Runner's support and Accountability

@nascfan Thank you! We’re trying to be consistent. This week the weather is literally going to rain on our parade. At the moment it seems we’ll get nothing in! Rain every. single. day. Except Thursday, when our schedule keeps us too busy to run

@starbee Thank you! On December 21st, we plan to run 24 miles. That will be our longest run before Dopey. Sorry your runs have not been working out, but you’re well equipped for Dopey, which is more than we can say! We still need to get some cheap clothing to burn on the 1/2 Marathon and Full Marathon – that includes hats, gloves, ponchos, and sweats. We have running belts, water bottles, Tailwind and energy chews at least

@starbee Christy and I found different methods that work for us over long distances. I have a 20 oz water bottle with a hand strap that I fill and refill with TailWind about once every 6 or 7 miles. I also carry a Clif Bar and nibble on it about once every 8-10 miles.

Christy carries two 10oz water bottles in her running belt with plain water. She buys GU Energy Chews and takes them as prescribed (4 pieces every 45 minutes). There are 8 chews to a pack.

I found that chews or gummy anything upsets my stomach on a long run. Clif bars are dry, but at least they sit well with me. Christy finds the taste of flavored water or gatorade disgusting, so that’s why she does what she does.

@starbee I’m only carrying water so I can put TailWind in it. I plan to use water stops for sips of plain water, but also to refill my bottle and add more tailwind. So far I’ve found for myself that the extra weight makes a negligible difference in my pace.

@starbee I will absolutely positively highly recommend you run with your Tailwind for the Half and the Full no matter what. Your body is conditioned and used to having that specific type of electrolyte replenishment on long runs. Keep in mind that you are running 4 races in as many days and your body will actually deplete itself very quickly, even if the temps are cold. You need to get your electrolytes up and keep them out over the course of those 4 days. I know it stinks to have one more thing to carry. But you don’t want to get in a situation where you are in need of water/electrolytes and still have a mile to go until you get to the next station. The temps for Marathon weekend have literally ranged from the 20’s to the 80’s for the marathon. Even if it’s cold, your body is actually working harder to stay warm and you can actually dehydrate quickly. And since you are used to Tailwind, you don’t want to try anything new on race day. So that means that you won’t want to drink the Poweraid they offer since your stomach and gut aren’t used to it. My method is to literally just take a sip out of my bottle every few walk breaks. I take an extra pack of Tailwind at the marathon and dumped it into my bottle around the half marathon water stop and had them top off my bottle. It was just what I needed. Helps keep the sugars and electrolytes up and keeps the muscles from cramping up. Do your running shorts/tights have spare pockets? You may be able to just move some of your smaller and lightweight stuff to your body instead! I used my back pocket for my extra Tailwind, on hot runs I put my cool cloth there until I need it. I didn’t run with a battery pack. I track my pace on my Garmin. I have my music set to offline so it’s not killing battery trying to find towers. And at the full marathon I didn’t even start my music until around mile 15 maybe? Since MK is usually early on nearly mile 5 or so, I just took in the atmosphere and the sheer vastness of the runners I was with! I waited until I knew I was going to need a pick-me-up to start it. I finished the marathon with plenty of phone battery and took numerous selfies along the way. But if you need a batter pack, I would find the smallest one possible or even look at the one that becomes your phone case, just to reduce the number of items you have with you. The other option, if it’s not too uncomfortable, it to wear two fit belts and have one specifically for your water bottle. That way you don’t have to worry about dropping anything.

@eeyorepoohfan You make a good case for bringing a bottle along with Tailwind. I figured I’ve drank Powerade many many times before, including during/after races, but what I didn’t think about was how I haven’t been drinking it during training runs like you said. Given my current stomach issues, it’s probably wise to stick with what I’m used to. None of my running leggings or shorts have any pockets, aside form my Air Force PT gear, which I don’t plan on wearing once I see the course map (by the way, when does all that come out?) I could probably evaluate for how long and at what point I want to listen to music. Like you, I would want to take in the sights and sounds of the parks during the race. I still want to take a battery pack just because I’m paranoid. Mine is very small and lightweight, it’s just my run belt can’t hold a whole lot when my phone and water bottle take up 75% of the space. I will be on the verge of a panic attack with all those people around if I can’t find my husband at the end and have no way of contacting him because my phone is dead. Also I can’t track my run using my Fitbit unless my phone is with me and the app is on. It will track distance and time without the phone, but it doesn’t have GPS so the distance is horribly inaccurate. I will need my phone to ensure I am keeping within the pacing parameters.

Do they have the gear check there? If so, @starbee I suggest doing that and putting a battery pack in that bag. That way IF your phone is dead, you have one there and youre not carrying it with you the whole time.

I cannot agree enough with what Heather said about fueling and what you wear. Do not, I repeat DO NOT try something new on race day. If you get some cool new shirt at the expo, that’s awesome! But I don’t recommend you wear it on raceday. You need to make sure your clothes fit comfortably and unchafingly.

@starbee I think that will be a smart option! There really is so much info! We’ve done a dozen or so Disney races and a Dopey! So please don’t hesitate to ask questions! Once the event guide is released, it gives you all of the important info you need!

@starbee I promise I won’t regret the offer! I’m seriously happy to answer any questions! The guide will be posted on RunDisney! It will be under the marathon weekend info when it’s released. There will be a link. I think I just saw distilled gallon water at Pop in the food court by the ice cream freezer. They do have multi packs (I think 6 bottles) there too. The moderates and deluxes have more options. You can get free filtered water on the pop station though and fill up your own bottles. What we do for water in our room is fill up our Camelback with ice water in the food court. We also take a wide mouth big bottle and fill it with ice by our room and put it in the room fridge! This allows it to slowly thaw during the day but stays super cold! The food court sells individual bottles of water as well. If I knew for a fact that they sold gallons or bigger multi-packs of water at Caribbean Beach, I would tell you to take the 3 minute Sky Liner ride there! I’m not just 100% sure on the options they sell there. Or at the new Riviera Resort. But if you take your own refillable bottles, you can fill them all up in the food court and keep them in your room!