Now I realize a full is a whole 'nother ballgame and I have a lot of work to do. But going through the back to back halfs gave me a mental boost...enough to commit to the Goofy.

 

[RunRookie]

I am encouraged and excited as I read this thread and see people that are deciding/considering to run the Goofy for the first time in 2013 -- something that I have also decided to do! I know that it will be a challenge, but I am a determined kinda person and I have a year to prepare for it!

As I stood cheering for WISHers as they finished their Fulls and Goofys, and I thought to myself "could I run today?" And the answer I came to was 'Yes' but I had no idea for how long a distance. Maybe another Half but surely not a Full. And that is because I hadn't trained for that kind of distance yet. But to feel that I still had something in the legs (and the heart) on Sunday gave me the idea that with the proper training, I could be out there next year. So I am going to go for it! I am going to train smart, avoid injuries from overtraining, but I am going to do this!

By the time WDW 2013 comes around, I will have run four Halfs as well as my first Full in October. So I feel that I will have a decent idea of the kind of pacing and strategy I will need to be successful. I am not looking for PRs in 2013, I just want to have fun and finish my races (I am going to run the 5K also so I guess I am going Dopey ).

Let's keep encouraging one another as we embark upon our next journey towards our next 'staying healthy and active' milestone! There are great people here who have done this already, and will help us get there too! That is the great thing about WISH!

Now all I have to do is finish my next HM this Saturday! One step at a time...

 

[TinyDancer]

Any idea what the date for the 2013 Princess half might be? Thanks!

My guess is February 24th.

 

[TinyDancer]

Hi All,

I stumbled on to this thread after looking for the registration for the 2013 Goofy. I just ran the WDW Marathon this year and it was a great experience. I can say I was in one of the slower corrals and I did find myself bobbing and weaving around people at some points particularly when the streets narrowed. Over all, not bad for a first marathon experience. Very well organized!!!

But the point to my reply, while I was standing in my corral at the start. I came across a middle aged gentleman who was running the Goofy. He wasn't particularly fit but said that he did this every year for the last 5 years. He didn't train much, only running on the treadmill. And that the pain that he felt from the half marathon was relieved by the full marathon. "I can't explain it." He stated.

Funny enough, he caught up to me at mile 22. I was battling IT band syndrome in both knees. And I was run/walking at my "safe" pace I set for myself incase I became hurt. He looks at me "Only 4.2 miles to go! You can do that in your sleep!"

And with that, he has inspired me to do the Goofy. I have no doubt he made it in a little over 6 hours as I passed the finish line in 5:51:29. Even though, I have my shiny Mickey Metal hanging up. One isn't enough. I've been caught by the bug!

At least I have a year to get my knees to heal!

This is amazing and so inspiring!!

 

[Ariel484]

Not sure if anyone answered this for you...

A few random questions I was thinking about the other day:

1. When does registration usually open?

Mid-March, I think.

2. When and how do you get your Goofy bling? I assume you get your Donald and Mickey medals as you finish each individual race, but how do they know who gets a Mickey and who gets a Mickey and a Goofy?

This year Goofy racers wore orange bibs, marathon runners wore red bibs and relay runners wore white bibs. Once Goofy runners were given their marathon medal they walked a bit further to find volunteers giving out Goofy medals just before re-entering the staging/family reunion area.

3. The Dopey - 5K + half + full. Is that an official event/medal? Or just something people made up? Also, I understand the characters/theme for the 5K changes every year. When would the 2013 be announced?

Someone else can probably confirm this, but I don't think the Dopey is an official event/medal, and I'm not sure when the 2013 5K theme will be announced.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ariel484]

Oh, and count me in for going Goofy in 2013!

For the first 30 minutes after finishing the WDW full on January 8, I thought "never again." The next day, while waiting in the airport for my flight home, I found myself googling Goofy training plans. Yay!

Can't wait for Marathon Weekend 2013!!

 

[DrMomof3]

Oh gosh! All this talk about Goofy in 2013 has me wondering if I shouldn't re-consider my decision to "only" do the full....

Amanda

 

[Ariel484]

Oh gosh! All this talk about Goofy in 2013 has me wondering if I shouldn't re-consider my decision to "only" do the full....

Amanda

Only a full...LOL!

