Jodi and others
This will be long, and sorry about that in advance. But with you, and I suspect many others seriously considering the Disney races for the first time, here is some history and advice for your first attempt.
First the history part. I was a very serious soccer player in my youth and early adult age (Calcio = soccer in Italian
). I started at age 8, and played through high school and in college. I continued to play through my mid 20's, when I transitioned from soccer to running. Playing soccer kept me out of the house a lot, and with a brand new daughter just home from the hospital, I wanted to be home more.
In my late 20's and early 30's I became a serious runner (training about 9 p.m. when DD was asleep). I trained a lot and ran lots of races, from 1 milers up to 1/2 marathons (I never ran a full marathon). During this time I turned in some times I'm pretty proud of, including a 17 minute 5K, a 36 minute 10K, 10 miles in 66 minutes, my 1/2 marathon PR of 86 minutes, and my pride and joy a 4 mile leg in a marathon relay in 22:45 (or 5:41 per mile!). As DD got older and life got more complex my running tapered off, and my last ever race was a Turkey Trot in November of 1989.
As DD got older she began to play soccer (honest, I didn't plant the idea in her head, I don't know how she got the idea
), and after watching her play a few games I remembered how much I loved it, so I started playing again. As she became a more serious player I worked with her and played in the old guys leagues, and had a great time. I did not do any distance training at all for soccer, maybe 3 miles a couple of times a week to go with the playing.
Sadly time catches up with everyone, and for me it was 3 years ago. Soccer is a brutal game on the legs, and the year of 2 knee surgeries reinforced that. In addition I couldn't push off hard when I ran or played, as muscles which were once reliable began to strain, pull, and in one case, tear. The last straw was the graduation from high school of the baby we'd brought home in February of 1985. I was in a very deep funk, wondering what my life would be like without her at home, and all of her activities which got me out of the house.
2 weeks before she started her freshman year at college I came across the 2004 Disney races. As I said, I hadn't run a real race in 14 years, but the training, travel to Orlando, and race seemed to be something to distract me from the frightful pending change in our lives. This was mid-August 2003, and I registered for the Disney Half Marathon (well not true, the half was closed, I knew I'd never be ready for the full, so I registered for the full with the intention of stepping off at the 13.1 mile point). I began training, and with TOO LITTLE TIME to get ready I stepped up my mileage fast, which of course produced 2 injuries, tendonitis in the left ankle, and calf troubles. My longest training run was 11 miles before the race, and on race day at exactly 11 miles on the course, by the Country Bear Jamboree, my legs blew apart. I struggled to complete the last 2 miles but did it, finishing in 2:08:40. Disney had planned on folks like me, as when I crossed the half marathon finish line with a full marathon bib they cut the chip, congratulated me, and hung a Donald around my neck.
So now I'm all revved up to do better in January of 2005. I don't give my body much rest, and in March and April I'm training hard and doing speedwork on the track. Bad idea. One day my left calf muscle tears in the center. I rest it and work back easy, and it strains again, and again. Physical therapy in September and October, working back gently in November and December, and I'm standing in the starting corral for the half, not nearly well enough trained to make it. I do, however, have a lucky charm. I have a running partner next to me who is doing her first ever half marathon. This partner isn't particularly fast, but she has the ability to run every mile in a race at precisely the same pace. She also happens to be my wife. In a case of mutual assistance, I entertain her when she is struggling mentally, and she pulls me through the course. In the early part when I'd race off and fatigue and perhaps get hurt, she slows me down, and at the end we're running shoulder to shoulder at the same pace. We come in in 2:33:14, and without her help I'd not have made it. Lessons #1 and #2 for new distance runners, taking it easy at the beginning allows you to be strong at the end and finish with a smile on your face, and running with a buddy helps more than you can imagine. During the race you'll have "up" and "down" sections, and with a friend you help each other through them all.
Wow this is long, sorry^2
For 2006 Disney splits the half and full into different days. My first thought is only a **** fool would sign up for that, but of course, by Memorial Day I'm in that select ship of fools. I train throughout the year without injury (Lesson #3 - build up your training slowly - as you become more experienced with your training you learn to listen to your body, push it when it feels fine, back off when you feel fatigued or just "wifty," and you'll have fewer injuries), and my goal changes from "a fast half and survive the full" to "a nice half and a nice full."
