Running Renaissance: WDW Marathon 2025

[DopeyBadger]

Nov 6-12 Recap (51 Days until WDW Marathon)
Sorry I’m late again guys, I was feeling a bit down when the week ended and didn’t feel like posting, but here it is….

Random running tidbits:

• I told a stranger that I had went running in the morning, because of course running comes up to anyone I meet. Anyway, he was expecting like a 3 mile run. Imagine his surprise when I told him 9. He then proceeded to ask if that was unusual. Nope, a lot of my weekday runs end up in the 7-10 mile range with warm ups. Then he thought, I probably only ran 3-4 times a week. Nope. 6 days a week. After that he started quizzing me on the original marathon. Turns out, I didn’t know a heck of a lot about it except that the guy died.
• My quads are definitely getting bigger. My husband asked me if it was normal the other day when I showed them to him. I think I’m almost to the point where I can wear this shirt and not be embarrassed that I don’t live up to it.

• Now that my mileage is ramping up, I’m hungry all of the time! No wonder it’s uncommon to lose weight while training for a marathon. Side note, my husband asked me how many calories I would burn running a marathon. I estimated around 2600. He couldn’t even fathom why someone would run that far if it didn’t even mean burning a full pound. Oh well.
• A local HS track team is putting on a Donut Mile fundraiser! I’m for sure going to feel like crap afterward, but there’s no way I don’t participate. Now to figure out how to adjust my training and not puke…

Monday – Easy 7
If you had asked me a few months ago if 7 miles were easy, I would have laughed in your face. Anything approaching an hour was tough, and over an hour was definitely not easy. My how things have changed.

I took Bucky out for the first 2 miles then dropped her off and headed out of the neighborhood. There isn’t much shoulder and no sidewalk, so I probably won’t be venturing out too much as it gets darker but I’m enjoying the different scenery while I can. I ran past these beauties and their not so lovely smell. My boss likes to tell me that is the smell of money, so I try to keep that in mind instead of complaining.
View attachment 283637

Tuesday – 4x1200 @ 7:18
I left work in a hurry Tuesday to try to squeeze in as much daylight as possible. I made it onto the trail just before 4 which was plenty of time, but I wouldn’t want to start much later. The workout itself was rough. Holy tired legs! I kept telling myself to go faster and my legs kept telling me to shut up, specifically my quads and calves. I was nowhere near the intended 5K pace; in fact, I was nearly spot on with the Tempo pace. My last interval was an 8:10 pace which is only two seconds off my Strength pacing…so maybe my body is just ready to make the switch from speed to strength? My breathing was fine the whole time, so it was definitely a case of tired legs and not cardio fitness.

After work, I came home to this pouty puppy. She was not very happy that I was in my running clothes and not taking her.
View attachment 283638

Wednesday – Easy 8
Due to her antics (and overall adorableness), Bucky guilted me into taking her on part of my run Wednesday. After the drop off, I headed out of the neighborhood again. I ran through a few nearby neighborhoods and found two houses with Christmas lights up. Ours aren’t up yet, but will be soon. At least now if anyone gives me grief, I know we weren’t the first.

On my way back, I was startled by the beautiful creature picture below. It took me a minute in the dusk to realize what it was. At first I thought it was just a really large stray dog. Once I figured it out, I couldn’t stop playing those videos in my head of people just getting totally wiped out so I was a little nervous. In the end, we both stuck to our sides of the road and all was fine.
View attachment 283639

I didn’t take my headlamp out and instead opted for my light up ear warmer. This worked well for keeping my ears warm and improving my visibility. I had assumed that my neighborhood was well lit enough that I wouldn’t need a real light, but turns out that isn’t the case. After some minor tripping on the uneven sidewalks, I headed in, only completing 7.5 of the 8 miles.

Thursday – Long 10
Thursday I had to take my car in for new brake pads and rotors. I guess those are important to have, especially with winter coming quickly. This put a little kink in my schedule so I elected to wake up early and get my run in before work. I must have miscalculated just a smidge, because I only made it 9 miles before I needed to be back at my house ASAP. I had just enough time to pack my lunch, shower, and make it to the appointment right on time.

