The New *Official 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon Thread*

[Mamasmurf227]

Wow, go away for a week and I have 10+ pages to catch up on!

I've been in a bit of a funk the past 2 weeks. I ran a 5K and didn't hit my goal and was feeling bummed about that. Plus, my DH who had only been running for a couple of weeks ran it and had a great race---fairly close to my time when I had been busting my @ss for months. I'm really happy for him, but it was very discouraging.

I am 9 weeks out from my first 1/2, and I'm starting to stress a little. I haven't been getting in the miles that I should be. My long runs are about 5 miles so I know I have to get back on track ASAP.

OK, vent over. Hitting the gym this morning and going to refocus. My tiara is waiting.

I use runkeeper on my android. Sometimes it works great, and other times it is way off. It really depends on your phone. My last run was 6 miles and it said I ran 10! HA! Tomorrow dh is letting me use his Garmin watch to try out a new run.

Runkeeper was always pretty accurate for me except the past week or so. I went for a run and it told me I had done 4 miles in 24 minutes. LOL Um...I don't think I could maintain a 6 minute pace for 1 mile, nevermind 4. So, I've been double checking my routes with my car whenever possible just so I'm sure.

Have a great day, Princesses!

 

[JenNel85]

Wow, go away for a week and I have 10+ pages to catch up on!

I've been in a bit of a funk the past 2 weeks. I ran a 5K and didn't hit my goal and was feeling bummed about that. Plus, my DH who had only been running for a couple of weeks ran it and had a great race---fairly close to my time when I had been busting my @ss for months. I'm really happy for him, but it was very discouraging.

I am 9 weeks out from my first 1/2, and I'm starting to stress a little. I haven't been getting in the miles that I should be. My long runs are about 5 miles so I know I have to get back on track ASAP.

OK, vent over. Hitting the gym this morning and going to refocus. My tiara is waiting.

I have bad runs/races alllllll the time! Even if you're trained well, and could run a certain pace during your training runs, that doesn't always translate to a 5K, unfortunately. We're not robots, and sometimes, our bodies just don't perform the way we think they should. It sucks, and it's always disappointing not to meet a goal, but don't beat yourself up! You can do this!

 

[acourtwdw]

How gross would it be to walk back through EPCOT and have brunch after the PHM?

 

[MoonFaerie]

I had a dream last night that I was out running on a sunny day, and BAM, out of nowhere, I got struck my lightning.

 

[VickiHD]

I had a dream last night that I was out running on a sunny day, and BAM, out of nowhere, I got struck my lightning.

Good thing it's just a dream !!!!

 

[Cripey]

How gross would it be to walk back through EPCOT and have brunch after the PHM?

By gross do you mean how gross might you feel/smell afterwards? I totally understand I'm a pretty heavy sweater and as that starts to dry up, I know I smell like a wet dog! What you can do though if you don't want to go back to your hotel to shower and change is pack a change of clothes to give to your family/friends to have for you afterwards...or you can pack it in the gear check bag to retrieve yourself in the finish area...and just change real quick in a restroom inside the park. Also inlcude deodarant and a little travel pack of baby wipes to freshen up a bit...that should be enough to get you through a meal feeling ok.

 

[Derby]

Hi everyone, running the 2013 Princess half has been a dream of mine since 2009. We are combining it with a trip for our family. I have two questions.. we are planning to stay off-site (probably at Windsor Hills). What is the best way to get to the race in the morning? I can't drive myself since my DH will need our car. Is a taxi a good idea? Are there other people staying at WH that would drive together? My other question is about arrival timing.. we have an 11 hour drive and are planning to leave the Friday before and arrive on Saturday. Will that be too rushed or will it be fine? I am looking forward to getting to "know" everyone as we all train together!

 

[Mommy to Two Princes]

How gross would it be to walk back through EPCOT and have brunch after the PHM?

I'm doing this, too! If you go to Academy or a sporting goods store, they have these larger shower wipes that you can use. They are located in the camping section. I just knew my array of cub scout camping knowledge would pay off eventually. Who knew if would pay off for Disney!?!

I'm going to check my bag of clothes. I can't guarantee that my DH can make it to the viewing spot with my clothes and a 10 and 5 year old.

I'm doing it so that we can have more park time at Epcot. I don't want them to have to spend any extra time waiting on me. I don't want to miss the fun stuff with the fam!

 

[MaMa3Princess]

Hi everyone, running the 2013 Princess half has been a dream of mine since 2009. We are combining it with a trip for our family. I have two questions.. we are planning to stay off-site (probably at Windsor Hills). What is the best way to get to the race in the morning? I can't drive myself since my DH will need our car. Is a taxi a good idea? Are there other people staying at WH that would drive together? My other question is about arrival timing.. we have an 11 hour drive and are planning to leave the Friday before and arrive on Saturday. Will that be too rushed or will it be fine? I am looking forward to getting to "know" everyone as we all train together!

