Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon

I did it!

The half marathon actually went really well. I got up around 3:30 AM (after lying awake more or less since 1 AM, too full of anticipation to go back to sleep), got ready and headed out from the hotel around 4:15 AM. Followed the crowd to the starting area and hung about until it was time to go get corralled at 5 AM. I was in the last corral, J. I didn't realize there would be a wave start, with five minutes in between corrals. It ended up being nearly 6:30 by the time I crossed the starting line, and I was freezing! It was around 50 F at that time of morning, and I was wearing only my long-sleeved event tee-shirt and leggings. I hadn't wanted to wear a jacket, knowing I'd be warm enough once I started running, but I hadn't counted on standing around in the cold for two hours before I'd finally get to run!

The race started on Disneyland Drive, wended its way through California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park for about four miles before heading out into the city streets of Anaheim and Garden Grove. It was a good course, nice flat streets. They even switched us back and forth between which side of the street was closed to run on, so we didn't get pains from running with the same leg "downhill" the whole way.

I started out with a few minutes' advantage, being in the middle of the pack when my corral started, so the official 16-minute pace limit didn't start until the last of the runners crossed the starting line a few minutes after me. There were crew at each mile marker announcing how far ahead of pace we were when we crossed, and I managed to maintain about a 15:30 pace, getting a little bit farther ahead of pace as I went along.

The sun came out as the day wore on, but it was still cool and breezy and the sunlight didn't bother me too much. I felt good the whole way and didn't get too tired. My official time was 3:22:53, which makes it my second best half marathon. Pretty decent time, especially considering all the lapses in my training! And I even had energy to go enjoy California Adventure Park after the race.

I did get a blister on the inside of my right little toe, where it was rubbing against my 4th toe. I suspect it was because I'd re-laced my running shoes and left the laces looser near the front of my foot, trying to keep my toes from banging against the end of my shoes and getting sore. The good news is, my toes didn't get nearly as sore as they were getting on long runs. But I got a blister instead. Oh well!

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 29

38:30 minutes - 2.49 miles - 15:26 min/mile

Well, that's it! Last run before the half marathon! Went pretty well. Of course, I'd prefer it if I'd managed to do all my training runs, but I did my best and got these past two weeks in, and my pace is okay, so I'm satisfied.

I waited a bit for today's run, hoping the wood-cutting guy would finish and leave, but he didn't, so I told myself to just get out there and do it anyway, and I did. Chatted a bit with him as I ran by and it was no big deal, so why get worked up about it? It was chilly and overcast, about 45 F, with a light drizzle that turned into a full rain just a few minutes after I finished my run, so good timing! I wore my base layer, long leggings and short-sleeved tee-shirt, and hoodie—thought it might be too warm, but it turned out to be just right. The damp air made it feel colder. It's supposed to snow later today, so I'm glad I got my run done now! My splits were 15:12, 15:21, and 15:33. Slowing down a bit as I went, but not too much. Of course, that was only 2 1/2 miles, and I've got 13.1 to do on Sunday! But if I pace myself (try to maintain about a 15:30 pace, that will keep me comfortably under the 16 minute/mile limit while not overdoing it) I think I can do it. Just have to wait and see.

Weather report for Anaheim says Sunday will be cloudy with a high of 64 F and low the night before of 47 F. Probably be around 50 for the start of the race, up to the mid to high 50s by the time we finish. And cloudy, which will be perfect for me. So the weather is on my side! Looking forward to finally doing a half marathon at Disneyland! And also looking forward to taking a break afterwards, heh.

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 28

38:41 minutes - 2.45 miles - 15:46 min/mile

Another run done! Only one more to go before the half marathon! Did pretty well today, pace under 16 min/mile, although my splits were 14:58, 16:02, and 16:15. Started out too fast, I guess. But I wasn't using my watch to time intervals today, I just ran till I felt like walking and walked till I felt like running. So I might have been running too much. Anyway, no matter, I got my run done and it went pretty well. I got off to a late start—the guy who's cutting trees for the guy next door had edged over onto my property so I had to go out there with my parcel maps to show him where the property line is. That got me all wound up, so I was out walking the line with my GPS app on my phone this morning instead of running. Heh. But I got my run done, anyway. Thursday's run might be a problem — it's supposed to rain tomorrow again and snow on Thursday. I can drive to the park and run in the snow if I have to, but we'll see how it goes.

I've recently started using playlists with the in-app music player, instead of playing music externally, and I like it better. It turns the music off entirely while playing the game segments, which makes it easier to hear what people are saying. I didn't use it before because I didn't have any playlists set up on my phone, and sometimes I'd run longer than one album, but I created some longer playlists to use and it works really well.