The temperature was around 30 when I set out. The coldest I’ve ran in this year but a good opportunity to test out race day layers. The run itself could have gone better, I couldn’t seem to hit the 9mm pace and the closest I got was 9:14. There was a 700 ft elevation gain during my run and I think that definitely had an effect compared to the 250 ft of my 12 miler last week. The other factor was definitely my tired legs. While they weren’t yelling at me like they were on Tuesday, I think they were looking forward to a break on Friday. On a positive note, I ran for 90 minutes both Wed and Thurs but Thursdays run was 1.7 miles further

Saturday - Easy 5
I woke up early on Saturday to get my run in before tailgating. It was wicked windy outside but I knew of a nearby trail that would provide some tree cover. The plan worked and the only really cold parts were the parts to and from the trail.

It was a fairly easy run and boosted my confidence a bit compared to the other runs earlier in the week. It was also really nice to run around my old stomping grounds. Most of my training for my first half marathon was done around Madison and I try to fit a run in every time I’m there for the nostalgia.

Sunday – Madison Half Marathon
Ughhh, this is why I didn’t want to post this weekly recap. I was really looking forward to ringing that PR bell but it just wasn’t meant to be. I didn’t get very much sleep, which isn’t unusual for a race, but I also wasn’t feeling well. On top of all of this, the weather was not promising with rain and cold temperatures. In the end, this was my very first DNS and I’m majorly disappointed. It took me a long time to come to the decision, but I knew I wasn’t up for the potential suffer fest and I really didn’t want to jeopardize my marathon training any more than I already had. I had a less than desirable race at my half this past spring and that was partly because I pushed myself in a race the week before even though I wasn’t feeling well.

Total miles: 35.5
Total time: 6:17:40

This week’s schedule: Week 11 means switching from speed to strength. I’ll get to slow down a bit and it should help with my tempo runs, so I’m looking forward to the change. Assuming all goes well, I’ll officially be back on schedule. You’ll also see I added strength back in the mix. Hoping to stick with it a little better than last time which only lasted 3 weeks.
M – Rest
Tu – 6x1mi (8:08)
W – Easy 5…maybe strength?
Th – Tempo 8 (8:18)
Fri – Easy 5
Sa - Easy 8…maybe strength?
Su – Long 16

Sorry to here about the DNS. Sounds like you made the right decision though, even though we can all agree it was a tough one. Keep your eyes on the prize!

Did the guy happen to mention that Pheidippides did a ton of running before his "marathon"? I think it was like ~280 miles in the days proceeding it.

 

[GollyGadget]

And for the record I can't drive past a field of cows without pointing and saying "Cows!" and I'm well into my 30's.
I may have thought "Cows!" when I read your post.

When I was younger, we used to play "Hey Cows!" Basically, you roll down the window, shout "HEY COWS!", then get points for the number of cows looking your direction. So I basically can't drive past cattle now without saying hello.

Also thanks for sharing, it's still disappointing but the race was never my A goal. Had it been, I would have toughed it out.

Sorry to here about the DNS. Sounds like you made the right decision though, even though we can all agree it was a tough one. Keep your eyes on the prize!

Did the guy happen to mention that Pheidippides did a ton of running before his "marathon"? I think it was like ~280 miles in the days proceeding it.

Oh my word. He did not mention that. I had no idea. No wonder things didn't end well. I'll have to keep this in mind for every time someone tells me running a marathon is crazy.

Obviously lots of disappointment about the race but only adding to it is the fact that I didn't earn an apple fritter. I'll have to add that to my 2018 goals.

 

[roxymama]

When I was younger, we used to play "Hey Cows!" Basically, you roll down the window, shout "HEY COWS!", then get points for the number of cows looking your direction. So I basically can't drive past cattle now without eating to say hello.

