The Running Thread - 2018

[huskies90]

More and more Disney resorts appear to be rolling out these events. We just got back from 8 days at OKW and they had the "Southernmost 3K Fun Run" every Wednesday morning, which I ran. My kids just rolled their eyes at their dad's joy in finding a race to do while on vacation. It was a fun, low-key event with maybe 50-60 runners. Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside both have runs as well, as does Saratoga Springs, I believe.

I didn’t realize there were so many of these: Port Orleans, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Fort Wilderness, Boardwalk, All Stars, Yacht/Beach Club. Deifinitely looks like fun.
https://noguiltlife.com/disney-world-resort-fun-runs/

 

[Waiting2goback]

ATTQOTD: I don't set time goals because of all the variables from course to course and race to race. The only exception is for races I run at a beautiful local horse racing track. I've run two 5's and a 10 there, and since the layout is the same for each of the 5's, I have no problem setting a time goal for those. Will do the same for the 10 there in December. But for all other races? Finish upright, and finish before they take the bananas and water away.

RANDOM QUESTION: So I'm back in the saddle on my running plan, and I'm trying to do 10,000 steps a day overall. Finding that I'm getting little aches in my feet that aren't severe, just nagging. Is there a problem with just popping an Ibuprofen immediately after my morning runs/walks? I have a friend who does it and says it really helps him stay on track every day. Does anyone else do it to prevent/eliminate general soreness?

Is it soreness from having not exercised in a while or is it pain. There is a big difference. If it is soreness I take nothing. It's part of the deal as I ramp up my miles. It is your body getting used to the added miles until it gets used to it. I don't cover that up because if I get too sore I know it's time to take a day off. For example, I ran yesterday. I was sore the whole run. Last night I felt my plantar fasciitis coming back. The two things add up, I was really sore yesterday and now this came back. So, I did my stretching last night and I took today off.

QOTD: Do you have a rule or guideline you go by to increase weekly mileage? How about for your long run distance?

ATTQOTD: This is going to be one of those "do as I say and not as I do" type answers. The rule I have always been told is to not increase by more than 10% per week and every 4-5 weeks have a recovery week. As of late I have gone up by as much as 15%. It's a risky move on my part that could backfire, but being that I have covered these distances before and its not my first time getting to these distances I feel somewhat comfortable doing what I am doing, but at the same time I wont be surprised if I end up with something bothering me down the road.
Regarding the long runs. I've been told that the long run should not account for more than ~40-50% of your weekly totals. That figure may be off some, but it makes sense to me. It would seem like a bad idea to have 35 miles for the week and 20 of it being from the long run.

I go by feel these days. Some training plans I have seen say to increase by a mile a week. Some say to do two miles every other week. I go out on my long run with a plan for miles but if I am feeling good that day I may add an extra mile.

I used to do that. Somewhere along the line, I decided aches and pains are messages that should not be ignored. I decided to listen to them. I go with ice now (no chance it might damage my kidneys). This is the only way that works for me: https://www.jeffgalloway.com/2017/11/20/injured-ice-massage-the-right-way-to-do-it/

Aches and pains are your body's way of telling you something. Mine has been telling me, "You're getting older".

 

[GreatLakes]

I didn’t realize there were so many of these: Port Orleans, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Fort Wilderness, Boardwalk, All Stars, Yacht/Beach Club. Deifinitely looks like fun.
https://noguiltlife.com/disney-world-resort-fun-runs/

I'm glad someone has a list. I'm a little surprised RunDisney doesn't at least have a page dedicated to the resort runs with schedules. I would not be surprised if every resort doesn't have something at some point from short 1 milers to 5Ks. Runners love to collect whole sets of things and I know making an effort to do all of them at some point is something I'd shoot for.

 

[LSUlakes]

It's finally Friday, and that can only mean one thing... It's time for our Fun Friday QOTD: At WDW, what is your favorite and least favorite character meal? Which ones you havent done, but are planning to do in the next couple of months?

ATTFFQOTD: My favorite so far has been breakfast at Garden Grill. The food was by far the best I've had at any character meal and I've been to CRT, which was ok but location and characters make that one more so than the food IMO. The worse I have had has been Chef Mickey's. I know its a classic, but the food was not very good at all. That was also a breakfast. Come to think of it, most of my character meals have been breakfast meals. In September we are going to Hollywood and Vine for dinner. My expectations are not high for this one. In January we have a breakfast at Trattoria al Forno which I think everyone in the family is excited about!

 

[ZellyB]

ATTFFQOTD: We haven't done a lot of character meals, so it's hard for me to answer this one, but I'd say my favorite is easy enough. Breakfast a Crystal Palace. I love the restaurant itself and my kids love Pooh and friends and it's a pretty solid breakfast buffet. And, this is probably blasphemy, but again I have a limited number of experiences, but...

Dinner at the castle with the Princesses. *gasp* Now, we just did this in July and my daughters are 15, so obviously we didn't get the magic of little ones who are princess-obsessed. I really just wanted to do it once to see the restaurant itself and eat in the castle. The food was just okay and sooooo expensive. The castle is very pretty inside and it was fun to do it, but I'd never spend the time or money again unless I have a little granddaughter at some point who loves princesses.

