Official inaugural Tower of Terror 10 miler thread. September 29, 2012

[PrincessV]

FYI, for anyone who doesn't mind driving or taking a taxi to the race, Hilton Bonnet Creek has a deal going: $119/night for 2 or more nights that weekend. Unfortunately for me, it jumps to $135 for a single night, but it's still a better value than WDW mods at this point, and I can't see AP rates touching it, either. Note that this is a "Great Escape" (or something like that) price and non-refundable.

Also, Hilton in Downtown Disney has the same special going at $111/night with the same restrictions.

Thought I'd pass it along as I'm doing my bargain hunting!

ETA: $199/night at the Waldorf, too!

 

[Mickeyfan74]

Hello,

I am also counting the days to TOT!

Not sure how many of you realize that there is a MNSSHP on Friday the 28th night before TOT. My friend and I will be going to that.
You can buy advance purchase tickets now for about $59.00 adult price.
This party will be sold out I imagine for sure.

Also, if anyone has booked a disney room only reservation you can call the WDW-IRUN number and purchase park passes for $59.00 per day. I didn't book my hotel through IRUN but I did book a military discount through Disney and they said that I still qualified for the discounted tickets. Terrific! Not sure how much energy I'll have with staying up late 2 nights in a row but I'm planning on enjoying every minute of it.

 

[Mickeyfan74]

Oh. There is also another MNSSHP on the evening of the 30th of Sept as well.

 

[annmarieda]

Oh. There is also another MNSSHP on the evening of the 30th of Sept as well.

This is the one I will be going to

 

[freepixie]

Hello,

I am also counting the days to TOT!

Not sure how many of you realize that there is a MNSSHP on Friday the 28th night before TOT. My friend and I will be going to that.
You can buy advance purchase tickets now for about $59.00 adult price.
This party will be sold out I imagine for sure.

I'll be there!! We have our tickets and can't wait - our first ever MNSSHP!! First time ever traveling to WDW at this time of year!! Its gonna be AWESOME

 

[sumlee]

I'll be there!! We have our tickets and can't wait - our first ever MNSSHP!! First time ever traveling to WDW at this time of year!! Its gonna be AWESOME

We went last year and it was amazing! I love WDW at Halloween time! You are going to have so much fun!

 

[poohbear8]

For those who have done races with a run/walk plan, what ratios did you use? I trained for the Royal 5k (my first race) last Feb and my goal was be jogging when my feet were moving.I figured I could rest at the picture stops. I trained on the treadmill at a 15 min mile. The lines were so long for the pictures my running buddy and I jogged the whole thing without stopping and averaged just under 14 min miles.

I know there is no way I can jog the whole 10 miles, but don't know what ratio I should aim for. I am following Jeff's ToT plan and his 5K interval app. I do want to be able to take pictures this time and I am planning on a race at the end of July to get my time to submit. I did a work out today (with it set to "improve my speed") and it had me run for 30 and walk for 45 which I was able to do ok. I was on a treadmill and could handle a faster run then he suggested, so I went for the faster pace. I'm new to his plan, so I don't know exactly what I should or should not be doing.

Tomorrow is a long run, I think it's 5 miles (I'll be outside) and I think the goal is to just complete it and take it slow? Does that sound right?

I welcome any feedback or ideas!

 

[cewait]

For those who have done races with a run/walk plan, what ratios did you use? I trained for the Royal 5k (my first race) last Feb and my goal was be jogging when my feet were moving.I figured I could rest at the picture stops. I trained on the treadmill at a 15 min mile. The lines were so long for the pictures my running buddy and I jogged the whole thing without stopping and averaged just under 14 min miles.

I know there is no way I can jog the whole 10 miles, but don't know what ratio I should aim for. I am following Jeff's ToT plan and his 5K interval app. I do want to be able to take pictures this time and I am planning on a race at the end of July to get my time to submit. I did a work out today (with it set to "improve my speed") and it had me run for 30 and walk for 45 which I was able to do ok. I was on a treadmill and could handle a faster run then he suggested, so I went for the faster pace. I'm new to his plan, so I don't know exactly what I should or should not be doing.

Tomorrow is a long run, I think it's 5 miles (I'll be outside) and I think the goal is to just complete it and take it slow? Does that sound right?

I welcome any feedback or ideas!

