The Running Thread - 2016

[disneydaydreamer33]

Question about running hero: First of all, just wanted to say thank you for everyone that shared their inspirations. I love seeing people's running journey and am always left wanting to try harder after reading them!

There is one person that definitely inspired me to start running. When I was pregnant with my second, my sister in law on a whim decided to recruit another sister-in-law and my mother-in-law to train for and run the Nike Women's Half marathon in San Fransisco. It was so fun to watch them train together, and made me think that once the baby was born I could do something like that. Previously, I had always said running was a cruel, cruel form of exercise that I wanted no part of! Which led to @rteetz 's QOTD about my first race. After having my son in October 2008 and healing from my c-section, I started running. Little by little I made it to 3 miles of continuous running and ran the Teton Dam 5K in May 2009. It was such an exhilarating experience, and a total bonus and surprise that I won my first (and only!) first place medal for my age group. I was definitely hoooked at that point.

@roxymama - love the QOTD! It was fun to think through these.
Race in thick jeans- I can't even wear an itchy wool sweater for a second! I can't imagine getting sweaty in one!

Free entries+flights to races for a year - the stuff of my dreams!

Harassed by bees OR Chased by an angry Chihuahua - I can't choose! I've never been stung by a bee, and would like to keep it that way. At the same time, angry, scary dogs are a runner's worst nightmare!

Race through WDW with no characters - I get teary eyed walking through WDW. Characters are definitely fun, but being there is the experience I relish.

GPS not working- music and podcasts are what get me through

Bonus Dole Whip Aid Stations - dole whips, always dole whips

“We’ve run out of free beer” - as someone that doesn't drink alcohol at all, this one was a no-brainer for me

Uphill course with perfect weather- I'd be slow, but I would enjoy myself much more.

Last place in the Olympics - I can't even imagine what an honor it would be to be at the olympics running for my country!

Straight out and back marathon with no scenery - oh gosh both of these sound terrible!

Summer training for a Fall race- Utah summers are infinitely better to run in than Utah winters!

Blink in every picture but your form looks perfect - Ha! Can I add the option of photoshop??

Handed only money at every aid station - I'll always take free money!

WDW marathon team relay 2018 -this would be SO FUN!

Wear a red sparkle skirt OR A pink sparkle visor - I'd wear both! At the same time for Valentine's Day race!

So, bad news for me. My hip has been hurting some. Started a few weeks ago as just a little nagging pain, then I took off a week (admittedly, only because work travel made it hard to run). Well, it got worse (though never really that bad), but yesterday I was limping all day. Went to ortho urgent care, and I'm looking at either a hip flexor strain or tendinitis or a femoral neck stress fracture. [Where is my sobbing emoji?] I can't get in for an MRI until next Wednesday, and obviously no running until we know for sure it's not a fracture. I'm just devastated and going crazy worried that I'm out.

Just needed to express that to some folks who I knew would understand. Want to help me convince myself it's not broken? Lol.

I'm so sorry! I hope you get some answers soon!

 

[baxter24]

My first race was a local 5k on NC States centennial campus. It was supposed to benefit the counties PTA fitness program (or something like that). I ran it with my best friend.

Thank you to you all that recommended Tailwind to me! I just finished my longest run ever - 18 miles! No gut bombs for 18 miles is a good thing! This was the first long run that I did where I knew in my head that I would actually finish the marathon.

 

[Ariel484]

1. How do you help yourself overcome the mental hurdles when you feel like you're tired and the goal race seems like it'll be unbearably long?

I just take it one week at a time...1 run at a time. You listed out all of the work you are doing to get ready - following your training plan, cross training - just keep doing what you are doing. Everything you listed out is helping your body get stronger. If you follow your plan, you'll get to the taper and it'll help you recuperate before Goofy.

This is the hard part - the training is hard. But it will be worth it when you cross the finish lines.

2. How do you deal with having to do a runDisney race weekend solo? I'm hoping to meet up with some various running group people, and one of my friends might be able to come cheer me on for the marathon, but otherwise I think I'll be going solo for the weekend, which is making me feel like it won't be a very fun trip. The accomplishment of finishing the Goofy Challenge just seems less exciting without someone there to share it with me.

