I won't give in till I reach the end... and then I'll start again (comments welcome)

[HangWithMerida]

I'm thinking that if I sign up for Dopey next January, I might not even visit the parks until after I finish. Would that be blasphemous?

That’s basically what I did. I went to MK for half a day on expo day then didn’t go back until after the marathon. Just getting around the resort and going to DS for some dinner reservations was plenty of movement.

 

[azrivest]

My current plan is to arrive in the Orlando area on Jan 2, run the marathon on Jan 7th and then visit the parks on Jan 8th or later. With the school holidays as they are, those days pre marathon are going to be PACKED.

Very good point.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I'm thinking that if I sign up for Dopey next January, I might not even visit the parks until after I finish. Would that be blasphemous?

If registration goes well, this is my plan also. Nap, pool/hot tub, get my stomach/eating back to normal Sunday night. Park on Monday. Go home. And if the 2pm park hopping restriction has changed or been removed by then, maybe DATW? Because I will need MK medal pics.

 

[azrivest]

I'm on a podcast! Eep!

I'm too shy to talk about this on one of the main threads so I'll keep it here in my training journal, where I know it's mostly friends that read me I'm super shy and nervous about this, but also kinda excited.

Disney with the Ducks asked to interview me about my experience running the Princess 5k with my kids, if you're interested in listening. My interview was a bit disorganized, since we recorded the evening I came back from our trip and I was really tired. But I had so much fun doing it!

 

[SheHulk]

I'm on a podcast! Eep!

I'm too shy to talk about this on one of the main threads so I'll keep it here in my training journal, where I know it's mostly friends that read me I'm super shy and nervous about this, but also kinda excited.

Disney with the Ducks asked to interview me about my experience running the Princess 5k with my kids, if you're interested in listening. My interview was a bit disorganized, since we recorded the evening I came back from our trip and I was really tired. But I had so much fun doing it!

Just downloaded it!

 

[NYC_MW]

I'm on a podcast! Eep!

I'm too shy to talk about this on one of the main threads so I'll keep it here in my training journal, where I know it's mostly friends that read me I'm super shy and nervous about this, but also kinda excited.

Disney with the Ducks asked to interview me about my experience running the Princess 5k with my kids, if you're interested in listening. My interview was a bit disorganized, since we recorded the evening I came back from our trip and I was really tired. But I had so much fun doing it!

Just listened; sounds like everybody had so much fun!

 

[superchime]

Yay! I'll have to give it a listen!

 

[azrivest]

I'm struggling to get back on the running bandwagon since Princess. I'm just jotting down notes here in my journal.

My race calendar for 2023 is:
- April 8th: A 15k road race. This was a April 2020 race that has been pushed back 3 or 4 times. I have 0 motivation to run it - it falls on Easter Saturday and we might just take the weekend to go to our cabin.
- May 28th: Ottawa Half that I won't be able to attend --> am maybe looking to replace this with an all-women's 10k race on May 14th
- Sept 3rd: An 11-miler trail race

I could do the same marathon as last year on October 1st. I'm considering it only as a preparation for Dopey 2024. If some of you tell me it's really not necessary, I might skip it.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I could do the same marathon as last year on October 1st. I'm considering it only as a preparation for Dopey 2024. If some of you tell me it's really not necessary, I might skip it.

It's not necessary. Depending on one's view, it could be more of a detriment than an aid to Dopey 2024.

 

[flav]

My race calendar for 2023 is:
- April 8th: A 15k road race. This was a April 2020 race that has been pushed back 3 or 4 times. I have 0 motivation to run it - it falls on Easter Saturday and we might just take the weekend to go to our cabin.

It got pushed 4 times… 2020->2021->May 2022->August 2022->2023 … We hear you on the motivation! But we will so have deserved that shirt and medal

- May 20th: Ottawa Half that I won't be able to attend --> am maybe looking to replace this with an all-women's 10k race on May 14th

Just to be sure that you know, Ottawa Half is the 28th.

- Sept 3rd: An 11-miler trail race

Cool

 

[azrivest]

Just to be sure that you know, Ottawa Half is the 28th.

Good catch, I made a mistake in my post. J has a hip hop dance recital on the 28th. So yay for my son but boo for my race

 

[SheHulk]

Listened to your podcast episode! Nice trip recap.

