Race information
Goals
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
| A | Sub-1:25 | Yes |
| B | Sub-1:30 | Yes |
Training
I never do well adhering to a strict training plan, so I just kind of wing it when it comes to training by taking elements from a few different training philosophies. I made sure to try and always hit my weekly mileage of 55-65 MPW on 5-6 days of running per week. I also had 2 or 3 workouts per week that consisted of track intervals, a long run w/ some threshold pace for a handful of miles at the end, and tempo runs.
AdvancedRunning's Super Week just happened to coincide with the last week of training before I planned on tapering, so I unofficially participated in that and peaked at a little over 74 miles and also hit my longest long run at 18 miles.
10k Race
My only goals for the 10k were to have fun, save my legs for the Half the following day, and get some good pictures with the on-course characters. I told everyone that I was going to take as long as I needed in order to fully enjoy the experience. After the first couple of miles on the street we entered California Adventure through Cars Land. I got my first picture with a Cars car they had set up. As the course headed toward Paradise Pier, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Frozone were out to greet the runners. I got a selfie with Mrs. Incredible and one with Frozone a little later when the course wrapped back around to him. Also, the ferris wheel and fountain looked
gorgeous all lit up in neon, which you'll have seen if you've ever been to DCA at night. We made our way around into Grizzly Peak, and another photo op with Goofy and Max! Before exiting DCA, the course ran through Hollywood Land where Nick Wilde (from Zootopia) was on the course. Stopped for a picture with him and headed out to the backstage Disneyland area.
During this transition from DCA to Disneyland, it was cool seeing parts of the park that are usually off limits to the public, like where all the ride carts go when they're out of commission. We entered Disneyland through the back of the park at Toontown and made our way to the front gates. Donald Duck was standing on the balcony of his boat waving to people, so I snapped a quick picture with him in the background. Other than that, I didn't see any other characters on the course so I just enjoyed the run through Tomorrowland, then Fantasyland, through Cinderella's castle and down Main Street USA. After exiting Disneyland, the last half mile or so ran through Downtown Disney. It was fun seeing the people lined on either side cheering on the runners through this entire section. I finished with a
50:19 (8:06/mile), and accomplished all the goals I mentioned at the beginning. It was good to get a run in since I didn't run the previous couple days.
Half Marathon
Since you have to register for runDisney races so far in advance pretty much everything I've done this year was in service of this race. From the 10k I ran in March in order to have a time to submit for corral placement to all the training I've done. Leading up to the race my friend kept asking me if I was nervous. Each time I told her that I wasn't and that I felt I was well-trained for the race, but the morning of the race the nerves inevitably hit me and I was a little jittery getting dressed. Luckily the little shakeout jog I had from the hotel to the starting area helped me settle down. I got to my corral about 45 minutes early and made my way toward the front. And from there sat through the Disney festivities that led up to the race start. I loved seeing all the costumes, and since this year's theme was Duos there were a lot of people that had themed costumes with a friend.
Splits
| Mile | Time |
| 1 | 6:15 |
| 2 | 6:20 |
| 3 | 6:16 |
| 4 | 6:13 |
| 5 | 6:14 |
| 6 | 6:11 |
| 7 | 6:14 |
| 8 | 6:06 |
| 9 | 6:02 |
| 10 | 6:01 |
| 11 | 5:54 |
| 12 | 5:57 |
| 13 | 5:49 (Last .1 @ 5:40) |
Miles [1] to [4]
Unlike the 10k, this race started in the parks before we made our way into the streets. My strategy was to go out slowly and accelerate down to my goal race pace. When I saw my first mile click off at below 6:20 I had to do some on-the-fly decision making because that was a good 25 seconds faster than I was planning on going. I'm still new to racing (including the previous day's 10k this was my 3rd race), but each time I've been surprised at the way race day affects your running. I think a combination of cooler weather from the Texas heat I train in and rested legs also helped this pace feel maintainable. So, I decided to just keep going rather than slowing down. At mile 2 just before going into Disneyland I saw my family cheering me on. All my family/friend support also kept me running strong, particularly in the latter stages when I was really fatigued.
I was so focused on the race I couldn't tell you which characters were on the course or exactly which parts of the park we ran through for the Half. I didn't even see my family as I crossed back over from Disneyland to DCA again, but I heard my mom yell to me after I had passed and was able to briefly turn around and see them. I hit the 5k checkpoint in
19:32 (6:17/mile). Already at this point in the race the field was pretty spread out. It was a stark contrast to all the bottleneck problems I often hear about when it comes to Disney races.
Miles [5] to [9]
This part of the race until near the end were on the streets of Anaheim. I was still feeling really good at this point. My breathing wasn't too heavy and my legs weren't tired. I was mainly focused on trying to slowly gain on each person I saw in front of me. All the runners I came across were very supportive and I tried to reciprocate to keep morale high. The entertainment on the streets was also welcome, from flamenco and hula dancers to the famous row of classic cars. I crossed the 10k checkpoint in
39:07 (6:19/mile).
I looked at the course map prior to the race and decided I would take my Gu at the water station just before the 8-mile mark. I know technically I don't need it, but I feel like it gives me a little peace of mind. I had a brief chat with a guy who told me he was shooting for sub-1:30 also, which I assume he smashed given how fast he was going. We wished each other well and I was off. The course took about a 3/4 mile turn onto a gravel road. I was getting excited coming up on the mile 9 marker because I knew we were nearing Angels Stadium, the part of the course I was looking forward to most.
