Hanging up my running shoes-Update on ZellyB

[LindseyJo22]

I have serious envy over that Hook and Smee 5K medal, but I guess I'll just have to live with that little bit of disappointment. I'll survive I'm sure.

This is how I feel about the Mrs. Potts medal from today - I want it, but logistically it just wasn't feasible (plus the extra $) to make the 5k happen. One year I'll run one of them!

The Tink medals are super cool - makes me wish I was going to Disneyland, even though usually that wouldn't be my top choice in race theme.

I really am kinda bummed, was hoping to get to stay at Poly, but I guess I'll carry on. I've given her an alternative for hopefully Bay Lake Tower or Boardwalk Villas, so fingers crossed one of those will work out. Seems I read here somewhere that Beach Club studios were already out of availability. I think renting points is going to be a tough one this year.

Availability is just nutso I think. I also decided to check Shades of Green because thought maybe we might just stay there. They also already have some days without availability. BOO!! We might end up off-site after all

I know I've said it over in the Marathon thread, but availability this year is crazy. We own at Poly and couldn't get the weekend in a standard studio! I just had no concept that it would be that urgent to book at the 11 month window. Usually you have a little buffer between the 11 and 7 month window when everyone else starts to request other resorts. I hope you get one of your alternate requests! Poly and BLT at least are somewhat comparable in cost, so that's nice, even if it's not exactly what you want.

I've been behind on the training journal, but I'm glad you are pretty well having good weeks! Right now, I run at least 1 mile every day to keep up the running streak I started last June. My goal is to make it to a year and then think about whether I want to continue. But I'm bad about doing anything else - with the amount of time it takes to get a run in every day, I'm usually not very good about doing a strength or cross-training program in addition because it takes up a lot of time. I usually already get up very early to get my run in and get to work. And I don't even have that many demands on my time (work part-time, no kids), so I can imagine that with more responsibilities and more things you want to add into your plan it becomes really hard to add running days. I can see the appeal of potentially waiting until things are a little less busy - or maybe doing a morning run and an afternoon/evening bike on Sundays? I have no clue how that would work with your actual schedule, but it would at least not have an evening run. I hate running in the afternoon and evening, so I totally understand that part of it

I don't know if any of this was actually helpful, but I'll be interested to see how things go!

 

[roxymama]

Oh, I am shedding a tear for you too. That's a huge bummer! If you do end up getting Baylake tower, we really enjoyed it for marathon weekend two years ago. On tired legs, being able to just walk to the magic kingdom or just walk to the monorail was so much better than waiting in bus lines. And then you'd be just one monorail stop away from Trader Sam's.

But, bummer!

 

[Ariel484]

Oh no!! I'm sorry you can't stay at the Poly. you have some great back-ups in place.

 

[ZellyB]

You could start practicing bricks with run and bike on Saturdays. My husband says it feels really weird at first. And then you'll be 66.67% ready for your fall ironman

I'm not sure about that whole brick thing. I read about that on @Keels journal and that did not sound fun. You are funny about the ironman though. Let's see if I can pull off a tri sprint first hmmm? I do appreciate your precision in your estimation of my preparedness though. #allaboutthedecimals

-How about alternating weeks with Tues/Thurs/Sat as run days and the following week as Tues/Thurs/Sat/Sun as run days? Although my guess is your Saturday as long run is set in stone more so because of the pace group you run with.

Right, Saturdays are pretty hard-baked once our group training starts.

-How about doubling up on your Sunday with a brief morning run and then a bike in the afternoon?

-The other thing to consider is like you said hold off on adding the 4th day of running until the summer. The real Dopey training days don't start until July/August.

I'll add that your current setup seems great to me. I feel as if it will make you an overall healthier person. And who knows, it may also make you a better runner too if you can be really consistent with it. I think one of the ways I get away with 6 days per week of running is that I really (like REALLY) love running. So when I have the choice between another exercise (yoga, strength, bike, etc.) I tend to gravitate to more running.

