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Thank heavens on that steep one. It was a lung buster. I felt like I may have been able to walk faster by the time I reached the top. But I just kept trying to put in the same effort level throughout the run. My struggle right now is if it was the right effort level. It’s been a while since I’ve ran marathon pace so I approached it as a pace that felt like I was putting in some effort but could keep that effort for hours. As opposed to my easy pace which I generally approach as absolute minimal effort.
The bolded is the important part when dealing with these steep rolling hills. Ignore the pace and "feel" the run. You'll learn after doing it over and over what is an acceptable pace when doing hills that are similar to what you'll encounter on race day. You want to be able to finish the hill and then just continue on at that same effort level during a steady state tempo. If you can't continue on, then you know you put too much effort in, and try to back off the next training run of a similar type.
After lurking for a while, I wanted to jump in here to ask for some advice from this group.
I have registered for my first WDW half marathon in 2025. Primarily to get a POT for January, but also as a trial run, I registered for a half up here in MA that is in 4 weeks (which would be my first ever race longer than a 5K).
My first 8 or so weeks of training were going great, long runs were up to 11 miles at a pace I was pretty happy with (9:30), until I hit an injury wall 4 weeks ago. Pain back of leg behind knee/hamstring area.
I took some time off, had some fine treadmill maintenance runs this week and set out on a long run outside today and the pain set in by mile 3. So frustrated.
Even if I ultimately fail, I don't want to drop out of the May race before trying, so the question is how to manage these last 4 weeks. Do I rinse and repeat with a week or so off, then try a few easy runs before trying a long one again? Do I take a longer time off and just go into the race having never run more than 11 miles?
Any advice for a 51 yr. old guy without a lot of distance running experience to fall back on?
Have you thought about going to a PT (specifically one that is very familiar with runners)?
Editing to add- I think my longest training distance for a half marathon is around 11 miles. Sounds like you’ve already hit a good distance for your long runs.
Have you thought about going to a PT (specifically one that is very familiar with runners)?
Editing to add- I think my longest training distance for a half marathon is around 11 miles. Sounds like you’ve already hit a good distance for your long runs.
After lurking for a while, I wanted to jump in here to ask for some advice from this group.
I have registered for my first WDW half marathon in 2025. Primarily to get a POT for January, but also as a trial run, I registered for a half up here in MA that is in 4 weeks (which would be my first ever race longer than a 5K).
My first 8 or so weeks of training were going great, long runs were up to 11 miles at a pace I was pretty happy with (9:30), until I hit an injury wall 4 weeks ago. Pain back of leg behind knee/hamstring area.
I took some time off, had some fine treadmill maintenance runs this week and set out on a long run outside today and the pain set in by mile 3. So frustrated.
Even if I ultimately fail, I don't want to drop out of the May race before trying, so the question is how to manage these last 4 weeks. Do I rinse and repeat with a week or so off, then try a few easy runs before trying a long one again? Do I take a longer time off and just go into the race having never run more than 11 miles?
Any advice for a 51 yr. old guy without a lot of distance running experience to fall back on?
I second @Sara W. My rule is if a lingering issue lasts longer than 2 weeks, then it's probably time to seek a professional opinion about it. But not being able to do 3 miles without pain is concerning with four weeks to go. I've found sometimes issues linger for a while, then I seek medical professional help, and they can go away/improve a lot quicker than if I hadn't.
Having done 11 miles (104 min at your pace) as your longest run is plenty for a HM, so I wouldn't worry about that. The training you do is more about the cumulative of the sum than any one particular run.
Do you have any idea what the root cause was? You were dong 9:30 min/mile on the long runs, was that an appropriate pace for your fitness level? Depending on the training plan, you would probably want to be a 24 min 5k (7:42 min/mile) runner using a continuous run style training plan or a 19:30 min 5k (6:18 min/mile) using a run/walk style training plan. Is that around your current 5k fitness level (injury not withstanding)?
