Running Renaissance: WDW Marathon 2025

[nancipants]

I have the Forerunner 45s which is great for my small wrists! When I update, it will probably be the 265s.

I don't have the music feature, but I'm still able to control music from my watch by holding the bottom left button. It lets me pause and skip songs, which is good enough for me. (Although I still sometimes dig out my phone out of habit, lol.)

 

[GollyGadget]

I put this out there on the Running Thread - 2024, but do you possibly have Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance? If so, you can get a 20% discount on a Garmin watch. If not, you should check your insurance to see if they offer similar promotions.

What a great tip! I have United HC and don’t see anything. I do also receive a health stipend of $150 but I already spent that on rD registration

I have the Forerunner 45s which is great for my small wrists! When I update, it will probably be the 265s.

I don't have the music feature, but I'm still able to control music from my watch by holding the bottom left button. It lets me pause and skip songs, which is good enough for me. (Although I still sometimes dig out my phone out of habit, lol.)

Oooh, good to know about the music control. I’m not used to watches with buttons and not touchscreens

ETA - just found this: On a Forerunner non-music watch, press DOWN to view the music controls glance.
https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/web...UID-D83E3D72-AF28-4388-BECE-AA6E3CB7BE4B.html

Looks like I can save the $50!

 

[SheHulk]

What a great tip! I have United HC and don’t see anything. I do also receive a health stipend of $150 but I already spent that on rD registration

What are you saying? You have a health stipend through your insurance you can spend on races??? I need to look more closely into my insurance. Or is that through your employer?

 

[GollyGadget]

What are you saying? You have a health stipend through your insurance you can spend on races??? I need to look more closely into my insurance. Or is that through your employer?

It's through my employer. It also covers things like gym memberships so if you actually belong to a gym, it doesn't really go very far. It was just a couple of years ago it switched to being allowed to use for race registrations which has been way more beneficial to me so I'm not complaining.

 

[Naomeri]

It's through my employer. It also covers things like gym memberships so if you actually belong to a gym, it doesn't really go very far. It was just a couple of years ago it switched to being allowed to use for race registrations which has been way more beneficial to me so I'm not complaining.

Dang, I’m going to investigate my benefits a bit more closely! My company is a US division of a European company, so we have better benefits than a lot of comparable US companies, and this seems like the sort of thing we might be able to do.

 

[GollyGadget]

Dang, I’m going to investigate my benefits a bit more closely! My company is a US division of a European company, so we have better benefits than a lot of comparable US companies, and this seems like the sort of thing we might be able to do.

We have a few “live well, work well” programs. Things like smoking cessation, weight watchers, therapy sessions, and this fitness allowance.

 

[GollyGadget]

Road to Paris - Week 7/18


Planned:
M - Off
Tu - Easy 4
W - M Tempo 6
Th - Easy 4
F - Off
Sa - Easy 6
Su - Long 10

Completed:
M - Off
Tu - Easy 4
W - M Tempo 6 Easy 4
Th - Easy 4
F - Off
Sa - Easy 6
Su - Long 10 Easy 8

Total miles: 22.04
Strength sessions: 0
Hiking miles: ~30ish

My rest day was moved back to Monday for another travel day but much to our surprise, the plumbing wasn’t working at our Airbnb when we arrived. This wasn’t the biggest deal because we were going to a show at Red Rocks and not planning to hang around. Unfortunately, the plumbing issue was a pretty big issue so they couldn’t fix it on Monday and had to come back on Tuesday. Well, without a working shower or toilet, I was not going for a run. My plan was to run after work once it was all sorted, but instead we went hiking. Saw a nice waterfall and peeped a closer look at the flat irons.




Wednesday was supposed to be Marathon Tempo but when I tried to speed up after the warm up, my body said no. I’m not sure if it was overall fatigue or my body didn’t like the two rest days in a row. Either way, I decided to slow it down and just run Tuesdays miles that I missed with some thoughts of trying again on Thursday.

Thursday I woke up utterly EXHAUSTED. I had no interest in running at all. Fortunately, I could use mountain time to my advantage and work my scheduled half day and then go out for my run after work but before lunch.

Not much remarkable about the run on Saturday except I did see several prairie dogs. They were adorable.


Sunday I woke up exhausted again. I think all those hiking miles were catching up to me. I really did not want to go for my run. Eventually I bargained with myself enough to get out the door. But even once out there it was a struggle. I nearly turned around less than a quarter mile in but told myself I had to run at least a mile before turning around. I never did find my groove but I did manage 8 miles and that was good enough for me.

Goal this week will be to get back on track. I’ll be back home so it should be easier scheduling and routine wise. Crossing my fingers that I also come back with some altitude super powers, but not holding my breath .

Happy running yall!

