No One Knows How Far I’ll Go - Comments Welcome

[sandam1]

Chocolate sounds like the last thing I would want during a race… I wish they would add a salty snack!

I totally agree with you on this. All of my fuel is sugary (waffles, sports beans, applesauce) so a change of pace definitely would have been very nice at that point.

Yes!! If they ever did a HP run I would do it in a heartbeat.

Universal started doing race weekends (just a 5K and 10K) a couple of years before COVID. If they ever come back, I'm totally in (I pester Universal about them from time to time). That being said, I doubt that they will ever be HP themed because of the licensing issues.

Congrats!!! I loved reading about your training and your race. So proud of you!

Thanks!

 

[sandam1]

My Favorite Dopey Signs

There were two signs (one during the half marathon and one during the full) that really resonated with me, each with their own story.

During the half marathon I saw a person with this sign at the TTC. It’s one of my favorite sayings, but it was dark, I was rolling, and didn’t want to stop. As I approached Epcot at the end of the race, the same person was standing there. It was like the universe was saying “take the picture.” The funny part was that, as I was getting my phone out, I talked to her for a moment and noticed that she had a Buffalo Bills hat and scarf on. Yeah, she was from Buffalo. What a crazy small world.

The story behind the second sign goes back to Princess 2020. I saw almost the same sign and it made me start to cry because I could vividly remember that time. But again, in the heat of the moment, I didn’t take the photo (does anyone sense a theme here?). I was able to find someone online that had a photo, but it was low-resolution which made it hard to use. Even as miserable as I was at the time, during the marathon when I saw this sign in Hollywood Studios, I knew that I had to stop and take the picture. (And yes, it still makes me tear up)

So the moral of the story is always take the picture!!!

 

[sandam1]

Dopey Recap - Post-Race Thoughts

I’ve had just about a month to process things and here are a few random thoughts:

• This weekend was absolutely the most amazing experience! I could not have scripted it better if I tried. Considering how much of a disaster the 2022 weekend was, this was the complete opposite in every possible way. I want to replay every moment of the weekend over and over again - which is part of the reason that it has taken me so long to get my race recap done. I don’t want to let the weekend go!

• One of my favorite sayings is that everything happens for a reason. About a month before the races, I had a light bulb moment and I realized that the best thing that ever happened to my running was not finishing the 2022 marathon. It may sound crazy, but there were so many more things that I needed to learn about running and without that injury and that race experience, I never would have learned them. If, by some chance of fate, I had finished that marathon, it would have been such a miserable experience that I probably would have stopped running completely. As a result of that DNF, I found a community, a training plan, a running coach, and a love of running that I never could have imagined at the time.

• The best thing about this weekend was, by far, the people. I met and hung out with and ran with so many awesome people. Their friendship and generosity meant the world to me and it is not an exaggeration to say that I could not have completed Dopey without them. They were both teachers and fellow-travelers through this entire journey. With them, Dopey never felt like a crazy goal. Their support was incredible as it was always 100% positive and completely unconditional.

One example of this that will always stick with me - During the marathon, as we headed towards the Magic Kingdom, all of a sudden a runner that I knew caught up to me. I knew what pace he was hoping to run the race and there’s NO way he should have been that far in the back of the pack. He ran with me for a few minutes while he explained that there was another runner who was nervous about the race due to some physical troubles and he decided to start with her to help her out. He actually let himself get behind the balloon ladies at one point with this runner and stayed with her until she decided that she was done. What I didn’t realize at the time was that as we were running together, he was checking on me, making sure that I was okay, before moving on. I found out later that he was working towards his own goal, but I know that he would have put that aside without a second thought if he had thought that I was in trouble. When they say runners are the best, I will always think of this runner. I hope that one day I can be generous enough to pass the favor on to someone else.​

• I will never be able to thank my “support crew” enough. I affectionately call them my “guard rails” because they kept me on track through this whole process. Each one of them contributed their time and unique talents to help me reach my goal. I feel blessed that they came into my life, each at the exact moment when I needed them the most.

• Run/walk/run works! I feel like the world’s biggest cheerleader on this, but that’s probably because I am. Everything fits together to make running not only possible, but enjoyable. I see so many people talk about how long their training plans are and how it feels like it is taking over their lives and I never felt that. Sure, there were times where I may have been less than motivated to do a workout, but there was never a time where I said “I don’t want to run.” I stayed healthy, got faster, and had the best race experience - what more could I ask for?

• The best thing that I ever did was to sign up for Customized Training. As a chronic overthinker - and a relatively inexperienced runner - I had so many questions. I felt like I was constantly wondering “what about this” and “what about that.” But with CTP, I could get my questions answered. Usually Chris would say “don’t worry about it” and he would turn out to be right. After enough experiences like that, I found that I stopped worrying. And let me tell you, going into a race relaxed is an awesome feeling. That calming presence and the support of the community were invaluable to me. It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies - Chris can give a good motivational kick when necessary - but it was the perfect balance to get me where I wanted to go.

So where am I going next? Around the time of my first 15 mile run (mid-September), I said “one and done” for the marathon. I said it leading up to the race. I said it after I finished the race. I said it a couple of days later.

And then came my flight home from Orlando…I had checked a couple minutes late for my Southwest flight (I was having trouble getting the webpage to load) and wound up with position C13. I was resigned to getting a middle seat, but when I got on, there was a single window seat in the exit row still available. Score! I didn’t chat much with my seatmates until we were waiting to get off the plane and I noticed that they both had Chicago marathon jackets on. They had also been at Disney (as had someone from the row in front of us) so of course we talked about the weekend. I said that I was “one and done” with the marathon. They started talking about how amazing the Chicago marathon was and I kept saying “no, no, no.” And then while I was waiting for my bags, I looked up the pacing requirements for Chicago. I’m no longer saying “no more marathons” although I am firmly saying “no more marathons THIS YEAR.”

My Dopey experience, while magnificent, solidified where I want to go next. My goals for the year are:

• I want to get faster. The phrase that I’m using is “I don’t want to be playing around with the balloon ladies any more.”
• I want to get stronger. It was hard to balance strength workouts with Dopey training. I miss my personal training sessions and the group classes that I used to do. I want to get back in the habit of doing them.
• I need to lose some weight. I know so many people that say this, but for me to reach my long-term goals as a runner, it needs to happen. I feel like I’m constantly making decisions based on the situation with my feet and whether they can handle something. I’m doing a lot of work to maintain the status quo, but the problem is always lingering in the background. I don’t know if losing weight will 100% solve the problem, but I know that it certainly won’t hurt it.