OMG!!! WE PLAYED HEY COW!!! Did you get points dinged if a horse looked at you? Also how many yelling matches did you get into when you were for sure your sibling/friend was lieing about the # of cows that looked at them? #midwestkids

 

[GollyGadget]

We didn't, but I also don't remember many horses. I had no idea other people played this game haha. No offense to you suburbanites but I still remember arguing with one in college when he thought the animals were too large to be cows and must be buffalo.

Also, edited my post above. Definitely don't stop to eat the cattle... Must have lunch on the brain.

 

[roxymama]

@AuntieBean is my sister. She was my main "Hey cow" accomplice. If she sees this, maybe she can verify that HEY COW! was a part of our childhood

 

[GollyGadget]

@AuntieBean is my sister. She was my main "Hey cow" accomplice. If she sees this, maybe she can verify that HEY COW! was a part of our childhood

I just want to say that I totally believe you and a witness isn't necessary but I kind of love that she hasn't come to back you up yet.

 

[roxymama]

I just want to say that I totally believe you and a witness isn't necessary but I kind of love that she hasn't come to back you up yet.

Well, I mean that is something an older sister would do to her annoying little sister....sooooo

 

[ZellyB]

I am from the midwest but must sadly report I never played, "Hey Cow." Now I feel I missed out on an important milestone of my childhood.

We do have a lot of deer around here though. One was in our neighbor's front yard last night as we were driving out. She stood right by the road as we drove by and basically sort of stared us down rather than moving out of the way. Cheeky deer.

Sorry to hear about your DNS, but I don't blame you in the least. Seems like the right call.

 

[FredtheDuck]

If you had asked me a few months ago if 7 miles were easy, I would have laughed in your face. Anything approaching an hour was tough, and over an hour was definitely not easy. My how things have changed.

Love this sentiment - good for you!

She was not very happy that I was in my running clothes and not taking her.

Awwwwwww. I wish any of my three dogs could run with me but two have leg problems and one has the attention span of a gnat (so she won't go out without stopping every 2.6 feet), so that's a no-go for me.

but I knew I wasn’t up for the potential suffer fest and I really didn’t want to jeopardize my marathon training any more than I already had.

FWIW, I think you made a really smart call here. Important to be honest with yourself about what you're feeling, what the conditions are, and what you're really training for (the prize, as @DopeyBadger put it). Good for you for really thinking it through and making the best decision based on the factors at hand!

 

[GollyGadget]

Just stopping by to say thanks for all the encouragement guys. Life has been a little hectic lately. Traveling for the holidays, running, and year end activities for work kind of all snowballed together.

I promise to have a new journal entry soon and hopefully a race recap for my turkey trot before that. Until then, happy running folks!

 

[roxymama]

kind of all snowballed together.

Just stopping by to say I enjoyed this holiday-themed word usage.

 

[ZellyB]

It's a busy (but most wonderful) time of the year. Looking forward to reading about your turkey trot.

 

[GollyGadget]

Donut Prediction Mile

Weather:
It was a nice cool evening. Perfect for running. A bit cold for standing around for the other heats, but really couldn’t ask for better for the end of November.

Course:
The course was the high school track so not much to remark on here. Nice and flat

Results:
Ummmm, this could have gone better. I haven’t ran a mile all out since high school so I didn’t have a good idea of what to expect, but I knew my 5K mile pace was 7:18 for this training cycle so I figured that was manageable. For good measure, I rounded that to 8 minutes and assumed it’d be about 30 seconds per donut. The “winner” of the race was whoever most accurately predicted his/her time. I went for 9:57.

When I checked-in and the lady remarked that I put a fast time, I should have known to change my prediction, but I really had no idea what a reasonable estimate would be so I just left it as is. Another clue I was doing it wrong was when all the women were in the first heat with an estimated finish time over 10 minutes.

The donuts provided were serious donuts. I was expecting light, fluffy gas station donuts. Nope. These were some dense donuts and they were not going down quick for me. In fact, I was still eating my FIRST donut when the first couple of people made it back for their second donut.

