Marathon Weekend 2025

[jrsharp21]

SAFD- Not planning on any ADRs for this trip. I'll be solo so I'm hoping to try a few QS places I've never been too (looking at you Columbia Harbor House).

The trio platter at the Harbor House! Always a favorite QS meal for us.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD: Oh, this one is easy… I have NO reservations! For anything! Not even a hotel! I might not even run the race I registered for!!! DOBBY IS FREEEEEEE!!!!!!

Sorry, wrong franchise there.

I guess I should think about booking a resort at some point because even if I don’t run, I’ll want to be there to spectate. But I’m a hard pass on dining - partly because I’m still COVID/flu cautious and do not eat at indoor restaurants, but also because not doing that for the better part of 5 years was a great way of learning that… I do not enjoy eating in restaurants. Couldn’t be happier to get my food to go and eat somewhere quiet!

 

[Jason Bryer]

SAFD: Almost never to reservations. I prefer the grab and go places and can never commit to be in any particular place at the right time. For some reason (trying not to judge) my son wants to go to Rainforest Cafe for his 18th birthday. I'll always hit Polite Pig once or twice. Otherwise it is counter service for us.

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: I'm not big on the TS restaurants at WDW so I was only planning one celebration meal at Hoop Dee Doo on Marathon Sunday. But when I shared the plans with the fam, I discovered they had other ideas . Mom wants breakfast with Mickey and my partner wants to try Via Napoli again.

Anyone have a strong preference on character breakfast? We did Chef Mickey in 2023 and it was okay. This past year we did Topolino's Terrace which I enjoyed a lot more. Right now I'm leaning toward 'Ohana if I can just to try something new.

 

[Herding_Cats]

If you’re an AP (or FL resident) it looks like there’s a decent resort discount (not including Friday and Saturday nights)

 

[People_Mover]

SAFD: learnt after our first marathon that we don’t have the biggest appetite post race (shame!), second time around we left our victory meal to the Monday after a day flopping at the water park. Victory meal has been D-Luxe burger for the two marathon weekend’s we’ve done (those milkshakes!) but could be something else next time.

ADR wise we used to do a lot of TS but the past couple of trips we’ve leaned more towards QS or being more on the fly and really enjoyed it, imagine we’ll do the same next time we go! Anything at AKL is always a winner and we did want to try the CG Brunch for our next trip but I’m pretty sure they never brought this back after COVID?

 

[Herding_Cats]

Made a dining reservation this morning online and then called to see if someone in CS could access/merge the 2nd leg of our stay so that we could do reservations for Thursday-Monday as well. My CM sighed a lot, and sounded like he was over dealing with people already this morning. I was told that their system had undergone some updates and that they are no longer able to access reservations for split stays for dates past the inital day of the first part of the stay. If anyone else has had a different experience recently with that, I'm very willing to call back and see if a different CM can help me out.

ETA: THANK YOU to whoever suggested checking OpenTable a week or so ago. I don't think we would be able to grab one of the ressies I made if I had to wait 4 more days, since it's on the first night of that stay.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

Made a dining reservation this morning online and then called to see if someone in CS could access/merge the 2nd leg of our stay so that we could do reservations for Thursday-Monday as well. My CM sighed a lot, and sounded like he was over dealing with people already this morning. I was told that their system had undergone some updates and that they are no longer able to access reservations for split stays for dates past the inital day of the first part of the stay. If anyone else has had a different experience recently with that, I'm very willing to call back and see if a different CM can help me out.

ETA: THANK YOU to whoever suggested checking OpenTable a week or so ago. I don't think we would be able to grab one of the ressies I made if I had to wait 4 more days, since it's on the first night of that stay.

So much for "be our guest, put our magic to the test"....

 

[camaker]

So much for "be our guest, put our magic to the test"....

I don't know. "After all, miss, this is [not] France"

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD: I know I'm super late, but playing catchup after W&D.

