The New *Official 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon Thread*

[debbieandroo]

I'm curious what everyone listens to while they run?

I started out listening to my favorite Disney podcasts - I used them as a 'reward' for getting out to walk/run. Then I discovered that my time is actually much better if I listen to music, which is generally a big mix of everything. We'll see what happens as I progress.

Great news about everyone's training. We'll all have to be careful not to beat ourselves up if we miss a day or few days, especially something unusual happens. If I let myself get into a funk about not walking/running, I'm afraid it will turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy and I'll give up altogether!

We can do this, Princesses!!!!

 

[mahipp]

...So, I guess the moral of the story here is... this is addictive!!

Thanks for the info Kat!

 

[Happy Mom2]

I have the same issue with bangs and fine hair. I usually either wear a visor or a hat if outside, and I use clips when inside. Look in the kids section for the little ones, as they seem to work better for me.

Thanks. I may have to borrow some of DD's little clips. I hadn't thought of that.

I really like the Hippie Runner bands. They are the same concept as the Bondi Bands, but I find the Hippie Runner ones fit me better and stay put better. I think they are cut a tad smaller and they use a different kind of material. They are a little cheaper than Bondi Bands too...you can order online or find them at alot of the same expos the Bondi's are at.

Smaller than Bondi Bands? That won't work for me - I got a big head! Thanks, though.

Great news about everyone's training. We'll all have to be careful not to beat ourselves up if we miss a day or few days, especially something unusual happens. If I let myself get into a funk about not walking/running, I'm afraid it will turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy and I'll give up altogether!

We can do this, Princesses!!!!

I couldn't agree more.

 

[PrincessV]

She is a VERY good friend and did not mention we had not seen each other in almost 22 years (since graduating from H.S) when she did the 5K w/ me!

That's so cool! Funny - it was an old friend of mine, who until WDW marathon weekend I hadn't seen since high school, who got me started on Disney running.

Then I discovered that my time is actually much better if I listen to music...

Yep, me too. I load up a few playlists on my iPhone with fast, hard-driving songs, and then let it shuffle. New playlist for every run! My wed. run sounded like this:

On and On - Girl Talk
Fuego - Pitbull
Sexyback - J. Timberlake
Sinner's Swing - Van Halen
California Gurls - Katy Perry
Last Dance - Donna Summer
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes - Paul Simon
Deeper and Deeper - Madonna
Too Funky - George Micheal
Fighter - Christina Aguilera
Runaway Baby - Bruno Mars
Electric Barbarella - Duran Duran
Make Some Noise - Beastie Boys
Let it Out - Girl Talk
It's Tricky - Run-DMC
Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers

I'm a little eclectic.

Thanks. I may have to borrow some of DD's little clips.

You can get tiny little bobby pins, too, about 1" long. I use those for small strands. Found them at Sally Beauty Supply.

 

[TinyDancer]

I did my longest run ever yesterday.. 8.3!! And I maintained a 14:20 pace on an extremely hilly course.

I was looking through the Jeff Galloway Half Marathon Princess training plan and I've already completed the first 8 weeks or so.. Now I'm wondering what to do when October comes? Restart the plan? Just work on my time?
I plan on running all summer, I have a race every month.

 

[TinyDancer]

I have a question.. is there a 5k the weekend of the half, or is there just the one race?

 

[happybaker]

I have not run a day in my life yet, but am determined to do the Princess 1/2. If you are interested in training together (even if you are well beyond me) or want to join me in a race let me know. I'm very much open to any help I can get!

I'm so excited a fellow Mainer is on here!!!

Aly

http:\\fatalytofitaly.blogspot.com

It is exciting to have a fellow Princess-in-training so close

I might be out of town for that May 19th race, but if I'm around maybe I'll sign up for that one. There's one on July 22 in Portland that I keep thinking about. It's the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon and 5K (I'd just do the 5k), but there's live music and free beer afterward.

And thank's for the heads up on the 10K races. I'm going to look for that one at Camp Ellis. The only one that I found so far was on July 4 at LL Bean, but it looks like the last half of the race is mostly uphill.