At my age I cannot run every day (49 years 4 months on January 2006 race days), so I workout 5 days a week. 3 runs, some shorter, some longer, some slower, some faster, 2 sessions on the bike, 30 - 60 minutes at good resistance, and one of the bike days a good weight session. By November I was up to 300 minutes per week of cardio vascular exercise plus the one weight session. My longest run was only 13.1 miles, but with all the training I figured 13.1 miles on tired legs would give me more on race day, yes I know, not a lot more, but more. Also, since I was doing the Goofy every other weekend I went back-to-back with long CV sessions. I'm still hyper-concerned about the calf pulls which I've fought, so most times this was say an 11 mile run on saturday, then less than 24 hours later a long bike ride and weight session. I know I could have and should have done more, but hey, I wan't trying for an age group record.
So the races arrive. My goal for the half is to run a nice and relaxed pace and finish feeling fresh. I almost achieve this goal, as I don't feel fatigued until the double overpass section about mile 11.5. I finish in 2:05 and feel pretty darn good in doing it. I stretch a lot after the race and we actually spend most of saturday afternoon at the Magic Kingdom walking around easy and having some fun. My wife finished in 2:27 and she was hurting more than me, so she kept me moving slow and easy. Lesson #4 here - on half marathon day keep in mind what you are facing on Sunday. Take it easy and leave something in your legs. My goal was 2:10 and I did go too quickly, but it felt fine and I never, ever felt like I was pushing the pace.
So Sunday morning arrives. I'm standing in the full marathon corrals and feel pretty good. Sleepy and a bit tired, but raring to go. The gun fires and I race off like a bat out of hell (apologies to Meatloaf). Lession #5 - take it easy at the start of both races. In the half it's easy as it's crowded, but the full start is open and quick, and I got carried away. Oops. I knew I'd pay for this eventually, and I did.
I hit 4 miles in 41 minutes, 8 in 82, and I'm feelin' fine. Ticket and Transit center is a rush, big crowds, and entering the Magic Kingdom and going up mainstreet is even a bigger rush. Exit the MK, run up the back past the Grand Floridian, and the grim reaper is waiting for me, with the bill for the last 25 miles. Very quickly my legs go from young and supple to old and fragile. I cross the 13.1 mile mark in 2:15 and my wife gets the text message predicting I'll be in in 4:30. She laughs and says no way will he be here then.
The hardest part by far was turning away from the main road and heading up to the Animal Kingdom. My legs were gone and my mind knew I was running away from the finish. This was a tough combination. However, Lesson #6 - doing your first ever marathon at Disney is great, because everyone around me was in pretty much the same shape. I suspect that 75% of the people around me at mile 14 were around me at the finish. All of us were struggling, and we struggled together. Since I didn't have a running partner for the full it was nice to be with a group I recognized the rest of the way.
After leaving the Animal Kingdom and heading east (wow! did you see the line of cars and busses headed to the AK?) you face 2 overpasses in a row. I was not aware of these and it hurt mentally and physically. Lesson #7 - do more quad work this year. My legs were gone, but the worst area BY FAR was on the outside of my quads, up high, maybe 5 inches from the hips. For 2007 I'll be stronger there from more weight work.
The mental pressure comes off at mile 20.5 when you make the 180 degree turn and are headed to the Disney Studios. You've got less than 10K to go, and now you are headed for the finish! Entering the Studios is a thrill on the red carpet, and when you pop out of the costume tour area you have only 5K to go. Running main street of the studios is a blast, and the stretch to the Boardwalk is short. By now the little hills by the Boardwalk and Beach Club aren't easy to get up, but there are lots of folks out there cheering for you (thanks Mel, Cam, and Howard!). You enter EPCOT through the gate between Canada and the U.K. (by the red phone booths), and you have about 1.5 miles to go around World Showcase and out.
As I went by Norway here is Lesson #8 and it is important. About mile 12 I had been passed by a man carrying an American flag, he was flying and the flag was a nice touch. I now passed him at 25.5 and he looked like death. He had perspired so much that his face, neck and arms were caked with salt from his perspiration. He had 2 people with him and he looked BAD. Remember how long those races are. I felt horrible by then, but he looked to be near danger. Be smart out there. A few minutes one way or the other in your time don't matter. Finishing and feeling proud are what matters.
