The Running Thread -- 2022

[corn princess]

I think you all can commiserate with my frustrations today. I was supposed to be running a full marathon in April. I had done 16 miles last week on my training plan. I found out today that they are cancelling the marathon portion of the race because of a staffing shortage and keeping the half and 10k. So I'll do the half but am so bummed to have gotten so close. The last time I trained for a marathon, the exact same thing happened except it was covid that cancelled it. So I"ll back off my trainng a little and then look for a different marathon at some point!

 

[Kerry1957]

I think you all can commiserate with my frustrations today. I was supposed to be running a full marathon in April. I had done 16 miles last week on my training plan. I found out today that they are cancelling the marathon portion of the race because of a staffing shortage and keeping the half and 10k. So I'll do the half but am so bummed to have gotten so close. The last time I trained for a marathon, the exact same thing happened except it was covid that cancelled it. So I"ll back off my trainng a little and then look for a different marathon at some point!

I have no idea where you live, but is there another marathon within a week or two anywhere near you? As you probably know, there are several sites that list races by type and distance and by State, such as Running in the USA. You might find one closer than you think. For example, if your screen name hints that you are in the Midwest (corn), then there are 30 marathons in April in the MIdwest.

 

[GreatLakes]

I think you all can commiserate with my frustrations today. I was supposed to be running a full marathon in April. I had done 16 miles last week on my training plan. I found out today that they are cancelling the marathon portion of the race because of a staffing shortage and keeping the half and 10k. So I'll do the half but am so bummed to have gotten so close. The last time I trained for a marathon, the exact same thing happened except it was covid that cancelled it. So I"ll back off my trainng a little and then look for a different marathon at some point!

This is exactly what I was going to say:

I have no idea where you live, but is there another marathon within a week or two anywhere near you? As you probably know, there are several sites that list races by type and distance and by State, such as Running in the USA. You might find one closer than you think. For example, if your screen name hints that you are in the Midwest (corn), then there are 30 marathons in April in the MIdwest.

Since you already paid for this race I'd do that half or 10K as a training run and look for a full a few weeks later. Depending on where you are you should be able to find a few in March and April.

As for the shoe discussion if you find a pair of shoes you like and that works for you buy a bunch. I switched to the Saucony Kinvara 12s for this marathon training round and loved them. I went through 2.5 pairs with that training and already have a new set ready to go. When Saucony announces the 13 I'll be getting a few mores 11s at the new price to have them.

 

[jmasgat]

Today, I claim my "Badass Runner" badge. 12F with a windchill of -6F and I was out the door for a run. I am not training for anything, but have eased into an "every other day" run pattern and today was a run day. The roads are awful from the recent snow and the winds were howling, so I kept it to 35 minutes. But still!

My 2022 running has been pretty awful. I took the rest of January off to recover from the marathon, and eased into February with minimal running; but my body is feeling its age--I'm just wondering when I turned 85. I hope those lost 22 years were at least fun. My attempts to do minimal body-weight strength training--in an attempt to ward of running injury-- leaves me with additional achy and strained body parts, so that's all sorts of fun.

So any kind of self-kudo is a good thing. Hence, the badge.....and a hot chocolate afterwards.

 

[The Expert]

Today marks six years of running for me. I signed up for the Princess 5K in 2016 on a complete whim when I realized it coincided with a DVC trip we had already planned. I was 45, had never run a step in my life outside of gym class and had NO idea what I was doing. I wore cotton and a horrible, scratchy, party store tutu, ran and walked at whim, probably cut people off and did all the wrong things in terms of etiquette, but I had a BLAST. I had FOMO over the "real" metal medals (at the time) and decided to do C25K when I got home so I could eventually do the Kessel Run. The rest is history.

I just finished my first Dopey and am signed up for every rD 5K this year. But better yet, it brought me to this awesome community!

 

[corn princess]

I have no idea where you live, but is there another marathon within a week or two anywhere near you? As you probably know, there are several sites that list races by type and distance and by State, such as Running in the USA. You might find one closer than you think. For example, if your screen name hints that you are in the Midwest (corn), then there are 30 marathons in April in the MIdwest.

Yes, thank you for that advice! I have decided to do the half and then this week look more into finding another full! A lot of the other marathons are about a 4 hour drive from me and unfortunately I don't know if I can make it work! There is one in may that I may try to do thats only about an hour from me!

