Time needed to finish Princess Half

[Tiggeroo]

I have posted before, I am seriously considering signing up for next year's Princess. I see I need to maintain a 16 minute mile pace and should train for a 15. When I calculate that it comes out at finishing at 3.49. However I see many finishing times at over 4 hours. How strict are they with this time? Also I am training now and will make my decision at registration time. My plan is that if I can hold a 16 minute mile for 8 miles in July I will sign up. Does this sound reasonable? I have been lazy for several months but previously I was walk/running 5 miles a day but really only 3 miles at one time most day. I have done 2 5k's. But I am overweight and that makes it awkward. I also bike around 12 miles a day when it's not freezing. I want to be at the point where I know I could walk it if I needed to and be under time.
I just returned from a Disney trip where we did 103 miles in 6 days. Right now my early training plan is to get to comfortably walking for 30-40 minutes at a 16 minute mile pace before I start throwing in running. I would rather run but I'm really trying to avoid injury and build muscle this time. I tend to overdue and end up missing time because I hurt something.

 

[Ariel484]

They are pretty strict on sweeping - BUT - you are correct that sometimes people can finish over the allotted time.

runDisney corrals runners at the start line - Corral A has the fastest non-elite runners and they start first. Then Corral B a few minutes later, etc. The sweep clock does not start until the very last runner on the course in Corral P starts the race. So every person in front of that runner has some extra cushion...could be a few minutes for people just in front of that last runner or more like 20-30 minutes for runners in earlier corrals. That's how you see 4-hour+ finish times - it's someone that started in an earlier corral. They way to get into an earlier corral is to run a race at home (10K or longer) and send your time to runDisney. They'll have a due date for times, normally about 3 months before race day.

I think your plan sounds reasonable - when you decide you want to register make sure you are ready the day registration opens at noon EST, as the races WILL sell out. Hopefully the act of actually signing up to the race will help you stay on track (it does for me, knowing I plunked down all that cash!).

I think you'll find the cardio you have from biking will really help you - might be a good activity to keep up twice a week or so once you start training.

One last thing - please make sure to get fitted for running shoes at a running store! Having the right shoes will help a ton!

Good luck!! Hope this made sense!

 

[Tiggeroo]

Yes that helps a lot I have gone to a running store and know I need a support shoe with cushioning and a good arch. I love biking even more then running. I started biking to take some of the pressure off my hips and knees. But while I got muscle tone I just don't lose weight at it. I biked tons this summer and fall while watching my diet and did not lose a pound. When I run I lose. I did start spin class this week which I also love. No way to go to that and not lose weight . I work best with goals that put pressure on me to c9mplete. Registering for something is a big help. I think I will start looking for a late spring/early summer 10k to do locally and register.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

Tiggeroo,
I think your plan is reasonable and I think you have a great cardio base. There are actually lots of plans on Pinterest that map out how to walk a half marathon. I bike as my cross training and it helps me with having strong legs to endure a half but it does not do much for speed or weightloss. I do hope you take on the challenge of training for an endurance event at Disney. They are often so fun that once you start them it is hard to stop and to me that leads to a healthy lifestyle!

 

[Tiggeroo]

Tiggeroo,
I think your plan is reasonable and I think you have a great cardio base. There are actually lots of plans on Pinterest that map out how to walk a half marathon. I bike as my cross training and it helps me with having strong legs to endure a half but it does not do much for speed or weightloss. I do hope you take on the challenge of training for an endurance event at Disney. They are often so fun that once you start them it is hard to stop and to me that leads to a healthy lifestyle!

I am just really far from the time I want to be at now. If I push myself I can hold a 16:20 for a while. Realistically my steady pace that feels quick to me is 17:20. This is a walk. If I run it is faster but I really want to get my walking speed up to where I could walk this if I needed to. I find indoor treadmill time really boring. My pace is so slow that when I do 30 minutes on the treadmill I am getting a mile and a half done. I also walk laps around the building at work between classes. But I can't imagine spending more then a half hour on the treadmill. A few more weeks and I can get outside. That will help. I will also be able to do the bridge here which I believe in the long run helps my endurance a good deal.-

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Also remember that the 'required pace' of 16 min doesnt include any photo,potty or other 'non motion' stops so factor that in (heard it plenty of times but I trained for 15s but didn't factor in a 4 min photo line, 5 min potty stop etc and wonder why they got swept..)

