Now What?

[MarkBarbieri]

OK, I signed up for the Goofy for 2009. I'm only running about 3-4 miles at a time right now and I've never run any further than that. Obviously, I'm not particularly bright. So I've got about one year to get ready. What do I do now?

 

[AmyBeth68]

First of all...continue to build your running base. A solid base of 15-20 miles per week would be my suggestion, but you have to get there slowly so you remain healthy. No more than 10% increase per week. Once you have your base, work on cross training to add stamina, endurance and strength. Goofy is very serious business, even for experienced runners. Add the heat and humidity of Florida and it can be downright dangerous. Your main goal is to show up as strong and healthy as possible. At 20 weeks out you'll need to start a serious training regime to build up your long run miles safely and possibly add back-to-back long runs. But until then....train to train and think BASE.

Best of luck.

 

[hoosmi]

Yep, what Amy said.

My longest run was 3-4 miles too when I signed up for Goofy last year. I have my medals now!! It was great fun. You can do it!

Jen in GA

 

[ultramickeymouse]

From what I saw there were a lot on runners not knowing how to keep their electrolytes balanced. Disney added many more water stations which lead to more people diluting their electrolytes. This lead to nauise and light headedness. This can lead to a more serious problem of hypotrenemia(too much water and less salts). This can cause death.

This is much more of a problem than lack of training. I live in a climate than doesn't get above 30 degrees for the 2 months before the race and NEVER has any humidity. I had no training either but we were able by being smart on on fueling and electrolyte balances.

 

[AmyBeth68]

Robert I would agree. but I also think that's why a marathon under your belt before doing an ultra event helps for you to understand your own personal needs. That and a bunch of base miles and time to experiment with the types of electrolytes that work for you. In my case, many types of sports drink/gels make me physically ill so I've needed several years to figure out what works for me in different conditions. As a fitness professional I just like to point out that although this is something VERY worthy, and I think Mark is awesome for going for it...I'd be remiss as a professional to not point out the serious nature of the undertaking. Mark...I think you'll have a GREAT experience. Just get those miles under your belt. I ran the marathon last year with no training for 4 weeks and finished...but it was one of the most painful things i've done. My best advice is to show up healthy so take good care of yourself all year and always expect the unexpected .

I think that anyone can run goofy with a year of training. But without understanding what happens to your body around mile 20, it will be quite an undertaking. Possible, absolutely yes. And I commend anyone for looking toward competing in such a wonderful event. I just think a word of caution is smart as marathoning is serious business as evidenced by the man being taken away by ambulance at mile 25 on Sunday.