What can I say? I’ve been more than just a little obsessed with naming my reports after Disney songs as of late!
Things have been quite crazy in our lives since the last trip report was posted. We spent the better parts of October and November house hunting and then found our “dream” home just before Thanksgiving. Our fabulous realtor got us in to see it the very same day and we put an offer on it that night! Crazy, I know. But smart because it turned out that multiple other offers came in the very next day. We took another Disney trip over Thanksgiving and then upon returning, we closed on our house. Moved in right before Christmas and we’ve spent the last month trying to get situated. All excuses for why this trip report is incredibly late and also the reason why I’ve been MIA on the trip report forum as of late. Not only do I need to get my reports posted, but I need to catch up on so many of your fabulous reports, as well – my apologies, as I’ve been reading, but not responding!
So on to this trip report…
When: September 29th – October 3rd
Where: Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Why: Wine & Dine Half Marathon
Who: Mr. and Mrs. Hollybelle
Yep, that’s us, after miraculously surviving the 2009 marathon - all the gory details here: Going the Distance from Mile 1 to 26.2!
Let’s back up a bit – like, to the middle of last year. :lol: June 2011 rolled around and I started getting the bug to do another Disney race. It hit me that we had participated in Disney races in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Surely we couldn’t let 2011 go by without lacing up the running shoes. There was only one rule – NO half-a$$ training. For real, this time. We both vowed to find a training schedule and stick to it like white on rice.
This time around it was about so much more than finishing the race. You see, we managed to accomplish that when we finished the Princess Half on no more than a couple of two or three mile runs – I won’t even pretend to call those training runs. And if I’m being honest, finishing that race didn’t really feel like much of an accomplishment because I knew so much more could have been accomplished if I’d only put forth the effort. No, the purpose of this race was not to finish it, but to train for it. The battle was not fought on the day of the race, but in the three months prior to it. For me, it was about goal setting and follow-through. For Brett it was about redemption. He claimed that this was a “business” trip... and he meant it.
With that we spent the month of July building up a base with some short 2-3 mile runs around the neighborhood. At the beginning of August we scoped out a local park/trail to do our long runs on and we found a very basic training plan that required a total of three runs per week over the course of eight weeks. Why did we choose a training schedule with a mere three runs per week? Because we don’t like to run.
:lol: No really, I found that while training for the 2009 Marathon, I burned out long before I reached the halfway point in my training – and I attribute it in part to the fact that I was running five days a week.
The most basic of training schedules: http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/clubs/triathlon/training/Half_Marathon.htm
I’m proud to say we didn’t miss a single run, and believe me when I tell you that there were quite a few days when I really, really, did not want to suit up and hit the pavement. I feel like I’m constantly reading about people who love to run – folks who are itching to get outside and lose themselves in the steady rhythm of a good run. As much as I may wish it to be true - that is NOT me. And that’s okay. Throughout this experience, I found that what got me out the door was dedication to my goal, not the lure of the run itself. Don't get me wrong, the endorphin high that came after finishing a difficult run was addicting, but not the run itself.
A bit more specificity about our goals – Brett’s redemption goal was a two-hour finish time. Aside from not missing a training run, mine was to simply run all 13.1 miles (no walking) with the hopes of coming in under two and a half hours. From the very beginning, we split up. We went out to do our runs at the same time each day, but unlike all our runs of the past, we didn’t run together. Instead, we found ourselves passing by one another, high fiving, as we each moved along to our own beat. This allowed Brett to move at a more challenging pace, and it allowed me to find my own personal motivation to keep going.
Unfortunately, when he was about 5 miles into our last long run, a piercing pain shot up Brett’s calf. I remember coming around the edge of the running path to grab a gel at mile 4, only to find Brett leaning against the car, looking a bit distraught. He did the smart thing and bailed on the run. I offered to stop with him, but he wouldn’t hear of it. So he spent the time stretching at a picnic table while I finished the final 6 miles of my last long run. He put in a solid two miles for our last easy run the Tuesday before departure and we both hoped upon hope that all his prior training would be enough to carry him through race day.