 

[GreatLakes]

It's finally Friday, and that can only mean one thing... It's time for our Fun Friday QOTD: At WDW, what is your favorite and least favorite character meal? Which ones you havent done, but are planning to do in the next couple of months?

The best character meal on property but far (IMO) is Tusker House. It is the only one that I felt the price justified the actual food as opposed to just being a charge to take pictures with characters.

Of the ones I've done the worst was CRT. The food was not good, the price was ridiculous even by the skewed Disney standards, and the character interaction was not as good as at other meals. Chef Mickey is a close second worst.

We have a big group of 13 doing Mickey's Backyard BBQ for the first time W&D weekend which isn't strictly a character meal but we bought tier 1 to hopefully get some good pictures. We also have Tusker House scheduled which will be our son's (and my mom's come to think about it) first proper character meal but I've done it at least 4 times already so it isn't new to the rest of us.

It's been a while since I've been there but I really liked Garden Grill and think it gets a bad rap.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

ATTQOTD:

Favorite: O’hana Breakfast (haven’t done it in years though)

Least Favorite: Chef Mickey’s

Upcoming: Bon Voyage Breakfast - Labor Day Monday

 

[kywyldcat03]

QOTD: My favorite has to be Cinderella's Royal Table where I proposed to my wife. Tied for second place (though some are not character meals) are Citricos, Narcoosees and Crystal Palace. I would like to try a luau at the Poly sometime. Favorite bar experience is Trader Sams hands down! I don't have a lease favorite.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

ATTQOTD: I haven't done any character meals as an adult! The closest is Be Our Guest and meeting Beast at the end, which I do love

 

[Capang]

ATTQOTD:
Fave: Bon Voyage is always a blast.
Least: Akershus. Hated the food and it just wasn't my scene.
Upcoming: nothing really scheduled, but I would like to try Garden Grill at Epcot (I think that's the Chip n Dale one).

 

[PrincessV]

ATTFFQOTD: I hate them all.

 

[Slogger]

Catching up on some QOTD.....

ATTQOTD: (today) I don't think we have ever done a character meal.

ATTQOTD: (yesterday?) Rule or guideline you go by to increase weekly mileage/and long run?

DO NOT DO WHAT I AM DOING! (@DopeyBadger...look away, you may not like this response!) I've tried a variety of methods including the 10% rule. For this training cycle I am taking the Rocky Balboa approach and beating my body up and pushing past normal comfort zones with higher mileages for the first eight weeks. Settling in with less mileage but increased speedwork for the next four weeks and then trying to hold on and stay healthy and rested for the final four weeks. I have long runs planned during the 16 week cycle of 14, 15 (twice), 16, 17, 18, 20+ and try to do one every other week. Not sure it's the smartest strategy, I've been quite tired and exhausted the past 3 weeks. But I'm halfway there and hopefully the toughest part is behind me. We'll see on race day if I get better results but it has been interesting to see what I am capable of when I push myself.

ATTQOTD (Wednesday?): how do you determine what your goal is for a race? How far out do you make your decision?

I typically plan my running events 6-9 months in advance. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
I determine my goal far in advance as well but base it on the distance of the race, the type of course (flat, hilly, sea level, mountains, etc), and prior results.
For 10k or less events, my main goal is to PR, but I also have an "A" goal of a vanity time that I think I am capable of attaining if everything went perfectly that day. Have not acheived an "A" goal yet.

For longer races, especially marathons, I have many goals:
Finish upright and healthy is goal #1.
Beat my PR is #2.
Vanity time is #3.
BQ is # 4.

On race weekend, I check the weather and reevaluate what goals are attainable and revise if needed.

 

[Slogger]

Hey everyone, remember our discussion about "falling" and the jinx it put on us?

Yesterday I ran a place that I know has a big hill and was going to run up and down it several times. But I got sidetracked and found an actual "trail run" by the river and did that instead. It had sand, mud, rocks, tree roots, holes, thorny plants, low hanging branches, and more mud. I almost turned my ankle twice and nearly went down but didn't. Just a big gash from a thorny plant that caught me when I ran past. The trail run was fun and a nice change of pace.

But more importantly, I didn't fall so that means maybe we have broken the jinx.

 

[Miranda]

ATTQOTD: I feel weird about going to character meals as an adult without any kids. I don't hate them, but I'm not a big photo person, so then it's just awkward when they come around. I do like watching kids interact with them though... I wish there was a way to flag your table as "I'm just watching, you don't need to come here."

I don't think I've done that many of them... Chef Mickey's I did when I was younger and went with my parents. I remember the food being nothing special and the restaurant being a zoo scene, so I guess that was probably my least favorite. The only other one I can really remember is the Crystal Palace. I did that one in high school with my parents, and I love Winnie the Pooh characters (is that surprising given my avatar? ) so I did like that one.

 

[KSellers88]

ATTQOTD:
Favorite: Be Our Guest...I love the Grey stuff and Beast!
Least Favorite: Chef Mickey's...absolute chaos.