I still have Springtime Surprise on my calendar - and absolutely NO travel plans made for the trip. Oops! Other than that, I’m probably going to stick to local races. K wants a “re-do” on her 10K experience so once her PT gives the okay and she’s ready, we’ll definitely do that.

The next “goal race” is hopefully going to be the Disneyland races in January 2024. For a whole bunch of reasons, it would be very hard for me to do Marathon Weekend in 2024 so when they announced the Disneyland races, it seemed like the perfect solution for my runDisney fix. Plus I’d been talking for years about wanting to plan a trip to California. Now if I can just get registered…

 

[sandam1]

Post-Dopey/Recovery Recap - 1/11-2/2

Week #1 (1/11-1/15)

After coming home, my primary focus was SLEEP. I was exhausted! One of the lessons that I learned from previous races was to clear as much as possible off my schedule when I got back. This served me well because I had just enough energy to go to work, get about two things accomplished, prep for the next day, and collapse into bed. Rinse and repeat for the rest of the week. When I woke up on Sunday morning, miraculously, it was like the fog had lifted and I felt human again. I did go to the gym for my first post-Dopey workouts (a 2+ mile walk on Saturday and aqua jogging on Sunday), but nothing too intense.



Week #2 (1/16-1/22)

Monday was my check-in PT appointment and I was pretty sure that I was going to get grounded again - and I was right. The sharp pain in my feet was mostly gone, but they were still sore too much of the time. So in some ways, I was prepared for this, but in other ways, I was frustrated by it. I had done so well during my training and to trash my feet again during the race was unexpected. But off to the bike, I went - and I was hating every moment of it. Thursday I went rogue and added a 10 minute walk as a reward to break up the biking. Saturday’s bike ride was better because I remembered the value of Disney+ to pass the time. Sunday I was back in the pool. Overall, my body felt better and seemed to appreciate moving again.



Week #3 (1/23-1/29)

I didn’t know how this week’s PT appointment was going to go. I felt good about 95% of the time and the soreness was more of a “I feel that” than a pain. But I wasn’t sure what that meant. Was I recovered enough? I don’t think Steve knew either, but in the end he said “one more week.” He did throw me a bone and said that I could do some walking - no more than 10 minutes at a time between biking segments. His parting words were “don’t make me regret this.” Yeah, he knows his runners! In some ways, walking the track was even harder. I wanted to RUN, but I was good and did exactly what I was told. I also added in my strength exercises which felt good. As usual, he was 100% right. By the end of the week, even with the walking, I felt back to normal.



Week #4 (1/30-2/3)

I went to my PT appointment, convinced that I was going to be released to run again. I worked through all of my exercises and then did the important ladder test. As I started the test, Steve was like “slow down,” but it was hard. It was the first running that I’d done since the marathon and it felt fabulous. But then I was extremely disappointed when Steve gave me my schedule for the next two weeks and it had me doing two more days of the ladder test and then a total of three 10 minute runs and one 15 minute run. To be blunt, ***! This was where I really miss having Jay around because he was good at explaining the thought process. I tried to pin Steve down on what my limitations were (Can I walk? If so, how much? How did my intervals and my speed impact my run time “allowance?’), but he was like “just do this” and it felt like we were talking in parallel lines. I knew what was on my training plan and was trying to figure out what I could do and what I needed to modify and/or skip. I will admit that I wasn’t being a very good patient, but with the new month, I was starting to hear the clock ticking for Springtime Surprise.

On Tuesday, I let my runner brain take over and decided to go off-script. For a whole bunch of reasons, I needed to rearrange my schedule for the week. But I also decided that I was going to take my chances and go for a run. I knew the risks, but decided to do it anyway. I stuck to Steve’s plan - kind of - but just moved it up a few days. I did my ladder test as a warm-up (no problem) and only did the 10 minute test run with extremely conservative 15/45 intervals. It was hard to stay slow and easy, but I managed. It did so much for me mentally that it was totally worth the risk. Thankfully, it also felt good physically with no issues during or afterwards.



This weekend’s 4-mile “long run” got moved to Thursday. I knew that even if I walked this, I was again skirting the limits that Steve gave me, but I was going to try anyway. And this went really well. It was long and slow, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

One month out from Dopey and I may still be in partial recovery mode, but I’m getting there. (I hope!)

 

[sandam1]

Post-Dopey/Recovery Recap - 2/4-2/24

Week #4 (continued) - 2/4-2/5

As I mentioned in my previous post, I wound up juggling this week's runs because I had an agility trial on Saturday and Sunday. I actually forgot that I had entered this until after my PT appointment. I was a little worried going into the weekend because the surface at this particular facility has caused me some significant trouble in the past. It didn't cause the issue, but it definitely aggravated it. I wound up being very, very cautious and came out of the weekend without any significant pain. Phew!

Side note: The judge for the event is also a runner (triathlete actually) and he was really interested in learning more about Dopey. It wouldn't surprise me to see him at Disney one day soon.

Week #5 - 2/6-2/12

This was my first training week since Dopey where I could follow my normal three running day routine, which did wonders for my mood. I did a tempo run on Monday, drill run on Wednesday, and a 45 minute "long run" on Saturday. However, I still had limitations - the run portions were only 10 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes - but it was better than nothing. Both the tempo and long run were rough. This was the first time that I started looking at my pace and I wasn’t happy with what I saw. It was like my body, and especially my legs, forgot what it meant to run. And while the feet did okay afterward, I had soreness in other areas where I haven’t felt sore in a long time. That kind of freaked me out because I didn’t expect it to be quite this hard. I couldn’t stop thinking/worrying about how much of my hard-earned conditioning and speed had been lost. The weird part was that my drill run - which I normally dislike - went really, really well.

