Official Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend - The Dark Side 2017

[mbwhitti]

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

 

[ejcraft]

in a bit of panics mode her myself, running my first half for this one along with my son and was supposed to be my sister , but she is going in for surgery on her knee in 2 days, haven't run at all this week due to weather and being sick, have managed to get to 8miles, but this coming week isnt going to help as we are supposed to get a major snow storm on tuesday. And i'm not sure how much running my son has done. I know he can run a 10k , but a little concerned he hasnt pushed for the longer distances. oh well we'll continue to train when we can and what happens happens.

 

[croach]

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

That's awesome. Congrats!

 

[drummerwife]

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

Congratulations!!! Way to knock it out of the ballpark!

 

[lovingeire]

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

Awesome! Congrats!!!!

 

[Bulldogmommy]

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

Congrats! That's amazing! Today I ran a half marathon relay with my buddy... I PR'd a mile, 5k and 10K... I was beyond excited. However, Disney is not the place I plan on getting anywhere near a PR, I want to enjoy the route, characters, etc. We are super excited now that our last race wknd is done before Dark Side Wknd!! Still dying to see a route!!!

 

[FFigawi]

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

Congrats!

 

[cavepig]

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

Congrats, amazing run!

 

[mbwhitti]

Congrats! That's amazing! Today I ran a half marathon relay with my buddy... I PR'd a mile, 5k and 10K... I was beyond excited. However, Disney is not the place I plan on getting anywhere near a PR, I want to enjoy the route, characters, etc. We are super excited now that our last race wknd is done before Dark Side Wknd!! Still dying to see a route!!!

Seems to have been a good running day!!

Thanks everyone for your congratulations! I'm still in shock!!

 

[opusone]

I feel like I'd put a guess in for waiver/event guide day, my guess in the 31st, 3 weeks before. What's everyone else's thinking? The last few weekends have been 3 weeks out I think.

I agree that it will be about 3 weeks before, so I'll go with the 29th (a Wednesday, just like last year).

You guys!! I got my PR AND a sub 2!! 1:57:30... I almost cried. I'm still in shock. Had to share with my running peeps bc many of my friends just don't get it!

Awesome job!!!! Congratulations!

 

[PrincessV]

As both of these races start near the TTC and end at Epcot, do you think we will have to park at Epcot and be bussed/monorailed over to the TTC to start, or will we have to park in TTC and then take the bus/monorail back to the car at the end? What do you all think?

I think parking will be at EP with a shuttle to TTC for the start. EP's lot is the biggest on property and is well tested for handling this kind of situation. I really want to believe that they learned from last year's parking fiasco and will go with tried & true this time, lol!

 

[Bulldogmommy]

I think parking will be at EP with a shuttle to TTC for the start. EP's lot is the biggest on property and is well tested for handling this kind of situation. I really want to believe that they learned from last year's parking fiasco and will go with tried & true this time, lol!

This would be great news for us, would love to park our rental at the finish so we can jump in and head to port canaveral to board our ship avoiding having to go back to the resort! Thanks for that information!

 

[cavepig]

Anyone else see the one month till Star Wars Celebration pic Star Wars put up on social media, I was like oh cool wait.... that's not us..duh! oops, but it was a cool photo!

Thanks everyone for your congratulations! I'm still in shock!!

Did you also think "oh boy, corral move up for Disney Races"!

 

[Tasmen]

I cannot believe we are so close to the date. I am not nearly as prepared as I would have liked. This winter weather has really messed with my training more than I expected.

 

[mbwhitti]

Did you also think "oh boy, corral move up for Disney Races"!

Oh, FOR SURE!! Need to update my POT for Marathon weekend now! Woo!

 

[LSLS]

I cannot believe we are so close to the date. I am not nearly as prepared as I would have liked. This winter weather has really messed with my training more than I expected.

I'm in the same boat. Between that and some bad injuries, I haven't gone more than 5 miles yet (though that felt fine and I did an exercise class right after). I'm hoping the crosstraining I've done (lots of HIIT) will help me through it. Hopefully over the weekend I can get some more in (I HATE cold running too, but I'm at a point I really need to just power through that), and I can put in some long ones as it warms up.

 

[Tasmen]

I'm in the same boat. Between that and some bad injuries, I haven't gone more than 5 miles yet (though that felt fine and I did an exercise class right after). I'm hoping the crosstraining I've done (lots of HIIT) will help me through it. Hopefully over the weekend I can get some more in (I HATE cold running too, but I'm at a point I really need to just power through that), and I can put in some long ones as it warms up.

The most I've done is 6. A friend told if I can do 6 and keep a consistent pace the whole time (which I did), I can do the 13.1. I want to believe her but skepticism is starting to win out. The fear is real, y'all.

 

[Bulldogmommy]

The most I've done is 6. A friend told if I can do 6 and keep a consistent pace the whole time (which I did), I can do the 13.1. I want to believe her but skepticism is starting to win out. The fear is real, y'all.

Here's the deal, while I would argue that a 6 miler is not nearly enough for a long run before a half (you should be "peaking" at 10 or so) with a higher weekly total of miles, what is your goal really at Disney? Do you plan on stopping for character shots, pics at the mile markers in the parks, etc.??? If so, your goals may be very different for Disney... Me personally, I would never pick a Disney event to PR, I'll save that for at home with my usual scenery, where I will rest better at home, be on the same time zone, etc... But again, everyone is different. So set your goals accordingly to the training and the time you have invested, it will surely minimize any unrealistic goals or pressure! and enjoy!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

The most I've done is 6. A friend told if I can do 6 and keep a consistent pace the whole time (which I did), I can do the 13.1. I want to believe her but skepticism is starting to win out. The fear is real, y'all.

The reasoning behind the long run extending by 1.5 miles every two weeks is that it allows you to build up your endurance beyond what you previously ran while also helping minimize injury risk. The shorter runs during the week are "maintenance" runs. They allow you to keep maintain your most recent long distance.

So while it may be possible to cap at 6 miles and still finish on race day, that may not equate to a more enjoyable experience come race day itself. You will be much better prepared and probably enjoy race day substantially more if you have run closer to the actual race distance in the weeks leading up to race day. In 2011 and 2012, I slacked off on the weekend runs for about 6 weeks. In order to get the distance in, I had to cut the short weekend runs out altogether and increase each long run by 1.5 miles every week to get the long runs in a still have a taper period. This worked, though I enjoy running a lot more if I have a "short" run built in.

If you were to run long runs of 7.5 miles on the 18th, 9 miles on the 25th, 10.5 miles on the 1st, and 12 miles on the 9th, you would be right on target for 13.1 miles come race day. While this may not be ideal, it's probably a better option than sticking with 6 miles and hoping it's good enough. In my experience, at least part of the benefit from the long runs is learning to push through when you're tired and being better prepared for the distance itself.

Again, each runner is different so what I outlined may not work for another, but I firmly believe that you will feel much better about successfully finishing if you have already come at least close to the required distance and will probably enjoy the whole experience more if you are better prepared.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Well, no run for me today. The big winter storm that's heading towards the East Coast hit us today. It's hard to measure how much we got since it's been blowing around, but it's probably close to a foot (more than we've gotten in any other snowfall this winter). And there may still be more lake effect snow coming. Roads were absolutely treacherous this morning and I am so glad to have made it to work in one piece. So tonight I am just taking it easy.

Good thing it's supposed to warm up mid-week to hopefully keep things from getting too frozen, since I have a St. Patrick's Day 7K on Saturday. And the Dark Side races are creeping up on us so quickly, and I need to get back outside for some longer runs.