I am so excited to be running in my second RunDisney event this January. It will be my second half marathon ever. My first RunDisney half was last February at the Princess Half Marathon in Walt Disney World.
This year I will be running my first challenge – the Rebel Challenge (which is a 10k and the next day a half marathon) and running in Disneyland for the first time. What I hope to avoid is some first time RunDisney race mistakes I made while running the Princess Half Marathon and hope to help any newbies out there from following in my footsteps missteps!
Mistake #1 – Race Fuel
I tried a variety of fuel while training and ended up liking Sports Beans the best. Other popular fuel items are Gu, Pretzels, Stingers,Gel Blocks, even applesauce in squeeze packets. Really it personal preference what fits in what you wear and what tastes best when you need a pick me up. At the 0 dark thirty hour of getting ready I forgot it in the room somehow, and didn’t realize it till I was in my corral. My running partner that day gave me a gel block or two but it wasn’t what I planned on and not enough.
RunDisney supplies water and sports drink at water stops. I chose to drink the sports drink even though I trained with water during my longer runs. RunDisney races also supply fuel at mile 8 or 9 and I took it. But honestly it made me gag and made things worse. And by things worse….did you know that eating or drinking things you hadn’t trained with can send you into gastro- intestinal distress? Me neither.
This time I plan on leaving a list out to double check before leaving the room! Definitely worth the extra 2 minutes.
Mistake #2 – Running in New Gear
When I started running over 7 miles my shins started hurting. I did some online research and decided to try compression socks. They worked like a charm and definitely calmed the shin pain on longer runs . At the expo I bought calf sleeves instead of socks because they matched my outfit better.
Yup vanity all the way. My feet hurt more during the run but it was after the race the disaster happened….the sleeves caused my feet to swell a lot! Think Princess Leia in the gold bikini to Jabba the Hutt feet in less than 3 hours. Ouch.
This time I will use only gear I have already trained in!!
Mistake #3 – Letting My Nerves Get To Me
I trained hard for princess really hard and was way outside of my comfort zone. I was so worried about finishing the whole time I don’t think I truly let myself enjoy the experience. I was sure if I stopped for pictures with characters, or took too long of a bathroom break I wouldn’t finish.
I ended up getting one picture with a character, and only because there was zero line for her.
Even after I crossed the finish line I was stressed out over my time – this rookie didn’t know about clock time vs chip time.
This time I will enjoy myself. I will trust my training and while I may run slower I will enjoy things
I cannot wait to do my next RunDisney event! I hope you learn from my rookie mistakes and have a magical race!
Becky Ginther says
January 4, 2016 at 5:48 pmGreat advice! You definitely learn a lot doing Disney races, and I wish you the best of luck on the next one!
:DISTherapy says
January 11, 2016 at 11:52 pmI am honored to be included in your "mistakes" post! (Kidding!!) We will absolutely do a gear/fuel check this weekend Stacey- can't wait!!
Juliana says
January 12, 2016 at 5:20 pmthese are great tips! I had a fuel mishap last year during the WDW marathon-I lost a full packet of shot bloks between mile 8-9 (probably while I was biofreezing). I FREAKED but my BRF had enough fuel incase I needed some. When we went by the first clif area, we noticed tons of unopened packets on the ground so I was able to get 3 of them and was good for the rest of the race.