Chris and I talked as well about Sundays as a possibility. We can certainly run in the mornings and then maybe make the biking an option for the afternoon. I'm not sure how much the biking may work as a substitute as well. I think if I can really get my cycling where I'd like it, that will actually do a lot for me with running. Chris said something about cycling is basically a 3 to 1 substitute for running. So I guess 15 miles on a bike is equivalent to 5 running? I am hoping that the current workout will do a lot for my overall fitness and health and thus also help my running, but ultimately I just feel like we need to get more miles in somehow.

My two cents...

I think the best I felt during the 4 marathons I have done was during the 2015 Marathon at the end of Dopey. That was using this training plan, which is 4 days per week of running. I did 2 days of something else (strength training and/or yoga).

This is me being a bad training report reader but I can't remember - the biking you are doing is to prep for a tri, right? Maybe once Dopey training really ramps up in the fall you axe the bike and Sunday is day 4 of running? Otherwise it seems like you'd have to add it in the evening on a strength training day, assuming you still want to keep doing that twice per week...(EDIT: reading is a good thing to do, just re-read that you're not an evening runner - me either!!)

And that plan is really what I think would make a difference for me. Adding in that 4th day would really help get my weekly mileage up where I think it needs to be. And, yes, biking is for a potential tri sprint this fall. It's totally not a competitive type of event for me, just trying to dip my toes in the water (see what I did there? ) and experiment with a tri.

I'm a horrible evening runner too so I feel your pain! I tried my best to run 4 days when I was training for Dopey but I know 3 is more manageable... there are not enough days in the week!!

What is it with evenings? I know a lot of people do it, but man, I just hate it.

I too hate running in the evenings. So this really won't be helpful, because the only way I could fit 4 runs a week in is to do 2 evenings. I conceded that, as I will ONLY go to the gym in the very early mornings (when it's empty).

You are a stronger soul than me. I'm trying so hard to figure out a solution that doesn't involve evening runs!!

Oh man that sucks! I hope you can get one of your alternatives.

That is so disappointing about Poly. I totally understand your feelings, having lost AKL. All these DVC fillings have me very worried about even getting a normal room on property, since booking isn't technically available yet. I have a great TA who gets me awesome deals but said she likely wouldn't know til May

I know I've said it over in the Marathon thread, but availability this year is crazy. We own at Poly and couldn't get the weekend in a standard studio! I just had no concept that it would be that urgent to book at the 11 month window. Usually you have a little buffer between the 11 and 7 month window when everyone else starts to request other resorts. I hope you get one of your alternate requests! Poly and BLT at least are somewhat comparable in cost, so that's nice, even if it's not exactly what you want.

Sadly looks like we won't be doing DVC at all for this trip. I heard back from the rental place and the only places that still have availability for our dates are OKW and SSR. Neither of those really hold appeal for me, so I told her we would just not rent this time. She said they have been shocked at how quickly things have booked up.

I've been behind on the training journal, but I'm glad you are pretty well having good weeks! Right now, I run at least 1 mile every day to keep up the running streak I started last June. My goal is to make it to a year and then think about whether I want to continue. But I'm bad about doing anything else - with the amount of time it takes to get a run in every day, I'm usually not very good about doing a strength or cross-training program in addition because it takes up a lot of time. I usually already get up very early to get my run in and get to work. And I don't even have that many demands on my time (work part-time, no kids), so I can imagine that with more responsibilities and more things you want to add into your plan it becomes really hard to add running days. I can see the appeal of potentially waiting until things are a little less busy - or maybe doing a morning run and an afternoon/evening bike on Sundays? I have no clue how that would work with your actual schedule, but it would at least not have an evening run. I hate running in the afternoon and evening, so I totally understand that part of it

I don't know if any of this was actually helpful, but I'll be interested to see how things go!

WOW! A running streak since June? That's impressive. I've never really wanted to try a streak because I like having my rest day in there, but great job on that!!

Oh, I am shedding a tear for you too. That's a huge bummer! If you do end up getting Baylake tower, we really enjoyed it for marathon weekend two years ago. On tired legs, being able to just walk to the magic kingdom or just walk to the monorail was so much better than waiting in bus lines. And then you'd be just one monorail stop away from Trader Sam's.