 

[accm]

I had my first pain free outside run since Wine and Dine yesterday!! It was only 2.5mi, and essentially flat, but it was so nice! And even better, there was no residual pain afterwards!
I will say, keeping to DopeyBadger’s ~11:30 pace is proving to be very difficult. I’ll start and think I’m doing a great job going slow, only to have my watch tell me I’m at 10min/mi. So I slow down even more. Nope, still 10:30. So that’s my goal for next weekend, slow down even more.

 

[TheHamm]

Today, I claim my "Badass Runner" badge. 12F with a windchill of -6F and I was out the door for a run. I am not training for anything, but have eased into an "every other day" run pattern and today was a run day. The roads are awful from the recent snow and the winds were howling, so I kept it to 35 minutes. But still!

My 2022 running has been pretty awful. I took the rest of January off to recover from the marathon, and eased into February with minimal running; but my body is feeling its age--I'm just wondering when I turned 85. I hope those lost 22 years were at least fun. My attempts to do minimal body-weight strength training--in an attempt to ward of running injury-- leaves me with additional achy and strained body parts, so that's all sorts of fun.

So any kind of self-kudo is a good thing. Hence, the badge.....and a hot chocolate afterwards.

WOW! Given the rain, snow, freeze pattern I have given up the temperature badasser. I wish you future success taunting the weather!

 

[SheHulk]

There has been a flurry of activity with release of registration dates for next season's races, but I thought I'd link to the page here with all the dates
runDisney blog with race dates

 

[Naomeri]

There has been a flurry of activity with release of registration dates for next season's races, but I thought I'd link to the page here with all the dates
runDisney blog with race datesView attachment 649406

They need to hurry up announce the theme for the Summer Virtual Series

 

[GreatLakes]

The 2023 Springtime Surprise will have to be my consolation race if my time won't get me into Boston.

 

[MouseJen]

just wanted to say hi. Not sure if I can just say hello here but everyone seemed so friendly I thought I would
So, hi, I’m Jen and hopefully RunDisney will make a runner out of me by next year!
I’m a newer runner and I’ve somehow set a ridiculous challenge to either do a half/full or Dopey challenge at the Marathon 2023.
Must admit I hoped the registration would be a bit later in the year so I could see how my training was going before I committed. Especially as it’s currently not going as well as I hoped.

 

[azrivest]

just wanted to say hi. Not sure if I can just say hello here but everyone seemed so friendly I thought I would
So, hi, I’m Jen and hopefully RunDisney will make a runner out of me by next year!
I’m a newer runner and I’ve somehow set a ridiculous challenge to either do a half/full or Dopey challenge at the Marathon 2023.
Must admit I hoped the registration would be a bit later in the year so I could see how my training was going before I committed. Especially as it’s currently not going as well as I hoped.

Welcome!

 

[camaker]

just wanted to say hi. Not sure if I can just say hello here but everyone seemed so friendly I thought I would
So, hi, I’m Jen and hopefully RunDisney will make a runner out of me by next year!
I’m a newer runner and I’ve somehow set a ridiculous challenge to either do a half/full or Dopey challenge at the Marathon 2023.
Must admit I hoped the registration would be a bit later in the year so I could see how my training was going before I committed. Especially as it’s currently not going as well as I hoped.

Welcome!

On the positive side of registration being early, I find having a race on the schedule to be a great motivator for training! It's a lot easier to defer or slack off on the training when there's not a race looming on the horizon! Plus, it's still early right now and there's plenty of time to recover from a slow start to training.

 

[MouseJen]

Welcome!

On the positive side of registration being early, I find having a race on the schedule to be a great motivator for training! It's a lot easier to defer or slack off on the training when there's not a race looming on the horizon! Plus, it's still early right now and there's plenty of time to recover from a slow start to training.

That’s true! I’ve got a 10k booked in for July but I regularly walk that so it’s not proving to be a big motivator.
I’ve had a small injury and other work life balance changes lately that my running has taken the backseat.
Would you think it would be good to get an earlier 10k in before the registration to see how that goes?

 

[camaker]

That’s true! I’ve got a 10k booked in for July but I regularly walk that so it’s not proving to be a big motivator.
I’ve had a small injury and other work life balance changes lately that my running has taken the backseat.
Would you think it would be good to get an earlier 10k in before the registration to see how that goes?

I don't really think a pre-registration 10k would accomplish all that much. You'd be running it on short notice with training that has likely had its start impacted by the issues that you mentioned. It's more likely to discourage you if it doesn't go well than it is to give you a big boost if it's great.

