Disney Princess Half Marathon Course Map 2018

Hey Folks,
It's Friday afternoon and my work motivation is waning, so I thought I'd check in here again to provide some more color to my goals. Here we go....

1. Run 1000 miles in 2021 - I severely injured my calf in the first half of 2019. I wasn't able to run at all from roughly April - October 2019. Running is pretty much my only form of exercise so I lost a LOT of fitness and was pretty disheartened. Then all the glories of 2020 happened and the short version is that I didn't run very much, <350 miles for the entire year. When 2021 kicked off, I decided I need a running goal that wasn't race based because who knew when races were coming back. The local running store was hosting a 1000 mile challenge and I decided that would be my goal.

I'm not going to lie, 1000 miles was kind of scary at the time. The mileage was going to be a big increase on the previous two years, but I knew it was a milestone that I had hit before and could work my way up to. I also knew that since it was scary, it would keep me motivated. It's very easy for me to skip a run during training because I know that I can still cover the distance even if I miss a run here or there. However, any mileage I skip with this distance goal, I have to make up later so it's not nearly as enticing.

I don't want to reveal all my cards just yet, so let's just say that this goal is still within reach and I have every intention of achieving this.

2. Properly train for the half at marathon weekend - I had no intentions of running any Disney races until Jan 2023 but then my family decided to plan a big family trip for Jan 2022, so how could I pass up the opportunity? I've got a different vacation planned for end of Nov/early Dec which is going to make this cycle a bit interesting and also ruled out the option of running the marathon again.

I just started a 14 week plan for this on Tuesday, so far so good .

3. Gain some lost fitness back - Already previewed this one a bit. I got injured, stopped running, and am not the runner I was back when I was regularly posting in this journal. Unfortunately, there's no magic wand for this so I just gotta keep at it.

The good news is that I'm not near as far off as I thought I was. I'm pretty close to 2016 fitness and 2017/18 was peak fitness for me, so I'm hoping by this time next year I can start chasing some new PRs.

4. Earn a new POT to be used for the 2023 Disney Marathon - Due to a lot of things mentioned above, I haven't ran a 10 miler, half, or marathon since the Disney Princess Half in 2019 (and that one isn't even fast enough to be considered with the new guidelines). I figure I have through spring to get this sorted; the cutoff deadline of Sept is before the fall racing season really gets going here. Right now, I'm registered for a 10 miler in November but I'm not sure if I'll be ready to go sub 1:25. I'll have another chance at the WDW half, but I'm really hoping the characters will be out which will definitely slow me down. If those two options don't pan out, I'll find something this spring.

5. Run the 2023 Disney Marathon - Long time readers will remember that I first ran this race in 2018 for the 25th anniversary. It remains my favorite race ever. I have other racing and vacation ambitions that preclude me from running it every year, so I decided in 2018 that it was something I could run every 5 years and I'm excited to make my triumphant return in 457 days (but who's counting? )

So, those are my current goals. As I check these off, I'll adjust and add new ones.

I'm looking for inspiration for my next big scary goal that isn't training or pace related. Do you have any running goals that aren't race related? I'd love to hear them!

Happy running!

Disney Princess Half Marathon Course Map 2018

Source: https://www.disboards.com/threads/running-renaissance-2018-disney-marathon-2019-princess-2023-disney-marathon.3595467/page-16

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