Running Renaissance: WDW Marathon 2025

[The Expert]

I somehow accidentally ran through a race that I had no idea was happening.

I did the same thing in San Francisco once -- the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon -- d'oh! They were only using one side of a path through Golden Gate park and most of the runners seemed to have gone through already, so I did a mile or so on the "open" side.

TBH it was very early in my running experience and I was clueless about etiquette, and I cringe thinking back on it. I definitely should have known about the race and I probably should have adjusted my route entirely, but I saw maybe 10 runners total. DH thought it was hilarious and insisted I buy a shirt at the (open to the public) finish line expo. ::SMH::

 

[GollyGadget]

I did the same thing in San Francisco once -- the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon -- d'oh! They were only using one side of a path through Golden Gate park and most of the runners seemed to have gone through already, so I did a mile or so on the "open" side.

TBH it was very early in my running experience and I was clueless about etiquette, and I cringe thinking back on it. I definitely should have known about the race and I probably should have adjusted my route entirely, but I saw maybe 10 runners total. DH thought it was hilarious and insisted I buy a shirt at the (open to the public) finish line expo. ::SMH::

meh, unless you were taking away from the runners, don't feel bad about it. I was very tempted to ask the water stop for some hydration but I knew better.

 

[superchime]

I wandered into a race once too, and it was at Disney! I was staying at the Swan and went out one morning to get my miles in and I guess a convention was having a fun run for their attendees. They had a table set up outside the hotel and people were cheering. No merch or water stop, though.

 

[GollyGadget]

I wandered into a race once too, and it was at Disney! I was staying at the Swan and went out one morning to get my miles in and I guess a convention was having a fun run for their attendees. They had a table set up outside the hotel and people were cheering. No merch or water stop, though.

That sounds way more interesting! I imagine a fair amount of people find themselves accidentally at the WDW marathon.

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training
16 weeks to go and I'm questioning why I do this to myself

It was another rough week with a little self sabotage thrown in for good measure. Hopefully recognizing the poor decisions will prevent me from making them again but I guess time will tell

16 Sept - Easy 4
This was a good easy run after work. I've been running past a sunflower field most of summer waiting for it to bloom. Looks like I missed the peak during my running break, but there were still a few flowers out for me.


17 Sept - Easy 4
This was another solid easy run. I kept my Tuesday promise to run through the nearby hilly neighborhood. It is a mile away though, so just barely got to the hills. Something is better than nothing and it will make more sense as my Tuesday runs get longer.

I also made my return to strength training. I started over at week 1 and was pleasantly surprised that it felt a lot easier than I remembered. This was all a false confidence though because I could barely walk by Thursday. Not ideal timing since I was planning a little speed session that I ended up skipping. On the flip side, my Garmin has been flipping between overreaching, strained, and unproductive so maybe the extra rest day was best.

20 Sept - Easy 4
Really nothing to note here. I finished with some strides just to get a bit of speed in my legs after skipping Thursday.

21 Sept - Easy 4
I spent the early part of Saturday afternoon but the pool enjoying the last official day of summer so this run was done during the absolute hottest part of the day. I was absolutely dripping sweat and it was burning my eyes but it still felt pretty good. My regular running route was occupied again but this time by a metal music festival.



In case you didn't know, I live in slipknot's hometown. I'm not a metalhead, but do listen to some metal adjacent music and appreciate that things like this happen in my town.

22 Sept 2T + 1T
We met a friend for dinner Saturday night and one beer lead to another and all of a sudden it was after midnight and I was walking home in the rain. This caused me to feel like absolute garbage on Sunday morning. Fortunately, the rain also brought fall weather so even though I waited until afternoon to run it was only 60 degrees. I still felt pretty rotten during the easy miles but the T pace felt okay. As is typical for me, I had trouble holding onto the pace. Likely somewhat to do with the night before but I'm also just really bad at any intervals that last longer than a couple of minutes. My mind starts to wander real fast. Anyone have any tips on how to improve my focus? Usually I just count down the seconds but that really only works up to 300 and even that is a stretch. I previously didn't really care that much but I've noticed it also happens during races so probably something I should at least try to address.