Week #6 - 2/13-2/19

Another PT appointment and I felt good. I had some runs under my belt and hadn’t had any serious issues pop up. After a long talk, Steve and I wound up negotiating my runs for the next two weeks. He gave me some latitude (20 minutes on weekday runs and a 4 mile long run on the first week, 30 minutes on weekday runs and a 6 mile long run on the second week) and I promise not to enter any races after Springtime Surprise without talking to him first. He would really like me to be able to recover without the time pressure of getting ready for the next race. It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be antsy about it, but intellectually I do understand and accept what he’s trying to say.

Chris put two easy 20 minute runs on my calendar and the first mile of each was still really rough. This wasn't uncommon for me in the past, but I realize now that during the Dopey training, my body had adapted to the point where the first mile wasn’t as big of a struggle. But now it is again and that makes me one unhappy runner.



The 4 mile long run posed a different challenge. My original plan called for me to do a Magic Mile the previous week - my first in almost 2.5 months. But at that point, running for speed seemed like a bad idea so we postponed it. However, when I got to the gym, I suddenly realized that I had no idea what my long run pace was supposed to be. I aimed for a 16 minute mile and completely missed it, going 30-45 seconds faster for each mile, because apparently I can’t do math either. Oops! The good news was that I didn’t have any serious issues afterward.

Sunday I was supposed to do some aqua jogging, but it was a beautiful day out so both dogs got a walk instead.

Week #7 - 2/20-2/25

Again, Monday was a rough run. I wanted to try to push the run portion to be a tempo run and my legs just weren’t having any of it. I finally decided to just stop looking at the watch and go with what felt comfortable.

Wednesday was my first speed work (4x800s) since the middle of December and I was both excited and anxious about it. Excited because I know that it will help me get faster and anxious because I didn’t know how it was going to go. Could I hit my paces? And how was my body going to feel?

This workout got even more complicated because we were supposed to get an ice storm starting Wednesday evening. I can deal with snow, but I do NOT do ice. My initial plan was to go into work late and head to the gym in the morning - and then my boss scheduled a must-do conference call for 10:00 a.m. So it was get up and GO! This could have been a recipe for disaster, but it wasn’t. I wound up rushing my warm-up without issue and all of my reps were significantly under my set pace. It felt really, really good to be able to run fast.

(Side note: It was quite a week at work so I definitely appreciated the chance to use the speed work to burn off some of the crazy)



Today I had a 6 mile long run. I was feeling some serious FOMO, watching everyone having a great time down at Disney so I decided to add an extra .2 and do my own at-home 10K. I even added my Rise and Run shirt for a little more Disney flair. If I can find a 10K medal for a reasonable price, I might even get myself one since Belle is one of my favorite princesses. The run itself probably would have gone better if I remembered Chris’s instructions. He gave me the option of walking the first mile and I completely forgot about it until I was struggling in the second mile. Oops! Once I adjusted my ratios and slowed down, the run got significantly better. Overall, I would have stayed ahead of the balloon ladies so I’m going to call that a win.



I have another PT appointment on Monday and I’ve already got lots of questions. Let’s see if I like the answers.

 

[sandam1]

Training Recap - 2/26-3/5/2023

Sunday, 2/26 - Aqua jogging - Indoor biking (45 minutes) & Indoor track walk (30 minutes)

I was supposed to head to the pool, but I just didn’t feel like it. I headed to the bike instead (watched some Disney+) and then added a walk on the track.

Monday, 2/27 - Physical therapy & Tempo run

I was glad that this appointment was already on the calendar because after Saturday and Sunday’s workouts, my left IT band was sore. I’m pretty sure that I know what’s causing it. The track that I run on is supposed to switch directions daily. Well, for some reason, they hadn’t been changing the direction, which meant that I’ve been running counter-clockwise a LOT, including Saturday’s long run. That means that my left leg is taking the brunt of all of the turns and it was starting to complain. I didn’t think that it was anything to be too concerned about, but I did want to ask about it. In the end, Steve wasn’t worried and I was good to go.

At this appointment, Steve and I also had a LONG conversation. I had a bunch of questions, all of which essentially boiled down to where he thought I was and where I needed to go from here. One of the things that makes Steve great is that he is an excellent teacher. I walked away with a much clearer understanding of the “why” of the process that I’ve been working through.

The end result of the appointment was that I got released with just some weekly running mileage caps for the next six weeks and a “don’t do stupid things” when it comes to walking. Happy dance! He wants to see me the week before Springtime, but that’s it.

I waffled about whether to do the tempo run scheduled. Usually I come out of PT pretty sore and with tired legs, which isn’t great news on a tempo run. Also, my Monday runs have just been tough recently and I wasn’t excited about having to push through another one. Finally, I did a gut check, realized that these were all excuses (my legs felt pretty good and a slow run is better than no run), and did it anyway. And surprise, surprise, it went really, really well. The running felt comfortable. I upped my run interval and held it easily. I hadn’t felt that good running since before Dopey and I got a mile time that made me smile to show for it.

After this run, I really started trying to figure out what was different. Why was I struggling so much for the past few weeks and then suddenly I felt fabulous? It made no logical sense. And then the went off. The rule of thumb is that it takes one day to recover for every mile raced. Well, 48 days from Marathon Sunday was the day before. That put things in perspective and it was like, oh, what I’d been going through was NORMAL. Although my brain was ready to run and I thought that my body was ready to run, I was wrong. I’ve never been through a marathon - let alone Dopey - recovery process and apparently I had a few more lessons to learn.

Tuesday, 2/28 - Rest day

Wednesday, 3/1 - Cadence and acceleration glider drills

There’s been a LOT of drama going on at work right now and, as a result, my schedule has been constantly shifting. I would have a workable plan for the day and then suddenly a conference call would get scheduled for the worst time and I would need to juggle everything all over again. This happened the previous Wednesday with my speed drills and then on Monday with my PT appointment. So far, I had made it all work, but I really needed an afternoon off to reset everything. I cleared it with my boss (the main scheduler of these conference calls) and was optimistic that I could leave early.

Well, I did get out early, but not nearly as early as I wanted. Then I had to come home and eat because who brings lunch when you are going to leave early. One of the many things that I wanted to do that day was to get my run in and then go to a Barre class at the gym (a new thing for me). And since I’m math-challenged, I underestimated how long it would take me to get my run in. I stretched, warmed up, did one drill - and that’s it. It was class or finishing the run and class won. The good news was that the class incorporated almost every one of my PT exercises (the number of squats and lunges was insane). The bad news is that when I tried to finish my drills afterward, my legs laughed at me. I took that as a sign to call it a day and go home.

