Roxymama's 5k to Marathon, Time to Collect Another Castle

[roxymama]

People gorge themselves on cigars, italian sausage, beer and pizza at this race. And every one wears fake mustaches. I'm thinking it's more of a fun run/excuse to party. And it sounds great!

Fun fact: I had a guinea pig in grade school that I named Ditka. We later found out it was a "she" and was pregnant. I changed her name to Pepper Ditka. Fast forward years later to me being away at grandparents in the summer and my dad had to tell me she passed away due to a sausage induced heart attack.
My dad also sported the Ditka "stache" for years.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

And here is where I will put some "longer distance" race goals for next year while I am thinking of them. I won't hold myself to doing all of these, just some ideas for things I've seen this year that I wish I was trained for already and something to look forward to! Maybe I will start training for 8k/10k distances this fall.

Disney Marathon weekend 5k- 1/6/16
I'm already registered for this, the thing that got this whole crazy thing rolling so I figure I might as well put it here.

Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 8k - 3/20/16
I'm Irish, I live near Chicago, 8k is a good stepping stone to 10ks, I'm Irish, ummm green sparkle skirt purchase?

Lisle Christmas in July 10k - July 2016
Christmas lights and Santa medals. There's an ultra going on at the same time. Yikes to that. I didn't even know what an ultra was until yesterday.

Rock N Roll 10k Chicago - July 2016
It looks like a lot of fun and travel would be minimal compared to big disney races, but I'm not yet ready to take on that distance this month. I'm putting it in my mental calendar for next year.

Hot Chocolate 15k Chicago - November 2016
I'd like to do the 5k this year. Who knows maybe I will be super crazy and do the 15k this year. I'm banking on next year though. Because chocolate and it won't be hot out. And chocolate.

2017 - If I'm still doing this crazy running thing and my mom is healthy enough for travel I'd love to get myself to a Princess or Tink or Disneyland etc half marathon just to say I did it once and to take her. Even if I stay in a cheap hotel and go for a weekend.

We shall see.

Looks like you have a lot of good goals. I live in the Milwaukee area, so I've got some similar races on my radar. I'm seriously considering a last-minute sign-up for this year's Rock n Roll 10K in Chicago, as I need a POT for Wine and Dine in November, and I don't think my time from a couple weeks ago will be accepted, as it was a quarter marathon (not a distance they accept ). The Hot Chocolate 15K in 2016 is also a goal of mine. This year's is the same weekend as W&D, so that's out, but I love Hot Chocolate so I feel I need to do it eventually. Not to mention I love the chocolate bar medal!

 

[roxymama]

Hi fellow mid-westerner @*DisneyDreamer !
If we both end up at the hot chocolate I'll have to find you to say hi!
I'll be the one stuffing my face with chocolate.

So walking back from our local parade tonight my husband asked when my next run was. I said technically Sept unless I find another one. I mentioned the rock n roll being kinda pricey and he said "just do it!" He really wants me to keep going with this running thing and that weekend just works so nicely with our busy summer plans. So... I'm registered for the 5k! Will be my biggest attended race for sure. Good practice for disney.

So now I have super motivation to train until then. Tomorrow morning gonna do 3 miles. Then Tue/Thursday/Sat until the race. I'll be back tomorrow to report on my run

 

[roxymama]

I had a good run outside this weekend! Tried to get out before the sun got too out of control and it was very pleasant.
I have not downloaded the map my run app yet but I have two holes in my C25k program where I ran real 5k races or just forgot to log them properly after treadmill workouts. So I went back and did Week 8 day 3. I have a week 9 day to complete as well technically and plan to do that tonight. Kind of like collecting all the stars on Super Mario levels even though you've already beaten the game. (too nerdy?)

My goal was to try to keep myself pretty evenly consistent on my pace and then maybe push myself a little at that last half mile. So I kind of stuck around the 10:45-11:00 pace. I felt like I caught myself running quicker when I stopped paying attention to running easy. I did find that I was not so worn out by mile 3 and I was in fact able to uptick my pace to 10:05 for that last half mile or so before I did my cool down walk.


