Princess Weekend 2023 (Feb 23-26, 2023)

[DopeyBadger]

We are now inside a month until the start of Princess Weekend!



So with that comes "Event Guide Watch"! For reference, the event guide was released for the recent weekends:

Princess 2022 - Feb 3rd, Expo on Feb 24th (21 days)
SS 2022 - March 16th, Expo on March 31st (15 days)
W&D 2022 - Oct 18th, Expo on Nov 2nd (15 days)
MW 2023 - Dec 16th, Expo on Jan 4th (19 days)

So our window based on the above would be Feb 2nd through Feb 8th.

 

[DopeyRunner486]

We are now inside a month until the start of Princess Weekend!

View attachment 734634

So with that comes "Event Guide Watch"! For reference, the event guide was released for the recent weekends:

Princess 2022 - Feb 3rd, Expo on Feb 24th (21 days)
SS 2022 - March 16th, Expo on March 31st (15 days)
W&D 2022 - Oct 18th, Expo on Nov 2nd (15 days)
MW 2023 - Dec 16th, Expo on Jan 4th (19 days)

So our window based on the above would be Feb 2nd through Feb 8th.

I would assume likely earlier in that window simply because Disneyland registration for club runDisney is February 7th and they typically don't do more than they can handle on one day.

 

[LoveOlaf]

I was swept from the wine & dine half- no proof of time so I was in corral e. My pacing was ok with Galloway run/ walk until I had to stop to use bathroom super quick and after that I saw the balloon ladies and got in my head because my heart rate wouldn't stay down and was soaked from rain. I got swept at mile 11- was still proud as it was first official half and I had run 14 at home 2 weeks before. Long story short I was already registered for princess half and determined to try to do better however I sadly got covid last week for 1st time from the gym trying to train (we have been super covid cautious due to my asthma so I know this is where it came from). Paxlovid has helped me but have been told not to run for at least 10 days once asymptomatic due to my asthma and potential of covid to cause cardiovascular issues. I've sadly had to make my peace that getting swept might happen again- of course going to give it my all but really was an anxious wreck last time so maybe feeling more at peace with it and just trying to have fun is a better idea.

My question is has anyone done a race or run Disney shortly after recovering from covid? I know my health is most important so trying to be ok with whatever happens.

 

[sandam1]

I can't answer your COVID question (I know that there are A LOT of people out there who have found themselves in a similar position to you so you should be able to get someone with first-hand experience), but I assure you that the conditions for Wine and Dine were TERRIBLE! I had a miserable run. However, afterward, I looked at my stats and adjusted them for the heat and the humidity and there was a significant difference. So try to put that run in perspective.

I did not finish Dopey in 2022 - I started the marathon, walked a mile, and stopped at the first medical tent. I had an injury going into the race weekend and was pretty badly undertrained. While I thought that I had come to terms with that DNF, it all came up in a big, bad, ugly way at Wine and Dine. I was running scared (not a good thing) and my mind was all over the place. In the end, I was thankful that it happened because I was able to slay a lot of dragons that I didn't even know were there and put me in a much better place for this year's Dopey.

So yes, you definitely want to try to have fun. Knowing that what could happen is not necessarily a bad thing. But also try to acknowledge that your past experience does not predict future results. Hopefully, the conditions will be better. You will be a more experienced runner. And if your brain starts freaking out, try to feed it those facts (and all of the other good ones that you have) and you might be surprised at what you can do.

Good luck! I hope you have a speedy recovery.

 

[Beachmom0317]

Just catching up on the thread! I'd love to come to the HH meetup! It's my first solo trip! I am SO excited. Tired and busy mom here lol! You know mom life is crazy when you are excited for your half marathon getaway to recharge haha

 

[DopeyBadger]

I was swept from the wine & dine half- no proof of time so I was in corral e. My pacing was ok with Galloway run/ walk until I had to stop to use bathroom super quick and after that I saw the balloon ladies and got in my head because my heart rate wouldn't stay down and was soaked from rain. I got swept at mile 11- was still proud as it was first official half and I had run 14 at home 2 weeks before. Long story short I was already registered for princess half and determined to try to do better however I sadly got covid last week for 1st time from the gym trying to train (we have been super covid cautious due to my asthma so I know this is where it came from). Paxlovid has helped me but have been told not to run for at least 10 days once asymptomatic due to my asthma and potential of covid to cause cardiovascular issues. I've sadly had to make my peace that getting swept might happen again- of course going to give it my all but really was an anxious wreck last time so maybe feeling more at peace with it and just trying to have fun is a better idea.

My question is has anyone done a race or run Disney shortly after recovering from covid? I know my health is most important so trying to be ok with whatever happens.

Just some food for thought.

Take COVID out of it. If you were muscularly injured, or if work got crazy, or whatever, then if you miss say two weeks of training, it'll take about two weeks to return to being back to where you were. The amount of fitness you lose from a brief period of time off (like 2 weeks) is pretty small. Daniels estimates that value at about 1.5-3% of fitness. So if you were a 15:00 min/mile HM runner going into the time off, then you'd be a 15:20 min/miler after two weeks off. But two weeks after that, you'd be a 15:00 min/mile HM again. So take solace in knowing that with the sickness occurring now (about 4.5 weeks before race day) there is still time to get back to where you were pre-sickness.