But, bummer!

Oh no!! I'm sorry you can't stay at the Poly. you have some great back-ups in place.

I don't know if I posted it here yet or not, but even Shades of Green already had days during our stay with no availability. It's pretty crazy. So, we are just going to wait things out. If the military discount gets renewed for next year, then we will see if there is any availability for a price we are willing to pay and just book a regular resort room. If not, then we will just go with a condo off-site and rent a car. We've certainly done that before and it works just fine - plus the added bonus of saving money on lodging and food. And, honestly, having a car to drive to the races in also has a lot of advantages. We were just planning a different kind of trip this time around with less park time and more resort time and thus on-site would have been ideal, but whatever, it will all work out and we'll have a great time!!

I remain 99.96% stoked for the trip.

 

[roxymama]

I remain 99.96% stoked for the trip.

That sounds very scientific and official. It must be true!

 

[LindseyJo22]

I heard back from the rental place and the only places that still have availability for our dates are OKW and SSR. Neither of those really hold appeal for me, so I told her we would just not rent this time. She said they have been shocked at how quickly things have booked up.

It really is crazy - we booked SSR because we like it fine there and just wanted something on points But we are debating the kind of trip we will take - it probably won't be a lot of park time, but it depends on how the AP equation works out for the next year. We need to do some number crunching on that I can see that SSR might not be the best if you really want to lounge around the resort - I mean, it's nice, but it's not the Beach Club or Poly

WOW! A running streak since June? That's impressive. I've never really wanted to try a streak because I like having my rest day in there, but great job on that!!

Thank you! I really just wanted a way to make running a real habit and stick to my training plans, so the minimum of a mile a day has really been useful for me. I don't know if the streak will play well with Goofy training, so I'm probably going to re-evaluate once I hit a year, but it's been cool so far!

And, honestly, having a car to drive to the races in also has a lot of advantages

Like not sitting for an hour on a bus back to the hotel like I did yesterday...now granted, I was in a brain fog and should have taken the stupid monorail to the Poly, but still. It should not take that long to get back!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Like not sitting for an hour on a bus back to the hotel like I did yesterday.

That is outrageous!! What caused it to take so long???

 

[ZellyB]

Like not sitting for an hour on a bus back to the hotel like I did yesterday...now granted, I was in a brain fog and should have taken the stupid monorail to the Poly, but still. It should not take that long to get back!

Yikes!! That's a crazy long time. I think we were a solid 30+ minutes to get back to Beach Club after the marathon but mostly because we had to stop at 2 other resorts first. An hour would be agony.

 

[ZellyB]

The weather isn’t just drunk – it needs an intervention!!​

Training Week February 19-February 25(26)​

What in the heck is going on with the weather, people?

Sunday 2-19 – I planned for 20 minutes on my bike trainer this week and was kinda dreading how my rear end would do. Good news – not too bad. I did the 20 minutes pretty comfortably and after some initial discomfort, the seat wasn’t too bad to tolerate. Progress!!

Monday 2-20 – Strength training. Pretty good work here. I definitely need to up the intensity some, but not especially looking forward to it. But, I also know I need to do it. At least I’m still being consistent, right?

Tuesday 2-21 – 4 mile run planned. Solid run. I’m definitely getting used to the 90/30 interval again. Overall pace 11:12. I’m planning to bump up the interval next week for the mid-week runs.
Yoga in the evening again. Progress seems to be slowing somewhat, but I’m still enjoying it and I do know it’s getting better even if it’s not obvious. All those years of doing nothing for my core and upper body are paying me back.

Wednesday 2-22– I did do my strength training but ended up doing it at home in the evening because Chris was literally up all night on Tuesday night. There was a threat to the school that came out via social media and they ended up having to cancel school Wednesday before they could finally determine there was no actual threat. It was crazy!

Thursday 2-23 – 4 mile run with 90/30 intervals. BEST RUN YET!! I felt good and we picked up the pace too. Overall pace 10:46. Temps were perfect for running. I love runs like this.

