To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[dis_or_dat]

Doesn't mean I won't ever do it again, but it's not something that moves the needle for me at this moment in time.

what's moving the needle nowadays?

 

[DopeyBadger]

what's moving the needle nowadays?

Still interested in meeting my potential in the marathon relative to other distances I can do at that same time. I just feel like I haven't put all the pieces together yet.

Looking forward to Disneyland because of the potential weather and because I've essentially never been to CA.

Also enjoying the cosplay with G.

I'm trying to be a little more lenient with myself given everything that's going on right now. So not putting a ton of pressure on myself in running and just kind of doing what feels right when it feels right. Case in point, I ran on the treadmill last night when the weather was perfectly fine. I did that because the WI basketball team was playing at MSU and I wanted to watch it instead of catching the tail end of it. I'm also being more lenient because I know I've put a lot on my plate come Jan-April and I can't be 100% locked in across all facets of my life 100% of the time.

Dopey 2018 was just a tremendous weekend for me, and I don't feel the desire to attempt doing that again at this time. I went into that weekend saying it would be my last Dopey for a while, and I haven't heard the siren call of the race calling me back at all.

 

[DopeyBadger]

20 Weeks to go until 2024 Non-Cancelled M - Week 15/35




The 20th best performance was the 2019 DoLittle HM (link). I completed the race in 1:34:57 and had a VDOT of 47.9. Of my 24 HMs, this was my 5th fastest performance. This was a not PR at the time. I finished in 6th place out of 139 runners, and 3rd in my AG. This race came in the midst of training for the 2020 Disney Marathon. This was the first race I ran in Nike Next%. It was also one of the first times I had run watching pace in several years. I used the GAP splits to make educated decisions about pacing in race. Overall, the race went well.

12/4/23-12/10/23
Tues (12/5): 9 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)
Wed (12/6): 8 miles @ 92% M Tempo
Thurs (12/7): Decrescendo
Fri (12/8): 7 miles @ 75% M Tempo (9:06 min/mile, 125 bpm)
Sat (12/9): 9.2 miles @ 85% M Tempo w/ Strides (8:26 min/mile, 133 bpm)
Sun (12/10): 8.1 miles @ 95% M Tempo (7:44 min/mile, 138 bpm)

Total Run Miles - 48.1 miles
Total Run Time - 6:37 hours
Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Training Time - 6:37 hours
Tuesday

I had planned on running outside and considered doing a hard workout. The body wasn't feeling too bad coming off the Saturday 20 miler. But the Badgers basketball team were playing at MSU, and I wanted to watch the game. So I ran on the treadmill for 9 miles instead.
Wednesday
Conditions - Broken clouds, Wind 14mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 37°F + 30°F; FL - 28°F
End: Temp+Dew = 36°F + 30°F; FL - 28°F
I went into the run planning on doing a moderately difficult run in preparation for doing something tough on Thursday. So I wanted to hit around 8:30s for 75-90 min. That didn't quite happen.





Body really locked into the 7:40s and I decided just to roll with it. Felt nice and didn't feel like I was pressing that much. Since I was taking it a little too aggressively, I decided to reduce the volume and stopped at 65 min instead.
Thursday
Conditions - Few clouds, Wind 7mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 43°F + 36°F; FL - 39°F
End: Temp+Dew = 41°F + 37°F; FL - 39°F

Body was feeling alright after having been too aggressive on the moderate run the night prior. So I decided to move forward with the Canova Valley workout. Speeds get slower, but the volume gets higher, and then reverse back. I planned on doing this workout uphill as much as possible.





So the goal GAP for the first 3 min split was 6:42, but I hit 6:56 (just didn't lock in soon enough to the correct effort level). The second goal GAP for the 6 min split was 6:52 and I did 6:55. Then the 9 min split was to be 7:02 pace, and I was closer to 7:15 pace. Lastly, the 12 min split was 7:24 goal GAP, and I did 7:37. So all in all, I wasn't terribly far off the goal. So why did I stop? I mistimed my water consumption earlier, and I had to go to the bathroom pretty much the whole run. It wasn't worth it to continue to tough it out. A little slower, than hoped, but not too bad.

Friday
Conditions - Clear sky, Wind 6mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 49°F + 43°F; FL - 47°F
End: Temp+Dew = 47°F + 42°F; FL - 47°F

Nice and easy 7 miler. Can't say I remember anything specific about the run.