Happy running folks!

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training
15 weeks to go and we already have a course map!



2025 will be my fourth WDW marathon (2018, 2023 & 2024) and we've never had the course released so early. A lot of opinions have been shared about this new map. I'm looking forward to more time in MK and having a new & different experience. I understand others are less excited but I do genuinely believe that the change overall is a good thing because it means rD is taking feedback and making adjustments. I do not think this is the best they could do. There are minor complaints that I have as well, but for now it's what we've got and hopefully 2026 will be even better.

23 Sept - Easy 4
Nice little runch. I did my strength training after GotR and it went well. During the workout it felt about the same as last week. Fortunately, the soreness for the next two days was basically non existent, a stark contrast. Bodies are amazing.

24 Sept - Easy 5
Did this one after work so it was nice & warm. I ran my hill route and called my mom during the run so she could listen to me suffer . Really I just wanted to catch up and I wasn't doing anything better with my ears.

26 Sept - 2T + 1T
This run was another disaster. I didn't get out until the heat of the day which certainly didn't help. Then I didn't feel my lap notification after my warm up until .1 miles into the rep. I managed to pick it up pretty decently but maybe too much and then just fell apart for the second mile. Unlike Sunday, I only had 2 min recovery instead of 2 miles. This did seem like plenty but I could only keep up T for half a mile and then decided to just call it and head home. Next T pace run I'm going to try it the treadmill and let that do the hard work off setting the pace. Hopefully that will prevent me from blowing up.

On the bright side, I attended the annual GotR fundraiser and won the silent auction for this gift basket. It's been years since I tried nuun but I remember hating it. I am intrigued by the tailwind and I can always use more running socks. The highlight though is the gift card which I'll be using to purchase new shoes.




27 Sept - Easy 4
Another refreshing easy run. I meant to fit in my strength training but my favorite local brewery released its pumpkin beer and it was calling my name.

28 Sept - Easy 6
This run was fine. It was 80 again and I felt rather blah about it but I got in the miles.

29 Sept - Easy 10
First few miles were a slog and I started finally feeling good around mile 9 . Hopefully this means some of my fitness is coming back. That or my body was just excited to run in a temp below 70. Or maybe a bit of both. Whatever it is, i really hope that the weather and my fitness have turned a corner.

Happy running y'all!

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training
14 weeks to go!

I attended my very first group fitness classes this week. It's customer appreciation month at the local power yoga studio and a friend gifted me a free month of classes. I took advantage as soon as I could and went to Power Yoga 1 on Tuesday. To put it bluntly, I was not impressed. I've never practiced yoga and the instructor did not provide very much instructing at all. I spent most of the hour looking around to see what the other participants were up to and wondering if I was doing it correctly. Additionally, it tried to balance stretching & strengthening and ended up just not very good at either.

Never fear though because they do offer other classes so I went to Power Barre on Thursday. This class exceeded expectations! I still needed help understanding the positions but this instructor demonstrated the moves and provided guidance throughout. Much to my surprise, there was a lot of single leg moves and even some clamshells so I felt like it was a good supplement to running. It was tough and my calves were BURNING by the end but it was still fun and I'm excited to go back.

I'm also going to try power yoga 1 again with a different instructor to see if that's better. I was going to try again on Sunday but my legs were too tired after the long run so let's get to the recap!

30 Sept - Easy 4
Just a really nice easy run.

1 Oct - Easy 6
I've signed up to volunteer at the local marathon in a few weeks and my plan is to run to my shift and back. I used this run to map out a route and turns out it's nearly exactly 3 miles away, with the last two being uphill but at least it meant the second half was much easier .

Also really enjoyed that the utilities marked this hazard on my route


3 Oct - 2T x 2
Due to how poorly I paced my previous T sessions, I did this on the treadmill. It was still difficult and I kept leaning on my GOTR lessons to use my I can! Power and positive self talk. I definitely wanted to quit a few times, but I made it.