Completely off-topic, but this wound up being a hard day emotionally. As I was headed into work, there appeared to be a lot of dark smoke in the air. When I got downtown, it was obvious that there was something big on fire. It was a costume company on Main Street and sadly, a firefighter was killed when the building collapsed. After everything that this city has gone through this past year, this tragedy is just another kick in the gut. He was 37 years old and had a 3-year old daughter at home. Thank you, Jason Arno, for making the ultimate sacrifice!

Thursday, 3/2 - Cross-training - 45 min walk

Since my legs and feet were feeling good - and because I could - I headed to the gym and walked the track. Looking towards Springtime Surprise, I know that any additional “time on feet” that I can add will serve me well

Friday, 3/3 - Rest day

This was a very optional day on my training calendar and I decided to turn it into a rest day. I could have done something, but I didn’t want to take a chance of compromising Saturday’s long run by doing too much. I had done a lot that week already.

Saturday, 3/4 - 8 mile run/walk

This originally got put on my schedule about four weeks ago. At the time, I looked at it and thought that there was absolutely, positively NO way that I was going to actually do it. My “long run” at that point was for a total of 45 minutes with 15 minutes of that actually running. But lo and behold, both Steve and Chris said “go for it” and I did.

I didn’t have a firm plan for how I was going to run this - or even what day I was going to do it - until I started. Theoretically, if I ran on Saturday, the track should have been putting all of the pressure on my left leg again. Although my leg had gotten better throughout the week - due in part to a lot of quality time with my heating pad - running eight miles didn’t sound like the best idea. I decided to take both my running gear and my swimsuit to the gym and see which way the track was going. If it was going to the left, I would run. If it was going to the right, I would do the aqua jogging originally planned for Sunday and move the long run to Sunday. I got to the gym and apparently I was running that day. The downside was that mentally I wasn’t exactly ready for this run so I just started walking. I knew that if I had to walk the whole thing, I could. It wouldn’t be fun, but I would get the endurance that I needed. I wound up walking almost the first four miles and then doing an easy run/walk ratio that still had me going faster than I should have for the last four miles. And I felt great afterward, which was crazy. I was able to ramp up from 15 minutes to 8 miles in four weeks. That shouldn’t have been possible in my world! But apparently, it is. Run/walk/run for the win - again!

While I was at the gym, I also met with a new trainer, Alex, for the first time. We didn’t do much - it was just an initial evaluation - but he seemed nice enough. I’m trying to keep an open mind and see how it goes.

Sunday, 3/5 - Aqua jogging (45 minutes) & walk (30 minutes)

I added an extra 30 minute walk on the track because I could. Both parts of the workout went well. My legs were tired, but not sore afterward.

Looking forward…

Next Saturday is a Magic Mile workout and I am really curious about what my time is going to be. I’ve had a couple of workout results (particularly my speed workout) that are A LOT faster than what my last MM would have predicted. I’m trying very hard not to freak myself out on this. The number is just information.

 

[sandam1]

What’s Next?

I’ve used some of my downtime to look at some local races for the rest of the year. I know, I know, I promised Steve that I wouldn’t enter anything after Springtime Surprise without talking to him first, but that hasn’t stopped me from window shopping.

My criteria for races:

• Distance of between 5 miles and a half marathon. I don’t like 5Ks - it usually takes me a mile or two to warm up so they are just too short for me - and I really don’t want to train for anything longer than a half marathon right now.
• Something about the race has to intrigue me - the distance, the course, the theme, the charity, just something. I don’t mind running around my neighborhood on training runs so for me to pay to enter a race, there needs to be something different.
• It needs to be manageable for me. Therefore it must have a cut-off that I can reasonably do, likely to have decent weather (I’m not entering a race that starts at noon in August for example), and have a relatively flat course.
• I’m looking for maybe one race a month. I acknowledge that to become a better runner, I should enter more races beyond the ones at Disney. That being said, I don’t like races (at most non-Disney races I feel very awkward) so I’m not excited about entering them. One a month or so seems like a good compromise.

Races that are definitely going to happen:

Grassroots for Gardens 15K (Saturday, 3/25) - This is offering a 5K, 10K, and 15K. At first, I was looking at the 10K, but then I saw the route for the 15K. Each one of the races is an out-and-back course on a paved trail along the Niagara River (on the U.S. side), but the 15K goes all the way to the brink of the Falls (onto Goat Island for those familiar with the area) and that just sounds cool. I talked to Chris and he encouraged me to go for it, using it as my last long run before Springtime Surprise. I’m also going to use this race as a starting point. There is another local 15K at the beginning of August and my goal is to see how much faster I can get in the next 4+ months. I also like the 15K distance because it seems like a good compromise between a 10K and a half marathon.

Feel The Spirit 5K (Saturday, 4/1) - This is a very local (the start is less than a mile from my house) 5K. I have a 5 mile long run so I will probably run to the start, run the race, and then run home to get the mileage in. I normally don’t like 5Ks, but it is so convenient that I would have a hard time passing it up.

Springtime Surprise 3-Course Challenge (4/14-4/16) - I’m in total denial about how quickly this weekend is coming up. I don’t feel ready for it at all and I’m just going to have to put blind faith in the training that I’ve been able to do and any residual Dopey mileage that might still be in my legs.


Races that might happen:

After K’s 10K at Marathon Weekend didn’t quite go the way she wanted it to, she wants a re-do. She’s finally at the point where she can start running again so I’ve started looking at 10Ks near her. Right now the leading candidates are:

Thousand Islands Half Marathon/10K (Saturday, 5/20)
Cranberry Lake Firecracker 10K (Tuesday, 7/4)

What we decide to do (if any) will depend on how her training is going. If we don’t do the Firecracker 10K, there are two local 10Ks that week and I will likely choose one of those.

716 15K Run (Sunday, 8/6) - This is the other 15K on the calendar and would be my “how much faster can I get in four months” goal race.

Oh, and I think I forgot to announce it here, but K and I are both registered for the Disneyland Half Marathon. It wasn’t what either one of us wanted to run - I was looking for the Dumbo Double-Dare and K wanted the 10K, but thanks to Disney’s glitchy IT system, that’s what I was able to get. I’ve talked to Give Kids the World about a 10K bib for me to make up my own Dumbo race, but I’m not 100% committed to this yet.