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 27, 5 miles

1:17:40 hours - 5.00 miles - 15:32 min/mile

All right, getting back on track! I ran in the afternoon today because I had things to do this morning. Brought my running clothes along with me so I could go straight to the park once I'd finished the rest of my day. It was a bit awkward changing in the restroom at the park — the floors were wet and there was no place to put my clothes while I was swapping them — but it worked out all right. Saved me around 45 minutes over driving back home to change and then out to the park.

The weather was great for running today. Mostly cloudy and around 60 F. The rain stopped late last night and it was fairly dry today but a few muddy spots on the trail. I'd eaten a good lunch of Korean temple food at the temple, and was wondering if it would slow my run or upset my stomach, but I felt pretty good the whole way and made good time. My splits were 15:19, 15:24, 15:03, 15:52, and 15:38. Stayed under 16 min/mile the whole way!

I also did 30 min aerobics with my WiiFit last night. Well, technically, 27 minutes, but close enough. And I did some bowing at temple this morning! So I've been getting lots of exercise. Whew! Taking the day off tomorrow, then back to running around the house. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and Wednesday, but Tuesday should be clear. Then it calls for snow on Thursday. If I'm lucky, it won't be until later in the day and I'll be able to get a run in before it starts, but we'll just have to wait and see.

The weekend is supposed to be sunny and dry the whole time, yay! Should be nice for my weekend at Disneyland.

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 26

36:57 minutes - 2.34 miles - 15:49 min/mile

Okay, that's better. Late getting my second midweek run done — not technically midweek any more! Geez, it's been hard to get out there and run in this weather. It's been so cold and so much rain! And  I was sick as a dog on Wednesday with migraine/nausea that left me still weak and queasy on Thursday. I tried to go out and run in the afternoon when I was feeling a little stronger, but the driveway was so muddy I couldn't keep my footing, so I got in the truck to drive to the park and was halfway down the road when I noticed I was nearly out of gas, and of course had no money with me since I was in my running clothes. So I turned around and came home and said forget it. My plan then was to run Friday afternoon, either at the park or get a day pass at the gym and run on the treadmill. I packed my running clothes with me when I went out to do my usual Friday stuff, but I had so much other stuff to do that by the time I was finished and could have gone running, it was cold and I was tired and thought I'd try to do it at home but the road was still muddy and I blew it off for another day.

So I was lying in bed at 3 AM, thinking about what a trainwreck training for this half marathon has been, and should I even bother to try to run it, maybe I should just enjoy my trip to Disneyland and forget the race. But I really didn't want to do that! I want to at least try to run it. But there's only a week now and can I possibly get my speed back up to par in the limited time I have left? The thing is, I know I can do the distance—I've done my 14-mile run without any problems, I was just slow. And it occurred to me that what I need is aerobic work—doesn't necessarily have to be running, just has to get my heart rate up. I can do that at home, indoors, if I have to. Calisthenics or running in place or Zumba or whatever. Also, I remembered one of Jeff Galloway's pieces of advice for older runners, which is that it's better to do two exercise sessions in one day with a day off in between than to exercise every day, because your body needs the time off to recover. So I thought, for this last week, why not do 30 minutes of aerobics twice a day for my midweek run days? Run in the morning, if possible—if the weather's not too horrible and I can force myself to go out, or go to the gym, or something. If not, at least do some sort of exercise for 30 minutes at home.

Starting today. So, today's run counts as my second midweek run for this week. I'll fire up my WiiFit this evening for a second exercise session. Then do my 5-mile run tomorrow afternoon — wouldn't usually run two days in a row, but it's a short run and I'll have time to recover before the next run. It's supposed to be clear and sunny tomorrow, so I can run at the park. And then on Tuesday and Thursday do a morning run and an evening aerobics workout. And then I'll have Friday and Saturday to rest up (well, I'll be driving to Anaheim on Friday and walking all over Disneyland on Saturday, not exactly resting but I won't be running) for the race on Sunday. It's not ideal but it's the best I can do in the time I have left before the race.

Anyway, today's run! Fortunately, there was a bit of a break in the storm at around 9 AM, so I went outside to run. It was a bit drizzly, but not pouring down ran as it was earlier, and is now again. The driveway was still too muddy to run on, so I just ran around the house. There's road base around most of the pad—I had two loads put down, and they ran out before they got all the way around, so the back section isn't done, but most of the pad is firm and level enough to run on without problems, and I was able to find reasonably steady ground to run on as long as I was careful and watched where I was putting my feet. And I tried to push myself as much as I reasonably could. I did pretty well! Splits were 15:15, 15:41, and 15:34—all under 16 min/mile, and even increased my speed a little over the last third of a mile. I didn't time my intervals, but tried to run two loops, then walk one, as well as I remembered to do it. I'm encouraged that I was able to keep up that pace for two miles—now just need to do it for 13.1!