I seriously debating dropping out at each lap. Stuffing those donuts down was rough and was it really worth the misery? I was just starting to eat my 3rd donut when the winner came in to finish with a time of 8:40ish. I realized then that I had no hope of finishing under 10. I guess I already kind of knew that, but since we weren’t allowed any timing devices, that was the first real confirmation.

Somehow, I managed to keep going. Hopefully when the marathon gets tough next month, I can just remember that I survived a donut mile and push forward. One person did end up dropping out right before the last donut. I really don’t blame him at all but it also made me feel a little bit better about how I was faring since I kept going. In the end, I definitely spent more time eating the donuts than actual running. I guess competitive eating isn’t in my future.

Time: 17:41??
Place: DFL – I wouldn’t have been last if I had participated in the first heat, but it still would have been close. Oh well, live and learn.

Random Ramblings:
Saucony sponsored the event and part of this meant that if you ran in a pair of Saucony’s you got a 4 second buffer. I needed waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than 4 seconds but I thought it was an interesting idea and for a short race, I would run barefoot if that meant a better chance at winning. I also won this sweet mug for the spirit award.


I don’t eat a lot of sweets anymore but a few weekends ago a friend brought donuts to our tailgate. I couldn’t even eat the whole thing because it was just too much. That was obviously my first sign that this whole donut eating thing may not be in my favor.

The winner of the prediction actually walked the whole course. He was only 1 second off his predicted time which is pretty amazing considering we weren’t allowed any timing devices.

On race day I had soup for lunch and didn’t eat anything besides the donuts for dinner. I had a celebration lunch on Wednesday which was the first time I ate again but I honestly wasn’t hungry again until Thursday. Four donuts is a lot of donuts.

Overall Impression:
This was easily my worst decision of the year. That’s saying something since I ate food from a street vendor in Bangkok earlier this year. It was probably one of the worst decisions of my life actually.

Despite all of that, I’m still not sure I regret it. I definitely wanted to experience it, and now I have. I have no plans to do this again but wouldn’t totally deter others from doing it. I would just give the warning that it’s much more of an eating contest than a running contest. I do think I’d be better suited for a beer mile, but I’m not really eager to try another mile race anytime soon.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Yiiiikes that sounds rough. Especially since you're not much of a sweets-eater as it is! I totally would have expected fluffy light donuts (like Krispy Kreme), too, and would have been super thrown by dense ones. Congratulations on not DNFing, though.

I just listened to an old Runner's World podcast where the staff at the magazine did a beer mile. It sounds AWFUL. I like running. And I love beer. After listening to that podcast, I'm 99% sure I don't want to combine those two things.

 

[GollyGadget]

Yiiiikes that sounds rough. Especially since you're not much of a sweets-eater as it is! I totally would have expected fluffy light donuts (like Krispy Kreme), too, and would have been super thrown by dense ones. Congratulations on not DNFing, though.

I just listened to an old Runner's World podcast where the staff at the magazine did a beer mile. It sounds AWFUL. I like running. And I love beer. After listening to that podcast, I'm 99% sure I don't want to combine those two things.

That podcast is why I signed up! I listened to it a while back and decided I really wanted to try my hand at a beer mile. I've never seen one offered locally so when this donut mile was announced I figured it was close enough.
I probably wouldn't fare well in a beer mile either since I don't enjoy slamming my beer but I do think I could drink beer faster than I ate those darn donuts. During the race, the host actually said something along the lines of "these are donuts, they don't go down as quick as Miller Lites." He wasn't joking.

 

[ZellyB]

Overall Impression:
This was easily my worst decision of the year. That’s saying something since I ate food from a street vendor in Bangkok earlier this year. It was probably one of the worst decisions of my life actually.

OK, that race sounds totally miserable, but the bolded part above made me snort aloud at my desk!!! Live and learn indeed.

 

[GollyGadget]

ENIN Turkey Trot
Weather:
It was colder than I would have liked at the beginning. My teeth were chattering so hard when I first started my warm up that I was worried I might bite off my tongue. Once I got moving and into the sun, it was fine luckily. By the time the race started, it was a wonderful 34 degrees. I’d probably still prefer a few degrees warmer, but once I was running it was comfortable. It’s just so hard to dress for standing around beforehand AND running.

