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

[PrincessV]

I have funny race accommodations news that I think DISers will enjoy...

I've been on the fence for weeks, trying to decide whether I can deal with an All Stars resort at the GP discount (I've had horrendous All Star stays, so it takes a lot to convince me to go back), go for a ridiculously low rate at the nearby Hilton Garden Inn, or go for luxury at the Hilton Bonnet Creek. Still undecided, I logged into the DVC member site to check-in online for an upcoming stay and - WHAT?! I already have a room booked on points for the TOT race??? I booked it so long ago, I totally forgot! PHEW - now the race is all set up and paid in advance.

Training's going well - in lieu of hills (of which we don't have many here in FL), I did 3 miles of tall bridge repeats on Sat. and felt great. I'll be at WDW the next two weeks and will try hard to get up early and run a few times; 3 different resort routes I plan to report back on in my blog. Technically, one of them should be a 7.5 miler, but we'll see how bad my feet are from Disney walking, which just kills my feet for some reason. I may make it shorter, if necessary.

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I am kinda a shoe (of all kind) hoarder .

I totally get that - I'm one too!

I'm not sure I can run AND play until 4:00am!

Seeing how brain-dead I was after my last long run, I'm not sure I'll manage more than a ride each on RnR and TOT before calling it a night! Legs were okay, but seriously, my mind was mush.

OK folks, who has any knowledge of "runner's knee"?? I think I got it, and need some help!

:: I went through a bout of it back in Feb. First, stay off of it for a couple weeks, as Coach said - NO IMPACT, and absolutely NO ZUMBA! Nothing that stresses and/or twists the knee. Ice, compression, rest. Then work on those quads. My doc gave me a bunch of great PT exercises that resolved the runner's knee and greatly improved my running; I still do them regularly. Try Googling "runner's knee physical therapy exercises."

The good news is that it's easily treatable and, for me anyway, a pretty quick recuperation; I was running again within a few weeks, stronger than before.

One more thought - try to determine the root cause. Overuse? Wrong shoes? Incorrect form? You don't want to have it happen again. In my case, it was a combination of needing to strengthen my quads and wrong shoes that allowed my knee to twist as I pushed off.

 

[freepixie]

:: I went through a bout of it back in Feb. First, stay off of it for a couple weeks, as Coach said - NO IMPACT, and absolutely NO ZUMBA! Nothing that stresses and/or twists the knee. Ice, compression, rest. Then work on those quads. My doc gave me a bunch of great PT exercises that resolved the runner's knee and greatly improved my running; I still do them regularly. Try Googling "runner's knee physical therapy exercises."

The good news is that it's easily treatable and, for me anyway, a pretty quick recuperation; I was running again within a few weeks, stronger than before.

One more thought - try to determine the root cause. Overuse? Wrong shoes? Incorrect form? You don't want to have it happen again. In my case, it was a combination of needing to strengthen my quads and wrong shoes that allowed my knee to twist as I pushed off.

I really think what has caused it is a combination of increasing my miles too quickly (one week I did 4 miles, the next I did 5 miles, and the next I did 6 miles- full out running) as well as my weak quads - I look at my legs and they truly are "out-of-balance" my calves look sweet and toned, but my thighs are still very flabby and fat!

I've been googling quad exercises and getting all confused about them, but my friend at the Y who does a lot of personal training said he will help me out, he is also my Zumba instructor I was going to get up there this morning but got caught up painting, so I'll have to try and catch him tomorrow!

Thanks for your help

 

[cewait]

Oooookayyyyy, that makes perfect sense! Yes, at least one of the hills fit that description. I was trying to just run them at my normal interval pace without letting them slow me down. I can see I did it all wrong. I can also see how doing it the right way can build strength and, thus, speed. Now I'm questioning if I've been training the right way for the past 8 months and if that's why I'm seeing little progress with pace. I don't think I've been doing the short runs right. I'm starting with a coach for 8 weeks next week so hopefully she can help me figure this out.

