Goofy Training - How do you do it?

[JimB.]

Happy Tuesday Wishers..............

I'm curious how the "Goofiers" are doing their training.

Being the paranoid kinda' nutcase that I am, I have made a committment to do several "Goofy Weekends" prior to the actual event.

So, Jim's plan (which I actually started last Saturday), is to "rehearse" for the event every 6 - 9 weeks.

With the work schedule I have, I get Saturday & Sunday off every 3 weeks. My plan is to run a 1/2 mileage on Saturday & take what my body gives me on sunday, gradually lengthening out to as close to a full as I can get it.

On saturday I ran a 1/2 distance in about 2:15, using the "Run 5, Walk 1 minute" plan. Felt ok, but a little cramping at the end. My bad, forgot to take fluids with me.

On sunday, through a combination of factors, I did not get to go run until late afternoon, and was only able to get 7 1/2 miles in ("DON"T be late for dinner", the DW politely advises me ). I used the "Run 4, walk 1" plan & felt REALLY good. Kept up a pace that I only wish I could do for an entire marathon.

The next time, in a few weeks, I'm HOPING to do a 1/2 distance on sunday (at least). We'll see what happens. I STILL gotta' get this fuel/water thing figured out. I really (IMHO) still suck at it. Anything less than a 1/2, I don't really worry about it, but I know that as summer in Florida approaches, it will be a big factor. I've read about others that "stash" food/water along their training routes. I think I'll try that later this week.

So. That's my (long winded) story. Whatcha' Think? & what's yours??

 

[windwalker]

We had planned to get in several back to back long days. Life got in the way so we ended up going to Gattlinburg Tenn for a long weekend and doing a 5 mile day, a 20 mile day and a 10 mile day, then started our taper. Other than that we just did a long walk every week like we were marathon training.

Walking Panda

 

[Big Vic]

I didn't go Goofy, but I used a Camelbak (Ambush) during training and for the marathon. Once I got used to carrying it, it was pretty comfortable.

Just a thought.

 

[JimB.]

Hey Vic!

I've got one of those things in my closet and NEVER thought about using it. I'll have to give it a try on my next LR.

Thanks!!!

 

[ultramickeymouse]

I know a lot of Goofy people do several back to backs. They feel this works best for them to simulate what you will face on race day.

I am the total oddity as I have NEVER done any back to back for any of my 3 Goofy's. The only back to back's I have ever done in all my years(over 80 marathons/ultramarathons) are the 3 Goofy's. I get injuried easy and I rather go in healthy and undertrained than overtrainied and injuried. I NEVER said to follow my lead

Good luck and take it nice and slow

 

[scuba diver]

I only do a couple of back to backs. On my long run weekends I will do a 10 miler the day before. That does not start happening until Nov.

After doing my first Goofy in 2008 I'm starting to think that how you run the race is more important that doing back to back training: 1. Slow it down for the half. Think of it as more of a marathon training run that a half marathon race. 2. Get an ice bath Saturday after the half to get the heat out of the muscles. Since you are from FL you know how important that is. 3. Do some walking on Saturday, but also make sure to rest. 4. Use a good recovery drink after the half so the body can start preparing for Sunday. 5. And as it has already been said....come into the weekend healthy. 6. If you are doing run/walk start both races doing a shorter run, like a 2/1 or 3/1.

This is Disney so don't worry about the time. Slow down and enjoy the event.

 

[getnthinr]

Like Robert, I've done the Goofy three times. As I am older and heavier than everyone I know ( ), I tend to think too many back-to-backs is a bad thing for me. However, I'm glad I did a couple of back-to-back weekends the first year so I knew what the second day felt like and gained the confidence that my initial soreness and fatigue would pass. I am certain for me, though, that doing multiple weekends of long mileage would be a sure path to injury. So I guess I'm a toe-in-the-water back-to-backer -- I'm only planning to do one or two, and at this point, I won't be worried if I don't get around to them. Edit: And I always do my longest mileage on Saturday, followed by shorter mileage on Sunday (never longer than 10 miles). Some "serious" running buddies recommended this as they felt making Sunday the easier, shorter day made injury less likely.

I think the common theme for all us Goofs is go in uninjured and take good care of yourself after Saturday's race.

 

[Duanerice]

Doing my first Goofy this year and I plan on a few back to backs. I am pretty much using the Higdon Intermediate II Plan this time around. I will do the back to backs on Friday after work then on Saturday morning. I use Sunday as a rest day.

