Disney Prep.

So you’re probably sick of hearing this already, but… I’m going to Disney World!!  In less than 80 days  I’m super excited for this trip and this run and just everything about the week we are spending down there!  I don’t really have time to go crazy with training and everything for this upcoming marathon in Disney but I do think it will help me a little to make some preparations for it to make sure I make it there without injury, etc.  Here are a few things I am going to implement to try to get to the start line healthy and injury-free:

1) Track my pre/post long run eats on a calorie count website/on paper.  In the past I’ve always just went with the mind set of eating whatever I want after a long run but that decision has led to quite a few extra pounds acquired in the past year… oops!  I obviously won’t starve myself if I am really, truly hungry but seeing a tally of my eats around my long run helps me see that maybe it’s not always that I am hungry but maybe I need more water/protein/fats, etc.  I’ve recently found a newish site called SlimKicker and am really liking the points you can accumulate for reaching certain goals, etc.  Plus with a long run, I’ll get tons of points and my self chosen reward is a new iTunes song.  Too bad I have to buy my own rewards

Too much ice cream, not enough vegetables…

2) Ice Bath, Stretch, Foam Roll.  Like it’s my job.  I’m so bad at this but I’m going to work to get better.

The Stick will become my friend. And new shoes will be in order soon I suppose!

3) Shoot for weekly mileage totals instead of per day totals.  That way, if I have a horrible run one day, I can cut it short, skip it, whatever and make up for it on another day.  So some weeks I will have a really long run + 1-2 very short runs and other weeks I will have 2-3 moderate size runs or any combination.  I’m hoping this will help me avoid burn out.

4) Leave my garmin hiding in a drawer somewhere.  Even though I wanted one so darn bad, now that I have one, I really, truly hate it.  It turns me into this time obsessed monster and I’m not really too keen on turning into that again.  I may have to wear it on long run for the sole purpose of knowing my distance but I will have to keep it in a pocket or something… or maybe I’ll try getting my iPod with Nike+ to start working again?  How do you ignore that 50lb weight on your wrist?  And I would also like it better if it didn’t show me such depressing information…

5) If I start feeling any kind of nagging pain, stop with the running for a number of days until the pain gets better.  I’ve always been really bad about pushing through but that just leads to a cycle of hurts and I don’t want to go there this time around.

6) Have fun.  I’m likely only going to get to run this marathon once in my life (unless I move closer to Florida ) so I want to enjoy everything about this training and experience as a whole.  I know I didn’t enjoy the half marathon last year as much as I should have and I am glad I get a do over with the marathon.  For whatever reason, DisneyWorld/Land turns me cranky sometimes  But I am really trying to stop getting so annoyed by everything…

Can we leave yet?

It’s crazy to think how soon I will be toeing this start line.  When I registered, it seems like years away but now that it’s getting so close, I am so, so excited!  Plus this time of year always goes SO fast with Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc. so I will be packing my bags before I know it!

Anything I am missing?  What else should I do differently this time around?

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