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

[Skampigirl]

Hey gang, race is coming up! I am proud to say I finished 11 miles on Monday. I'm not sure I can convey how happy I am! Maybe a few more smileys?


Anyway now I am not sure what to do leading up to the race. I've already increased the plan a little bit. I run 3.5 miles twice a week, and then do my long run on the weekends usually. The last two "short" runs I did were 5 miles, the last two "long" runs I did were 9.5 and 11!

Confused as to what I should do now. Taper off? I don't want to tire myself out although I must say I felt very decent after the 11 mile. A little calf soreness, but I was able to tackle my ice skating lesson just fine. This gives me hope that I won't be wrecked after the race, because I have Disney plans! What do you guys think?

That's AWESOME! Congratulations! I totally think you deseerve more smiley faces! I completely agree with a taper. The goal is to rest your legs and build glycogen so you have lots of fuel for the big day (evening? ) I signed up for a local "5K on the Runway" race the Sunday before the race and will be on the road heading for Florida that week, so may get in only another 5K or less on a hotel treadmill and won't run after Wednesday (I'm doing the Haunted Trail Run 5K in the morning too). I'm looking forward to a couple of pre-race cool soaks in the resort pool!

I think you'd be fine to start a taper if you've gotten your mileage that high already...here's what my plan looks like leading up to the race:

this week: 4, 4, 7
next week: 4, 4, 10k
week after: 4, 3, 5
week of race: 3, 3, 10

This looks like an excellent plan - thank you!! Don't you love it when we start talking about the taper?!

Try some powerbar energy blasts with 1x or 2x caffeine.they are just right for me

I used to like sport beans, but they've changed something (they're sweeter and stronger) and I found at the WDW Half Marathon in January that my tummy was not happy after eating them Not good! Will try the energy blasts - thanks!! I've also bought honey stingers but haven't tried them yet. Has anyone tried them? Any issues?

Congratulations to everyone on their long runs! Now we're almost ready to begin the 2 week countdown!!

 

[Cripey]

Does anyone know generally how long the expo is?

I read that the hours for the expo for the ToT run is, friday from 12 to 8 (i think 8) and Saturday from 10 to 4...me and my friends were thinking of going on Saturday because we didn't wanna leave our only full park day (MK) smack in the middle of the day to go to the Expo....the thing I am worried about is if we do go on Saturday after our 10am breakfast ressie....is will we have enough time to go back to the hotel to chill out before the race.......we have to consider travel time back to hotel to relax and get prepared then travel time back to the race point....sorry if i am rambling....i hope I make sense with this question.

The expo can be as quick or as long as you want it to be...you can make a short trip of it...get your packet and go, or hang around for a bit and shop all the vendors. It's up to you. The only mandatory thing at the expo is picking up your race packet. Other than that, it's just a room of vendors and booths. At the halfs, they usually have a schedule of speakers talking about running issues, race plans, etc...I haven't heard about anything like that for this race so not sure if they are doing that...I kind of doubt it since it's a smaller race. And, since it's a smaller race with a smaller # of participants than the halfs, I would expect that there won't even be as many vendors as there are at the half expos. The smaller Expedition Everest didn't have any sort of expo...it was packet pick up only, with a very small tent selling a very limited amount of official race merch. If you go saturday AM after breakfast you will still have plenty of time to relax the rest of the day. If you're worried about adding travel time to and from the expo on the busses, you could always take a cab.

 

[Cripey]

This looks like an excellent plan - thank you!! Don't you love it when we start talking about the taper?!

I used to like sport beans, but they've changed something (they're sweeter and stronger) and I found at the WDW Half Marathon in January that my tummy was not happy after eating them Not good! Will try the energy blasts - thanks!! I've also bought honey stingers but haven't tried them yet. Has anyone tried them? Any issues?

I feel like I LIVE for tapering!!!

I used to be a big fan of the sports beans too...but for whatever reason, half way through the DL half last year I had had enough of them! Kind of a bad time to burn out on them, huh? I was forcing them down by the end of the race just because I knew I needed them, but I haven't been able to put another one in my mouth since then. I really don't know what it was! I switched to Cliff shots after that...the chocolate tastes like brownie batter!!! YUUUUUUUMMY! I have been curious about the honey stingers too though...was planning on picking up a pack to try this weekend perhaps. I love honey on just about anything, so I'm curious to see how they work for me. Fortunately, so far, I've found that I don't really have a sensitive stomach...haven't had any GI issues after taking anything.