Zombies, Run! Season 2, Mission 25

40:29 minutes - 2.39 miles - 16:54 min/mile

Back to midweek runs, finally! I am going to make every effort to get in every single run from now until the half marathon. I've been skipping so much, I'm getting slow again. I hope I'll be able to get my speed back up a little in two weeks, if I make sure to do all my scheduled runs.

I got off to a late start today, mostly because the guys who are cutting up trees on the property next door were parked right next to my driveway working this morning, and I didn't want to run while they were there. I thought about going to the park or driving down to the mailboxes to run in town, but I didn't want to do that, either. Told myself I was being silly and I should just go do my run, but finally they left around 11 AM, so I got dressed and went out and ran. It was cold today, low 40s and cloudy, so I wore my base layer, long leggings and long-sleeved tee-shirt, gloves and jacket. Stayed pretty comfortable but kept my jacket on the whole time, and wore gloves for about half the time.

My driveway had gotten muddy again. I'm not sure how, I don't remember it raining since the last run, but maybe it rained overnight. Most of it was okay, but the front section was too muddy to run on, so I ran along the side of the driveway on the grass and leaves instead. I had to slow down and be careful not to slip or trip, which may be one reason my pace was so slow today. I felt fine, though, and had a good run, if a slow one. My splits were 16:24, 16:55, and 17:10.

Checking the weather in Anaheim, lows are currently around 50 F, so the race will probably be mid-50s, low-60s. Perfect race weather! And since it starts at 5:30 AM, the race will be over by 9 AM, so even if it's sunny, it shouldn't be a problem. That should help make it a fast race. I keep reminding myself that even my worst half marathon was finished in 3:40, so if I can do better than last Long Beach, I should be okay.

Zombies, Run! Plasmapheresis, 14 miles

14 miles - 4:12 hours

Well, today's run got all screwed up. I ran the New Canton 20K, with an extra mile and a half or so to make 14 miles for my half marathon training. I know I finished the run at 14 miles and hit "Stop", but the run log has disappeared. I remember that it said 4:12 hours — which is a lot for 14 miles, that would come out to a pace of around 18 minutes/mile. I don't think I was that slow! But I ended up running the last 8-ish miles at home, and using the GPS to keep track of miles, which has been shown to undercount the distance when I'm running circles around the house, so I suspect my total mileage was greater than 14 miles.

I came home from the park after about 6 miles, because my stomach was wonky, but since it's New Year's Day, the restrooms were closed. Aargh! I was going to try to run it out anyway, but it quickly (before I even got across the parking lot and back onto the trail) became evident that a bathroom was necessary, so I got in my truck and came home. I didn't feel like driving back to the park after that, and the driveway was reasonably dried out after this last night's snow, so I just ran at home. I should have counted laps or something to make sure I got the distance right, but I figured it would be close enough anyway so just let the GPS measure it. At least the GPS didn't stop working after a mile, as it has done the last three times I ran around the house! After emailing with ZR support, I checked a few things and noticed that the phone's Bluetooth was on — there was no need for that, and I don't remember turning it on, maybe it got reset in the last update. So I turned it off to see if that would help, and possibly that was what was causing the problem. I don't know why Bluetooth should interfere with the GPS, but whatever.

Anyway, what with the break to drive home, and the distance being not totally reliable, and losing the run log, I can't really say anything about today's run other than I did it! But that's all that really matters, I guess.

It was a cold run today, around 40 F all day, sunny but with a cold breeze. I didn't get started at the park until a little after 11 AM, so I ran in the warmest part of the day. Took my hoodie off for a while in the sun, but I was out for so long that the sun had gone behind the mountain before I finished and I put the hoodie back on. Used my usual 1:1 minute run/walk ratio and managed pretty well. I was tired by the time I finished, but kept up with my run intervals until the end. I really wish I could see my split times, I don't feel like I slowed down that much but it's hard to say.

I ended up skipping almost two weeks' worth of runs, between the weather and being busy with Christmas preparations. I am really having a hard time with my training this time. If I hadn't already paid for my Disneyland hotel and invited a friend along with me, I'd probably just forget about the half marathon. But I'm going to Disneyland anyway, so I might as well do the race. If I finish, great, if I don't, well, I'm no worse off than if I hadn't run it. After this one, though, I'm taking a break. Probably do the spring Zombies, Run! Virtual Race, but no more half marathons for a while.