Hi,

I stayed in Emerald Island last year and my hubby dropped me off right in front of Epcot where the resort bus let out. I want to say I arrived at 4:30. It worked out fine. I walked over to the staging area and checked my bags. Hubby left and came back at 8:30 am. He managed to see me at the 11 mile maker and then at the finishing bleachers.

Ok, I am totally not doing the Saturday arrival thing again. The house we wanted just did not have availability until Saturday. We only are 450 miles away but with 6 kids that turned into a 10 hour drive.
I am pretty rain mannish when it comes to my Pre race routine and by us having a Sat check in I felt rushed. I got to the expo at 2. We hung out there until after 4 for our house check in. Kids were so exhausted but we still needed groceries and supplies. I normally have panera bagels but the one that was near to our house was way over somewhere. I freaked out about that. Could not get into Olive Garden so we had to order from a local pizza restaurant that delivered because the kids were so tired and cranky. Stopped by grocery store and could not find my brand of peanut butter so I am stuck with store bought bagels and jiff peanut butter. So all this went down and got kids in bed at 10 and I fell asleep at 11:30 for a 3:00 am wake up call.
It all worked out but I was so spazzy that we agreed that it would be best to arrive on Friday. Or maybe I could bring my own stuff from home

 

[VickiHD]

I'm going to check my bag of clothes. I can't guarantee that my DH can make it to the viewing spot with my clothes and a 10 and 5 year old.

I understand !!!

My DH only has one 6 yr old to deal with and I swear those two will be relaxing in the race retreat tent enjoying their platinum ChEAR Squad perks.

 

[kayleesmomxo]

I understand !!!

My DH only has one 6 yr old to deal with and I swear those two will be relaxing in the race retreat tent enjoying their platinum ChEAR Squad perks.

Is the Chear Squad worth it? This will be my first race so I'm not really sure if I need to get it for my hubby and 6 year old as well. It looks nice!!!!

 

[acourtwdw]

I'm doing this, too! If you go to Academy or a sporting goods store, they have these larger shower wipes that you can use. They are located in the camping section. I just knew my array of cub scout camping knowledge would pay off eventually. Who knew if would pay off for Disney!?!

I'm going to check my bag of clothes. I can't guarantee that my DH can make it to the viewing spot with my clothes and a 10 and 5 year old.

I'm doing it so that we can have more park time at Epcot. I don't want them to have to spend any extra time waiting on me. I don't want to miss the fun stuff with the fam!

Since we aren't arriving until late Friday and not doing parks on Saturday, Sunday will be the only day we can do any attractions. I think my sis and parents are coming with me. So they will have my stuff. No bag check for me

 

[Lauraldawn]

Hi,

I stayed in Emerald Island last year and my hubby dropped me off right in front of Epcot where the resort bus let out. I want to say I arrived at 4:30. It worked out fine. I walked over to the staging area and checked my bags. Hubby left and came back at 8:30 am. He managed to see me at the 11 mile maker and then at the finishing bleachers.

Ok, I am totally not doing the Saturday arrival thing again. The house we wanted just did not have availability until Saturday. We only are 450 miles away but with 6 kids that turned into a 10 hour drive.
I am pretty rain mannish when it comes to my Pre race routine and by us having a Sat check in I felt rushed. I got to the expo at 2. We hung out there until after 4 for our house check in. Kids were so exhausted but we still needed groceries and supplies. I normally have panera bagels but the one that was near to our house was way over somewhere. I freaked out about that. Could not get into Olive Garden so we had to order from a local pizza restaurant that delivered because the kids were so tired and cranky. Stopped by grocery store and could not find my brand of peanut butter so I am stuck with store bought bagels and jiff peanut butter. So all this went down and got kids in bed at 10 and I fell asleep at 11:30 for a 3:00 am wake up call.
It all worked out but I was so spazzy that we agreed that it would be best to arrive on Friday. Or maybe I could bring my own stuff from home

I've never done a half, but this was exactly me at a race I did last year. I need specific things (right kind of bagels, seriously) and everything started to fall apart. It ended up being a great race, but it was only a 5k.
We are definitely arriving on the Friday before!

 

[Cripey]

I've never done a half, but this was exactly me at a race I did last year. I need specific things (right kind of bagels, seriously) and everything started to fall apart. It ended up being a great race, but it was only a 5k.
We are definitely arriving on the Friday before!