 

[TheHamm]

It's finally Friday, and that can only mean one thing... It's time for our Fun Friday QOTD: At WDW, what is your favorite and least favorite character meal? Which ones you havent done, but are planning to do in the next couple of months?

ATTFFQOTD
Least favorite: chef Mickey. Food was not good, we were off in a corner so we couldn’t see the characters but for the brief handshakes and hugs. I can say similar things about CRT, but I knew the food would be meh before we got there and eating in the castle was worth it once. If we need to see princess at a meal, we will go back to Akershaus (DD was obsessed with it at 3 because she could potty in a castle! Not a great potty, but it was to her!) or go get some breakfast with Rapunzel

Favorite: Tusker! I love the food and 2/3 times we have had great character meets. The last trip not so much. I will add Garden Grill as an honorable mention. I love the land, the food is simple but good, and the character time has been good. It was my post race pick because DH does not like the land nor the food, so I don’t think I can convince him to go back otherwise. Honorable mention also goes to The Coral Seas, as Nemo is probably in that tank somewhere so it is a character meal to me My kids love to look at and eat fish, and it was the first meal in nearly 3 years that DH and I had a whole conversation as the kids were mesmerized. I went potty all by myself and they did not even notice!

Concrete Future plans: we have Minnie’s seasonal dine at Hollywood and Vine planned for Christmas vacation. We have been once and I thought the food was fine, we hit the transition from breakfast to lunch 10:45 seating + breakfast food and breakfast price but all the lunch food is coming out), and the kids liked the Disney Jr characters so I am curious to see how it goes with Minnie. Also planning on Mickey’s backyard BBQ which sounds fun, and Ohana for dinner because the kids have a new found appreciation for steak and shrimp.

Nebulous plans: I’d like to do xtal palace, but my kids have been terrified of Pooh in the past. We have started reading the books at bedtime so I am still hopeful we can sneak that one in before they outgrow such things (I’m not sure when that happens).

Also, we hit very little dining at The Land partially because the kids were SO excited to eat at Flo’s and the Cozy Cone. I’m mostly fine with that, unless they come up with a Marvel dining experience.

 

[Barca33Runner]

ATTQOTD:

I’ve only done three of the character meals. Two I would absolutely do again, and have, one was a ‘meh’ experience at best.

The two we’ve done that we love are Tusker House and Crystal Palace. We’ve done each of them for lunch as we find breaking up a day in the parks with a sit down late lunch as our big meal of the day works well for our group. It gives the adults a chance to relax and cool off; it does the same for the kids and even affords the ability to get naps started for the younger kids as we are on the way out of the restaurant.

Anyway, the food at Crystal Palace is definitely passable although likely nothing to write home about for most people. The real attraction is the crew from The Hundred Acre Wood. Eeyore is my spirit animal and I love Pooh and friends. I have no problem saying that if you and/or your kids are not familiar or particularly fans of the characters it will likely taint you opinion of the meal as well.

Tusker House is my absolute favorite. The food is outstanding. It features standard fare so the kids are happy and they also have much more expansive choices for adults and adventurous little ones. I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit how much I love the green curry shrimp. It’s also fun seeing the characters (Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey) in their safari clothes.

The ‘meh’ was Chef Mickey. We did CHef Mickey a few years ago during a period in mid-February when the parks were at the lowest capacity that I can remember for any trip. Despite that, we waited 30+ minutes past our reservation before being seated, the place was a madhouse, and the breakfast buffet was akin to any that you can find in every town. The CMs were working really hard and we saw all of the characters and got a decent amount of time with them, but the price:experience ratio was definitely much worse than either of the other two character meals.

 

[rteetz]

QOTD: At WDW, what is your favorite and least favorite character meal? Which ones you havent done, but are planning to do in the next couple of months?

Favorite: Probably Tusker House or 1900 Park Fare for breakfast. The Bon Voyage Breakfast is also up there.
Least Favorite: Chef Mickey's

 

[LSUlakes]

I am happy to hear of so many positive statements about Bon Voyage since its on the agenda. It also saddens me the Chef Mickeys is so far down on the list for everyone, including myself. Yet, the place is full because somehow its a must do for first timers... I try my darnest to talk people out of it all of the time, and they still want to go. SMH. After they go, I hear it was great to meet the characters but its a little crazy there and the food at best is meh.

 

[roxymama]

Oof, I never know what things will hit me in the emotions, but thinking about character meals with family got me good today. Happy memories. Sappy roxymama.

Faves:
Crystal Palace - not for the food but for the experience and atmosphere. was first ever character experience for a 1yr old roxykiddo and she LOVED pooh and eeyore.
Bon Voyage breakfast - for food and atmosphere. BEST BREAKFAST FOOD! Obsessed with the pastry basket. Characters were awesome. And we rode a surrey bike around boardwalk after.
Plaza Inn at DL...so many random characters...omg SO SO SO MANY!

Least Fave: Maybe Chef Mickeys. I love the fab five in their chef outfits and the Contemporary, but the food was a little sad.