Hey, whatever you decide, at least you will likely get a cool 20th anniversary WDW full medal!! (Assuming they are doing that...I'd be surprised if they didn't).

 

[DVCMAUREEN]

And with that, he has inspired me to do the Goofy. I have no doubt he made it in a little over 6 hours as I passed the finish line in 5:51:29. Even though, I have my shiny Mickey Metal hanging up. One isn't enough. I've been caught by the bug!

At least I have a year to get my knees to heal!

That's how it starts, you meet some crazy runner and realize that you can do it too.

It's been my experience that IT band issues stem from weak hip abductor and glute muscles. Google exercises for hip abductor and glutes and try to build up those muscles. Good luck!

 

[pilk]

I am in for the Goofy next year.

Donald this year was my first HM, then I followed that up immediately with my second. I ran the first leg of the Chip and Dale. After completing the relay my legs were still feeling good and I felt like I could continue going to the end of the full. Between now and then I'll be putting in a couple more HM.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone as we go through the join of getting ready for 2013.

Jon

 

[RadioFanatic]

Oh gosh! All this talk about Goofy in 2013 has me wondering if I shouldn't re-consider my decision to "only" do the full....

Amanda

Well, I did the 1/2 this year and was considering the 1/2 next year to better my time (my dh got hurt in the 1/2 and I lost about 15 minutes helping him - would do it again in a heartbeat - he's obviously more worth it!); but dh is saying I should do the full, especially since it's the 20th anniversary and he knows I can do it. This is my question though - I work FT, have a preschooler, and it was tough finding that time to train for the 1/2 - granted I had to share that time with dh who has no interest in running anymore. Any words of wisdom from those in similar situations? I quoted drmomof3 bc I know she's in a similar situation but would love to hear from others. I already get up at 4:30 am to run bc i have to be from work from 6:30-3pm and can't run in afternoons/evenings bc of dh's work and need to take care of son. I would love to hear some thoughts - thanks! I'm planning on doing a VERY vigorous 1/2 in the blue ridge mountains so am training for that now. I took 7 months to train for this past disney 1/2 which was my first, but I came from a place of never running in my life and being overweight. I'm now 70 pounds lighter at my correct weight and felt good after running the 1/2, no aches and pains and even felt like I could run a bit more - but this 1/2 was the most I had ever run before, prior to that it was 10 miles.

 

[dumbo_buddy]

i've been reading race reports and looking at pictures and thinking about the marathon all week! i'm really looking forward to this journey. it will be such a great accomplishment, especially since i HATE running.

when i trained for the princess '11 i went on my long runs picturing myself on the race course and the feelings i'd have. i'll be doing that again. it kept me going. that, and the fact that i'd already paid for the vacation and the entrance fee so i needed to get my butt in gear!!

 

[wkrider]

My guess is February 24th.

Thank you TinyDancer.

 

[gerberdaisy1234]

Hi

I have been missing in action from disboards and training. .But getting back on track. Very excited to join this group!! Joining in on page 12 I have some catching up to do

Planning the whole trip will help motivate me. Hopefully, DH and DS(10) will do 5k and DD(14) and I will do Half. If we can get someone else to come along to be with DS maybe DH can do Half with us. We are planning on doing a four night Dream cruise. Thought we would do the Sunday after. I booked Jan. 6 cruise but have been seeing prediction that it will be following weekend. Do you think it would work to do cruise (Sun-Thurs) before half marathon or should I change cruise dates?

DH and I will hopefully do our first Half this spring. We have been doing 5Ks, I have done one 10K and he has done a few.

We are all packing extra lbs.

Any advice welcome!

 

[Saylan]

So after a wonderful (and still to-be-reported) half marathon at WDW this January, I've decided I want to run again. Alright, I'd kind of already decided before then, but it solidified it for me.

Now the issue is this: Full or Goofy? I enjoyed the Half (and I loved the Princess) but I want the 20th anniversary medal. I'm not gonna lie, the bling is deciding this one. But I'm undecided if I should go from having done three halves to a Goofy instead of 'just' a Full? Is there ever really 'just' a Full?

I'd love the challenge and the bling of the Goofy (and I was super jealous of all the Goofyers I saw) but is it too much of a jump even with almost a year to train?