I'm going to start my Princess training in July, but I would be happy to do some training runs with you. I don't know how much help I'll be because I'm not much of a runner, but I know we can both do this. I've done a few 5Ks over the years, but that's it, and I average about a 14min pace (right now, I run 30 seconds/walk 30 seconds). Hopefully, we'll have a winter like this year's so getting outside won't be so horrible.

Holly

 

[tinkeramy]

Question: Does anyone have a headband that works? I've tried the bondi band, sweaty bands, and just about every other one I can find but none of them work. I have long bangs, but they aren't long enough to go into a ponytail, and my hair is baby fine so bobby pins don't work either. Any suggestions?

I'm looking for a good one, too. I have a teeny tiny head, and my normally fab hairdresser just gave me a horrible cut - too short, with WAY too many layers. Now I've got stuff springing out all over. Will have to check some of these things out!

I started out listening to my favorite Disney podcasts - I used them as a 'reward' for getting out to walk/run. Then I discovered that my time is actually much better if I listen to music, which is generally a big mix of everything. We'll see what happens as I progress.

Great news about everyone's training. We'll all have to be careful not to beat ourselves up if we miss a day or few days, especially something unusual happens. If I let myself get into a funk about not walking/running, I'm afraid it will turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy and I'll give up altogether!

We can do this, Princesses!!!!

There is neat site called "Rock My Run" that puts together different playlists.

And I agree about not beating yourself up about missed runs, especially at this point. However, every single time that I have REALLY not wanted to go out and run, I am SO GLAD that I made myself just suck it up and do it.

I did my longest run ever yesterday.. 8.3!! And I maintained a 14:20 pace on an extremely hilly course.

I was looking through the Jeff Galloway Half Marathon Princess training plan and I've already completed the first 8 weeks or so.. Now I'm wondering what to do when October comes? Restart the plan? Just work on my time?
I plan on running all summer, I have a race every month.

Congrats! 8 was kind of the magic number for me; I don't know why, but somehow when I reached 8 miles, I was finally convinced that I could do 13.

When you hit the end of the training plan, you could either restart to give your body a break and build back up again, or you could just go into "maintenance" mode, where you keep the high weekend mileage but just go down a little bit every few weeks so that you are not busting out half marathons each weekend!!!! I think you would be fine if you wanted to keep long runs at 8-10 miles and then work back up right before the Princess.

 

[debbieandroo]

And I agree about not beating yourself up about missed runs, especially at this point. However, every single time that I have REALLY not wanted to go out and run, I am SO GLAD that I made myself just suck it up and do it.

You're so right about this, Amy - that's been my experience, too. There seems to be fine line between pushing yourself and not pushing yourself, it is hard to know how far to make myself go.

PrincessV mentioned upthread that we don't really have to get out and push our hardest every time - that's been a big revelation for me and a big relief. Even if I do feel not so great, I know I will at least benefit from the discipline it took to get my shoes on - and that's not a small victory for non-exercise me. Once I get my shoes on, I can at least hobble for a couple of miles then come back to do better the next day.

I'm writing all of this because my first 5K is tonight and I'm really not wanting to go...feeling rather blah and congested. If this were an exercise day, I'd be happy to skip. But I can't skip this - I've already paid for my T-shirt!

 

[WsPrincess]

You're so right about this, Amy - that's been my experience, too. There seems to be fine line between pushing yourself and not pushing yourself, it is hard to know how far to make myself go.

PrincessV mentioned upthread that we don't really have to get out and push our hardest every time - that's been a big revelation for me and a big relief. Even if I do feel not so great, I know I will at least benefit from the discipline it took to get my shoes on - and that's not a small victory for non-exercise me. Once I get my shoes on, I can at least hobble for a couple of miles then come back to do better the next day.

I'm writing all of this because my first 5K is tonight and I'm really not wanting to go...feeling rather blah and congested. If this were an exercise day, I'd be happy to skip. But I can't skip this - I've already paid for my T-shirt!

Good luck with your 5K tonight! Let us know how it goes.

