Running for my Disney - Now a PTR!

[zanzibar138]

Scary is right.
I've worked out that I'm leaving in 8 pay days which is making me even more scared.

Do you think we can talk to someone about getting time to stop for a few weeks?

 

[zanzibar138]

Now, who's interested in my training progress?

I've just started my 3rd week of 'build' training, increasing my running intervals bit by bit. I'm now doing 2.5 minute intervals of walking and jogging, and all going well so far I'm also pleased to report that I am halfway to my goal weight (though I can't deny that the issues with my gall bladder certainly helped with that ).

 

[PrincessInOz]

Back to training?


Well done.

 

[zanzibar138]

Yay! My ticker finally got unstuck (seemed to be stuck on 98 days for about a month...).

During this morning's workout I did 3 minute intervals (both running and walking), and I finally found my stride again And by that I mean that point when you get past feeling like you're going to die, and actually feel like you could just keep running!

Unfortunately I've had a little niggling over the top of my feet and ankles. So far it has only been when I'm actually running (and really only the uphill bits), and stops as soon as I do. But I think I'm going to have to ask the physio about it before it gets any worse. Wish me luck!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Good luck with the physio. Hope its just start-out pains.

 

[LizfromOz]

Good luck, hope the physio has some answers for you.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Good luck with the physio.

It sounds like your training is going well. I admire your willpower.

 

[FireflyFi]

Good luck! I hope it is just a niggle

 

[zanzibar138]

I just heard back from the physio, and am pleased to report that he is not concerned He said he would expect things to flare up a little with the increased running, and said it should get better as my body gets more used to it again. I've booked in an appointment for tomorrow afternoon at his suggestion, just to get things 'loosened up'.

I've decided to back off a little with my training anyway, and use intervals as a long term training measure rather than trying to run straight through as soon as possible, and being more inspired by the Galloway training method (official RunDisney training which is VERY interval focused). So I've have 2 x 30 minute workouts during the week. I'll keep the intervals short in the first one, and see if I can work on my speed a little. On the second one, I'll work on my endurance by lengthening the intervals. The third run of the week increases the distance every second week, and I'll keep that one at the same shorter intervals as the first one, more to try and save my legs than anything else.

With this new program, I will only be working up to running 15 minutes at a time (on the second run of the week), but with only a one minute break. I figure this should be ok for RunDisney races because I plan to be stopping occasionally for characters and photo opportunities. I should be able to eek 15 minutes into 20-25 with no major dramas if I need to on the day, considering that it will be a pretty flat course and I am training on somewhat hilly terrain.

I'm feeling pretty good about this new plan as a compromise. I should still be able to run the whole course between character/photo stops, but hopefully it will help me avoid any more injuries

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Whatever works best for you.
Despite all your hurdles, I admire the fact you remain committed.

 

[zanzibar138]

Whatever works best for you.
Despite all your hurdles, I admire the fact you remain committed.

I'm very stubborn

 

[LizfromOz]

That's great news. I'm sure with all of your hard work you'll be back to normal before you know it.

 

[zanzibar138]

That's great news. I'm sure with all of your hard work you'll be back to normal before you know it.

Since I've never been able to run before, I hope to be better than normal

 

[LizfromOz]

Since I've never been able to run before, I hope to be better than normal

It's a Disney miracle!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I just heard back from the physio, and am pleased to report that he is not concerned He said he would expect things to flare up a little with the increased running, and said it should get better as my body gets more used to it again. I've booked in an appointment for tomorrow afternoon at his suggestion, just to get things 'loosened up'.

I've decided to back off a little with my training anyway, and use intervals as a long term training measure rather than trying to run straight through as soon as possible, and being more inspired by the Galloway training method (official RunDisney training which is VERY interval focused). So I've have 2 x 30 minute workouts during the week. I'll keep the intervals short in the first one, and see if I can work on my speed a little. On the second one, I'll work on my endurance by lengthening the intervals. The third run of the week increases the distance every second week, and I'll keep that one at the same shorter intervals as the first one, more to try and save my legs than anything else.

With this new program, I will only be working up to running 15 minutes at a time (on the second run of the week), but with only a one minute break. I figure this should be ok for RunDisney races because I plan to be stopping occasionally for characters and photo opportunities. I should be able to eek 15 minutes into 20-25 with no major dramas if I need to on the day, considering that it will be a pretty flat course and I am training on somewhat hilly terrain.

I'm feeling pretty good about this new plan as a compromise. I should still be able to run the whole course between character/photo stops, but hopefully it will help me avoid any more injuries

Excellent news.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

 

[zanzibar138]

After my workout and physio visit yesterday, I'm feeling much better about my legs

I did a half hour workout yesterday morning, but reduced the intervals right back down to 30 seconds of running and walking. I could definitely feel my legs tiring by the end of the session, but no pain like I was getting with the 3 minute intervals.

