Official 2018 Star Wars Dark Side Weekend

[DopeyBadger]

Slowing down is definitely the key training, racing and surviving in heat and humidity. @DopeyBadger has a spreadsheet showing how much to slow down based on the heat and humidity (temperature & dew point). Let me see if I can summon him to this thread to post it...

@DopeyBadger
@DopeyBadger
@DopeyBadger

That was weird... One moment I was over there and now suddenly I find myself here!

As @camaker said I use a combination of Temperature and Dew Point which I find to be the best measure for how it feels outside and how it will affect performance. So take the Temp and Dew and add them together. For instance, a Temp of 90 with a Dew of 75 would be a T+D of 165. These are the adjustments for pace based on different T+D:



This is an example of an adjusted 9:03 pace:



If the T+D was 165, then that would suggest a 7% adjustment which would be a pace of 9:41. I certainly wouldn't try and go faster than that until at least mid-way through the race. My gold standard method is effort. If something "feels" more difficult in the beginning then it is likely in fact too much. So I set a "no faster than" limit with T+D and a "effort" feeling to allow myself to go even slower.

These adjustments and values are completely dependent on heat acclimation and individual characteristics as well. One recommendation if coming from a cooler climate into a warmer one is to intentionally overdress for the last two weeks of training (I do it by wearing jackets, extra pants, extra shirts, hats, gloves, etc. when there's no reason to wear any of it). Just ensure you have plenty of water and electrolytes available as this will force your body to sweat at a much higher rate in the cooler climates. And if it is really cold and you do heat acclimation cut your cool down to a bare minimum to avoid getting the chills/hypothermia. It will help some to make race day more comfortable.

 

[PrincessV]

One recommendation if coming from a cooler climate into a warmer one is to intentionally overdress for the last two weeks of training

On the flipside, I do about the opposite in late summer to keep the cumulative effects of heat from destroying my will to go on: for a 10-miler, say, in August, I'll do the first 8 miles outside, then do the last 2 indoors in the AC or in a pool. I feel like that provides a cool down and seems to stave off heat exhaustion. Because there really is just no way to "cool down" while running or walking at any speed outside in August lol!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Running helps make us healthier. It can extend our lives. But can we really experience the full benefits of regular exercise if stubborn pursuit of a goal causes us to injure ourselves? Does it really make us healthier if we wind up in the hospital because we weren't paying attention to warnings about heat?

At last year's Dark Side, I ran my slowest race ever and finished in over 3 hours and 27 minutes. I had a lot of photo stops, an unexpected bathroom stop, and I certainly slowed down due to the heat. How much effect did the heat have on my finish time? I don't know. But I do know that I finished and enjoyed the rest of my vacation. And that was worth it.

 

[disneymath]

Thanks again everyone for the coping with the heat and training for the heat suggestions. Fingers crossed for tolerable weather as I expect I won’t have much wiggle room to slow down that much. I’m not much of a runner/athlete ... this will be my first 5K and my main goal is to finish and not be swept.

I’ve been training on a treadmill since early January (when we signed up). I’ve been doing 5K every Saturday morning and my time has been getting better each week. (First time took 63 min and I was exhausted; most recent took 53:45 and I was still feeling alright and able to finish out the hour.). I realize it’s still not quite at the 16 min pace, but I’m going to keep at it. I’ve also been trying to put in two 30-45 minute sessions during the week (slightly slower pace but varying incline) along with just walking more throughout the day. With any luck, I’ll be able to get in Here’s hoping it will be enough!

 

[ANIM8R]

Signed up for the First Order Challenge last night! This will be our first non-Marathon Weekend event at WDW....very excited about it.

I submitted my PoT...hopefully I'm in a quasi-appropriate corral. We'll see. Regardless, we're just excited about going - the MRS wanted to go to the flower & garden.

I'm also signed up for the Cap City Half which is the Saturday after Star Wars. I'm not sure what to do about pacing at either. Oh well....I hope they have some cool race-related Magic Bands! I regret not getting one in January!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Thanks again everyone for the coping with the heat and training for the heat suggestions. Fingers crossed for tolerable weather as I expect I won’t have much wiggle room to slow down that much. I’m not much of a runner/athlete ... this will be my first 5K and my main goal is to finish and not be swept.

I’ve been training on a treadmill since early January (when we signed up). I’ve been doing 5K every Saturday morning and my time has been getting better each week. (First time took 63 min and I was exhausted; most recent took 53:45 and I was still feeling alright and able to finish out the hour.). I realize it’s still not quite at the 16 min pace, but I’m going to keep at it. I’ve also been trying to put in two 30-45 minute sessions during the week (slightly slower pace but varying incline) along with just walking more throughout the day. With any luck, I’ll be able to get in Here’s hoping it will be enough!

