Racing Disney: Undertraining-A Cautionary Tale by Guest Blogger Addie Clark
Hey there Main Streeters! Today, I want to tell you a cautionary tale. After the WDW marathon weekend (congratulations to all participants, btw), I saw a lot of people in the TMSM Fan Nation on FB express interest in one day participating, but not being “runners”. And I saw a lot of people encouraging them to simply walk the races. Now, even though the RunDisney races ARE walker friendly (don’t get me wrong, I plan on walking part of the races), I don’t want anyone to have unrealistic expectations. And so I present to you: Undertraining – A Cautionary Tale.
Addie at the Miracle Match Marathon Waco 1/24/15
The date was November 30, 2014 and I was about to run my first half marathon. Up to that point, I’d only been racing 10Ks but I had done one 13 mile training run…back in August. But a 10K is just slightly less than half of a half marathon, I thought. I can do two back to back 10Ks and then a little more. How hard could it be? I was nervous before the start, but I figured it was just because this was my first half…I decided to ignore the nagging voice telling me that I wasn’t prepared. However, about halfway through, I discovered that little voice had been right. I was severely under-trained. By the time I had finished the 10K distance, my body was ready to quit and I had to walk the last half of the course. I hadn’t been prepared at all and was among the last to cross the finish line…which had already begun to be broken down. It was disheartening. I wished I had trained more and worried that if I had been at Disney, I might have been swept from the course. Which would have cost me my much sought after bling.
Now, please don’t let this cautionary tale discourage you from running an event at Disneyland or Walt Disney World. Instead, use it as motivation. Here are a few fun reminders:
- There are training programs for EVERY event on the RunDisney website. Even if you just want to walk the half marathon, use it to make sure your body is prepared to walk 13.1 miles. It is a lot further than you think it is.
- Make sure you train at at least a 16 min/mile pace. Jeff Galloway, the official runDisney trainer who makes the above mentioned training plans, suggests 15 min/mile to ensure you don’t get swept in case you want to stop for anything.
- Don’t stress if you miss a couple training sessions, but make sure you are making time to get as many in as you can, especially as the race approaches. You’ve made the monetary commitment. Make the mental commitment as well.
- Don’t forget to have fun. You are in Disney after all.
Until next time Main Streeters – happy running!
TMSM is very excited to publish the first in a series of runDisney articles by Addie Clark. Please keep an eye out for more of Addie’s articles as she prepares for her upcoming race! If you missed the first articles in Addie’s series make sure you catch up on them by visiting www.themainstreetmouse.com/tag/addie/
Images in article are from runDisney and Addie’s personal FB page that Aut raided.
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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