First I am not a big coach with on 'one size fits all'. We are all an experiment of one. So what works for Joe or Sally may not work for you. Try out different intervals and see what works best for you. That is what training is all about. Well that and the endurance for the race. I am a little puzzled about the 30/45 speed workout but I am not going to say much more than if you can run/jog a 5k, this ratio may not going to help a lot - at least in my opinion. Next speed workout, run at least 200 years/meters and walk a similar amount of time. You want to be able to maintain the same pace for the entire running segment, but you also want effort so that you are feeling huffy puffy and the effort is hard to very hard.

For you long run... the pace should be aerobic... or one that you could carry on a nearly normal conversation if talking with a partner. That is the ideal pace.

Finally, getting to the intervals... Try 3 or4 minutes running with a 1 minute walk. If that is too much run, then back off on the ratio. You will figure out a ratio that works well.

Hope this helps

 

[Terapin]

Just wanted to jump in and say that I am signed up for this race! Decided that I really wanted to run it so booked my room at Saratoga Springs and signed up with Autism Speaks to be a fundraising runner. So excited to be part of this inaugaral (sp?) run!

 

[poohbear8]

First I am not a big coach with on 'one size fits all'. We are all an experiment of one. So what works for Joe or Sally may not work for you. Try out different intervals and see what works best for you. That is what training is all about. Well that and the endurance for the race. I am a little puzzled about the 30/45 speed workout but I am not going to say much more than if you can run/jog a 5k, this ratio may not going to help a lot - at least in my opinion. Next speed workout, run at least 200 years/meters and walk a similar amount of time. You want to be able to maintain the same pace for the entire running segment, but you also want effort so that you are feeling huffy puffy and the effort is hard to very hard.

For you long run... the pace should be aerobic... or one that you could carry on a nearly normal conversation if talking with a partner. That is the ideal pace.

Finally, getting to the intervals... Try 3 or4 minutes running with a 1 minute walk. If that is too much run, then back off on the ratio. You will figure out a ratio that works well.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the advice!! I'm doing the slower intervals because I stopped running after the 5k in Feb. I started using the Beginner training plan because I was worried I had lost too much. If I jog slow, I can jog longer than the 30 seconds, but haven't pushed myself for longer yet. On the treadmill, Jeff's program had me going much faster than I ever went, so the 30 seconds were good. I'm just not sure what is the best way to increase my speed. I have been on the treadmill for the weekday runs and my long runs are outside.

For the long runs: is the goal to finish, not be exhausted, and not worry about the time vs finishing at a good pace?

 

[Terapin]

I'm not a running coach but I have been working on my own running. I would suggest working on endurance a bit more before speed. I found that I would work on things step-wise: bring up my endurance, then try to keep at that distance/time goal at a faster speed, then go back to working on endurance.

My long runs are at a comfortable pace that I can keep going for the whole time. If I was doing 8k, I would run the first km at a slow pace, then run the middle 6km at a comfortable pace that I was sure that I could continue for the whole run, and then use the last km to cool down a bit. I finish tired, hot and sweaty, but not completely spent. I really need to refuel after these runs, and focus on protein.

I use my short runs as challenge runs, where I am working at being uncomfortable. I also do speed stuff at a track to work on speed and my thresholds. I finish the track stuff completely spent and generally hate every second (until it's over and I can track my progress).

I hope this helps!

 

[AnotherPrincess]

I just finished 9.4. I'm still too slow but hopefully I can still take some time off my pace in the next 3 months.

 

[poohbear8]

Thanks Terapin, that did help. I did over my 5 miles, due to a glitch on my part on Saturday. Total distance was 5.94 miles, which wasn't too hard. I did struggle with the 400 meter intervals Jeff's program had me running, but I slowed down and walked when I needed a break, then started jogging again. Tuesday is a treadmill day, so I will work on pushing myself more on then.

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

It will be my first MNSSHP, too. I'm going on Friday, also. I did the Pirate Princess event years ago. In addition, I hope to do the MVMCP this year.

 

[es45]

It will be my first MNSSHP, too. I'm going on Friday, also. I did the Pirate Princess event years ago. In addition, I hope to do the MVMCP this year.

We are also planning to attend the MNSSHP on Friday! Looking forward to it as it is our first hard ticket event.

 

[Mickeyfan74]

We are also planning to attend the MNSSHP on Friday! Looking forward to it as it is our first hard ticket event.

I am a long time disney visitor but this will be my first HP! I think the MVMCP is amazing and the HP looks great as well. Disney always spares no expense to provide the best fireworks!