Just keep going. You're on the right track. I met a lady at Disneyland this past November who had run the runDisney Superheroes 5K in 55 minutes or so. I loved seeing how much excitement she had for her accomplishment. They're not as strict on the 5K runs as they are for the longer distances of 10K, Half, or Full either. Warmer temperatures are more likely to impact the Half the most since it's a much longer distance with more time in heat and sun.

Signed up for the First Order Challenge last night! This will be our first non-Marathon Weekend event at WDW....very excited about it.

I submitted my PoT...hopefully I'm in a quasi-appropriate corral. We'll see. Regardless, we're just excited about going - the MRS wanted to go to the flower & garden.

I'm also signed up for the Cap City Half which is the Saturday after Star Wars. I'm not sure what to do about pacing at either. Oh well....I hope they have some cool race-related Magic Bands! I regret not getting one in January!

I know they had race weekend specific magicbands last year. I'm also expecting some race specific phone cases with OtterBox sponsoring Dark Side weekend.

I think I'm more excited about the food offerings tied to Flower and Garden. The flowers look nice and all, but the food was so good last year.

 

[disneymath]

Just keep going. You're on the right track. I met a lady at Disneyland this past November who had run the runDisney Superheroes 5K in 55 minutes or so. I loved seeing how much excitement she had for her accomplishment. They're not as strict on the 5K runs as they are for the longer distances of 10K, Half, or Full either. Warmer temperatures are more likely to impact the Half the most since it's a much longer distance with more time in heat and sun.

I know they had race weekend specific magicbands last year. I'm also expecting some race specific phone cases with OtterBox sponsoring Dark Side weekend.

I think I'm more excited about the food offerings tied to Flower and Garden. The flowers look nice and all, but the food was so good last year.

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

 

[Sleepless Knight]

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

You're welcome. I had so many far more experienced runners encourage and ultimately convince me that I could do a half that I signed up for one. And while there were certainly times when I thought they were simply being nice to me, I came to realize that they encouraged me because we all need encouragement and we all start somewhere.

I forgot to mention in my first reply that if you want character photos and are worried about finishing, there will be character photo opportunities before and after the races. Last year before the 10K and Half (I didn't run the 5K so I can't speak to the characters that were there) you could get photos with Jabba the Hutt and Salacious Crumb, Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, and BB-8. In addition to those characters, there were different characters and photo ops along the course. The 5K isn't timed, so timing isn't as rigid as the 10K or Half. Don't fear being swept, but I also wouldn't advise thinking they'll allow every runner 2 hours to stop for every photo and walk the course at a leisurely pace. Most importantly, have fun.

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

Yesterday was a recovery long run of 4 miles so I decided to wear my 5k outfit minus the skirt. It was super comfortable and no chafing! Shoes were great but I think I will add a compression anklet for extra support on my left foot. It still feels odd on occasion since I rolled it back in the summer.

Next week is the 11 miler and I'm semi unhappy with the shoe I was planning on wearing for it and the half. It's half a size larger and I bought it for running longer distances in the summer when my feet swell. It doesn't quite feel right in cooler weather so I may opt for one of my tried and true stability versions. Sometimes I just can't make my feet happy!

 

[doctorintheTARDIS]

Two side questions that I’ve been searching to have answered with no luck:

1) Do all Disney resorts offer buses to the race?

We stayed at Coronado thanks to a friend’s discount for Princess last year and I feel like I saw that some of the resorts didn’t offer bus service and was relieved my did. This time we have no discount and have to stay at All Star Sports. I want to make sure I don’t need to figure out alternative transportation

2) Do we have course maps yet? If not for this year, does anyone have last years?

 

[camaker]

Two side questions that I’ve been searching to have answered with no luck:

1) Do all Disney resorts offer buses to the race?

We stayed at Coronado thanks to a friend’s discount for Princess last year and I feel like I saw that some of the resorts didn’t offer bus service and was relieved my did. This time we have no discount and have to stay at All Star Sports. I want to make sure I don’t need to figure out alternative transportation

2) Do we have course maps yet? If not for this year, does anyone have last years?

1) Yes

2). No, but you can Google last year’s courses

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

Two side questions that I’ve been searching to have answered with no luck:

1) Do all Disney resorts offer buses to the race?

We stayed at Coronado thanks to a friend’s discount for Princess last year and I feel like I saw that some of the resorts didn’t offer bus service and was relieved my did. This time we have no discount and have to stay at All Star Sports. I want to make sure I don’t need to figure out alternative transportation

2) Do we have course maps yet? If not for this year, does anyone have last years?

