So Pete..ready to join your running team??

[rlduvall]

I admit, I used to glaze over when some of my favorite Disney podcasts started talking about the different Disney runs. BUT, I wanted a program to jump start my weight loss and started the C25K program. Absolutely love it. I am almost through week 5 and hearing this segment made me actually start thinking about running a 5K at Disney.

Thanks for all the hard work.

 

[DEA]

I loved the segment, too! I went from couch to (soon to be) two-time marathoner BECAUSE of runDisney. I think they put on amazing races.

I will give an opinion that contrasts a little to the podcast, though. If you're a walker, or a slower runner, you should NOT start in a front corral to try and "gain time" on the sweeper. Starting in a corral with faster runners is dangerous to you and them. You should be honest about your expectations for the race and start with people you are on pace with. If you train according to Jeff Galloway and runDisney's suggestions, in all likelihood you will finish strong.

I don't think we (I'm the Eric Anderson on the podcast) said anything about trying to start ahead of your pace in order to give yourself more of a buffer on getting swept, just that you get more of a buffer if you are in one of the earlier corrals. For this race, I know that you had to furnish proof if you had an estimated finish time of under two hours, which would have put you in the A or B corrals. I hope I did not give an impression that people should sneak up front if they were going to be walking, and I certainly was not trying to suggest it.

I know we also talked about how the corral system works and the reasons why it is implemented, including the safety aspects of having similarly-paced runners starting together. Even so, there was a lot of disparity in the starting paces of racers within the corrals, as evidenced by the story of someone getting shoved off to the side of the road by a faster runner early in the race.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I don't think we (I'm the Eric Anderson on the podcast) said anything about trying to start ahead of your pace in order to give yourself more of a buffer on getting swept, just that you get more of a buffer if you are in one of the earlier corrals. For this race, I know that you had to furnish proof if you had an estimated finish time of under two hours, which would have put you in the A or B corrals. I hope I did not give an impression that people should sneak up front if they were going to be walking, and I certainly was not trying to suggest it.

I know we also talked about how the corral system works and the reasons why it is implemented, including the safety aspects of having similarly-paced runners starting together. Even so, there was a lot of disparity in the starting paces of racers within the corrals, as evidenced by the story of someone getting shoved off to the side of the road by a faster runner early in the race.

Eric, you definitely didn't tell anyone to sneak. Just the impression I got was that you were reassuring people they had up to 3 hours for the 10 miler and definitely much longer than 160 minutes. That's not really true.

 

[DEA]

Eric, you definitely didn't tell anyone to sneak. Just the impression I got was that you were reassuring people they had up to 3 hours for the 10 miler and definitely much longer than 160 minutes. That's not really true.

Sorry, yes, I was trying to let people know that unless they were the last person across the starting line, they had more than 160 minutes. Not a lot, maybe, but more. I think I got too wound up with the math.

 

[zendisney]

Well done. Preparing for Princess half. Great tips and advice.
Pete, I never was a runner either. I did my first 5k on the pc cruise this summer. I am going to participate in a 5k on November 3rd. It is an amazing feeling. Hope you really consider it.

Carla

 

[lthiesfeld07]

I participated in the recent Tower of Terror 10 Miler. It was VERY hard! I did finish officially! I walked the majority of it, and there were times that I had to run to stay ahead of the sweepers. I averaged a 16:00 minute mile. I trained, but not as much as I should've. I felt very weak afterwards!
I won't be able to do the TOT next year unless I move to Orlando, but I do plan on doing the Princess Half in 2014.

Can I join Pete's team in spirit? We should share training tips!!

 

[DEA]

I participated in the recent Tower of Terror 10 Miler. It was VERY hard! I did finish officially! I walked the majority of it, and there were times that I had to run to stay ahead of the sweepers. I averaged a 16:00 minute mile. I trained, but not as much as I should've. I felt very weak afterwards!
I won't be able to do the TOT next year unless I move to Orlando, but I do plan on doing the Princess Half in 2014.

Can I join Pete's team in spirit? We should share training tips!!

Great job finishing the race! And it's great that despite how hard you found the race, you want to run a longer distance race.

I wouldn't call it an easy race by any stretch. I know that I along with other people were running slower than anticipated in this race. I was a lot closer to a 12 minute mile pace than I was to the 11 minute mile pace I ran in my last 10K. I was also thinking that Osceola Parkway was less hilly than it actually is. I won't make that mistake again.

 

[NitroStitch]

Great job finishing the race! And it's great that despite how hard you found the race, you want to run a longer distance race.

I wouldn't call it an easy race by any stretch. I know that I along with other people were running slower than anticipated in this race. I was a lot closer to a 12 minute mile pace than I was to the 11 minute mile pace I ran in my last 10K. I was also thinking that Osceola Parkway was less hilly than it actually is. I won't make that mistake again.

