I have a long history with runDisney’s Disney Princess Half Marathon that thus far hadn’t led to crossing a finish line. Quarantine, however, gave me a unique opportunity to finally get to do it in my own way!
The History
Around 10 years ago, I decided I was going to get into running. Why not? I lived in Manhattan. There were so many places I could go. Running is cheap (or so I thought.) I wouldn’t need a gym membership! I just needed my own two feet and the open road! So much win!
Fail. Almost immediately I thought it would be a great idea to join Paragon’s mixed level group in Union Square for a run one week. I’d love to know how long we ran. Definitely longer consecutively than I had ever done at that point in time. We ran over to a track on the East Side down around Chinatown. Once there, we did drills. We ran around the track. I felt so excited and strong… until I woke up the next morning and couldn’t walk. Not exaggerating at all. My knees were completely shot and I ended up in PT for two months, unable to even leave my home to go to work. They gradually built me back up to running on a treadmill. I remember them asking if this was my normal pace, to which I’d responded “but I’m not really a runner!” Rehabbing a running injury when I wasn’t truly a runner yet just added to my frustration.
Part of the original reason I tried to get into running was that I wanted to join some of my friends I’d met through Tori Amos shows to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon. When it ended in disaster, I let it go – deciding perhaps I wasn’t cut out to be a runner. When I saw it pop up earlier this year with a virtual option, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. While I won’t be traveling to Disney anytime soon for a race, virtual was something I could totally swing.
Back to Training
I started slow in PT back in February on the treadmill and in mid March, I did my first real run outside. Watch the video above for more on my overall recovery process, which took lots of patience with the process and great support from my PT, Dr. Suze-Elisha Principal. From there, I started to slowly work my way back up in the half marathon training plan. I built up my mileage slowly (I followed Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 plan) to my half marathon. I focused on mileage over speed. I walked when I felt like I needed to. I backed off of my foot told me I needed to. I never forgot the pain of coming so close to the finish line before only to be sidelined for months. That was definitely something I didn’t want to return to. And of course the fun Disney medal and shirt I’ve had waiting on me all these months helped to motivate me as well!
The weekend I ended up racing couldn’t have been less optimal. The week before was is the busiest time of the year for work. I was up extra early, only able to squeeze in a modified run schedule and was feeling in general quite rundown. Two nights before I did the big run, we’d been out for our anniversary. The day before, we had people over for the 4th, so I’d been on my feet all day and eating and drinking some less than ideal race day fuel.
But I did it! I’ll do a separate post soon on some of the unique challenges of running a longer virtual race, as there are some interesting considerations and learnings to share.
July 5 – Race Day
I woke up early that Monday morning. While most people were having a lazy holiday start on July 5th, I was on my way towards that 13.1. I knew it was going to be a slow go of it, but it ended up even more so than I’d hoped. My pace on a good day has been in the 10-11 minute mile range. I knew when the first mile was 13.13, that my overall race time was going to be extra slow. But so much of running is mental, so I told myself no matter the pace, I was going to finish this.
I’ve really been enjoying out in nature. My latest route takes me over towards a nature conservation, where I’m surrounded by a lot of greenery – along with lots of cyclists eager to enjoy the same backdrop. It’s an area my mom really loved out here, so it’s been nice to spend that added time along the route feeling here there with me in spirit. I pass several farms (some day I’m going to go back to try their blueberries and honey I’ve thought about on many an early morning run), fields with horses and greenhouses. This time, as always, there were animals. No horses but there were 5 bunnies along with unfortunately lots of roadkill (the latter not being a highlight…)
I’m not sure what it was about that day but the bugs were out in full force – as was the humidity! Of course, the day before was much cooler without the humidity – but thankfully at least no rain for me. I was thankful I had on my sunglasses as a fellow-blogger friend of mine just had a pretty traumatic bug/eye encounter that left me extra concerned. I found myself under attack some of the times I started to walk — so perhaps I should be thanking them that my time at least ended up where it was? Because when they attacked, you’d better believe I started running again!
Race Day Peloton Playlist
I know some runners are purists, preferring to listen only to the sounds of the great outdoors. I like to listen to music or actually even better, a Peloton run class. I find the latter encouraging as they enable me to push much further than I would on my own. I listened to the below classes, which were so helpful throughout my run: Matty’s Broadway ones in particular were my faves!
- Selena Samuela’s 45 Minute All-for-One (AFO) Run: Pearl Jam
- Matt Wilpers’ 45 Minute Endurance Run from 6/29/21
- Matty Maggiacamo’s 30 Minute Broadway Run from 5/26/21 and 45 Minute Broadway Run from 4/28/21
What’s next?
I’ve given myself a bit of a break this week. I’ve been pushing hard on a regular training schedule so this week, I’ve switched to more time on the bike and some recovery in general. Next up, I’m doing the Power Zone Pack Summer Challenge that starts on July 19th and then the summer PeloFondo. I’ve signed on for 75 miles for PeloFondo with the Stay Home Stay Motivated team, but actually aiming to do more. Reach out if you want to join in on either!
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