4 Oct - Easy 4
I bought new shoes on Wednesday and was excited to give them a try. It's my first time with cushioned shoes as I usually prefer a firm shoe. My calves were a bit noisy but I think that could have been from all the plies the day prior. Coincidentally, my entire outfit was Asics



5 Oct - Easy 6
It was unseasonably warm and almost record breaking. Because of the later sunrise and my morning volunteer shift at the zoo, I didn't go for my run until later in the afternoon when it was 90+ . I tried to find a shaded path but really only the last 100m before I turned around was shaded



6 Oct - M 3+4
I was feeling really confident going into this run since I had finally managed a T workout earlier in the week. The weather was also a lot nicer than the day before. I ended up a little slow on the splits, but still happy with the effort. Twelve total miles for the run, making it my longest run in nearly two months (aka since my marathon on Aug 10).

Overall, really happy with the week and feeling much better than I was just a couple of weeks ago. Hard to believe it's less than 100 days until the race!

Happy running y'all.

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training
13 weeks to go!

The big news this past week is that I hit 1000 miles ran for 2024!!! It’s a bit behind when I hit it last year but still on track to break 1500 miles for the year, barring any major sickness or injuries. It’ll be a close one, but that’s perfectly okay. The real purpose of this goal is to stay consistent.

Another interesting thing this week was my resting heart rate. Two weeks ago, it finally returned to what I would consider a normal range for the first time since August. I was traveling for work last week with two days of big group meetings and all of a sudden it’s back up to 50 again. I’m sure it will go back to normal this week again but good to remember that there are lots of factors that influence this.

7 Oct - Easy 4
My legs were pretty beat up from the 12 miles with marathon pace the week before but the run felt surprisingly good once I got moving.

I went to an evening barre class and that went fine. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous one but it was still good and worth my time. I would have preferred to give my legs another day and wait until Tuesday but work travel was preventing that.

8 Oct - Easy 6
Started this run before dawn because I needed to collect my rental car at 8. This meant it was only 50 out instead of 90 and that felt amazing. Still not a fan of running in the dark though so I’m actively counting down the days until daylight savings time ends (20 days of waking up in the dark to go). On the plus side, the bridge lights look a lot cooler before sunrise.



10 Oct - 5x4 min I
This one was a real doozy. My first I workout in quite a while. I had one scheduled a few weeks back but traded it for an easy day as I was still getting back into the swing of things. I had to be in the office by 8am and I wasn’t interested in running in the dark in an unknown place so I did this on the hotel treadmill. That worked out well because it forced me to keep my pace and the consistent switching made the run go by fairly quickly for a treadmill. I definitely debated skipping the last interval but I somehow survived.

I had planned to go back to the barre class from the week prior that I enjoyed but I was low on energy from all the peopling and three hour drive home so I postponed until Friday am. That was an interesting way to start my day…. The class was good I’m just not fully awake until like 9am even though I regularly start my day before 6 .

11 Oct - Easy 4
Still feeling worn down but the run was fine.

I was scheduled for a run on Saturday and fully skipped it. Was feeling very blah and tired. My body appreciated the rest but I can’t be skipping these if I want to reach 1500 miles.

13 Oct - 2x2 mi T
I was really nervous for this run. T pace does that to me. Plus I had 30 mph headwinds . I was a bit slow on the first two miles but somehow pretty much nailed it on the third. Then things started to get tough and I had to keep pushing. It was another case of wondering if I should just call it but I’m glad I didn’t. Good practice for keeping going when it gets tough.

Later in the afternoon I attended my second power yoga class. The instructor was heaps better than the first time but I still don’t think it’s really my thing. I really don’t understand the whole heated room thing. I don’t need to sweat to feel like I’ve gotten a good workout and I don’t enjoy dripping sweat into my eyes and all over my mat. I don’t regret giving it a try though.

Happy running ya’ll!

