Official 2018 Star Wars Dark Side Weekend

[MickeyMinnieMom]

For those outside of Florida - I would start increasing your water intake now.

Seems really early to be doing this, no? I've heard about slightly increasing water intake in the couple of days before.

Something I came across the other day:

"To get to this optimum state the first and most important thing to do is to avoid dramatically over-drinking. Whilst it is a good idea to take in one or two additional cups of fluid each day in the final couple of days to make up for any lingering shortfall in your system it is certainly not necessary or beneficial to go crazy with the drinking over and above what your body is telling you that you need."

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/how-to-properly-hydrate-before-race-day/​

 

[FlashAM7]

Yeah, this is one of my bigger worries. I live in Indy. We haven't had anything resembling Spring so far. Snowing this morning in fact. The temps later in the week are supposed to climb into the 60s. I'm hoping it stays that way until I leave next Wednesday, so I can start acclimating to warmer temps. I've tried to keep my blood thinner throughout Winter by letting my hair grow out. I haven't cut it in months, and I usually have it buzzed pretty tight. It seems to have worked pretty well because I have felt colder this Winter than I have in years. accuweather.com is predicting a morning temp of 70 for the half with very high humidity. That's still 2 weeks out, but accuweather is fairly accurate even that far out. Guess I won't be hitting a PR unless a cool front comes through. I have started running in more clothes too.

Ehh if I remember correctly I believe Accuweather predicted temps in the 60s for Marathon weekend two weeks out and that didn't turn out too well. I think about 5-7 days beforehand we started to see the temps going down on the forecast. I could be wrong though.

 

[FlashAM7]

Seems really early to be doing this, no? I've heard about slightly increasing water intake in the couple of days before.

Something I came across the other day:

"To get to this optimum state the first and most important thing to do is to avoid dramatically over-drinking. Whilst it is a good idea to take in one or two additional cups of fluid each day in the final couple of days to make up for any lingering shortfall in your system it is certainly not necessary or beneficial to go crazy with the drinking over and above what your body is telling you that you need."

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/how-to-properly-hydrate-before-race-day/​

This. I've heard of a lot of people overhydrating before races. I always use the rule of drinking half of my body weight in ounces. So a 200 lb person should drink 100oz of water the day leading up a race.

 

[drummerwife]

Ehh if I remember correctly I believe Accuweather predicted temps in the 60s for Marathon weekend two weeks out and that didn't turn out too well. I think about 5-7 days beforehand we started to see the temps going down on the forecast. I could be wrong though.

You’re remembering correctly.
I kept adding more cold weather running gear and throw down clothes to my suitcase and it still wasn’t enough! I no longer trust anyone’s forecast if it’s over 3 days out.

 

[BikeFan]

For those outside of Florida - I would start increasing your water intake now.

It's not water, but I plan on drinking a lot of it!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

This. I've heard of a lot of people overhydrating before races. I always use the rule of drinking half of my body weight in ounces. So a 200 lb person should drink 100oz of water the day leading up a race.

For the amount of people I've seen ill during Dark Side races the past two years or even Princess this year - that is why I'm warning about it now. If you increase too fast, your system won't like it much. Add it in gradually.

My husband and I go by the half our body weight rule but that is a daily water intake we already do.

 

[FlashAM7]

For the amount of people I've seen ill during Dark Side races the past two years or even Princess this year - that is why I'm warning about it now. If you increase too fast, your system won't like it much. Add it in gradually.

My husband and I go by the half our body weight rule but that is a daily water intake we already do.

Good point to start practicing now. Another thing I've heard that helps is increasing sodium intake in the days leading up to a longer race. The increased sodium allows your body to absorb more water. So I'd suggest hydrating with a mix of nuun, Gatorade, or other electrolyte fluid in addition to straight water.

 

[LilyJC]

Was anyone at the DL half 2017??? I don’t remember the actual temp/humidity on Sunday, but I do remember it was nasty! I’m fairly certain I remember hearing they red-flagged it eventually. Anyhow, just trying to get an idea to compare the two weekends. This will be truly a bizarre experience as our only other trip to WDW/Florida was for Dopey ‘18 and we froze our buns off!

 

[BikeFan]

Be prepared to be slow for the race as well.

For the amount of people I've seen ill during Dark Side races the past two years or even Princess this year - that is why I'm warning about it now. If you increase too fast, your system won't like it much. Add it in gradually.

My husband and I go by the half our body weight rule but that is a daily water intake we already do.

Great advice, especially the go slow part. I ran Dark Side in 2016, and it was hot and humid - definitely not PR weather. It was fine though, because we just wanted to have fun and get lots of pictures and our medals, all of which we did. Not every race needs to be a PR attempt, and there's nothing wrong with taking your time and enjoying the experience if the weather isn't ideal for faster running.

 

[ANIM8R]

Was anyone at the DL half 2017??? I don’t remember the actual temp/humidity on Sunday, but I do remember it was nasty! I’m fairly certain I remember hearing they red-flagged it eventually. Anyhow, just trying to get an idea to compare the two weekends. This will be truly a bizarre experience as our only other trip to WDW/Florida was for Dopey ‘18 and we froze our buns off!

