The Running Thread - 2019

Has anyone run Beach to Beacon? I entered the lottery thinking I would not get picked and got the email this morning saying I did. I feel like on one hand fate is telling me to run, but on the other hand I have heard that the logistics for the race can be a nightmare in terms of parking. I have till Sunday to claim my lottery entry.
I ran it last year... the logistics for parking are not the best, but it's a nice race and I would do it again. It was super hot/humid last year, so that part was not too enjoyable. I didn't sign up this year because I'm just still not that into running, I guess (I'm going to be scratching my 10K in April), even though my group of run buddies is doing it this year (last year it was just me and one other friend).

There are shuttle buses from the parking areas... you cannot realistically park near the start, so you need to take that into account, but we're rD runners, right, we are used to shuttle buses. :D We parked at the Hannaford corporate lot. It's very large, and even though the line for the buses was enormous, it moved very quickly and we didn't have any issues getting on the bus in time and getting dropped off at the start. It's a bit of a walk from the drop off area to the start, but not too bad.
 
Right now training for 5k, 10k, half marathon distances:
Short runs - 3-6 miles with 6 being my general default on weekday runs
Medium runs - 7-9 miles
Long runs - 10-13.1 miles - I'm not one to over do it

Marathon training season:
Short runs -5-9
Medium - 10-14
Long - 15-20+

Once I was finishing a "medium run" of about 10-11 miles during marathon training season when someone said, "Oh, you must be doing your long run today!" I responded,"Well, a medium run. Long run is next weekend." He looked at me like I was crazy. It's all relative, isn't it?
 
Has anyone run Beach to Beacon? I entered the lottery thinking I would not get picked and got the email this morning saying I did. I feel like on one hand fate is telling me to run, but on the other hand I have heard that the logistics for the race can be a nightmare in terms of parking. I have till Sunday to claim my lottery entry.

I ran it a few years ago. It's in my hometown, so how could I not? As @Miranda said, there's no parking at the start. You'll need to park remotely and take a bus. I too used the Hannaford lot and had no problems with lines or getting to the race on time.
 


I do not find the disboards particularly helpful with general planning, but if you have a specific question the Family Board is a collection of sometimes useful information. So I suppose I am more able to suggest what not to lean on that what is a helpful resource. I think if you were not versed in Disney world, a guide book would be a start but I assume you are beyond that. I have looked at some aimed for planning with kids, for example the unofficial guide to WDW with kids, and found it not terribly more helpful than the original version. However, if you can get it at your local library it may be worth skimming the sections about strollers, in park splash pads or kidcot stops that as an adult traveler may not be on your radar. A good TA should be able to make all the suggestions if you were looking for minimal effort on your end. My top kid planning advice is make a great plan and be aware that 50% of it will need to be abandoned on the fly, and it can still be a fantastically fun and magical adventure. Good luck with all those family memories!

Thanks. It's exactly the kid-friendly sort of stuff that I'm wondering about. I may check out that book!
 
I am hoping that folks here might be able to point me to some resources. I've tried browsing the Dis boards a bit, but not sure where to start. Sorry that this is off-topic for running.

My trips to WDW in the past few years have been for adults. I've recently been tasked to organize a trip for my mother, my sister and my sister's son, and me. The trip is really for the son, who is now 3.5 yo and never been to WDW. (They are from PA, so WDW is their target.) My sister hasn't been to WDW in 20+ years.

Where should I be looking for help in planning this trip? I don't have kids, so I've never planned for that age group. We are looking pretty far out - possibly March 2020 or January or March 2021. (Is the week after marathon weekend horrible?)

Thank you for any suggestions!

So, no kids but based on experience of being with them I offer three pieces of advice: do not forget to plan for daily nap time and pool time, if there are any ‘must do’ rides know the height requirement and know how rider swap works, and finally start conditioning for the characters now in order hopefully prevent melt downs when seeing them.

I agree with what TheHamm said, a kid trip never goes according to plan, you just have to be flexible.
 
ATTQOTD: I agree with others, it’s def relative. For me it’s time based, so I’d say:
Short around 60 min
Mid between 75-105 min
Long anything greater than 105 min
 


Am I crazy? I’m no stranger to half’s but debating if this is more than I can chew- on May 11th I found a half marathon near where I’m visiting- sounds awesome BUT a hard 3 hr time limit (14:00 average)
I haven’t run sub 3 in 3 years-

but I ran 10 miles last Sunday wth a 14:14 average that included 2 slower miles (15/16 min miles) due to soft wet sand (as it down poured the 3 miles before) and was still managing intervals albeit sad ones at the end and I wasn’t exhausted

Race is a solid downhill out of a canyon so I’m confident I’d gain some time vs flat (but I’m also a Florida running girl so the altitude will hurt a bit running Utah-I’ve ran similar Utah runs previously)

I figure if I stick to My 5k ‘none to run’ training until then to gain endurance & speed and make sure to stay long run prepped I have a shot right?
I’m guessing you are doing the Spring 1/2 out of Big Cottonwood. I wish I had some advice but I am doing the fall one and will be using BCC for tempo runs. The altitude may not affect you as much since it is downhill versus either of the “steeplechase” events held here.
 
I've found that the week AFTER marathon weekend is really nice. We've gone down for the marathon the last 4 years and we typically arrive on Friday/Saturday and then stay a full week after. The crowds drop a decent amount, but will pickup the following weekend.

Cool! I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by advocating for January 2021...going down first for race(s) on marathon weekend and having the rest of them follow me down. But we'll have to see how it all works out.
 
I am hoping that folks here might be able to point me to some resources. I've tried browsing the Dis boards a bit, but not sure where to start. Sorry that this is off-topic for running.