With that being said, my experience with a wide variety of runners has taught me that not everyone's experience with returning from COVID has not been the same. That covers a wide span of time (from the early days to more recent bouts with COVID). I've seen some runners return to running if it were like the muscular injury example above (two weeks off is equal to two weeks return). I've seen some runners take a little longer. And I know of at least two runners where the effect of a pretty "minimal" bout of COVID has effected their running fitness for a few months. So the response has been very varied across a group of runners. This is anecdotal evidence. But keeping this in mind, I would be very cognizant of not trying to do too much too soon. I understand the desire not to be swept at Princess, but also keep the long term in mind towards the next few months and years. Just ease back into training and listen to the signals your body is giving you, as well as advice from your personal medical professionals who are best informed about your information.

Beyond the training, when you get to Princess be sure to try and get as far forward in your corral before the race starts. This will give you a bit more of a buffer. The difference between the front of Corral E and the back of Corral E could be as much as 5-10 min. For a HM, the difference of 10 minutes means almost an extra 1 min/mile on to your pace. We don't know all the timing yet, but typically the walk to the HM start line is around 3:30-3:45am (assuming it's out on the highway and not in the EPCOT parking lot again). So get to the race start early, get to the holding area before 3:30am, and then be prepared to sit in your spot at the front of your corral as early as possible. This may mean doing some testing with hydration intake pre-race so that you don't feel the urge to use the portas and walk away. Personally, I've found if I don't drink anything within 2 hours prior to the last time I feel like I can use the portas that 99% of the time I can make it to the start of the race just fine. So if I were following your timing scheme, then I'd last drink water at like 1:25am, use portas in the general holding area around 3:25am, and then head to corrals around 3:30-3:45, and then make it to start time without having to leave the corrals. So find that timing for yourself with early morning practice. Mine is 2 hours, but maybe yours is 1.5 hrs or 3 hrs.

 

[Bree]

Just grabbed a challenge spot!!!!

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Just grabbed a challenge spot!!!!

How?!!!
I get the alerts and I have the laptop at the ready and I am immediately applying and then I get the “race closed” notification literally a minute later or sometimes within the same minute. How are people filling things out fast enough?
Even with having credit card data and such ready to cut and paste, one has to click through all of the drop downs and checkmarks.
Help.
(And congrats)

 

[Bree]

How?!!!
I get the alerts and I have the laptop at the ready and I am immediately applying and then I get the “race closed” notification literally a minute later or sometimes within the same minute. How are people filling things out fast enough?
Even with having credit card data and such ready to cut and paste, one has to click through all of the drop downs and checkmarks.
Help.
(And congrats)

Just good timing. I kept getting the sold out message. I had nothing better to do while dinner was in the oven so I kept clicking “I’m Ready to Pay” and “Pay Now” over and over and over then all of a sudden I got this



A notification never went out from the Telegram app for that particular challenge opening. I got the confirmation email right away and it‘s in my RunDisney account. I was able to get my POT filled in too

 

[Disneyhanna]

I was swept from the wine & dine half- no proof of time so I was in corral e. My pacing was ok with Galloway run/ walk until I had to stop to use bathroom super quick and after that I saw the balloon ladies and got in my head because my heart rate wouldn't stay down and was soaked from rain. I got swept at mile 11- was still proud as it was first official half and I had run 14 at home 2 weeks before. Long story short I was already registered for princess half and determined to try to do better however I sadly got covid last week for 1st time from the gym trying to train (we have been super covid cautious due to my asthma so I know this is where it came from). Paxlovid has helped me but have been told not to run for at least 10 days once asymptomatic due to my asthma and potential of covid to cause cardiovascular issues. I've sadly had to make my peace that getting swept might happen again- of course going to give it my all but really was an anxious wreck last time so maybe feeling more at peace with it and just trying to have fun is a better idea.

My question is has anyone done a race or run Disney shortly after recovering from covid? I know my health is most important so trying to be ok with whatever happens.

Adding some more food for thought. I tested positive on December 9th after getting my first symptoms the night before. My runs were a little slower the days before, maybe 30 seconds slower than usual which I attributed to running on snow. I was very symptomatic for about a week, I felt okay but had a sore throat, then a bad cough, and a very stuffy nose the whole time. No major fatigue or headaches. Even lost taste/smell for a day or two. I did a few short runs (like 2-4 miles) after a few days because my resting HR seemed to go back to normal, it was a bit elevated the first couple of days. My symptoms gradually decreased throughout week 2. I was free of symptoms by Christmas Eve but I did not do any more long runs to give my body time to recover.