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training
12 Weeks to go which feels incredibly short and long simultaneously

I made it through my third week of free classes at the local hot yoga studio. On Tuesday I decided to try regular hot yoga without the “power”. My assumption was that this would be easier and more focused on stretching. It was different poses than power yoga but I would not say it was easier. It was a lot of one-legged poses in the middle and my foot kept cramping (both of ‘em ) which made it impossible to actually hold any of the poses. On top of that, the whole thing was just not my scene. I considered walking out several times but I was literally in the spot furthest from the door and did not want to interrupt EVERYONE. Thursday’s barre class was more my scene but I still do not understand why folks want the room heated. It just dehydrates me. I’m also an incredibly adept sweater, so I had to towel off my mat every few minutes or risk slipping in my own filth. You would have thought I had my own personal rain cloud . The rest of my classmates seemed totally unphased so maybe it’s just a me thing?

14 Oct - Easy 4
I love these easy 4 milers on Mondays. Sure, sometimes I feel rather beat up, but it’s very easy to convince myself to get out the door for 4 miles. Nothing super remarkable about this run. The route I was going to take was straight up missing so I went a different direction which was a nice change.

15 Oct - Easy 7
After skipping the hills last week because I had to run pre-sunrise, I was back at them. I had some minor pain in my lower left calf and I’m worried it’s from the new shoes. I’m going to give them a few more tests to see how I respond.

17 Oct - 2x2 mi T
Despite just completing a very similar workout a few days prior, I was dreading this one. It was also windy again but more of a crosswind than a headwind. I’m still a little slower than prescribed, but I’m getting closer and I’m more worried about effort than pace. Although it would be nice to nail this one eventually .

18 Oct - Easy 5
Clear skies, light wind, temps in the mid 50s. Pretty close to perfect running weather for me. My quads were incredibly sore. Not sure if it was from barre or the run, but something on Thursday definitely worked them.

19 Oct - Easy 5.5
I was planning to do 7-8 miles but I was inexplicably tired all day so decided to cap the run at an hour. The run felt fine but was a bit of a slog and a lot of mind games to keep going before turning around.

Most of my day was spent lounging around so not particularly stressful but my body battery graph tells a different story


20 Oct - Easy 11
I spent the morning holding the most important sign at the local marathon. The half marathon turn off is definitely one you don’t want to miss by accident. This was a lot of fun and I hope that my schedule works out that I can do it again next year.



I did my run later in the afternoon when it was 80 which is way too warm for Iowa in mid October. To make matters worse, the water and bathrooms were closed for the season and my water bottles ran low. I tried to convince my partner to ride his bike alongside me and provide my fluids but he wasn’t interested. I’ll have to try harder next time.

One interesting thing I noted after this run was the load, or lack thereof. It felt incredibly easy so it’s not that surprising except when you compare it to the load from the T on Thursday. That workout was “only” 8.5 miles but 50% more load! No wonder I was dreading it.



Happy running folks!

 

[Naomeri]

I can't imagine doing yoga or barre in a hot studio. My head sweats like mad just working out at normal room temp

 

[GollyGadget]

I can't imagine doing yoga or barre in a hot studio. My head sweats like mad just working out at normal room temp

Sweat in the eyes is a major issue during these classes which honestly isn’t something I have to deal with while running except for maybe three times a year. And that’s saying something as someone who runs 5-6 days per week.

I picked up a free rally towel and running headband at the race expo on Sunday when I collected my volunteer shirt. Will definitely be putting those to use for my class this week.

 

[The Expert]

Most of my day was spent lounging around so not particularly stressful but my body battery graph tells a different story

This is what my graph looks like on Chiefs game days.

I hear you on the hot yoga thing! I do. not. get. it. I honestly don't even get regular yoga -- just not my thing, I guess. I was a dancer in my younger days so I know better than to try barre at 53 years old! (I DO have my eye on an all-ages beginner tap class at a local studio, though.)

 

[GollyGadget]

This is what my graph looks like on Chiefs game days.

I hear you on the hot yoga thing! I do. not. get. it. I honestly don't even get regular yoga -- just not my thing, I guess. I was a dancer in my younger days so I know better than to try barre at 53 years old! (I DO have my eye on an all-ages beginner tap class at a local studio, though.)