My goal for the full was sub-5 and I finished in 4:47. I had a big smile in the photos with the mickey and the goofy and mickey medals, but then I had to walk back to the Boardwalk. Luckily my wife and daughter were with me, as without them on either side I probably would have fallen several time. The knees just didn't seem to want to bend. And the best part was after shower and nap, I couldn't even go up a single step that day.
My last lessons for your training are the ones I've spouted for the past year. Lesson #9 - the training is much more a marathon than the race. Start early and build up slowly. Too much too soon (me in fall 2003) = certain injury. Build your endurance slowly over the course of the year. It's a great feeling to hear people say in September "I'm only doing 9 miles today," when they were struggling to to 3 in March.
And Lesson #10 - have fun. The training is hard. Some days your body feels terrible, and training is a chore. We all face work and family constraints and pressures which ensure some training sessions will be a grind. Just getting out there and doing something is okay, don't feel guilty. Of course, on good days, stretch the distance or speed and see what's in the body. I get out the jets about twice a month, and it's always fun to hit a pace that makes you smile. The race is the reward. When I'm in the starting corrals I always have the feelings of anticipation, fear, excitement, worry, reward, comraderie with those around me. It's like no other feeling in the world. Get into the corrals and enjoy that feeling. Then get around the course and feel good about what you have accomplished. As Cam has stated from Bingham, "you must respect the distance." When you make it remember you had help, but no one got you around the course but yourself. Congratulate yourself.
I'll close this 5 act play with a discussion I had with Martha yesterday. She's done the half the last 2 years, and is taking this one off. I told her "don't say no way right now, but if you ever want to do the Disney full marathon, I'll take you around the course." Her reaction wasn't "no way," it was instead "maybe I'll do that one day." I cannot think of any better way to spend a few hours than to be out on the course with a friend or loved one.
Blizzard here this morning, already 12 inches on the ground and they are predicting snow for the rest of the day and evening. Makes the thought of the Disney races even more enticing.
Take care everyone, my old pals and new ones. We're 11 months away so we have the time to take it easy and build slowly. This year I'm shooting for a full under 4:30, take 17 minutes off my Goofy/Full time. Of course that means I'd like to be under 4:20, but I'll only commit to 4:30.
Cheers
Craig
so we're going back home where it's 5 degrees warmer 
! Glad you made it over this way! 
to you and Barry.
So no Ron for me, I have an Adam! 
Way to go! You should be really proud of yourself! 
b-day at WDW the day before the marathon. Hopefully, DD5 
) I was thinking "WOW, that was great mileage, but why didn't he do an even 4?" 
I just didn't want to ask you about it in case you had gotten tired at 3.9 and decided to stop there!!!
Hey, I may try to start a thread for kids who's parents train and post too much!! Look for it!!
that I wasn't able to do a half marathon then. Geez, thanks, guys! Just what I need, someone telling me that of course I couldn't do it in March (or whenever those needy posts came out of my fingers). The fact was that very few people could do an endurance event only a couple of months into their training and still 9 or 8 or 7 or 6 months before the event. THAT is why we train. Yes, some people are doing it to maintain a level of fitness and ability, but for the most part, I think a year ago and for many months after, many of us were "training to train", getting our heads around the enormity of the challenge and trying to overcome the inherent fear and lack of confidence. That is what we are all here for, to encourage each other through all of that, to bring each other to a point where we can do the serious training when the time comes to totally focus on it, and then to bring each other to the start line.
I developed shin splints in my right leg that bothered me throughout the full. While I did run/walk for the first part of the race, by the 1/2 way point I was reduced to walking (slowly, at that). It was long and hard, but I was determined to finish. I just kept telling myself to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. I repeated that over and over. I was really hurting by the time I reached Epcot. Luckily a fellow Wish-er (who had already finished the race) jumped up and walked around World Showcase with me, giving me support and motivation (THANKS HELEN! 
yesterday. So my team of 5 is now down to just me LOL! But I think for a 5K I'll be very prepared and the distance shouldn't push me too hard mentally 
Oh well, you live and learn. And on the good side, it gave me a good chance to catch back up on cross training and weight training. 
