Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

GoofyRacer11

GoofyRacer11

Active Member
I know I'm a little late posting this, but this semester is keeping me busy already. A couple of my friends and I took on the dopey challenge this year and enjoyed the experience that came along with it, except having to wake up at 3:15am every morning. Lol. The 5k and half marathon I was running at my friend's pace so I didn't finish as fast as I usually do. Our 5k time was 28:38 and our half marathon time was 1:58:57, which seeing as one of my friend was running through a stress fracture on her foot for the half, that wasn't a bad time. The 10k and full marathon I ran by myself and set a PR for both races. My time for the 10k was 42:25 and my full marathon time was 3:56:58. I wasn't planning on running that fast for the marathon because I thought I would be too fatigued from not getting much sleep 3 nights in a row, the other races, and going to the parks. However, I was able to maintain negative splits for the entire race. I tried a new marathon strategy that day and it looks like it worked. My PR for a marathon before was 4:03:40, which I ran as part of the goofy challenge the past 2 years and those have been the only other marathons I have ran. I guess I just needed to run more the couple days before the marathon. Congratulations to everyone else who ran any or all of the races!

I actually thought the process of getting the New Balance shoes was better this year. I know last year many people claim that they were able to get in and out of the expo with a pair of the shoes without little problem. However, that still left everyone else to have to wait in line for +2 hours without a guarantee of getting shoes. Honestly, I only waited an hour and a half to get a pair of shoes and that was just the wait to put my name on the list. After that I went to pick up my packet/shirts, looked around in the expo, and headed back to my resort and downtown disney. Yes, I didn't get my shoes until the afternoon, but I was able to leave, do whatever I wanted and come back so it's not like I wasted more time just sitting around at the expo. This year they had +1,000 pairs of shoes of each size for each shoe and everyone that put their name down got a pair of shoes that day. Personally, I think this worked out better for the majority of people.
 
Katherine

Katherine

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys for all the kind words! I'm enjoying sharing my race experiences with others! I remember I use to pour over race reports when I was preparing for my first couple races so trying to return the favor!

Maryssa* said:
Omg your Tetra outfit! Adorable!! As are your other outfits! I'm such a sucker for cute race outfits, it's one of the reasons I got sucked into doing runDisney events! I got a little emotional reading your finishing of Dopey, you should be insanely proud!!
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Thanks so much! I kept getting called Aladdin in my Tetra outfit. Now I kind of want to morph it into an Aladdin costume and see what running like a dude character is like. Dopey will forever be one of my fondest/proudest race accomplishments for the foreseeable future. Thanks for reading! :)

JillC LI said:
@Katherine, I forgot to mention that I laughed at your "sassy run" description because I do that all the time and know it must look ridiculous! LOL.
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Hahaha... sassy running is the best. It makes it more fun. Also, strange things happen after mile 20 and you just go with it. Thanks for reading! :happy:

Ariel484 said:
Loved your report, @Katherine ! :) The Anna costume was genius.

I agree with @LindsayLoves , would love to know what training plan you used. Same for you @dreamfinder - some sort of 3+2/FIRST-type plan, right?
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LindsayLoves said:
Great report thank you for taking the time to post about each race. Your Frozen costume for the half was awesome! Also kudos for your really strong finishing times finishing the marathon in 4:19 is quite the accomplishment after all the early mornings and miles already under your belt. Did you ever share your training plan anywhere online?
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Thanks! I had some fun with the Anna costume. Definitely the most time I"ve ever put into a costume and it was totally worth it!

As far as training, I've been using Hal Higdon's plans for all my marathons. He put out this training guide for Dopey which I followed pretty closely: http://www.halhigdon.com/writing/57107/Dopey Challenge Training Guide For Dopey/Goofy it's all about back to back runs on consecutive days. I've never done Galloway but you can easily work that style of running into this plan. I like that it just has easy mileage goals so I can just run and not have to think about intervals and whatnot.

6laurac said:
Wonderful report-loved your outfits, a Dopey is on my bucket list when my 3 1/2 year old is in middle school...One Day!!! Thanks for sharing
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Thanks! It's definitely an experience to say the least. ;)
 
Ariel484

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
@Katherine glad to hear the good review of the Higdon plan, that's the one I'm planning on using. Love your RawThreads shirt, how did you like it for the race? What did you think of the sizing? :)
 
Katherine

Katherine

Well-Known Member
Ariel484 said:
@Katherine glad to hear the good review of the Higdon plan, that's the one I'm planning on using. Love your RawThreads shirt, how did you like it for the race? What did you think of the sizing? :)
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Good luck! He has a ton of plans to choose from which is another plus!

I've said it before but I LOVE RawThreads. Literally, the softest thing I've ever worn and it wicks sweat so well. Sizing is fairly true to size. I wear the same size tank in RawThreads as I do in runDisney shirts to give a comparison. The seams are well made and I have 2 other tanks (the Evil Fairy tank that I wore at Tink and the Castle to Castle racer back) and I completely forget I'm wearing them. Really I can't say enough about their tops. I may be over selling it, but they work really well for me and they have really cute designs!
 
Texas84

Texas84

Well-Known Member
No doubt Higdon got me PRs in my last two half marathons. I was planning on the Novice 2 for 2015 but I'll have to look at that Dopey plan. Wednesday mornings this fall are going to be brutal.
 