I would not say you are doing it wrong.... I am just saying there is a more precise way. A way that will focus you on improvements rather than 'just getting the miles in" Feel free to ask questions as you go through your program.

 

[cewait]

Coach, I'm following Jeff's plan and doing short runs on T/Th and my long runs on Sat. Should the hills be part of the T/Th runs (I usually run over 2 miles on the treadmill) or should I add in as an additional day? I am using his 1/2 marathon app now, since it has the "turn around at the 1/2 way mark" and for it he has a walk day in there plus T/Th short, and a long. I walk my dog 2 miles every week day, so I have the distance in there, I'm just not sure how to add in the hills.

It's simple, convert the t/th days to strength/speed days. Hills will be a simple add on the TM. The set of buttons on the left of the panel will take care of that. I have a profile that I run that lasts an hour. In real simple terms its a 5 minute warm up followed by 2 minutes at each of 6, 7, 8, 9 an 10% elevation... repeated 5 times. A simpler hill profile for a 30 minute workout follows...

5 minute warm up
3 minutes at 6%
1 @ 2%
3 @ 7%
1 @ 2%
3 @ 8%
1 @ 2%
3 @ 8%
1 @ 2%
3 @ 7%
1 @ 2%
3 @ 6%
1 @ 2%
5 minute cool down

You really want to be at a 8-9 effort (out of 10) and only able to say 1-3 syllables per breath nearing the end of the hills. This works out really well for those using a 3/1 interval. Also, NO holding on.

Note that all TM running should be at 2% elevation. The logic is that the mill is doing some of the work by driving the belt and that you are not having to overcome air friction. This is presented in various literature in a range from 1% up to 2%.

 

[Disneychix]

Hi All! My training is coming along nicely. I think I may work on some of the Hill training as described above. I'm not terribly fast and I could use a little speed boost

I am very excited that I got my park tickets that we ordered through Run Disney! Such a good deal! WooHoo!

 

[twoWDWfools]

I got an email today about the ToT and it says the villain bash goes until 4:00am! I'm not sure I can run AND play until 4:00am!

Wow! We leave Sunday on cruise so wonder if I should just stay up, party then go back to room, shower and pack.

 

[poohbear8]

Wow! We leave Sunday on cruise so wonder if I should just stay up, party then go back to room, shower and pack.

Won't you be exhausted on the cruise if you stay up all night after running? Also, your cabin might not be ready for awhile, so you may not be able to find a place to sleep for a bit. I know when we took our first cruise (not Disney), we checked in early, went to lunch, and THEN got to go find our cabin.


Thanks Coach for the info on hills! I will mess with the TM tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

[999Frights]

Does anyone have a TOT race registration for sale? I found out about this raçe three weeks ago and of course its sold out. I'd love to run this race.

 

[cewait]

One more Hill thought.....

If you are not cursing me (at least mentally), run harder.

Let me know how it goes

 

[sumlee]

Wow! We leave Sunday on cruise so wonder if I should just stay up, party then go back to room, shower and pack.

Hello! We are cruising on that Sunday too - Freedom of the Seas, Western Caribbean. Which cruise are you doing?

 

[erinna]

Hi all,

While wandering the Mousecular interwebs, I came across this blog post on the ToT course, and I thought y'all might find it interesting!

http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/race-courses-they-can-make-or-break-you

Off to run some hills!

 

[Lynn57]

Hi all,

While wandering the Mousecular interwebs, I came across this blog post on the ToT course, and I thought y'all might find it interesting!

http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/race-courses-they-can-make-or-break-you

Off to run some hills!

Is it just me or do those hills not seem that large? At first glance I was scared, then I realized that the graph really is only a range of 30 feet. A 30 vertical foot hill isn't big, at least by my New England standards. I guess it all depends what you are used to training on!

 

[jeanigor]

Is it just me or do those hills not seem that large? At first glance I was scared, then I realized that the graph really is only a range of 30 feet. A 30 vertical foot hill isn't big, at least by my New England standards. I guess it all depends what you are used to training on!