 

[PrincessV]

Hey gang, race is coming up! I am proud to say I finished 11 miles on Monday.

FANtastic - congratulations!

Did you register early?

I did and I've wondered, too, if that has some influence. I'm definitely not young enough to be getting a bump due to age.

My run partner is using the Galloway for training... but I couldn't. It was too hard on me to do starts and stops.. as long as I keep going... I can.. but once I stop my joints don't like starting up again and with the (I think she does)20/40s they are just too short of bursts for me.

I started doing tiny little intervals with Galloway, but I'm finding the same thing nowadays: the starting and stopping is sometimes worse than just continuing to run. I've found some middle ground, though, by keeping my intervals, but slowing to sort of a shuffling run for, say, 2 or 3 "walk" intervals and actually walking every 3rd or 4th. The super-slow run keeps my body moving in the same manner, which feels better on my joints.

How humid will it be at 10pm? It's so stinking hot here in IL. Ive never been to FL in September/October

West-Central FL resident here - It's hard to say for sure, but I'd sure plan on it being humid. Typically, Aug and Sept are our most rainy, hence humid, months. That said, I just spent the weekend in Orlando, where it didn't rain for several days. Though temps were in the mid 90s, the dry air made it feel fairly comfortable after sunset. (Mind you, "dry" to me is humidity under 80% and "comfortable" is anything under 90 and over 75. )

I tried the sport beans today on our 8 mile run. Whew! Waaaaaayyyyy too sweet for me and my DH! Gonna have to either stock up on some rok shots or try a different type.....maybe the honey chews?

I use the Honey Stinger chews and find them to be a nice blend of sweet and sour.

What's weird with my IT band, though, is that I now have pain on the inside of my knee too, along with my ankle. Bizarre.

Oh my gosh, I'm going through the exact same stuff! I'm so sorry - it sucks. For a while there, IT band pain would hit at 7 miles, which wasn't great, but seemed manageable for a 10-mile race. For the past few weeks, though, it's begun kicking in at 3 miles. Not. Good. I've found that the PT exercises plus yoga and ballet have been helpful; all of my ailments seem to be connected via a very tight lower left leg. At this point, I'm running until pain hits and switching to a walk, which doesn't seem to hurt at all. Wishing you much luck and a speedy recovery!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a relief - put in just over 3 miles last night, with NO PAIN!!! I did about 10 mins of yoga first, focusing on poses that gently stretch muscle connections that run from ankle to hip, and it really seemed to help. So yeah - I'll be the one in corral C hanging out in Down Dog and Reverse Triangle pre-race.

 

[minniebeth]

I used to like sport beans, but they've changed something (they're sweeter and stronger) and I found at the WDW Half Marathon in January that my tummy was not happy after eating them Not good! Will try the energy blasts - thanks!! I've also bought honey stingers but haven't tried them yet. Has anyone tried them? Any issues?

I've tried the sport beans and honey stingers. The gels and shot blocks' consistencies just don't appeal to me.
Yes, the sport beans are *very* sweet! I did try a few flavors and liked the assorted flavor pack the best. They seem to work well for me though, so I put up with them.
The honey stingers on the other hand, I *love* the taste of the orange blossom and the pink lemonade and find they are very easy to eat while running. They did give me some digestive trouble the first time I used them.
I ate a high fiber/protein Kashi oatmeal before my run though, so that might have been part of it, lol. I tried the second time with the honey stingers with eating a bagel and pb and did much better. I'm going to keep trying them because they just taste yummy to me.

DS is a runner and had the honey stinger waffles on a backpacking trip he did this summer. He said they are so good and great for before a run but I can't find them around here. I'll keep looking, sounds like something I'd like before a race (I'm allergic to bananas so looking for something to replace that with.)

 

[PrincessV]

I ate a high fiber/protein Kashi oatmeal before my run though, so that might have been part of it, lol.

Yep, been there, done that! I love Kashi, but not pre-run anymore.

DS is a runner and had the honey stinger waffles on a backpacking trip he did this summer. He said they are so good and great for before a run but I can't find them around here.