Today is supposed to be a rest day for me. I walked about 1.5 mile to get my DD from school but it was a nice walk and it is nice outside. I just hope I get over this hump because right now it is really hard to do even 2 miles of hard walking/running

 

[freepixie]

I have a question.. is there a 5k the weekend of the half, or is there just the one race?

Yes, there is a family 5K on Saturday, then the Half-Marathon on Sunday

 

[Barefoot Princess]

I just signed up for a race called Color Me Rad - if there's one near you (there's several around the country), you HAVE to check it out! It's not timed, so you won't be running this for PR - the thing that makes this race unique is that as you're running, people throw colored cornstarch at you. That's it. But man, it just looks like fun, we are doing it next month. Sometimes I get so caught up on focusing on my time and distance,etc, that I forget to have *fun* with running!

I'm writing all of this because my first 5K is tonight and I'm really not wanting to go...feeling rather blah and congested. If this were an exercise day, I'd be happy to skip. But I can't skip this - I've already paid for my T-shirt!

I hope your race went well! You're already a winner just by getting out the door and stand at the starting line - ready to run.

 

[debbieandroo]

Okay, my first 5K is in the books and I did okay. Since I only started 'running' in mid-February, I was hoping to finish in under 50 minutes - my time was 51:12.

All day long, I felt pretty congested. Walked my dog in late afternoon to warm up before the race and I could barely breathe! It was as if I had never taken a walk before - kinda made me nervous about the race [actually, it really made me nervous].

I parked about 5 blocks away from the race [which was downtown]. Between picking up my goodie bag and taking it back to the car, I managed to walk 15 blocks before the race. My breathing felt better, it was a little cooler and breezy so my confidence went up a little. That was cool to realize that I've become much more comfortable walking longer distances - I don't think I would have been that comfortable just a few months ago.

The race started and I started my running interval. And my breathing was so labored! I'd get to my walking interval but couldn't recover well enough to start running again so my intervals got all out of whack. About halfway, I gave up and started walking, gradually getting a comfortably strenuous stride.

That I finished 3.26 miles in 51 minutes is still a mystery. And my first mile was clocked at 15:01! That's a record for me. Oddly enough, I ran the same distance yesterday - no trouble with breathing, felt good at the end - and my time was almost exactly the same. Go figure!

Anyway, the race was nice - lots of families with children and strollers [many of whom beat me, darn it!] and the money was used to benefit those with autism. I was just disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more - I thought that 3 miles was the longest I had ever gone!

In three weeks, I'm signed up for the Expedition Everest Challenge...hopefully that'll be more fun.

 

[debbieandroo]

I hope your race went well! You're already a winner just by getting out the door and stand at the starting line - ready to run.

Thank you!

 

[WsPrincess]

Okay, my first 5K is in the books and I did okay. Since I only started 'running' in mid-February, I was hoping to finish in under 50 minutes - my time was 51:12.

All day long, I felt pretty congested. Walked my dog in late afternoon to warm up before the race and I could barely breathe! It was as if I had never taken a walk before - kinda made me nervous about the race [actually, it really made me nervous].

I parked about 5 blocks away from the race [which was downtown]. Between picking up my goodie bag and taking it back to the car, I managed to walk 15 blocks before the race. My breathing felt better, it was a little cooler and breezy so my confidence went up a little. That was cool to realize that I've become much more comfortable walking longer distances - I don't think I would have been that comfortable just a few months ago.

The race started and I started my running interval. And my breathing was so labored! I'd get to my walking interval but couldn't recover well enough to start running again so my intervals got all out of whack. About halfway, I gave up and started walking, gradually getting a comfortably strenuous stride.

That I finished 3.26 miles in 51 minutes is still a mystery. And my first mile was clocked at 15:01! That's a record for me. Oddly enough, I ran the same distance yesterday - no trouble with breathing, felt good at the end - and my time was almost exactly the same. Go figure!

Anyway, the race was nice - lots of families with children and strollers [many of whom beat me, darn it!] and the money was used to benefit those with autism. I was just disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more - I thought that 3 miles was the longest I had ever gone!

In three weeks, I'm signed up for the Expedition Everest Challenge...hopefully that'll be more fun.

