How bad is the goofy for your body

[Steffwalks]

You might be right, Stitchattack, but I WILL be fully trained and I just don't think there could be a more magical moment than to complete the Goofy at the "Happiest Place on Earth". Afterall, this isn't my first race, just my first marathon.

 

[StitchAttack]

You might be right, Stitchattack, but I WILL be fully trained and I just don't think there could be a more magical moment than to complete the Goofy at the "Happiest Place on Earth". Afterall, this isn't my first race, just my first marathon.

Obviously being well trained is the key, regardless of how many marathons you have or haven't done in the past. Even if you are well trained, however, you still need to run both races intelligently. With all of the excitement of Disney, it is way too easy to run the half too fast or start out too fast in the full and blow up.

The good thing is that goofy is over a year away, so as long as you have a decent running background, can train hard for the next year solid, and stay injury free you will be ok. As part of that year of training, though, I'd still recommend maybe doing a fall marathon before the goofy.

 

[Cruella de mom]

How bad is the Goofy for your body?

hmm. I think that depends on how hard you run it.

Training for a marathon is basically a system of tearing your body down and rebuilding it over and over again. The marathon itself is pretty destructive. Even an half can be pretty destructive. So it makes sense that running the two back to back without time for your body to rebuild would be even harder on your body than a marathon.

That said: I think I hurt more and had a tougher time recovering after my first marathon than either Goofy. I know that training for that first marathon, I basically lived with pain for 4 months. I didn't have that with either Goofy, I pretty much recover from a long run with a good nights rest now. I suffer more from speed work outs than I do from a long slow run.

I am going to echo everyone else and say that I think your first marathon should stand alone. Not just because it is hard and hard on your body but because it should be an achievement all by itself.

Enjoy each incremental step. Celebrate each new mile as its own achievement. One day you will catch yourself thinking of an 8 mile training run as a "short run" and then you will know that you have crossed over to the dark side.

Good Luck!
Cecilia

 

[Steffwalks]

You may be right....but then again.......maybe not! I KNOW I will be sore, but, I will BE at DISNEY!!!!!

 

[skfulkers]

How bad is the Goofy for your body?

hmm. I think that depends on how hard you run it.

Training for a marathon is basically a system of tearing your body down and rebuilding it over and over again. The marathon itself is pretty destructive. Even an half can be pretty destructive. So it makes sense that running the two back to back without time for your body to rebuild would be even harder on your body than a marathon.

That said: I think I hurt more and had a tougher time recovering after my first marathon than either Goofy. I know that training for that first marathon, I basically lived with pain for 4 months. I didn't have that with either Goofy, I pretty much recover from a long run with a good nights rest now. I suffer more from speed work outs than I do from a long slow run.

I am going to echo everyone else and say that I think your first marathon should stand alone. Not just because it is hard and hard on your body but because it should be an achievement all by itself.

Enjoy each incremental step. Celebrate each new mile as its own achievement. One day you will catch yourself thinking of an 8 mile training run as a "short run" and then you will know that you have crossed over to the dark side.

Good Luck!

Cecilia

Very well said, Cecilia! I agree with everything above. By the way, congrats on your Goofy time. I see you improved it significantly this year!

Just to add one more thought for anyone pondering Goofy as their first marathon experience: only you know your body. If you're honest with yourself, you'll know if you have (or will have) the training base to get you through the races. There are a lot of "Goofy" people on the WISH team who can help you through all the details, questions, advice, etc. But the question of "can I be ready for next year?" can only be answered by you.

Just please don't take the decision lightly, as it is a pretty serious undertaking and a huge time commitment.

Good luck to all in your training!

Steve

 

[chimera]

See your primary care provider for a complete physical first

Keep in mind, the Goofy is just one weekend out of your life. The training, though, is 14 to 16 weeks. You'll need at least a good 4 days a week schedule, more if your body can tolerate it. One LR, one med length run, and two or more easy runs each week.

The hardest part for me in training for the full was time. With work, family, school stuff...it was really hard to get in the training time I needed for a successful race. Take a peek at your schedule and your life next fall before you register.

 

[Big Vic]

I agree.

Having or being able to take the time to train is imperative. If you short change your training, you very well may short change your race.

 

[windwalker]

I'm going to use my blog entry for today as my input to your question:


We talk a lot about doing half marathons, full marathons and even ultra events like the Goofy Challenge (Disney half marathon on Saturday and full marathon on Sunday) or the 50 and 100 milers. I firmly believe that anyone can train for and run, run/walk or walk any race they desire to. But the active word is to train. Several of us did the half, the full and the Goofy this year with less than optimal training.

But the above statement is not entirely accurate. We were not as trained for these races as we would have liked to be, but most of us are tough, strong athletes that know how to get the most from our bodies. This should in no way influence a person new to endurance sports to take the distance lightly. If you picked an average group of people at random and had them go these distances without proper training, most of them, if they finished at all would be lame or worse.

It's an excellent idea to take your distance events in small bites. Train for and do a 5K, then a 10K, do a half marathon, then train for and do a full. There are lots of books out there with training plans for doing a marathon, some are good some are not. But every person is different and a canned program should be looked at as a guide not as gospel.

An event like a half or full marathon is a lot like an injury. When you are recovering from a marathon look at it as though you are recovering from an injury. Because it is an injury, you have pushed your body hard, it is damaged and requires rest, rehab and recovery. You have lots of microscopic tears in your muscle tissue, think beaten with a meat tenderizer especially if you really had a hard race. These tears require maintenance.