The projected 2025 WDW HM cutoffs for corrals is around a 2:00 for A, 2:15 for B, and 2:30 for C (unofficially but best guesses at the moment). So consider whether you and your medical professional can decide whether you can minimally hit the 2:30 (11:27 min/mile) mark safely and without increased risk of injury when pursuing the May HM. If so, then about 25% of the field will be seeded with you in a POT corral of 2:30 or better (A-C). About 35-40% of the field will likely be seeded in the first non-POT corral based on historical data. So even minimally hitting the 11:27 min/mile threshold is beneficial even if it isn't as good as you could have done in a completely healthy state. There's a difference between being in Corral A, B or C, but minimally between the three than compared to being in Corral D or later when it comes to the field distribution. ***All of this corral information is subject to change as runDisney changes these things year to year.***
I second @Sara W. My rule is if a lingering issue lasts longer than 2 weeks, then it's probably time to seek a professional opinion about it. But not being able to do 3 miles without pain is concerning with four weeks to go. I've found sometimes issues linger for a while, then I seek medical professional help, and they can go away/improve a lot quicker than if I hadn't.
Having done 11 miles (104 min at your pace) as your longest run is plenty for a HM, so I wouldn't worry about that. The training you do is more about the cumulative of the sum than any one particular run.
Do you have any idea what the root cause was? You were dong 9:30 min/mile on the long runs, was that an appropriate pace for your fitness level? Depending on the training plan, you would probably want to be a 24 min 5k (7:42 min/mile) runner using a continuous run style training plan or a 19:30 min 5k (6:18 min/mile) using a run/walk style training plan. Is that around your current 5k fitness level (injury not withstanding)?
The projected 2025 WDW HM cutoffs for corrals is around a 2:00 for A, 2:15 for B, and 2:30 for C (unofficially but best guesses at the moment). So consider whether you and your medical professional can decide whether you can minimally hit the 2:30 (11:27 min/mile) mark safely and without increased risk of injury when pursuing the May HM. If so, then about 25% of the field will be seeded with you in a POT corral of 2:30 or better (A-C). About 35-40% of the field will likely be seeded in the first non-POT corral based on historical data. So even minimally hitting the 11:27 min/mile threshold is beneficial even if it isn't as good as you could have done in a completely healthy state. There's a difference between being in Corral A, B or C, but minimally between the three than compared to being in Corral D or later when it comes to the field distribution. ***All of this corral information is subject to change as runDisney changes these things year to year.***
Thank you, this is helpful. Sounds like it is time to seek some further med advice.
I'm sure that the root cause at some level was pushing too hard, too fast - but there wasn't an ah-ha moment where something popped. Prior to starting this training - I guess it was the beginning of February - I was just a plod along on the treadmill for 5 or so miles 4x a week guy for years. My son, an actual runner, called me a hobby jogger. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the speed - I think it must have generally been in the high 8 minute range. When I shifted into training and added an outdoor longer run once a week, I just ran at what felt comfortable (initially in the low 10s and speed crept up along with distance). For the long runs I was generally doing continuous run style for the first half + last mile and r/w/r for the balance at a 3:00/:30 cadence (and I didn't see much drop off in the splits during the r/w/r segments, so I guess the running part was faster than when I was continuous).
As you noted - the goal really was to get into Corral B or C. When I started the training, I thought that the cutoff was going to be 2:15, so staying under that was my goal - and frankly it seemed like it would be easy to do 4 weeks ago! Trying to keep in mind that 2:29 will achieve the actual goal I set out for.
@jmasgat Maura, sorry about your fur baby. Grief is hard, but I am sure you made the right decision. You were blessed to have 18 years with that precious one!
Edit: Result is showing now. Not sure what caused this whole bizarre removal. But I got it back and officially set for Grandmas.
Don’t mind me need to vent to people who’ll get it. Did a half marathon this morning. Not quiet the time I was hoping for but coming off of a flare and fastest half in 9 years I’ll take it.
And I would be in a good mood if for some reason mine, a friends, and two other people in our division have now mysteriously disappeared from the results.
(No this isn’t a matter of only showing top 3. There was four in the female division. Now it’s just showing two).
I probably wouldn’t even care beyond being mildly annoyed if it wasn’t for the fact I need this time by May 1st for seeding purposes for Grandmas. And it was showing in the results. Until we got removed for some reason
I’m guessing someone did something they weren’t supposed too and this isn’t actually out of malice. But I really hate that I now have this whole set of stress and having to rely on runsign up to get back to me so I don’t have to submit a time that is over 30 minutes longer
Pretty rough. Hurt my hamstrings 2 weeks before Chicago 22 and they didn't fully recover by NYC 23 and so worsened them. I usually only do one big race a year but signed up for C2C having no idea how injured I'd be. Half of a Half at WDW was a blessing for me and I limped through Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare. I had finally started PT but was too aggressive needing to back off. So my Boston training block was very abbreviated and LOW mpw. A large puppy jumped on my back during a run just as the training really was starting off and I had a few major injuries from the fall but continued on. Of course I ramped mpw too quickly and ended up with a foot problem. I was concerned it was a stress fracture so took even more time off but it ended up not (luckily!) so slowly trained again with a very bandaged foot and help from @DopeyBadger .