Start adding 'power walks' in daily life like walking to the mail box,from the car to store etc, it'll help get your 'daily pace' a bit quicker which will help the race pace

 

[Keels]

You're doing great on the getting in shape - awesome for taking that big step! Your plan is spot-on and extremely logical. And I'm SUPER jealous of how much you're biking ... I can't even go two miles without getting frustrated and threatening to just walk instead.

Because you mentioned that you tend to "overdue" and hurt something - I feel ya. So, a little cautionary tale followed by my (unfortunately) honest advice:

I had a friend who trained about eight months (solely on a treadmill) for the WDW Marathon this year, with most of her walking miles coming at around a 16:45 average.

She got swept at the 5 mile mark and was absolutely devastated. She had family camped out all along the course to see her, so it was just really disappointing. I just felt horrible for her, because I know she wanted her first runDisney outing to be amazing!

Prior to January, she'd never done as much as a 5K. She said, in retrospect, she thought she'd be safe and there was "no way!" Disney wouldn't let her finish. If she had it to do all over again, she said she'd spend the time getting acclimated to the entire workout - even if it means she just does the 5K or 10K at Disney now and waits until she's ready (even two years from now!) to try for a longer distance.

I feel fairly confident that the Princess Half won't be going away any time soon - I would just hate for you to work too hard, too fast and not accomplish your goal right away. It's a lot of money to spend.

But just remember - without a proof of time for a 10K or a half, it is almost 100% certain you will be in the last corral, which is also one of the largest corrals. A 16:00/mile walking in a large group of people may not be enough to keep you ahead of the balloon ladies - you may just start mere seconds ahead of them! - and it almost certainly eliminates taking character photos or even using the restroom over the course of 15 miles. That's the reason that Disney advises you to train for a 15:00/mile.

I know it seems like I'm being a TOTAL buzzkill - but you're going in the absolute right direction! If you want to do princess weekend, maybe shoot for the 10K first! Then, next time - you can go for the Glass Slipper!

 

[appleorchard]

I did all three races last year, even though I just started running the May before, I was 63 and had just lost a ton of weight (around 50 pounds). For the Princess Half, I was in corral P. I was doing my miles at home between 15 and 16 minutes, running-- I'm really slow. I'm also one of those people whose podiatrist said "absolutely cannot run" on my horrible feet. Huh.

I got to the Half very early and made my way to the very front of P-- I wanted all the cushion I could get! I did my earliest miles before we got to the MK in the 15s, which isn't always easy, since there are lots of walkers in P. But I wanted to make sure I had a head start on the balloon ladies! In fact, my shirt said, "One step ahead of the balloon ladies." My overall average time was 16:01 and I finished in 3:34. I never even saw the balloon ladies.

Make sure you start off well to give yourself a head start. No stopping for characters, etc until you're sure you've put some space between you and the sweepers. This year I'm starting in M, so I feel much better about not getting swept. But I still plan to do the first 6 miles at a decent clip, to give me a cushion. The last few miles are the killers, not much to see and the dreaded overpass at the end!

 

[Slogger]

There was an article on Twitter about the Disney balloon ladies posted a few weeks ago. Interesting read if you can still find it.
One of the things they seemed to say was they tried to get to the "start" line as slowly as possible at the back of their corral which essentially gave runners in the front of the corral a little more breathing room. Once they started, they maintained appropriate pacing through the entirety of the race.

I would suggest that anyone worried about time get to their corral as early as possible and try to work your way up to the front. Might give you a few extra minutes for photos, bathroom, or pace.

 

[Ariel484]

Also remember that the 'required pace' of 16 min doesnt include any photo,potty or other 'non motion' stops so factor that in (heard it plenty of times but I trained for 15s but didn't factor in a 4 min photo line, 5 min potty stop etc and wonder why they got swept..)

This is a great, great point. I've heard of people being burned that way by using the auto-pause feature on their GPS watches - so they'll stop for a character line, go to the bathroom, whatever, and the watch will sense that they have stopped moving...so it will stop the timer on the watch and the person will think they are okay. But the course clock does not stop and they get swept.

Prior to January, she'd never done as much as a 5K. She said, in retrospect, she thought she'd be safe and there was "no way!" Disney wouldn't let her finish. If she had it to do all over again, she said she'd spend the time getting acclimated to the entire workout - even if it means she just does the 5K or 10K at Disney now and waits until she's ready (even two years from now!) to try for a longer distance.

