The Running Thread - 2019

I just booked a fairly last minute trip to DisneyLAND. Needed to travel out there for work, so my wife and I are flying out a few days early and spending this Friday-Sunday there. We have 3-day park hoppers. We should be able to get to DL by noon on Friday and will be able to spend as much time as we want in the parks from then until Sunday night. We are staying right across the street. I'm looking for any tips from those that go frequently or have been there recently. We went to DL in 2007 for 2-3 days, but otherwise just go to WDW fairly frequently. Interested in can't miss food/snack items, any of the onsite hotels we should stop in to see for any reason, park touring tips, etc. Thanks in advance.

Animation Academy is so much fun, even if you can't draw. They put out the schedule early in the day.
 
ATTQOTD: Quite a timely question of the day for me.
After doing my first Dopey this year with my friend, the question of "do you think we could do all this running in just one day?" came up.
So, within a week of being home we both signed up for the Rock the Ridge 50 Mile Challenge with the idea of running a 50 miler in the year I turn 50 being the "logic" behind the decision.

We completed our "run" last weekend so I'll take this moment to give a quick recap................

Training for Dopey had already given us a base to work off and I found what looked like a workable training plan to be as ready as possible in four months. It had us running 3 days midweek ranging from 3-12 miles and both days on the weekend with a max of 31 miles on one Saturday at the end of March. While I had a bit of trouble meeting some of those longer midweek runs as I run before work and simply didn't have the time, we kept to the schedule as best we could with 120 miles in Jan, 140 in Feb, 190 in March and 165 in April. It was a lot of running for our busy lives and having to run multiple weekends that included 16 miles on Saturday and 26-28 on Sunday really put a burden on our wives.

The one wrinkle to our plan was we had two friends get caught up in our excitement and decide midway through to join our team. Unfortunately one of them injured themselves in a frantic effort to pile on the mileage and the other didn't have the time he thought he had to train properly. One topped out at 19 miles and the other 15.......yet both were focused on running regardless....a recipe for disaster.
So, as the race approached I half expected my two friends to drop out but both seemed determined to run.

At the prerace pasta dinner and packet pickup, we stuck out like sore thumbs. Our short and stocky builds among the tall and lanky (and bearded?) competitive ultra runners. It seemed the runners were split in two groups, those looking to run full throttle for 7-8 times or those looking just to somehow survive. We were somewhere in the middle at the moment.

We packed our dropbags that night with multiple changes of clothes, rain gear, tubes of glide and enough food to trek the entire Appalachian trail.

After the RunDisney-like 3:30am wake up call we headed over to NY's Mohonk Presserve. Our hydration packs fully stocked we nervously waited and wondered how the heck we were all going to cover the most mileage we ever ran in day and laughed at how the other two were going to run there first marathon, 50k and 50 miler all in one day.

After a nice rendition of America the Beautiful, the gun went off and the 600 runners were on the move.

The first few miles went off the board easily in a cool foggy morning with the two less trained runners leading the charge. We were all smiles at mile 5 and hit our first real aid station at mile 10 with everyone smiling despite climbing almost 1,000' between mile 2-5. We snacked on some PB&J's and m&ms and quickly headed back up the mountain before the inevitable happened.
At mile 12 just prior to another lung busting ascent, our previously injured friends hamstring forced him to a near walk and then finally at mile 15 a complete walk.
We slowly trudged along knowing the only way out was at the dropbag station at mile 24.6. We ran a little, walked a little, waited for him to catch up for a bit and did our best to keep him in the right mindset and relatively good spirits.
We eventually made it to the dropbags with a surprisingly good cushion before the cutoff time. At this point our injured friend tapped out, give us a hug and headed to shuttle bus.
My under-trained friend decided he wanted to continue so we agreed we would stick together and run as much as he could just as long as we didn't jeopardize not hitting any of the cutoff times.

After a change of clothes, a bit of soup and a potato we continued on. At roughly the 26 mile mark the race headed up to it's highest point gaining another 1,300 feet in 5 miles. That elevation gain really took a toll on us. My feet started to swell and become painful at 33 miles (my longest ever distance) but I wavered from feeling terrible to feeling like I could tick off a few 9 min miles. My Dopey friend and I did intervals most of the time but kept an eye over our shoulder to make sure we didn't completely lose our other teammate. We took time to enjoy the spectacular views waiting for him to catch up.

