You must be swift as the coursing river (as long as it's the Lazy River) - comments welcome

[NYC_MW]

6:28, nice ! Have fun at PW!

 

[avondale]

Fantastic mile time!

 

[GollyGadget]

Wow! All your work is really paying off. Have fun this weekend!

 

[Scootin'By]

I finished in...6:28!!

That's awesome!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Well done on the mile time trial! Good luck this weekend!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

February 19 - 25, 2024
Spring training week 7 | 1 day until Princess 10K!
In which it's happening


This week's schedule

Monday
Easy/strides: 5.37 miles (10:27), avg. HR 150, max 164, 100% Z1-2 (?)
upper body strength

The rain we were getting all weekend stopped, but the weather was still a little raw in the morning, so I did my little strength workout as a warmup before my run. The run was pretty uneventful, although I think this time my watch under-read my HR on the strides - I never stay in zone 2 when I'm doing strides

Tuesday
Baby progression: 1 mile WU + strides + 2 x 6 min @ HMP/3 min @ 10KP/1 min @ 5KP/2 min RI + 1 mile CD
Interval paces: 7:58/7:33/7:22, 7:57/7:37/7:10
Total: 5.41 miles, avg. HR 168, max 189
lower body strength (bodyweight)


Strava workout analysis

A nice little race-week workout. I did not adjust my paces from the time trial because that wasn't the point and this isn't the time. I did okay on pacing for the most part, with the exception of the last interval - oops. Felt pretty good and ran my CD faster than my WU on average, even counting the strides.

Wednesday
Easy: 5.37 miles (10:27), HR ??? but definitely 100% Z1-2
core

Somehow my hips were a bit sore from yesterday's strength despite using zero resistance? Um, that was not the goal. Tried to keep things super easy which sort of worked. However my HR tracking was...inconsistent. It was definitely easy though.

Thursday
off

Expo day! I have tried to go not on the first day in the past, but I wanted Friday to be nice and relaxed, so I braved the crowds mid-afternoon. At that point it wasn't too bad - there were still a bunch of people there, but everything went smoothly and I didn't have to wait in any lines except to get my discounted beer I was happy they just assigned one corral for the challenge so I didn't have to deal with runner relations about the 10K.


Photopass with running Mickey and runDisney script

I poked around the expo for a bit and ended up with a pretzel, a free scrunchie, a free runDisney sticker, and some gold body glitter to spruce up Sunday's outfit. I did stop by the merch building, but the only thing I liked were the weekend capris, and the pockets were too small for a phone, so I didn't buy anything. I wish they would have some merch that was a little less over-the-top - I liked the shoe art shirts; I just didn't want the giant race art on the back

Friday
Easy/strides: 4.08 miles (10:15), avg. HR 153, max 172, 92% Z1-2

Trying to keep things easy but also it was warm and I had plenty of energy.

Before I go to bed I will to my perpetual pre-race yoga/stretching/Pilates routine.

Saturday
Princess 10K!

The weather for tomorrow morning looks great, and I'm excited to race! Based on my time trial, I am thinking maybe somewhere in the 45-47 min range? But we'll see how it goes.

I'm planning to get there around 3:15 and eat breakfast in my car before heading in. I may or may not make it to the lightpost depending on warmup logistics - I've never tried to race at Disney before, so I'll have to figure out where, when, and how to do a warmup mile or two!

Sunday
Princess Half!

This one is for fun and photos, so no worries about warming up and I'll head to the lightpost when I get there. Hope to see some of you there!


Flat me for the 10K (left) and HM

I have laid out my clothes, packed as much as I can tonight, and eaten an early dinner. Now I just have to do some foam rolling and stretching, take the dog out one more time, and hopefully be in bed around 7/7:30! Will I fall asleep? Absolutely not! But I can at least try

Totals
Running: 6h 33m, 41.6 miles
Strength/mobility: 55m
Total: 7h 28m

 

[Scootin'By]

Good luck!

