Wednesday, April 23, 2014

WDW Marathon Weekend: I Registered For...

After much debate, I finally pulled the trigger and registered for the WDW marathon- my first full marathon! I spent a lot of hours talking it over with my hubby and slept on the idea before deciding. Even then, when I was registering, I stared at the "pay now" button on Active.com for a good 5 minutes before clicking it. And even after, I had a moment of "Oh my gosh! What did I just sign up for?"

Today is also my birthday and this WDW marathon trip is a birthday gift of sorts. :) While I'm sad I'm turning another year older, I'm excited for what the future has in store. Running a marathon has been on my bucket list for a while and I figured we should do it now while we're still DINKs (double income no kids) and have the time. With a baby it wouldn't be impossible, but it would be a lot harder to train/travel for the race. Kudos to all you running mamas out there! The thought of running for 5 hours still freaks me out, but I'm excited to take on the challenge.

My husband and I are debating whom is whom here...

Now that I've committed to the full, I'm starting to look at training plans. We've got about 37 weeks to go (yup, I counted) so I know I have time to build up to it. I usually like to run the full distance of the race I'm training for, just to know I can complete it, but for the full, I highly doubt I will. I'm thinking 22-24 miles max. 

I've never been to WDW, so it'll be exciting to run through all 4 parks!

As far as visiting WDW goes, I'm most excited to see Epcot. After running 26.2 miles, I can eat whatever I want, right?


Did you register for any of the races during the WDW Marathon Weekend? Do you have a favorite post-race place to eat?

11 comments:

  1. First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!!!

    Second, yes you can eat whatever you want after a marathon :0) I am so excited for you! Will your husband be running it with you as well, or cheering you on? I can't wait to follow along in your training!

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    1. Thanks! My husband will be running with me. :) When we had first talked about running the full, he had mentioned that he might want to run by himself because I like to take a lot of breaks and it's harder for him to run like that. Too much stoping and starting. But when we registered, he said he'd run with me. :)

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  2. Happy Birthday Kim!!! Congrats on your decision, I'm seeing a lot of people that signed up for their first full yesterday! Someday I will do the same. You are going to kill it!

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    1. Thanks for the support, Karen! I'm definitely nervous!

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  3. Happy Birthday! Look...you're going to get older anyway, might as well get the full in, right? It seems like a lot of people from my blogroll are doing the full this year. I wish I could swing it, but a trip out there just isn't in the budget now. Just follow your training plan and don't stress if you miss a run here and there. Build in some time to allow for the unexpected. It's just like training for a half, only with a few longer runs near the end. Good luck!

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    1. I'm going to have to keep reminding myself of that- "it's just like training for a half, only with a few longer runs near the end"- makes it seem less scary! :)

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  4. Happy birthday!

    Congrats on signing up for the full! I am sure you'll do great. I definitely agree not to run the full 26 prior to the event - it places a lot of wear on your body that's not necessary. I've run 10 marathons and I've never gone over 21 before in training. I recommend the Hal Higdon plans - I trained my friend for her first full (Disney has well!) using one of his plans (as a base with a few modifications for her). I'd be happy to share or answer any questions you have. Feel free to email me if you'd like - sarahrunsalot@yahoo.com. Either way, good luck! I'll see you there, I'm doing the half!

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    1. Thanks for the tips, Sarah! I will definitely check out Hal Higdon's plans! I'm sure I will have tons of questions. :) Can't wait to see you there!

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    2. No problem! Happy to help any way you need :)

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  5. Holy cow, how did I NOT know that we shared a birthday? Seriously! My birthday is April 23rd as well!

    Not only that, but I am ALSO running the FULL marathon at WDW Marathon weekend! Congrats! We are both taking the plunge! Are you and hubby running together or are you running this on your own? I'm going to be training as well and will be running this with a bunch of running friends. You can join us, though we might be a bit slower. We're running to complete, not for time.

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    1. April 23rd is a great day, huh?
      It's a little nerve-racking, but I'm excited to run the full! My hubby will be running with me, but we're definitely not running for time. Hopefully we can meet up before the race! :)

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