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Let's talk Dopey...
- Thread starter DznyGrlSD
- Start date
You and @RunningKoen can talk Dopey all you want. I'll stick with the 10K that weekend.
From other runners I've spoken with, they've trained for nearly a year.
From other runners I've spoken with, they've trained for nearly a year.
RunningKoen
Well-Known Member
Not even considering Dopey till I've finished princess 2019 
FerretAfros
Well-Known Member
I don't think Dopey training is all that much worse than normal full marathon training. There are a handful of weekend doubles that aren't great (a time suck, more than anything) but to me those aren't all that much worse than a normal long run. Just make sure to slow everything down to account for the extra miles.
That said, there's a big difference is jumping from a half to full marathon. While a full marathon training program typically isn't all that different from a half (same general idea, but about 4-6 weeks more at the end), it requires an extra level of accountability. With a half, you can miss a few weeks and still fake your way through it; there's no faking your way through a marathon. The half marathon distance is mostly a physical activity, while the marathon is very much a mental activity. To be ready for whatever comes on race day, you really need to make sure you've gotten those miles during training.
Additionally, I highly recommend doing a standalone marathon in preparation for Dopey. I typically do one in late October or early November to benchmark my training and make sure I'm prepared before the holidays throw everything out of balance. It's a good way to get rid of some of the nerves that come with the longer distance, and to get a good idea of what to expect when the big event comes. The marathon is an entirely different animal from the half (to me, it's more similar to the difference in a 5K/half than 10K/half), so I really wouldn't recommend doing your first one as part of Dopey.
As many people will tell you, one of the hardest things about Dopey is the total lack of sleep, and there's really no way to prepare for that. It's a fun mix of being slaphappy and falling asleep in random spots in the parks during the day, but it's just part of the experience. Even if you can train your body to wake up at 3am daily, there's very little that can be done to get ready for the total exhaustion; you just have to know it's coming and hope for the best!
Dopey is probably my favorite running event I've done, so I don't want to scare anybody off of it. But at the same time, it's a very serious undertaking that you need to be properly prepared for to complete it and enjoy it.
That said, there's a big difference is jumping from a half to full marathon. While a full marathon training program typically isn't all that different from a half (same general idea, but about 4-6 weeks more at the end), it requires an extra level of accountability. With a half, you can miss a few weeks and still fake your way through it; there's no faking your way through a marathon. The half marathon distance is mostly a physical activity, while the marathon is very much a mental activity. To be ready for whatever comes on race day, you really need to make sure you've gotten those miles during training.
Additionally, I highly recommend doing a standalone marathon in preparation for Dopey. I typically do one in late October or early November to benchmark my training and make sure I'm prepared before the holidays throw everything out of balance. It's a good way to get rid of some of the nerves that come with the longer distance, and to get a good idea of what to expect when the big event comes. The marathon is an entirely different animal from the half (to me, it's more similar to the difference in a 5K/half than 10K/half), so I really wouldn't recommend doing your first one as part of Dopey.
As many people will tell you, one of the hardest things about Dopey is the total lack of sleep, and there's really no way to prepare for that. It's a fun mix of being slaphappy and falling asleep in random spots in the parks during the day, but it's just part of the experience. Even if you can train your body to wake up at 3am daily, there's very little that can be done to get ready for the total exhaustion; you just have to know it's coming and hope for the best!
Dopey is probably my favorite running event I've done, so I don't want to scare anybody off of it. But at the same time, it's a very serious undertaking that you need to be properly prepared for to complete it and enjoy it.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
It really depends on how much of a history you have, and what your goals are in terms of finishing. I've got 4 under my belt, and my results/approach has varied wildly. One year, trained my butt of, was doing 10M runs Sat, with 20M runs on Sun, and ended up turning in a presentable finish in all 4 races, with my Marathon time being within like 7 minutes of my PR. Last year, don't think I was able to do any training run longer than like 14-15M (when it came to an hour of sleep or an hour of running, sleep won out for safety/sanity) and my finish times showed it. But I had enough base and knew how to pace myself to finish all 4 with no issues.
Ideally I would be at 1/2 marathon readiness year round, for training doing 10k Sat, and 1/2 Sun, so I would just tack on 1/2M to each run on opposite weeks over 4-5 months to get up to the right distances. Not necessarily an ideal plan, but worked for me when I had the time. Most Marathon training plans assume you have some base, and then expect you to build accordingly. Galloway's Dopey plan involves about 7 months of training, and expects that you have been running regularly prior to starting.
As @FerretAfros said, the lack of sleep is killer. Thankfully I'm used to rolling out of bed at 4AM most days, so 30-60 mins earlier isn't a dealbreaker for me, but you need to plan the rest of the trip accordingly. If you go to parks those days, you need to call it early and get to sleep at a good hour.
If you are looking at 2020, it's not out of the realm of possibility. You need to be consistently running and probably cross training regularly now, and need to continue that all the way through. Those longer runs will consume alot of your weekend time, for instance week 19 is 8.5M walk, then 20M run/walk. That's most likely going to be 2+ hours Sat, and easily 4+ hours Sun if you are looking at a 13+ min pace. Not trying to discourage anyone from doing it, but when I now consider myself lucky to get 1-2 hours to workout, I realize now how much of a luxury being able to spend 4-6 hours each weekend training really is.
Ideally I would be at 1/2 marathon readiness year round, for training doing 10k Sat, and 1/2 Sun, so I would just tack on 1/2M to each run on opposite weeks over 4-5 months to get up to the right distances. Not necessarily an ideal plan, but worked for me when I had the time. Most Marathon training plans assume you have some base, and then expect you to build accordingly. Galloway's Dopey plan involves about 7 months of training, and expects that you have been running regularly prior to starting.
