The New *Official 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon Thread*

[tinkeramy]

Hi everyone! It's been a really long few months. After being all registered for the 2012 Princess (with hubby), a breast cancer diagnosis totally derailed me. I had bilateral mastectomies in mid-January, came to WDW to watch hubby and daughter-in-law run the Princess (I think I cried the whole time!), started chemo March 1, resumed running (sort of) around the beginning of June. The race folks deferred my 2012 registration to 2013, and hubby just registered yesterday. Now I'm so excited I can't stand it!! Hope to run a half at the Outer Banks in November, just to make sure I can still do it. Now the problem is two-fold: where to stay and how much can we afford. We LOVE the Polynesian but rented points to use at Animal Kingdom last February and really enjoyed it. How to decide..... I can't call WDW yet until we have some idea of budget and chemo brain makes this stuff even harder! Now if my hair would just grow back - I will need it to hold a tiara.

Pattie

Hey, Pattie - welcome back! Glad to hear you are back in action! Just get one of those big 'ol curly Merida wigs that they are selling at the Disney store!

 

[brock20l]

Anyone else staying at POFQ? - we haven't before, but dbf wants to depart from our go-to usual choice, Pop Century. Are we going to love it just as much as Pop?

 

[kbondi]

I love both side of Port Orleans! It is the smallest resort on Disney property but it's very cute and the pool is great (hopefully we will get some nice weather that weekend). I am staying on the Riverside and haven't been there since it was the old Dixie Landings. One thing that is nice about this resort is that it is not as far away from the parks as the Pop Century. It also has a food court, which is nice.

 

[poohs4me]

Anyone else staying at POFQ? - we haven't before, but dbf wants to depart from our go-to usual choice, Pop Century. Are we going to love it just as much as Pop?

This is where we stay for the Princess. I have never stayed At Pop, so I can't compare. I just made my reservation for POFQ for this Princess - now just to hope for discount rates.

 

[MaryJ]

Hi All!
I registered yesterday for the half marathon and booked my hotel (Port Orleans, Riverside). It's my first time and I am doing it alone! I am nervous (terrified actually) and so excited at the same time. Has anyone else ran/walked alone?

Even though someone has always registered with me, I have done all of my half marathons alone. The first year (2009) I came down with a girl friend. She was slower than I was and didn't want to hold me back, so we just agreed on a place to meet at the finish and went on our way. Every other year I came with my DH. He is faster than I am and I didn't want to hold him back, so again, we just agreed on a meeting place. That being said, I never felt alone. I would chat with others in the corrals before the start, then if I saw someone on the course whose shirt or costume I really liked, I would compliment them on it. Once I saw Santa Claus, and since it was just after Christmas, I thanked him for my present! So, at Disney, even though you may be by yourself on the course, you're never alone!

 

[Nishmom]

Hey, Pattie - welcome back! Glad to hear you are back in action! Just get one of those big 'ol curly Merida wigs that they are selling at the Disney store!

I always wanted to be a redhead!

 

[ColleenG]

Hi All!
I registered yesterday for the half marathon and booked my hotel (Port Orleans, Riverside). It's my first time and I am doing it alone! I am nervous (terrified actually) and so excited at the same time. Has anyone else ran/walked alone?

I ran it this year for the first time and ran alone. This year I'm doing it with a friend. I still had such a blast doing it by myself. No worries. We will all be there too! Where in NJ are you? I'm in Point Pleasant.

Hi everyone! It's been a really long few months. After being all registered for the 2012 Princess (with hubby), a breast cancer diagnosis totally derailed me. I had bilateral mastectomies in mid-January, came to WDW to watch hubby and daughter-in-law run the Princess (I think I cried the whole time!), started chemo March 1, resumed running (sort of) around the beginning of June. The race folks deferred my 2012 registration to 2013, and hubby just registered yesterday. Now I'm so excited I can't stand it!! Hope to run a half at the Outer Banks in November, just to make sure I can still do it. Now the problem is two-fold: where to stay and how much can we afford. We LOVE the Polynesian but rented points to use at Animal Kingdom last February and really enjoyed it. How to decide..... I can't call WDW yet until we have some idea of budget and chemo brain makes this stuff even harder! Now if my hair would just grow back - I will need it to hold a tiara.

Pattie

Pattie, so glad you are doing well. This year is your year! You truely are a Princess!

 

[mommyof2princesses]

Anyone else staying at POFQ? - we haven't before, but dbf wants to depart from our go-to usual choice, Pop Century. Are we going to love it just as much as Pop?

POFQ is our home away from home. We have stayed there 6 times and it will be 7 this december. I love that it is smaller and has only 1 bus stop. The pool is really nice and has a slide. WE have done POP once and although it was cool we didn't love it as much.