I'll be there solo, too. My husband normally comes and meets me at mile 24 - he can't this year. So I'm trying to focus on the good things about a solo trip. I get to control everything - the ADRs, the FP+, the pace of the races. And my husband is always a text message away - I know I'll be texting him from the course.

And I know I'll have DISmeets happening too.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Hey all - I'm in need of a little pre-marathon weekend pep talk.

I'm signed up for my first Goofy. This year, WDW was my first full marathon. I've been mostly keeping to the Galloway training schedule, with a few modifications for race weekends. I also do a lot of cross-training (barre, yoga, kickboxing). I feel a lot more fit than I did prior to the marathon last year. But, I've been feeling really tired these past few weeks and its making me worried about completing the Goofy Challenge. I did all three races at Avengers Super Heroes weekend last week, plus did some park touring. Nothing crazy, but still a lot of cumulative miles. By mile 11 of the half I felt like garbage. It was hot (70 degrees and full sun at the end...which always feels hot for me when I'm running). On the plus side, I finished the half in a better time than I've ever had for a runDisney half (still slower than my actual half PR time, but I expect that considering all the times I stop to take pictures).

After the Avengers Half, I had this moment of realizing it's less than two months until I'll be doing back-to-back half and full marathons, and at that moment I was just feeling like I couldn't do it. I am (mostly) on track for my training, so maybe I just need to trust that the training plan got me through the marathon last year and stay focused on that. I've missed some of the runs during the week due to some IT band pains, but I've hit all of the long runs, which for me is the big deal because the psychological challenge of being out on the road for multiple hours is a huge part of my training process. I average about a 13-14 minute mile on run-walk-run, so the long runs for Goofy training take a good amount of time.

I'm just feeling slightly disillusioned with running right now, and overwhelmed by Goofy, and on top of that it looks like my husband (my own personal cheering section) will not be able to join me for marathon weekend due to a work trip, which is making me feel even less excited about the trip.

So, after all this whining, I guess my questions to the group are:

1. How do you help yourself overcome the mental hurdles when you feel like you're tired and the goal race seems like it'll be unbearably long?

2. How do you deal with having to do a runDisney race weekend solo? I'm hoping to meet up with some various running group people, and one of my friends might be able to come cheer me on for the marathon, but otherwise I think I'll be going solo for the weekend, which is making me feel like it won't be a very fun trip. The accomplishment of finishing the Goofy Challenge just seems less exciting without someone there to share it with me.

First, know that you can do this; you can! It sounds like much of the advice that has already been shared I would second. Try not to think of the whole challenge at once. Take it in sections and try to be in the moment. Enjoy all the special sights and sounds that make up a runDisney event. They always do a good job of marking the course with mile markers, just focus on getting to the next one. I have found that this helps me when the distance is seeming more challenging.

On the solo front, I did Dopey last year solo. Let me start by saying I am not a hugely outgoing person and I was very nervous to travel and spend six days alone. It was wonderful. I certainly missed my family but I have to say I enjoyed how selfish I got to be for a few days and simply follow my own desires and timetable. I found that wearing my medals opened up conversation with people and I was able to interact with others quite a bit. I was able to nap after races or simply walk around the parks to keep my legs loose, just depended on what I wanted. It was hard at a few points. I was not a big fan of eating alone at table service restaurants. But I brought a book and told my self to simply relax and enjoy the food. The hardest part was completing the races and not having family there to share in the accomplishment. But I simply cheered on strangers, started a couple conversations and that really helped. THis year my family is coming and I am very excited about that, but a piece of me will miss the freedom of going solo. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Race Report: So today my daughter and I ran our seasonal 5k, and I added to that a 10K that was put on as part of a challenge - 10K at 7:30am and 5K at 9:00am. My goal going into today was to treat the 10K as a PR attempt and simply run the 5K for fun with my daughter; letting her set the pace. The biggest challenge was the weather. On Friday here in Mid-Michigan it was 65; today it was 22! So we froze!!!! The worst part was waiting for the second race after sweating so much from the 10K. I never warmed up in the 5k, or really on the drive home. It has been awhile since I was that cold for that long.