The nice thing about the April registration is that you've got almost 7 1/2 months to train, so if a pre-registration 10k wasn't great, there's a LOT of time to get ready. You said you were a newer runner, though, so you might want to spend some time pre-registration deciding what an achievable goal for Marathon Weekend looks like for you. If you've only run 10ks before, a full is a huge step up in level of difficulty, as is Dopey. I would strongly recommend taking a look at training plans for the different distances and seeing which you think you could work into your life and follow consistently. If you don't have time in your schedule to dedicate to a marathon training plan, there's nothing to be gained by registering for the marathon or Dopey. Jumping right into that kind of volume also comes with a good deal of injury risk, as well.

I'm not saying these things to discourage you from a lofty goal, by any means. I went from my first 10k in April to my first half in June to my first full at Marathon Weekend the following January as part of Goofy. It can certainly be done. I was athletic and in pretty good shape already when I started that journey, though. All you've given us for context is that you're hoping RunDisney will make a runner out of you, so I'm advocating a bit more caution. Only you can assess your underlying fitness and readiness to jump into the deep end of the marathon/Dopey pool. Rest assured, though, we're here to help and encourage you whatever decision you make!

 

[Herding_Cats]

I would strongly recommend taking a look at training plans for the different distances and seeing which you think you could work into your life and follow consistently. If you don't have time in your schedule to dedicate to a marathon training plan, there's nothing to be gained by registering for the marathon or Dopey. Jumping right into that kind of volume also comes with a good deal of injury risk, as well.

I'm not saying these things to discourage you from a lofty goal, by any means. I went from my first 10k in April to my first half in June to my first full at Marathon Weekend the following January as part of Goofy. It can certainly be done. I was athletic and in pretty good shape already when I started that journey, though. All you've given us for context is that you're hoping RunDisney will make a runner out of you, so I'm advocating a bit more caution. Only you can assess your underlying fitness and readiness to jump into the deep end of the marathon/Dopey pool. Rest assured, though, we're here to help and encourage you whatever decision you make!

Quoting this because YES TO ALL OF IT. I jumped into running in January 2021 (as a somewhat fit person who thought running was stupid, but had done quite a few beachbody programs), doing the princess races virtually, running a half on memorial day weekend (which was rough for a few reasons), a full in early October, and goofy just this past January. And the races definitely weren't the hardest part. The hardest part was definitely sticking to the training plans, and still having a life. Be really honest with yourself if you can train at least 4 days a week through summer and at least 5 days a week in the fall if one of the MW challenges is what you really want to do. If you can make it happen, this board is the BEST cheering squad and has so much information and helpful advice.

 

[MouseJen]

Thank you both for the amazing advice. I can tell I’m in the right place, for cheerleading and honest/supportive feedback .
I’m not completely unfit, I regularly walk between 6-10 miles and hate it if I miss out on my daily 5k walk. I walk fast but I’m a pretty slow runner.
I think I’d hoped registration would be late spring so I had a better understanding of my achievable goals. At the minute i feel like I’m going in a bit blind.
I think I can fit in 4/5 days later in the year. Especially when I’m finished with a course I’m currently attending. For me it’s about routine, which is all over the place at the moment.
For me this is mostly about achieving something I’ve never thought possible. I’ve spent a lot of time putting myself down and I thought challenging myself to something like RunDisney would be a great way to overcome myself.
anyway, sorry for taking up so much of this thread. Thank you again for welcoming me

 

[LSUlakes]

Apple watch users, I have a question. Is there a way to set up intervals or plan a workout? Looking for a way to get a c25k type plan in there. First apple watch for me so I have much to learn. Got this one so if can check on a-fib and have a way to call for help if something was to happen while out for a run without having to have my phone with me. Any who.. give me all the tips on the apple watch!

Also, we are heading to WDW this Saturday and I am not sure who is more excited... the kids or the adults lol.

 

[camaker]

Apple watch users, I have a question. Is there a way to set up intervals or plan a workout? Looking for a way to get a c25k type plan in there. First apple watch for me so I have much to learn. Got this one so if can check on a-fib and have a way to call for help if something was to happen while out for a run without having to have my phone with me. Any who.. give me all the tips on the apple watch!

Also, we are heading to WDW this Saturday and I am not sure who is more excited... the kids or the adults lol.

I don't think there's a way to set up intervals or plan a workout with the stock apps on the watch. You need a 3rd party app to do that. I see regular references to Intervals Pro and iSmoothRun on running steps, just to name a couple.

My best advice for running with an Apple Watch is to wear it on one wrist for your safety and a-fib monitoring and wear a Garmin on the other wrist for running tracking. That's what I do. The reliance on a myriad of 3rd party apps with little integration has always turned me off to using the Apple Watch as a serious running watch. Double watching has been fantastic for being able to leave the phone at home, though.