The other dilemma that I put off ding with due a wellspread race list was ingrown toenails. I know I can't be the only one with them and mine really aren't gross or anything (I've seen a lot of nasty photos now and again of other toes), but I found with all the walking at the parks and the running I did, that they definitely ached a fair bit. I found I adjusted my foot movements due to that and there were blistering issues as a consequence.

I now have the time since I won't be doing any races for the next while, to look into solutions for this but I'm not sure what the best course would be. Does anyone have any experience or advice with this? What my pedorthist suggested was something called the Vandenbos procedure but I'd rather avoid surgery if I can help it. And on a day-to-day basis they're weird-looking but pain-free and fine, it's just if I plan to go further distances or continue running halves, I think it's time to fix the issues.

And I should probably stop TMIng the board now...

 

[TinyDancer]

Hi

I have been missing in action from disboards and training. .But getting back on track. Very excited to join this group!! Joining in on page 12 I have some catching up to do

Planning the whole trip will help motivate me. Hopefully, DH and DS(10) will do 5k and DD(14) and I will do Half. If we can get someone else to come along to be with DS maybe DH can do Half with us. We are planning on doing a four night Dream cruise. Thought we would do the Sunday after. I booked Jan. 6 cruise but have been seeing prediction that it will be following weekend. Do you think it would work to do cruise (Sun-Thurs) before half marathon or should I change cruise dates?

DH and I will hopefully do our first Half this spring. We have been doing 5Ks, I have done one 10K and he has done a few.

We are all packing extra lbs.

Any advice welcome!

That sounds awesome!!

 

[DVCMAUREEN]

Well, I did the 1/2 this year and was considering the 1/2 next year to better my time (my dh got hurt in the 1/2 and I lost about 15 minutes helping him - would do it again in a heartbeat - he's obviously more worth it!); but dh is saying I should do the full, especially since it's the 20th anniversary and he knows I can do it. This is my question though - I work FT, have a preschooler, and it was tough finding that time to train for the 1/2 - granted I had to share that time with dh who has no interest in running anymore. Any words of wisdom from those in similar situations? I quoted drmomof3 bc I know she's in a similar situation but would love to hear from others. I already get up at 4:30 am to run bc i have to be from work from 6:30-3pm and can't run in afternoons/evenings bc of dh's work and need to take care of son. I would love to hear some thoughts - thanks! I'm planning on doing a VERY vigorous 1/2 in the blue ridge mountains so am training for that now. I took 7 months to train for this past disney 1/2 which was my first, but I came from a place of never running in my life and being overweight. I'm now 70 pounds lighter at my correct weight and felt good after running the 1/2, no aches and pains and even felt like I could run a bit more - but this 1/2 was the most I had ever run before, prior to that it was 10 miles.

Congratulations on finishing your 1/2 and the weight loss! I don't have kids so I haven't had that time management challenge, but I'll put in my 2 cents anyway. Since you already get up early to run in the mornings before work, you shouldn't have to change your weekday routine. As long as DH and you can work out a schedule on the weekends where he watches DS for a few hours, you can definitely manage. Let's say you plan, on average, to run 2 hours on Saturdays and an hour on Sundays. You'll probably increase to a few 3 hour runs in November and maybe a couple 4 hour runs (depending on your pace) in December. (This is just a rough estimate of time for planning purposes.)

What race are you doing in the Blue Ridge Mountains? I'm near the northern end.

 

[DVCMAUREEN]

I now have the time since I won't be doing any races for the next while, to look into solutions for this but I'm not sure what the best course would be. Does anyone have any experience or advice with this? What my pedorthist suggested was something called the Vandenbos procedure but I'd rather avoid surgery if I can help it. And on a day-to-day basis they're weird-looking but pain-free and fine, it's just if I plan to go further distances or continue running halves, I think it's time to fix the issues.

And I should probably stop TMIng the board now...

I haven't had issues with ingrown toenails yet, but I have lost one. Talk about gross!

I use to keep my toenails as short as possible but I read that you should keep your toenails squared off so they go straight across rather than trimmed to follow the curve of your toe. This will allegedly prevent the skin from growing over the side of the nail. A podiatrist confirmed this. The book I read was "Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatments for Athletes." It also has recommendations for preventing blisters.