Me too I always bring my own stuff from home for race morning when travelling for a race...the kind of bagel I like, Jif-To-Go packets (eventhough it's not my peanut butter of choice, it's convenient and does the trick for one morning), organic granola bar and a couple of quart sized gatorades. Makes for a heavier suitcase on the trip out there with the Gatorades, but it's not so bad. The only thing I buy when I get there is a banana from the food court. It definitely pays off to prepare yourself to have as little stress as possible on race morning...for me at least

ETA: Oh, I bring my own Horizon Chocolate Milk boxes for post race too!

 

[LuLuO]

Me too I always bring my own stuff from home for race morning when travelling for a race...the kind of bagel I like, Jif-To-Go packets (eventhough it's not my peanut butter of choice, it's convenient and does the trick for one morning), organic granola bar and a couple of quart sized gatorades. Makes for a heavier suitcase on the trip out there with the Gatorades, but it's not so bad. The only thing I buy when I get there is a banana from the food court. It definitely pays off to prepare yourself to have as little stress as possible on race morning...for me at least

ETA: Oh, I bring my own Horizon Chocolate Milk boxes for post race too!

I will also have my own food. I am gluten free and even though my experience in the restaurants has been fantastic, I'm not going to count on them having anything that will be remotely close to what I eat normally.

 

[KTE]

I had my first night of 1/2 marathon training tonight. I'm doing a training program with our local running shoe store with a goal 1/2 at the end of October. It was great- except that by the end my feet were killing me (even though we only did about 1/2 mile more then my usual runs). I'm guessing that it's time for new shoes, but I'm hoping I can stretch the life of these guys out using some inserts maybe. Does any one have any suggestions to make these last or should I bite the bullet and fork over the money for new ones?

 

[acourtwdw]

Just got done doing a trail fun run. 3.25 miles in 54 minutes. Trail runs are hard for me since I have to watch where I am going so I don't trip. Tripping 10 months after having back surgery would really hurt me. But I think I found my "on ramp" training. There was a hill that was 308 feet. It was a killer. But there was beer at the end of the run

 

[WsPrincess]

Hi everyone, running the 2013 Princess half has been a dream of mine since 2009. We are combining it with a trip for our family. I have two questions.. we are planning to stay off-site (probably at Windsor Hills). What is the best way to get to the race in the morning? I can't drive myself since my DH will need our car. Is a taxi a good idea? Are there other people staying at WH that would drive together? My other question is about arrival timing.. we have an 11 hour drive and are planning to leave the Friday before and arrive on Saturday. Will that be too rushed or will it be fine? I am looking forward to getting to "know" everyone as we all train together!

I think it just depends on you and what time you will get in. We are not arriving until late Friday (I am actually a little worried since what happens if our flight is delayed or something) so I have to do everything for race prep Saturday and keep DH from getting too bored

I understand !!!

My DH only has one 6 yr old to deal with and I swear those two will be relaxing in the race retreat tent enjoying their platinum ChEAR Squad perks.

That will be DH if he doesn't over sleep and miss the whole thing. He worries me sometimes. He has NO concept of time. Today he said "I will just get up and instead of taking the bus, I will just walk from BCV to the finish line!" He was so proud of himself for the idea until I pointed out that I will be DONE running before Epcot even opens so he will miss everything. He is rethinking his plan. And he does have the platinum ChEAR package so he better enjoy the perks for that cost!!

I had my first night of 1/2 marathon training tonight. I'm doing a training program with our local running shoe store with a goal 1/2 at the end of October. It was great- except that by the end my feet were killing me (even though we only did about 1/2 mile more then my usual runs). I'm guessing that it's time for new shoes, but I'm hoping I can stretch the life of these guys out using some inserts maybe. Does any one have any suggestions to make these last or should I bite the bullet and fork over the money for new ones?

I think you need to bite the bullet and get new ones. Just think, by your 1/2 in October they should be perfectly broken in!

 

[TinyDancer]

This thread goes so fast I can't keep up
I did my longest run yet this weekend, 10 miles. I feel great being in the double digits!
Next up for me is a 5k this Friday evening. Its flat and I'm hoping the weather is good so I can PR.
I hope I have everyone added to the front page

 

[VickiHD]

Is the Chear Squad worth it? This will be my first race so I'm not really sure if I need to get it for my hubby and 6 year old as well. It looks nice!!!!

Really I am not sure. I can't imagine that it is worth the money but we need to make this as easy and convenience for all of us. This is my first 1/2 at WDW and things are SO different at WDW than DL. We also do not know the ins and outs like we do when we run at DL. So that is why we signed up for the ChEAR Squad for my guys and the race retreat for me. Our thinking was to try and make it a little nicer for them while they are waiting for me complete the race. Especially since they will be heading out with me in the early morning. Personally, I just want DH and son to have somewhere a little nice to hang out and the character greeting, cartoons and warm coffee will make both of them happy. Hope that helps.