We finally finished our ridge loop and strolled back to the bag drop where I once again changed clothes, put on a fresh pair of shoes and packed our headlamps as light was beginning to fade.
When my friend finally joined us at the aid station I half expected him to pack it in and jump on the shuttle put he announced he was 'finishing this thing if it was the last thing he did" (there was a bit more profanity).
So we left the last full aid station with the sun beginning to set, some very sore feet and a little over 12 miles to go.
At this point we made the decision to stay together so nobody would have to finish alone and walk the woods by themselves after dark.
We hiked along and watched the rock climbers finishing their day as the sun set and we headed deeper into the preserve. Just as we started losing light, I heard twigs snapping and as we turned a corner I spotted a mother black bear and her three cubs high atop a tree. We quickly took a few blurry bear silhouette photos and moved along energized by this unique experience.
At this point night had fully set upon us and we were ready to be done but not before another uphill grind on what my friend quickly dubbed "that stupid loop" which ground our pace to a crawl.

In the dark, miles seem to take forever and it really became a bit of a quiet death march for 5 or 6 miles until we were able to sense the finish line after coming off the mountain and into the farm lands.
The three of us finally limped across the finish line after 16 hours and 45 minutes. Not nearly the time I had hoped but I was glad my friend gutted it out and I was thrilled to have traveled 50 miles shoulder to shoulder with these two guys.

After enjoying a burger and beer at TGiF, we limped out into the parking lot agreeing "never again". Yet after some of the aches and pains subsided a couple days later the talk quickly changed to shaving a few hours off next years time.

We are not certain we are doing it again as the training is a huge burden on our families, but as we look back on the funny, difficult, beautiful and daunting moments of this challenge the urge to try again is there.
So 50 miles before i turned 50....check

50 miles the year after I turn 50......TBD
Wow what a race!! Congrats on finishing that beast of a course!
 
ATTQOTD: No, the closest I've tried is 5 marathons in my 50th birthday year.

That sounds like a great idea! My wife is going to kill me lol. My current ideas are to run Boston when 40 with a BQ, so MAYBE I can make Boston 1 of the 4 for that year!!! Thanking as I type here, I could run my local marathon in January, Boston in April, Would need to travel for #3 somewhere cool (temp wise) maybe Grandmas Marathon, I think it early June and then maybe a big city fall marathon... MCM!!!
Guess I should start saving now lol!
 
That sounds like a great idea! My wife is going to kill me lol. My current ideas are to run Boston when 40 with a BQ, so MAYBE I can make Boston 1 of the 4 for that year!!! Thanking as I type here, I could run my local marathon in January, Boston in April, Would need to travel for #3 somewhere cool (temp wise) maybe Grandmas Marathon, I think it early June and then maybe a big city fall marathon... MCM!!!
Guess I should start saving now lol!

If you’re looking for a cool summertime marathon there’s alway the Reykjavík marathon in mid-August.
 


ATTQOTD: I have never ran the distance of my birthday or any other anniversary. While the thought is intriguing I don’t think it’ll be something I ever actually do.

Thinking on this, while I don’t think at this point I’d ever run want to run my age, in miles, on my birthday (I’ll be 37 in a few weeks) I do think it running my age in kilometers on my birthday would be easy to do (given proper training, so not going out and running 37KM in a few weeks when 13.1 is the most I’ve ran in months. But maybe next year.)
 
ATTQOTD: Extremely unlikely. Even in metric that will be longer than marathon distance for me!

I had a nightmare that I somehow decided to "upgrade" my 10k registration to the full marathon - in the dream I was in the fetal position wailing to DH "what have I done? Why didn't you stop me?" So happy to wake up and continue to sensibly train for my first 10k! :rotfl2:
 


I just booked a fairly last minute trip to DisneyLAND. Needed to travel out there for work, so my wife and I are flying out a few days early and spending this Friday-Sunday there. We have 3-day park hoppers. We should be able to get to DL by noon on Friday and will be able to spend as much time as we want in the parks from then until Sunday night. We are staying right across the street. I'm looking for any tips from those that go frequently or have been there recently. We went to DL in 2007 for 2-3 days, but otherwise just go to WDW fairly frequently. Interested in can't miss food/snack items, any of the onsite hotels we should stop in to see for any reason, park touring tips, etc. Thanks in advance.

Jolly Holiday Bakery has good grilled cheese and tomato soup. Also, the raspberry macarons are one of my favorite snacks. The corn on the cob is super yummy too.
 