 

[avondale]

Looks like I missed the chance to say good luck! I hope the races went well!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Race recap: Princess 10K
February 24, 2024 | Walt Disney World
In which I suffer

You know what's hard? Racing. Racing is hard. Death comes for us all, especially after running as fast as you can over a distance

Anyway, I got up and 2:20, got ready, and left my parents' house around 2:45. I decided that was a good plan, because it was easy to get into the parking lot when I got there around 3:15 and there wasn't much of a line for security. I ate breakfast and had some coffee in the car. After the very long walk to the starting area, I found that it wasn't too busy over by where the busses pick up, and I ran back and forth for a mile or so and then did a few strides. I have a fun map to go with my warmup:


Map of Epcot parking lot with red line going back and forth across the rows

Other people were warming up in the same area, so I guess that is the thing to do. Then I dropped off my gear bag, hit up the port-a-potties, and headed to the corrals.

By the time I got there (maybe 4:35, which was only a few minutes before the corral closed), A was getting full, so I ended up somewhere in the middle, a little behind the ribbon designating the third wave of A. They had improved the speaker setup since MW, as evidenced by the fact that I could actually hear the announcers! The most memorable moment was when the woman singing the national anthem walked out in a Tiana costume and the crowd collectively went, "Ooohh," which I found both hilarious and awesome. (She also sang beautifully!)

And then it was time to get started! Based on the difference between my gun time and chip time, my wave started right at 5:04. And apparently quite a lot of people just straight up lie on their registrations, because there were quite a few walkers/shufflers who were definitely not running anywhere near an 8:00 mile. (There's absolutely nothing wrong with not running an 8:00 mile, but there IS something wrong with lying about it...) Fortunately it was pretty easy to maneuver around people on the highway.

From my time trial the previous week, I was anticipating around a 45-47 min 10K, or approximately 7:13-7:33/mile. I was using that pacing as guidelines but also running by feel. Mile 1: 7:33. Perfect! Right at the top of that range, so not starting out too fast.

By mile 2, I had mostly passed the people who were going slower, and the roads were pretty clear. I remember thinking, "Wow, the mile markers come a lot faster when you're running faster!" and then realizing how incredibly obvious that was I think I got a little overly enthusiastic as I started to pass faster people - mile 2: 7:07. Whoops! Better dial that back a bit.

We got to the mile 3 marker and the timing mat was there instead of at 5K, which made me sad because that meant no quasi-official 5K PR. I think 5K was on a bridge, so they probably couldn't get the timing mat there. But I hit 3 miles in 22:03, and my PR is 23:36, so it definitely was one! Mile 3: 7:21. Back on track, but definitely starting to feel tired.

Happily, around 3.5 miles in we hit DHS! Yay for finally getting some park time! Look, I still look reasonably happy:


Running through the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster entrance with the upside-down car overhead

I didn't stop for any characters in the 10K since I was going for time, but you get some pretty good action shots when there are so few people around you!


Coming out of Hollywood Studios with zero other people in the frame

Mile 4: 7:17, which I think is mostly being excited to run through a park.

Two-thirds of the way through, things were starting to feel really hard. I had my music on and was whisper-yelling along to motivate myself. Then we came up to the Boardwalk and the wood was all wet! I was a little concerned about slipping, but it never actually felt slippery. I think all the photos where it looks like I have my eyes closed, I'm just staring at the ground to try to keep from having my foot slide out from under me. This may also explain why I slowed down a bit (unless that bit was in mile 6 - not totally sure) Mile 5: 7:26.


Trying not to die running along a very wet boardwalk

Then we had only a mile and change to go! I tried valiantly to pick up the pace. I remember seeing a few spots in these last couple of miles and thinking they were going to be miserable for congestion, and I was glad to be going through them with only a handful of other people around. I hope they didn't end up being too bad!

Here is where I started to give up on trying to smile for the photos. I was just trying to get through the rest of the race At least there were some more fun parts towards the end - the rest of the boardwalk area and heading into Epcot - almost there! Mile 6: 7:06.


Looking pretty tired running through Epcot

When we hit the mile 6 marker, I gave it everything I had left, which really wasn't that much more


Coming around the final corner - and at last I see the finish line!

