The Running Thread - 2018

[jennamfeo]

12 days away....almost time to check The Weather Channel 10 day forecast!

I know!! I have already started to obsess. For the next 10 days it looks like DC is getting a ton of rain, which means it's just gonna raise the humidity. Womp, womp. Current calculations are showing 78* with a T&D of 140 at the race start. But, of course, that could change. I wouldn't be opposed to some rain during the race, TBH.

 

[Baloo in MI]

ATTQOTD:
Well when I was actually running and racing how I paced depended a lot on the race distance and goal. I was working up into longer races and for those I would run with no pacing, simply running by effort. For half’s and fulls I would sometimes follow a pace group if it was for a specific goal time or have a goal time at the halfway point I would look to see if I was close. But overall, I seem to have a poorer outcome when I pace check too much, so I try to just run. Pick it up when I feel it is there and slow when I need to.

 

[Bree]

Sub QOTD for all you DCL cruise veterans out there. I just put a deposit on our spring break 4 night Dream sailing for 2019. Eeeeeee!!!! Whether I talk any other family into doing the same is up in the air.
But what is all of your strategy for arrivals before embarkation? Do you stay on disney property a night, do you stay at the airport hotel the night before. Do you roll the dice and arrive via a plane the day of?
We kind of don't want to spend a bajillion by tacking on WDW because we sprung for a room with a balcony. And we like to get places early. And we have a DCL transfer to the ship from MCO. So I'm thinking maybe fly in night before and stay at airport hotel?
Please help me; my logistically inclined friends.

PS Once I know the exact Castaway Cay day I'll add my 5k race for April 2019 @LSUlakes

When we lived out of state I always flew in the night before. The weather should be fine, but what if there is a mechanical issue? It would be heartbreaking to miss the ship due to a plane issue. Where you stay the night before depends on transportation you choose. You can stay near the port at a number of hotels, but that will require Uber/Lyft or a shuttle service. Prices are usually reasonable and many have free breakfast. If you stay at WDW or the hotel at MCO, you can take the Disney Cruise bus (for a fee per person).

What week are you going? I’m debating the Dream the 3rd week of March. My kids are itching for a cruise.

 

[huskies90]

QOTD: We have discussed training for a race, pre race plans, post race plans and so on, but we havent actually discussed much about during the race. How do you make sure you are going to reach your goal during the run? Do you use race provided pacers, GPS watch, other methods?

ATTQOTD: I usually look at a race as just another run and run it based on how I feel and how good a shape I think I’m in. Yes, sometimes I have gone out too fast and sometimes I leave some in the tank at the end but I usually finish pretty close to where I expect to finish. I run with a watch and check my pacing along the way and that may influence me to pick it up if I am pacing slower than expected.

 

[Keels]

Sub QOTD for all you DCL cruise veterans out there. I just put a deposit on our spring break 4 night Dream sailing for 2019. Eeeeeee!!!! Whether I talk any other family into doing the same is up in the air.
But what is all of your strategy for arrivals before embarkation? Do you stay on disney property a night, do you stay at the airport hotel the night before. Do you roll the dice and arrive via a plane the day of?
We kind of don't want to spend a bajillion by tacking on WDW because we sprung for a room with a balcony. And we like to get places early. And we have a DCL transfer to the ship from MCO. So I'm thinking maybe fly in night before and stay at airport hotel?
Please help me; my logistically inclined friends.

PS Once I know the exact Castaway Cay day I'll add my 5k race for April 2019 @LSUlakes

When the girls and I were on the Dream in April, we stayed at the house the night before the cruise (AKA - the cheapest possible option) and then took an Uber to MCO to meet @mbwhitti, and then went straight from MCO to the port via Uber. We boarded the ship around 2 p.m. I would 100-percent do that again.

How many are in your group? If you stay at the Hyatt at the airport, I would dump the DCL transfer and just take an Uber/Lyft to the port ... you'll have it at YOUR convenience to get to the port, and one way will cost you roughly the same amount as what the DCL transfer costs per person.

Another option is to stay at a beach resort by the Port ... check out the Fly Snooze and Cruise packages on this site. For example - MCO to the Hotel, hotel stay, hotel to the cruise port and then cruise port to MCO at the Quality Inn at Kennedy Space Center is a total of $266 for three people. With the kiddo, I'd definitely fly in the day before and get a hotel out in Cocoa/Titusville/Port Canaveral with a cool pool or on the beach and get into total cruise mode, and then get a good night's sleep and get to the port as early as possible. You'll also want to fill out your online check-in ASAP so you can get the earliest Port Arrival time as possible to take advantage of as much time on the ship as possible!

