Marathon Weekend 2024

[jrsharp21]

And then down the thread from that post was a comment that if you are staying at a resort that is also a convention center (Coronado, as an example) that there will be an additional $20 handling fee

Of course, CSR is where we are staying for the majority of the trip. But my daughter and her fiancé are staying at AoA. So I guess I could have the package delivered to her to save the $20.

 

[dis_or_dat]

A quick heads up for half and full folks, I was driving on Floridian Way yesterday and was reminded how much construction is occurring in that stretch roughly from Grand Floridian to Poly. The road is in pretty terrible shape as are the sides of the road (eg, the Shades of Green entrance is all torn up). A lot of those little raised pavement reflector things around, especially the intersection of Seven Seas Drive and Floridian Way. Overall a pretty torn up stretch at the moment.

Yikes, thanks for the heads up. I tripped over some uneven pavement on my last marathon and got pretty scraped up.

 

[thndrmatt]

Last call for the big dis'ers list! I'm going to work on finalizing all of the details tomorrow.

I'm going to add it to the doc, but here is the list of pacers for the weekend (half and full only, as usual)

View attachment 820817

RACE - Marathon
NAME - Matt
DIS'er name - thndrMATT
Costume/Clothing - Profile pic
Estimated Pace/Finish/POT from Registration - 1:59 HM PoT
Club runDisney Platinum? - No
Pre-Race Meet-up? - with thousands of people
Front, Middle, or Back of starting group - Wherever the party's at
Early Bird or Late Arriver - Meh
Expected Race Pace - The pace the fun people are running, no faster than 10min/mile tho

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

RACE - Goofy
NAME - Ashlee
DIS'er name - Blue Caterpillar
Costume/Clothing - Tinkerbell and Merida (subject to change..)
Estimated Pace/Finish/POT from Registration - 12:00
Club runDisney Platinum? - No
Pre-Race Meet-up? - Maybe
Front, Middle, or Back of starting group - usually middle.
Early Bird or Late Arriver - Early
Expected Race Pace - 12-13

 

[BikeFan]

RACE - Dopey
NAME - Tom
DIS'er name - BikeFan
Costume/Clothing - weather-appropriate running clothes (I'm boring like that)
Estimated Pace/Finish/POT from Registration - 8:00
Club runDisney Platinum? - No
Pre-Race Meet-up? - Maybe
Front, Middle, or Back of starting group - usually middle.
Early Bird or Late Arriver - Late
Expected Race Pace - 8:30-9:30

 

[matt and beth]

Thought I would drop the news from the dr. i need to have an MRI, but the tests for meniscus tear is positive. No good course of action till MRI, which is scheduled for Jan 9. Yes after MW. He said I can do what I can tolerate and since walking is not super tolerable (though I did a small amount with Whisky), I probably should not run on it. I did like the dr though, he was like I can give you a cortisone shot and you can probably gut through it, he said he would not recommend it. I have not canceled my room yet but am planning too.

the reason to cancel more has to do with mom. With her in ICU, it was looking more and more like I am not going to be able to attend. Especially because of the good news for her today. they were able to take her off the ventilator. She feels completely miserable but she can talk and is not sedated. She suffered a perforated gastric ulcer and had emergency surgery on Sunday. She was in septic shock. While the dr said the surgery was successful in closing the hole, we had to wait and see if she could fight the sepsis. She has all kinds of problems at the moment but i really was not expecting her to make it. She still probably has limited time, but today when I left the hospita, I could tell her I love her and she was awake and could say it back.

I did the cortisone shot on a meniscus tear and finished Dopey two years ago and ran a big chunk. Ice and Ibuprofen were my friend. Orthopedic said wear a brace and go for it. If it locks out stop. Then, I took 9 weeks off afterwards and it healed just like he said it would.

 

[garneska]

I did the cortisone shot on a meniscus tear and finished Dopey two years ago and ran a big chunk. Ice and Ibuprofen were my friend. Orthopedic said wear a brace and go for it. If it locks out stop. Then, I took 9 weeks off afterwards and it healed just like he said it would.

thanks for the info. I am trying to go the no surgery route. I was wondering how long it may take. I am old so I am going with 12 weeks.

i did say if this was 10 years ago, i probably would have done it.

