I love these guys...they are paler than I am and their arms are just as squishy as mine! This post is inspired by my friends who are also perhaps a little rougher on themselves than necessary saying they could never run. I never thought I could do this, either. And quite honestly, I can't wait to do it again! My time was pitiful at just under 4 hours, and so I can only get better from here, right?
My tips and tricks that helped me prepare in the months/weeks/days/hours before and also during the race itself.....
- Plan! Find a program and stick to it. I have heard great things about Marathoning for Mortals, even thought I haven't read the book, I've read about the authors on other sites. I used a lot of Jeff Galloway for this half. And ended up being very comfortable with a 1 min run:1 min walk plan.
- Experiment with the types of fuel that work best for you. I had to leave my house at 3-ish in the morning for the Princess Half, which meant finding a breakfast that was going to last a few hours. This same breakfast had to be easy on the digestive tract, because it's pretty common for runners to get butterflies/nervous tummies. After trial and error, I found my pre-race fuel was a peanut butter cliff bar with a banana and a half bottle of gatorade in the minivan on the ride to the race. After every few miles, I squeezed down a gu - my flavor of choice being strawberry banana. At the race, they offered a mocha product, and I was glad I brought my own energy supplement.
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I can't even begin to tell you how many people I saw struggling because they were afraid to drink because they were afraid to make restroom stops. Yes, you will lose time at the restroom....I stood in line for 10 minutes, but more importantly, you need your hydration. What worked for me was to get something to drink at each water stop. The first few tables would be powerade and the last few tables would be water. I would grab a powerade from one of the first volunteers and bend the mouth of the cup into a "V" and pour it into my mouth while moving. When done with the cup, the correct thing is to toss it aside, preferably under the table/off the track. I'd finish that drink and then grab a water cup from the last table and try to drink as much of that as possible using the same technique.
- It may be TMI, and very few people talk about it, but here's the scoop on using the restrooms. As I mentioned in my trip report, I had my menses during the run (boo!! hiss!!). This necessitated bringing along tampons in my spibelt. I also kept a baggie with a bunch of baby wipes and a small hand sanitizer in there (along with my cell phone and minivan key). I'm not sure if it was nerves or what, but as soon as I got to the race, before getting to my corral, I found a nice clean restroom and *ahem* took care of business. Starting the race with an empty bowel and bladder and knowing all girlie things had been taken care off, gave me less to worry about. Later, during the race, I stopped at another port-o-pottie and it was GROSS, but needed to be done. If I hadn't been menstruating, I could have made it through the whole race without stopping at the restroom. However, in the even that you do need to make a stop, I recommend getting all of your stuff together while standing in line. I pulled of my skirt, had my tampon and baggie of wipes out of my belt and was ready to get in and get out. I did my biz, then came out of the restroom to put my skirt back on and pull out my hand sanitizer for sanitizing on the road. Keeping in mind that for next year, there are real rest rooms at the Transportation and Ticket area and in the Magic Kingdom. I think I might try to run with a diva cup to in the event of mother nature playing mean tricks on me again next year.
- My final advice is to run your race. If you want to dress up silly or if you want to wear regular running clothes, that's up to you. If you want to take tons of pictures (I ran with my camera in my hand), or if you want to run straight through, that's up to you. You can run with a group, or plan to meet up at the finish. Don't worry about what every one else is doing. My seventh grade homeroom teacher said it best when she encouraged us all days before our first school dance - nobody will care what you are doing, because they are all too busy thinking about what they are doing.
I can honestly say that I felt so inspired and such a sense of camaraderie doing this race. Without further adieu, I present more recaps from the event...
In the Road to Tiarathon, a fellow Disboard runner posted a phenomenal race recap with great pictures. Way to go, Nancy - great trip report!
Here's a runner's you tube race report. Gotta warn you, I've watched it about a dozen times now and I cry every stinkin' time! It's such a great recap!
Here's another blogger's race report. She is too cute! And evidently, she's fast because it's still dark in some of her pictures.
I'm more of a recreational runner (read: slow runner). But this runner here, she's got some serious miles behind her!
Here are some you tube videos of the event, watch these while I go get some tissues...
A quick video - these were some of the top runners
Here's a longer video. You can see me around minute 7 stopping to take a picture of something.
Good luck everyone!
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