I think you did better than OK, especially since you didn't feel well. Good job getting out there and doing it!

 

[aggielawyer]

Okay, my first 5K is in the books and I did okay.

I did my first this morning (well, my first in years), and I did OK too. I haven't made the time to do much training, just a couple of long walks the last few weekends. I went back and forth with myself about even going to the race, but I'm really glad I did. It wasn't easy, but it really helped me learn some things. And it was sponsored by Blue Bell (a local ice cream company) and there were free frozen treats at the end!

I've signed up for another 5k in May, and one in June. I also talked to my SIL about doing a 10k at Sea World in San Antonio this fall.

 

[Cripey]

I did my first this morning (well, my first in years), and I did OK too. I haven't made the time to do much training, just a couple of long walks the last few weekends. I went back and forth with myself about even going to the race, but I'm really glad I did. It wasn't easy, but it really helped me learn some things. And it was sponsored by Blue Bell (a local ice cream company) and there were free frozen treats at the end!

I've signed up for another 5k in May, and one in June. I also talked to my SIL about doing a 10k at Sea World in San Antonio this fall.

Hey I was at blue bell too, but I did the 10 k! Congrats on getting out there...that was a tough hilly course and those winds didn't help at all. I came in at 1:14:58 for the 10k. Not my best 10k time for sure, but I was pleased considering all the hills that I'm not used to and also since I really haven't run more than 4 miles since the Tink half in January...oooops

 

[freepixie]

Hey ladies, I know this isn't related to this post but I signed up for the TOT 10-miler and I am PUMPED!!! We are taking advantage of free dining so that will save us a bundle, plus the race is not as expensive either! So, here I go training again lol!!

Just a quick question to the vets out there - I really wanna work on my time this spring for a better 10K this summer - specifically I want to get it in under an hour - my Turkey Trot was 1:06.30, which isn't horrible, but I'd like to get a better time to submit for the TOT - I've heard sprints and I've heard hills - what has worked for you all on time?? Thanks

 

[joan4mickey]

Just a quick question to the vets out there - I really wanna work on my time this spring for a better 10K this summer - specifically I want to get it in under an hour - my Turkey Trot was 1:06.30, which isn't horrible, but I'd like to get a better time to submit for the TOT - I've heard sprints and I've heard hills - what has worked for you all on time?? Thanks

I do speed work on the TM once a week. I warm up for a few minutes then run at a 9:30-9:40 pace up to a mile, then do 1/2 mile at about a 9-9:10 mm pace then 1/4 mile at 9:30-9:40 pace and repeat about 6 times ( you can do more repeats as you prepare for the half, I increase one a week , building to around 10 repeats 3 weeks out from Princess half). My goal is to run for an hour so the last few minutes, I push it a little...sometimes a 1/4 mile at 8:30 pace then back off and repeat that again. I ran my first 10k Saturday (crazy as I have done one full, several halfs and few other race distances) and hoped for sub 1 hour and "beasted" the run in 53:34. I also do one 6 mile run and one 6-9 mile run a week, like to do those outside.
I am no "pro". This is just what I do, others may share other ideas. Good luck on your sub one hour 10K.

 

[freepixie]

I do speed work on the TM once a week. I warm up for a few minutes then run at a 9:30-9:40 pace up to a mile, then do 1/2 mile at about a 9-9:10 mm pace then 1/4 mile at 9:30-9:40 pace and repeat about 6 times ( you can do more repeats as you prepare for the half, I increase one a week , building to around 10 repeats 3 weeks out from Princess half). My goal is to run for an hour so the last few minutes, I push it a little...sometimes a 1/4 mile at 8:30 pace then back off and repeat that again. I ran my first 10k Saturday (crazy as I have done one full, several halfs and few other race distances) and hoped for sub 1 hour and "beasted" the run in 53:34. I also do one 6 mile run and one 6-9 mile run a week, like to do those outside.
I am no "pro". This is just what I do, others may share other ideas. Good luck on your sub one hour 10K.

Awesome!! Thanks so much!! I have time - I won't be able to do a 10K until the 4th of July!