I was thinking the same thing. Its an over pass.

 

[twoWDWfools]

We are cruising on the Disney Dream. Been on the Magic and Wonder.

We'd likely have time for a nap as we are using DCL transfers and normally by the time you get to port and checked in cabin is ready. Plus I doubt my hubby will be up for staying up all night. LOL

There are no real hills on the WDW courses - just over passes.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Is it just me or do those hills not seem that large? At first glance I was scared, then I realized that the graph really is only a range of 30 feet. A 30 vertical foot hill isn't big, at least by my New England standards. I guess it all depends what you are used to training on!

I was thinking the same thing. Its an over pass.

I was thinking the same thing as the both of you--I know there is an overpassfor the Princess course, so I wouldn't think it would be much worse than that, right?

 

[jeanigor]

I was thinking the same thing as the both of you--I know there is an overpassfor the Princess course, so I wouldn't think it would be much worse than that, right?

They are the same ones as during the Wine & Dine.

Judging by Google Maps and memory, we will go up an exit ramp to cross over World Drive then a little bit down the road we will cross over Buena Vista Drive, circle back before the Animal Kingdom hill and then repeat them. Somewhat similar to the Princess/Donald over passes.

 

[AnotherPrincess]

So now I'm starting to think a little past the training and think about the trip itself. It's about my bazillionth trip to Disney and can do most of it in my sleep. However, I got to thinking that I've never been over to WWOS before. Since I'll have to be over there during the day for packet pick up, is there anything worth checking out while we're there? Anything to see or do?

 

[poohbear8]

One more Hill thought.....

If you are not cursing me (at least mentally), run harder.

Let me know how it goes

I didn't get any workout in on Tuesday, but did manage to walk the dog for 2 miles and get over 10,000 steps in as I took both kids shopping for mattresses.

So I tackled my neighborhood hills today. I didn't plan it right, but the dog was walked BEFORE the hills, which I did realize was a HUGE mistake. Anyway, I found out what I suspected: I HATE hills! I tried to run as fast as I could, but could not "run" the whole minute. I finally got a system of run up for about 30 seconds, then walk for about 1 1/2 mins. It was also very hot and sunny, so I had to slow it down after about 3 tries. I shifted through several hills and did see some progress around try #2-3, but then it was all I could do to finish the 30 min workout.

I am running a 10K for a time to submit for ToT, so I will keep doing some hill work. The nice thing is my long run heading out is also up hill, so I am used to some hills, not the steep ones though.

Thanks for the advice! I hope to try the treadmill next week, where it is cooler!

About the hills on the course: when you guys say "overpass" do you mean the clover leaf turns off the highway? Some of those are pretty long. I'm a little worried now.

 

[TiggerAllie]

Any advice on acclimating to the heat?

Tonight, I waited until almost 9PM to run, and it was still 80 degrees. I got in about 4 mi, but I don't know that I could have gone a lot further in the heat. The Disneyland Half is in about 8 weeks, and I need to be able to train longer distances again! (And inside training is not an option for me.)

I'm hoping just spending more time running in the heat will help, but I'd love some more specific suggestions!

 

[cewait]

Any advice on acclimating to the heat?

Tonight, I waited until almost 9PM to run, and it was still 80 degrees. I got in about 4 mi, but I don't know that I could have gone a lot further in the heat. The Disneyland Half is in about 8 weeks, and I need to be able to train longer distances again! (And inside training is not an option for me.)

I'm hoping just spending more time running in the heat will help, but I'd love some more specific suggestions!

I feel your pain as we barely get below 80 in the evening around here in the summer. I am a morning runner, especially in the summer. That gets you into the coolest part of the day. If that is not an option, hydrate well through the day. Carry water on the run. Slow up just a bit. Do not worry about losing a minute or so a mile due to heat. You will gain that speed back, if not more, once temps moderate. Running in the heat of summer is a great mental tool as it (within reason) toughens the resolve to run in a race.