Marathon Training Thread

[PaloAltoCougar]

50,000 runners and I run into niku. lol.

Half mary tomorrow. I've got ten days of cruise food on me, I've lost my altitude blood doing advantage, it's hot, and I spent the day walking all over epcot after waking at 4:30 for the 5k. Excuses, check.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow (and whatever niku will need the next day)

Excuse no. 4 resonates with me because we tromped all over Islands of Adventure yesterday and by the end of the I was wiped. But a good night's sleep and an easy day of Kids Races, despite having to walk a few miles, it seemed, have me reenergized.

And I strongly recommend these Disney Running Weekends (either in Orlando or Anaheim, as we've now done both) for families. The kid races were great. It may be cheap sentiment, but I loved how even the slowest kids perk up near the finish line as they run to Mickey's outstretched arms.

I can't believe I'm getting up around 4 tomorrow morning to run a half marathon. Good luck all. Hope to see ER and perhaps Nik at the finish, but don't wait if you need to press on.

[Moliere]

Good luck to everyone tomorrow and Sunday. I'm running 17 miles in the morning and ill be thinking of y'all!

[Pheidippides]

64 degrees and 98% humidity. Organizers sent out a heat advisory warning. Lol. Probably not a PR day for most of us today.

Drink early and drink often, people. This is hot and humid even for the Houstonian. I'll be there about 4:30 or so.

[clackamascoug]

Here's some Marathon Man Training for You.

[YOUTUBE]TPQ7KMCrPLE[/YOUTUBE]

[Pheidippides]

Awesome meeting up with PAC, Parrothead and ER (who gets the crown for the fastest).

[PaloAltoCougar]

Awesome meeting up with PAC, Parrothead and ER (who gets the crown for the fastest).

Thanks for waiting for me to finish; it was great to see you and meet your mom and daughter. Sorry I missed ER.

What a great event. As one turns onto Main Street, with the sidewalks packed with cheering spectators and that dazzling Cinderella Castle lighted up in the distance, it's quite the rush. All the bands, gospel choir and crowds along the way make the whole experience an adrenaline high.

I finished with 2:09:04, which puts me in the top 15% of my age group. And the benefit of not engaging in this madness until just three years ago is that pretty much every race produces a PR. Now I get to chase granddaughters around the Magic Kingdom.

[Pheidippides]

Thanks for waiting for me to finish; it was great to see you and meet your mom and daughter. Sorry I missed ER.

What a great event. As one turns onto Main Street, with the sidewalks packed with cheering spectators and that dazzling Cinderella Castle lighted up in the distance, it's quite the rush. All the bands, gospel choir and crowds along the way make the whole experience an adrenaline high.

I finished with 2:09:04, which puts me in the top 15% of my age group. And the benefit of not engaging in this madness until just three years ago is that pretty much every race produces a PR. Now I get to chase granddaughters around the Magic Kingdom.

I've never run the Magic Kingdom in the dark before this morning - that was pretty cool. And that gospel choir at the end - a mainstay - is always awesome.

As we were leaving my mom asked how old you are. I hope you don't mind that I told her (she's three years older, at least). I think that inspired her even more - she's got it in her head to move up to 10ks and halfs too.

[Pheidippides]

Odin's beard, my legs hurt! Finished the marathon leg in 3:43:48. Pacer dragged me those last two miles - they were every bit as tough as St. George's last two, if not worse.

Exceptionally proud of this race. Came in in a cumulative 5:35ish for the Goofy if my math is right. It may not be because I am not exactly thinking straight right now

[Moliere]

Odin's beard, my legs hurt! Finished the marathon leg in 3:43:48. Pacer dragged me those last two miles - they were every bit as tough as St. George's las two, if not worse.

Exceptionally proud of this race. Came in in a cumulative 5:35ish for the Goofy if my math is right. It may not be because I am not exactly thinking straight right now

Congrats! You are a manimal!

[PaloAltoCougar]

Congrats, nik. Extremely impressive. When we got up this morning we all shuddered at the idea of hitting the road again, although the four of us feel good, all things considered. My time wasn't great, but I take comfort from the fact that I finished ahead of 87% of the guys in my age group.

With the Half, and then walking all over the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon and evening, I had my best night of sleep in a long time.

[Pheidippides]

Congrats, nik. Extremely impressive. When we got up this morning we all shuddered at the idea of hitting the road again, although the four of us feel good, all things considered. My time wasn't great, but I take comfort from the fact that I finished ahead of 87% of the guys in my age group.

With the Half, and then walking all over the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon and evening, I had my best night of sleep in a long time.

I gotta be honest: My legs are a mess right now.