We'll see. I say that now, but ask me again in late November

enjoy,
Duane

 

[Cruella de mom]

As an over 40 woman who is still a relatively new runner, I had to really think about my Goofy training program last year. Lucky for me, I know some great running coaches who helped me modify a training program and it really worked for me. I was dancing at mile 25 of the marthon. I didn't have fast times, but I had a great time.

I didn't do any back to back runs because the "experts" (ironmen) that I talked to thought that the risk of injury was just too great.

I only run 4 days a week. Even at the height of Goofy training when I am running 50+ miles a week. I run Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and the a LR on Saturday. As a 40+ runner, I have to give my body those rest days.

The difference in my plan is that I increase mileage on both Wednesdays AND Saturdays. I alternate which week I increase which run so it looks like this:

6-8-6---10
6-10-6--10
6-10-6--12

I also run "split runs" on Wednesdays. When the mileage gets higher I start running 10 miles in the morning and another 3 to 5 that night. I liked this. My Wednesday night and Thursday morning runs were done on tired legs so I got used to that feeling. I knew what to expect the morning of the marathon. My runs on tired legs were not that long so I had a lower risk of injury. Plus, I protected my long runs with a day of rest so that I was always comfortable that I could do the mileage.

I only concentrated on endurance last year so ALL of my runs were done at an easy pace. I did not worry about speed at all.

I think it is great that you are starting your trianing already. But it is early. Most people won't really start focusing on marathon or Goofy training until August. Watch out for that "burnt out" feeling and build in a few "down" weeks to give yourself some breaks before the all out effort in October and November. I would concentrate on building a base.

I hope to go into my serious training with a base of about 25 to 30 miles a week. But if I only average 20 miles a week in the summer, I will be fine.

Scuba diver is absolutely right so submit his post to memory. It was VERY hard to run the half at less than full effort. I had never done that in a race and I kept finding myself racing instead of just running.

Also, I found that taking a nap on Saturday REALLY helped. Because I don't sleep well the night before races, I decided to risk not sleepin that night and take a nap when I wasn't worried about over sleeping. I slept hard during the nap and slept better that night than I ever have before a race.

As for food and fuel - I am a stasher. I have had to learn to write my name on my bottles since I run in "congested" areas and sometimes I wasn't sure which bottle was mine. I also wear a belt with bottles on it. I refill these at my stash spots.

Good Luck!

 

[hoosmi]

I used the Higdon Intermediate Plan II as well. I started with the back-to-back runs, and lasted until the weekend of 8-16. My leg started hurting on Sunday and I was so obsessed with checking off my 16 that I hobbled for the last couple of miles and probably caused a preventable injury. I re-evaluated and decided my goal was going to have to be to get to the starting line! I dropped the Saturday runs and did fine with the Goofy.

You have a much stronger base that I could have dreamed of (Go Walt's Warriors!) so you probably won't have the same trouble.

Oh, and I was a complete idiot on Saturday after the half. I dropped my water/nutrition strategy during the half and just drank water/powerade at the stops. Then I didn't properly refuel after the race. I didn't take an ice bath. I wanted to act like everything was normal, so instead of napping, I spent the afternoon walking Epcot with my family. And then I couldn't sleep. The only smart thing I did was to get a massage after the half. I'd never had a sports massage- it was fabulous. Trying to combine the Goofy with a family weekend was the hardest part for me- if I do it again, I'll send them out on their own while I take care of myself!

Jen in GA

 

[jmasgat]

Jen Where did you get your sports massage? I was thinking of doing the same next week after Minnie.

Maura

 

[scoolover]

I did two relatively short back to back's on alternating weekends. My long back to back was 6.55 and 13.1 which is obviously half the distance of the real races. On the other alternating weekend I would do the long run. Like Robert, I was perhaps undertrained but healthy and I finished so all was well.

 

[DisneyWalkerGirl]

Coach Jenny Hadfield - coauthor of Marathoning for Mortals with husband John Bingham has actually put together a training plan specfically for the Goofy. Check out this website for info.

http://jennyhadfield.com/training.html

Jenny's stuff is great!

 

[Cruella de mom]

I will give you my training plan for free. WOW. $39.95! Yikes.

One more thing to add:

Alot of Goofy finishers last year made comments in their race reports that they did not refuel like they should have after the half. You definately need to plan for this as it is crucial to having a good day on Sunday.

I had my usual recovery drink delivered to me at the finish line. The "glycogen window" is about an hour after you finish exercising. All those years of watching the tour de France paid off as I knew I had to refuel FAST.

I also had a HUGE lunch about 2 hours later. I was at the Brown Derby which is a fabulous restaurant but I still had to force myself to finish my lunch. I wasn't that hungry but I knew I needed the fuel.

