Marathon Weekend 2019

[jhoannam]

Did and easy 4 yesterday and felt terrible afterwards. Ive got 8 with some intervals today and Im hoping I feel better. I am almost primarily a morning runner and it just seems like anytime I run in the afternoon I feel terrible but yesterday was abnormally bad.

As for the weather, I think last year was absolutely perfect weather for the full. That being said, it did make things logistically annoying being so cold in the morning. I won't complain at all if we start in the 50's, run mostly in the 60's and MAYBE touch close to 70 the last hour or so

I ran 4 this morning, glad I did but I’m ready to take a break from running, not completely just want to get back to 3 miles during the week and 6 on the weekend.

 

[lhermiston]

We don’t arrive until Thursday afternoon. Hopefully the expo has some decent toys available still. The good news is I called today and was able to get a reservation for Cinderella’s castle for Saturday night at 5:30pm. I’ve never been, can anyone let me know if it’s worth the price?

We did breakfast there about 7 years ago. Any restaurant can change a lot in 7 years, but our experience was very good.

 

[Simba's Girl]

Weather in FL looks perfect. It did at home for our departure, until 5 minutes ago when I saw this tweet from the local weather guy....”Both major global models agree on stormy potential for next Tuesday. Amounts, rain vs snow, etc. all still questionable, but that's our first real chance of significant snow since November.”

We fly down on Wed. Starting my weather dance ASAP!

Oh boy. Here we go again. I have seen/heard nothing in the forecast up until I saw this post. Weather.com is now all of a sudden saying 1-3 inches Monday night AND 1-3 inches Tuesday night in Hartford. We have flights booked for both nights. Ugh!!

Right here with you guys...DH flies out Tuesday from BDL and the girls and I fly out Wednesday. Everything was on the up & up until yesterday when they had 5-8" Tuesday (where I live) but it suddenly changed to 1-3 this morning...and Wednesday ~1". All I know is that Hartford was predicted to get less than here in Central MA.

 

[kleph]

We did breakfast there about 7 years ago. Any restaurant can change a lot in 7 years, but our experience was very good.

we did this for breakfast in 2017 specifically because i remembered it from when i was a child (which was a lot more than seven years ago). even as a solo couple not terribly interested in the princess character meets, it's a very special place to experience and i would certainly recommend it for everyone to do at least once.

the food was very good and it was great to sit at a window and look out over the carousel and fantasyland as we ate. our server had been there for years and knew everything about the old version of the place which really hit the nostalgia notes for me. in fact cast members as a whole were superb. another big upshot for a morning meal is getting into the park early.

 

[mankle30]

Prefacing this with I'm a lousy runner, maybe a 1:10 10k and 2:45-50 half. So I'm in whatever corral or put myself really far back in the group, because I'm pretty self-conscious about not being in other people's way...
All that being said I really find it frustrating to have to dodge people walking within the first 3/4 mile, add to that that they are in large groups four to seven wide. I'd like to say "I understand, they're having their good time too."
Any suggestions, other than 'deal with it.' I really don't feel comfortable pushing myself to the front of the corral. This would probably only put me that much closer too catching up to the slower people in the earlier corral. I dunno...

I started the 2017 Marathon in the last corral. I also felt like having to run around the walkers was a challenge and a huge energy drain. I'm not sure that I have any suggestions but I can certainly commiserate!

 

[huskies90]

Right here with you guys...DH flies out Tuesday from BDL and the girls and I fly out Wednesday. Everything was on the up & up until yesterday when they had 5-8" Tuesday (where I live) but it suddenly changed to 1-3 this morning...and Wednesday ~1". All I know is that Hartford was predicted to get less than here in Central MA.

I was just hoping I did not have to sweat it this year after getting flights canceled last year and having to drive to DC through the snow to get to a flight that wasn't canceled and/or sold out. That is why I booked two sets of flights for the four of us this year - both Monday and Tuesday nights - to mitigate the risk.

I agree as of right now, it looks like it will not be bad in Hartford. But it also seems like they don't really know until it gets closer. When I saw @JulieODC 's post last night, I went back to the Marathon 2018 thread and followed the progression of the Northeast storm and it started the exact same way...1-3 inches possible with most of it coming after I would have already departed and/or most of it missing us to the East. As it got closer to departure, it turned into a Nor'easter that closed the airports a day before the storm even hit, canceling our flight and making us scramble to get down to FL.

 

[PrincessV]

Who has experience going to the expo later Wednesday afternoon (3-4pm ish). Is it going to be mega-crazy or just kind of crazy?

I was there about that time last year. Bib pickup was a non-event: in and out, no lines (technically, there was a rope queue to enter the building, but it was moving at a speedy pace the entire time - it probably wasn't necessary, but I suppose served to make for no lines once inside.) Merchandise was the same. The only thing that had a looong line was the pick-up spot for pre-purchased items.