Yoga in the evening. Solid enough. I think I might have held my downward facing dog thing for one millisecond longer than I have been.

Friday 2-24 – Rest day!!! 70 degrees and absolutely beautiful. My mom’s tulip tree in front of her house. Gorgeous.

Remember that drunk weather? Yeah…


Saturday 2-25 – Plan was to run 10 miles, but we were up late and the WEATHER!!! It was 20 freaking degrees and windy. After some talks, we decided Sunday looked a bit more favorable as far as temps go, so I did basically nothing all day again.

Sunday 2-26 – 10 mile run. The weather, while still cool, was much better this morning than Saturday so I’m glad we put it off. For the long run, we opted for 75/30 intervals and it was a good run! I fatigued a bit in the last mile, but not too badly (and on this route it’s mostly uphill at the end) so I was generally pretty pleased. Pace ended up at 11:26. As we were driving home, it started to SNOW. What the heck??? Remember that pretty tulip tree of my mom’s?

Now brown and getting coated in snow.

Actually the snow was pretty brief (and quite pretty to watch) and it melted immediately, but it has just been a weird month. Temps today are back in the 60s. It’s madness.


So, yeah a couple of hiccups this week, but overall another successful week of training. YAY!!

 

[iivye]

I live in MO too and was planning on a long run on Sat but I gave that up once I opened the door to let the dog out and couldn't hardly close it again because of a gust of wind. Hit the treadmill instead. But today is beautiful so I'm thankful for that. Hopefully your mom's tree will come back; I'm worried my flowers will bloom early and then die because of this weather.

 

[LindseyJo22]

That is outrageous!! What caused it to take so long???

Mostly just traffic - there was tons of traffic between the MK gate and the left turn you take to get to the Poly, GF, etc. I think most of the drive was spent trying to get down that road. Definitely learned that I'll take the monorail if we stay at Poly on another race weekend!

 

[ZellyB]

I live in MO too and was planning on a long run on Sat but I gave that up once I opened the door to let the dog out and couldn't hardly close it again because of a gust of wind. Hit the treadmill instead. But today is beautiful so I'm thankful for that. Hopefully your mom's tree will come back; I'm worried my flowers will bloom early and then die because of this weather.

I think much of the midwest is having these weird temp swings. Mom's tree will survive, but no more flowers until next spring. That tree has a tendency to bloom early if it gets warm at all, so it gets hit a lot. Luckily, some of her other flowers that had already bloomed (daffodils) did seem to survive the cold.

 

[rteetz]

The weather is nuts/drunk/bi-polar/I don't know. We went from like 30 to 71 to 30 and now 46 today.

 

[dancingtodisney]

The weather is drunk here too! I don't know what to wear anymore!!!!

Congrats on another successful week of training! YAH!

 

[roxymama]

I've given up on the weather. Just started wearing short-sleeves with cardigans and bringing a hoodie, spring jacket and winter coat in my car. Because it changes so fast. It HAILED on my house last night. Like, what?

I loved your snow white gif so I had to steal it and will use it often (sorry, not sorry) and that Phoebe friends one is literally making me smile so big. If only I had the cajones to go on a run like that. Although I'd probably end up injuring myself.

Wednesday seems to be a popular strength training night...so I'll be joining you this evening...just far away in a basement in another land.

 

[ZellyB]

The weather is nuts/drunk/bi-polar/I don't know. We went from like 30 to 71 to 30 and now 46 today.

I'm so happy we had a mild winter here, but this day to day change is making me crazy.

The weather is drunk here too! I don't know what to wear anymore!!!!

Congrats on another successful week of training! YAH!

I go from wearing short sleeves to sweaters on a daily basis!

I've given up on the weather. Just started wearing short-sleeves with cardigans and bringing a hoodie, spring jacket and winter coat in my car. Because it changes so fast. It HAILED on my house last night. Like, what?

I loved your snow white gif so I had to steal it and will use it often (sorry, not sorry) and that Phoebe friends one is literally making me smile so big. If only I had the cajones to go on a run like that. Although I'd probably end up injuring myself.

