Marathon Weekend 2023

[accm]

Another member of the You Get To Crew! Always love to see another Jess Sims fan!

I love Jess Sims!! Until she makes me run at a 12% incline, then I say many mean things towards her.

 

[NYC_MW]

SAFD: Another one for breaking things down: however many more miles to the next landmark or however many more laps around a track that would equate to. Or repetitive songs in my head (as on this past Saturday's long run when it became 99 bottles of beer on the wall). Sometimes it's planning out the steps of the day ahead's experiments. If all else fails, pretending I'm actually cheering someone else on at a race and giving them pep talks.

 

[accm]

My youngest daughter did her first 5k at age 5. Distraction often worked well with her... playing word/letter/number games as we ran... any conversation to keep her mind off running. Also, she liked getting to choose our route herself. For our intervals, we counted mailboxes we past instead of making it time-based. On days where she really didn't want to run, we often comprised with her doing a bike ride while I ran. Good luck!

I like these ideas. He loves looking at maps, so maybe I'll get him to tell me where to go. He loves math questions, but might not be quite ready to run and math at the same time.

My daughter and I have been running together consistently for the last three years (she's 8 now). She did her first mile race at six and first 5k at eight. She's done three 5ks to date. For us, I want this to be something she wants to do long term, and not something I make her do. So we don't have a set schedule. When I get home from work I ask her if she wants to run. If she says no, then the conversation is over. I don't try and convince her because again I want her to want to do it.

Maybe this is what I should start doing. Right now we've only been going once a week on the weekends, since weekdays are crazy. I'm going to try to make it a priority to ask him right when we get home if he wants to go for a run.

If she says yes, then other than doing 30/30 intervals I don't have a set distance goal. Rather I play it by on how she's responding during the run (her breathing, her running conversation, etc.). I'll have a maximum distance, but no minimum. During the run, I carry a conversation about her day, or unicorns, or fairies, or some far off planet she made up her in mind (Blorpia, they were saved by the Unicorns from planetary extinction to my recollection). The goal is just to do something, and to make the running itself fun. My wife has come up with ideas for incentivization (like we do for video games where she has to read to earn coins for VG time, my wife suggested running would earn her coins too), but I decided that's not the route I want to take this. Over time, she's wanted to run more and more on her own. And now that we've added in race day costumes (even at non-Disney races) it has increased her desire to continue racing. After the Princess 2022 5k, my daughter convinced my wife to postpone her idea of going to Hawaii in 2023 so that my daughter could go back to Disney do the Princess 2023 5k. The running hobby is now bridging into a cosplay hobby as we've been building her Ms. Marvel costume together.

I tried doing other intervals (45/30), but she immediately recognized a change to the routine. I tried taking her on a much different route, and she didn't like it. I tried doing 15/120 intervals with a focus on running as fast as possible, and she did like that one.

I bet he'd like going faster, I just worry he'd get even more bored while walking. The 30/30 is working effort wise, he's just bored I think. I'll come up with some different conversation topics, to see if that'll help with him getting bored.

I have been running races with my daughter since she was 6. She is much older now and none of these things pertain for her anymore - in fact it has reversed!

I let her select the race, some of her favorites were a strawberry festival 5k that had a strawberry medal and the hot chocolate 5ks. That girl loved, still loves, hot chocolate!. But I found it meant more to her when she picked out the race.

He picked his race lol I had no intention on him running so soon, but he saw my medals from wine and dine, and announced it wasn't fair that I got a medal and that he wanted one too

I also let her set the pace, I would go so far as to run behind her so I was not influencing the speed. If she wanted to walk we would walk, if she wanted to stop and look at a duck we did it. I tried to focus on having fun and being positive. And when it got tough I would break out an energy gel. Honestly, for nothing more than she loved them and would get excited.

Letting him set the pace has actually helped a bit. At first I kept reminding him to not run too fast, but now I'm letting him run at whatever speed. Sometimes he'll even use "super speed" for his intervals. I also don't know about gels for him, but maybe regular gummies as a treat.

 

[camaker]

Good Morning runDIsley All-Stars! Time for this week’s Sundays are for Disney. Question - How do you stay motivated during a really tough run? Share your tricks!

What a good question and one that I've debated whether to answer or not. I've always prided myself on being able power through the toughest of runs based largely on my stubbornness and visualizing the run as part of an upcoming race in order to dig a little deeper for it.

I've been going through a crisis of confidence lately, finding it too easy to drop hard hot and humid runs into a run/walk approach after 7 or 8 miles. I always finish the distance planned, but it feels like quitting on the run. Voluntarily DNFing my last race at the end of March has really shaken my confidence and I wonder if it's made it too easy to give up when it gets too hard.

I don't know what the answer is, but I'm more than a little worried about what my Labor Day Weekend trail race is going to be like if I don't push harder now.

I'd like to blame it on the T+Ds, which have largely been in the 155-170 range, but it's been adjusted paces that I've bailed on. Stress has been higher at work with a new role this year, but that just feels like an excuse. I've also always considered myself a "back half" runner with my best races featuring negative splits. Where has all that gone?