Flight:
Met lots of cool runners on my flight including one that ran my races: boston (virtual) 20, boston 21, Chicago 22, NYC 23, Boston 24 ... was solo this flight but had fun in the North End. DH took a red eye and we met after my shake out run.
Pre-Race:
Got to Boston Commons later than I wanted (as usual). DH insisted on walking me which was fortuitous because I didn't realize gear check was outside Boston Commons so he had to do it for me otherwise I'd be so late! The line for buses was disorganized and every time I thought I got to the end of a line someone screamed at me to move further back. Eventually I was at the very end which happened to be next to an empty bus and got on immediately. I sat at the front so was privy to radio comm where some buses were forced off the wrong exit by an ill informed state trooper. Felt terrible for everyone including the drivers who had no idea where to go.
Athletes Village porta-potty lines were insane. By the time I got to the front it was time to head to the corrals. I barely made it! The sun was beating down and I was happy to use the free provided sunscreen
.
Race:
Tried to take it easy but went slightly faster than I wanted. I had to keep reminding myself to run MY race and not get taken in by faster runners. I was very nervous about the hamstring and foot so just took it slow and listened to my body. Saw Spencer the Dog area with lots of people and a statue and it was emotional for me since I saw him in '21. He was a good dog.
Crowds were great and there were lots of hi fiving. Last time I saw lots of racers cramping at mile 8, but nothing this time. Wellesley scream tunnel was fun but saw (male) runners eating pavement trying to ham it up there.
A running club I'm part of came to support a different member but also cheered me on. They were a welcome surprise at mile 20. I climbed up a hill but kept some energy in the bank for Heartbreak Hill later and mentally prepared for it Then I saw a large sign that said Heartbreak Hill Summit. I guess I already did it!
Usually Heartbreak Hill has lots of Boston College energy and Brookline is emptier but this time the opposite was true. Around here my legs felt a bit off and I was afraid I was gonna start cramping so I slowed down a lot and started to hi five everyone. The crowds were really pumped and I nearly fell over with the strength of their hi fives.
It was a sunny race and I got water at every stop and even poured water on my back (never did this before) and it kept me comfortable. But the last few water stops were painful as many were walking through them so it was almost impossible to keep running and grab water simultaneously.
***trigger warning***
The last few miles I was running with a lady who kept drifting into me even though the field had thinned out considerably. Finally I decided to give her a wide berth and saw she had unfortunately had terrible runners diarrhea. It was very obvious and everywhere and but she was determined to get to the finish line. I think that's why she kept drifting into me.
***over***
This caused me to change course and quicken my pace at the finish line. Right on Heresford, left on Boylston ... let the crowds roar bring you in! Arms up and big smile!
Somehow I even BQ'd despite how much slowing I did at the end!
Post Race:
Surprised how far we had to walk for fluids, but I think they wanted us away from the finisher's chute. I was pretty thirsty! I was actually not very sore and walked around Newbury. Bostonians were so kind and friendly!
Pretty rough. Hurt my hamstrings 2 weeks before Chicago 22 and they didn't fully recover by NYC 23 and so worsened them. I usually only do one big race a year but signed up for C2C having no idea how injured I'd be. Half of a Half at WDW was a blessing for me and I limped through Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare. I had finally started PT but was too aggressive needing to back off. So my Boston training block was very abbreviated and LOW mpw. A large puppy jumped on my back during a run just as the training really was starting off and I had a few major injuries from the fall but continued on. Of course I ramped mpw too quickly and ended up with a foot problem. I was concerned it was a stress fracture so took even more time off but it ended up not (luckily!) so slowly trained again with a very bandaged foot and help from @DopeyBadger .
Flight:
Met lots of cool runners on my flight including one that ran my races: boston (virtual) 20, boston 21, Chicago 22, NYC 23, Boston 24 ... was solo this flight but had fun in the North End. DH took a red eye and we met after my shake out run.