I was about 1 1/2 minutes per mile slower than my usual pace, and everyone around me was talking about how much slower they were for the ToT 10 miler too. I remember thinking on the umpteenth overpass on Osceola Parkway "I don't remember this many overpasses on Disney property altogether!"

 

[sanapunk]

I've been reading a lot on the wish boards and everyone has the same complaint. Due to the humidity and the hilly/rough course, people were going slower than they'd like. Also a lot of people were getting sick!!

 

[timmac]

I've been reading a lot on the wish boards and everyone has the same complaint. Due to the humidity and the hilly/rough course, people were going slower than they'd like. Also a lot of people were getting sick!!

At risk of sounding a touch snarky, it sounds like a lot of people don't run many non-Disney races. Disney races, even with overpasses, are pancake flat. Don't be afraid of hills

 

[sanapunk]

I guess i should have been a little more specific, a lot of tight and dark spots and a gravel pathway threw a lot of people off. They probably will tweak the course.

 

[Sweetpeamd]

I have been fighting the urge to start a running habit for years. After listening to the ToT episode, I'm going to bite the bullet and start! I have decided to train for (ultimately) the 2014 Half Marathon. I am so inspired by you and your efforts! Did any of you post on the boards during your training? I would love to hear more about how you trained.

 

[FireDancer]

They probably will tweak the course.

Many of the complaints I heard about the ToT 10 miler I heard (and stated) about the inaugural Wine & Dine half and RunDisney did make a lot of good changes for the second year.

I have been fighting the urge to start a running habit for years. After listening to the ToT episode, I'm going to bite the bullet and start! I have decided to train for (ultimately) the 2014 Half Marathon. I am so inspired by you and your efforts! Did any of you post on the boards during your training? I would love to hear more about how you trained.

Check out the WISH boards. There are threads for every Disney race and many people post their training in them.

If you are just starting out the absolute first step is getting to a real running store, not one of those big box general sporting goods stores. They will take a look at your foot, stride, gate, and make some recommendations based on all of them. A good running store will also have a treadmill in the store or let you go out into the parking lot to do some A/B comparisons. Also, get some proper running socks which means no cotton.

After that just get out there and start. There is a plan called Couch to 5k (C25K)which is exactly what it sounds like. It is designed to get a couch potato to complete a 5k and it is extremely successful.

I would personally also do as much training on the road as you can and not rely on a treadmill. They can have their place, though I despise them personally, but you use your leg muscles differently on the road than on the treadmill and you want to train your muscles the way you will race with them.

Lastly, find a local race and sign up. I think you should get a race or two under your belt at home (even just 5k's) before you do a destination race. You will learn a lot about running in a group and there are a lot of things you just can't learn on training runs like grabbing water at a water stop without slowing down, holding back when the adrenaline of a race situation tells you to go out fast, how to pass runners or be passed by them, and stuff like that.

Good luck.

 

[timmac]

Lastly, find a local race and sign up. I think you should get a race or two under your belt at home (even just 5k's) before you do a destination race. You will learn a lot about running in a group and there are a lot of things you just can't learn on training runs like grabbing water at a water stop without slowing down, holding back when the adrenaline of a race situation tells you to go out fast, how to pass runners or be passed by them, and stuff like that.

Fantastic advice that you're giving with this one. I would also add, it helps to keep people serious about training... perhaps even moreso than just training for a Disney race. One unfortunate mistake I see (well, more precisely hear about) is individuals not taking the training seriously enough, and not really understanding what the experience is going to be like at all.

 

[DrDoodle]

my husband and I signed of for the ToT 10 miler in october. now i just need to get in shape!

 

[mjaclyn]

Can someone tell me which episode was referred to at the beginning of this thread? I'd love to listen to a podcast about the ToT 10 Miler because DH and I have signed up and just started training for it!! I'm super excited but also really nervous because I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination! We did the EE Challenge last year and used the Couch to 5K program, but this year we are trying Jeff Galloway and I kind of like it better than C25K because it allows a little more flexibility with the run/walk ratios.

 

[DEA]

Can someone tell me which episode was referred to at the beginning of this thread? I'd love to listen to a podcast about the ToT 10 Miler because DH and I have signed up and just started training for it!! I'm super excited but also really nervous because I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination! We did the EE Challenge last year and used the Couch to 5K program, but this year we are trying Jeff Galloway and I kind of like it better than C25K because it allows a little more flexibility with the run/walk ratios.

It was released 10/3/2012. My wife and I were on the podcast in question, and she started running at around this time last year, and finished the 10 Miler just fine.