Official Dopey 2017 Thread

[Weluvdisny]

I think intelligent minds can differ on what approach will yield the best results. I know I've seen it before on this board, primarily attributed to @DopeyBadger I believe, that we are all an experiment of one when it comes to running.

Personally, I've finished my three Dopey's running the 5K and 10K, going conservatively and stopping for a lot of pictures during the Half, and doing the best I can for the Full (I'd like to say running, but there's been a good deal of walking going on and not scheduled r/w). I've come out of each of them feeling pretty good with quick recovery from any muscle pain, so I'm relatively happy with how they have gone. I don't think you have much to be nervous about. You have finished a Marathon and I am of the belief that anyone who is prepared to run a full marathon can figure out a way to navigate the other three races and arrive to the Full Marathon ready to complete it. If you feel like you want to do run/walk it is really up to you and what gives you confidence in your preparation.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I understand that everyone has different levels and goals that they work at. That's what I love about this forum! I think I will decide as I get more into my training what feels comfortable. My sister gave me a bracelet today that says "She did the impossible". I'm certainly going to try!!

 

[FFigawi]

So I have a question for all you Dopey veterans. I am not a run/walk runner. I have done a few half marathons and my first marathon (with the 10k) at WDW in 2015. But I'm thinking of trying it for my first Dopey to keep my legs fresh. I was wondering when should I transition to r/w? My training right now consists of runs of 3-6 miles strictly running. Do I do the 5k and 10k running and the 1/2 and full r/w? Or the opposite? Or just try and run all 4 and walk when I need to? Sorry for all the questions!! Nervous newbie here.

Your training should reflect your plan for the race. If you run all of your training, you should run all of your races. If you do want to run/walk some or all of the races, I highly recommend doing so during your training runs too. In my view, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to run all of the Dopey races if that's what you're doing in training and what you did in 2015. As long as you don't race the first three and walk 10 miles a day in the parks, your legs will be fine for the full.

 

[cavepig]

So I have a question for all you Dopey veterans. I am not a run/walk runner. I have done a few half marathons and my first marathon (with the 10k) at WDW in 2015. But I'm thinking of trying it for my first Dopey to keep my legs fresh. I was wondering when should I transition to r/w? My training right now consists of runs of 3-6 miles strictly running. Do I do the 5k and 10k running and the 1/2 and full r/w? Or the opposite? Or just try and run all 4 and walk when I need to? Sorry for all the questions!! Nervous newbie here.

My brother 'raced' them all and was fine for the most part but did hit the wall in the marathon somewhere. I got hurt in mid-November so had to run/walk, but started training that way due to the injury. I stopped for characters a lot in the 5k & 10k & some in the half so that gave me breaks too. Then I got sick before the marathon so it didn't matter saving my legs, but walking is tough and uses different muscles and puts you on your feet longer which could in turn tire you out more so if you plan to use run/walk intervals I would start training now that way to see if you like it and it benefits you. Sometimes the transition from run to walk can mess with you so make sure you listen to some of Galloway's tips on the transition and shuffle aspect of it so you don't hurt yourself. If I hadn't been hurt/sick I would have ran conservatively with stops at characters and walks if I felt like it, but that's how I would have trained if not hurt. Hope this makes sense.

 

[Ariel484]

So I have a question for all you Dopey veterans. I am not a run/walk runner. I have done a few half marathons and my first marathon (with the 10k) at WDW in 2015. But I'm thinking of trying it for my first Dopey to keep my legs fresh. I was wondering when should I transition to r/w? My training right now consists of runs of 3-6 miles strictly running. Do I do the 5k and 10k running and the 1/2 and full r/w? Or the opposite? Or just try and run all 4 and walk when I need to? Sorry for all the questions!! Nervous newbie here.

I think it depends on what your goals are, if any. If you're trying to go out there just to finish, you'd want to approach things differently than if you were trying to PR one or more of the races.

For me, I didn't have kind of time goals. I ran/walked all 4 races and stopped for all of the pictures. Took everything at a pretty relaxed pace and had a blast.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Your training should reflect your plan for the race. If you run all of your training, you should run all of your races. If you do want to run/walk some or all of the races, I highly recommend doing so during your training runs too. In my view, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to run all of the Dopey races if that's what you're doing in training and what you did in 2015. As long as you don't race the first three and walk 10 miles a day in the parks, your legs will be fine for the full.

As someone who ran exclusively for decades, I agree with this. If you plan to r/w during the races, start mixing it into your training ASAP. It is very different, and made running much harder for me when I first tried it. I only tried it because my wife was running for the first time in her life and that was her plan. I wanted to run with her - I had to start r/w.

I now incorporate r/w into about half of my runs. I have learned to r/w without it impacting my experience, but it took time - though I have never even come close to a "dream" run with r/w like I do with straight runs.

 

[surfde22]

Okay, I know I'm new on this thread and you're probably already sick of me... But wondered how other Dopey's liked to celebrate their accomplishment, or more specifically given that we just passed the 180 day ADR window, what are you're Marathon Sunday evening plans? For example, I booked an ADR at Le Cellier and plan to enjoy a nice celebratory steak. I've done this a couple of times, but have also gone to the Yachtsman and Monsieur Paul's in past years. Epcot seems to be the recurring theme....

My parent's are on friendly terms with one of the chef's at Citricos and are working with him to create a custom tasting menu for Monday night. They've done a couple when the chef worked at The Wave and they've always been really good. They usually plan it with wine pairings too, so plenty of drinking to be had.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Okay, I know I'm new on this thread and you're probably already sick of me... But wondered how other Dopey's liked to celebrate their accomplishment, or more specifically given that we just passed the 180 day ADR window, what are you're Marathon Sunday evening plans? For example, I booked an ADR at Le Cellier and plan to enjoy a nice celebratory steak. I've done this a couple of times, but have also gone to the Yachtsman and Monsieur Paul's in past years. Epcot seems to be the recurring theme....