I know this has been less of a SAFD answer and more of a "poor, pitiful me" complaint. I'm just reaching the point of frustration and discouragement.

 

[garneska]

@camaker it might not make you feel better but I am dealing with a loss of motivation. I rarely feel burnt out but I am there with you. I keep hoping a lot of it is because of the heat. I will say when I was up in North Georgia and my T +D was 10 lower than atlanta, I definitely enjoyed my run. Of course that was only for 2 days of that week. My knee and back are ok. They keep plugging along but I notice when I ramp up too much they hurt. My next race is MW, so I actually dropped my weekend runs and am only running 4 times a week, compared to 5 to 6 times. Now I am still getting a lot of walks with the new dog and trying to hike on the weekend.

We have a big vacation starting Aug 31 so i am laying low on the training until after vacation and then starting up.

I know life has been hard, so i think that is affecting me as well. I hope we both find our mojo or maybe we run the marathon together .

 

[FFigawi]

All this talk of doing math while running brought back memories of trying to do just that during Comrades a few years ago. Here’s the excerpt from my race report.
—
We soldiered on up Botha's Hill and began a wicked descent into Hillcrest, dropping over 500 feet in not even 1.5 miles. At the bottom, as we entered Hillcrest, we passed the 33 km sign. The markers for this race show how many kilometers you have left to go, and seeing this one was a huge mental checkmark for us. It meant we'd covered the same distance we had run at Two Oceans last year (56 km) in only 12 more minutes. Now we knew we'd be able to finish so long as we kept moving forward at at least a 15 min/mile pace. Or so we thought. For two MBA grads, we were having a hard time with math at this point. Converting from km into miles was hard enough. We then had to figure out how much time we had left for an 11:30 finish and a 12-hour finish, divide that by the miles we thought we had converted, and come up with some sort of a pace, all before the next km maker sign showed up and we had to start over again. We kept coming up with paces ranging from 12 to 16 min/mile and were never really sure which one was right.

 

[NileNellie]

SAFD: On long runs, I will also break down the course into milestones/ landmarks - I only focus on reaching the next one. And music - which is funny because I don't listen to music on runDisney races.

I don't listen to music either-there is just too much to take in.

 

[HangWithMerida]

Good Morning runDIsley All-Stars! Time for this week’s Sundays are for Disney. Question - How do you stay motivated during a really tough run? Share your tricks!

I tell myself that I only have to go another half mile then I can turn around If I still want to. Rinse repeat a few times then I get to the point where I can say I’m over half way there. Much further it becomes Well, I’m so close now I might as well finish it. I also do some self talk. I read this thing one time that said talking to yourself like you would talk to someone else is more impactful. So saying “You got this” instead of “I got this”. I have to say that most of the time, I just kind of zone out. A mile passes pretty quick when you are in your own world.

I also do math. How much to the next turn or chew/gel. Or when I am patching my run together on the fly. I am horrible at math while running and the results are variable But it is distracting.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I know this has been less of a SAFD answer and more of a "poor, pitiful me" complaint. I'm just reaching the point of frustration and discouragement.

I really appreciate you sharing your frustration and discouragement. Sometimes I think we fall into a trap of thinking that I'm frustrated and discouraged because we're not good enough. When in reality, I think we will at some point face frustration and discouragement. So I firmly believe that being willing to share the complete experience can help others realize that a struggle, as much as we do not like it, is part of the process.

SAFD Motivation: My challenge usually comes before I start the run. I'm not a morning person, so morning runs rarely happen which means I have to find my motivation after work. Over the years I've used each of the following in different ways.

Especially in marathon training, if I don't want to go for say a 4 mile run, I tell myself that I'm at mile 22 of the marathon and I cannot quit now. This worked out great because when I got to the actual mile 22 of the marathon, I told myself that I had been practicing this very run for months now.

I also find that when I keep my focus on shutting down the part of my brain that wants to stop, I find a second wind.

Sometimes I need to remind myself if a run feels hard that I do not have to go the race distance today, but that continued diligence will help me be ready to go the race distance on race day itself.

And in those moments where the run is just miserable and I would much rather quit and do something else, I visualize race day. I envision what it will feel like to have the medal. If it's a Disney race, I will envision all the fun I'm having in the parks after the race happily wearing that medal because I know that I did it. That usually gets me through.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Another great motivation is I watch YouTube videos of the Disney races I’m training for. I know not every race I do is on YouTube, but seeing the Disney videos really make it fun.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: Long run motivation for me is just telling myself to keep moving forward. One step at a time, one interval at a time. I also listen to audiobooks and if it's a good book I've been known to completely zone out and not notice the miles ticking by.

 

[Ariel484]

I love Jess Sims!! Until she makes me run at a 12% incline, then I say many mean things towards her.

Oh yeah I swore at her A LOT on Monday, and that was *only* at a 10% incline. I love her, but she's insane.

 

[Ariel484]

Someone posted this video in the Rise & Run podcast group on Facebook - highlights from the inaugural WDW Marathon in 1994:

In case any of you need some ‘90s clothing inspiration. soooo many windbreakers!