Also - going to WDW for just a night is going the opposite way from MCO, so it's gonna tack on MORE travel time (at least 45 minutes) on the morning when you want to get to the ship.

Just my dos pesos!

 

[baxter24]

ATTQOTD: I rely on my watch but try to look at it during certain times of a race (5k Mark, 10k mark, etc). I like running “mostly blind” if that makes sense. Had much better results in races when I wasn’t constantly looking at my watch worrying if I was hitting my goal or not.

Speaking of races, @LSUlakes, could you modify a race for me?

11/10 Baxter24 Richmond Half marathon (02:10/n/a)

Made the decision to fall back to the half instead of the marathon. The busyness of life has been kicking me in the butt lately and my training has suffered. Signed up for Goofy and realized I was probably breaking off more than I could chew.

 

[BikeFan]

ATTQOTD: I race with a watch and check my time at the race mile markers to see if I'm on pace. For a half or full, I try to hit my target pace by the second mile and just try to hold it for the finish. Mostly, I just aim for even splits, depending on the course, and don't try to bank time in the first half of the race. For me, that's usually a recipe for disaster. For shorter races, I run more by exertion levels. A 5 or 10K is pretty much just going to be at 8-9 on the exertion scale for the entire race (which is why I'm not a huge fan of those distances!). As for running blind (ignoring splits and not using a watch), I could never do it, because I'm terrible at estimating my pace based on feel alone. I admire those runners who can hold a specific pace without a pacer or a watch, but I'm not one of 'em!

 

[Kathymford]

ATTQOTD: When I was running races (I'm not currently), my goal was always to PR, lol. All I knew, was what finish time I wanted. I have my Garmin and text updates from the race that shows my probably finish time usually help the most. Even still, I'm sometimes still surprised at the outcome even with all the data. I have a strict #nomath policy ... in general, not just while running. lol

Has anyone ever done any of the races at Big Sur? http://www.bigsurmarathon.org/ My niece and I are considering it, but unsure. As I mentioned, I haven't been racing in a while #thanksrundisney, and doing some travel ones seem like fun. We're looking at either the 12k or 11 mile. Anyone's experience would be great!

 

[LSUlakes]

Thank you! It’s just been soooo hot out that I’ve been in the treadmill. I was thinking that in the Fall I would start outside.
Any tips for the transition?

If it is still warm do not make pace something of importance to you, instead just focus on getting in the distance. Heat will slow you down some and the run may seem a little more difficult. It will take up to a week for it to feel normal, and as temps start to drop later on your pace will come down as well. Best of luck and enjoy the outdoor runs!

That seems to involve little to no math; so it all checks out.

Best Comment of the DAY!!!

 

[Bree]

ATTQOTD: I don’t have many races under my belt and 99% of them are Disney races so we will talk about my upcoming race on October 6th. Um, I guess keep an eye on my Garmin? I have a goal time for this race so I guess making sure I’m within a certain pace range on my watch is about it?

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: We have discussed training for a race, pre race plans, post race plans and so on, but we havent actually discussed much about during the race. How do you make sure you are going to reach your goal during the run? Do you use race provided pacers, GPS watch, other methods?

I watch my pace on my watch. I plan to run 5-15 seconds/mile faster than my goal pace to account for not running the tangents. I sometimes will set my watch's training partner to be my goal pace to give me an easy visual way to see how I'm doing overall.

 

[mankle30]

QOTD: We have discussed training for a race, pre race plans, post race plans and so on, but we havent actually discussed much about during the race. How do you make sure you are going to reach your goal during the run? Do you use race provided pacers, GPS watch, other methods?

The last race I did, I had my Strava or Runkeeper going on my phone as I ran, but I kept track of individual miles with a stopwatch that I'd reset every mile. I found that I was able to lock in on my pace for each mile with a little more clarity doing that.

 

[avondale]

ATTQOTD: Usually I know what average pace I need to make my goal, and I keep an eye on my Garmin for it. Giving some buffer due to the fact that a GPS watch will always end up measuring the race a little long.