According to Strava, I ran the last 0.2(8) miles at 7:05 pace, so about the same as all of mile 6 - but I felt like I was working much harder!


This pained expression accurately reflects how I felt coming into the finish line

And finally, I was done! My official finish time... 45:49!! That's a 2 minute and 58 second PR, an average pace of 7:23, and I was very excited about it! For context, my previous 5K PR pace was 7:36, I think, and less than two years ago I did a 1-mile time trial and finished in 7:28. So lots of improvement!

I hobbled through the finish chute juggling all the stuff they gave us (hey Disney, how about a tote bag along with all of that??). I really like the 10K medal - I've always loved that sun design from Tangled. There was no line for the finish photos, so I took one.


Finisher photo

Then I also took photos with Anna and Elsa and Ariel and Eric, since I hadn't had time before the race. (Unfortunately the Ariel photo never showed up in my Photopass ) Apparently Anna and Elsa are quite short


Anna, me, and Elsa

Tiana and Rapunzel were both on a break, so I did a very slow 5-minute cooldown jog. But when I was done, they were still gone, so I decided I'd try again tomorrow, and headed out for the very long back to the car.

Overall, it went great! Conditions were very good for racing, and I was right in the middle of the predictions from my time trial. I think that's definitely something I'll incorporate in the future, at least for shorter races. (It's probably a little less valuable for a marathon, say ) My pacing could have been a bit better, but it also could have been a lot worse, so I'm not complaining!

Oh yeah, and that 5K PR? Strava puts it at 22:25

 

[Scootin'By]

Congratulations!!!

That is an awesome finish time! And great recap.

I also really love the red shoes. They remind me of Dorothy's red slippers. I'm jealous.

 

[jmasgat]

Congratulations on the PR--and the great race photos. The RnR one is particularly great. I only get slightly annoyed reading about your constant improvement! (It reminds me that I used to run about what you run now. But age is a b1tch, and those are now just annoying memories!)

 

[nancipants]

Amazing job!!!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Congratulations!!!

That is an awesome finish time! And great recap.

I also really love the red shoes. They remind me of Dorothy's red slippers. I'm jealous.

Thanks!

They're actually a very intense pink - apparently Saucony doesn't have them in this color anymore, but you can see it here: https://believeintherun.com/shoe-reviews/saucony-endorphin-pro-3-review/

Congratulations on the PR--and the great race photos. The RnR one is particularly great. I only get slightly annoyed reading about your constant improvement! (It reminds me that I used to run about what you run now. But age is a b1tch, and those are now just annoying memories!)

Thank you! I have to enjoy it while I can lol

Amazing job!!!

Thanks!

 

[flav]

Congratulations

 

[GollyGadget]

Nice work!

For some of us, the Arrendelle royalty are tall

 

[DopeyBadger]

Tremendous progress. All the hard work is really paying off!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Interlude: Saturday post-10K
In which I celebrate early

In my mind, even though I was running the challenge, after the 10K I was done. Half marathon, not racing, no problem. Right? Right.

Anyway, I got back, walked my dog, showered, and attempted to take a nap. (I failed.) Then I gave up, took the dog out again, and headed back to Epcot with my mom for lunch and then the meetup. They had the topiaries out for Flower & Garden already, so I got a picture with the dragon outside Japan.


Standing in front of a dragon topiary in my race shirt and medal

We had a quick lunch (with Champagne ), saw the Voices of Liberty - this was the first time I've heard them sing the song from Brave, which I thought was a good choice for Princess weekend! - and stopped by Karamel Küche for dessert

Then we headed to Hurricane Hanna's for the meetup! A handful of us showed up, so it was a nice and relaxed chat (especially once we actually managed to snag a table ). It was great to hang out with everyone there!