 

[GollyGadget]

Road to Paris - Week 8/18


Planned:
M - Off
Tu - Easy 6
W - M Tempo 7
Th - Easy 4
F - Off
Sa - Easy 6
Su - Long 17

Completed:
M - Off
Tu - Easy 6
W - M Tempo 7 5
Th - Easy 4
F - Off Easy 4
Sa - Easy 6
Su - Long 17

Total miles: 17.04
Strength sessions: 2

So much for getting back on track, eh? I actually started the week off pretty close to the track and then things really derailed.

There was a minor mishap on Wednesday where I turned around a mile too soon. I knew that I had 9 total miles so planned to turn around at 4.5. Great idea, right??? Well, I was trying to fit in the run before work in the AM and my brain was not fully awake yet so I actually turned around with 4.5 miles left of the tempo and not the entire run. Whoops. By the time I realized what happened, I was practically back home so I just called it. I did at least follow up this workout with some strength training in the afternoon, so one small victory there .

I was determined to fit in two strength sessions this week and I’ve learned that doing the second session there same day as a long run doesn’t work for me. The best option seemed to be Friday to give two days on either side of the substance runs. However, Friday was scheduled as my rest day. I didn’t love the idea of losing the rest day so I opted to move the rest day to Thursday and the easy run to Friday.

The training week came to a crashing halt on Saturday when what I thought was allergies turned into a full blown cold. I know some folks run through sickness but I didn’t even have the energy to get off the couch, much less go for a run. Taking my dogs for their regular walks was taxing enough. The same was true on Sunday.

I was pretty bummed to miss so many miles but I know it was the right choice to get my body recovered. Plus there’s still 10 weeks to go, so now I just need to avoid those pesky germs from here on out.

Happy running ya’ll!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Oof, getting derailed by a cold sucks. Feel better soon!

 

[nancipants]

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[RuntheMouse]

Smart choice to rest up! Hope you’re on the mend!

 

[GollyGadget]

Oof, getting derailed by a cold sucks. Feel better soon!

Hope you feel better soon!

Smart choice to rest up! Hope you’re on the mend!

Thank you all for the kind words! I’m not 100% but I’m pretty darn close so running has resumed.

 

[GollyGadget]

In Garmin watch news, as I reported, I smashed my screen a few weeks back. I was using a generic band from Amazon and the connection came loose as I tried to remove the watch which sent it plummeting onto the concrete. I was probably partially to blame because I was very enthusiastically trying to remove my watch quickly when a friend asked about my watch tan .

My partner suggested replacing the screen but after pricing out a new watch, I felt that was the way to go. To be fair, I never actually priced out replacing the screen but I did research enough to realize it was a special garmin touchscreen and not just a piece of glass so it probably would not be a cheap endeavor.

Based on price and features, I decided on the forerunner 255s. This was generally available for $250 from multiple retailers. We still have our REI coop $$ so the plan was to use that to offset some of the cost. However we were out of town so I decided to wait until we returned last Monday. Sometime in that week, rei sold out of their stock so the search began again.

During this second search, I realized that fleet feet was showing the same model but in the color pink available. I also have ff rewards to use, so this was a no brainer and I ordered immediately. Much to my surprise, a few days later, I received an email that they made an error and didn’t actually have the pink watch .

At this point, I found the pink version from a 3rd party on Amazon. It was $10 more but I decided it was worth it not have a boring gray watch. It also includes some portable power bank but I don’t care about that at all.

That was a week ago and although it’s scheduled to arrive this week, it still has not shipped. This gives me major deja vu and a strong feeling that my order will once again be cancelled so I went back to the drawing-board again.

During my time at the drawing-board, I realized that Fleet Feet no longer has any 255s and the 3rd party no longer has the pink version available. To cover my bases, I’ve gone ahead and ordered the gray just to make sure that I do get a watch. I’ll return it if the pink one actually shows up.

I realize that I’m trying to purchase an older version, but I had no idea this was going to be such a saga. I just couldn’t stomach paying $200 more for a fancy screen and less battery life .

Anyway, thanks for reading. Let this be a lesson that if you’re ordering an older model not too dawdle too long or you might miss your chance.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I hope you get your pink Garmin. If not, I have had good luck with getting new older models and even a refurbished one from Factory Outlet Store.

 

[GollyGadget]

I hope you get your pink Garmin. If not, I have had good luck with getting new older models and even a refurbished one from Factory Outlet Store.

Disappointingly but expectedly, the order was cancelled by the seller on Friday.

“Due to a lack of availability, we will not be able to obtain the following item from your order. We've canceled the item and apologize for the inconvenience.”