Miles [10] to [12]
Just before entering the stadium was the 15k checkpoint that I crossed in
58:30 (6:15/mile). I also botched my water station stop by missing the first cup of water I went to grab and knocking it straight out of the gentleman's hand, and then also missing the trash when I threw my (second) water cup away. But, all was quickly forgotten as I descended into the tunnel that led into the stadium and onto the field. This was the one part of the course I wish I could have stopped to take in a little more. There were a lot of people in the stands cheering loudly. The announcer said my name over the stadium intercom. In the official race pics I'm beaming - looking around trying to absorb as much as I could with a gigantic smile on my face. It was the highlight of the race and did not disappoint.
Entering the final 5k, I heard that's when you should throw caution to the wind and give it everything you've got. So I found one more gear and sped up just a little bit. Miles 11 and 12 were also the most barren in terms of course support/entertainment, and I couldn't even see the next runner in front of me so I was on my own for a little.
Miles [13] to [Finish]
Eventually I spotted someone in the distance, so entering the final 1.1 miles I had a new goal to catch him. I found a little bit more speed out of my nearly-dead legs and caught him with maybe a half mile to go. Not too far in front of HIM was one more person I set my sights on for the final half mile.
This far into the race, already having run a dozen miles faster than I ever had in training I didn't know how much I had left, but I sped up just a little more to close in on him. I managed to make it just behind him by about a second and he took notice the whole time I was inching closer because he kept looking back. As we rounded the corner to the final straightaway he had this amazing kick I couldn't match and he ended up finishing 6 seconds ahead. But I wasn't racing for place, only to get the best time I could manage, so I was really grateful for having him act as my rabbit for that final bit of the race. I undoubtedly finished faster than I would have had he not been there. I crossed the line with a time of
1:21:15 (6:12/mile) and am still wondering how I managed that. It seems far faster than I thought I was capable of, considering I thought 1:25 was a stretch.
Post-race
After the race I saw the guy I was chasing and we exchanged nods, a tacit acknowledgement of the small battle of will we just had. I got my medal and also the extra medal for completing the Double Dare challenge. I was happy that my plan to negative split the race worked out and that my early pace didn't end up being too fast for me. Met up with my family and took some pictures. I said it already, but I'm always in awe of the support my family provides. Then the fun REALLY began as I spent Sunday after the race and Monday at the parks instead of just running through them. Overall, it was a great weekend, and although my legs were pretty sore right after the race I'm actually recovering better than I expected. I still don't plan on running for a few more days, though.
What's next?
When I started the year I planned to try for a BQ in the fall of 2017. I never thought it could be a possibility this year, but after this race I decided I am going to try to hit my qualifying standard at the Fort Worth Marathon in November. That would give me about 9 weeks to train and taper, which I acknowledge is not much time at all and could backfire, but I'm willing to give it a go anyway. I'll just convince myself the miles I've been running are decent marathon training. Whatever happens it should be a great learning experience.
This report was generated using race reportr, a tool built by BBQLays for making great looking and informative race reports. Honestly, this has been going on since like April and I havent been able to play ToonTown since, it hasn't been until recently I've gone into full detective mode to figure out what the issue seems to be. Everytime I open the login screen I login it shows a black box for 2 seconds, closes then says "Hope You Had Fun!" or whatever. I don't know what to do, and I have an intel G45/G43 driver. Thanks.
This is my game log.
sys.path = [] os.environ["TTRGAMESERVER"] = gameserver-us-east-1-prod.toontownrewritten.com os.environ["TTR_PLAYCOOKIE"] = fyuYyHzNwBVTNdtMhDMAevCyqUD3ZtAdYrKQlGCu3fXBB ToontownStart: Polling for game2 to finish... ToontownStart: Game2 is finished. ToontownStart: Starting the game. ToontownStart: setting default font TTLocalizer: Running in language: english from toontown.toonbase.TTLocalizerEnglish import * OTPLocalizer: Running in language: english from otp.otpbase.OTPLocalizerEnglish import * :DisplayOptions: settingsFullScreen = False, embedded = False width=800 height=600 Known pipe types: wglGraphicsPipe (all display modules loaded.) :display:windisplay: OS version: 6.2.2.9200 :display:windisplay: :display:windisplay: max Mhz 2336000000, current Mhz 2336000000 :ToonBase: Default graphics pipe is wglGraphicsPipe (OpenGL). :display(error): The application requested harware acceleration, but your OpenGL :display(error): driver, GDI Generic, only supports software rendering. :display(error): You need to install a hardware-accelerated OpenGL driver, or, :display(error): if you actually want to use a software renderer, then :display(error): alter the hardware/software configuration in your Config.prc file. :display: Closing wglGraphicsWindow :display: wglGraphicsWindow wouldn't open; abandoning. :ToonBase(warning): Unable to open 'onscreen' window. Traceback (most recent call last): File "voltorbmain'>", line 0, in File "", line 0, in File "", line 0, in File "", line 0, in __init_ File "", line 0, in init File "", line 0, in init File "", line 0, in vlt4de7f60e File "", line 0, in vlte4aa39a5 File "", line 0, in vlte4aa39a5 File "", line 0, in vlte4aa39a5 File "", line 0, in vlte635a704 StandardError: Could not open window.