Yes! Ugh...that was my 5th DL Half and my takeaway from the previous four was how mild the humidity was - even the days it was high-80s/low-90s.
Nope, not last year. I was drenched by mile 4 or 5. That was tough!

The only race the stands out as being more miserable (in terms of heat + humidity) was the 2016 WDW Full. I was drenched by the parking booths at mile 3.

As an aside....Hey runDisney - make with the Merch preview already!!!

 

[PrincessV]

Was anyone at the DL half 2017??? I don’t remember the actual temp/humidity on Sunday, but I do remember it was nasty! I’m fairly certain I remember hearing they red-flagged it eventually. Anyhow, just trying to get an idea to compare the two weekends. This will be truly a bizarre experience as our only other trip to WDW/Florida was for Dopey ‘18 and we froze our buns off!

I've never been to rD Cali races, but just looked up the weather for Sept. 3, 2017 (that was the date, right?):
12am-12pm was 80-97*, 62-51% humidity

HIGHLY unlikely it'll be that hot in Orlando in late April - overnight lows are still in the 60s here, though it could certainly be high-60s or even low-70s, and afternoon highs are in the mid- to high-80s. But expect much higher humidity: it rises at night and starts to drop off at sunrise, typically. Usually at least 80%-90% overnight. Best description I can give for 90% humidity and a temp of 70 is WET: the air itself is wet, every surface is wet, your skin is damp just standing still.

 

[RunningPrince]

Was anyone at the DL half 2017??? I don’t remember the actual temp/humidity on Sunday, but I do remember it was nasty! I’m fairly certain I remember hearing they red-flagged it eventually. Anyhow, just trying to get an idea to compare the two weekends. This will be truly a bizarre experience as our only other trip to WDW/Florida was for Dopey ‘18 and we froze our buns off!

We were there as well - it was 76 degrees at the start and moved into the mid 80s quickly with humidity that I hadn't seen in my 11 years of running that race. It went red flag about 2.5 hours after it started - they didn't stop the race but everyone slowed down. I was drenched before the race even started and had to slow my pace by several minutes - I've run at DLR and WDW races since 2006 and had never experienced that heat/humidity in a CA race before. Hoping for mid 60s for the upcoming races.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Hydration: DW drinks a large carafe of water daily, so she's set. Work just got a water/ice machine in the break room, so I'm drinking several ounces more water a day. And less vanilla Pepsi from the downstairs café. They make it old school-style. Vanilla syrup added to the Pepsi.

I've had some runs where the morning started cold, and then warmed up (a tiny bit). Left me sweaty, but hopeful that the extra layers will pay off. I've occasionally worn a long sleeve shirt indoors for treadmill runs.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

As an aside....Hey runDisney - make with the Merch preview already!!!

Actually, I like the lack of merchandise previews. Don't get me wrong as I'm excited to see it, but I think the availability of merchandise got a lot better once they stopped the previews. I think it cut back on the secondary market resellers who were not running the race.

I remember runDisney repeatedly warning runners last year about the heat and saying it may not be the best day to attempt that PR. It was definitely hot last year. I started pouring water on my head and down my back as needed. All that said, it was not as hot as I feared. So I suppose that's a win.

 

[cavepig]

I remember runDisney repeatedly warning runners last year about the heat and saying it may not be the best day to attempt that PR. It was definitely hot last year. I started pouring water on my head and down my back as needed. All that said, it was not as hot as I feared. So I suppose that's a win.

It was the Humidity that got to me (not to used to at all) & besides a couple picture stops and slowing some to video I was going for time despite their warnings, ha! My legs were so freakin heavy that last mile. Glad the heat wasn't as bad for you, smart on the water! I should have dumped water on me, doh!

 

[Keels]

It's not water, but I plan on drinking a lot of it!

I’m on a version of this plan toooooo!!!

 

[Keels]

Was anyone at the DL half 2017??? I don’t remember the actual temp/humidity on Sunday, but I do remember it was nasty! I’m fairly certain I remember hearing they red-flagged it eventually. Anyhow, just trying to get an idea to compare the two weekends. This will be truly a bizarre experience as our only other trip to WDW/Florida was for Dopey ‘18 and we froze our buns off!

Me!

It was almost 80 before the race started and it got red-flagged right after I made it across the overpass from Angels Stadium - a bunch of cop cars pulled in behind us and cut the road off, and there were busses pulling up, but we’d already made it on to Disney property for the two mile parking lot jaunt.

They yelled at us that the race was red flagged and they were out of water (WUT), so take it easy. We all started running in a slow, single-file line in the one line of shade.

I had brunch reservations for 90 minutes after I finished, but I really just wanted shade and water instead of walking back to my room and then back to the DLH. I found a couch in the shade and immediately started sweating (I hadn’t sweated all race) so I knew I was OK and it was just SO hot.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

My hydration:

 

[Dis_Yoda]

(I'm really drinking to hide the pain of the bites of my toes/feet)

6 more weeks of puppy teething!

(It has gotten better in the past week - it still hurts though)

 

[FFigawi]

(I'm really drinking to hide the pain of the bites of my toes/feet)

6 more weeks of puppy teething!

(It has gotten better in the past week - it still hurts though)

Frozen carrots and other icy treats are great for helping them with teething.