 

[striker1064]

I finally had a chance to listen to your podcast. Thank you for sharing your trip! Sounds like a lot of fun. Also, I appreciated the anecdote you shared more than once about the 10k: "It was hot."



Cause I know that's the first thing I'd say too!

 

[azrivest]

I finally had a chance to listen to your podcast. Thank you for sharing your trip! Sounds like a lot of fun. Also, I appreciated the anecdote you shared more than once about the 10k: "It was hot."



Cause I know that's the first thing I'd say too!

Dunno why I kept mentioning that.

Just a T+D of 132 according to Billy No biggie.

 

[azrivest]

Haven't really tracked my running weeks in my journal since there was nothing of note that happened. I'm slowly increasing my mileage back to pre-Princess. I've restarted the same 10k plan for lack of a better option, but my main goal is maintenance.

This is how I feel in terms of running goals:

I don't feel like I've made any real progress in the last year. I'm going to try some sort of MAF method/zone 2 training for the next 3 months. Take a step back to move forward sorta. I'll really have to step on my ego for this to work. Today's run was 30 sec/km slower than my usual easy pace since I had to walk so much. For someone as impatient as I, it's hard af.

I'll also try to step away from social media (i.e. Strava). I have to stop comparing myself to others. Seeing all of everyone's achievements is amazing, but it also reminds me that I'm no closer to my 10k goal than I was a year ago. Even if I don't reach that goal, at least I'll have a good base to (hopefully) start Dopey training after the summer. And I won't have any other goal for Dopey but to finish. Running 48.6 miles in 4 days will be accomplishment enough!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I'll also try to step away from social media (i.e. Strava). I have to stop comparing myself to others.

You can follow me on Strava. I’m very very slow haha.

 

[GollyGadget]

I'll also try to step away from social media (i.e. Strava). I have to stop comparing myself to others.

Do you actually use any of Strava’s features? I stopped using the app several months ago and don’t miss it at all. I was never really a power user though and my runs all just auto uploaded. I did enjoy being a local legend but quickly realized how creepy it was when I literally met my actual neighbor because she stole my crown. I’m glad we met but I quickly realized that I didn’t need the general populace to know where I run.

Anyway, you’ve got the right idea. Stop comparing yourself. I find it’s much more beneficial to have controllable goals like days or miles per week. Of course I still have pr aspirations, but it’s better if I focus on my input rather than the output. Personally, it’s still a work in progress so thank you for the reminder

 

[azrivest]

Do you actually use any of Strava’s features?

No I just use it to like others' runs and to share info with my running group. I use Garmin Connect for my stats and progress monitoring.

I always feel this pressure that if my pace isn't fast that day, I'll somehow be judged (silly I know). So if I can at least take that self-imposed pressure off myself, I'll feel better. I'm almost 40 and I'm still working on being a better me!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm confident that the sub-60 10k is still out there for you. Just need a good weather day for it. 2023 Princess was not a good weather day.

Maybe someday we can do the same race and I can pace you through it. A retired DIS poster had a similar experience (link) and my recap (link). Her official PR going into it was 1:05, unofficial was 1:02 and she was striving for a sub-60. I convinced her to trust me and we ran blind. The course ended up being officially short, but even at 6.22 miles at the pace we were doing she would have done a 55 min 10k. Just getting out of her own head and trusting me helped her get there. All she had to focus on was following me, and I paid attention to her breathing to know when to push and when to pull back.

 

[SheHulk]

I'm confident that the sub-60 10k is still out there for you. Just need a good weather day for it. 2023 Princess was not a good weather day.

Maybe someday we can do the same race and I can pace you through it. A retired DIS poster had a similar experience (link) and my recap (link). Her official PR going into it was 1:05, unofficial was 1:02 and she was striving for a sub-60. I convinced her to trust me and we ran blind. The course ended up being officially short, but even at 6.22 miles at the pace we were doing she would have done a 55 min 10k. Just getting out of her own head and trusting me helped her get there. All she had to focus on was following me, and I paid attention to her breathing to know when to push and when to pull back.

Agree with this, having a pacer helps tremendously, especially if they can do all the mental part and you can just follow without looking at your watch. Which I'm sure Billy would do.