As @FerretAfros said, the lack of sleep is killer. Thankfully I'm used to rolling out of bed at 4AM most days, so 30-60 mins earlier isn't a dealbreaker for me, but you need to plan the rest of the trip accordingly. If you go to parks those days, you need to call it early and get to sleep at a good hour.
If you are looking at 2020, it's not out of the realm of possibility. You need to be consistently running and probably cross training regularly now, and need to continue that all the way through. Those longer runs will consume alot of your weekend time, for instance week 19 is 8.5M walk, then 20M run/walk. That's most likely going to be 2+ hours Sat, and easily 4+ hours Sun if you are looking at a 13+ min pace. Not trying to discourage anyone from doing it, but when I now consider myself lucky to get 1-2 hours to workout, I realize now how much of a luxury being able to spend 4-6 hours each weekend training really is.
lukacseven
Well-Known Member
Agree with the other comments. The biggest jump is going from a half to a full. You should definitely consider a full before Dopey. I don't think it's a good idea to run your first full marathon after putting in 22+ miles over 3 days prior. Once you've trained for a full, the Goofy/Dopey training doesn't really require much, if any additional training. A lot depends on your individual goals...have you considered the Galloway training & the run/walk?
I did Goofy last year and the longest training run I had from October 'til race day was a 10K. I ran the half with my wife - her first half. I bought her the Galloway timer, but she wanted to run the whole race, so we set a goal of 2:45 and stopped for photo ops, but finished comfortably right at our goal. For the full, I joined up with a run/walk pace group around mile 3 and kept up with them 'til about mile 19. I didn't like that they blew through some of the water stops. I needed to stop and walk in WWOS for about a half mile, but I ate 2 bananas, got some and Tylenol I did my own run/walk from there 'til I got into HS and then ran the rest of the way.
All that being said - 2020 is definitely realistic. Typically for Goofy/Dopey, I start training in August: 2 nights a week (usually Tuesday & Thurs.) I'll do a 4 1/2 miles each and about 8-10 on Sunday. There happens to be 2 races I like that are good for training in the Philly area: a 10K the first week of Nov. and then a half 2 weeks later. I'll start about 2-3 weeks before those races and double up on the weekend runs, adding a Saturday run about half the distance of the Sunday run. My longest training runs for Dopey were a 10 mile Sat. and 13.1 on Sunday. I never ran more than 18 miles training for a full.
Totally agree that the running portion of Dopey is the easy part. The waking up early (especially if your flight to Orlando is at 6:00 am on Wednesday) 5 days in a row takes it's toll. The most important part then becomes stretching, hydration & nutrition to prepare for the next race.
I did Goofy last year and the longest training run I had from October 'til race day was a 10K. I ran the half with my wife - her first half. I bought her the Galloway timer, but she wanted to run the whole race, so we set a goal of 2:45 and stopped for photo ops, but finished comfortably right at our goal. For the full, I joined up with a run/walk pace group around mile 3 and kept up with them 'til about mile 19. I didn't like that they blew through some of the water stops. I needed to stop and walk in WWOS for about a half mile, but I ate 2 bananas, got some and Tylenol I did my own run/walk from there 'til I got into HS and then ran the rest of the way.
All that being said - 2020 is definitely realistic. Typically for Goofy/Dopey, I start training in August: 2 nights a week (usually Tuesday & Thurs.) I'll do a 4 1/2 miles each and about 8-10 on Sunday. There happens to be 2 races I like that are good for training in the Philly area: a 10K the first week of Nov. and then a half 2 weeks later. I'll start about 2-3 weeks before those races and double up on the weekend runs, adding a Saturday run about half the distance of the Sunday run. My longest training runs for Dopey were a 10 mile Sat. and 13.1 on Sunday. I never ran more than 18 miles training for a full.
Totally agree that the running portion of Dopey is the easy part. The waking up early (especially if your flight to Orlando is at 6:00 am on Wednesday) 5 days in a row takes it's toll. The most important part then becomes stretching, hydration & nutrition to prepare for the next race.
lukacseven
Well-Known Member
I've only ever run the January races. Sadly, due to the construction everywhere on property, I decided to take a break from runDisney for a year or so. My hope is the Star Wars courses will go through SWGE in 2020. I've also heard rumors of a night race. So, waiting on more info. I'm also looking at Wine & Dine in 2020 - family/friends who ran this year really liked it a lot.
- In the Parks
- Yes
I had no issues for Wine/Dine doing the 5k/10k/half in 3 days. Getting up early wasn't fun, but I also made sure I went to bed early (830ish). I'm only worried about the leap from 13.1 to 26.2 in 24 hours. I will definitely be training for run/walk!
I am. Lots of good training advice in the running forum. Galloway's run/walk is an excellent place to start. Read through the various WDW SW race threads for comments about the race course and photos. Hoping since rD moved the race to early April (Easter falls on the normal race weekend), it will be a few degrees cooler.
Talk will pick up as we get closer to the weekend. Lots of chatter about race courses once the digital guide is released and then corral placement once that info is out, about 2 weeks before the race.
halhigdon.com has a must-do Dopey plan. You will have weekends where you can say, "Only 12 miles today."
I like his "run between the hydration stations" run/walk strategy. Much easier that setting a timer for other methodologies.
You know you want to.
- In the Parks
- Yes
It'll be my last rD event and last trip to WDW before moving down sometime (hopefully) in 2020
Texas84
Well-Known Member
That's what I do at Disney. My training runs are half mile breaks. Too many hills.
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
Totally agree with this. With rare exception, you have to practice the mental discipline as much as the physical to complete a marathon.
- In the Parks
- Yes
Doctors - you're cute
If/when I see my doc again I'll mention it. My trainer already know this is on my radar