 

[ColleenG]

I'm leaning pretty close to signing up for 2013... it's just me getting over my buyers hesitation right now. I'm running my first marathon 2 months before (WDW Marathon) and so that's also making me a bit nervous.

Still, I love the Princess Weekend and I've done it the past 2 years and so I really, really want to keep up the tradition!

I'm doing Mickey too, first full marthon for me too. I'll be traveling solo for the full. Let me know if you want to meet up for either race!
Colleen

 

[kbondi]

I ran it this year for the first time and ran alone. This year I'm doing it with a friend. I still had such a blast doing it by myself. No worries. We will all be there too! Where in NJ are you? I'm in Point Pleasant.



I am in Princeton. Not too far from Point Pleasant! =) I asked a few friends to do it with me but they didn't think they could do the full 13.1 miles. Maybe next year?

 

[ColleenG]

I am in Princeton. Not too far from Point Pleasant! =) I asked a few friends to do it with me but they didn't think they could do the full 13.1 miles. Maybe next year?

My friend who is doing it this year always said that she could never do 13.1 but now we are up to 6 miles together and I and another friend of hers was able to convince her that another 7.1 is not that bad. I'm so psyche she is doing it with me. Woo hoo girls weekend! Although I think I might scare her with my crazy love of Disney! I'm not sure she gets the full effect of my Disneyphilia!

 

[cobbler]

Hi All!
I registered yesterday for the half marathon and booked my hotel (Port Orleans, Riverside). It's my first time and I am doing it alone! I am nervous (terrified actually) and so excited at the same time. Has anyone else ran/walked alone?

Even though hubby and I participate in races together, we run alone for the most part. He is faster than me and has some ego trip thing going on where he has to beat me I swear.

I'm onto him though I figured if I just stay out of his sight he won't try to go so fast and I can "run with him". So for most of the race I'm behind him just far enough where he can't tell I'm there, then at the end.....

Besides, while you may be alone in the sense of not knowing anyone you won't be alone and there will be plenty of friendly folks to talk to!

 

[acourtwdw]

I can totally relate! For the 2012 Princess, I was in a similar situation. It was my first race at this distance, and I am on the downward trend with the scale, too.

You CAN do this. Follow a training plan, don't do too much too soon, and above all HAVE FUN. With as much time as we have between now and "go time", you'll definitely improve and be able to truly enjoy the process. There is no better feeling in the world than crossing that finish line!

Thanks! I think I am going to follow the Jeff Galloway program to help me get ready. While I love summer, I'm hoping for another mild MI winter so that I can do some training outside. We were able to walk in Jan and Feb outside this year without a lot of ice or snow. In fact, in Jan. it was warmer here than in the south. Treadmils get boring after a while....

If the resort that you want to book your home resort (that is, the one where you own points) then you can make a reservation up to 11 months in advance. Otherwise, you have to wait until 7 months in advance of your check in date to make a reservation.

BCV is one of our home resorts, so I was able to book it last night.

 

[skx1122]

HELLO PRINCESSES!!!

Well it took over 2 weeks, but I FINALLY made it through the thread. And now I'm ready to announce - PLEASE add me to the list. I will be a first time princess and half marathoner. When I turned 30, I made a list of 10 things to accomplish before I turned 40. After spending the last year begging my friends to think about doing it with me, we will be a group of 4 looking good in tiaras and tu-tus. None of us are currently runners, but we are in it to finish and have fun. I'm registering for a 5K, 10K, and 15K along the way of my training. I want those can be about finishing with a good time, and the princess to be about finishing with cool pictures and laughter.

Cannot wait for February!!!

~Princess Kelly

 

[tinkeramy]

Anyone else staying at POFQ? - we haven't before, but dbf wants to depart from our go-to usual choice, Pop Century. Are we going to love it just as much as Pop?

We stayed there last year and it was lovely. Got a great, quiet room right on the river. If you are bringing family (or if you just need a low-key night) they show movies on a big lawn at night - looked pretty cute! And the food court is good, too - post-race beignets & coffee were EXACTLY what I needed! This year we are probably trying out Riverside. I like the chance to check out new hotels!

Even though hubby and I participate in races together, we run alone for the most part. He is faster than me and has some ego trip thing going on where he has to beat me I swear.

I'm onto him though I figured if I just stay out of his sight he won't try to go so fast and I can "run with him". So for most of the race I'm behind him just far enough where he can't tell I'm there, then at the end.....

Besides, while you may be alone in the sense of not knowing anyone you won't be alone and there will be plenty of friendly folks to talk to!

This is CRACKING me up! I can't run with the hubs b/c he actually does go too fast for me and my competitive streak forces me to keep up at first and then I crap out at the end. I'm much more of a negative splits kind of girl - slow and steady to begin, then sprint it all out toward the end. But I like your strategy!

HELLO PRINCESSES!!!