Trying to figure out simple costumes for TOT. Because it's at night I've been looking at colorful LED lights and necklaces. Maybe something blue also since it's for Autism Speaks! I have one niece and one nephew with Autism my sister is the greatest to have the patience with them both.

Happy training everyone.

 

[WalkingintheFog]

Looking for some advice!

I did a 16k run (10mile) yesterday at Long Slow Run pace (Garmin showed showed it as 12min/mile), doing Run 10 Walk 1 the whole way. That was 2 hours.

Our temp was ~17 degrees. Celsius, ie 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
I'll prob never see 80 degrees Fahrenheit until I reach Florida.
Yes, at 60 degrees, we were sweating, and dried salt on face when done!

a. Even tho the dry salt on the face here isn't a big issue (I had no cramping/dizziness/lightheadedness/pain etc) I'm wondering why it happens & if in the heat that will be a Florida Run is this something that will be an issue and how can I ease it?

b. Just any suggestions to help me be ready for the heat of the TOT run? I'm counting on a bit of a break in Temps because it will be dark & late!
(can't do noontime runs due to work schedule, although Saturday could be an option)

Thanks!

 

[PrincessV]

For those who have done races with a run/walk plan, what ratios did you use?

See below...

First I am not a big coach with on 'one size fits all'. We are all an experiment of one. So what works for Joe or Sally may not work for you. Try out different intervals and see what works best for you.

^^ I could not agree more. Even as an individual, I run different intervals based on lots of factors, including tired or injured legs, temperature, distance, mood, etc. That said, my first race was the Princess 5K and I threw my prescribed intervals out the door within 5 minutes - there was so much slowing down due to crowding and stopping for pics, that sticking to an interval pattern proved impossible; I just ran when I could and walked when I couldn't. Ditto for the Expedition Everest Challenge. I think the TOT will have a little of that in narrower, more congested spots, but a lot less than those shorter races.

As for finding your perfect intervals, I think it's all about trial and error. Keep testing them out on your training runs and see what feels good!

I just finished 9.4. I'm still too slow but hopefully I can still take some time off my pace in the next 3 months.

9.4 is fantastic - you're almost there!

... in the heat that will be a Florida Run is this something that will be an issue and how can I ease it?

b. Just any suggestions to help me be ready for the heat of the TOT run? I'm counting on a bit of a break in Temps because it will be dark & late!
(can't do noontime runs due to work schedule, although Saturday could be an option)

Floridian here! :: In a word, YES, heat will be an issue. Late Sept. is still summer here - temps will be high and humidity higher. I'm slogging through it now and I won't lie - it's tough, even being "used to it." How to deal with it?
1. HYDRATE!!! Not just during the race, but in the days before. I've seen a huge difference in long runs when I make sure to pre-hydrate vs. not.
2. Slow it down. I hate this one, but I can attest that slowing down my pace in the heat means I can go longer, easier.
3. Lightweight, wicking clothes. Frankly, with every inch of me drenched in sweat, it's hard to understand why good tech fabrics work at all, but they do.

You're right that we at least won't have the blazing FL sun to deal with, but we will have asphalt that's been baking in it all day and that holds heat for many hours after the sun goes down, plus the air temps and humidity. Totally manageable - I do it 3 times a week! - but do assume it'll be different from what you're used to.

 

[PrincessV]

I'm happy to report that I got last week's long run in before TS Debby dumped all over us - 7.1 miles, my longest distance yet! My goal was to see a 13:00 pace and I came in at 12:46, so I'm pleased. Better still, I wasn't toast at the end - at least not physically. How come no one warns you that, even if your legs are okay, you're brain-dead the rest of the day after a long run?! Or is that just me?!?! I had to go grocery shopping afterward and it was one big, fat mental struggle to remember if we needed peanut butter or not.

 

[es45]

I am a long time disney visitor but this will be my first HP! I think the MVMCP is amazing and the HP looks great as well. Disney always spares no expense to provide the best fireworks!

Trying to figure out simple costumes for TOT. Because it's at night I've been looking at colorful LED lights and necklaces. Maybe something blue also since it's for Autism Speaks! I have one niece and one nephew with Autism my sister is the greatest to have the patience with them both.

Happy training everyone.

Like you, I'm wanting something simple for TOT. The LED lights would be great! You could also use some type of blue glow-in-dark fabric paint on your shirt, perhaps even painting the Autism Speaks logo on there.