runDisney 2022 - 2023 Race Information

Calling all mouseketeers, princesses, villains, and running fans!   runDisney marked the return of in person racing during the 2021-2022 race season and, just as the tutus and pixie dust of the 2022 runDisney Princess Half Marathon Weekend is beginning to cover those magical miles, we have some race dates releasing for 2022-2023!

For the upcoming 2022-2023 running season, we so far have dates for Wine & Dine as well as Marathon weekends.  There are no changes to race offerings or typical weekends with these. Dates are as follows:

Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend - Image from www.rundisney.com

runDisney Wine & Dine Weekend - General Registration Opens March 22, 2022

• Disney Wine & Dine 5K - November 4, 2022
• Disney Wine & Dine 10K - November 5, 2022
• Disney Wine & Dine Half-Marathon - November 6, 2022
• Disney Two Course Challenge - November 5-6, 2022
• Post-Race Party - November 6, 2022

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Image from www.rundisney.com

runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - General Registration Opens April 19, 2022

• Walt Disney World 5K - January 5, 2023
• Walt Disney World 10K - January 6, 2023
• Walt Disney World Half Marathon - January 7, 2023
• Walt Disney World Marathon - January 8, 2023
• Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge - January 7-8, 2023
• Dopey Challenge - January 5-8, 2023

While a lot remains similar to past weekends, there are a few notable changes.  The past two Wine & Dine weekends have been incredibly popular with their villains theme. . .but this year we get something new - an "unforgettable showcase celebration."  Drawing of the popularity of EPCOT's International Food & Wine Festival, Wine & Dine weekend will this year showcase Disney favorites from around the world - representing the global community of runDisney including themes from Coco, Aladdin, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Soul.

Virtual race options also return in 2022-2023 for race weekends.  I'm glad to see runDisney continuing to offer these options for runners who can't make the trek to Walt Disney World Resort during a race weekend.  I always wondered why they didn't offer these and it's one change from COVID that I hope continues to stay.

Read all about my virtual runDisney Star Wars 10K in 2021!

Keep checking back as more information will be added for the 2023 runDisney Princess Half Marathon and 2023 Springtime Surprise Weekend as it is released!  

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Tales from a Self-Proclaimed Slacker

So here's the down and dirty truth - I've been a slacker.  Life has gotten in the way these past few weeks and I need to get myself back on track.  I can't say it's been a bad few weeks - it's actually been really exciting around our house!  Both of my boys celebrated birthdays the first week of February which meant birthday fun and a big birthday party.  February is also the busiest month of our friends and family birthday parties too so we've been running each weekend to parties.  We've also been doing lots of fun things like visiting the Baltimore Auto Show and renewing our membership with our first visit of 2019 to the Maryland Science Center.

The weather has been dampening my training plans - literally.  Between the polar vortex, snow, ice, and rain, I am once again renewed with my feelings of bitterness for training in Maryland winters.  Bring on the sunshine and warmer temperatures!  My treadmill has been getting me some miles, but it's admittedly not the same.  And with my hubby traveling a lot for work lately, getting to my elliptical at the Y has become more difficult.

And diet - don't even go there.  Training diet went out the window with the birthday cakes, pizza, and Super Bowl food about a week and a half ago and I haven't gotten that ship righted either.  In January, I lost 9 lbs and in February I've found 2 of them again!  I've been a yo-yo dieter most of my adult life so I'm used to this ride, but I'm hoping to end that cycle.  This time around I'm not doing a "diet" - I'm working to balance healthier eating choices with exercise to take weight off once and for all.


via GIFER

So now it's time to refocus and get back on track.  But how?  Getting back into a routine is HARD - like seriously hard people.  How do you do it?  I need to hit back with consistency.  Whether it's what's on the training plan or not, I simply need to do something every day.  Training for a marathon is, well, a marathon not a sprint.  I know ups and downs will happen over the next 11 months and my success next January won't be determined by one or two weeks where I fell down on my plan, but by the weeks where I pulled myself back and kept pushing forward.  That's a good metaphor for life too. We're all bound to fall down from time to time, but it's not how far or how hard you fall.  Instead, it's about how you pull yourself back up.  And remember you are not alone - in life or training.  Admitting our failures and our struggles as well as celebrating our successes with family, friends, or total strangers on the Internet means we find support and encouragement.  So today, let's lift each other up and make each other stronger!

