Princess Weekend 2022

[Ronski]

For the 5k in 2020, I ran as Te Fiti from Moana. Got a beautiful tutu and a few other parts of the costume from a very talented seller on Etsy. Just a gorgeous, well-made costume. However, that tutu really stuck out more than I anticipated, and I hadn't thought through what it would be like to walk down the aisle of the bus in that thing. Of course by the time we got on the bus the only open seats were in the back and no matter how much I tried to hold that thing down, I was smacking people in the arms with the tutu. First time I've ever done a race in a tutu, probably the last.

OMG-- that was the morning of the cold, misty rain wasn't it? We just about froze to death because we missed our alarm and had to scramble out of the room, forgetting most of our stuff... A wonderfully kind lady saw my teenage daughter (dressed as Moana) shaking so bad she gave her her own sweatshirt. That kindness will never be forgotten. We were huddled up like penguins....

 

[Nessats]

People on the bus expect that sort of thing.

Judging from the looks I got that morning... Not that busload of people.

OMG-- that was the morning of the cold, misty rain wasn't it? We just about froze to death because we missed our alarm and had to scramble out of the room, forgetting most of our stuff... A wonderfully kind lady saw my teenage daughter (dressed as Moana) shaking so bad she gave her her own sweatshirt. That kindness will never be forgotten. We were huddled up like penguins....

Yes, it was. That prompted us to make a Walmart run to get warmer clothes for the 10k the next day.

 

[bumbershoot]

Judging from the looks I got that morning... Not that busload of people.

ah drat.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

My training is going okay. I have lost a lot of weight and my longest long run was almost 9 miles doing run/walk. But the major issue even though I have lengthen my runs is my speed. I am just soo slow I am normally 16 min miles I really need to get under it. It makes me so grumpy when people say just train cause I have been training and my speed does not get better. I run longer but not faster. I have 10 miler race in Oct to help me prep. So hoping the run will be under 16 mins for my 10 miler by Oct 16th.

 

[bellanotte10]

Anyone have a good free couch to half marathon program they use? Just coming off a reinjured ankle so my training isn’t going to hot and thought I’d start at the basics.

 

[camaker]

Anyone have a good free couch to half marathon program they use? Just coming off a reinjured ankle so my training isn’t going to hot and thought I’d start at the basics.

You might want to check out the Hal Higdon Novice training plans. They’re free on his website.

 

[Naomeri]

Anyone have a good free couch to half marathon program they use? Just coming off a reinjured ankle so my training isn’t going to hot and thought I’d start at the basics.

This is the one I’m using

 

[HangWithMerida]

Anyone have a good free couch to half marathon program they use? Just coming off a reinjured ankle so my training isn’t going to hot and thought I’d start at the basics.

I will second the HH novice plan for the HM portion. If you need to start with even lower volumes than that plan starts at, I used a combo of c25k then bridged to a 5k-10k plan by active. HH also has a 10k plan that looks really good (I have never used it) and the format is very similar to that used for the novice HM plans. That could be an option if you can manage at least 2-3 miles to start and would transition easily into his HM plans. If you are truly starting from couch, it's hard to beat c25k. You can always pick whatever point in the plan you are capable of now and jump in partway. Good luck with your recovery!

 

[bumbershoot]

Anyone have a good free couch to half marathon program they use? Just coming off a reinjured ankle so my training isn’t going to hot and thought I’d start at the basics.

I just use the programs from the rundisney training page, done by Jeff Galloway. I think they are gentle enough, and if you want to walk, run/walk, or run, it works.

 

[HangWithMerida]

I just use the programs from the rundisney training page, done by Jeff Galloway. I think they are gentle enough, and if you want to walk, run/walk, or run, it works.

The Galloway plans are a good option for the walk or walk/run crowd for sure. They are definitiely gentle and early in the plan the mileage increase is slow. I could see them as a great way to get back into running. I am a continuous runner and tried using one to ease into HM training in the heat of the summer and after I got to the 8 mile Long run that is 2 months out from race day, had to figure something else out. If you are only running, the long runs are too long towards the end of the plan (14 miles is the longest on the HM plan). Then your runs during the week are really short. From a run only perspective, it didn’t work for me. There is probably someone on here that uses these plans as run only plans and will disagree.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you are only running, the long runs are too long towards the end of the plan (14 miles is the longest on the HM plan).

It’s a definite difference from Higdon, who seems to rely on willpower. (I have very little of that lol)

For 2020 I tried to get to just running but things went awry in other ways. I’m trying again this year; I really really hate that walking and always have.