I'm going to keep up with this method of slow to start as the next two week's progress, but hope to progressively get a little faster to be back in the low 10's again throughout as I get closer to race day. Don't want another 8 min, 10 min, 12 min race if I can help it. But I may not be able to help it on race day.

I'd LOVE to dip below 30 min at the Rock N Roll 5k. BUT this will be my first time running with thousands of people, so I'm not really sure what to expect. I think a better goal is to have a race where I don't need to take any "I'm gonna die" walk breaks towards the end. And also to have more awareness of my pace off my phone while I'm running.

I do know that I have to run tonight to keep my "every couple days run" strategy to stay in shape for race day a reality.

 

[roxymama]

OMG Also 6 months til Disney 5k per my little signature ticket! Yay!
Also I'm starting to lean towards jolly holiday Mary Poppins for my disneybound race outfit. Just with a ballcap instead of a giant hat. We watched the movie this weekend. I'm sure I'll change my mind again after we watch some other movie.

 

[SarahDisney]

I think it's a good idea not to go into Rock n Roll expecting too much. The impression I get (and I don't know for sure because I have very little race experience) is that a large race is very different than a smaller race - it may be harder to go at your regular speed because of the crowds, or you may find that having more people around motivates you. You won't know how it affects you until you get there.
However, it will be a good "test run" for how Disney will be - I don't know exactly how big RnR is, but at Disney you'll be running with almost 10,000 other people ... I think RnR will give you a good idea of how Disney will be for you.

And Mary Poppins is an awesome idea ... but I'm sure you'll come up with more awesome ideas over the next few months. You have time to decide on a costume.

 

[roxymama]

I think it's a good idea not to go into Rock n Roll expecting too much. The impression I get (and I don't know for sure because I have very little race experience) is that a large race is very different than a smaller race - it may be harder to go at your regular speed because of the crowds, or you may find that having more people around motivates you. You won't know how it affects you until you get there.
However, it will be a good "test run" for how Disney will be - I don't know exactly how big RnR is, but at Disney you'll be running with almost 10,000 other people ... I think RnR will give you a good idea of how Disney will be for you.

And Mary Poppins is an awesome idea ... but I'm sure you'll come up with more awesome ideas over the next few months. You have time to decide on a costume.

Thanks Sarah...it looks like the 5k last year per the results page was near 6000 people. And it has corral waves. So I think you are right that it will be good practice for Disney. Just no character stops along the way
I'm kind of looking forward to running in a big group of people. I just won't beat myself up if I come in slower than the last one.

 

[roxymama]

Last night's run went pretty well. I thought I'd be confined to the treadmill because of a big rain storm. But it all seemed to blow over and once the baby went to sleep I pounded the pavement, which is my preferred method right now.
It was darker than usual because of the storm so I did a modified on the fly workout. I walked for 3 min warm-up and then decided to run 2 miles from that point and try to stay at about 10:00 avg. pace. It was really hard out the gate to get anywhere slower than 9:30...I really had to mentally slow myself down the first half mile. But then got into a pretty good grove. I probably wobbled between 9:45 to 10:20 or so the whole time. But I'm starting to understand what it feels like. I'll add in the third mile on my next run if I can get out there when it's not so dark, wet, and buggy. I just know my "out the gate pace" is not sustainable for my fitness level at the moment for a whole 3.1 miles.

This may sound odd, but my past athletic life was all about short bursts of energy. I was a competitive and social dancer and any given fast routine or song danced to is going to be at tops 3+ minutes. And although I would spend a whole hour or two at times dancing...there was always breaks in between songs or performances or "heats." Same thing really when I rowed crew in college. We had our short "distance" season in the fall, but for the most part our training was for the spring and that is shorter distances and is about the sprint/emptying the tank.

I hope all this analysis does not seem silly. There are so many runners out there that would probably think 9-10 min is actually slow. But I'm not college-age roxy anymore. I'm just trying to get myself consistent and eventually either get faster or get to longer distances. Or both.

Ramble ramble ramble

I registered for my Ditka dash this morning btw.