I found the email strangely worded, it reads like they were trying to sell a product that they didn’t actually have. Oh well, the gray one arrived and is charged and ready to go. I just need to finish the setup and learn how to use it. It’s definitely going to be an adjustment with all the buttons and no touchscreen. But I’m still very excited for my new gadget! It has a lot more data capabilities than my current watch.

 

[GollyGadget]

Road to Paris - Week 9/18
Halfway!!!

Planned:
M - Easy 4
Tu - Easy 7
W - Rest
Th - 10K + R
F - Easy 4
Sa - Easy 8
Su - Long 13

Completed:
M - Easy 4
Tu - Easy 7
W - Rest
Th - 10K + R
F - Easy 4
Sa - Easy 8
Su - Long 13

Total miles: 44.25
Strength sessions: 1

Fortunately, I was mostly recovered from my weekend sickness by Monday so I was able to resume training as planned. I did skip the strength training just to give my body a bit more recovery and was very grateful that my first run back was only 4 miles.

Tuesday was a nice little run in the rain but it was just a light sprinkle and felt quite nice.

Thursday was my first speed session of the training block and the 10K portion was meant to be done uphill. One thing that I’ve really enjoyed about this block is that the hill requirements have forced me to run new routes. I found this nice little character stop on my way to the hill.



I had done a bit of scouting regarding said hill so I knew how to get there, but I had never run up this hill. I totally goofed the first one and thought the hill was over and started to slow down. Turns out the hill continued around the corner and I had only done about half of it. I had run the worst/steepest but still felt like I needed a redo so once I got back around, I did 4 more repeats. It was a tough workout and I had to keep reminding myself to keep pushing. I also took a lot of amusement from the double slow signs during my recovery.



Friday was nothing notable but I spent the afternoon drinking poolside and then went to a concert that night. This lead to me feeling like complete trash on Saturday. But, I knew I needed to get it done before my zoo volunteer shift so I was out the door before 6:30am.

I learned my lesson and felt much better by Sunday. This run actually went quite well. I felt really strong and was not nearly as destroyed as I was after my 15 miler a few weeks back. It gave me a lot of confidence heading into the second half of the training block. It was a great capstone to my first time running 6 days/week in several months.

Happy running ya’ll!

 

[RuntheMouse]

Road to Paris - Week 9/18
Halfway!!!

Planned:
M - Easy 4
Tu - Easy 7
W - Rest
Th - 10K + R
F - Easy 4
Sa - Easy 8
Su - Long 13

Completed:
M - Easy 4
Tu - Easy 7
W - Rest
Th - 10K + R
F - Easy 4
Sa - Easy 8
Su - Long 13

Total miles: 44.25
Strength sessions: 1

Fortunately, I was mostly recovered from my weekend sickness by Monday so I was able to resume training as planned. I did skip the strength training just to give my body a bit more recovery and was very grateful that my first run back was only 4 miles.

Tuesday was a nice little run in the rain but it was just a light sprinkle and felt quite nice.

Thursday was my first speed session of the training block and the 10K portion was meant to be done uphill. One thing that I’ve really enjoyed about this block is that the hill requirements have forced me to run new routes. I found this nice little character stop on my way to the hill.

View attachment 867212

I had done a bit of scouting regarding said hill so I knew how to get there, but I had never run up this hill. I totally goofed the first one and thought the hill was over and started to slow down. Turns out the hill continued around the corner and I had only done about half of it. I had run the worst/steepest but still felt like I needed a redo so once I got back around, I did 4 more repeats. It was a tough workout and I had to keep reminding myself to keep pushing. I also took a lot of amusement from the double slow signs during my recovery.

View attachment 867224

Friday was nothing notable but I spent the afternoon drinking poolside and then went to a concert that night. This lead to me feeling like complete trash on Saturday. But, I knew I needed to get it done before my zoo volunteer shift so I was out the door before 6:30am.

I learned my lesson and felt much better by Sunday. This run actually went quite well. I felt really strong and was not nearly as destroyed as I was after my 15 miler a few weeks back. It gave me a lot of confidence heading into the second half of the training block. It was a great capstone to my first time running 6 days/week in several months.

Happy running ya’ll!

You are dialed in! Halfway!!

 

[jmasgat]

I also took a lot of amusement from the double slow signs during my recovery.

Ha! I always get a kick out of this sign near my daughter's house when I go for a run there....



Given that I am 65, it always give me pause!

 

[GollyGadget]

You are dialed in! Halfway!!

Thanks! Crossing my fingers that I can crush these next few weeks

Ha! I always get a kick out of this sign near my daughter's house when I go for a run there....

View attachment 867375

Given that I am 65, it always give me pause!

I hope that you intentionally cross the street at this spot

 

[jmasgat]

Thanks! Crossing my fingers that I can crush these next few weeks

I hope that you intentionally cross the street at this spot

Oh yeah. (The sign is next to a senior living facility)