Dang it. IDK what to do

[stephm0188]

I had my heart set on my first marathon being MCM. Unfortunately, WDW's Wine and Dine half is 6 days after that, and my husband and I were planning to cash in NewBalance points to do that one for free. I signed up for the AF full instead because it was local.

Then Disney changed W&D, so we've scratched it off the list. 

Now I'm torn. Stick with AF now that I've already signed up, or try for a MCM bib and transfer my AF bib? I could potentially do the AF half instead because it would match up well with training for MCM.

WWH&FD?

[wambam]

I would make your first marathon be with a really groovy H&Fer who is running *her* first marathon at AF

[stephm0188]

Mar 20, 2016 18:43:52 GMT -5 wambam said:

I would make your first marathon be with a really groovy H&Fer who is running *her* first marathon at AF

I've thought about that factor for sure! 

[Deleted]

What are the dates for each of them?

[Wines Not Whines]

I'm obviously going to tell you to put in for the MCM lottery. It's a great race, especially for a first marathon.

[stephm0188]

Mar 21, 2016 4:34:03 GMT -5 @cheshire said:

What are the dates for each of them?

AF is September 17. MCM is October 30.

[wambam]

I'm genuinely not trying to pressure you, but for me, being local was important from a support standpoint. I wanted to be able to have my H, my parents, my BFF, #realmitch, etc there for my first marathon. That was important to my decision.

[mrshandy]

Where do live at?

A September race means a whole summer of marathon training. At least with MCM you get a few months of cooler weather. And the weather is more likely to be cooler.

I love MCM so obviously I would recommend that. But this is really a personal decision. Is AF a local race for you? I do like doing local races for your first one. Less logistics to worry about.

[Deleted]

If you had your heart set on MCM, I would do that one, drop to a half for AF or (because they are far enough apart)... do both?

[Deleted]

Mar 21, 2016 9:56:35 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Where do live at?

A September race means a whole summer of marathon training. At least with MCM you get a few months of cooler weather. And the weather is more likely to be cooler.

I love MCM so obviously I would recommend that. But this is really a personal decision. Is AF a local race for you? I do like doing local races for your first one. Less logistics to worry about.

What are the logistics concerns in local v somewhere else? I say this only because I rarely ever get a local race and I don't see what the issue is with travelling?

[mrshandy]

Mar 21, 2016 10:39:55 GMT -5 @cheshire said:

Mar 21, 2016 9:56:35 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Where do live at?

A September race means a whole summer of marathon training. At least with MCM you get a few months of cooler weather. And the weather is more likely to be cooler.

I love MCM so obviously I would recommend that. But this is really a personal decision. Is AF a local race for you? I do like doing local races for your first one. Less logistics to worry about.

What are the logistics concerns in local v somewhere else? I say this only because I rarely ever get a local race and I don't see what the issue is with travelling?

It's just my personal preference. I don't think this applies to the OP, but traveling with kids to races can be difficult if you're sharing the same hotel room. 

I don't eat as well when traveling and I get off my routine. If I don't have access to a kitchen, then I may not get my preferred breakfast. Locally, I just have control over 

I rarely travel for races so that probably colors my opinion. Everyone's different, but I find that traveling for a race can be stressful because it throws off your routine. I'm lucky where I live that there are a ton of great races I don't really feel the need to travel as much. 

[Deleted]

Mar 21, 2016 10:49:03 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Mar 21, 2016 10:39:55 GMT -5 @cheshire said:

What are the logistics concerns in local v somewhere else? I say this only because I rarely ever get a local race and I don't see what the issue is with travelling?

It's just my personal preference. I don't think this applies to the OP, but traveling with kids to races can be difficult if you're sharing the same hotel room. 

I don't eat as well when traveling and I get off my routine. If I don't have access to a kitchen, then I may not get my preferred breakfast. Locally, I just have control over 

I rarely travel for races so that probably colors my opinion. Everyone's different, but I find that traveling for a race can be stressful because it throws off your routine. I'm lucky where I live that there are a ton of great races I don't really feel the need to travel as much. 

Fair enough, that makes total sense.
I have the luxury (?) of not having kids or anyone else to organise and I travel a fair bit for work, so I'm usually half-packed at most times
Also, my fueling isn't very specific. In Barcelona I grabbed a custard tart on the way to the corrals from a patisserie (yep, total professional over here!). Probably wasn't a great choice, as it turned out and I will think about it a bit more for Paris.

[katyintx]

Mar 21, 2016 10:38:40 GMT -5 @cheshire said:

If you had your heart set on MCM, I would do that one, drop to a half for AF or (because they are far enough apart)... do both?

I agree (mostly) with this. I'd do the AF half since it'll line up nicely with training, and then the MCM full. Since this will be your first though, I'm not sure I'd attempt both. Then again, I'm only a 2 marathons a year gal so that may be appealing to you.

[Deleted]

Mar 21, 2016 11:17:55 GMT -5 katyintx said:

Mar 21, 2016 10:38:40 GMT -5 @cheshire said:

If you had your heart set on MCM, I would do that one, drop to a half for AF or (because they are far enough apart)... do both?

I agree (mostly) with this. I'd do the AF half since it'll line up nicely with training, and then the MCM full. Since this will be your first though, I'm not sure I'd attempt both. Then again, I'm only a 2 marathons a year gal so that may be appealing to you.

Yeah, was kind of kidding about the second part (do both). I reckon AF half and MCM full sounds fab though!

[shauni27]

stephm0188, I personally would want to do something local for my first. I am already going to be so nervous that I would just rather not have to add hotels and restaurants to the list. But other people like the amazing @cheshire don't even blink an eye at travel for races

[stephm0188]

AF is local. I'm not really counting on having people there for support though, so it's not a factor. My husband will be doing the AF 10k that morning and then heading off to pick up the kid from the sitter and off to his soccer game. I'll be on my own either way.

[Deleted]

Mar 21, 2016 13:25:02 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

stephm0188 , I personally would want to do something local for my first. I am already going to be so nervous that I would just rather not have to add hotels and restaurants to the list. But other people like the amazing @cheshire don't even blink an eye at travel for races

Awwww, you are the sweetest. It's true though. I'm off to the North Pole (or pretty close) for a race in 3 months!

stephm0188, it's really how you feel. I've come to realise that training for a full is a whole other story than training for a half. So I personally would pick MCM if you had your heart set on it, regardless of travel, and do the half at AF.

[keweenawlove]

I'd prefer to be local for my first marathon if possible. I sleep a lot better in my own bed and find it a lot easier to just stay in my routine, cook my own food, etc so I'd be tempted to do AF for that reason.

On the other side of things, the timing of the MCM seems a lot better if you don't like warm weather running.