 

[SarahDisney]

I think it's really great that you can analyze why you're having trouble maintaining a good pace and you're figuring out how to make running work for the roxy you are now, not the roxy you were 10+ years ago.

A lot of people can figure out that they're doing something that isn't working, but not everyone can figure out why it's happening and how to fix it - so I think its great that you're working in that direction!

(And, by the way ... 9-10 minutes is way faster than me, and I'm a few years younger than you, so you're doing fine!)

 

[roxymama]

I got back out there after being off running since Monday. My hubs was on a work trip and I can't run when I'm the only one watching my kiddo. It's world war three to convince her to get in a stroller for me to walk let alone jog with her.
So after a bad decision to nap yesterday instead of run when I had the chance, I made sure to go out today.
It was humid! So much sweat!
But I logged 3.31 miles and I probably lost half my weight in sweat.
I even did a loop back to my house, walked in and grabbed a water bottles yelled to my husband that it was just a pit stop and kept moving right back out the door.
I think this was a good consistent run. First mile mark I was at 10:35 pace, second I was 10:03 and third 10:09. Felt good. But soooooo sweaty.
If I don't stop to walk I'm much better off. Stopping at street crossings turns my legs into cinder blocks.

Funny side story. I pulled up some random disney radio playlist thing on iTunes. It started normal, but then started pulling in random stuff like the Gummy Bears theme song, the Grinch song, and weirdly then went into the books on tape version of the LILO and Stitch movie. Ummm what? I was smiling and laughing to myself and it totally distracted me. Not sure id listen to that again but it was oddly amusing.

Also I got home to my hubby putting on his gym shoes and we tagged out so he could jog. He's on week three of C25k and already running over 2 miles. He doesn't like me bragging to everyone as he wants to make sure he can finish his program. But I'm super proud of him and us.

 

[roxymama]

I forgot to mention how real it feels that disney run trip is less than 6 months away now! I booked my ADRs last week and now things are really really real.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the Rock n Roll race this Saturday, but it'll be my first BIG race. Gotta make sure I really run three more times this week!

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

That playlist sounds great. Maybe not so great for running but great for nostalgia. P.S. I use to love the Gummy Bears show when I was little. Where did you make your ADR's?

 

[SarahDisney]

I am totally with you on stopping at street corners ... one of the few things I like about running in the park is that there's minimal stopping at corners! Just make sure you don't come to a total stop - run or walk in place until you can cross.

Good luck with the race on Saturday - I hope it's a ton of fun!

 

[roxymama]

That playlist sounds great. Maybe not so great for running but great for nostalgia. P.S. I use to love the Gummy Bears show when I was little. Where did you make your ADR's?

ADRs are my current favorite topic.
Wed 1/5
Tony's for dinner after getting packets at the expo. Might catch the night parade at 7 before going back to the hotel before the crazy fireworks crowd. We'll be on the correct side to exit to the contemporary.

Thur 5k day! 1/7
Chef mickeys after the race. Shower and change.
12:20 be Our Guest lunch. Still unsure to keep or drop. May keep for very light lunch or dessert. Never been but have full dinner sat.
I'll tell dis if I drop.
7pm Wishes firework dessert party

Fri 1/8
No ADRs til dinner. Epcot day most likely.
Calif Grill for grandparents who honeymooned at contemporary years ago.
The rest of us dinner at San Angel Inn in Epcot

Sat 1/9
CRT at 8:15!!! Takinh advantage of my daughters toddler freebie time before she gets expensive. She's too young for bibbidi boutique so we will do grandma boutique at the hotel.
4:25pm Be Our Guest dinner!!! Timing was best I could get, but works for toddler and my hubs and I can go off and visit with our friend.

Sun 1/11
Go home day. Nothing booked. Gonna cheer marathon people. Counter service works for us. Leaving at night. Maybe hit up Hollywood studios to do Disney jr. And frozen and cheer on friends crossing finish.

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

Your ADR's sound delicious! I've done Be Our Guest for lunch and I enjoyed it. It's really good counter service food with great ambiance and free refills.

