Even when you have a busy weekend, the rest of the world does continue to run. One of the hard things about having as busy of a weekend as I had is getting back to the rest of the world. Over the past several days, while I was largely offline, runDisney and New Balance continued to crank out new awesome news of things that will be available on Marathon Weekend. Back in November, runDisney and New Balance announced the new shoes that will be sold at the 2014 runDisney Expo’s.

So, the big reveal was that they were going to have a Sorcerer Mickey and a pink Minnie themed shoe. I covered this news here. Well, this past weekend, New Balance announced there they will not only be offering the Mickey and Minnie shoes for men, women, and a children’s shoe just like the adult shoe, but they will be offering two other new shoes for 2014.

As you can see, they are also going to be offering a Goofy themed shoe for men and a Cinderella themed shoe for women.These shoes will be for a different model shoe from the Mickey and Minnie ones. For Goofy and Cinderella, the shoes will be of the New Balance 890v4 model. The 890v4 won the Runner’s World Best Update Award. Here is with New Balance says about the 890v4…

Men’s Running – New Balance 890v4

Featuring world-class design and an amazingly light ride, the New Balance 890v4 running shoe revolutionizes the look and feel of high performance. REVlite midsole foam adds even more toe spring to this latest model, and the FantomFit no-sew upper uses a panel-like construction to ensure a secure arch wrap while providing a futuristically stylish visual appeal. The men’s 890v4 also features a blown rubber outsole and the ABZORB® Crash Pad for even more cushioning, lessening the shock of every strike.Awarded “Best Update” in the Runner’s World 2013 Winter Shoe Guide (December 2013)

Type:Lightweight

 

Weight:240 grams (8.5 oz)

 

Features

• 8mm drop: due to variances created during the development and manufacturing processes, all references to 8mm drop are approximate
• ABZORB® crash pad cradles the heel area medially and laterally for additional stability
• Blown rubber outsole
• No-sew material application
• Unique podular structure maintains notion of full ground contact geometries, preserving the purity of the originally coveted 890 ride

So, here’s my take. I’m a stability shoe runner. So, the New Balance 890v4 doesn’t hold the sway that the New Balance 860v4 might. When choosing a shoe to run in, it’s so important to have one that works for you. I’m planning on visiting the New Balance store right by my house after Christmas to get fitted for the 860v4 and see how they feel. Try before you buy. For those who are not stability runners, the 890v4 might work quite well. It is a neutral running shoe and is lighter. Another thing…I’m a Mickey Mouse fan, so again the 860v4 holds more sway than purchasing a Goofy themed 890v4. This is all personal preference. I’m excited that the runDisney New Balance partnership is going to yeild more than 2 new shoes to choose from each year! Hopefully, this will continue into the future with more characters to choose from.

Also, according to Vinlylmation.com, runDisney has announced the designs of the new Mickey runDisney Vinylmation for 2014. Here’s what the report says…

Disney will once again released a Run Disney Mickey Vinylmation, however this time it will have a variant.  The Caley Hicks designed 2014 Run Disney Mickey will be blind boxed and retail for $14.95 each.  The regular yellow version will be inserted in 9 out of every 10 boxes, while the green Variant version will be 1 in 10.  Look for the Vinylmation on Jan. 8 at the Run Disney Expo at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex as Disney gets ready for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.  No word if these will be available at just the Expo, of if they will also be released at D-Street.

So, what do you think? I like the green Variant myself. It kind of looks like a combination of my two favorite Disney characters…Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear. What I’m not a fan of is the fact that the Vinylmation will be sold in a blind box. So, you won’t know which Variant you get until you open the box. I don’t know about you, but I am NOT willing to buy 10 Vinylmations in hopes of scoring the green variant. I do, however, like seeing Mickey smile on this years design.

Okay, this isn’t anything runDisney put out. However, I found this video last week and thought it was great for me in mentally preparing for the Walt Disney World Marathon. Lee Hoedl gives some great tips for each mile of the Half Marathon and Full Marathon with visuals. I may be watching this video a bunch of times before January 12th.

It’s hard to believe that in less than a month, I will be at Walt Disney World for the 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. One month from today, my wife and I will be running in the Inaugural Walt Disney World 10K race. Here we are at the Inaugural Disneyland 10K race this past summer.

With so little time left, I am beyond determined to make sure a training failure like last week doesn’t happen again. I will be running 6 miles tonight. Not only will I be running 6 miles, but I will have a brand new Christmas running playlist playing in my ears while I do so! Last night, I finally got the Christmas music on my phone to use all month-long. Yes, I will be still listening to Christmas music even after Christmas. It’s the first time I’ve ever put together a Christmas playlist for working out/running. I’m so excited to see how it goes tonight! Happy training everyone! The 2014 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and Dopey Challenge is right around the corner!