Because of DL, K really wants to get in another local half marathon sometime in the fall. Right now, we are tentatively looking at Niagara Falls races at the end of October. I will still probably just do the 10K (I really, really like that race), but the course design means that K and I can run together for at least the first three miles.That is, unless I target it as a PR attempt, which I might.

I think that’s enough races to keep me out of trouble for right now! However, I am playing with one crazy/audacious long-term goal for 2025. I’m thinking (hard) about trying to do Dopey and Dumbo (assuming that they keep the weekends back to back) that January. I know that I said one-and-done for Dopey, but doing both of them is interesting enough to make me want to do it again. If I do all 4 races at Disney World and all 3 races at Disneyland, it would be a total of 11 medals in 11 days. That just has an awesome ring to it. There are sooooooo many things that would need to fall into place for it to happen - including getting registered and being able to afford it - but it is rattling around in my head. We'll see!

 

[sandam1]

Training Recap - 3/6-3/19

Monday, 3/6 - Tempo Run (30 minutes)

Good run! Checked the boxes. Moving on…

Tuesday, 3/7 - Rest day

Wednesday, 3/8 - Speed work - 6x800s - Barre class

I should know better than to negotiate workouts with Chris. Originally, this was on my calendar as 4x800s and I suspected that was a remnant of a previous plan. So I suggested that 6x800s would be do-able. Chris was willing to go with “between four and six.” Also, knowing that my paces at this point are educated guesses (at best), I wanted to try to hit the paces that I did two weeks ago which were faster than what Chris gave me.

The end result of the workout was that I did it, but wow, it was tough. My message to Chris started with “I should be careful what I ask for.”

After I finished up on the track, I headed to barre class. To say the least, my legs were completely shot by the time I finished up. No pain, but lots of “I don’t like you very much” messages.

Thursday & Friday, 3/9-10 - Rest days

I took these as rest days. I felt good enough that I could have done some cross-training, but after Wednesday’s speed work and knowing that I had the Magic Mile on Saturday, I decided to be overly cautious.

Saturday, 3/11 - 5 mile long run w/Magic Mile

I was trying VERY hard to not psych myself out on this Magic Mile. I know what pace I did for the half miles on Wednesday, but in the past, my downfall has always been holding it for the whole mile.

The end result was fourteen seconds faster than my last Magic Mile. That is good, but I have to admit that I was hoping for something better. I was also left wondering if I could have gone faster since I still struggle a bit with the Magic Mile - struggles that are a little bit physical and a little bit mental. I have sat with these thoughts for the past two days and then had a light bulb moment tonight. I looked up my first Magic Mile time and compared it to this one and realized that I had gotten a total of 2 minutes and 25 seconds faster in less than 10 months. Not only that, but if you had told me then where I would be today, I would have been over the moon thrilled. I need to celebrate that accomplishment rather than focusing on wanting something “more.” Yes, I want to get faster, but beating myself over the head with numbers isn’t going to help me in the long run.

Sunday, 3/12 - Aqua jogging - 30 minute walk on indoor track & personal training session

I swapped out my pool work for a walk on the track again - this time for logistical reasons. I was scheduled to do my first training session with my new personal trainer mid-afternoon so I would have had to wait until afterward to go in the pool which wasn’t ideal.

My workout with Alex, the new trainer, went relatively well. I’m trying to keep an open mind and give it some time before I make any judgments. I was pretty sore afterwards, particularly in my upper body, but I anticipated this. My legs are used to working out while running and doing my PT exercises, but I really haven’t done much upper body work since June. The soreness was just a reminder of this neglect.

Monday & Tuesday, 3/13-3/14 - Rest days

I skipped my tempo run on Monday. I had planned to stop on the way home from Jack’s nosework class - which is the usual plan - and I just kept driving. There was no good reason for it. Oh, I was sore from the previous day’s training session and I was suffering a bit from Sunday’s time change, but I knew that those were simply excuses. Yet I skipped it nonetheless.

My thought at the time was that I could shift it to Tuesday - and that didn’t happen either. Again, I could totally have fit it in (if anything it would have been easier than a normal week because the weekly CTP Zoom call got moved up), but I didn’t. I guess sometimes these things just happen.

Wednesday, 3/15 - Tempo run (rescheduled) - 45 minutes

Originally, this was supposed to be drills, but since I had new paces based on my Magic Mile - and a race coming up next weekend - I decided that I needed the tempo run more. And I will almost always rather do a tempo run to drills so it wasn’t a hard choice to make.

My pace was too fast as my ratios were wrong. Chris suggested 30/30 and I was still almost a minute faster than my goal at 20/30. I’m glad that I did the tempo run so that I caught this mistake quickly and can try a 15/30 next time. I’m thinking that should be about right.

Thursday, 3/16 - Rest day

Friday, 3/17 - 3 mile walk

This was the start of back to back workouts in preparation for Springtime Surprise. Walking is boring, but easy.

Saturday, 3/18 - 5 mile long run

Long and slow and boring! I was having trouble with the stop and go (and stop and go) of 10/30 intervals - I have no idea why - so I moved to 15/45 intervals which got me the pace that I needed and worked much better.

Sunday, 3/19 - Aqua jogging - 30 minute walk

Today was the story of best laid plans. I was going to get to the gym in time to do the planned aqua jogging before my personal training session. That didn’t happen. Fine! I’ll do a 10 minute warm-up walk and then count my time with Alex as cross-training. And then Alex wound up getting double-booked. Plan C - I walked another 20 minutes and called it a day.

That’s all for now, folks! This week has a tempo run tomorrow (I need to nail down the intervals for my new pace), another set of speed work on Wednesday and the Grassroots Gardens 15K on Saturday. The temps are trending slightly warmer - which is good - and slightly wetter - which is not.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

I looked up my first Magic Mile time and compared it to this one and realized that I had gotten a total of 2 minutes and 25 seconds faster in less than 10 months.

That is awesome progress! Congrats!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I looked up my first Magic Mile time and compared it to this one and realized that I had gotten a total of 2 minutes and 25 seconds faster in less than 10 months. Not only that, but if you had told me then where I would be today, I would have been over the moon thrilled. I need to celebrate that accomplishment rather than focusing on wanting something “more.” Yes, I want to get faster, but beating myself over the head with numbers isn’t going to help me in the long run.