 

[daisyduckismyqueen]

-

 

[RunWI1265]

10:20 is my pace for easy runs. When I use 90/30 intervals my average run pace is around 9:25 and walk pace 14-15:00. I put the 60/30 pace into a run/walk calculator and got a run pace of 9:38. Try testing those out on a run for a few miles and see how you feel.

During the race itself, some of those miles will be faster or slower due to course congestion and the extra mileage from weaving around other runners, but the pacers will get you across the finish when they say they will. You can always start with a group and bail if you decide it’s not for you.

Thank you. This is very helpful. I don’t know why I didn’t think to look and see if there was a pace calculator for this.

If by chance we have a wet wait in the corrals would a small umbrella be frowned upon? I’ll have ponchos so it’s not a big deal. My husband suggested I grab a cheap umbrella to keep the rain off but then I thought about the rain dripping off and possibly getting on other people while everyone is sitting. Or worse…poking someone.

 

[Naomeri]

Thank you. This is very helpful. I don’t know why I didn’t think to look and see if there was a pace calculator for this.

If by chance we have a wet wait in the corrals would a small umbrella be frowned upon? I’ll have ponchos so it’s not a big deal. My husband suggested I grab a cheap umbrella to keep the rain off but then I thought about the rain dripping off and possibly getting on other people while everyone is sitting. Or worse…poking someone.

I wouldn’t want an umbrella in the corrals, it gets to be shoulder-to-shoulder tight. Ponchos are the way to go because they protect you from the water in the air and on the ground

 

[RunWI1265]

I wouldn’t want an umbrella in the corrals, it gets to be shoulder-to-shoulder tight. Ponchos are the way to go because they protect you from the water in the air and on the ground

I agree. I’d have to hold it up pretty high to not be in the way. Or totally turtle myself under it while sitting

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Thank you. This is very helpful. I don’t know why I didn’t think to look and see if there was a pace calculator for this.

If by chance we have a wet wait in the corrals would a small umbrella be frowned upon? I’ll have ponchos so it’s not a big deal. My husband suggested I grab a cheap umbrella to keep the rain off but then I thought about the rain dripping off and possibly getting on other people while everyone is sitting. Or worse…poking someone.

You could work an umbrella into your costume. Mary Poppins by chance?

 

[1lilspark]

You could work an umbrella into your costume. Mary Poppins by chance?

2021 we lucked out in our dapper day bounds as my sister was Mary and I was Jose Carioca and it was pouring at the start of the day

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Over your clothes on the Expo floor is what most people do. There’s restrooms on the opposite side of shirt pickup though.

Over my other clothes?!

Oh my, I've been doing it wrong all these years. No wonder all the looks I've gotten, especially with shorts at the expo....

;-)

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Gotta share, as I had a bit of a scare.
Did my last long(ish) run on Christmas Eve. 8 miles. And even with the warmish weather, it takes a bit of a toll on my lungs, so I didn't think anything of some congestion that night and the next morning.
But as the 25th progressed, more congestion, and a small cough, and more and more side-eye from the DW. I'm thinking just some sinuses and hit it with OTC meds, but things weren't getting better, and the digital thermometer was borderline on a fever, so I made an appointment for this afternoon (earliest I could get) and the results:
No strep
No flu
No covid. Whew
Just a pedestrian sinus infection. Z-pack already underway.
So my "taper" became a step function (no pun intended) and I haven't run at all this week, and we leave tomorrow for a family trip through the weekend.
Hopefully I can manage a maintenance run on Jan 2nd.
Thank you for listening. For a while, I was seriously worried about illness affecting both the weekend trip and a trip to MW.

 

[Baloo in MI]

With one week to go before the start of the races, I thought it’s a good time to dust off the annual reminder that the hay is in the barn. As always, thanks go to Charles for first writing this many years ago.

The Hay is in the Barn
I used to hear this weekly back in my high school days (and yes there were high schools back then). Coach would walk in Thursday after practice and tell us that the Hay was in the barn boys, enjoy the fruit of our labors. If you think about it, he was correct. We have all spent the training season growing, harvesting, baling and stacking our hay for future use. There is not much more that any of us can do from now through race day. Seriously, a marathon is not an event that you can cram for. I know there are a few who can simply head out and run one, but most of us need to spend the next couple weeks allowing the body to absorb the training from the last few months. Many do not understand that the work (running, lifting, etc) is not where strength and improvements come from; rather, its the recovery periods just after the work where they occur. Its happens as a result of the muscle repairs those tiny little micro tears that occur with all workouts.