Pre-Race:
Got to Boston Commons later than I wanted (as usual). DH insisted on walking me which was fortuitous because I didn't realize gear check was outside Boston Commons so he had to do it for me otherwise I'd be so late! The line for buses was disorganized and every time I thought I got to the end of a line someone screamed at me to move further back. Eventually I was at the very end which happened to be next to an empty bus and got on immediately. I sat at the front so was privy to radio comm where some buses were forced off the wrong exit by an ill informed state trooper. Felt terrible for everyone including the drivers who had no idea where to go.
Athletes Village porta-potty lines were insane. By the time I got to the front it was time to head to the corrals. I barely made it! The sun was beating down and I was happy to use the free provided sunscreen
.
Race:
Tried to take it easy but went slightly faster than I wanted. I had to keep reminding myself to run MY race and not get taken in by faster runners. I was very nervous about the hamstring and foot so just took it slow and listened to my body. Saw Spencer the Dog area with lots of people and a statue and it was emotional for me since I saw him in '21. He was a good dog.
Crowds were great and there were lots of hi fiving. Last time I saw lots of racers cramping at mile 8, but nothing this time. Wellesley scream tunnel was fun but saw (male) runners eating pavement trying to ham it up there.
A running club I'm part of came to support a different member but also cheered me on. They were a welcome surprise at mile 20. I climbed up a hill but kept some energy in the bank for Heartbreak Hill later and mentally prepared for it Then I saw a large sign that said Heartbreak Hill Summit. I guess I already did it!
Usually Heartbreak Hill has lots of Boston College energy and Brookline is emptier but this time the opposite was true. Around here my legs felt a bit off and I was afraid I was gonna start cramping so I slowed down a lot and started to hi five everyone. The crowds were really pumped and I nearly fell over with the strength of their hi fives.
It was a sunny race and I got water at every stop and even poured water on my back (never did this before) and it kept me comfortable. But the last few water stops were painful as many were walking through them so it was almost impossible to keep running and grab water simultaneously.
***trigger warning***
The last few miles I was running with a lady who kept drifting into me even though the field had thinned out considerably. Finally I decided to give her a wide berth and saw she had unfortunately had terrible runners diarrhea. It was very obvious and everywhere and but she was determined to get to the finish line. I think that's why she kept drifting into me.
***over***
This caused me to change course and quicken my pace at the finish line. Right on Heresford, left on Boylston ... let the crowds roar bring you in! Arms up and big smile!
Somehow I even BQ'd despite how much slowing I did at the end!
Post Race:
Surprised how far we had to walk for fluids, but I think they wanted us away from the finisher's chute. I was pretty thirsty! I was actually not very sore and walked around Newbury. Bostonians were so kind and friendly!
@dis_or_dat BQ'ing at Boston is very efficient and impressive! (She says a little self-consciously cause I did that once, too) Bummed that I missed you at the finish. As for the lady....let's just say she had company, judging by the people walking past our bus.
Just returning to normal having done London Marathon a couple of days ago.
First marathon was a bit bittersweet. Completed in 4.36:23 which I'm happy/content with. Right hamstring cramped/pulled big time at mile 15/16 which is well before I've had any issued in my training runs, and I was on for around a 3.53 at this point. Plenty of run/walking followed and at one point genuinely thought I was heading towards 5 hours, but the adrenaline kicked in again and managed to salvage a semi-respectable time for my first marathon (being overly critical of myself here).
On to MW 2025 for my next, and to desperately hope I get into London or Berlin next years.
Lessons learnt: Don't skimp on the strength training!! I completed almost all of the running on my plan for a sub 4 marathon. However, a couple of weeks before I think I realised that I hadn't done enough of the strength training, which I paid for on the day, due to a lack to endurance/stength in the muscles leading to early cramp etc. Still, at least this time gives me something to work towards achieving a PB next time (subject to getting in).
@ukplymshaun Congrats finishing your first marathon! It's a distance that always throws up surprises. You never know quite what the weather, course, nutrition, body will deliver on any given day. Hope your recovery goes well.
The participants for Iron Man Texas have started to arrive in town. Lots of them will train on the waterway I work on and where I do my lunch time runs. Every year FOMO kicks in when I see them training. I do believe I am going to stick my feet in the water by doing a speed triathlon. My friend has been trying to talk me into doing Iron Man. So I think the speed triathlon will be a test to see if I really want to continue down that path.