I've actually had great experiences with pace groups. I'd prefer them all the time, except that usually my goal isn't a nice round number. In my first HM (the Frederick (MD) Running Festival), the pace runners for 2:10 were perfect on the times for the first 9 mile markers. After that, I pulled ahead of them, but no doubt they kept it up. I started with the 4:45 pace group for the Marine Corps Marathon, and they also were right on for the first 10-ish miles I was with them. (Sadly, I did not pull ahead of that group.). In both cases, the pace leaders told us up front we'd be walking, but not stopping, at the water stations and we'd adjust the running pace appropriately in between.

One issue with "keeping an eye" on pace groups is that if you have wave starts or even just a lot of people in the race, then each pace group will "start" a different time than you, so they could be off quite a bit from your time. If I don't start with a pace group, then I don't trust that my time compares evenly with theirs.

 

[camaker]

My next goal is to run a HM under 2:00:00. I am training with a pace for a taget time of 1:52:00. I know that I will walk the water stops, go to the bathroom once and cannot pace myself without risking a fall looking at my iPhone. Do I start with the 1:50 pacer and sprint before and after each stops so I stay with him as long as I can thus building a buffer or do I start with the 2:00 pacer, sprint all stops and hope to have energy left to push at the end? Suggestions? I will look into pace bands.

There’s a big difference between running a 1:52 half and a 2:00 half. There’s also a significant difference between a 1:52 and a 1:50, too. If you’re trained for and capable of hitting your 1:52 paces you shouldn’t have any worries about or difficulties coming in under 2:00.

That being said, going out and trying to keep up with the 1:50 pacer to “bank time” could easily end up in disaster. Trying to bank time rarely ends well and most often ends up in burning too much energy early leading to a big fade or crash late in the race. Whatever you target, I’d recommend targeting an even effort throughout with a late push if you’ve still got gas in the tank as things wind down.

My suggestion is to pick a pace that you can maintain comfortably. Walking water stops will not cost you much time in the grand scheme of things. Maybe use those water stop slowdowns as an opportunity to spot check your pacing, if you’re worried about looking your phone during the race. Or find an app that will call out your pace to you at predefined laps so you get feedback on a regular basis without having to look. If you absolutely know you’ll have to make a pit stop, then adjust your targeted finish time to account for it, but don’t try to make up the lost time by sprinting or otherwise temporarily boosting your pace. Steady and even is what you want.

Good luck!

 

[roxymama]

I've only done DCL once and it was out of Miami so not quite the same thing, BUT --

Definitely fly the day before!! I had a late afternoon flight scheduled for the day before my cruise and I still came way too close to missing the boat when it was delayed very very badly -- I missed my connection in Denver by several hours and only got onto a red-eye by the skin of my teeth after the airline initially screwed up the transfer to another carrier. I would not only fly in the day before after that experience, I would fly in as early as possible the day before, because if you miss the boat, you miss the boat, end of story (which is a good reason to get travel insurance, btw).

As for the night before, when I'd priced out a DCL cruise from Orlando as one of our options for 2020 I discovered that the MCO Hyatt is really no cheaper than a WDW value resort per night if you're not going to the parks. If you can get a DCL transfer from a different airport-area hotel you may be able to trim that cost a bit, but purely cost-wise when I was looking at doing that type of trip I was inclined to stay at POP and just hang out at the hotel or go to Disney Springs. Of course, being on property has a way of increasing costs in general when some impulse item comes up.

When we lived out of state I always flew in the night before. The weather should be fine, but what if there is a mechanical issue? It would be heartbreaking to miss the ship due to a plane issue. Where you stay the night before depends on transportation you choose. You can stay near the port at a number of hotels, but that will require Uber/Lyft or a shuttle service. Prices are usually reasonable and many have free breakfast. If you stay at WDW or the hotel at MCO, you can take the Disney Cruise bus (for a fee per person).

What week are you going? I’m debating the Dream the 3rd week of March. My kids are itching for a cruise.

When the girls and I were on the Dream in April, we stayed at the house the night before the cruise (AKA - the cheapest possible option) and then took an Uber to MCO to meet @mbwhitti, and then went straight from MCO to the port via Uber. We boarded the ship around 2 p.m. I would 100-percent do that again.

How many are in your group? If you stay at the Hyatt at the airport, I would dump the DCL transfer and just take an Uber/Lyft to the port ... you'll have it at YOUR convenience to get to the port, and one way will cost you roughly the same amount as what the DCL transfer costs per person.

