34
if you're running during disneyland half marathon weekend, or know someone who is, you probably know the corrals have been released. my boyfriend was so excited; corral placements are fun and mean the race is so close! i, on the other hand, was not excited.
my predicted finish time of 2:32 smushed me out of the G corral and in to the H corral. i was initially upset because i was going to be starting really late (compared to the race start), but mostly because of the rather large gap in finish times in corral H. every other corral had finish times within five minutes of each other. but H corral is pretty much 45 minutes of different finish times. this means that paces in this corral will range from 11:30 min/mile to 14:43 min/mile; that's a pretty big difference! i instantly saw in my head the start of the race being super congested and hectic, as faster runners attempted to pass slower runners who lined up at the front of the corral to get more cushion. (can you tell i'm neurotic? yeah, it's pretty bad. you only have to read about it; my boyfriend has to deal with it haha)
after about an hour of being upset and trying to come up with a plan of how to remedy this (at one point i considered sneaking in to corral G, but that's not fair; i didn't earn my spot there), i calmed down. the race isn't going to go my way; corral placement is just one example of that. so, here is my new plan for the half marathon.
get to the corrals early when asking past rundisney-ers for advice, many said to not stress about getting to the corrals super early, as everyone in my corral would be around my pace anyway. well, now that this isn't true anymore for me, i'm going to get there early. yes, i know that this means i'll be standing around even longer since i'm in the back of the corral pack, but i want to be as close to the front of the corral as i can to cut down initial weaving.
line up to the left i figured i would stay to the right to allow people to pass me so i wouldn't go out too fast, but now i'm thinking i'll start out to the left to allow myself to pass people who may start intervals early in the race.
change goal time originally, i wanted to aim for a 2:30 finish time. as i read more about weaving and congestion, i was beginning to wonder if i should increase my goal time so i don't get anxious when it's still crowded and i can't keep my goal pace. the corral placements finalized this thought for me, so now i'm hoping to finish under 2:45. i'll try my original goal at a smaller race here in chicago.
more than anything, i need to remind myself to HAVE FUN. i always take things way too seriously, and i purposefully signed up for a disney race so i'd have no choice but to enjoy my first half marathon and celebrate what i have accomplished this year. of course my anxious head tries to go and ruin it! i need to spend the next month getting excited rather than worked up and nervous.
do you take things too seriously? are you running at disneyland next month? if you're in corral h, say hi if you see me!