I’m not sure that I “get” regular yoga either. But I do really appreciate the general gratitude towards your body and doing what your body needs on a given day. That makes the barre classes less comparison driven than some fitness classes. It’s all about what I need and not what others are doing. Could still do without the heat though…

Please take the tap class and report back! My local ballet company is offering adult classes and I’m quite intrigued. But they expect me to wear a leotard and proper shoes which is too much of a barrier for someone who hasn’t taken ballet since she was 7.

 

[The Expert]

But they expect me to wear a leotard and proper shoes which is too much of a barrier for someone who hasn’t taken ballet since she was 7

Oh WOW! That's asking a lot! I am totally planning to take the tap class, but I need to find a five week period where I am actually home and have that night free. Thankfully they offer it pretty much year round.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

>> Because running around with wild animals such as lions, cheetahs, and particularly hippos isn't advised, there's been no running since then.

Running past hungry apex predators.... What could go wrong?

>> I somehow accidentally ran through a race that I had no idea was happening.

Hold my beer: I accidentally pulled out into the middle of a funeral procession. In my defense, they left a large gap and the hearse and limos had just passed, so I didn't see them.

But... I was driving a company-owned pizza delivery car, complete with the large sign on the roof!
Nowhere to turn off and exit the parade, so I took my hat off and turned on my headlights.

 

[GollyGadget]

>> Because running around with wild animals such as lions, cheetahs, and particularly hippos isn't advised, there's been no running since then.

Running past hungry apex predators.... What could go wrong?

>> I somehow accidentally ran through a race that I had no idea was happening.

Hold my beer: I accidentally pulled out into the middle of a funeral procession. In my defense, they left a large gap and the hearse and limos had just passed, so I didn't see them.

But... I was driving a company-owned pizza delivery car, complete with the large sign on the roof!
Nowhere to turn off and exit the parade, so I took my hat off and turned on my headlights.

I hope you shared some pizzas

 

[The Expert]

I hope you shared some pizzas

What WOULD be an appropriate funeral pizza? Hawaiian is too controversial. Pepperoni may be too festive -- unless maybe it's a wake? I'm thinking plain cheese. Or maybe a white pizza with mushrooms, like a return-to-the-Earth kind of eco funeral?

 

[GollyGadget]

What WOULD be an appropriate funeral pizza? Hawaiian is too controversial. Pepperoni may be too festive -- unless maybe it's a wake? I'm thinking plain cheese. Or maybe a white pizza with mushrooms, like a return-to-the-Earth kind of eco funeral?

As someone who hates that mushrooms have somehow convinced the pizza industry that they're a vegetable, I'm sticking with cheese. But now I'm wondering what is the appropriate pizza style? Chicago deep dish? NY slices? Thin? Neapolitan? Detroit? I feel like it has to be something substantial like Chicago or Detroit.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

As someone who hates that mushrooms have somehow convinced the pizza industry that they're a vegetable, I'm sticking with cheese. But now I'm wondering what is the appropriate pizza style? Chicago deep dish? NY slices? Thin? Neapolitan? Detroit? I feel like it has to be something substantial like Chicago or Detroit.

Exactly. I need something more than just cheese. Meat lovers? Check. Pepperoni? Check. I like the Mediterranean style white pizzas with chicken, of late. I also like a margarita, oops, margherita pizza with pepperoni on it.
As for appropriate? Certainly at my celebration of life. And whilst classic rock is being played!

 

[GollyGadget]

WDW Marathon Training
10 weeks to go and I'm still here

October was an educational month. I learned that I need to continue with my runners' strength program because if I don't specifically focus on my "running muscles" like hamstrings, niggles will start to reappear. I also learned the importance of running long run loops so I can grab fresh water when the fountains are off for the season. But most importantly, I learned that marathon training is hard. You'd think I'd know that last one by now, but I always seem to forget the difficult bits once they are over.