The physio confirmed that the muscles around where I had the surgery were pretty tight, and that would have been causing the pain. He gave them a good massage, and agreed that backing off on the intervals for some of my workouts is probably a good move. He said one session a week with longer intervals like I was planning should be fine.

He gave me some exercises to do on non-running days to increase the strength through my calves, and I also have to massage them for 10 minutes on a daily basis. So my running routine now involves a 5 minute warm-up, 30 minute workout, 5 minute cool down, 5 minutes of stretches, 20 minutes of icing, have a shower, then 10 minutes of massaging... So my 30 minute workout is now taking up about 1 1/2 hours of my day

 

[zanzibar138]

I haven't got any huge exciting trip related news to share, but there's a couple of bits and pieces.

I booked my Melbourne - Fiji flight with Virgin in their recent South Pacific sale. $285 was the best price we've seen, and they include luggage and meals with their international short haul too.

We've realised that the return flights from Fiji are so expensive because I'm coming back at school holiday time So far I haven't found anything under $500. So I will probably just book an economy rewards fare with Qantas. We hate using points for economy fares because you still pay so much in taxes! But on this occasion it probably makes the most sense. It's 25,000 points and about $185 in taxes.

FWIW, and I forgot to mention this when DH booked his rewards flights, he only paid about $200 in taxes for his business class flights Melbourne - LAX via Brisbane and Fiji. This could be because his flights are with Fiji Airways rather than Qantas, and something to consider for anyone else finding that the taxes for their rewards flights are up around the $800-$1000 mark.

Not sure if I mentioned that Dad had expressed a keen interest in going to a shooting range while we're over there. I've found this exceptionally hard to research, and haven't had much luck at all. The local tourism boards weren't much help, so I contacted the NRA. The NRA was less than useful. I did find one shooting range that we could visit, but it seems that they are really all designed for people to bring their own guns. So Dad has conceded that it is all too hard and has decided that he and DH should just join Mum and I for our horse riding in the San Luis Obispo area. The fact that it's western style riding won him over.

I think that's it for now. Not long to go until I can make our half marathon weekend dining reservations. I'm going to go for:

Friday 29th August
LaBrea Cafe at 9:00am

Saturday 30th August
Blue Bayou at 11:30am

Usually I wouldn't bother with reservations for LaBrea, but I think demand for breakfast places will be ridiculously high for run mornings, so better to have it booked in I think.

I've also been thinking a bit more about reservations for the later part of our trip. As much as Dad will hate it, I really want to do one character breakfast, and I think I'm going to pick Storyteller's. I'll probably book it on a day when we plan to do DCA. I'd also like to try Carthay Circle, but a bit unsure about whether to do it as part of the WOC package. And of course the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour on my birthday.

I'm still really undecided about the F! dessert package. I'd actually already decided against it because I was thinking that we'd all see F! at half marathon weekend. However, I've realised that in summer the first F! show doesn't start until 9pm, and I'm not sure that we'll make it until then having been up since about 3:30am So now I'm thinking it could be worth it again

 

[ssour]

We love Storytellers Cafe breakfast and tried Carthay Circle lunch with World of Color admission on our last trip, was great. From memory we were limited to two choices for the appetizer and had pretty much full pick of the lunch menu for entree and dessert. Highly recommend. I think I like it more than Blue Bayou!

Qantas' 'taxes' include a whole heap of fees such as their fuel surcharge, which is why they're so high in comparison to other airlines for the same routes.

I love all the nitty gritty planning of trips. It sounds like you've knocked a lot off your to do list.

 

[zanzibar138]

We love Storytellers Cafe breakfast and tried Carthay Circle lunch with World of Color admission on our last trip, was great. From memory we were limited to two choices for the appetizer and had pretty much full pick of the lunch menu for entree and dessert. Highly recommend. I think I like it more than Blue Bayou!

Qantas' 'taxes' include a whole heap of fees such as their fuel surcharge, which is why they're so high in comparison to other airlines for the same routes.

I love all the nitty gritty planning of trips. It sounds like you've knocked a lot off your to do list.

Good to hear about Storyteller's and Carthay Circle Mum and Dad really enjoyed Walt's Cafe in DLP, and from the photos I've seen of Carthay it seems to be a similar kind of vibe.

We discovered a while ago that Qantas have among the highest fees of all the airlines, which is why we go for AA status and points where we can. The surprising bit was that because we still booked via Qantas (were happy to wear the fees for business class flights), we were expecting much higher fees. We figured out it must be so low because it was code share on Fiji Airways. Always a nice surprise anyway when the fees are a quarter of what you're expecting