Training advice needed--deciding between walking a half or running a 10K

The plan I'm currently leaning toward:
--Switch to the 10K in June
--Register for the local half marathon in August
--Build a 20 week training plan for the half that incorporates the 10K
--Plan a non-WDW trip for late 2019/early 2020 to satisfy my need for travel
--Train for and run a variety of local races from fall 2019 through fall 2020, including at least one more half
--Run the WDW marathon in 2021

Sounds like you are homing in on a plan that works for you (which is ALL that matters). Good luck! And keep picking our collective brains--- even though sometimes the variety of opinion can get overwhelming, we still want to help.
 
My advice is to take your time building up to a marathon, it will still be there in a few years if that's how long you need. People are different but personally, getting to the marathon start line in good enough shape to feel good by the end and not feeling like a death march those last few miles is worth waiting for. I've learned from experience that it takes me a lot longer to get to a certain level of fitness than it takes other people and you have to work with the body you've been given. If it takes a while to get there that's fine.
 
I agree that the marathon isn't going anyway - if you're more excited/ready to do it in 2021, then that's the best time for you to do it.

I also agree with other posters that 11 weeks is plenty of time to train for a half, and 10 months is plenty of time to get ready for the marathon. HOWEVER, running is such a mental sport...I totally get not being confident in working up to the marathon, but I think you'll get there as you train for/complete more races. Not totally sure how long you've been running but for me, it was about 3 years from the start of my running regularly to running the marathon at WDW. I felt like I had to *know* I could do a 5K before a 10K, a 10K before a 10-miler, etc. It was a very slow build for me. :upsidedow

Lastly, I agree that it's smart to do a half marathon before the marathon for a few reasons - you mentioned trying out gear/clothing/fueling. That's a big part of it, you don't want to be, like, trying new shoes for the first time during the marathon or something. You'll also want to submit a proof of time to Disney for your marathon corral placement, and you need a race of at least 10 miles for that. I think finishing a half will go a long way in your being confident that you can finish the marathon...you'll know a little better what it "feels like" to run long. And finally, just sort of getting into the idea of what marathon training will sort of look like will be a big thing (obviously you'll have to devote more time to the marathon training, more miles, hours, etc. compared to half marathon training, but it'll at least give you an idea) - the training was always the hardest part for me, the race itself is just fun (assuming training goes well!).
The plan I'm currently leaning toward:
--Switch to the 10K in June
--Register for the local half marathon in August
--Build a 20 week training plan for the half that incorporates the 10K
--Plan a non-WDW trip for late 2019/early 2020 to satisfy my need for travel
--Train for and run a variety of local races from fall 2019 through fall 2020, including at least one more half
--Run the WDW marathon in 2021
Sounds like a great plan!!
 
Nothing gets you motivated like a serious goal on the horizon.
Many times when I did not feel like running, I would tell myself that it was actually race day and I was at mile 10 of the half and just needed three more to finish. That always carried me through to get that run in. The goal also helps provide motivation to get back out there when you hit a rough patch in training. The goal should hopefully help reduce the missed runs when you struggle.

Five plus years and 17 half marathons later, I finally attempted my first full marathon. Not everyone takes it as slow as I did. But, running is hard! It gets easier, but it never gets easy.
I believe that personal readiness to attempt the distance is a huge factor in success. You can run any distance because a friend/family/et all convinced you do, but you'll likely enjoy it more when you want to.

It's just that I'm starting to feel like I set those goals before I had enough experience to know what they really meant.
There is nothing wrong with revising your goals in light of new information. I once dreamed of running a sub 3 hours half at 2018 Dark Side because that would mean I was ready to tackle the marathon and succeed. For me, a sub 3 half was a barrier. Then I got injured while training and revised that sub 3 half to finish. I still have yet to actually run a sub 3 hour half. But that didn't stop me from finishing the marathon and Dopey.

Taking the step up to the marathon is always going to be a step into the unknown that will be fraught with self doubt and uncertainty. I don’t think there’s any way to truly know if you’re ready until you try it.
It's really difficult to describe, but I think you will feel it when you're ready to attempt the marathon. You'll be able to silence the self doubt or at least confront it.

I read your comment about telling everyone that you are going to do a marathon and I'll let you in on a secret - even through I "only" did the half, the only person that ever used the word "only" was ME. Everyone else was seriously impressed (or thought I was crazy) to finish 13.1 miles.
After the 2017 Avengers Half I was in Disney California Adventure and talked with a lady who was excitedly wearing the medal from the Avengers 5K while we waited in line to meet Spiderman. My own experience leading up to that race proved to be one of the last pieces in my mental readiness to tackle the marathon, yet I found this lady's excitement and enthusiasm inspiring. She was so excited over her accomplishment that weekend. I loved the fact that she was still happily celebrating it and did not feel that she should stop showing her excitement and celebrating what she had done. She did not need to, nor did she, feel that her accomplishment was somehow inferior to the accomplishments of what anybody else who had ran that weekend achieved.
 



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