Everyone is different and obviously listen 100% to your doctor (if you are seeing one) and your body. But just wanted to share a positive (ha!) story to show that if you feel good, it is totally possible to run within just a few weeks of being sick! I did Dopey and despite having very low milage in the month leading up to it, I had no issues running my usual pace (between my breaks for many character photos and rides during the marathon). I think the rest honestly did me a lot of good in the end as I felt very refreshed.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Just good timing. I kept getting the sold out message. I had nothing better to do while dinner was in the oven so I kept clicking “I’m Ready to Pay” and “Pay Now” over and over and over then all of a sudden I got this

View attachment 735039

A notification never went out from the Telegram app for that particular challenge opening. I got the confirmation email right away and it‘s in my RunDisney account. I was able to get my POT filled in too

I will definitely do that.
And weather cooperated enough for a 4 mile run this afternoon. 11:06 per mile. Not bad for the hills and getting back into training.
Now to put it to use…

 

[azrivest]

Today's PQOTD is again inspired by my personal situation If anyone has any suggestions, feel free eh?

PQOTD: With Expo Day only 4 weeks, how is everyone's training going? Any hiccups along the way?

ATTPQOTD: My training has been going fine. I've had a typical Northeastern Winter to deal with, with its unpredictable weather, snowstorms and up and down temps. Still, so far so good... until Monday when my head cold turned into a full blown sinus infection. I had my first sick day in two years Tuesday and yesterday's Quality workout was too hard for my energy level. With only 4 weeks and 3 quality workouts left, my race objective seems still pretty far out of reach. I'm hanging on though.

The races themselves seem so close. I'm getting really excited!

 

[XoxoAmy]

PQOTD: With Expo Day only 4 weeks, how is everyone's training going? Any hiccups along the way?

My training is going well. I did the HM over Marathon weekend, and I was not as trained for that as I typically am for a half, but that went reasonably well (I never have a time goal during Disney races - too unpredictable with crowds and character stops). Starting following my Princess training plan about 10 days ago and I'm sticking to it much more than I was in Dec. I'll log 20 miles this week if all goes as planned. Every weekend from here on out I'm running 10-12 miles until race weekend, with a decent amount of 7-8 mile runs during the week, plus shorter runs and some cross training, so I feel like I'll be in solid shape. I'd like to focus on running faster, but with snow storms, it's tricky. I usually just focus on not falling and keeping a comfortable pace (80% of runs are at my easy pace, 20% at my ideal race pace)

 

[Naomeri]

ATTPQOTD: my training is going well. I did a virtual 15K last week, and this weekend is my virtual Marathon Weekend medal-earning/Princess sim weekend, but I have to do the races out of order due to single digit temps incoming

 

[DopeyBadger]

ATTPQOTD: Training is going mostly as expected. Princess is towards the beginning of my spring training cycle, so I'm not anticipating being in peak condition. But the next four weeks should be fruitful training (about 12 moderate or hard runs remaining). I've been lucky with weather thus far. Last year, quite a few hard runs had to be shifted to the treadmill, and thus far I've avoided that. Although that may change tonight. I've also got an ~18 mile (2.5 hrs) run scheduled for Sunday. Looks like it may be -2F and have had 3.5 inches snow the day prior. So we'll see. Should end up around 220 miles for the month. With @Bree mentioning AG awards at Wine and Dine 2022, it does make me want to push in the 10k a bit more than I had originally intended. I got 2nd last year, but no AG awards. I had a comfortable margin on 4th.

 

[Cindra]

Good luck to all who will be participating during Marathon Weekend. I'm going to take a look at all of the details again. We would like to watch some of the race but last we looked (a while ago) it didn't seem clear if spectators were going to be encouraged given current environment.

 

[Naomeri]

Good luck to all who will be participating during Marathon Weekend. I'm going to take a look at all of the details again. We would like to watch some of the race but last we looked (a while ago) it didn't seem clear if spectators were going to be encouraged given current environment.

Spectators are absolutely welcome and encouraged at various points of the races. Once the event guide is released in a couple weeks, we’ll get more details on where spectating will be

 

[DopeyRunner486]

Event guide is now password protected so that is a sign of "soon"

 

[JulieODC]

ATTPQOTD: Training is going well! Consistent, sticking to the plan, and hitting the mileage and paces (thanks @DopeyBadger!). I still have a few big runs left before taper - and I keep telling myself that it’s normal to be nervous before a long or challenging run, but it always feels so good afterwards!!

 

[kps7795]

ATTPQOTD: Training is going mostly as expected. Princess is towards the beginning of my spring training cycle, so I'm not anticipating being in peak condition. But the next four weeks should be fruitful training (about 12 moderate or hard runs remaining). I've been lucky with weather thus far. Last year, quite a few hard runs had to be shifted to the treadmill, and thus far I've avoided that. Although that may change tonight. I've also got an ~18 mile (2.5 hrs) run scheduled for Sunday. Looks like it may be -2F and have had 3.5 inches snow the day prior. So we'll see. Should end up around 220 miles for the month. With @Bree mentioning AG awards at Wine and Dine 2022, it does make me want to push in the 10k a bit more than I had originally intended. I got 2nd last year, but no AG awards. I had a comfortable margin on 4th.

View attachment 735144

How is G's training going? Is she excited about Princess Weekend?