Tremendous improvement! Way to go!

 

[sandam1]

Training Recap - 3/20-3/24

Monday, 3/20 - Tempo run - Rest day

I convinced myself to skip my tempo run - again! It was a little colder than I liked to leave Jack in the car (I have a coat and blankets for him as well as an insulated blanket that goes around his crate, but I worry below a certain temperature) and I was tired. I need to figure out a better routine/balance to get this run in.

Tuesday, 3/21 - Rest day - Tempo run (20 minutes)

It was nice out and I had just enough time to slide in a very short run (10 minute warm-up and 10 minutes at tempo) before my CTP Zoom call. It was a good decision because it got me running outside - something that I haven’t done in quite a while - before my race on Saturday. I also tried running in the rain coat that I got from Christmas and thankfully, it was very comfortable.

Wednesday, 3/22 - Speed work - 8x 800s

While doing this run, it occurred to me how innocuous 8x800s sounds. It sounds A LOT better than the six mile run (plus warm-up and cool down) that it is. After I did the math, well, then it just sounded like a sneaky trick to lull me into a false sense of security. Anyway, moving on…

I decided to take advantage of the reasonable weather that we had to head to the outdoor track. What I didn’t anticipate was that the school’s track and cross-country teams would be doing the same thing. I asked one of the coaches if it was still possible for me to use the track (I was totally willing to work around them) and he was awesome and gave me total use of Lane 1. Score! And the coaches were fabulous about keeping the kids out of my lane. I may try to change my speed work to avoid another conflict in the future, but I was happy that we were able to work something out this time.

I got the workout done within the pace parameters that Chris gave me, but the last two reps were slower than the first six as my cardio conditioning just gave out. And afterward, I was just completely wrung out physically, but I felt great mentally. It was a HARD workout and I managed to get it done!

Thursday and Friday, 3/23 & 3/24 - Rest days

After my speed work, I had tired legs and a couple of nagging pains, which had me a little worried since I had a 15K race on Saturday. The worst was a tightness in my left calf, but that was only causing me issues when I was going down stairs and not while walking or standing so I was hoping that it wouldn’t cause any issues running. In an abundance of caution, I skipped Thursday’s cross-training. Friday was already scheduled to be a complete rest day.

Next up - race day!

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap - Grassroots Gardens 15K, Niagara Falls, NY - Saturday, 3/25

This race offered three distances - 5K, 10K and 15K. Each distance was an out-and-back along the American side of the Niagara River. Originally, I was looking at the 10K distance, but then I looked at the course map for the 15K, which went all of the way onto Goat Island near the brink of the American Falls. I knew that the 15K was going to be, by far, the most scenic - and therefore the most interesting - of the distances so that’s what I decided to do.

I had hoped that, by the end of March, that the weather would be decent. Maybe a little chilly, but hopefully sunny. Unfortunately, I was wrong! I kept watching the weather and the one thing that never changed was the prediction for rain, possibly a lot of it. At first it looked like it might be warm(ish), but that went south as the week went on. Add on the prediction of high winds and it was going to be an interesting run. The only good thing was that the temperatures were supposed to stay above freezing.

Before entering the race, I had contacted the race director to try to get a feel for how long I would have to finish the race. As a back of the packer, it is unfortunately a consideration. I will say that the race director could not have been nicer. He told me that they would be there as long as it took, but he also offered me the option of an early start - something that I had never heard of before. The more I thought about it - and after learning that it wasn’t a crazy unusual thing - the early start sounded like a good idea. I really didn’t want to be the absolute LAST finisher.

While I have a pretty good routine for Disney race mornings, I feel like I’m still working out my pre-race routines for local events. The night before I laid out my clothes (or at least what I thought I was going to wear) and packed all of the gear that I could possibly need - and then some, just in case. This race was long enough that I knew that I would seriously regret it being unprepared.

I started assessing the weather as soon as I got up and it was pretty bad. It was colder and raining harder than I expected so I switched from capris to full-length tights and threw some warmer options into my bag. I tend to run warm, but I didn’t want to underestimate the combination of cold, wind and rain. I’ll admit that, looking at the rain as I left the house, the thought “what did I get myself into?” crossed my mind more than once.





I found the start/finish area pretty easily. Thankfully, the rain has eased up a little bit just like the weather forecast had predicted. My new raincoat was working as advertised and kept me dry. With the early start option, I didn’t have to stand around too long. I grabbed my bib and was off.

The first mile was easy and a little too fast. I started off with very conservative 15/30 intervals and was very consciously trying to slow down. The next two miles were a little slower, but also a little hillier, so the effort felt about the same. It also stopped raining (temporarily) around the same time.





[The water intakes for the Niagara Hydropower Plant]

My goal was to get past the turn-around point for the 10K before the race officially started, which I was able to do. It was around Mile 4 that it started raining - hard - again. This caused me a problem as I went over the two bridges onto Goat Island. The bridges were covered with diamond steel plates which seemed pretty slick. I ran for about 20 feet and decided that that was a very bad idea. Don’t do stupid things!



[View of the bridge over the Niagara River rapids onto Goat Island]

I used my walk breaks - and my walk across the bridges - to snap a few photos. While it was a gloomy day, the scenery was still pretty amazing. Like many people, I take for granted this natural wonder in my own backyard, but running alongside it renewed my appreciation of it. However, I still would have preferred a nicer day…





I had hoped to bank some energy at the beginning of the race to use at the end of the race. Sadly, that didn’t happen. But I was able to maintain a consistent pace, which was a good Plan B. All of my miles were faster than my averages from Marathon Weekend so I had another metric that I’m moving in the right direction.





The post-race party had some hot dogs and drinks in a nicely heated tent, but at that point I needed to walk my cool down (I knew that stopping/sitting down at that point was a very bad idea) so I grabbed a hot dog (this counts as post-race protein, right?) and walked a few laps around the park before heading home.

All in all, it was a decent race. In spite of the weather, I had a good time and I would definitely do this race again. I liked the 15K distance and, since this was my first 15K, it was an automatic PR.