I just booked a fairly last minute trip to DisneyLAND. Needed to travel out there for work, so my wife and I are flying out a few days early and spending this Friday-Sunday there. We have 3-day park hoppers. We should be able to get to DL by noon on Friday and will be able to spend as much time as we want in the parks from then until Sunday night. We are staying right across the street. I'm looking for any tips from those that go frequently or have been there recently. We went to DL in 2007 for 2-3 days, but otherwise just go to WDW fairly frequently. Interested in can't miss food/snack items, any of the onsite hotels we should stop in to see for any reason, park touring tips, etc. Thanks in advance.
I'll be there in July. CAN'T WAIT! We were there 2 years ago and thought it would be years before we went back. Nope, we loved it that much. I love how much less involved the planning is. We will be in the midst of Star Wars madness.

ATTQOTD: I found a marathon 3 weeks before my 40th birthday within driving distance. I "trained" for 3 weeks--luckily my birthday was on a Saturday. I found another woman after the race wearing a shirt saying "Today is my 40th Birthday".

You can always do laps on a track instead of miles. Or bike each mile instead of running. I had wanted to do an Ironman before 40 but got caught up competing in running. And then I realize how much I dislike long periods of time on a bike. I would still like to do one, but not at this time in my life.
 
ATTQOTD: My birthday is the 4th of July but I live in Canada, and USA hotels are to be avoided ($$$$) on that day so it is unlikely I will race on my Birthday. Also, I count in km not miles. I will receive a medal with 45th written on it at Ottawa in two weeks and that fits perfectly with the age I am turning to in 2019!
 
Thinking on this, while I don’t think at this point I’d ever run want to run my age, in miles, on my birthday (I’ll be 37 in a few weeks) I do think it running my age in kilometers on my birthday would be easy to do (given proper training, so not going out and running 37KM in a few weeks when 13.1 is the most I’ve ran in months. But maybe next year.)

Another thought I just had on this that could be neat, would be to find a race that’s the same age as you.
 
I just booked a fairly last minute trip to DisneyLAND. Needed to travel out there for work, so my wife and I are flying out a few days early and spending this Friday-Sunday there. We have 3-day park hoppers. We should be able to get to DL by noon on Friday and will be able to spend as much time as we want in the parks from then until Sunday night. We are staying right across the street. I'm looking for any tips from those that go frequently or have been there recently. We went to DL in 2007 for 2-3 days, but otherwise just go to WDW fairly frequently. Interested in can't miss food/snack items, any of the onsite hotels we should stop in to see for any reason, park touring tips, etc. Thanks in advance.

My favorite place to eat dinner at DL is the French Market in New Orleans Square. You have a great view of the Haunted Mansion and Rivers of America and they occasionally have a Dixieland jazz band playing and it's outdoors on a covered patio. The lobster nachos at Lamplight Lounge in DCA are also very good. Also, when I go and don't stay at a Disney hotel, I check which park is having early entry that day and go to the one that isn't, to avoid crowds. You can always park hop later. I always love the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel and just walking around the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel (love the monorail pool). Have a great time and hopefully they'll do a soft opening of Galaxy's Edge at some point while you're there!
 
QOTD: Have you ever celebrated a birthday or anniversary of some sorts by running the number of miles the event is you are celebrating? For example, you turn 25 and run 25 miles?
Nope. I sort of kind of came close to running miles over my age with the final race of Dopey coming one month before my 43rd birthday.

Jack Jack's Cookie Num Nums located as you are exiting The Incredicoaster is a once a trip must stop for me. It's just a really delicious chocolate chip cookie.
The hype for that cookie is real. That alone might pull me into DCA for my first full blown all of Galaxy's Edge is fully operational visit. Maybe.

We are not certain we are doing it again as the training is a huge burden on our families, but as we look back on the funny, difficult, beautiful and daunting moments of this challenge the urge to try again is there.
Great recap. While I have no desire at all to run an ultramarathon, I found myself relating to some of your feelings in my first marathon. And I enjoyed that one enough to register for it again next year.

I had a nightmare that I somehow decided to "upgrade" my 10k registration to the full marathon - in the dream I was in the fetal position wailing to DH "what have I done? Why didn't you stop me?" So happy to wake up and continue to sensibly train for my first 10k!
In my experience, the running dreams get weirder and weirder before the marathon. Good luck on your 10K and just have fun. If you ever want to run a marathon, you'll know. And if you never want to run a marathon, that's great too.
 
Attqotd: not so much. My original plan as of a couple of years ago was to run dopey in 2020 to finish off my 40th year. Marathon weekend is in a bad part of the year, work wise, to be taking vacation but I figured I could do it. Then my race sign ups for the year spiraled out of control.
 
