Marathon Weekend 2024

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: I'm planning to run Space Coast the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so MW will be just coming back from marathon recovery and I'll be taking it pretty easy (I'm just doing the half, which helps). I'm working on putting together my own training plan for Space Coast, with lots of advice from Billy and others on the boards! You can follow along on the process in my training journal if you're interested - I took a slight detour into mile training when I switched from MCM to Space Coast but will get back to the marathon plan soon.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
I'm using a galloway-based plan for the summer to get my base back and not overdo it (and leave some time for weights and possibly going with DS1&2 to XC summer running) since I'm SUPER out of shape right now. Once September-ish gets here I'll be recycling my DopeyBadger plan from last year, maybe adding in some strides or speedwork, depending on what I'm able to accomplish in June/July/August.

 

[nancipants]

Look

SAFD: I'm planning to run Space Coast the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so MW will be just coming back from marathon recovery and I'll be taking it pretty easy (I'm just doing the half, which helps). I'm working on putting together my own training plan for Space Coast, with lots of advice from Billy and others on the boards! You can follow along on the process in my training journal if you're interested - I took a slight detour into mile training when I switched from MCM to Space Coast but will get back to the marathon plan soon.

Looking forward to reading about this! I might do the Space Coast half next year.


SAFD: I’m doing the 10k for marathon weekend and the half marathon for Princess. Princess is my A race so my goal for the marathon weekend 10k is just to do better than my last 10k (1:30). Although I might want to race it more seriously since I’m running Princess with a friend and our goals are mostly “don’t die, finish (hopefully in under 3 hours), and have fun!” I’m doing a DopeyBadger plan for a 5k right now and will shift to Princess training not long after that.

 

[Disneyhanna]

SAFD: I plan to use Higdon again for Dopey! I used his Novice 2 marathon plan and then just did a few weeks of the Dopey plan after to get the back to backs in, I think the Dopey plan is based on the N2 plan. Since I'm not doing an October marathon this year, I'll just start with the Dopey plan later this summer. It does start at pretty high milage (I think a 13 mile long run?) so my plan is to spend the next couple of months working up to higher milage. I may loosely follow one of his half plans to hold myself accountable but since I don't run at WDW for PRs, I'm not too concerned about my plan. I felt really strong with the Higdon plans, I do tend to fizzle out at the end of the marathon distance but I just don't have the time/energy to do a plan that is super high milage like Hanson. I like running 4 days a week so Higdon works well for me. I do have a handful of trips planned this fall that I will need to plan around, I'm sure thankful I'm not doing a fall marathon this year as we are looking to have a very hot summer and I won't have to do the super long runs until fall thankfully. I just hope we have a less snowy winter than last year, so I have clear paths in November/December!

My POT should be good for Dopey/Dumbo 2024 but then I need to get a new one. I might try for a 10k this fall and then a 10 mile next spring.

 

[striker1064]

haha yes, neighborhood names like "Washington Heights" and "Murray Hill" are actually descriptive! Not sure NY Marathon goes through either of those neighborhoods but just saying, there are definitely hills. Ask anybody who has tried roller blading around Central Park...

Unrelated to NYC specifically but this is true of a lot of cities! It makes me laugh here in DC when people are running near Capitol Hill and they're surprised by the elevation. There's no grand plan for most of the neighborhoods here - Capitol Heights, Congress Heights, Marshall Heights, Aurora Highlands, Ashton Heights, Lanier Heights, Columbia Heights, Sixteenth Street Heights (wow these really could use some variation). Hill East is the neighborhood east of Capitol Hill. Dupont Park is near Fort Dupont. Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Thomas Circle- they all got circles! Truxton Circle doesn't though, it's got an identify crisis.

 

[accm]

SAFD: I just started a DopeyBadger plan for a September half. Once that’s done, I’ll have to see if I can just follow last year’s dopey plan that was abandoned due to injury.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD: Plan on using a @DopeyBadger plan again for this year. After years of trying lots of other plans including Higdon and HR based, I was very happy with the results and how the style fits where my life is at right now. Training for a POT attempt in September and then will shift over and adjust based on whether or not I decide to race for a time at MW.

 

[GuinnessRunner]

SAFD:
I have been using my Stryd (power footpad) plans for the past few marathon training cycles and they have worked well for me. They have recently switched to Steve Palladino plans. These plans are a little less mileage/time, but have more intensity.

I’ve been curious about their plans. I got a Stryd pod about a year ago and have seen the plans on the app but haven’t tried one yet.

 

[MissLiss279]

I’ve been curious about their plans. I got a Stryd pod about a year ago and have seen the plans on the app but haven’t tried one yet.

I liked that they were time and effort based. I also like that the workouts can automatically be uploaded to my Garmin (or AppleWatch) without having to create the workout myself.
On a 6 day a week plan, I had 3 easy run, one run with strides, one speed/tempo type run, and a long run (which sometimes included faster paces). I like lots of easy runs.
The easy runs on the new plans are pretty short - usually half an hour long or less. The long runs all seem to have a tempo section in them, but overall they are a lot less time/mileage than the previous plans.
I think a lot of people have used Steve Palladino’s plans, but since I’m in the over 4 hour marathon group, I wonder if it will work as well for me.