Prefacing this with I'm a lousy runner, maybe a 1:10 10k and 2:45-50 half. So I'm in whatever corral or put myself really far back in the group, because I'm pretty self-conscious about not being in other people's way...
All that being said I really find it frustrating to have to dodge people walking within the first 3/4 mile, add to that that they are in large groups four to seven wide. I'd like to say "I understand, they're having their good time too."
Any suggestions, other than 'deal with it.' I really don't feel comfortable pushing myself to the front of the corral. This would probably only put me that much closer too catching up to the slower people in the earlier corral. I dunno...

So, I first need to say stop calling yourself a "lousy runner." It's bad for self-motivation and confidence, and, frankly, there are a whole lot more of us here who are considerably slower!
There will be walkers and run-walkers - there's just no way around that. But I can only think of one time out of all of my many rD races where I saw a large group walking in a line across the course; I start from one of the back corrals, where there are plenty of walkers, and have no trouble keeping my preferred pace for 90% of a race. Honest. Best thing I ever did was reconcile my mind to the fact that rD races are crowded and there WILL be times I can only travel at the prevailing speed. It never lasts long and I'm back to doing my own thing quickly. It's very liberating, I find, to know, accept and roll with it, versus spending mental and physical energy fighting the inevitable.

 

[cavepig]

Prefacing this with I'm a lousy runner, maybe a 1:10 10k and 2:45-50 half. So I'm in whatever corral or put myself really far back in the group, because I'm pretty self-conscious about not being in other people's way...
All that being said I really find it frustrating to have to dodge people walking within the first 3/4 mile, add to that that they are in large groups four to seven wide. I'd like to say "I understand, they're having their good time too."
Any suggestions, other than 'deal with it.' I really don't feel comfortable pushing myself to the front of the corral. This would probably only put me that much closer too catching up to the slower people in the earlier corral. I dunno...

Personally, I would just go to the front of your corral and yeah "deal with it". I know that's not what you want to hear but there are so many types of runners, walkers, run/walkers doing the races we have to just go with the flow as we aren't the only ones out there. We don't know why they are walking at the start, we don't know it's to have a good time or planned intervals or what. You can always stay off in the grass as you'll run into way less people out there (I've done it when I was really sick one year).

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Please make it colder so I dont die!!!!

Right! It's the humidity that will worry me if it's high. Sure, corral waiting will be comfortable, but 26 miles in warm/humid will be very uncomfortable.

Also made a hoodie for around the parks. Well, I didn’t make it, just the design on it. The Mickey bar didn’t get centered right so it looks a bit off but I’m excited to wear it!

Back:
View attachment 373053

Haven’t decided which design to put on the front yet:
1st choice is running Minnie
View attachment 373054
2nd choice is running stick figure with ears and bow
View attachment 373055

That is adorable! How fun!

 

[PrincessV]

Weather is being weird down here in FL. It's been unseasonably warm this week - up into the mid-80s in Orlando! - thanks to a ridge north and west of us keeping cooler air away and pulling warm, moist air up from the Caribbean. Long range forecasts have been assuming that would change next week... until now. A front is expected to come through tomorrow, dropping temps for a couple days, but then it looks like it'll warm up again next week. Right now, it's showing highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s, but if we get another situation like we're in now, it could go warmer. OTOH if a cold front does come along and dip far south, it could cool off fast, a la 2017. For folks who really need to pack now, I'd truly bring as many options as you can. For the rest of us, stay tuned...

 

[AFwifelife]

@Tall Todd until you get yourself to corral A and be right at the front, you will always deal with walkers (and even then one of the elites might be wanting a slow day lol). I do agree though that you will still want to be as far forward in your corral that you can be. You will catch up to the walkers in the earlier corrals but there are less and less as you move up. For W&D, we started in Corral F, wave 2 and didn’t experience too much traffic at all. It’s a smaller race but we left behind the masses pretty easily.

 

[BFD]

I have a question for everyone.

I really just started running consistently last January. Since then, I've done a few 5ks and a couple 10ks, and I'm getting ready for my first half marathon next week with all of you. I've been following a @DopeyBadger training plan pretty religiously since August, when I started training for my first 10k. I have a chalkboard in my living room, and every week, for almost 6 months now, I write on it my schedule for the next few days, so I can see at a glance what I'm supposed to run each day. And I'm starting to feel extremely anxious about cleaning off that chalkboard for the last time. Does anyone else ever get that anxiety, about finishing up a training plan?

There have been times during training when I couldn't wait to get back to doing my own thing, but now I'm starting to feel like I might be a little lost after I reach my goal. I do have the Princess 10k in February, but I don't feel like I need to do any specific training for that, since that distance is a regular part of my repertoire now. I have some ideas for some things I want to work on, like maybe concentrate on getting faster and just improving my 5k time, or something like that.