Wednesday seems to be a popular strength training night...so I'll be joining you this evening...just far away in a basement in another land.

It hailed here last night too! Woke all of us up at 1:30 in the morning. Crazy lightening and heavy hail for 15 minutes. The ground was covered. It's sunny and in the 60s today.

The wealth of gifs on the interwebs is insane. I don't even remember what phrase I googled that eventually led me to that one, but I loved it!! Use it all you like. I also love that Phoebe one and I can assure you that I WOULD hurt myself if I tried to run like that.

 

[ZellyB]

Not much of a training update – so let’s talk food!

2/26 – 3/4
​

After my ten mile run last week and then subsequent strength workout on Monday, I realized that my left hamstring was likely a bit strained. I initially thought it was just some soreness, but after a bit, I decided it was more than that and so opted to take the week off. I’m trying to be very careful early on in this season to be sure I don’t end up like last year constantly battling injuries that I don’t give enough time to heal. Lesson learned – I hope!! So, rest it is!!

Sunday 2/26 – Ran 10 miles. I talked about his last week as it was a delayed Saturday run. It was Sunday afternoon that I noticed my hamstring was hurting a bit.
Yoga in the evening.

Monday 2/27 – Core strength training. This workout includes some lunges and leg lifts and it was during this that I definitely decided I had a strain going rather than just soreness. So, Monday evening, I decided I was going to take the week off and just plan on another long run on the weekend if all went well. I did use a massager that I have to work the hamstring in the evenings before bed too.

Tuesday 2/28 – Saturday 3/4 – REST. We opted to move the long run to Sunday again since we were up late doing Karaoke with friends on Friday night.

So, yeah, that’s it for the week of training. I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow night and while the hamstring is still a bit tender, I think as long as I’m careful I’ll be okay to get back to normal workouts.

Since there’s not much to say about training, I’ll talk about the next thing I’m trying to focus on – which is my weight. I’m not fully out of control, but I’ve definitely put on some pounds and just fallen back into bad eating habits with lots of carbs and processed food.

So, starting today, we are going back to a carb-restricted diet. Our goal is less than 50 grams of carbs per day and ultimately I'd like to lose around 1 pound per week and eventually drop between 15-20 pounds. I won’t be doing any strict calorie counting, but I find when I restrict carbs, my typical calorie count also tends to decrease. I’ll be including my weight gains or loss on a weekly basis from here on out (I won’t subject myself or you to my actual weight) as well as a daily carb count. Hoping the accountability of including that here will help me be more consistent.

So, yeah, I guess that’s it. Not much exciting to share, but that’s just how some weeks go, right?

 

[Ariel484]

Smart to take time off to heal the hamstring.

I'm in the same boat with the weight loss crap - I hate, hate, hate that it's a constant battle. I don't know about you, but I find it to get really tough toward the end of marathon training and in the couple of months after...I just eat way too much and then get in the habit of eating all of those tasty things, but I'm not putting in the mileage to burn it all off. So annoying!! Like you, it's not fully out of control, but I need to stop the bleeding!

 

[ZellyB]

Smart to take time off to heal the hamstring.

I'm in the same boat with the weight loss crap - I hate, hate, hate that it's a constant battle. I don't know about you, but I find it to get really tough toward the end of marathon training and in the couple of months after...I just eat way too much and then get in the habit of eating all of those tasty things, but I'm not putting in the mileage to burn it all off. So annoying!! Like you, it's not fully out of control, but I need to stop the bleeding!

Why is it all the best tasting food is bad for us or high in calories? I've been really off the wagon the last few months for sure. Yesterday was our last day before getting strict and I finally went to see LaLa Land (LOVED IT) and I ate a ridiculous amount of popcorn followed with Milk Duds. It was delicious.

 

[roxymama]

The struggle is real...I find I eat more the colder it is and less the warmer it is...because I like to be outside and I don't like to eat when I am warm. So you can imagine how the winter has been going for me. Wishing you lots of luck in your endeavor.

And heal up hammie!

ETA: Disney needs to make a 101 dalmations remake with tiny spotted pigs.