Another option is to stay at a beach resort by the Port ... check out the Fly Snooze and Cruise packages on this site. For example - MCO to the Hotel, hotel stay, hotel to the cruise port and then cruise port to MCO at the Quality Inn at Kennedy Space Center is a total of $266 for three people. With the kiddo, I'd definitely fly in the day before and get a hotel out in Cocoa/Titusville/Port Canaveral with a cool pool or on the beach and get into total cruise mode, and then get a good night's sleep and get to the port as early as possible. You'll also want to fill out your online check-in ASAP so you can get the earliest Port Arrival time as possible to take advantage of as much time on the ship as possible!

Also - going to WDW for just a night is going the opposite way from MCO, so it's gonna tack on MORE travel time (at least 45 minutes) on the morning when you want to get to the ship.

Just my dos pesos!

Thanks for all the input. I feel like cruising is like stepping up to the big leagues of vacationing
It'll be 4/22 week because of spring break for our school. so far just hubs and me and kiddo. We'll see how persuasive I can be to the extended roxy family.

I'm thinking WDW resort before is out but I like some of these options. Having the luggage go from plane to ship sounds nice but so does the freedom of uber. At least we have time to decide. Excited...I'll probably bug y'all again. Now real question is will I want to run a sweaty island 5k...I think I'd kick myself if I didn't

 

[OldSlowGoofyGuy]

ATTQOTD: I race with a watch and check my time at the race mile markers...

+1 the whole post. If it had not been for the screen name, I thought I posted it.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

QOTD: We have discussed training for a race, pre race plans, post race plans and so on, but we havent actually discussed much about during the race. How do you make sure you are going to reach your goal during the run? Do you use race provided pacers, GPS watch, other methods?

I unwittingly use my fellow runners! Here's how it works... To start, I'll rely mostly on the watch, as most people around me will go a little too fast. It takes me 2 to 4 miles to get fully warmed up and in the groove. When I feel that happen, I start to look around me for runners with a smooth, consistent gait. After a few races, it's easy to spot strong runners. Sometimes they are experienced with terrific form, or they are young with fresh tendons and not a care in the world. Either way, I know them when I see them. I'll check their pace on the watch, and if they are going close enough to my target, I'll keep them 20 to 30 feet in front of me. I'll periodically check their pace, but I've also learned I can feel when they start to fade without looking. So I'll maintain pace, pass them by, and look for someone else to follow. This worked very well for me at the Marine Corps Marathon last year, and at Star Wars in April.

 

[Keels]

Thanks for all the input. I feel like cruising is like stepping up to the big leagues of vacationing
It'll be 4/22 week because of spring break for our school. so far just hubs and me and kiddo. We'll see how persuasive I can be to the extended roxy family.

I'm thinking WDW resort before is out but I like some of these options. Having the luggage go from plane to ship sounds nice but so does the freedom of uber. At least we have time to decide. Excited...I'll probably bug y'all again. Now real question is will I want to run a sweaty island 5k...I think I'd kick myself if I didn't

It could be something fun for all three of y'all to do! And the bonus? They have a spot to hold bags, so you're already on the island and can just swap into swimsuits and hit the beach as soon as you're done!

 

[Wendy98]

ATTQOTD: The watch. Always check the watch at every mile. I try to hit pace with a 7-10 second cushion to account for inability to run a straight line. Side note: I got my first Garmin in either 2011 or 2012 for Mother's Day. It has been one of the best tools in making me faster. The instant feedback is what I needed.

3 Garmins later, and it still only comes off at bedtime (or unless DH throws a fit when we are dressed in formal wear).

 

[Princess KP]

Thanks for all the input. I feel like cruising is like stepping up to the big leagues of vacationing
It'll be 4/22 week because of spring break for our school. so far just hubs and me and kiddo. We'll see how persuasive I can be to the extended roxy family.

I'm thinking WDW resort before is out but I like some of these options. Having the luggage go from plane to ship sounds nice but so does the freedom of uber. At least we have time to decide. Excited...I'll probably bug y'all again. Now real question is will I want to run a sweaty island 5k...I think I'd kick myself if I didn't

Another option is to rent a car from MCO with drop off at Port Canaveral. There’s a shuttle that will drop you off at the port. Check Costco Travel, they have the best rates.