An instagram Brett snapped as he waited for me to finish a long run – I’m not sure what it is about this picture, but I love it. It reminds me of all our training:
With that, it was time to put our training to the test, and get down to business... Shang-style! :lol:
Things have been quite crazy in our lives since the last trip report was posted. We spent the better parts of October and November house hunting and then found our “dream” home just before Thanksgiving. Our fabulous realtor got us in to see it the very same day and we put an offer on it that night! Crazy, I know. But smart because it turned out that multiple other offers came in the very next day. We took another Disney trip over Thanksgiving and then upon returning, we closed on our house. Moved in right before Christmas and we’ve spent the last month trying to get situated. All excuses for why this trip report is incredibly late and also the reason why I’ve been MIA on the trip report forum as of late. Not only do I need to get my reports posted, but I need to catch up on so many of your fabulous reports, as well – my apologies, as I’ve been reading, but not responding!
So on to this trip report…
When: September 29th – October 3rd
Where: Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Why: Wine & Dine Half Marathon
Who: Mr. and Mrs. Hollybelle
Yep, that’s us, after miraculously surviving the 2009 marathon - all the gory details here: Going the Distance from Mile 1 to 26.2!
Let’s back up a bit – like, to the middle of last year. :lol: June 2011 rolled around and I started getting the bug to do another Disney race. It hit me that we had participated in Disney races in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Surely we couldn’t let 2011 go by without lacing up the running shoes. There was only one rule – NO half-a$$ training. For real, this time. We both vowed to find a training schedule and stick to it like white on rice.
This time around it was about so much more than finishing the race. You see, we managed to accomplish that when we finished the Princess Half on no more than a couple of two or three mile runs – I won’t even pretend to call those training runs. And if I’m being honest, finishing that race didn’t really feel like much of an accomplishment because I knew so much more could have been accomplished if I’d only put forth the effort. No, the purpose of this race was not to finish it, but to train for it. The battle was not fought on the day of the race, but in the three months prior to it. For me, it was about goal setting and follow-through. For Brett it was about redemption. He claimed that this was a “business” trip... and he meant it.
With that we spent the month of July building up a base with some short 2-3 mile runs around the neighborhood. At the beginning of August we scoped out a local park/trail to do our long runs on and we found a very basic training plan that required a total of three runs per week over the course of eight weeks. Why did we choose a training schedule with a mere three runs per week? Because we don’t like to run.
:lol: No really, I found that while training for the 2009 Marathon, I burned out long before I reached the halfway point in my training – and I attribute it in part to the fact that I was running five days a week. The most basic of training schedules: http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/clubs/triathlon/training/Half_Marathon.htm
I’m proud to say we didn’t miss a single run, and believe me when I tell you that there were quite a few days when I really, really, did not want to suit up and hit the pavement. I feel like I’m constantly reading about people who love to run – folks who are itching to get outside and lose themselves in the steady rhythm of a good run. As much as I may wish it to be true - that is NOT me. And that’s okay. Throughout this experience, I found that what got me out the door was dedication to my goal, not the lure of the run itself. Don't get me wrong, the endorphin high that came after finishing a difficult run was addicting, but not the run itself.
A bit more specificity about our goals – Brett’s redemption goal was a two-hour finish time. Aside from not missing a training run, mine was to simply run all 13.1 miles (no walking) with the hopes of coming in under two and a half hours. From the very beginning, we split up. We went out to do our runs at the same time each day, but unlike all our runs of the past, we didn’t run together. Instead, we found ourselves passing by one another, high fiving, as we each moved along to our own beat. This allowed Brett to move at a more challenging pace, and it allowed me to find my own personal motivation to keep going.
Unfortunately, when he was about 5 miles into our last long run, a piercing pain shot up Brett’s calf. I remember coming around the edge of the running path to grab a gel at mile 4, only to find Brett leaning against the car, looking a bit distraught. He did the smart thing and bailed on the run. I offered to stop with him, but he wouldn’t hear of it. So he spent the time stretching at a picnic table while I finished the final 6 miles of my last long run. He put in a solid two miles for our last easy run the Tuesday before departure and we both hoped upon hope that all his prior training would be enough to carry him through race day.
An instagram Brett snapped as he waited for me to finish a long run – I’m not sure what it is about this picture, but I love it. It reminds me of all our training:
With that, it was time to put our training to the test, and get down to business... Shang-style! :lol:
:lol: But that 30 seconds was enough to make me realize I would’ve wanted to kill myself later if I had chosen (operative word) to break down and walk, especially with less than 4 miles ahead of me.
