A Beginner’s Guide to Training for runDisney (Episode 7)

With Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend canceled and still being injured, I am having a lot of feelings this month. I’d like to share my thoughts about my worst month of runDisney training so far and would love to hear how you fellow Wine and Diners are coping.

Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend is canceled

I was in the middle of Target when I checked my phone and saw Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend was canceled. It was kind of surreal, to be honest. I knew it was coming and had been preparing myself especially after all the other races across the country have been canceled (or moved to a virtual race) this year.

I know why canceling the race was necessary. I don’t see how Disney could fit in thousands of participants while maintaining physical distancing. Plus the idea of wearing a mask while running, while I have never tried it because I run solo, does not sound very appealing.

I think Disney made the right decision, but…

It still didn’t make it any easier to hear! Wine and Dine was the pre-cursor to mine and my friend’s Princess Half Marathon race. It is what would have gotten us acquainted with runDisney events and races in general.

I discussed the cancelation with my running partner, and we both decided the money was not worth the cost of a virtual event. You may recall I am already doing a virtual race challenge and, while fun, is not the same as being at Disney World.

I looked over the shirts and medals, and even though I love Ursula, the medal is not very appealing to me. I also would feel like a fake walking around in my 10k runDisney shirt that I didn’t get to be there for. It’s just not for me.

So I am taking the refund on the race, but my friend and I do still plan to go to Disney anyway! You may remember I got a pretty magical resort upgrade for this trip, and I don’t want to waste it. Plus, she has already purchased tickets.

We are excited to stay at Caribbean Beach despite all the changes that will occur once it reopens next month. We have three park days planned plus (hopefully) the opportunity to attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

By the way, still no word on MVCMP, but considering the race is canceled, it is my opinion (and solely my opinion) that the Christmas Party will also not be happening this year.

What about Marathon Weekend and Princess Half Marathon Weekend?

Now, knowing that Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend has been canceled, I am trying to work through the idea that Marathon Weekend and Princess Half Weekend may not happen either.

I am torn on these two events and here is why:

First, registration for both of these 2021 events took place after the parks shut down and Disney was working through reopening plans. It may very well be that they severely limited the slots available for both of these races.

We may see fewer people at the races, which would then help with maintaining physical distancing. We may see staggered start times and other measures to space runners out.

Or, we could see both of these events being canceled as well. It may just not be worth it to Disney to have thousands of people close together for the race. There may not be any feasible way for Disney to make that happen.

Disney has remained very quiet on these races so it is hard for me to make an educated opinion with very little information.

I am still very hopeful that Princess Half Marathon Weekend will happen because that is the first race we decided to participate in! Plus, I do love Princesses more than I like Villains and I just want the satisfaction of completing one runDisney event.

Update on my Injury

You may remember last month I mentioned I injured myself. I spoke with my doctor, got some medicine, and started physical therapy this month. I did not receive an MRI but it is the belief of my both my doctor and therapist that I have a bulging disc that is hitting my sciatic nerve.

I have not trained at all for the entire month of July because I needed to give myself some time to figure out what was wrong and begin a treatment plan.

The good news is my physical therapist doesn’t think this will be a long-term issue! We just need to work on getting the disc back in place and slowly easing back into running.

He doesn’t think I should continue training until October.

Now, that was also hard to hear. I have been pretty diligent in training for the last 7 months! I am a little concerned about taking off 3 months off and then having to jump straight into half marathon training.

However, it also made me a tiny bit relieved to know that Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend was canceled. It would have only given me one month to prepare for a 10k. Now mind you I haven’t gone over 4 miles yet and I didn’t feel anywhere near ready to participate in a 10k.

So, I still have not completed my last 5k for my virtual race series. I do plan to walk that by the end of this month so long as I’m feeling okay. I do have every intention of completing the challenge and am anxiously awaiting for my medals to arrive!

I have seen so many other participants start to receive theirs! Congratulations to those of you also completing the virtual series!

Hopefully I can come back next month with some goods regarding my back along with some photos of my last virtual race!

To get caught up on past episodes of A Beginner’s Guide to Training for runDisney, check out:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4
• Episode 5
• Episode 6

Were you signed up to run in the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend? Did you decide to run it virtually or get your money back? Share your plans with me on Facebook! I’d love to hear from you!