Well it took over 2 weeks, but I FINALLY made it through the thread. And now I'm ready to announce - PLEASE add me to the list. I will be a first time princess and half marathoner. When I turned 30, I made a list of 10 things to accomplish before I turned 40. After spending the last year begging my friends to think about doing it with me, we will be a group of 4 looking good in tiaras and tu-tus. None of us are currently runners, but we are in it to finish and have fun. I'm registering for a 5K, 10K, and 15K along the way of my training. I want those can be about finishing with a good time, and the princess to be about finishing with cool pictures and laughter.

Cannot wait for February!!!

~Princess Kelly

Welcome!
Great plan for the training - it's good to get some race experience before the big day so you know what works for you and how things are run. And the Princess, to me, is SO not about time. Some people say that they don't want to spend all that money on a Dis race not to PR. I'm the opposite. If I want to PR, I'll do it somewhere local for a lot cheaper! For the $$ of a Dis registration, I want the pictures, I want the experience, I want the fun!!! (And you can see from SaySay's video in a pp that I think we managed!) I had to laugh when I was listing race times somewhere and I realized the half I ran just 3 weeks after last year's Princess was an exact hour faster! I think it's the only race where I expect to actually take longer than I did the year before!

 

[kbondi]

My friend who is doing it this year always said that she could never do 13.1 but now we are up to 6 miles together and I and another friend of hers was able to convince her that another 7.1 is not that bad. I'm so psyche she is doing it with me. Woo hoo girls weekend! Although I think I might scare her with my crazy love of Disney! I'm not sure she gets the full effect of my Disneyphilia!

That's great!! My boyfriend is going to be coming with me that weekend but even he is confused with my family's love of Disney! I am hoping that my mom and dad will also come that weekend. It will be my moms 55th birthday that weekend and she is a great cheerleader (aren't all moms?).

 

[Grlpowers]

I really want to run/walk the 1/2 marathon this year. I wanted to last year but my husband couldn't get the time off work. I just started the couch to 5 k program again to start training and work my way up to long distances.

 

[lexynjoesmom]

I've been reading through this thread but it will take ew days to get through all of it. I had surgery on both feet in December and made it my goal to run the Princess 1/2. Hubby said he would do it with me. So after a few issues with getting started, we are in. I signed us up yesterday and I also signed us up for a local 5K that is in September. We haven't been to Disney since 1990 when our kids were babies. Now they are grown up and it will only be DH and me going. I am a little nervous but I have walked every day this week except today (used the eliptical instead). I was having some foot pain and wanted to give my feet a little rest.

We are both excited about this challenge and I figure I will be in better shape at 43 (though I will turn 44 the weekend of the race) than I was at 23. Looking forward to getting to know all of you.
Christina

 

[amykay9377]

I love CR!!! And for the race I think it would be perfect. You can take the bus to the start and then after you can use the monorail to get back and not have to deal with the buses at the end. Plus you are SO close to MK for the rest of the trip and if you have anyone coming with you, they can come down to the front of the resort and see you go by or walk over to MK to see you on Main Street then hop the monorail to get to the finish!!

This is GREAT!!! I didn't even think about all the ways the family would benefit if we stayed at CR! I was leaning towards CR, but I think this put it over the edge for me! (Would they be able to cheer me on from the Hill of Death area, or only in front of the resort itself?)

Hi All!
I registered yesterday for the half marathon and booked my hotel (Port Orleans, Riverside). It's my first time and I am doing it alone! I am nervous (terrified actually) and so excited at the same time. Has anyone else ran/walked alone?

Love POR! Great choice.
I'm also doing this alone. I feel like I have something to prove to myself and having someone with me would be a distraction!

...Besides, while you may be alone in the sense of not knowing anyone you won't be alone and there will be plenty of friendly folks to talk to!

This is what I'm looking forward to - I want to run this race alone (see above), but to not BE alone, kwim?

 

[kbondi]

This is GREAT!!! I didn't even think about all the ways the family would benefit if we stayed at CR! I was leaning towards CR, but I think this put it over the edge for me! (Would they be able to cheer me on from the Hill of Death area, or only in front of the resort itself?)


Love POR! Great choice.
I'm also doing this alone. I feel like I have something to prove to myself and having someone with me would be a distraction!


This is what I'm looking forward to - I want to run this race alone (see above), but to not BE alone, kwim?

I stayed at the CR in the Bay Lake Towers last year for my birthday weekend and it was *amazing*. Being able to walk to the MK is great and the monorail makes it super easy to get to Epcot. I originally wanted to stay at CR, Polynesian or GF however when I called yesterday to price those, I almost had a mini-heart attack upon hearing the cost. I will have to save that for another time when we are using our VC points!

I am with you about proving this to myself. I have a history of saying I am going to do something and then not seeing it through to the end. This is a commitment to myself to make "me time" each day to work out, stay healthy & fit and complete this race. It will be a big accomplishment for me =)
We can do it!!!