Since the Goofy is still fresh in your minds...

[rubato]

I did Goofy for the first time, and, it was my first full and only my 2nd half. I did 2 sets of back to backs each week. Midweek, I did short run, medium run back to backs. Weekend, I did medium run, long run back to backs. I did get injured 6 weeks out, but still finished with 1:48 and 4:55, which isn't bad in my opinion.

 

[cewait]

I may be the contrarian here....

I think one should run a full pre-goofy. I think that the effort increase between a half and full is greater than a doubling of the distance and the experiences is beneficial. Saying that, I know several folks who do just what is asked and run their first full as the back half of a Goofy. It can be done and with a little mental toughness it can be a very successful adventure.

I am also not a big believer in running a lot of back to back runs as part of your training. I would select a training program that includes midweek speed and or hill work and only one weekend run. Look at how you live your life and overlay a training plan. Of the big three plans, any will work and work well. As a first time marathoner, I will yield a little and suggest that 3-5 back to back runs will be a useful tool in letting you feel the effort required to overcome dead legs at the first of a long run.

Finally, in the interim, do not over race this spring or in the fall. Half marys are fun but running a race can damage your training. Do try to keep a nice base going between now and when you training plan kicks in. You long runs should vary between 6-8 miles and 13 miles through the year.

 

[cloudnut220]

How many races would you consider to be overracing? Sorry if it's a silly question, I'm just new to this!

 

[cewait]

this answer may seem like a nonanswer but it really depends on you and the training plan you are following.

first, you should race only as often as you can recover from the race. For most folks it takes one day for every mile raced to recover. This can extend out even further if a nagging injury pops up in training or in the race. This time also depends on how hard you run the race. If you run the race as a slower training pace then the recovery time is almost a non-issue.

Then with regard to training plan interference... You can run a half as a substitute for a long run occasionally while building up for a marathon. Though one needs to be mindful of where in your plan the race occurs. Ideally the race would slot into a 12-15 mile long run weekend. If the plan is shorter than a 12 then you are missing out on a planned recovery weekend and setting yourself up for being overly fatigued or injury. Obviously slotting a half in place of a 20 mile run is just shorting yourself of the benefits of the distance.

I hope this helps. It is really hard to say one a month or one every 2 months or one a year is over racing since the runner is the biggest variable.

 

[cloudnut220]

I really appreciate your insight. I'm still a running novice, but I would like to take my running to the next level (I've had a lot of encouragement to go for it from my PT and serious running friends). I ran a fairly conservative half at WDW last weekend where I ran right at my training pace because I had been dealing with some tendonitis in my posterior tib and I wanted to finish without a flare more than with an awesome time. But now that I know I can go the distance, I really want to step it up, and maybe go for Goofy, depending on how this next year goes. It was tough to know that I didn't give the race my all. I do think it was a valuable lesson though, to see how my body responds to different effort levels. I've been sorer longer after an all out 10k than I am now after a HM!

 

[John VN]

It is very interesting for me to read all your responses regarding training because we are 60yo walkers who started training 1 year ago and just completed the 5K, 1/2M and a Full for me this past weekend. We walked 3 times a week with me adding extra milage on Sundays. I also bicycled quite a bit but to my detriment, I backed off too early before this past weekend's events and I feel it hurt my performance.

Our training did include one long walk of 13.1 miles for my wife and 28 miles for myself so we had the feeling of the time/effort needed to complete the distances. The Space Coast 1/2M in Nov. was our first 1/2M competition and a great learning experience.

Speedwork for our 2 weekday walks, more strength work, 100 to 150 mile Saturday bicycle rides for me and longer Sunday walks will be this year training schedule. With this plan I will be able to stay with my wife for the full 1/2M in January instead of leaving her at mile 11 so I could finish under 3:30 to complete the Goofy. Thank you Coach Charles for emphasizing that in your response to DW. I also believe I will be able to better my Full walking time from 4:56:28 to 4:30 or better.

We are registered for the DL 1/2M to receive our C2C and will sign up for W&D and 2012M Weekend.

Good luck to all.

 

[stitchfan18]

How quickly does Goofy usually sell out?

 

[verticalchaos]

So if I'm running a full marathon 13 weeks before marathon weekend, should I jump back into marathon training at the week I would be at if Disney was the only marathon I was running (IE: week 7 of a 20 week program?) Should I just maintain decent length long runs on the weekends? I've only run 1 1/2 marathon, so I haven't had to deal with training plans overlapping yet, but I will have that issue after the princess 1/2 as well since i'm running another 1/2 the 1st weekend in April.

I talked with Coach Jenny about something very similar - I've got the NYC Half on March 20, which gives me 9 weeks between. She said to take a week to rest and do some easy XT, then do the reverse taper in the plan (I've been doing the run/walk plan in Marathoning for Mortals) and jump back into the training plan at the point where I would be if I was just training for that. I'm going to use the same methodology to train for the Full after the Wine and Dine half. Hopefully it'll work! But their plan has treated me well so far, and I have faith in it and them. And myself.

 

[cewait]

How quickly does Goofy usually sell out?

Watch the RunDisney website to gage the number of entries allowed and how fast the entry rate is. It may sell out a little faster this year since there is a pent up demand with the dead time between the race and when entries open. The 2011 Goofy really did not sell out until December. Other years with expanded entries the race sold out about mid summer. The first three races sold out quickly but the number of entries were capped in the 2-3000 range.