2012 Walt Disney World Half Marathon Recap

January 7, 2012 was definitely the best running day I’ve ever had. I don’t have any other big races to compare it to, but the Walt Disney World Half Marathon is the best race I’ve ever been a part of.
The Race Plan
I had bought pace bands from races2remember.com. I had bought bands for 2 hours, 1 hour, 58 minutes, and for 1 hour, 56 minutes (you get three bands for $7.50 when you buy them). The cool thing about the bands is that they are actually customized to the course so it adds some time for miles that have lots of hills, and subtracts some time for miles that are flat or even downhill. They must have someone actually review the course (and for a big race like this, it has probably been refined over the years).

Disney... completed. PR... check.

I will write a more thorough race recap either tomorrow or the day after, but for now I'll just post the two pictures below.

Official chip time was 1:55:07, which is a personal record by more than 10 minutes.  It was a good day.

Starting... NOW!

(Image source: @DisneySports on Twitter, via the Poise in Parma blog)

If I have set up Blogger's auto-post correctly, I am currently in a mob of people very similar to the picture above (taken at the 2011 Walt Disney World Half Marathon, the fireworks are going off, and I am starting what will be (I hope) a Personal Record in the Half Marathon.

For those of you that want to, check out my automatic updates of my race status on my Twitter feed

2012 Disney Half Marathon Training Summary

OK, how awesome would it be to run in these (barring injury)

Today marked my last workout part of my training plan for the 2012 Walt Disney World Half Marathon.  Since I didn't really summarize any of my training workouts or weeks of training for this race (which I may do for future races), I decided to do an overall training summary where I figure out totals for everything.

Race Week Is Here!

Even Donald has his "Game Face" on!

Here are my modest goals for the week itself (not including the race):

1. Eat well - I haven't eaten super well during training for this race, so I'm hoping to do a little better for this week.  This includes actually eating breakfast (probably a whole grain cereal each day), avoiding snacking at work (particularly candy), and portion control (since my running miles this week are pretty low).

Last Long Run Before Disney!

I just got back from my last long run before the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, an 8.5 mile long run (1:18:49, 9:13/mile). 

I only have one short cross-training workout on Monday, one short speed intervals workout (6x400m intervals) on Tuesday, and a short 3 mile easy run on Thursday, and then it's off to my favorite place.... OR-LAN-DOOoooooooohhhhh (that's a "Book of Mormon" reference, son)

In *Exactly* One Week...

I will be lining up at the start line under the shadow of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT (well, not under the "shadow," since the sun won't be up... plus the start line isn't exactly under Spaceship Earth... but whatevs) getting ready to run the Walt Disney World Half!

Motivation is Lacking

With the Disney Half Marathon race just over a week away, I'm having a lot of trouble focusing.  This could be a problem since I still have four more work days before the trip.

Camera or No for Disney Half Marathon?

As I sort of alluded to in my last post, I'm in the middle of an intense personal debate about whether or not to carry a camera when I run the Disney Half Marathon next Saturday. I don't want to get any pictures with any of the characters, but I have heard that it is kind of fun to chronicle a race by taking pictures now and then (e.g., of the start, the mile markers, anything else you see that is cool or inspiring). I've also read a few blogs that took pictures during the race at one of the last couple Disney Half Marathons or Full Marathon (like here, here, here (at the Disney "Wine & Dine" Half), here, here, and here), and some of the pictures or videos are really cool.

My Disney Half Marathon Packing List

The upcoming Walt Disney World Half Marathon will be the first time that I have ever traveled to an event, so I've started to think about what I need to pack to make sure I'm well supplied. Here is what I'm planning on packing:

Footwear

• Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs) KSOs - these are the shoes I plan on racing in.
• Iniji toe socks - I've been getting wicked blisters recently when I run in the VFFs (which I never really got before), so I'm going to need my toe socks
• VivoBarefoot Evos - back up shoes in case it is rainy or (God forbid) snowy/icy. The VFFs don't have the best traction in wet or icy conditions, but my Evos are surprisingly solid even in snow and ice.
• SmartWool Socks - if I'm wearing the Evos, it's probably somewhat cold... then I need my wool socks.

T-minus 11 days, 18 hours, and (approximately) 10 minutes

The 2012 Walt Disney World Half Marathon starts in less than 12 days! I'm getting excited. My training has been going well, and all that is left is one last track interval workout, one last tempo run (only 3 miles), and one last short(ish) long run (only 8 miles). I am fully in taper mode, and am super excited to get this race done. So excited that I have been regularly watching a few videos on YouTube to get me psyched up. For my fellow Disney racers, here are a couple of the best:





So excited.

2012 Race Schedule

It's December, and that means it's time to start thinking about what races I might want to run next year. Ray over at DCRainmaker has two great posts (here and here) on a more scientific approach to selecting races (he does triatholons, so his are focused on insane races like Ironmans and such), but for me, I just picked races that either seemed fun, fit into my schedule well, or are related to a cause that I believe in.

So far, on my calendar, I have the following races in mind (some being definite, and others being tentative). I have indicated any race that I am already signed up for.

January

Walt Disney World Half Marathon (January 7) (Registered) My second half marathon, and I am gunning for a PR. My main goal is to break the two-hour barrier, with a secondary/dream goal of 1:57. I'm running this race with a couple friends, and we're all traveling down to Florida together for the race and a vacation together.

My First Dreadmill Run of the Season

Thanks to the snow over the weekend, I had to suffer through a workout on the treadmill this morning rather than my normal Tuesday track workout. I guess it went better than I could have hoped, and it IS much easier to keep an even pace on the dreadmill. And honestly, I can't really complain since I live in Minnesota and it is November 22... last year my first treadmill workout would have had to have been in early October.

Most of the running paths should have melted off by Thursday, so my Thursday Tempo Run should be able to be outside (unless it is too icy), and Saturday's long run will be down in Iowa, where it won't be snowy (possibly rainey *blech* but no snow)