Its taper time... Yes we do need to be out and running. Taper is seriously misunderstood by many runners. It is not a time of kicking back and not doing anything. Taper is a reduction of training volume. Volume = intensity x time. In many camps it is thought that intensity should remain high through taper. I am in that camp, at least for most runners. Distances, ie time, are reduced dramatically while the mid week intensities remain just as high as previous work.

The exception to the above... If you are injured or ill, I would just recover. Do not run or otherwise aggravate your injury. Give the joint time to heal up. If ill, its still ok to run, but keep it light. The general rule of thumb is that if your cold or illness is above the neck, head out for your run; if in the chest or below the neck stay in.

NERVOUS?
It is normal. Remember how nervous you were the first time you entered a race. These are the same nerves. If this is your first event, it is very normal to have a set of nerves during this period. Tapering tends to bring the nerves out as you are not working out near as long as you were just two weeks ago. Trust me, even the most seasoned runners have similar nerves. Maybe we just hide them better, or understand them better. But watch as you are in the corral on race morning. Folks are burning off nervous energy in various ways. Make a pledge to use your nerves to help get you to and through the race. Once the gun goes off and you just hit the point where you are sweating, your case of nerves will soon disappear.

@FFigawi thank you for sharing this post. I missed when this was first shared, it predated when I first joined the DIS boards; but I have so appreciated reading it each year. During a short run the other day I was thinking about this post and it’s message - we have done the work, it’s time to rest up, recover and get ready for the weekend. It feels so good to be so close to MW and know my hay is harvested and stored; ready for use.

I did not know Charles, but this post is such a part of MW, thank you for keeping it alive! I hope everyone is enjoying the taper, getting in the reduced efforts and resting. I have a 7 miler on Saturday and a 3 miler Tuesday and then it is Dopey time! Happy New Year all!

 

[BigEeyore]

UGH after getting through all the training runs with no issues, during my 20 miler two weeks ago I started having some pain in my lower leg/ankle/foot. I haven't run since, but have been doing cycling and swimming. Have been to the doctor twice, and they think it is tibial nerve inflammation and did some treatments on me (sports chiro). I have one more DR appointment before I leave for Disney so still optimisitc that I will be able to run, but I'm worried.

Has anyone had to lay off running entirely for 2-3 weeks leading into a race and been OK? This will be my 14th marathon, so I am not new to endurance running and hoping my body will hang in there!

 

[FFigawi]

@FFigawi thank you for sharing this post. I missed when this was first shared, it predated when I first joined the DIS boards; but I have so appreciated reading it each year. During a short run the other day I was thinking about this post and it’s message - we have done the work, it’s time to rest up, recover and get ready for the weekend. It feels so good to be so close to MW and know my hay is harvested and stored; ready for use.

I did not know Charles, but this post is such a part of MW, thank you for keeping it alive! I hope everyone is enjoying the taper, getting in the reduced efforts and resting. I have a 7 miler on Saturday and a 3 miler Tuesday and then it is Dopey time! Happy New Year all!

You’re welcome! It’s such a great message, one we all often forget as the excitement and stress of race weekend approaches.

 

[jmasgat]

So my "taper" became a step function (no pun intended)

At least it wasn’t a “strep” function…..

 

[Zutroy]

UGH after getting through all the training runs with no issues, during my 20 miler two weeks ago I started having some pain in my lower leg/ankle/foot. I haven't run since, but have been doing cycling and swimming. Have been to the doctor twice, and they think it is tibial nerve inflammation and did some treatments on me (sports chiro). I have one more DR appointment before I leave for Disney so still optimisitc that I will be able to run, but I'm worried.

Has anyone had to lay off running entirely for 2-3 weeks leading into a race and been OK? This will be my 14th marathon, so I am not new to endurance running and hoping my body will hang in there!

I got super sick with RSV last year after Christmas, and was completely sidelined. Everything was fine during the races, except that I developed nasty bronchitis that lingered for weeks. You won’t lose any significant fitness during the taper, and pushing through could make things worse. That said, I am inherently skeptical of any chiropractor since they aren’t medical doctors who can offer a differential diagnosis. The entire field was created by a Canadian man who claimed the ghost of a doctor taught him how to heal people with his magnetic hands, and that he cured a janitor’s deafness by slapping him on the back.