I buy my Stinger chews online - they have the waffles, too! Honey Stinger Waffle

 

[mickeysgal]

I started doing tiny little intervals with Galloway, but I'm finding the same thing nowadays: the starting and stopping is sometimes worse than just continuing to run. I've found some middle ground, though, by keeping my intervals, but slowing to sort of a shuffling run for, say, 2 or 3 "walk" intervals and actually walking every 3rd or 4th. The super-slow run keeps my body moving in the same manner, which feels better on my joints.

And here I thought it was just me that experiences this. I already have some joint/arthritis issues and the walking/running works fine in the early miles. When I get up into the higher miles, I find it is far easier on my body to keep to the running - at a slower pace when I should be technically walking and then increasing the pace for my run portion. Cold starting and stopping at that point can be painful on the joints at times. I did this at the DL Half and it worked overall better for me.

 

[AnotherPrincess]

I've tried the honey stinger waffles. They were way too sweet for me. Took about 2 bites and could tell it was going to make me sick if I finished it. I think I would have enjoyed it just as a snack, just not running fuel. Lol. As far as the run/walk stopping and starting goes, I don't start or stop abruptly. I can see how that would do a number on joints. I watched Jeff Galloway's you tube video on acceleration gliders and I sort of use that strategy between walking and running. It's more of a natural speed up/slow down strategy.

 

[pixeemom]

The expo can be as quick or as long as you want it to be...you can make a short trip of it...get your packet and go, or hang around for a bit and shop all the vendors. It's up to you. The only mandatory thing at the expo is picking up your race packet. Other than that, it's just a room of vendors and booths. At the halfs, they usually have a schedule of speakers talking about running issues, race plans, etc...I haven't heard about anything like that for this race so not sure if they are doing that...I kind of doubt it since it's a smaller race. And, since it's a smaller race with a smaller # of participants than the halfs, I would expect that there won't even be as many vendors as there are at the half expos. The smaller Expedition Everest didn't have any sort of expo...it was packet pick up only, with a very small tent selling a very limited amount of official race merch. If you go saturday AM after breakfast you will still have plenty of time to relax the rest of the day. If you're worried about adding travel time to and from the expo on the busses, you could always take a cab.

Thank you, I think another thing I got worried about is that i sooooo want a Tshirt and someone said to me that if i wait till Saturday they might be all sold out, i will be bumped if that happens

 

[Cripey]

Thank you, I think another thing I got worried about is that i sooooo want a Tshirt and someone said to me that if i wait till Saturday they might be all sold out, i will be bumped if that happens

Yeah, that's entirely possible...I'll tell you though, I've done 4 of the Disney halfs so far and have always gone to the expo the morning of the second day and never had a problem getting an "I did it!" shirt and whatever else they had that caught my eye. Doesn't mean it won't happen this time of course, but they've always seemed well-stocked. It's usally the more collectible items that will sell out really fast the first day...commemorative pins (which I've still gotten on the second day before), Dooney bags (which they don't have for this race, of course), etc. But, if it means that much to you, it's probably worth a quick trip over in the middle of your day on Friday then. Take a taxi from, and back to, the park and you shouldn't waste too much time.

 

[mickeysgal]

Thank you, I think another thing I got worried about is that i sooooo want a Tshirt and someone said to me that if i wait till Saturday they might be all sold out, i will be bumped if that happens

I wouldn't want that on the back of my mind...worrying about whether something will be there or not. To ease my mind and get on with my trip, I'd just go there and get it over with.

 

[J Powel]

Agreed on this, the powerboar gel packs are way more liquid than the clif shots. I can't eat them, it's al oat like you have to chew them, too thick for me. The blocks aren't too. Bad, I've only had them a few times, but I think it's a pain opening them and trying to store them.

I usually buy a box of the powerbar gels at a time because my running store gives you $15 for every $150 you spend. So every time I buy shoes I am almost there. Then I just end up using the money to buy the gel! Good deal. Had the tangerine ones they are a little gross, just got the berry ones. They are a lot better.

The energy blasts are chews which are easier to consume than the gels, no mess not to sweet and they don't get sticky in the heat.

 

[mickeysgal]

I'm trying to plan our pre-race meals - and get reservations which you all know is a sport of it's own kind at WDW.