I felt great marathon day so it must have worked.

I know Scott and Amybeth said they need to rethink their food strategy for next year and I know some others mentioned it too. Maybe when we get close to the event we can start a thread on that topic.

 

[KeenHo]

Training for Goofy? Now there's a novel idea.

 

[hoosmi]

Maura- They had a big tent set up for the sports massages in the finishing area. I only vaguely remember the finish at the Minnie, but I'm pretty sure they weren't there. Someone more observant may remember. (I think I was too mesmerized by my first ever medal to see anything else! )

Howard- I'm having a baby in Sept, and doing the half in January. You know what convinced me to sign up for the half? I thought to myself "I can at least get in as much training as Howard and he did just fine for the Goofy!"

I'd love to hear about everyone's refueling. My attempts were pathetic.

Jen in GA

 

[solotraveler]

One more thing to add:

Alot of Goofy finishers last year made comments in their race reports that they did not refuel like they should have after the half. You definately need to plan for this as it is crucial to having a good day on Sunday.

I had my usual recovery drink delivered to me at the finish line. The "glycogen window" is about an hour after you finish exercising. All those years of watching the tour de France paid off as I knew I had to refuel FAST.

I also had a HUGE lunch about 2 hours later. I was at the Brown Derby which is a fabulous restaurant but I still had to force myself to finish my lunch. I wasn't that hungry but I knew I needed the fuel.

I felt great marathon day so it must have worked.

I know Scott and Amybeth said they need to rethink their food strategy for next year and I know some others mentioned it too. Maybe when we get close to the event we can start a thread on that topic.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!

There are lots of factors that go into a successful/fun Goofy and this is one of them, and definately something worth testing during training. Mind you, this comes from the guy who had not run since...ooooohhhh.... September and finished.

I had a great half, but about eight miles into the full I was STARVING and I'm never EVER hungry during runs. The gels just weren't working as well, fatigue set in, etc, etc, etc, etc. I definately agree we should start this up as a topic as we get closer to the race.

Training for Goofy? Now there's a novel idea.

Why sir I have no idea WHAT you're talking about........

Kevin

 

[KeenHo]

Kevin:

I will be training my buns off (hopefully literally) in the coming months post graduate school... which ends on May 21! I am going to train for the Marine Corps Marathon (October) and Philadelphia Marathon (November) with some other 5K's and 15K's in between. So by the time January rolls around, I should be VERY well trained. I am actually hoping for a PR in January.

I am running the 5K on Friday, the Half Marathon on Saturday and the Marathon on Sunday.

See you in WDW for the Minnie!


Howard

 

[Calcio]

Jim

I've only done that Goofy thing once, and my training was entirely focused on a good half. My philosophy before the race was I'll do the half and if I cannot get out bed Sunday morning, c'est la vie. Of course, I would have had to be dead to have stayed in bed Sunday morning, but that's what I kept telling myself.

I didn't do a single training run past 13 miles, but I did a good bit of high intensity training. I think I only did back-to-back training runs on weekends a couple of times, 10 then 5 for instance, and honestly, in the words of Amy Beth, they were total poo.

I'm also a senior stateman in this group, so I only ran 3 times a week. I mixed in 2 hard, hard bike sessions and 2 weight sessions, so I did get 7 true workouts a week. At my age my body just cannot take the pounding of more than 3 runs a week.

In the half I consciously tried to leave something in the tank. I suspect I could have done the half 30 seconds per mile faster, but I held back thinking about Sunday. Now about Sunday, I woke up "all revved up with no place to go (Meatloaf), and was off with the starting gun. I was clipping along, when at mile 8 I felt it, and had to ease off and walk some. I hit the half at 2:15 and then reality set it. The second half took 2:32 and wasn't pretty, so if I was better trained I wouldn't have been so miserable in those last 13.

The funny, or totally disturbing thing was in the past 2 years I've run the marathon only, and did more and longer training, and both were total disasters. Yes, the last 2 years were hot and humid, but it defies logic that my best marathon was the 2nd day of a Goofy when I wasn't as well trained.

So for this year, my strategy is back to training for a hard half. I hope to go sub-2 for the half on Saturday, what whatever happens Sunday, happens.

Good luck to you. It's weird, but by doing the half on Saturday, the pressure is completely off on Marathon Sunday. No one, not even yourself expects much on Sunday, which seems to make it easier.

Craig

 

[Kira G.]

You guys all amaze me!

Thanks for being people who take on something beyond what I can even imagine.