The exciting news was that I PR'd the 10K by almost 3 minutes; taking it down from 53:13 to 50:18. This has been a very challenging year for PR attempts for me so I am very excited to finally post one (the first one this year...). My daughter was incredible! We had to wait for our wave of the 5K to go and the wind was insane, she was so cold but she did not complain just asked me to stand in front of her to block some of the wind. At one point as we were waiting (about 30 minutes total) I almost called it as I could see how cold she was. Then she said, "Dad, it is snowing, so cool we are going to run in the snow". She ran really hard, posting her second best time and placing third overall in her age group! It was a pretty big race. My favorite moment though was at about the 2 1/2 mile point she was doing math of what we still had to do and was visibly struggling. I told her we could slow down, she did not want to. I was so proud of her effort I said "Bella, you are so awesome and I am so proud of you" and she said "Dad I am proud of you too". My day, week, month is made!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

 

[DopeyBadger]

"Bella, you are so awesome and I am so proud of you" and she said "Dad I am proud of you too"

I can only imagine the smile on your face is bigger than the one that is on my face, and that's a big smile. Congrats!

 

[croach]

Hey all - I'm in need of a little pre-marathon weekend pep talk.

I'm signed up for my first Goofy. This year, WDW was my first full marathon. I've been mostly keeping to the Galloway training schedule, with a few modifications for race weekends. I also do a lot of cross-training (barre, yoga, kickboxing). I feel a lot more fit than I did prior to the marathon last year. But, I've been feeling really tired these past few weeks and its making me worried about completing the Goofy Challenge. I did all three races at Avengers Super Heroes weekend last week, plus did some park touring. Nothing crazy, but still a lot of cumulative miles. By mile 11 of the half I felt like garbage. It was hot (70 degrees and full sun at the end
So, after all this whining, I guess my questions to the group are:

1. How do you help yourself overcome the mental hurdles when you feel like you're tired and the goal race seems like it'll be unbearably long?

2. How do you deal with having to do a runDisney race weekend solo? I'm hoping to meet up with some various running group people, and one of my friends might be able to come cheer me on for the marathon, but otherwise I think I'll be going solo for the weekend, which is making me feel like it won't be a very fun trip. The accomplishment of finishing the Goofy Challenge just seems less exciting without someone there to share it with me.

1- I always think the mental part of marathon training can be harder than the physical sometimes. The process can wear you down. Don't be afraid to take a day or two off and re-energize. And remember the end goal and how nice those medals will look.

2 - you'll have plenty of crowd support and Dis support. Know it's not the same as family but you get lots of energy from the crowds. I'm always solo at WDW. It has its pros and cons but just enjoy being able to make your own schedule. I tend to wander the parks a lot more instead of having a set plan. And enjoy the resorts too. You'll have a great time I'm sure.

 

[keahgirl8]

1- I always think the mental part of marathon training can be harder than the physical sometimes. The process can wear you down. Don't be afraid to take a day or two off and re-energize. And remember the end goal and how nice those medals will look.

2 - you'll have plenty of crowd support and Dis support. Know it's not the same as family but you get lots of energy from the crowds. I'm always solo at WDW. It has its pros and cons but just enjoy being able to make your own schedule. I tend to wander the parks a lot more instead of having a set plan. And enjoy the resorts too. You'll have a great time I'm sure.

Same here. I've honestly never done a runDisney weekend with anyone. I enjoy being solo and I have plenty of fun. Besides, you're never really alone in a Disney race. I almost always meet someone, even if it's just making small talk while I'm waiting.

 

[FFigawi]

1. How do you help yourself overcome the mental hurdles when you feel like you're tired and the goal race seems like it'll be unbearably long?

Since everyone else covered the training piece, I'll tackle the race itself for you. As my coach said to me before IM Florida, never EVER EVER think about the distance yet to come. Stay in the moment and do the mile you're in at that time. She was right. Looking ahead gets you nervous and scared. Focusing on where you are makes you strong and pushes you to the next mile. You can do the same thing with Goofy. Focus on where you are at the time and break the races into short goals you can knock off before moving on to the next one. The full is great for this. Lots of ways to look at the course as small goals of a few miles at a time.