I am also trying to keep reminding myself that I have not finished the half marathon yet and I need to keep concentrating on that before I start looking past it. But I just wondered if anyone else had dealt with this kind of thing before and what you do to work through it.

 

[rteetz]

Today's weather update

 

[ZellyB]

Today's weather update

View attachment 373098

Still pretty promising. I like that Sunday seems to cool off a touch. Like I said before, I'll take whatever we get so long as I'm not wearing a stocking cap and a winter coat to the parks!

 

[BigEeyore]

I am really trying to not get too attached to that amazing forecast, knowing how things go in FL! But it seems like it's not really changing much over the last several days so that's something.

I read an article once about "perfect running weather" - they did studies on how people did running in various temps and 50 degrees was determined to be the ideal temp. So here's hoping we get something that looks like that!

 

[lhermiston]

I have a question for everyone.

I really just started running consistently last January. Since then, I've done a few 5ks and a couple 10ks, and I'm getting ready for my first half marathon next week with all of you. I've been following a @DopeyBadger training plan pretty religiously since August, when I started training for my first 10k. I have a chalkboard in my living room, and every week, for almost 6 months now, I write on it my schedule for the next few days, so I can see at a glance what I'm supposed to run each day. And I'm starting to feel extremely anxious about cleaning off that chalkboard for the last time. Does anyone else ever get that anxiety, about finishing up a training plan?

There have been times during training when I couldn't wait to get back to doing my own thing, but now I'm starting to feel like I might be a little lost after I reach my goal. I do have the Princess 10k in February, but I don't feel like I need to do any specific training for that, since that distance is a regular part of my repertoire now. I have some ideas for some things I want to work on, like maybe concentrate on getting faster and just improving my 5k time, or something like that.

I am also trying to keep reminding myself that I have not finished the half marathon yet and I need to keep concentrating on that before I start looking past it. But I just wondered if anyone else had dealt with this kind of thing before and what you do to work through it.

Two cents: first, enjoy your half. You’ve done the training and that in and of itself is a success. The race is your victory lap.

Second, just find your next goal. After my first HM, I said, “Well, let’s see if I can do a full.”

 

[rteetz]

Still pretty promising. I like that Sunday seems to cool off a touch. Like I said before, I'll take whatever we get so long as I'm not wearing a stocking cap and a winter coat to the parks!

Yep I’m with you. I don’t want to wear a winter coat to the parks this year.

 

[BFD]

Second, just find your next goal. After my first HM, I said, “Well, let’s see if I can do a full.”

That is something that's been rolling around in the back of my head. But I definitely need to finish the half before I think too much about it. I might never want to run that distance again.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Today's weather update

View attachment 373098

Here's Weather Underground which will show a bit more info about actual race time temps predictions:



5k (5am to 7:30am) - T+D of 102 to 107 (pace adjustment of +0.5%)
10k (5am to 8:00am) - T+D of 115 to 117 (pace adjustment of +1%)
HM (5am to 10:00am) - T+D of 117 to 125 (pace adjustment of +1.5%)
M (5am to 1:30pm) - not yet available

Data shows that in most areas of the country, these types of predictive forecasts don't beat historical averages until about 5 days out. Precipitation isn't as good as historical weather until 48 hrs out. But from experience, FL seems to have a much higher level of variability than other places in the US. Trust the locals.

Given these possible forecasts, if I were coming from the north and training in 30s right now I'd seriously consider starting some heat acclimation training to dampen the effects of the rise in temps.

 

[lhermiston]

Yep I’m with you. I don’t want to wear a winter coat to the parks this year.

Preach!

That is something that's been rolling around in the back of my head. But I definitely need to finish the half before I think too much about it. I might never want to run that distance again.

Yup, hence the need (in my opinion) to just focus on the half and enjoy that experience. Soak it all in. It’s a really fun and unique environment.

 

[Bree]

Here's Weather Underground which will show a bit more info about actual race time temps predictions:

View attachment 373127

5k (5am to 7:30am) - T+D of 102 to 107 (pace adjustment of +0.5%)
10k (5am to 8:00am) - T+D of 115 to 117 (pace adjustment of +1%)
HM (5am to 10:00am) - T+D of 117 to 125 (pace adjustment of +1.5%)
M (5am to 1:30pm) - not yet available

Data shows that in most areas of the country, these types of predictive forecasts don't beat historical averages until about 5 days out. Precipitation isn't as good as historical weather until 48 hrs out. But from experience, FL seems to have a much higher level of variability than other places in the US. Trust the locals.

Given these possible forecasts, if I were coming from the north and training in 30s right now I'd seriously consider starting some heat acclimation training to dampen the effects of the rise in temps.

All this!!! I'm a local. I don't even trust the forecast the night before. Humidity here really wipes you out more than you will think it will. I have my fingers crossed for a cold front, but I know many of you are coming from the arctic north and want the heat. This girl would rather freeze in a corral to have perfect running weather than run in damp humid air, blazing sun and wet clothes.