All that aside, October was a solid month for training. Definitely not perfect, but moving in the right direction. I ran 168 miles which is only 4 less than October 2023. That brings my yearly total to 1123.6 and still on track to break my goal of 1500 miles. Although it will be incredibly close. In the graph below, you can see that I'm just barely below my 2023 trajectory and still considerably ahead of 2021 & 2022.



So how did I get there? Let's recap!


21 Oct - Easy 2.75
I had some sort of sinus headache happening but it was the day of our GOTR practice 5K. One of the warmups the girls picked was burpees and I got very lightheaded with all the up and down. I managed to run/walk with the girls during practice and decided that was enough for the day.

22 Oct - Easy 6
I was feeling much better and even threw some strides in at the end.

24 Oct - 2T x 2
I tried to get out the door a little early but while I was collecting my running gear my boss called and we ended up chatting for an hour. No matter though, because this was the first time I successfully hit my T paces without the treadmill assisting. Goal is 7:51 and I was 7:53, 7:51, 7:52 & 8:08. Obviously that last one is a bit off, but still the workout was light-years better than some of the others. I had a 3 mile warmup and I genuinely think that made a big difference. It was also below 70 for the first time and there wasn't 40 mph winds, so a lot going in my favor.

25 Oct - Easy 5
I somehow forgot to start my watch until nearly a mile into this run. The only reason I noticed is because another runner went flying past me and I was curious what pace I was running. Whoops. Anyway, I've ran the same route several times so I was able to make a good guess at where to turnaround to hit my goal mileage.

26 Oct - Easy 8
I was not super motivated for this run so I drove to a nearby lake where I've previously ran quite a bit. I was hoping to peep at some fall colors but sadly most of the leaves were already down/brown.

27 Oct - M 5+4
This run was going fairly well until I ran out of water just over halfway through. I was truly baffled how this happened because I don't remember ever having this problem and now it's two weeks in a row. How could I make it through the heat of summer but now I'm having issues? Well, eventually I remembered that I would fill up my water at the halfway point in the summer. Previous winters I've always ran around the lake that I ran on Saturday so I could swap out water. Run was a bit of a disaster after that, but at least I devised a plan to be successful in the future.

29 Oct - Easy 5
I was scheduled to run on Monday but did not feel well again. On Tuesday, I had a work dinner so I had to run in the am but with limited daylight, that meant whatever I could fit into an hour which was just over 5 miles. In total, I missed about 6 miles over those two days so a bit bummed that I could have broke my October 2023 mileage if those days had gone differently.

31 Oct - 5x3 min I + 6x1min R
I can't remember why but I did this one on the treadmill. If I had to guess it was one of those blustery fall days and I was not interested in being outside, much less doing speed work. The treadmill made it pretty uneventful. It was tough and I felt like quitting but the short reps made it easier to keep going. I tried to watch the Ingebrigsten show on Prime but I didn't realize it wouldn't be in English and running fast on the treadmill is not conducive to reading subtitles. In hindsight, obviously English is not their native language and I'll watch it some other time when I'm forced to do easy miles on the treadmill.

1 Nov - Easy 5
This run was ROUGH. I spent the first mile just trying to get my legs to work. It wasn't until mile 3 that I really started to get into a groove but by then I was already halfway done.

2 Nov - Easy 8
There was an impending rainstorm but I really didn't want to do 8 miles on the treadmill unless I absolutely had to. Luckily, I live less than a mile from a 2 mile loop around a lake. I decided lots of loops were better than a treadmill and I would just run there and return home if the weather got out of hand. It rained most of my run but it never got too bad and I was able to finish all my miles outdoors

3 Nov - 2T x 2
This workout included an 8 mile warm up which gave me a chuckle when it displayed on my watch. Those first 8 miles were good but then came the T and I never could get the pace. I'm really not sure exactly why. Possibly all the mileage beforehand both that day and the few preceding days. Regardless, I made it 14 total miles which is the furthest I've ran in months. Things were definitely hurting afterward and I questioned why I did this to myself. jury is still out on that.

Happy running y'all!