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Conquering Excuses

Spending quality time with my treadmill
this week.

"It's too cold."

"It's snowing." 

"It's too late." 

"Why does it get dark so early?"

"I'm too tired."

Any of those sound familiar?  I know I've been guilty of saying them before, but I'm working on ways to conquer excuses in 2019 when it comes to working out and my training.  As I've heard from much wiser people than me, it's not about "not having time" for something - it's all in how you prioritize your time. 

Full disclosure - this was a rough week in meeting my training goals.  My excuses for the week include busy days at school that kept me later, my husband traveling for work which meant I had both littles to manage, and the brutal winds and snowy weather.  So while my Galloway training calendar called for 2 30 minute runs and a 3 mile run this week, that didn't happen. . .well, it didn't happen exactly that way.  This week, I conquered excuses by modifying and simply doing the best I can.  

This would have been a really easy week to say that I wasn't going to work out since I wasn't able to run the way I wanted to, but instead I made modifications to my Galloway plan to keep me moving without (hopefully) losing too much progress.  I am fortunate to have a treadmill at home which means I can still walk even when I can't run.  Running on a treadmill tears my body up and I've just reached a point where I don't do it anymore.  So this weeks running workouts became walking workouts.  I followed the same plan, just walking instead of running.  And I stayed true to my yoga video as well, logging 3 yoga sessions this week.  

At the end of the day, even when you can't stick exactly to the plan, my motto is that it's better to do something rather than nothing.  We'll see what the week ahead brings.  It's another crazy week of schedules and looks like another snow storm is on the horizon, so more treadmill miles may be in store, but I have plenty of time to continue training before the Frederick Half Marathon.  

Until next week, keep moving friends!  

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Training Plans!

Time to lace up those training shoes, Mickey!

One of the best things about keeping a blog are the connections you make with others along the way.  I've met so many fabulous "virtual" friends over the years who share both a love of running and a love of Disney with me.  So in the spirit of connecting with others, I'm starting a weekly post this year that will allow me to share my week in training.  My hope is that this will be a place where I can hold myself accountable by publicly sharing what's going on with my running while also hoping to create a community space where all of you who are also enjoying the ups and downs of a fitness journey can share your own stories.

So here we are at week one - let's talk 2019 goals first.  Actually, to tell the story of my 2019 goals, I need to tell you a 2020 goal.  I'm planning to run the Walt Disney World Marathon in January 2020 along with the Castaway Challenge which means that 2019 is a year for me to seriously pile the miles back on!  I generally do better sticking with a training plan when I have a race to train for so I have two half marathons on the books this year.  In May, I'll be running the Frederick Half Marathon.  This race was my very first half back in 2016.  I'm also signed up for the Baltimore Half Marathon in October.  This will be a return to this race after a three year hiatus.  By completing both of these races, I'll also earn the Maryland Double medal.  And, because I love medals and it's really only one more race, I may add the Baltimore 10 miler which would get me "King Crab" status for the second time.  Ultimately I'm running Maryland in preparation to runDisney again in 2020!

Pretty much. . . #truth

Those of you who have been following me for several years now know my deep love of Jeff Galloway and his training plans so it should be no surprise that I'm once again turning to him for guidance on my training this year.  While I continued a regular exercise routine in 2018, I didn't run any races, so I'm back at staring in square one for half marathon training.  I'm following Galloway's Beginner Half Marathon training plan that can be found on the runDisney website.  It's a 19 week training program which works perfectly since the Frederick Half is 19 weeks away.  This week, I ran my three training runs - two 30 minute runs and a 2 mile run on the weekend.  It actually felt pretty good being back out there with minimal adjustment for my body.  I'm supplementing my non-running days with either walking or yoga to keep moving but hopefully without putting too much stress on my muscles and joints.

What are your fitness goals this year?  Any runners out there with exciting races on the calendar?  Or maybe you're changing up and trying something new.  Whatever your goals are, I can't wait to follow your journeys too!

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