No, not a bad idea tho.
For a spring chicken such as you! Not so good for me at a still spiritely 45!

@cburnett11 its been a couple years since my last visit, but from someone currently planning a WDW and DLR visit later this year, just enjoy the fact you don’t need to decide what you want to eat 6 months out, nor stress about booking fast pass at 60 days. DLR is great to just let it unfold and be spontaneous, if something takes your eye then try it (guarantee it will be good).

Oh, and get maxpass!
 
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Jolly Holiday Bakery has good grilled cheese and tomato soup. Also, the raspberry macarons are one of my favorite snacks.

Second this recommendation. The JHB Matterhorn Macaroon is also great.

In my experience, the running dreams get weirder and weirder before the marathon. Good luck on your 10K and just have fun. If you ever want to run a marathon, you'll know. And if you never want to run a marathon, that's great too.

Thanks! I'm enjoying the intoxicating beginner gains. Might have looked up the course maps for all the races, out of curiosity only...

Happy training everyone!
 
One of the reasons I attempt to encourage anyone who asks me about running is because I would never have attempted this if not for the various people over the years who encouraged me, many of whom I either met once at a Disney park or have only interacted with in this community. But all these people share one thing in common. Encouraging yet honest.

One of the things that helps me the most is to view training sessions leading up to the race as steps. I'm training for a half marathon in September. So when I feel tired at mile 2, I tell myself that I do not need to run 13.1 miles today, I only need to run 3. Then as I'm more consistent in my training, the 2 miles are second nature.

For me the marathon was the most difficult race I've ever experienced mentally, but in a weird way, I've had 2 half marathons that actually felt more difficult than the marathon. Now, in all honesty, I made a series of decisions leading up to both of those more difficult half marathon races that shortchanged my preparation in one way or another. Had I not learned from those mistakes in training for the marathon, I'm certain that the marathon would have been far more difficult and may well have resulted in me either being forced off the course by the sweeper or me voluntarily dropping out and concluding that the marathon is not for me.

I don't believe running is ever actually easy. While it can become easier to run a certain number of miles at a certain pace, it is never easy to actually get out there and make the sacrifice of time. Yet I've found that every time I choose to run over choosing to stay home and sit on the couch (which is almost always what I would have done if I had not run), I feel better. Sometimes when I go out for my run, I feel tired, various body parts hurt, and I want to go home and relax. Yet if I go out and run, I find that when I get home, I'm tired, those various body parts hurt differently, and I feel much better.

Running definitely isn’t easy. That’s why I say it is 90% mental and 10% physical. Your body can handle whatever your mind throws at it. It’s often times the brain that gives up way before the body does. And yes, the marathon was the hardest thing I ever did mentally as well. That’s why I say it changed my life because in that 5 hours it took for my first marathon I learned more about myself than I ever had in counseling or anything else I had ever done.

A day late, but to all the moms in the thread, I hope you had a wonderful mothers day.

QOTD: Have you ever celebrated a birthday or anniversary of some sorts by running the number of miles the event is you are celebrating? For example, you turn 25 and run 25 miles?

ATTQOTD: I haven't done it but the idea has been in my head. I'll turn 36 this November, and well that would be 10 mile more than a marathon... so not looking likely, but maybe one day I'll go crazy and go for it lol! This June is our 10 year anniversary, so maybe I could do that one.

That would put me in the uultramarathon range, so nope.

I just booked a fairly last minute trip to DisneyLAND. Needed to travel out there for work, so my wife and I are flying out a few days early and spending this Friday-Sunday there. We have 3-day park hoppers. We should be able to get to DL by noon on Friday and will be able to spend as much time as we want in the parks from then until Sunday night. We are staying right across the street. I'm looking for any tips from those that go frequently or have been there recently. We went to DL in 2007 for 2-3 days, but otherwise just go to WDW fairly frequently. Interested in can't miss food/snack items, any of the onsite hotels we should stop in to see for any reason, park touring tips, etc. Thanks in advance.

Definitely get the Maxpass as previously suggested. And a must for me is the calamari at Wine Country Trattoria, and not because of the calamari. They are served with fried green beans that have me drooling as I type this. I a, counting down the days til I go in Sept for some more green beans. Also, eating breakfast on Main Street at Carnation Cafe is awesome. Ask for an outside seat even if you have to wait a little extra. (I never waited extra, they just told me that both times I went)
 

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