Wine and Dine Half Marathon 2014 Race Recap

It has been a long time since I have written a race recap and I think Wine and Dine is a great race to break the drought.

With a forecast of torrential downpours and chilly temps, I will admit I was nervous. Having said that, as soon as I got on the bus, the energy was electric. I jumped on the bus at 7 at Port Orleans French Quarter, and something about a bus full of adults dressed up as Disney characters just makes life all the more magical. When I arrived at the race start (at about 7:20) I lined up for a photo with Chef Mickey- I thought the lines were long when I arrived- but after 30 minutes in line for Mickey, all the lines had doubled in length so I decided to give Minnie, Goofy and Chip and Dale a miss. I hit the porta potties and then found myself a spot on the grass and enjoyed watching all the costumed runners walk past and managed to strike up some conversation with some very friendly fellow runners. Around 9pm I headed to my corral and that's when the rain started. At first it was just a light drizzle but it got progressively heavier as the start drew nearer. I was lucky enough to be given a garbage bag by a very friendly fellow runner (THANK YOU) and before I knew it I was walking up to the start line.

The start line- AMAZING ENERGY

When the fireworks went off I couldn't help but wipe away a tear- actually a few tears. Very joyous tears. I couldn't believe after months of training, years of dreaming and waaaay too much planning, I was in America, running one of my dream races. It was one of the best feelings I have ever had. In fact, I am tearing up a little just thinking about it. I had decided to run 4:1 intervals and stop at whatever photos stops took my fancy. I mean, what is the point in running Disney if you can't enjoy the characters and sights that make Disney special. Personally I felt like there was lots of character stops and sights to keep me interested, although some people did mention that they felt like there were less character stops than past years (potentially due to the rain).

Some of the characters out included: The Country Bears, Fairies, Timone, King Louie, Buzz and Woody, Captain Jack Sparrow, Star Wars Character, Green Army Men and also photo stops at the Osbourne lights, Animal Kingdom tree and an Incredibles back drop- I could be forgetting a couple but these are the ones that stick out in my head.

Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa

Buzz and Woody

Although it was very cold and rainy for the whole race, I had an awesome time. I enjoyed the course. I stopped for photos, I high fived cast members as I ran past, I had fun. SO MUCH FUN! I found the miles to tick past really quickly, as my intervals very comfortable and there was so much happening on course I barely had time to notice how far I had run. I actually distinctly remember feeling sad at the 6 mile mark because I knew it was almost half way over.

The course was well marked, there were heaps of volunteers and cast members out, the medical aid tents were well stocked and lots of water stops. I thought the course was great, as it started at ESPN, went through Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios before finishing in Epcot, so I felt like I had a really good tour around Disney property. 

Mile markers all along the course- of course I had to get a snapshot with Australia!

When I ran through the finish chute the volunteers were amazing. I was wrapped in a space blanket and handed my medal. It was a little crazy but that was to expect with 12,000 odd finishers. I slowly made my way down the finishers chute collecting my food before making my way to Epcot for the finishers party- and more on that to come soon!

The medal was very cool- a spinner with Mickey on one side and Spaceship Earth on the other, although I did hear (and see) a lot of horror stories with broken medals. Mine made it through the night and I did take it to the park on Sunday for photos, but I kept the medal in my pocket and only put in on for photos. I would have been devastated if it had broken, so I decided to play it safe and not wear it around at the parks.

Very happy runner with her medal! (and the support crew)

Did you run Wine and Dine? How did you find it?

Ash :)

runDisney Wine and Dine 2014 Expo

The Expo! What can I say? The day started off on a bad note with the New Balance virtual queue website crashing and no one being able to register for the limited edition runDisney New Balance shoes. After that nasty shock, I made the decision to head to the expo early as I was desperate to get my hands on those Cindy shoes! I arrived at approximately 8:15am and the expo opened early at about 9:30. The line moved very quickly and I was lucky enough to get 2 pairs of shoes (Cindy and Goofy) within about 5 minutes of the expo opening.

The Disney merchandise was quite good- I loved the purple Wine and Dine hoodie (although the material has started to go a bit 'bally' already) and I also picked up the grey Wine and Dine tech shirt, plus a couple of pins and a tumbler. I also got one of the I did it shirts, though I thought the colour was a bit ugly (bright/fluoro). I was in the expo quite early and although the merchandise area was a bit crazy, the line to pay moved super fast and I probably was at checkout for less than minute.