My trips to WDW in the past few years have been for adults. I've recently been tasked to organize a trip for my mother, my sister and my sister's son, and me. The trip is really for the son, who is now 3.5 yo and never been to WDW. (They are from PA, so WDW is their target.) My sister hasn't been to WDW in 20+ years.

Where should I be looking for help in planning this trip? I don't have kids, so I've never planned for that age group. We are looking pretty far out - possibly March 2020 or January or March 2021. (Is the week after marathon weekend horrible?)

Thank you for any suggestions!
There is tons of helpful guides online including the ones you can access at the top of the DISboard.

That said, kids vs no kids is not that different from traveling with another gang: Do they like to relax? How early does the family wants to get up? Do they want to go back to the resort mid-day, etc. Take the time to understand their rythm and their expectations.

Few points to consider:
  • Some rides have heights restrictions. Plan Fastpasses accordingly or learn about Child Swap.
  • Kids need to be taken out of the stroller in the buses, consider resorts with walking/gondolas/monorail access.
  • Restaurants with characters dining can be a enjoyable moment for everyone and save some lineups for meet and greet.
 
This week we have the following folks with races:

30 - @KSellers88 - Bay St. Louis Half Marathon (NG / N/A)
30 - @tigger536 - Run The Bluegrass Half Marathon (NG / N/A)
30 - @jmasgat - Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon (2:05:00 / N/A)
30 - @tidefan - Tuscaloosa Half Marathon (2:20:00 / N/A)
31 - @KevM - Love Run Half-Marathon (2:08:59 / N/A)

Best of luck to each of you this weekend! If you have a change to make, please let me know and I will make the change. I may be a few days behind, but I'll do my best! Good luck and have a great race!
 
QOTD: Non running related question today. Tomorrow I leave for WDW with DD(5) for our first ever Daddy / Daughter trip for a long weekend! Todays question is, if you have done something like this or thought about it, what are some fun things you have/would do?

ATTQOTD: It looks like its going to be crowded! So we are going to take it slow, but the fun things we have planned are the Fanstasmic Dessert party on Friday as well as eating at Sci-Fi (DD choice). Pick a pearl in Japan is also planned. Saturday we are doing the HEA dessert party as well. Looks like a lot of healthy eating is in the plans so far lol.
 
QOTD: Non running related question today. Tomorrow I leave for WDW with DD(5) for our first ever Daddy / Daughter trip for a long weekend! Todays question is, if you have done something like this or thought about it, what are some fun things you have/would do?
Never done anything like that so no specific experience. However I would do things that you two can both do together. Of course rides and shows but maybe some other experiences like sorcerers of the magic Kingdom or the pirate game in Adventureland. Pick a pearl sounds like a good idea. Maybe the Agent P adventure in Epcot. Maybe some other flower and garden activities too.
 
QOTD: Non running related question today. Tomorrow I leave for WDW with DD(5) for our first ever Daddy / Daughter trip for a long weekend! Todays question is, if you have done something like this or thought about it, what are some fun things you have/would do?

ATTQOTD: It looks like its going to be crowded! So we are going to take it slow, but the fun things we have planned are the Fanstasmic Dessert party on Friday as well as eating at Sci-Fi (DD choice). Pick a pearl in Japan is also planned. Saturday we are doing the HEA dessert party as well. Looks like a lot of healthy eating is in the plans so far lol.

Family trips have been either totally adult planned or more recently each person gets to pick one thing per day they want to do, and anything else that gets filled in is kind of random. It is often a bit of whining as there is always something picked by another that is apparently torture to participate in. We have discussed taking our twins separately and letting them plan the whole day. One kid would pick to stay at AKL, slinky dog, kidcot and pool while the other would ask for Akershus for breakfast, wait in line for Soarin all day long with intermittent trips back to the sand pool at Beach club. They would both insist on copious quantities of popcorn and a smore at a fire pit somewhere.
My husband wants to take one kid down for a weekend, and then the twin at a later time. As the parent with limited vacation and already seen as the not-fun parent (he gets them take out and they don't have to brush their teeth when I work late, we have grilled cheese and take a bath on nights I solo parent- or they would never bathe!) I have been reluctant to agree to this.

Never done anything like that so no specific experience. However I would do things that you two can both do together. Of course rides and shows but maybe some other experiences like sorcerers of the magic Kingdom or the pirate game in Adventureland. Pick a pearl sounds like a good idea. Maybe the Agent P adventure in Epcot. Maybe some other flower and garden activities too.
We LOVE Sorcerers and the Pirate treasure hunt! They were fantastic mid-afternoon options on busy days when the lines were unbearably long. Only on Christmas day did we have to wait for other people to finish up at a sorcerer's portal, otherwise it was constant movement and action. As we do not let them touch our smart phones and have insufficient battery capacity to last the day anyhow, we skip Agent P and the disney play app.
 
QOTD: Non running related question today. Tomorrow I leave for WDW with DD(5) for our first ever Daddy / Daughter trip for a long weekend! Todays question is, if you have done something like this or thought about it, what are some fun things you have/would do?

ATTQOTD: It looks like its going to be crowded! So we are going to take it slow, but the fun things we have planned are the Fanstasmic Dessert party on Friday as well as eating at Sci-Fi (DD choice). Pick a pearl in Japan is also planned. Saturday we are doing the HEA dessert party as well. Looks like a lot of healthy eating is in the plans so far lol.
I did this last month with my daughter at Disneyland. My plan was to let her pick most of what we did (within reason and also sorry, mom wanted to watch World of Color). But she chose the rides, the food, who we met. It was a lot of fun! I also did a character breakfast with her because we were celebrating our birthdays so that was extra special.
 

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