Start
Turn towards MK
MK lot and TTC
Underpass and Space Mountain
MK
Golf course & cone alley
Turn & quiet section to AK
AK
Run to WWoS
WWoS
Off ramp "hill" on way to DHS
DHS
Boardwalk/YC/BC
Into Epcot
Around World Showcase
The big ball
Choir
Finishing chute
Done!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

1. How do you help yourself overcome the mental hurdles when you feel like you're tired and the goal race seems like it'll be unbearably long?

To borrow a line from a Disney movie, you need to feed the right wolf. Stop with the negative thinking and start with the positive imagery.

 

[LSUlakes]

Good morning folks! I am trying to catch up from last week and update the OP and respond to at least the QOTD at some point today. The trip was amazing and I hope to make a trip report in the coming days. I brought home some cinnamon rolls from Gaston's Tavern, so I am about to eat one of those while I continue to catch up. A lot of good QOTD's folks! Thanks for keeping things going!!! Got home at 10 PM last night, so I am struggling after a long drive, but it was all worth it.

QOTD: Vacation and running, are you able to stick to your plan during a trip?

ATTQOTD: I failed big time! I did average at least 9 miles a day of walking at the parks, but only ran once... My feet never hurt so much before! So with all the time on my feet and the many many many bad eating choices, and only a few hours of sleep, running got put on the shelf. I think I would have better luck at other destinations.


Side note: Saturday was the busiest I have ever seen the parks. God bless who ever is there for this week or any holiday week, I would need medication with that many folks there.

 

[rteetz]

Good morning folks! I am trying to catch up from last week and update the OP and respond to at least the QOTD at some point today. The trip was amazing and I hope to make a trip report in the coming days. I brought home some cinnamon rolls from Gaston's Tavern, so I am about to eat one of those while I continue to catch up. A lot of good QOTD's folks! Thanks for keeping things going!!! Got home at 10 PM last night, so I am struggling after a long drive, but it was all worth it.

QOTD: Vacation and running, are you able to stick to your plan during a trip?

ATTQOTD: I failed big time! I did average at least 9 miles a day of walking at the parks, but only ran once... My feet never hurt so much before! So with all the time on my feet and the many many many bad eating choices, and only a few hours of sleep, running got put on the shelf. I think I would have better luck at other destinations.


Side note: Saturday was the busiest I have ever seen the parks. God bless who ever is there for this week or any holiday week, I would need medication with that many folks there.

Usually I'm not able to stick to a running plan on vacation well but like you said you did a lot of walking which helps some. For example this weekend I was out hunting. I was out from before light till after dark in a big bright orange suit and walked at least five miles a day with 20 pounds of clothes on. Only bad part... no deer for me...

 

[roxymama]

ATTQOTD: I think you are right about "I think I would have better luck at other destinations." I was able to keep my running plan when we were on our sit-around-do-nothing beach vacation this year...because it wasn't like we were on our feet a lot or had a very busy schedule. While on other more activity-packed vacations I just don't run, unless we planned a race in there. Three dis-trips in a row for us have races in them though now that I think of it (last WDW marathon weekend, Tink 2017 & W&D 2017.)
Also Hubby does better getting miles in during solo business travel than we do on family trips, because it's hard not to want to spend all our time with our kiddo.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Race Report: So today my daughter and I ran our seasonal 5k, and I added to that a 10K that was put on as part of a challenge - 10K at 7:30am and 5K at 9:00am. My goal going into today was to treat the 10K as a PR attempt and simply run the 5K for fun with my daughter; letting her set the pace. The biggest challenge was the weather. On Friday here in Mid-Michigan it was 65; today it was 22! So we froze!!!! The worst part was waiting for the second race after sweating so much from the 10K. I never warmed up in the 5k, or really on the drive home. It has been awhile since I was that cold for that long.