The general merchandise at the expo was excellent and I ended up with lots of excellent purchases including: Dr. Kool wraps, KT tape, visors and Bio Freeze.

I then went to packet pick up and I was very lucky as my line my nice and short. I probably waited about 10 minutes, then I headed back over to the merchandise area to pick up my shirt before going home. Some of the other lines were quite a bit longer though and I suspect they may have been waiting longer.

I found the expo to be really well organised and New Balance worked hard to move people through the shoe queue quickly. I didn't wait in line for over 10 minutes for anything and there was a great variety of vendors and lots of interesting products to look at. If I had to pick one negative it would be that the I did it shirt in the women's cut was such an ugly colour- although I am sure there are some people who love it- it just doesn't work for me personally.

Just a few of my expo goodies!

Ash  :)

One week until I leave for the USA and Wine and Dine and Avengers Half!

The countdown is on! Well the countdown has been on since registration, but it is so close now I can practically taste it. Because we are coming over from Australia, we arrive at WDW on the Monday and stay until the Wednesday after Wine and Dine, before travelling across to Disney Land for the Avengers Half. This means 9 more sleeps until we leave for the trip! To say I am excited is a massive understatement.

I haven't raced in a long time, and Wine and Dine is part redemption, part birthday fun and part bucket load of excitement. I have been to WDW once before but only for a day, so going this time with a Premier Passport will give me a lot more freedom to explore the parks. Wine and Dine falls on my birthday so I am hoping to squeeze in a couple of fun birthday activities- and if you see me on course please stop and say hello (and happy birthday!) :) 

I was fortunate enough to have Avengers fall the weekend after Wine and Dine which has allowed me to a) extend my holiday a little b) earn my coast to coast and c) have double as much runDisney fun in one holiday!

I am super excited to see if this round of intense training has paid off, and looking forward to just having fun. I live in remote Australia as a teacher and haven't seen my partner in 15 weeks (as he stayed in Melbourne for his work), so a big part of me is excited for the holiday just because it will be with him. 

Second last hard run before I leave for America! YAYYAYAYA! :) 

Any tips for touring the parks while on a runcation?

Ash :) 

Week 16 of Dopey Challenge and the big scary 17 miler!

Well. 17 miles (27.2 km for us metric peeps). If I had to choose one word to sum it up, it would probably be SOUL-CRUSHING, I am pretty sure if I use a hyphen it only counts as one word.

Maybe not soul crushing, but enough to make me feel like I am not good enough. I am not a natural runner, and after a bad long run, a seed of doubt begins to flower in my head. Not a beautiful flower either, an ugly 'YOU ARE TOO SLOW AND RUBBISH FOR A MARATHON'  flower. That is a bad flower. So I was feeling a bit deflated after my run, but talking to my running group buddies, this is not an uncommon feeling. So I think even though I am allowed to feel a bit disappointed that it didn't go as planned, the important things are to learn some lessons and not make those mistakes again! Here is a bit of break down of the run.

Kilometer 0-13.5 I was feeling awesome. Better than awesome. I was sure I was positively going to dominate this run.

Kilometer 13.5-21 Maybe not awesome, but still feeling pretty damn good. I was feeling strong and happy and glad to be out running.

Kilometer 21-24 Still feeling pretty good, and thinking that this 24 kilometers felt a lot easier than last fortnight's long run of 24 kilometers.

Kilometer 24-27.2 The wheels fell off. I could barely lift my feet. They were aching and I was hot, thirsty and hungry. It didn't matter how much water I drank I was still thirsty and I felt like it was never going to finish. But then it did. So, yay me!

Although it's easy to whinge about about a rubbish run, I am hoping I can take a few things away from this.

1) I need to run earlier. Even though I started at 5am, where I live it is just too hot to still be running after 8, so now I am doing longer runs I might need to start at 4am. Even though 4am is gross.

2) I need to work out my fuelling strategies. Just because 1 packet of chews works in a half marathon, doesn't mean it will carry me over 28km. Take more chews/gels/something to keep me fuelled the whole way.

3) Try wearing compression socks on a long run and see if it helps with the aching feet.

4) Be happy that I completed my long run. Not every long run can be awesome, and if they all were, everyone would do it and there would be no glory in a marathon.