@dis_or_dat Fabulous race report. I am curious was the bus and portopotty situation worse this year than in past years? That is awsome that you were able to BQ at boston. i knew you had some injuries so i was not sure how training was going.
Pretty rough. Hurt my hamstrings 2 weeks before Chicago 22 and they didn't fully recover by NYC 23 and so worsened them. I usually only do one big race a year but signed up for C2C having no idea how injured I'd be. Half of a Half at WDW was a blessing for me and I limped through Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare. I had finally started PT but was too aggressive needing to back off. So my Boston training block was very abbreviated and LOW mpw. A large puppy jumped on my back during a run just as the training really was starting off and I had a few major injuries from the fall but continued on. Of course I ramped mpw too quickly and ended up with a foot problem. I was concerned it was a stress fracture so took even more time off but it ended up not (luckily!) so slowly trained again with a very bandaged foot and help from @DopeyBadger .
Flight:
Met lots of cool runners on my flight including one that ran my races: boston (virtual) 20, boston 21, Chicago 22, NYC 23, Boston 24 ... was solo this flight but had fun in the North End. DH took a red eye and we met after my shake out run.
Pre-Race:
Got to Boston Commons later than I wanted (as usual). DH insisted on walking me which was fortuitous because I didn't realize gear check was outside Boston Commons so he had to do it for me otherwise I'd be so late! The line for buses was disorganized and every time I thought I got to the end of a line someone screamed at me to move further back. Eventually I was at the very end which happened to be next to an empty bus and got on immediately. I sat at the front so was privy to radio comm where some buses were forced off the wrong exit by an ill informed state trooper. Felt terrible for everyone including the drivers who had no idea where to go.
Athletes Village porta-potty lines were insane. By the time I got to the front it was time to head to the corrals. I barely made it! The sun was beating down and I was happy to use the free provided sunscreen
.
Race:
Tried to take it easy but went slightly faster than I wanted. I had to keep reminding myself to run MY race and not get taken in by faster runners. I was very nervous about the hamstring and foot so just took it slow and listened to my body. Saw Spencer the Dog area with lots of people and a statue and it was emotional for me since I saw him in '21. He was a good dog.
Crowds were great and there were lots of hi fiving. Last time I saw lots of racers cramping at mile 8, but nothing this time. Wellesley scream tunnel was fun but saw (male) runners eating pavement trying to ham it up there.
A running club I'm part of came to support a different member but also cheered me on. They were a welcome surprise at mile 20. I climbed up a hill but kept some energy in the bank for Heartbreak Hill later and mentally prepared for it Then I saw a large sign that said Heartbreak Hill Summit. I guess I already did it!
Usually Heartbreak Hill has lots of Boston College energy and Brookline is emptier but this time the opposite was true. Around here my legs felt a bit off and I was afraid I was gonna start cramping so I slowed down a lot and started to hi five everyone. The crowds were really pumped and I nearly fell over with the strength of their hi fives.
It was a sunny race and I got water at every stop and even poured water on my back (never did this before) and it kept me comfortable. But the last few water stops were painful as many were walking through them so it was almost impossible to keep running and grab water simultaneously.
***trigger warning***
The last few miles I was running with a lady who kept drifting into me even though the field had thinned out considerably. Finally I decided to give her a wide berth and saw she had unfortunately had terrible runners diarrhea. It was very obvious and everywhere and but she was determined to get to the finish line. I think that's why she kept drifting into me.
***over***
This caused me to change course and quicken my pace at the finish line. Right on Heresford, left on Boylston ... let the crowds roar bring you in! Arms up and big smile!
Somehow I even BQ'd despite how much slowing I did at the end!
Post Race:
Surprised how far we had to walk for fluids, but I think they wanted us away from the finisher's chute. I was pretty thirsty! I was actually not very sore and walked around Newbury. Bostonians were so kind and friendly!
Congrats on your BQ in tough circumstances and following a difficult training cycle! Hope to cheer you on next year and things go more seamlessly for 2025!
The participants for Iron Man Texas have started to arrive in town. Lots of them will train on the waterway I work on and where I do my lunch time runs. Every year FOMO kicks in when I see them training. I do believe I am going to stick my feet in the water by doing a speed triathlon. My friend has been trying to talk me into doing Iron Man. So I think the speed triathlon will be a test to see if I really want to continue down that path.
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