Oh my gosh, YES! I think a lot of people have this mentality! Yes, it's a Disney race and you go through the parks and Mickey high-fives you or whatever...but you're still signing up to cover that distance, and Disney needs to sweep runners to get the roads and parks cleared for day guests. Really smart of your friend to take a step back and get comfortable with the shorter distances first.

@Tiggeroo - if you really commit to it, I'm sure you can get your time down to Disney's standards over the next year. But the key is to COMMIT to it. And the mental part is so huge - hopefully as you train more and do some shorter races at home, it'll help you to believe in yourself and know that you can do it. You just really have to stay dedicated.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Lots of great advice I plan to train for 15. I figure July gives almost 5 months to work. I would like to be able to comfortably do a 16 minute mile pace for 8 miles by then with shorter days where I am doing 15. That will leave me over 6 months to improve on that time. Right now every five minutes of my walking I do as close to a one minute burst at15 as I can. If I don't feel comfortable in July I won't spend the money signing up but I'm training like that isn't an option and planning on the half

 

[FFigawi]

You might want to consider training with the Galloway method. It's a method of running and walking for set intervals that can help you maintain a faster pace than just walking or running alone. You can get more information about it from the web site.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/run-walk/

 

[BuckeyeBama]

You might want to consider training with the Galloway method. It's a method of running and walking for set intervals that can help you maintain a faster pace than just walking or running alone. You can get more information about it from the web site.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/run-walk/

I agree - if the pace is a concern, this method is great. It is easier to walk/jog a 15 minute mile pace over a long distance than it is to just walk it. Start with very short jogging intervals and increase as your body allows.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

You're doing great on the getting in shape - awesome for taking that big step! Your plan is spot-on and extremely logical. And I'm SUPER jealous of how much you're biking ... I can't even go two miles without getting frustrated and threatening to just walk instead.

Because you mentioned that you tend to "overdue" and hurt something - I feel ya. So, a little cautionary tale followed by my (unfortunately) honest advice:

I had a friend who trained about eight months (solely on a treadmill) for the WDW Marathon this year, with most of her walking miles coming at around a 16:45 average.

She got swept at the 5 mile mark and was absolutely devastated. She had family camped out all along the course to see her, so it was just really disappointing. I just felt horrible for her, because I know she wanted her first runDisney outing to be amazing!

Prior to January, she'd never done as much as a 5K. She said, in retrospect, she thought she'd be safe and there was "no way!" Disney wouldn't let her finish. If she had it to do all over again, she said she'd spend the time getting acclimated to the entire workout - even if it means she just does the 5K or 10K at Disney now and waits until she's ready (even two years from now!) to try for a longer distance.

I feel fairly confident that the Princess Half won't be going away any time soon - I would just hate for you to work too hard, too fast and not accomplish your goal right away. It's a lot of money to spend.

But just remember - without a proof of time for a 10K or a half, it is almost 100% certain you will be in the last corral, which is also one of the largest corrals. A 16:00/mile walking in a large group of people may not be enough to keep you ahead of the balloon ladies - you may just start mere seconds ahead of them! - and it almost certainly eliminates taking character photos or even using the restroom over the course of 15 miles. That's the reason that Disney advises you to train for a 15:00/mile.

I know it seems like I'm being a TOTAL buzzkill - but you're going in the absolute right direction! If you want to do princess weekend, maybe shoot for the 10K first! Then, next time - you can go for the Glass Slipper!

I totally agree with Keels.

OP: You are taking steps to be more active in your everyday life and that is huge. This is a life long goal. The easiest way to sabotage it would be to push too hard, injure yourself and have to start all over.

Like you, I started running several years ago to lose weight. I was under the misconception that runners all have skinny bodies and toned legs. It turns out, however, that average runners comes in all shapes and sizes. It confirmed the saying from my favorite online blogging weight loss doctor " that you can't outrun your fork."

The good news is that even without weight loss, exercise can make you a happier, healthier person. I fell in love with running for its own sake and stopped stepping on the scale.

Women run half marathons into their 70's and beyond. I don't know your age but even if you did the Enchanted 10K in 2016 and the PHM in 2017, that would still probably give you the chance to run 25 or so PHMs over your lifetime!

Best of luck and enjoy! -- Suzanne