[ERCougar]

Finally have a second to post...
First, congrats to niku on a fantastic marathon time, particularly after a good effort at the half and in less than ideal conditions.

My race was fun. Running through Magic Kingdom was really cool, especially the Cinderella castle. The crowds were great. Lots of music all along was nice, even if not always live, and the gospel choir fantastic. Weather wasn't cooperative for a PR (the course has way too many hard turns in it for one anyway) but could have been worse, and really, the real problem was my extra 18 lbs from the holidays and cruise that I was lugging around (I finally dared weigh myself this morning). I ran a 1:39, which is exactly what I guessed I'd run. It put me at the top 4% in my age group, a nicer result than I really deserved, given how many people were running a marathon the next day.

I'll echo what PAC says--this is a great event for families. Races for kids, fun location, great energy, and Disney just does things right. If I had to do it over again--and I definitely will in a few years--I'd get pics taken with all the characters along the way on the half (I only did with Alice, because i was curious to see how close she'd get to a sweaty runner--not very), and maybe even do the same thing on the full. I was shocked at how many people were running both, although I'm sure not at the pace that niku did. This is a race to enjoy the experience.

Good to see niku again. Wish I could have stuck around to meet parrot head and see PAC again, but we had to jet back to the hotel room before CPS discovered we left our two youngest there with our eleven year old.

[ERCougar]

Thanks for waiting for me to finish; it was great to see you and meet your mom and daughter. Sorry I missed ER.

What a great event. As one turns onto Main Street, with the sidewalks packed with cheering spectators and that dazzling Cinderella Castle lighted up in the distance, it's quite the rush. All the bands, gospel choir and crowds along the way make the whole experience an adrenaline high.

I finished with 2:09:04, which puts me in the top 15% of my age group. And the benefit of not engaging in this madness until just three years ago is that pretty much every race produces a PR. Now I get to chase granddaughters around the Magic Kingdom.

Great job! That is not a course to PR on and that weather was far from ideal. Come run a race in Utah, where we run them straight, downhill, and in 40 (dry) degrees.

[Pheidippides]

So now that I'm on an actual computer and not on my phone, I have a lot to say about this race. First, some race observations on the Goofy particularly. There are about 6000 of us that sign up, give or take. Having the Goofy medal around the parks conveys a certain status. Half marathoners look at us with awe. Marathoners look at us with envy and resolve. And we look at each other knowingly with a sense of pride. We bow to nobody except the Perfectly Goofy people (and there's only a handful of them).

The reason I mention this is because of my experience after I finished. For reasons I will explain shortly, I ended up cheering on a lot of the late finishers in Epcot about 1/3 of a mile from the finish in street clothes with my medal around my neck.

Now, the dirty secret behind the Goofy is that a significant proportion of the Goofy finishers go super duper slow - mostly walking - on the marathon leg. This is not to detract from their achievement at all, btw - and especially not on a day like today, when it was probably in the 80s for a lot of their run - but to say that not a lot of people are trying to race it in the same way I was. As a result, a lot of the late finishers are Goofy runners.

As I was standing there cheering the finishers, it was amazing to see how many of them pointed at me and my medal and said something like, "That medal is mine!" or "Almost to my Goofy Medal" or something similar. Such is the power of fatigue and delirium, I suppose. They could smell it at that point.

One final word before I give my own race recap. I've mentioned my dad getting into running before. He's lost a bunch of weight and has done a few half marathons. When he signed up for this a year ago, he was going to do this as his first marathon, but then he decided he wasn't ready and decided to do the half instead. So he was signed up for both (but not as the Goofy). On Friday he decided he was going to do both - never having run more than 13 miles. He went super slow during the half, and then lined up for the full with the expectation that the sweepers would pick him up. Instead, six and a half hours brutally hot hours later, he finished his first marathon (and even talked his way into a Goofy medal, which he deserves).

The conditions were insanely difficult yesterday and having finished a long, slow marathon once myself, I have respect for anybody who finished past about 9:30 am yesterday, and even more so for my stubborn (a word my mom used a dozen times yesterday to describe him) dad. He understands the power of the marathon and does not fear it anymore - and like the rest of us he's looking inside himself, realizing he can do better, and getting ready to sign up for another. As he remarked yesterday, a marathon is not just twice the distance of a half; it's a completely different type of race altogether, a spiritual and emotional challenge in addition to a physical one, an event that has you staring yourself in the mind multiple times to see how much your mind really does control your body. I'm proud of him.

[Eddie]

I have a neighbor who ran distance in college and is a pretty good runner. I remember him remarking once how impressed he is with folks who finish a marathon in 5+ hours - saying he can't even begin to imagine running for that length of time.

Congrats to all of the Disney runners. Sounds like a good time was had by all.