 

[Neoflynn]

B) I need to learn how to monitor my mile splits better when training, so that I can try to do that thing where you get faster as the race goes on instead of slower. Anyone reccommend an app I could use now that C25K is over?

might be late on this but ill throw it out anyway I HIGHLY recommend the Nike Running app, reasons why are its free (probably the best one), it has awesome built in training programs for anything from 5k to Marathon (used it for my first half and am using it now for marathon training), It will remind you that you need to run if you turn notifications on (great for helping get you out the door when you don't want to) it will give you pace updates right in your headphones at increments of your choosing (I set mine to every quarter mile but you can do it less often if you prefer) you can link up with friends and challenge each other (again great for helping get you out the door more often) It will also pair with various gps watches if you ever go that route, that's just a few of my favorite features it really is a great all around running app.

 

[roxymama]

Thanks neoflynn, I'm going to check that out!

 

[roxymama]

New topic: What is your favorite "week before a race" strategy...specifically for shorter distances like a 5k?

I've decided to run tonight (Tuesday) and Thursday and then Saturday is my race morning.

My initial thought was to run for 30 minutes tonight and also 30 minutes Thursday. I usually get around my 3 miles in that time frame, if not a little shy of it if I am not running full race pace. But I'm wondering should I be doing something different? Running slower on Thursday? Only running 2 miles instead of 3 on Thursday?
My goal is a good race in the low 30's min. range where I also don't want to take any walk breaks outside of grabbing water before mile 2.

 

[roxymama]

Last night the weather couldn't have been nicer and my daughter told me to "go run now mommy" while we were on a family walk. So I did.

I used the Nike+ app for the first time now that I've used up all my C25k workouts. I think having the voice tell me my data every .5 miles was really working well. I decided to just run about 3 miles at near race pace and then Thursday I'll probably either do a little more than 3 at a slower pace OR just 2 miles at race pace. I've googled suggestions for pre-race workout and it seems everyone is on one side of that fence or the other.
I've seen things about having a shorter "shakeout run" and other things about going a little longer than 3.1 to get your body ready. I think maybe I'll just listen to how tired my body is on that day. Don't want to be sore or injured! I've already put in the training.

I think I learned that seeing the miles in bold getting bigger and bigger while I ran motivated me way more than seeing a clock tick down on my C25k app. Seeing 8 minutes left feels demoralizing when you think you are almost done...but seeing 2.57 miles ran and then knowing that the next couple blocks is going to get you to 2.8 and then the next couple to 3.0 miles, etc. It's weirdly better for my brain. We will see if that lasts, but I liked it last night.

My final note for myself is to not wear the gray socks. I wore a pair of gray socks that I had not yet run in and around 2.9 mile mark it felt like a hot inside the arch blister was forming. I slowed my role way down at that point and was happy to see that no blister had really formed. But I had a case of the "hot foot" or something. I'll be back in my other under armour socks my hubby gave me that I love for my next runs.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

New topic: What is your favorite "week before a race" strategy...specifically for shorter distances like a 5k?

I've decided to run tonight (Tuesday) and Thursday and then Saturday is my race morning.

My initial thought was to run for 30 minutes tonight and also 30 minutes Thursday. I usually get around my 3 miles in that time frame, if not a little shy of it if I am not running full race pace. But I'm wondering should I be doing something different? Running slower on Thursday? Only running 2 miles instead of 3 on Thursday?
My goal is a good race in the low 30's min. range where I also don't want to take any walk breaks outside of grabbing water before mile 2.

This is what I do twice the week before a 5k that I am running for time. Keep in mind that my base is 35 miles/week when training.

I run a 2-mile warm-up at a pace about 60-90 seconds per mile slower than my goal pace. I then run 4 strides to get the muscles firing, then run 6 repeats for 1 minute at my goal 5K pace with two minutes of easy jogging (I prefer not to walk) between each interval. I then run back to my car at a cool-down pace (hopefully less than a mile, but at least a half mile).

If you are looking for a shorter run, drop the warm-up distance to as little at .5 miles. The work is already done. You are ready for the race. This just helps your body remember how to run fast leading up to the race without tiring you out.