 

[GollyGadget]

Congrats on the new pr!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Congrats on getting through the miserable weather! Sounds like it would be a gorgeous race if it hadn't had the temerity to dump buckets of water on your head

 

[NYC_MW]

Yay for a new PR and I can imagine that backdrop would be so beautiful to run along (in non pouring conditions).

 

[striker1064]

Congrats on your race!

 

[sandam1]

Training Recap - 3/26 - 4/8

Sunday, 3/26 - Aqua jogging - 20 minutes

After I got home after the race, I was pretty sore and VERY tired. I spent most of the afternoon either napping or “horizontal and stationary.” However, by the evening, I felt significantly better and by Sunday morning, I was almost 100% recovered. I definitely felt up to the aqua jogging that was on my calendar. Unfortunately, I wound up cutting this short because of a scheduling conflict at the pool (explain to me why someone thought it was a good idea to schedule a lifeguard training on a busy weekend day), but what I did felt good and I got some heat acclimation training in the hot tub.

Monday, 3/27 - Tempo Run - 45 minutes

I could still feel the weekend’s race in my legs during this run, but I got it done. Overall I was able to maintain my goal pace so that made it a good run.

Tuesday and Wednesday, 3/28 - 3/29 - Rest days

Tuesday was a scheduled rest day. Wednesday was an optional cross training day, but I could feel that my legs needed the extra recovery day so that’s what I did.

Thursday, 3/30 - 3 mile walk

This was the start of my Springtime Surprise simulation. I have to say that my training for SS has seemed slightly haphazard up until this point - at least compared to Dopey training which had a very specific progression.This has felt like a more generic “run further and get faster” plan until I got to this “oh, by the way, you have a race challenge to do” weekend. But Springtime really isn’t a goal race so I suppose that makes sense.

The walk itself was nothing remarkable. Just got it done.

Friday, 3/31 - 3 mile walk

Another day, another walk. I haven’t done many back-to-back days recently, but other than that, it was pretty ho-hum.

Saturday, 4/1 - 5 mile long run

This run turned out to be way more complicated than it needed to be.

Earlier in the week, I had gotten a call from the gym that my new trainer was no longer working there. They recommended a different trainer who only worked on Saturday mornings, which isn’t ideal with my current running schedule (Saturdays are my long run days), but I was willing to give it a try.

I made the appointment mid-morning, thinking that I could get up early and get my run done first - and that didn't happen. Plan B was to split the run into two parts (not ideal, but acceptable for a long run), but when I got to the gym, the trainer wasn’t there. Long story short, he didn’t check his schedule and couldn’t fit me in before he had to teach a class. Ugh! At that point, I just wanted to finish my run and be done with it so that’s what I did.

[Side note: I talked to the wellness director and have a possibility of a third different trainer, but I’m going to wait until I get back and recovered from Springtime before setting anything up. I knew that Tristan was going to be hard to replace, but they really aren’t making this easy.]

This run went okay, but towards the end I did start to feel the cumulative effects of the back to back to back days. I’m glad that I did it because it reminded me of my Dopey recovery lessons and how to deal with it.

Sunday, 4/2 - Aqua jogging - Rest day

I decided to make this a rest day since my legs were pretty tired and I had physical therapy and a long speed work workout scheduled for the next day.

Monday, 4/3 - Speed work - 10 x 800’s

I knew that it was going to be a long, hard workout (a total of 7.5 miles) so I rearranged the schedule to take advantage of the best weather and use the outdoor track. Every little bit helps, right?

I had a PT appointment check-in that morning (all systems still go) and then I came home to eat and rest for a little bit. And yeah, I was procrastinating until finally I pushed myself out the door.

This workout was almost over before it really began. I warmed up on my way to the track and felt pretty good. I did the first 800 and felt like I was dying. I hit the pace, but I was gasping for air by the end and I knew that there was NO way that I could keep that pace for nine more reps. The good thing about CTP is that I have the “phone-a-friend/coach” option. I texted Chris for guidance. His advice was to walk for a little bit more and try again. And that’s what I did.

When I started again, I experimented a little bit, adjusting my goal to the 7 minutes that were my original paces (if at first you don’t succeed, do what your coach told you to do the first time) and switching to a 20 second run/30 second walk interval. And it worked. It was still hard, but it was something that I could do. I did two reps before texting Chris with an update. Then I did two more. And once I’d done those, I was halfway through so of course I was going to finish. The other trick that I used was running the track in the other direction for a few reps, just to change things up.

Afterward, I felt like I had conquered Mount Everest. The first thing that I did was text Chris and thank him for making me finish the workout. At the time, I really wanted permission to bail on it, but when he said keep going that’s what I was going to do. It was about more than just finishing this run. I couldn’t see it at the time, but Chris could, which is one of the things that makes him such a great coach. He knew what I needed to make me successful.



I still don’t know for sure what happened and why I suddenly could not do the paces that I could two weeks ago, but I have some suspicions. First, I think that I’m on the edge of overtraining. While my schedule looks okay when reviewed one run at a time, the overview is that I’ve done primarily “hard” runs recently - either fast, long and slow, or fast and long - and I’m starting to feel it. I don’t feel as fresh at the start of each run and I think that it is definitely time to pull back the intensity a little bit. The second thing is that it was quite windy during this workout. Like most of the country, it’s been windy A LOT recently so I really didn’t notice it, but I wonder what impact that had.

My body felt okay afterward, but I was definitely looking forward to my rest day.

Tuesday, 4/4 - Rest day

Wednesday, 4/5 - Tempo run - 10 minute warm-up, 1 mile at race pace, 10 minute cool down

I battled with myself about whether to do this. The cautious side was saying that I need the rest and that I’m risking blowing the whole thing up by doing too much. The runner’s brain was saying that it’s only 35 minutes and that Chris wouldn’t put it on my schedule if he didn’t think that I should do it. Finally I just did it. It went fine and I felt decent afterward.

The only run that you regret is the one that you didn't do!



Thursday, 4/6 - Rest day

Friday, 4/7 - Mind of the Marathoner - 10 minute warm-up, 1 mile@10 mile pace, 1 mile@10K pace, 1 mile@5K pace, 10 minute cooldown

When Chris gave me my paces for this workout, I was intimidated. I don’t do 5K pace often and I knew that hitting it as the third mile was going to be challenging. And I was still fighting the “you don’t actually need to do this run” part of my brain.