I have an ADR for O'Hana for Sunday evening that I will be going to with family or solo; still trying to talk my wife into the extra expense of coming with me. I went solo last year and had a really great time, but hoping to drag along the family this year. We all love O'Hana and it seems a great "recovery-refuelling" after Dopey!

 

[AmynVal]

Okay, I know I'm new on this thread and you're probably already sick of me... But wondered how other Dopey's liked to celebrate their accomplishment, or more specifically given that we just passed the 180 day ADR window, what are you're Marathon Sunday evening plans? For example, I booked an ADR at Le Cellier and plan to enjoy a nice celebratory steak. I've done this a couple of times, but have also gone to the Yachtsman and Monsieur Paul's in past years. Epcot seems to be the recurring theme....

Easier than typing.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

It is hot - I mean HOT!

Lost 6 pounds of water weight on my 14 mile run today. Lost 3 pounds on my 7 miler yesterday and did not drink enough to be fully hydrated today. Boy did I feel it in my run. But I finished - barely.

I will be spending the entire day trying to re-hydrate from these two runs.

 

[sammykster]

Wish me luck - got cleared and doing my first run in over a month today! I'm signed up for a marathon in October so I need to get to it in hopes to be on track for Dopey and be ready for the next full! My last run was around 13 miles so I'm hoping after a few shorter ones I can get up quicker ... we'll see!

 

[croach]

Wish me luck - got cleared and doing my first run in over a month today! I'm signed up for a marathon in October so I need to get to it in hopes to be on track for Dopey and be ready for the next full! My last run was around 13 miles so I'm hoping after a few shorter ones I can get up quicker ... we'll see!

Good luck! Hope it goes well.

 

[PrincessV]

It is hot - I mean HOT!

Lost 6 pounds of water weight on my 14 mile run today. Lost 3 pounds on my 7 miler yesterday and did not drink enough to be fully hydrated today. Boy did I feel it in my run. But I finished - barely.

I will be spending the entire day trying to re-hydrate from these two runs.

I hear ya and sympathize. I'm losing about a 1/2 pound per mile these days. I'm replacing the lost fluids before during and after every run, but still... it just wipes you out, doesn't it? 8 miles Sat and all I did was drink water and Gatorade and sit around in the AC the rest of the day! I'm ready for football season so I can indulge in my halftime/3rd quarter nap ritual every week.

~~~

In other news... I went ahead and upgraded. I'm officially IN for Dopey '17!!

 

[tigger536]

Okay, I know I'm new on this thread and you're probably already sick of me... But wondered how other Dopey's liked to celebrate their accomplishment, or more specifically given that we just passed the 180 day ADR window, what are you're Marathon Sunday evening plans? For example, I booked an ADR at Le Cellier and plan to enjoy a nice celebratory steak. I've done this a couple of times, but have also gone to the Yachtsman and Monsieur Paul's in past years. Epcot seems to be the recurring theme....

Victoria and Albert's! Chef table!!! My first Dopey and my first marathon!

 

[AmynVal]

Victoria and Albert's! Chef table!!! My first Dopey and my first marathon!

Pretty jealous of this one. My wife and I haven't made it to this dinner. We have eaten in the regular dining room and Queen Victoria's room. Such an awesome dining experience

 

[tigger536]

My parent's are on friendly terms with one of the chef's at Citricos and are working with him to create a custom tasting menu for Monday night. They've done a couple when the chef worked at The Wave and they've always been really good. They usually plan it with wine pairings too, so plenty of drinking to be had.

This is awesome! Post pictures!!!

 

[surfde22]

This is awesome! Post pictures!!!

I'll try to remember too. I'm usually really bad at taking pictures. Like so bad that if I said I have taken 10% of the number of pictures of my 6 week old son that my wife has that would probably be a high estimate. I can't even think to take pictures of him, so not sure how I'll remember to take pictures of my food.

 

[Keels]

Victoria and Albert's! Chef table!!! My first Dopey and my first marathon!

Thanks for the invite!

 

[Stroller Boy]

Me? After 4 super early wake-ups, I will likely eat lunch, hit a park for an hour or two to stretch out my legs, and then sleep for a few days. My legs will be fine, but I will be very tired for a few days, and I won't care about food for a few days. I find that I have to force myself to eat after marathons.

Can't eat, really? Wow, that's the first time I've heard that! I'm typically about ready to down a steak by mile 22. Of course, for those super hot years, I suppose I may have had that not hungry state....but typically only lasts till I hit the bus and the bloodflow starts to get moving back to parts other than the legs.

 

[Stroller Boy]

This is my first Dopey but I booked Be Our Guest for Sunday night as I want to celebrate in the Magic Kingdom.

Very nice. This is one that I haven't tried yet (Be Our Guest), but have heard good things. Enjoy!

 

[Stroller Boy]

This is also my first Dopey so I'm still on the fence! Last year we did the full and ended up taking a long nap then having dinner at Shulas. Part of me wants to do dinner to celebrate again at Shulas because it was delicious but We're also going home Monday and I might want to do some drinking around the world. It's all up in the air still which is not normal for me. Probably Epcot?

My wife and I went to Shula's after the 2010 Half-Marathon (the infamous sub-freezing marathon weekend). Really enjoyed it there, but feel like I couldn't go wrong with the Yachtsman or Le Cellier as well. Only a short walk to World Showcase from there (Shula's) as well...of course, after a marathon who wants to walk...