The exciting news was that I PR'd the 10K by almost 3 minutes; taking it down from 53:13 to 50:18. This has been a very challenging year for PR attempts for me so I am very excited to finally post one (the first one this year...). My daughter was incredible! We had to wait for our wave of the 5K to go and the wind was insane, she was so cold but she did not complain just asked me to stand in front of her to block some of the wind. At one point as we were waiting (about 30 minutes total) I almost called it as I could see how cold she was. Then she said, "Dad, it is snowing, so cool we are going to run in the snow". She ran really hard, posting her second best time and placing third overall in her age group! It was a pretty big race. My favorite moment though was at about the 2 1/2 mile point she was doing math of what we still had to do and was visibly struggling. I told her we could slow down, she did not want to. I was so proud of her effort I said "Bella, you are so awesome and I am so proud of you" and she said "Dad I am proud of you too". My day, week, month is made!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Congrats on your new PR and congrats to your daughter as well! Tough conditions for sure, we basically get your weather a few hours later in the day here in Southwestern Ontario, so I know how gross it was out there. She is one tough cookie with an awesome attitude! That last line melts my heart.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

QOTD: Vacation and running, are you able to stick to your plan during a trip?

Welcome back @LSUlakes glad you had a great trip!

I'm usualy okay at getting some runs in on vacation, but in general I just throw the "plan" out the window. The only plan I have is to try and do a couple of easy-ish runs, and anything else is just gravy. There's no way any actual workouts or long runs are getting done. Most plans should have some sort of a period of rest and recovery, so try to make that vacation time.

 

[Ariel484]

QOTD: Vacation and running, are you able to stick to your plan during a trip?

Welcome back!! Glad you had a great trip!

Answer to the question - it depends on the kind of trip. Lately we've either been going to the parks or on DCL cruises. If it's at the parks, then NO, I am not able to stick to the plan! I don't think I have ever done a training run/workout while at Disneyland or WDW. It just doesn't happen.

Cruises are different. I don't know if it's guilt from allll of the food everywhere, or just that it's way more relaxed, but I think I've only ever missed 1 planned workout in 5 cruises. I am SUPER good at working out on on cruises.

 

[ebradley23]

ATTQOTD: When I'm following a specific plan, I'm ridiculously ocd about sticking to the plan. For the past two years when we have visited Disney, I've been right in the middle of marathon training. In 2015, I ran 18 miles while there and ran my first ever 20 mile run the day after flying home. This year ran 17 miles while there. Next year we're going on a cruise before training season starts. I'll still run, but I don't know how much. Those laps on a cruise ship deck are monotonous.

My mental trick while running is to tell myself everyone I'm passing walking around the resort is jealous of my abilities and dedication. I know the truth is they think I'm crazy, but the ego boost in my head is enough to help me push through. Last year I actually saw another lady out running at 11 pm. She told me she decided to quit making excuses when she saw me as they were coming in from the parks. She felt guilty for not running after seeing me. That helped with the ego boost too.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Welcome back! Looking forward to the trip report

ATTQOTD: On vacations, I typically do not exercise at all (it's vacation!), but now that I'm training, I've can't miss my runs! The best part is asking the front desk/concierge for running maps or using mapmyrun and exploring the area. I got to run along the coast in Hawaii for almost 15 miles. The biggest downside is that since I try to wake up early for my runs and not interfere with family time I put my alarm on the quiet side so I don't wake up a sleeping toddler, but then I can't hear it and I've missed runs that way. Also, I hate packing for my runs since the shoes take up a lot of room and I have to think about sweaty clothes too.

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: Vacation and running, are you able to stick to your plan during a trip?

Generally, I don't even try. Like @CheapRunnerMike, I tell my coach I'm going on vacation and not to expect lots of green boxes in Training Peaks. I did get in all of my workouts during my family reunion in Cape Cod last summer, but it took a concerted effort and an Ironman staring me in the face to do so.

 

[roxymama]

Welcome back!! Glad you had a great trip!

Answer to the question - it depends on the kind of trip. Lately we've either been going to the parks or on DCL cruises. If it's at the parks, then NO, I am not able to stick to the plan! I don't think I have ever done a training run/workout while at Disneyland or WDW. It just doesn't happen.

Cruises are different. I don't know if it's guilt from allll of the food everywhere, or just that it's way more relaxed, but I think I've only ever missed 1 planned workout in 5 cruises. I am SUPER good at working out on on cruises.

Do you run on the gym treadmill or around the tracks on the ship? I've always wondered if it feels different being on a boat doing either of those.