How are all of you planning your meals - specifically the night before and the day of? I don't want to eat too heavy, yet we still have to eat enough to get us through the race. I want our big meal of the day on the day of the race to be around 1:00 ish. With maybe a small snacky meal later in the day before the race time? I know many "carb up" but I always crave protein. Trying to look for just the right meal of carbs/protein and find a restaurant that has an opening still this late in the game.

 

[pixeemom]

Yeah, that's entirely possible...I'll tell you though, I've done 4 of the Disney halfs so far and have always gone to the expo the morning of the second day and never had a problem getting an "I did it!" shirt and whatever else they had that caught my eye. Doesn't mean it won't happen this time of course, but they've always seemed well-stocked. It's usally the more collectible items that will sell out really fast the first day...commemorative pins (which I've still gotten on the second day before), Dooney bags (which they don't have for this race, of course), etc. But, if it means that much to you, it's probably worth a quick trip over in the middle of your day on Friday then. Take a taxi from, and back to, the park and you shouldn't waste too much time.

awesome thank you for your reply.
i will def. talk it over with my friends and see what they think to.

 

[minniebeth]

The energy blasts are chews which are easier to consume than the gels, no mess not to sweet and they don't get sticky in the heat.

Sounds good, I'm going to look for them!
I just discovered that a local biking shop has more of a selection of all the fuel foods than the running stores do. I'll be going there this week!

 

[Cripey]

I'm trying to plan our pre-race meals - and get reservations which you all know is a sport of it's own kind at WDW.

How are all of you planning your meals - specifically the night before and the day of? I don't want to eat too heavy, yet we still have to eat enough to get us through the race. I want our big meal of the day on the day of the race to be around 1:00 ish. With maybe a small snacky meal later in the day before the race time? I know many "carb up" but I always crave protein. Trying to look for just the right meal of carbs/protein and find a restaurant that has an opening still this late in the game.

Unfortunately, we'll be flying in late friday night, so we have to do the best we can with airport food the night before...probably track down a grilled chicken sandwhich or Subway or something like that. Our plan the day of though sounds like what you were suggesting too...we'll have a normal breakfast...cereal & banana or maybe a bagel and bananna, or a couple of eggs...something like that. Our biggest meal will be lunch, also around 1pm. We're dining at the Wave. We did that last year for the W&D and really liked it. I believe I had a salad and then a grilled chicken sandwhich with some veggies on the side...my BF ordered a pasta dish and we kind of just shared everything to get a good mix of proteins and carbs. Planning to do the same this time. Later in the day, after we dressed for the race and were ready to head to the busses, we went to our hotel food court for "dinner" and split a sandwhich...I think it was turkey? may have been chicken, but the point is we kept it healthy and split it to keep things light. we brought our normal pre-long run food with us to the starting area and about an hour before start time we ate that...bagel/peanut butter. Whatever you do, just stick to foods you know you tolerate well and try to be consistent with the amount of time in between eating and running as when you would normally eat for a long training run.

 

[Disneychix]

For those looking for fuel-our local Wegmans just started to have a selection of cliff shots and beans and such. Great that I saw this now after I stocked up on a trip to Dicks.

We will be 'making' our costumes this weekend. I hope they work out and I'll have a post next week. If not-we'll be 'running' back to Dick's

Is anyone going to the 5k as a spectator? Or does anyone have any info on being a spectator for the 5k? I am thinking I might go to cheer on my mom.

 

[mickeysgal]

Our Walmart carries sport beans and cliff shot bloks.

 

[helloirishkitty]

Is anyone going to the 5k as a spectator? Or does anyone have any info on being a spectator for the 5k? I am thinking I might go to cheer on my mom.

I am. I will be cheering on two of my friends who didn't get to register for the 10 miler. I have not heard anything about being a spectator though.

Has anyone gotten anything regarding final race instructions/the program? I'm anxiously waiting

 

[minniebeth]

mickeysgal, you can go on the Disney website and under where to eat, bring up the make reservations drop down. You can put in the date, time, and how many people and it will bring up all the restaurants that have availability for that Friday night.

Cripey, I don't know if you saw this, but I read on the restaurant boards that The Wave was testing a new lunch buffet and because of it, their regular lunch menu was scaled back. I'm not sure if they will still be having it at the end of Sept., but just wanted to mention it.
The buffet was little pricier than the entrees but had a nice selection of things like salads, chicken, pasta, etc. It got a good review from the person who posted it.

Here is the link if you want to see it:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=45890398#post45890398