After the meetup, my mom and I headed back and I had a quiet evening and went to bed early-ish. I think I was asleep around 9? So a bit better than Friday night but not amazing since I had to wake up shortly after 2 again. See above re: celebrating early

Oh, and one update on the 10K: apparently the difference between my unofficial time and my official time is one second - in other words, they knocked me back to 45:50. I realize this is essentially the same thing, but also... (lol)

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Race recap: Princess Half Marathon, part 1
February 25, 2024 | Walt Disney World
In which I am ow

I always thought the biggest challenge with a challenge weekend was getting up in the middle of the night two (or more) days in a row. I am not good with sleep deprivation. Really not. But I dragged myself out of bed for the second day in a row around 2:20 and got myself ready. I forgot, though, to account for the fact that it would take me longer this time, since I had temporary Mardi Gras tattoos and hair/body glitter to apply. So I didn't leave until 3, which was a little later than I wanted. It also took longer to get there, because the signs detoured me a different way around to Epcot. I don't know if the roads were actually closed at that point or not, but I didn't want to find out the hard way, and it added 10 minutes or so to my travel time

The struggle continued when I finally parked. I went to eat my yogurt and realized I forgot the granola, which was not the end of the world but did make my breakfast crappier. Then I got pulled aside going through security because I forgot that I had packed my sunglasses in my gear bag for after the race Off to a great start so far! I did see a couple of good costumes walking to the staging area - somebody was wearing a Kermit onesie, and then there was a group all dressed as fireflies.

Anyway, at that point I was running later than I had planned. I had intended to try to find a meetup spot, but it was already after 4, so I just dropped off my bag, used the port-a-potty, and headed for the corrals to do a bit of a warmup.

Watching the pre-race show for the second day in a row made me realize how much they re-use, at least when it comes to the pre-recorded stuff. Like, the Advent Health video was not that great the first time; I didn't need to see it again They had a nice a cappella trio sing the national anthem, but I feel like they should have swapped and had Tiana do it since she was the host for Sunday!

Eventually we set off. I just ran along at whatever pace felt comfortable, which ended up varying quite a bit throughout the race. I'll be guessing from here what order most of the characters were in based on how light it was, but I do remember that Louis was first! It felt very appropriate for my Mardi Gras theme.


Photo with Louis from Princess and the Frog

I felt pretty okay for the first few miles. I did have to pee, but I was hoping I'd be okay until we got to the TTC and I could use a real bathroom. It didn't stop me from doing several character stops on the way, possibly including some of these (I forget what was before MK and what was after)


For a minute I thought Moana was Pocahontas because I've never seen her in cold-weather clothes! Apparently they were switching out in any case


Mirabel and Isabela were out bantering but no Photopass


Mulan AND Mushu AND Shang?? It is my lucky day!!


I'm pretty sure I waited in the longest line for Olaf, but that's okay

We got to the TTC, but the bathrooms were blocked off So I stopped at the next port-a-potties, which were SUPER dark. NOT a fun experience. I kind of wish I had just waited for MK. But then I was fine, so you don't have to read any more about bathrooms

At that point, I was starting to feel the fatigue from racing the 10K on Saturday, but it wasn't too bad. And very shortly I got a boost from running through MK! The spectator areas were really packed, even at like 6 a.m. I was surprised that I didn't see any characters for about the first half of the MK segment, but then they started showing up. I passed Daisy but stopped for Aladdin and Jasmine.


The Jasmine and Aladdin stop was apparently not that well lit

Then it was time to run through the castle! I slowed down a bit so there was a gap in front of me. I tried to do the airplane arms, but I think I timed it wrong. It's not a bad pic though!


Running in front of the castle

I pulled off to do the photo in the hub.


I tried to do a jump shot but my timing was off

My favorite castle pic was actually from running past it from a distance.


Running with the castle behind me in the distance

With that, I left MK behind. Without the boost of running through a park, I was starting to hurt. I think that was about halfway through, with lots of highway miles ahead. My legs were tired. My feet were tired. Every time I stopped and then started running again, I hurt more. This is why I don't normally do a long run the day after a workout

Didn't stop me from getting more character photos, though!


I'm not that into Wreck-It Ralph, but there were only a couple of people in line for Vanellope, so I figured, why not (because it hurt to start running again is why not, but I was obviously not considering that)

Ran out of photo space, so to be continued...

 

[superchime]

Your jump photo looks like you're flying!

 

[GollyGadget]

That's such a good castle shot! I don't think I've ever seen that angle before.