Course:
This was a new course since the last time I had run the race a few years prior. I’ve run a turkey trot most Thanksgivings but have bounced around which race. They had a map at packet pickup and I asked one of the volunteers if there were any hills. He explained there would be a big downhill in the second mile and the final mile would be a long gradual uphill.

I’m not sure if I liked the new course better or not. It was a bit less congested and the new location allowed for a bigger start/finish area. The one big downside was that the first half mile was spent just looping around the parking lot which is a considerable amount of the race for a 5K. There were also a lot of turns at the beginning when it was more congested so I know I spent a lot of extra energy just trying not to run into people.

Otherwise the course was beautiful. We ran through the local University campus and on the bike path. The portion of the bike path we were on is actually where I try to get in some of my long runs when I’m visiting my hometown.

The finish also looped around the parking lot, but I actually kind of liked this. It made it easy to get to an area near the finish to cheer on the other participants.

Results:
Going into this race, I really wanted to break 23 minutes. My most recent 5K time was 23:14 from about two months prior and on a hilly course so I felt like I had it in me. That said, if I broke 23, it would be a new PR so I was trying my best not to get my hopes up. I decided I would try to stick with the 5K pacing of 7:18mm from my recent speed training sessions. This would give me a finish time of 22:40. Since the first two miles would be net downhill and the last mile uphill, I was willing to go out a little fast and see what I could manage.

The first half mile went by quick at 7:02 but I was still feeling strong so I kept pushing. The second mile also went by fast, 6:56, which happens to also be my fastest mile ever. About this time, I realized that if I kept it up not only would I break 23 minutes, but I could also break 22. I tried my best to keep going but the gradual uphill and early miles slowed me down a bit. Being a smaller race, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to reel someone in. My last mile was a 7:37 pace and I finished in 22:40…goal accomplished!

Time: 22:30
Age Group Rank: 1/54
Gender Rank: 7/540
Overall Rank: 49/986

Random Ramblings:
Before the 5K there was a children’s race, and I just love the kids dash! I don’t have any children so I sometimes feel like a creep cheering on the children, but I swear I’m not! It’s so fun to watch the kiddos trying their best out there. And, as an innocent bystander, it’s very amusing to watch the others have a breakdown because they do not want to run.

They had “corrals” at the race. They weren’t assigned at all and there was no information indicating what pace/finish time should be in each corral. While I’m definitely in favor of corrals, and I do think it made the start a little less congested, it could easily be improved with some pace guidelines for each corral. I did my best to look around and estimate where I should start and eventually ended up at the front of B. For the first 200m or so this worked well since we hadn’t caught up to the earlier corral. However, once I made it to A, it became apparent that I probably should have started there. I passed way more people than passed me in that first mile. Due to the number of turns at the beginning, it was annoying to deal with the congestion.

My family does an early Thanksgiving lunch which makes it difficult for anyone else to race or spectate. The Turkey Trot is so family focused it’s kind of lonely to do on your own, but that won’t prevent me from coming back. It’s just more noticeable than at other races.

Last year, my Turkey Trot finish time was 29:35. I wasn’t in very good running shape and it was a completely different course but it’s amazing what a difference a year can make. Nearly 7 minutes faster!

The overall female winner finished in 18:04 which is just crazy to me. I can’t even begin to imagine being that fast.

Overall Impression:
I really enjoyed the race this year. They had the added bonus of really nice weather. Last time I ran this particular race, the ground was covered in snow/ice which made it difficult. The overall winners won a pie which I thought was fun. I’ll likely be back again in two years when I’m back in the area for Thanksgiving.

 

[GollyGadget]

Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K
Weather:
Unseasonably warm weather. When I left for the race, I had packed gloves and a headband but it quickly became apparent those weren’t needed. In fact, I would argue that it was too warm for my ugly sweater. The race didn’t start until 10 and it was already above 40 degrees then with a bonus of very little wind.