Some notes:

- “it took only 6 minutes to clear the starting line”…as in it took the entire field 6 minutes to clear the starting line. lolololol

- course went from Epcot to Studios to the Magic Kingndom, where the halfway point was located. No parks for the last 8 miles.

- Mickey trophies for the winners (maybe they still do this??), so cute!

- there’s a lady pushing a double stroller with two toddlers. That’s, like…an extra 50ish pounds or something??!

 

[jpeterson]

Someone post this video in the Rise & Run podcast group on Facebook: Highlights from the inaugural WDW Marathon in 1994.

In case any of you need some ‘90s clothing inspiration. soooo many windbreakers!

EDIT: “it took only 6 minutes to clear the starting line”…as in it took the entire field 6 minutes to clear the starting line. lolololol

EDIT #2: course went from Epcot to Studios to the Magic Kingndom, where the halfway point was located. Times sure have changed!

Wow, no corrals, just a mass of people at the starting line. What chaos!

 

[nekonekoneko]

Someone posted this video in the Rise & Run podcast group on Facebook: Highlights from the inaugural WDW Marathon in 1994.

In case any of you need some ‘90s clothing inspiration. soooo many windbreakers!

Some notes:

- “it took only 6 minutes to clear the starting line”…as in it took the entire field 6 minutes to clear the starting line. lolololol

- course went from Epcot to Studios to the Magic Kingndom, where the halfway point was located. No parks for the last 8 miles.

- Mickey trophies for the winners (maybe they still do this??), so cute!

- there’s a lady pushing a double stroller with two toddlers. That’s, like…an extra 50ish pounds or something??!

Those short shorts right at the beginning, MY EYES!

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Someone posted this video in the Rise & Run podcast group on Facebook: Highlights from the inaugural WDW Marathon in 1994.

In case any of you need some ‘90s clothing inspiration. soooo many windbreakers!

Some notes:

- “it took only 6 minutes to clear the starting line”…as in it took the entire field 6 minutes to clear the starting line. lolololol

- course went from Epcot to Studios to the Magic Kingndom, where the halfway point was located. No parks for the last 8 miles.

- Mickey trophies for the winners (maybe they still do this??), so cute!

- there’s a lady pushing a double stroller with two toddlers. That’s, like…an extra 50ish pounds or something??!

The socks too! I wore the same type of socks all the times and got many many blisters.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Good Morning runDIsley All-Stars! Time for this week’s Sundays are for Disney. Question - How do you stay motivated during a really tough run? Share your tricks!

My Answer: I do a couple things I use a mantra of “the further I go the stronger I get”. I just repeat this to myself over and over and I will say it out loud at times. I find this really reinforces that I can keep going. When that is not enough, I put on a particular playlist I have with music that always gives me a push and turn it up. And when all else is failing, I set markers, I look ahead and identify a particular point and just focus on getting to that point. Like - get to that tree. When I reach that tree I set a new point and just keep doing that. It sort of pulls me along.

SAFD: what is with all u math people... I will never choose to do math. I will bring out my phone to do math.... but for me I have disney podcast I listen too and I have a disney music place list. I also will change where I am running if I am getting bored so I have different things to look at. I also break it down. So only have to run to here, etc... I go slow and do intervals. So I just keep thinking I am a turtle I may be slow but I will just keep going.

 

[HangWithMerida]

That video of the first WDW marathon is nuts! The mass start with characters just standing right along the roadway. 8,000 runners is a big race and it seemed to move along pretty cleanly. I LOVE the women's winner wearing that leotard!! Also the family fun run with the characters holding hands with kids as they ran along. The whole event looks way more casual than what you see now. I do appreciate that they have revamped the course so you don't finish with so many road miles in the back end when you are suffering.

 

[BigEeyore]

I know this has been less of a SAFD answer and more of a "poor, pitiful me" complaint. I'm just reaching the point of frustration and discouragement.

Hang in there - instead of focusing on your one DNF, remember all the many times you have crossed that finish line. Most of us are suffering in the heat and humidity of summer, and I know it has taken a big toll on my running. Hills that I ran up back in spring, I now have to walk because my HR gets too high. My pace is a good minute/mile slower than I was doing in the winter. I try to not let it get to me, and remind myself that this is what happens in summer when the humidity is 96% and the temps are pushing 80 degrees before the sun even rises.
@Ariel484 - that video is GOLD! What a simpler time.

 

[Disney at Heart]

@Ariel484 Love that video! It was DH's first marathon as well as Disney's. He was one of the ones wearing a black sweatshirt and tennis shoes! LOL Can we get Roger Rabbit on the course this year?

Motivation? At 67 1/2, I just think of all my friends who can't run anymore because of arthritis/blood pressure problems/heart issues/diabetes/knee and hip replacements, or who have passed away, and I count my blessings! Then I just do it, much more slowly than most of you, but I am blessed to be able to keep moving. I don't have time goals anymore. And, yes, the heat and humidity are awful right now. That makes it much harder! I am looking forward to cooler fall weather, the W&D races and the Goofy Challenge!