Ariel484

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
@Texas84 - check it out: http://www.halhigdon.com/writing/57107/Dopey Challenge Training Guide

Really glad to hear that this worked for @Katherine. It makes me nervous because the first long run is a 13-miler and every other week is a 5-day running week, something I've never done before. But when I compare it to his Novice plans the weekly mileage is very similar, so that makes me feel better. It looks like the peak week is 42.5 miles, where the Novice 1 peak week is 40 and the Novice 2 peak week is 35. I was thinking about using Novice 1 because it worked for me in 2013 when I did 5K + Goofy and it's comfortable and familiar...but right now I'm leaning toward the Dopey plan because I think it'll give me more confidence, and I need to push myself a bit out of my comfort zone. Plus I'm planning on running a local half that falls on the first week I'd start this Dopey plan, so that lines up nicely with that first long run of 13 miles.

You're right, those mid-week 7-8 milers are going to be tough. o_O I know it'll be worth it though.
 
LindsayLoves

LindsayLoves

Well-Known Member
@Katherine - 1. your new avatar is great and 2. thanks for the feedback on the RawThreads stuff, I am definitely intrigued by their stuff but without seeing it in person I have a hard time paying out $40 for a running tank (I have a policy of never paying full price for running gear)

@Ariel484 - I feel with that Higdon plan it assumes you have a pretty good base to start with, that by no means is a start from zero plan. I have been loosely using a Higdon Half marathon plan - I say loosely because the weather has not been super agreeable with what runs are falling on what days (i.e. can't do speedwork when the track is covered in ice, but can do an easy run). I have to say I really like the 5 days of running which was the most daunting part of it for me to start with. The shorter runs during the week still allow me to be productive once I get home, I just need to do a decent job meal/life planning to make sure I don't get bogged down when I come home.
 
Ariel484

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
LindsayLoves said:
@Ariel484 - I feel with that Higdon plan it assumes you have a pretty good base to start with, that by no means is a start from zero plan. I have been loosely using a Higdon Half marathon plan - I say loosely because the weather has not been super agreeable with what runs are falling on what days (i.e. can't do speedwork when the track is covered in ice, but can do an easy run). I have to say I really like the 5 days of running which was the most daunting part of it for me to start with. The shorter runs during the week still allow me to be productive once I get home, I just need to do a decent job meal/life planning to make sure I don't get bogged down when I come home.
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Totally agree. The first Higdon plan I used was the Supreme Novice one when I was training for the 2012 marathon, and even that one wasn't a "start from zero" plan (first week was 4 runs for 9 miles total). I SHOULD be okay to start the Dopey plan because I'm planning on running a local half on 9/14 and the Dopey plan would start that week so there's my 13-mile long run right there. I'm glad to hear the 5 days of running works well for you - I'm sure I can do it but the other thing is that I have found out that I NEED to have strength training in there as well to keep my knees and back healthy, and I'm not sure where that'll fit in. Doing running and strength training on the same day is really not super attractive to me. But at least those 5-day weeks are every other week and not every week - so every other week is a step-back week. That makes it a little less daunting.

You're totally right that planning and staying organized helps a LOT.
 
LindsayLoves

LindsayLoves

Well-Known Member
Ariel484 said:
I NEED to have strength training in there as well to keep my knees and back healthy, and I'm not sure where that'll fit in. Doing running and strength training on the same day is really not super attractive to me.
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My current Higdon plan (Half Marathon Intermediate) has one day dedicated to stretch and strengthening and one day with a 3 mile run and strength afterwards. For me that is just the right amount, I can talk myself out of strength training or really cop out on it if I do it too much but I look forward to my Sunday a**kicking when I know my legs and abs are going to be in a special kind of hurt when I am done.
 
ChristaH

ChristaH

Well-Known Member
GoofyRacer11 said:
That I did! I ran a couple miles and then walked for about 30 seconds. Then I kept repeating that until the finish.
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I did that same thing in a half last weekend...basically walked through the water stations which were about 1.5 - 1.9 miles apart. Worked great for me too!
 
PartOfYourWorld

PartOfYourWorld

Well-Known Member
@Ariel484 Doing the Dopey next year???? I have my sights set on just the Marathon for 2015 :D I'll have to compare training regimens for Hal and Jeff Galloway and see which one will work better for me coming off of Princess...I'm going to use the whole summer to start training so I can take advantage of the lovely spring and summer days before the winter hits again....
 
Katherine

Katherine

Well-Known Member
@Ariel484 Good luck with the plan. So I'll admit I'm not the most on schedule person (I know, I know) so sometimes I would miss one of the week runs but I always get in the weekend runs. The long runs on Wednesday can be hard.

@Texas84 The biggest difference between HH other plans and the Dopey are the build up of back to back runs towards the peak training week which is dress rehearsal weekend. This plan I think really prepared me for Dopey and felt good on marathon day!

@LindsayLoves 1. Thanks and 2. Sometimes they do offer promos, for black friday/christmas season last year they were offering some great deals. I know these are a little far out but occassionally they do have specials. I'll keep you posted since I'm usually obsessively checking their site :)
 
Ariel484

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
So Friday was the 11-month mark from when I'm planning on checking in...I submitted a request to rent DVC points for the Villas at the Grand Floridian with Bay Lake Tower as my second choice. I was not surprised to find that the points aren't there to rent - I figured the newest villas wouldn't have members that are renting out points just yet. Oh well, at least I'm in the system. Now I guess I need to sit and wait until members join with the points I need or until the 7-month mark in June and hope that rooms are still available. Fingers crossed! If it doesn't work out I'll just pick a different resort, but it sure would be nice to be on the monorail for the half and full. :)
 

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