Any tips on how to pick myself back up after a crappy long run?

Ash :)

Week 14 of Dopey Training

Back to back no. 2 done! With a 10.5 km run walk on Friday (1:2) and a 24km run walk (1:1) on Saturday, it is fair to say I am starting to see what Dopey is all about. I was lucky enough to be on holidays in Darwin this week, so I had some new scenery to enjoy on my long runs, which definitely made it easier!

Some amazing views from this weeks long run.

I was feeling pretty good in my 24 km, aside from some nasty arch pain in my right foot. Although probably not the smartest idea, I was too stubborn to stop so I just kept pushing through. The past couple of days have been filled with icing, anti inflams and rolling on my beloved spikey ball. I am hoping an additional rest day and my smart recovery strategies will have it feeling strong again in no time. Having said that, I am hoping it is not something more serious because I have trained too hard to quit now!

The run walk method made the km's tick by quickly, and aside from the 89% humidity, I actually really enjoyed my runs. They give me such a feeling of accomplishment and I really enjoy the alone time just to think. I feel like the 10km the previous day didn't have much an influence on how I felt running the 24km, but I didn't feel like I could have run a marathon a day after the 24km. Right now all my training has felt pretty bearable, but I am preparing for a few tough runs in the coming months of training. Seeing numbers like 32, 36 and 42km training runs is really scary.

Do you have any advice for arch pain? How do you cope with injury in a training cycle?

Ash :)

Dopey Training Update- First back to back run weekend!

This past weekend was a momentous one, my FIRST BACK TO BACK training weekend for Dopey. The plan called for 4 miles on Saturday and then the big 13 on Sunday. While slogging away on Sunday, a thought crossed my mind. While looking at my training plan, I always look at the big picture. In that regard, this weekend's past back to back run was nothing. I mean, nothing! I need to double these distances just to get an idea of the epicness that is the Dopey Challenge. But then I had an epiphany!

I almost ran the equivalent to Dumbo Double Dare, or Glass Slipper (runDisney challenge races which involve 10k and half on Saturday and Sunday) this weekend! That is awesome! Just because this weekend's runs were small in the big picture, they are still big achievements. It is pretty easy to get caught up and always look to the next week, and bigger run, but sometimes its fun to stop and enjoy an accomplishment, even if it is just a step to towards the bigger picture.

It was running gear central at my house on Saturday night!
It meant I was up on Sunday at 5:15am, ready to go!

As for my run, the mental game begins now. I have never ran 13 miles for 'training' in my life, normally this past weekend would have been race time. Physically I know I can keep running, but mentally it is really hard to see numbers like 15, 17 and 20 followed by the words miles on a training plan. Swap the miles for km, and sure no problem! And this weekend was also the beginning of more back to back runs, but hey- if I did this weekend, I am sure I can do a few more!

A very happy camper with 13 miles in the books!

How is your training going? Do you have a big race coming up?

Ash :)

10km PR :)

After some strong and consistent training runs for Dopey (it's amazing how a good goal can motivate you), I found myself thinking about a 10km PR attempt. Where I live, official racing is not an option (8hr drive to the nearest town that would hold a race), so I thought, how about a fake 10km race? Obviously not an official PR, but a nice way to see how my running has come along since I started an official training program, and a program where I have not missed one session since I began.

I needed to beat 1:17:52, which I had run using 2:1 Galloway intervals. Since experimenting with a variety of different run:walk strategies, I have actually found 45sec:30sec to produce some of my speediest runs. I set out with my 45:30 intervals beeping away, and wanted to run a strong and safe 'race'. As I settled into a rhythm, I was feeling good, really good, so I ran the last 750m with no walk breaks. As I ticked over to 10km, I looked down to see a very happy sight. 1:14:23. I know this is no world record pace, but I have been trying to break 1:15:00 for a long time, and to achieve that in a non official 'race' was awesome.

Since beginning (and sticking with) my Dopey training, I have been slowly improving. As a non-runner for most of my life, it has been really satisfying to break out of the 'I can't run/I'm not a real runner' mentality and push myself. Even though I want to continue pushing myself, little achievements like this are what keeps me heading back out 4 times a week.

Without any official races, medals are off the table, but a well timed
online delivery makes for an excellent PR reward! 

My new goal is under 1:10!

When was your last PR?

Ash :)