I'm not entirely sure what to do for ADRs for MW. My running coach is making a bunch of reservations for the group, but not sure what they will be yet. One of them is a character breakfast on Friday morning after the 10K, so that should be fun. I really want to do Storybook Dining after the marathon and I thought Monday might work before my flight, but looks like it's only open for dinner which won't work. Ugh. I'm sure we will be doing Epcot on Sunday after the marathon for DATW so it may not work out for this trip. Otherwise, I find myself doing fewer and fewer ADRs. I like being able to go with the flow a bit more and grab QS when I get hungry. Plus, with my running group booking a lot of meals, I don't feel inclined to book my own so I can have more flexibility when I'm on my own. We will see.

 

[kps7795]

How is everyone's training going? I thought that my training was going really well and that my fitness was indicating a 3:43 marathon, but I had a terrible Tempo run (1M WU + 8M at MP + 1M CD) earlier this morning. I was able to the same workout with 5M at MP last week and felt strong. However, I had to stop at 2.5 miles because my heart rate was high and felt out of control. I don't know if it was the higher temperatures this morning (81 degrees versus 73 last week - T+D was 156), but I am seriously questioning my pace. I'm even considering slowing down to see how that feels when I do the same workout next week. Nothing drastic, but maybe try 8:35 instead of 8:30.

Thank you to anybody who actually reads my whining. It's nice to have this community of fellow runners who understand the trials and tribulations of training and the emotional turmoil that a bad run can cause you to go through. I know that it's just one run, but it was awful.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

How is everyone's training going? I thought that my training was going really well and that my fitness was indicating a 3:43 marathon, but I had a terrible Tempo run (1M WU + 8M at MP + 1M CD) earlier this morning. I was able to the same workout with 5M at MP last week and felt strong. However, I had to stop at 2.5 miles because my heart rate was felt high and out of control. I don't know if it was the higher temperatures this morning (81 degrees versus 73 last week - T+D was 156), but I am seriously questioning my pace. I'm even considering slowing down to see how that feels when I do the same workout next week. Nothing drastic, but maybe try 8:35 instead of 8:30.

Thank you to anybody who actually reads my whining. It's nice to have this community of fellow runners who understand the trials and tribulations of training and the emotional turmoil that a bad run can cause you to go through. I know that it's just one run, but it was awful.

As long as your bad run was an outlier, I'd say stick with your paces for now. Especially given the higher temperatures. If you start to see a pattern, then you might want to adjust, but everyone has a bad workout once in a while.

Case in point, I had an absolutely garbage workout in like week 12 of my marathon training block, and then I ran the marathon faster than my predicted pace in the end. So don't read too much into one bad day!

ETA: Are you adjusting your paces for the conditions? You should definitely expect to run slower than prescribed if the T+D is 156.

 

[nancipants]

My tempo run was awful this morning. I hit the paces, but thought I was going to die. But it's super hot here, so I blame the heat.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

How is everyone's training going? I thought that my training was going really well and that my fitness was indicating a 3:43 marathon, but I had a terrible Tempo run (1M WU + 8M at MP + 1M CD) earlier this morning. I was able to the same workout with 5M at MP last week and felt strong. However, I had to stop at 2.5 miles because my heart rate was felt high and out of control. I don't know if it was the higher temperatures this morning (81 degrees versus 73 last week - T+D was 156), but I am seriously questioning my pace. I'm even considering slowing down to see how that feels when I do the same workout next week. Nothing drastic, but maybe try 8:35 instead of 8:30.

Completely agree with @WillRunForPizza - one run does not make a trend. Seems like I always have a run (or two or three) during a training cycle that make me question if my goals are realistic. I remember vividly one training run last year that I could barely hang onto the correct pace and came back feeling defeated because I had an even harder workout like 3 days later. As it turned out, my harder workout 3 days later went smooth and I actually had to hold myself back from doing it too hard. Like any progress, training isn't a straight line and we get reminded of that from time to time.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

Training was on track with the start of Princess, then my area got hit with a two day snow storm. I’ve done well with training, but today my run may not happen because of more snow and an emergency vet visit because my cat was limping and barfed. When I get her home I’ll decide if I do the run or skip it. I may just do it so I’m not hovering over my fur baby.