When I was starting out running as an adult, I ran way more than I walked, and I did the full plan for the ToT in 2013. I LOVED having gone so far over the miles. It made finishing that race feel easier (though that was mitigated by ~80 degrees and violently humid under clouds for the whole night race).

But then I’m also slow, so I’m maybe not working as hard as a faster person! Might be another difference.

 

[azrivest]

But then I’m also slow, so I’m maybe not working as hard as a faster person! Might be another difference.

As a very wise person on this forum says (DopeyBadger), you running for 30 minutes at 75% effort is the same as any other runner, whether you run 2.5 miles or 5 in those 30 minutes. Us slower runners work just as hard as the faster ones!

 

[HangWithMerida]

It’s a definite difference from Higdon, who seems to rely on willpower. (I have very little of that lol)

For 2020 I tried to get to just running but things went awry in other ways. I’m trying again this year; I really really hate that walking and always have.

When I was starting out running as an adult, I ran way more than I walked, and I did the full plan for the ToT in 2013. I LOVED having gone so far over the miles. It made finishing that race feel easier (though that was mitigated by ~80 degrees and violently humid under clouds for the whole night race).

But then I’m also slow, so I’m maybe not working as hard as a faster person! Might be another difference.

Differences in personal preference, I guess. That's why there are a million different plans out there and someone likes each one of them! The overshooting long runs made me feel like I was peaking in training too soon and I didn't like the 1.5 miles jump every other week. A mile a week with the occasional cut-back just feels more natural to me.

As a very wise person on this forum says (DopeyBadger), you running for 30 minutes at 75% effort is the same as any other runner, whether you run 2.5 miles or 5 in those 30 minutes. Us slower runners work just as hard as the faster ones!

So true. If anything it feels harder to run long distances slower. Slowly running a long run takes FOREVER and sometimes feels harder to me than just turning it up a little and getting it done! To clarify, not a speedy runner but faster than I was when I started a few years ago.

 

[bumbershoot]

As a very wise person on this forum says (DopeyBadger), you running for 30 minutes at 75% effort is the same as any other runner, whether you run 2.5 miles or 5 in those 30 minutes. Us slower runners work just as hard as the faster ones!

When I've been fastER I'm a lot more exhausted than when I'm slower (except for my feet; my feet hate it when I'm slower). I'm going by my own body.

 

[azrivest]

If anyone is interested, they've just dropped a bunch of new magic bands on the WDW web site. I ordered the "Princess Strong" since it's the closest I'll get to a racing princess band I guess

 

[DopeyBadger]

August 12th, 2021:



Sept 28th, 2021:



The bullet point about "New this year, each runner will be assigned to one of 4 start groups which will have designated arrival times." has been removed from the Princess HM page and Challenge page. It's still there on the 5k/10k pages though:



I was only thinking about this because I was looking through the Boston Marathon start line procedures. They're doing a "you can't get on the bus until your designated time" thing (sort of like the language used on runDisney's site with "designated arrival times").



And a rolling start within about 30 min of arriving to the start line itself.



Boston's process had me curious as to how it may end up comparing to what they do at the Princess HM, but then the language no longer appears on the runDisney site for the HM anymore.

 

[Nessats]

If I am reading that correctly, Boston has a single area where one can get on buses to the start line. Compare that to Disney with a couple dozen resorts that will provide transportation, plus people driving in on their own. I'd think it would be a nightmare to spread out the busing at the resorts to accommodate the assigned start times, plus how would the busing be impacted by the road closures for the course? I am not as experienced or in the know as many of you are in regards to running (my races have primarily been RunDisney), but it seems like the RunDisney experience presents a unique set of challenges that most other races won't have to deal with. I may be wrong, of course, but that is my understanding for now.

 

[JulieODC]

Ali on the run had a great podcast episode last week with Dave McGillivray, and he went into some detail in the Boston start procedures. @DopeyBadger - you might find it interesting!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Ali on the run had a great podcast episode last week with Dave McGillivray, and he went into some detail in the Boston start procedures. @DopeyBadger - you might find it interesting!

I saw someone posted something about that earlier and haven't gotten around to listening to it yet. I do like my race logistics.

 

[patty22407]

Does anyone have a hunch if the Festival of the Arts will run through Princess Weekend? It’s my last remaining festival that I haven’t tried yet.

Me too (last festival to "collect"). They haven't officially announced dates yet, when do they usually release these dates?