 

[GollyGadget]

SAFD: I’ll be following Hanson for the third time. I’m planning to make the switch from beginner to advanced. This makes me a bit nervous but it looks like it’s mostly more easy mileage so I think it should be doable. Anyone here ever made the switch?

Right now I’m one week in to my two week break after my half on 3 June. I’ve got a few niggles that I hope will disappear. After that it will be base building until September.

 

[fatmanatee]

haha yes, neighborhood names like "Washington Heights" and "Murray Hill" are actually descriptive! Not sure NY Marathon goes through either of those neighborhoods but just saying, there are definitely hills. Ask anybody who has tried roller blading around Central Park...

Washington Heights yes, Murray Hill no. The specific climb I keep picturing is on the UWS. I’ve been there plenty of times but you don’t realize how bad the climb could be on a run until 1. you’ve run 17-18 miles before that point 2. it’s staring you right in the face. It’s way more visible when you’re in the middle of the street as opposed to the sidewalk.

 

[cburnett11]

So right now, who knows. Open to suggestions.

Do some hill work for NY. The bridges have some elevation as well as some other work you need to do late in the race. Most of all, just train well and enjoy the race. It’s fantastic, but like any other marathon it can be a struggle if things don’t go well.

 

[Tymeece]

Older post and I saw a couple of others replied too but I’ll chime in as well. I was at CR this past Marathon race weekend. CR, WL, and FW share a bus. The order post race is FW, WL, then CR. As a CR guest it’s a little long/boring having to make all those stops, but it’s not all that bad. The third party bus drivers are, shall we say, often a bit more aggressive with their speed than WDW bus drivers.

Post Marathon we didn’t encounter any notable traffic but post Half we did as residual traffic from the earlier World Drive closure was still impacting the turn from Vista Blvd to World Drive, if I remember correctly.

I had debated monorail or bus post Marathon and opted for the bus, but if I had to do it again i would probably go monorail. No particular logistical reason other than it would have been more fun, kept me moving, etc.

Thanks

 

[BigEeyore]

SAFD: Just kicked off official Berlin training last week using one the Higdon plans. I typically run 4 days a week, and then mix in a bit of cycling and swimming as active recovery on the other days.
I have always used Higdon plans for almost every marathon and it works well for me!

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

SAFD: I actually signed on with a running coach this year, so he is tailoring a plan for me as the summer and fall progress. I am running all three races at Wine & Dine as well as the Dallas half marathon in December, so I like that I have someone who can help me adjust my training plan as I move towards Dopey in January. Plus, it's a whole group of people from all over the country that interact on GroupMe and keep each other motivated and I get a weekly Zoom check in with the coach. It's really made a difference in my outlook on training. Last year I did a modified version of Hal Higdon's Novice 1 plan for Goofy and it worked pretty well.

 

[pluto377]

My MRI results came back and there's no tear just inflamed tendons (and a heel spur). So I'm allowed to run as I can tolerate. I'm planning to build up super slow this summer with just easy running. I'll reassess in September and decide then what I want to do. Thankfully not doing the marathon, so I have a little more time to get in shape.

 

[Jason Bryer]

SAFD: Just kicked off official Berlin training last week using one the Higdon plans. I typically run 4 days a week, and then mix in a bit of cycling and swimming as active recovery on the other days.
I have always used Higdon plans for almost every marathon and it works well for me!

I too just started training for Berlin. I have been following Jenny Hadfield's plans (https://www.jennyhadfield.com/training-plans/marathon/) for almost all my marathons. This will be my fourth year doing a Fall marathon into Dopey. I don't really do anything extra for Dopey. I think having a full marathon (at race pace) in my training plan for MW has been great, especially since my fastest marathons have been part of Dopey.

For those doing NYC, do train on hills. I was not expecting it to be as challenging as it was (even though many people told me it is one of the hardest majors). I really felt it around mile 16 on the Queensbury bridge not only because of the fairly steep incline but that was the first time there weren't any spectators. It was eerily quite. Luckily my family was on 1st ave which gave me a boost. Then coming south heading towards Central Park is a long steady incline.

 

[dis_or_dat]

@jmasgat I'm running NYC too! Still trying to figure out what my "goal" is. Usually I only do 1 race a year and now I feel like I'm doing back to back races in a short time frame (NYC, WDW half, Dumbo dare, Boston ...) plus I'm still recovering from high hamstring injuries and not even back at baseline. Anyways, I heard NYC is the hardest of the majors in terms of hills (bridges).

 

[flav]

DH and I will start our NYC training mid-July. Plan isn’t ready but will probably look like my other marathon training plans, with the intent of finding a hill once in a while to get used to it.

 

[Baloo in MI]

@jmasgat I'm running NYC too! Still trying to figure out what my "goal" is. Usually I only do 1 race a year and now I feel like I'm doing back to back races in a short time frame (NYC, WDW half, Dumbo dare, Boston ...) plus I'm still recovering from high hamstring injuries and not even back at baseline. Anyways, I heard NYC is the hardest of the majors in terms of hills (bridges).

I ran NYC last year, I would highly recommend hill training. I can attest to the challenges of the hills on the course. Everyone will talk about the bridges, especially later in the race. But my biggest challenges were the long slow inclines; not super steep but steady. Later in the race there were a couple areas where it felt like it was one long continuous uphill slog (I struggled that day). But crowd support provides a good boost! It’s a fantastic race!