Princess this year was a bit odd as they had the Monorail running at 3 am. That wasn't the case for Dark Side last year, at least for the 5k. There is bus transport between all Disney Resorts. It's NOT the usual Disney Parks bus service but a contract service runDisney provides and is usually in a different location. Driver knowledge is more miss than hit in my limited experience. Take the first bus leaving race morning!

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

Next week is the 11 miler and I'm semi unhappy with the shoe I was planning on wearing for it and the half. It's half a size larger and I bought it for running longer distances in the summer when my feet swell. It doesn't quite feel right in cooler weather so I may opt for one of my tried and true stability versions. Sometimes I just can't make my feet happy!

I feel like every run right now is an audition to see what shoes for what races Dark Side weekend. Clothes- not so much. I'm hoping I won't need gloves, my best windproof jacket, 1/4 zip, cap, tights, and wool layers in Florida in April.

 

[Novatrix]

So.... do the Star Wars races have an equivalent to the Green Army Guy on the overpass? Like Captain Phasma going "I'm utterly disappointed in you trooper, sprint up that hill" or Darth Vader going "I find your lack of running disturbing. I am altering the incline, pray that I do not alter it further." Inquiring minds would like to know.

 

[1lilspark]

So.... do the Star Wars races have an equivalent to the Green Army Guy on the overpass? Like Captain Phasma going "I'm utterly disappointed in you trooper, sprint up that hill" or Darth Vader going "I find your lack of running disturbing. I am altering the incline, pray that I do not alter it further." Inquiring minds would like to know.

I asked the same thing in an earlier post and heard they don’t sadly

 

[cavepig]

So.... do the Star Wars races have an equivalent to the Green Army Guy on the overpass? Like Captain Phasma going "I'm utterly disappointed in you trooper, sprint up that hill" or Darth Vader going "I find your lack of running disturbing. I am altering the incline, pray that I do not alter it further." Inquiring minds would like to know.

Nope to the yelling, but it's a different overpass/onramp though than Princess/Marathon course. For the 10k I think the Emperor's throne chair was out right before going up it.

 

[1lilspark]

Nope to the yelling, but it's a different overpass/onramp though than Princess/Marathon course. For the 10k I think the Emperor's throne chair was out right before going up it.

Same overpass/onramp as wine and dine and they had sarge I couldn’t tell if he was just yelling or doing a photo op as well as we’d just wanted to get inside of a park already

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

Same overpass/onramp as wine and dine and they had sarge I couldn’t tell if he was just yelling or doing a photo op as well as we’d just wanted to get inside of a park already

For the 10k, he was doing photos when we went by and yelling too! I actually enjoyed the World Drive stretch. It was incredibly crowded once we got into DHS.

I didn’t run the 2017 Dark Side 10k so I can’t answer character overpass questions during that.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

So.... do the Star Wars races have an equivalent to the Green Army Guy on the overpass? Like Captain Phasma going "I'm utterly disappointed in you trooper, sprint up that hill" or Darth Vader going "I find your lack of running disturbing. I am altering the incline, pray that I do not alter it further." Inquiring minds would like to know.

Not really. Keep in mind that Disney characters will stay in character. This is why Darth Vader or Kylo Ren will never hug a guest in the parks, but will often resort to intimidation or "threats." Vader warned me about supporting the Rebellion when I visited him at Disneyland and said there would be consequences if I continued to do so.

So on the course they'll be in character too. And as much as Green Army Men style motivation would be funny and potentially give runners a lift, it's not in character for Vader or Kylo Ren or Phasma to "oversee" trainee recruits.

Now, the fans such as the 501st dressed in costume may be a little bit different and may say things like good job, good luck, you're doing great, etc.

Keep in mind too that characters that normally talk in the parks (such as Kylo Ren or Darth Vader) may not say anything at all in the meet and greet lines before/after the race. There are reasons for that, but they may spoil the magic to younglings. Also keep in mind that as of this writing Darth Vader is not available for guests to meet at Disney World. He can however be found at Disneyland. So if you have your heart set on some sort of race related photo with Vader and you skip the line before/after the race because it's too long, you may well be skipping your one chance for that photo you really want.

 

[ANIM8R]

Just checking....there is no means for applying the AP discount for the pre-purchased merchandise through Active, correct? I got caught up in the excitement and bought the pin bundle when I registered for the race.

I was thinking about the figurine but think I'll take my chances at the Expo...I'm not sure about the ornament which has to be purchased with the figurine.

Which leads me to...I can't wait until the merchandise preview!!!!