Course:
This was the second year for this race and the course was the same. It’s done during the annual Christmas festival and while I understand the logistics of why we don’t get to run down the main street to see the festival, it would be nice if we could.

The course was an out and back with the first mile or so uphill. The nice part of this is that means the last mile or so is downhill . It’s a very small race and there aren’t a lot of spectators but there’s nothing really wrong with the course. Just something that comes with the territory of running a small race in a small town.

Results:
I really really love Christmas and that was my main reason for running this race. Also, The race is only 5 minutes from my house and I want to support it. However, I had a 16 mile run scheduled for the day after and I did not in any way want to jeopardize that. Ultimately, I decided to run with Bucky so I wouldn’t push it too hard. We were both decked out in our holiday finest.


We managed to snag a spot off to the side of the starting line which was perfect. Bucky isn’t very comfortable around strangers which makes it difficult to stand in a crowd. Last year we started at the back, but then we had to pass a lot of the walkers so this year I wanted to start near the front but avoid the crowd.

Since I was running this race for fun, I went sans phone and have no record of what my pacing was like. I checked my watch at the turn around point and it was 10:14 so assuming we started on time, I figured I was going to hit a 28 min 5K.

The turnaround point is also where I realized that the top females weren’t that far ahead and I had a chance to catch them if I wanted. I had to keep reminding myself about the upcoming 16 miler and not to push it. This is where running with Bucky really paid off. She’s not so good at pacing and likes to go out fast and then slows way down. Even still, we managed to pass quite a few people on the back half.

I am happy to report that Bucky defended her crown of top puppy finisher. For some reason there isn’t a dog division, but I really think there should be. I’ve only ever run one other 5K with her and it was this one last year. Next year we go for the three-peat!

Time: 25:56
Gender Rank: 7/128
Overall Rank: 23/128
Puppy Rank: 1 – I’m really not sure how many other dogs there were. I would guess around 7 but many of them were walking.

Random Ramblings:
There was a group next to me at the start who decided the starting gun was a perfect time for a group photo. I’m really not sure what they were thinking. It’s amazing they weren’t trampled.

The race gave out cash prizes to the top 3 finishers. Not a large amount of cash, but still, seems cool to say you won a cash award. The coolest thing I’ve ever won during a race was a turkey. It’s difficult to say how I would have fared, but the 3rd place finisher was exactly one minute ahead of me so I feel pretty confident to say I would have placed had I been trying. Guess I can try to find out next year!

To go with the theme, there were also awards for the ugliest sweater. This was a lot of fun but I really didn’t agree with the top finishers. They were all new store bought sweaters. Don’t get me wrong, they were funny and cute, but personally, I prefer the old sweater found at the thrift shop or something homemade. I had a friend running in a sweater with a handmade light up Christmas tree attached to the front. Brilliant!

Overall Impression:
It’s a very small race that is still working out some kinks of being in only its second year but I really loved it. It’s great to see everyone out in their holiday garb. Plus they had volunteers throughout the course passing out candy canes, stickers, Santa hats, and beads. I definitely have and will continue to recommend this race to my friends.

 

[ZellyB]

Love that race recap and your outfit as well as Bucky's are perfection! Impressed with how speedy you are and sounds like you and Bucky had a very successful race.

 

[GollyGadget]

Just stopping by to say I enjoyed this holiday-themed word usage.

Totally unintentional, but so appropriate. I assume you're in for the same arctic blast that is heading my direction.

OK, that race sounds totally miserable, but the bolded part above made me snort aloud at my desk!!! Live and learn indeed.

I don't have any regrets at all about eating that food either! It was amazing! I was a bit nervous I wouldn't be able to leave the bathroom the next day, but it all worked out.

Love that race recap and your outfit as well as Bucky's are perfection! Impressed with how speedy you are and sounds like you and Bucky had a very successful race.

Thanks for the kind words! I would honestly dress myself and my dog in ridiculous holiday outfits everyday if it were an option.