The progression of this run is hard. I had to keep telling myself to slow down on the first two miles and then I really let loose on the third mile. To my surprise, I finished really, really strong - and 16 seconds faster than I should have - on the last mile. Apparently my brain isn’t giving my body enough credit. I can do these hard things!

Last hard run before Springtime D-O-N-E! I have an agility trial today and tomorrow (yes, on Easter Sunday) so no training. I will be running, but Jack gets to do most of the hard work.

 

[sandam1]

The Importance of Guard Rails

Recently, I’ve been thinking about my “guard rails.”

First off, I suppose I should explain the term and the history behind it. It all goes back to my 17 mile run in September (reminder, I had a mental meltdown on this run). Afterward, I was talking through what happened, trying to figure out why I had so much trouble - and more importantly how to deal with it if it popped up again. I knew that I needed a set of “guard rails” - or people that I could lean into when I was having trouble and getting into my own head too much - to help keep me from getting too far off track.



What makes a good “guard rail”?

This is probably different for every person, but for me, I need:

• Someone that I trust 110%. It takes me a while to establish that level of trust with people, but once someone has it, they have it. When things are going haywire, I can’t be weighing whether I can believe what they are telling to be true and I need to know that I can trust their advice.

• Someone who always takes the call. When I am spiraling and finally decide that I need help, I need it THEN, before things go from bad to worse, which they can - quickly.

• Someone who I can be vulnerable with. Again, this goes back to the previous two qualities. Asking for help is HARD for me. I’ve gotten better at it, but I will still try to figure it out on my own first. If I want them to help me, I need to be honest about what is going on (or usually what thoughts are swirling around in my brain).

• Someone who believes in me and believes that my goals are possible. I already struggle with self-confidence. I don’t need someone to articulate the doubts that are swirling around in my head. I don’t need practical, I need visionary.

Who are my guard rails?

If you look back through this blog’s past posts, you can probably figure out who is on this list. I am blessed to have some of the most amazing people in my life. I know that it sounds cliche, but I could not have done this without them.


Why do I need guard rails?

My entire running journey has been working outside my comfort zone so I needed both technical knowledge (while almost everyone knows how to run, running distances is a completely different thing) and the emotional support to do these things. Each one of my guard rails provides me with at least one - and usually more - of these puzzle pieces. At the time, I didn’t realize that I needed it and I definitely wasn’t aware as I was putting my community together, but I couldn’t imagine my life without each one of them. Maybe some people are good at figuring it all out on their own, but I am definitely not one of those people.

What I wish…

I see a lot of posts online from people who are new to running, asking for advice, and I’m always surprised that the concept of establishing a strong support system is rarely mentioned. I would love to see this be as important as finding the right pair of sneakers, figuring out the perfect fuel, or constructing an awesome costume. Distance running is such a mental sport and I don’t think we pay nearly enough attention to that in general, but having guard rails in place can really make the difference between “success” and “failure” in my book.

If you’ve read this far, I’d love to learn about your guard rails. Who are they and what makes them perfect for you?

 

[sandam1]

Training Recap – 4/8-4/12

This one is pretty short and sweet. Absolutely no training happened. I took Saturday and Sunday off due to an agility trial. I had one last run before the Springtime Surprise races – a 30-45 minute tempo run – on the calendar. I had planned on doing the run. I didn’t feel like doing it, but I was going to do it. But after I got home from work, I had a sharp pain in my foot while just walking around the house. It was an unusual pain, but it was enough to get my attention. It might have gone away when I started running, but I decided not to chance it. My legs could use the extra rest.

Tuesday and Wednesday were rest days (well, Wednesday was an optional day, but that wasn’t going to happen). Next up – Springtime Surprise.

 

[sandam1]

Race Recap – Disney’s Springtime Surprise Challenge – Travel Day & Expo – Thursday, 4/13

This race weekend was a weird one for me. Usually, I have the entire weekend planned out – who was going with me, what we were going to do, etc. – before registration. Originally, K was planning on going with me, but she bailed the night before registration. So I decided to just register myself and figure everything else out later. It turned out to be MUCH later because SS got lost in the hubbub around Dopey. I was also having trouble finding reasonable flights – particularly coming home – and at one point, I considered not doing it and eating the cost of the registration. But then I was able to find “reasonable” flights and hotel options (a standard room at Universal’s Cabana Bay, instead of a suite like we usually do) and convince J that she needed a long weekend in Florida. This was a very “budget conscious” trip and, since neither one of us had renewed our annual passes for Universal, we weren’t planning any park days. It was going to be different.

We were able to get a very, VERY early morning (like leaving Buffalo at 5:10 a.m.) non-stop flight to Orlando. Which might have worked out better if I had been able to fall asleep the night before. I went to bed at a reasonable hour, but I could NOT fall asleep. I wound up getting – maybe – a total of two hours of sleep. It was a great way to help adjust my sleep schedule, but a terrible way to start a long running weekend.

Our flight got in on time and we were just getting our rental car when the virtual queue opened. I got number 31(?) with an estimated return time around 11:00 a.m. so we headed to the hotel, hoping that they might have our room ready. Unfortunately, they didn’t so we grabbed breakfast in the food court and then headed to the Expo.





Bib pick-up went smoothly and we had just finished there when our VQ got called. I was impressed by the variety and supply of merchandise available for the races. I wound up with two shirts (including a challenge tank that I tried on a whim and found that I liked A LOT more than I thought I would), the replica medal pin, and the challenge magnet. J had never been to an Expo before so I did a lot of “here’s how things work” explaining. Then we got my shirts and wandered around the vendors for a while. Of course, I stopped to talk to Chris and Jeff Galloway. I also got Jeff to sign my Dopey medal.



We still hadn’t gotten our “room ready” text (they had said that they would put a rush on it, but it didn’t seem to help much), so we headed to Disney Springs for an early dinner at Homecomin’. I had eaten there once before and their macaroni and cheese was even better than I remembered. OMG, it was delicious!

Our room was ready just as we were finishing up so we headed back to the hotel. We got lucky and got an upgraded view so this was our view for the weekend.



After getting settled in and prepped for the next morning, it was very easy to head to bed by 7:30ish. Spoiler alert – this wound up being the night that I got the most sleep.