 

[3princesandaprincess]

We were there for lunch and ordered these two (gluten-free version which requires very little adaptation). We really enjoyed the sausage, bacon and waffles from the first and the cornbread and pulled pork from the second. If I had to choose only one I would take the Heritage, just because I like breakfast food.​

The Heritage​

House-made Buttermilk-Cheddar Biscuits and Sausage Gravy with Scrambled Eggs, Country Potatoes, Hickory-smoked Bacon, Pork Sausage Links, Mickey-shaped Waffles (Price per person)
$26.00

The Carnivore​

House-made Cornbread with Honey Butter, Maple-Chipotle Barbecued Slow-smoked Pork Ribs, Oak-smoked Beef Brisket, Barbecued Pulled Pork, Citrus-Herb Chicken, Country Potatoes, Buttered Corn, Charred Carrots (Price per person)
$26.00

Very good to hear they have gf options!! Were the biscuits good?

 

[flav]

Very good to hear they have gf options!! Were the biscuits good?

I couldn’t remember biscuits so I went back and looking at this picture, it seems like we didn’t have any. If only taking the breakfast skillet, maybe ask if you can get cornbread instead? Or just a mountain of waffles!

 

[kps7795]

Are you adjusting your paces for the conditions? You should definitely expect to run slower than prescribed if the T+D is 156

Not only did I not adjust my pace for the heat and humidity, I also neglected to mention that there were 16 mph wind gusts this morning. I'm not sure if I should fault my dumb male brain or runner's brain for refusing to adjust my pace. It's a dangerous combination.

 

[Disneyhanna]

How is everyone's training going? I thought that my training was going really well and that my fitness was indicating a 3:43 marathon, but I had a terrible Tempo run (1M WU + 8M at MP + 1M CD) earlier this morning. I was able to the same workout with 5M at MP last week and felt strong. However, I had to stop at 2.5 miles because my heart rate was felt high and out of control. I don't know if it was the higher temperatures this morning (81 degrees versus 73 last week - T+D was 156), but I am seriously questioning my pace. I'm even considering slowing down to see how that feels when I do the same workout next week. Nothing drastic, but maybe try 8:35 instead of 8:30.

Thank you to anybody who actually reads my whining. It's nice to have this community of fellow runners who understand the trials and tribulations of training and the emotional turmoil that a bad run can cause you to go through. I know that it's just one run, but it was awful.

73 vs 80 even ignoring humidity makes such a big difference for me. I always check the T+D to reassure myself in the summer and I find I have to slow down even more than those charts recommend once it's above like 130. Above 150 and I barely can find the motivation to run outside, or if I do, any goals are out the window I had an 8 miler at the beginning of my training block on a hot day and I had to throw in the towel at 5 miles, my body just would not cooperate. I was like sheesh, I've run multiple marathons, and now I can't even run 8 miles? Looking back the T+D was a measly 131. Then the next week I had no problem with my 9 mile long run at a much faster pace than my failed run the week prior, in a much more ideal T+D of 112. And then I ran 14 miles a couple weeks later. Some days are just off days!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Not only did I not adjust my pace for the heat and humidity, I also neglected to mention that there were 16 mph wind gusts this morning. I'm not sure if I should fault my dumb male brain or runner's brain for refusing to adjust my pace. It's a dangerous combination.

Yeah...it sounds like your problems were mainly weather-related! Your body doesn't know paces, just efforts. So if you were trying to run M pace with no adjustments in those conditions, your body thought it was more like a HM pace run, which is, you know, harder For a T+D of 156, I think your 8:30 pace should actually be around 9:00 - not accounting for the wind.