There is a rule of thumb that you need to have an easy day for every mile raced. Not a bad idea, it varies by your fitness level but for the average recreational athlete it's a workable rule. So a half marathon takes 13 days and a full 26 days. Yes world class athletes can train with 100 mile weeks, but they also have a support system that most of us do not. They get their ice baths, daily massage, and a trainer that keeps up with their needs. They also stay off their feet as much as possible when not training, where as most of us have to go to work or care for a house and kids.

Train properly and smartly and most goals are within reach, but you must respect the distance. When the vets talk about their races it often seems like it's no big deal, but yes it is.

Thanks for reading.

Walking Panda

 

[Steffwalks]

Apparantly, by all standards, I am nuts. But that's okay, I don't mind being percieved that way. I KNOW what I am getting into. I KNOW the time commitment. I KNOW that it won't be easy. AND I know who I am.

Entering in it lightly...no way. Entering it with my eyes open...absolutely. But just because someone else didn't do it that way, doesn't mean that I can't/won't/shouldn't.

You only get a first marathon, once. This is the one I want.

 

[windwalker]

Apparantly, by all standards, I am nuts. But that's okay, I don't mind being percieved that way. I KNOW what I am getting into. I KNOW the time commitment. I KNOW that it won't be easy. AND I know who I am.

Entering in it lightly...no way. Entering it with my eyes open...absolutely. But just because someone else didn't do it that way, doesn't mean that I can't/won't/shouldn't.

You only get a first marathon, once. This is the one I want.

You are a warrior Connie, you have been around the fitness block enough times to know what you are getting into, besides you have a Fairy GodMother Panda to watch over you.

Walker Panda

 

[StitchAttack]

Apparantly, by all standards, I am nuts. But that's okay, I don't mind being percieved that way. I KNOW what I am getting into. I KNOW the time commitment. I KNOW that it won't be easy. AND I know who I am.

Entering in it lightly...no way. Entering it with my eyes open...absolutely. But just because someone else didn't do it that way, doesn't mean that I can't/won't/shouldn't.

You only get a first marathon, once. This is the one I want.

I don't think anyone here is saying you can't do it, but it is one thing to "dream" about running a marathon and another to train for a marathon. The marathon dream is a very abstract yet enticing thing. It can also be a very motivating thing.

Hopefully your training will go well and you won't burn yourself out by trying to tackle too much at once. You've got a year to train, take advantage of it.

 

[Steffwalks]

Sheeze Matt, what's your deal? Ain't I good enough to go down the same stretch of pavement as you, even if I don't get to that point just like you did????

 

[SAHDad]

Sheeze Matt, what's your deal? Ain't I good enough to go down the same stretch of pavement as you, even if I don't get to that point just like you did????

I think Matt is just trying to give a word of caution. To be honest, without knowing anything about your running base, fitness level, time available, etc, I would strongly recommend doing the Mickey for your first marathon, but waiting until you had done one Mickey (or more) before trying the Goofy.

Matt is probably just trying to help you avoid a DNF for your first marathon.

 

[Cruella de mom]

See The hardest part for me in training for the full was time. With work, family, school stuff...it was really hard to get in the training time I needed for a successful race. Take a peek at your schedule and your life next fall before you register.

Also remember that you are at peak training during Thanksgiving and Christmas. For the last three years I have had to schedule 40+ mile weeks and long runs around family gatherings and christmas celebrations.

I am NOT saying its impossible, I am saying that its hard even under the best of circumstances.

Sit down with the significant people in your life and make sure they understand. Make sure they understand that it is not ok to schedule a leisure vacation after June. Make sure that they understand that if the best christmas party ever is scheduled the night before a 20 mile run that you are going to stay home and go to bed early. Make sure your kids understand that NO they can not have slumber parties the night before your long run. (schedule them the night after - you'll sleep through the whole thing)

As for doing the Goofy as your first marathon. I think you are cheating yourself - but thats my opinion. It makes me sad, kind of like when my kids try to grow up too fast - I can't stop them but I wish they would slow down and enjoy all the steps of the journey.

Steff has been on WISH longer than I have, so I expect she knows what she is getting into. I wish you a happy and healthy training season and I wish you joy in the race itself from start to finish.

Cecilia

PS: thanks Steve!

 

[StitchAttack]

Sheeze Matt, what's your deal? Ain't I good enough to go down the same stretch of pavement as you, even if I don't get to that point just like you did????

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that you won't be able to do it. I just wanted to convey how hard I think a marathon is.

 

[Steffwalks]

Thanks for that, Matt.

Thank you to, Cecillia!

I actually have an extremely good ideal how hard it will be. And that's one reason I want it to be my first. You see, I don't anticipate doing another full marathon, I really enjoy the half. I appreciat the time and effort involved. So, to my way of thinking, if I'm gonna do just one, I might as well do the one I really want!

 

[KeenHo]

Word to the wise... don't run the Goofy and the 5K with a bad case of plantar faciitus. It didn't work out so well for the Marathon. Enough said.

2009 Half Marathon Finish Time: 2:01:28
2009 Marathon Finish Time: 5:55:58

 

[Pennyguy23]

I started really thinking last night and I talked to my wife, I am starting to lean towards just the marathon. I started thinking about how all the training says to rest rest rest the week before and here I am going to run a 1/2 marathon before the marathon. Plus I want to be able to enjoy my few days prior to the race. I am still on the ropes on what to do.

 

[tinkerbell of winter]

Don't feel bad, i'm still on the ropes as to whether or not I want to run the full. I may just settle for the half at this point because 13.1 times TWO seems like a really long way! I wish I didn't have to choose so early!