Saturday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 7mph to 16mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 36°F; FL - 36°F
End: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 33°F; FL - 36°F

Goal was to do 9 miles with strides. Been a little bit since I've done strides and maybe that's why I've felt so stiff recently. The run was really windy, but otherwise there was nothing notable. Easy enough. Did the strides afterwards and thankfully they were with the wind and not against. The first one was stiff and had me at 6:58 pace, but the legs got progressively looser and hit 5:56, 5:41, 5:16, and 5:05 pace. Wrapped it up and headed home. Body felt better after that and I'm hopeful that loosened everything back up.
Sunday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 10mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 28°F + 24°F; FL - 19°F
End: Temp+Dew = 27°F + 23°F; FL - 19°F

I had planned on doing 10-11 miles of 90-95% M Tempo pace, but in reviewing some weekly training load data it looked like I might be pushing it a bit too much this week. Might help explain partially why I've felt so stiff. So I decided not to go for as long to make sure I didn't overdo it.





Body felt good for the first 1-2 miles, but then it started to feel like effort for the remainder. So I knew cutting it off at 8 miles was going to be the right choice. I was working for it on the last interval, of course the GAP shows I was leaning into that last rep anyways. In all I did well.

Strava doesn't use the exact same training load calculations that I do, but they're close enough.



The orange line is "fitness" and shows the accumulated average of training load over the last ~6 weeks. So you can see the increase in training at the start of this training plan has consistently built up the training over the last few months. The black line is "form" which is the difference between accumulated training over week and recent training. The goal for optimal training is to have the recent training different enough than accumulated training to illicit adaptations, but not too much that you overdo it.

You can see the issue with the Gobbler 5k and subsequent 4 days of treadmill running because of the cough is the black line rose sharply. I fell out of optimal training and was hitting neutral or recovery. That's why I needed an aggressive 20 miler to get me back on track. You can see I've gotten the form back on track, but then I was trending towards overdoing it if I had gone too hard today. So I had to pull back a bit so as not to overextend myself. I think I'm back on track now with 5 weeks to go. Based on how my body is feeling, I can tell I'm getting towards the end of the training plan.

I've got the first of two doubles in this training plan scheduled for Saturday. Outside that I've got some other challenging training runs. So we'll see how it goes.

 

[dobball23]

The orange line is "fitness" and shows the accumulated average of training load over the last ~6 weeks. So you can see the increase in training at the start of this training plan has consistently built up the training over the last few months. The black line is "form" which is the difference between accumulated training over week and recent training. The goal for optimal training is to have the recent training different enough than accumulated training to illicit adaptations, but not too much that you overdo it.

You can see the issue with the Gobbler 5k and subsequent 4 days of treadmill running because of the cough is the black line rose sharply. I fell out of optimal training and was hitting neutral or recovery. That's why I needed an aggressive 20 miler to get me back on track. You can see I've gotten the form back on track, but then I was trending towards overdoing it if I had gone too hard today. So I had to pull back a bit so as not to overextend myself. I think I'm back on track now with 5 weeks to go. Based on how my body is feeling, I can tell I'm getting towards the end of the training plan.

How does Strava calculate Fitness? I was surprised to see myself at 64 for Fitness when I looked after reading your post. It is tied for the lowest I've been all year, with it seemingly decreasing throughout my current Dopey plan.

I did start using a chest heart rate strap during the plan vs. just the HR from my watch, so maybe that has an impact?

 

[DopeyBadger]

How does Strava calculate Fitness? I was surprised to see myself at 64 for Fitness when I looked after reading your post. It is tied for the lowest I've been all year, with it seemingly decreasing throughout my current Dopey plan.

-A longer thread from earlier in 2018: The Beginner's Guide to Stravistix or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the TRIMP (started by @kleph)
-An explantation of the terminology and whether "Fitness" = Pace: "Fitness" and "Fatigue"
-More isn't always better
-Finally figured out how to apply the mathematical formula of Stress Score, "Fitness" and "Fatigue"



The calculation for training load relies on the relative HR related to your own maxHR and restingHR, and the amount of time that effort (based on relative HR) is held for in a single workout, and then that value is compared over a 42 day period vs a 7 day period I believe with a decay adjustment built in.

I did start using a chest heart rate strap during the plan vs. just the HR from my watch, so maybe that has an impact?

If your maxHR has changed based on devices (which is completely plausible), then that will effect the training load calculation unless you change the maxHR to be reflective of the new device. For instance, if your easy runs were 130 bpm and M Tempo was 150 bpm on your watch, but are now 110 bpm for easy and 130 bpm for M Tempo, then the calculation is basing all of your M Tempo effort runs as if they were easy runs. Thus, everything you actually do won't be accounted for at the same effort level that you're actually doing it at. Thus, your training load values will appear lower. Bad data in leads to bad data out.

Whenever you change devices you need to reevaluate all of your previously collected data to properly adjust.

 

[DopeyBadger]

19 Weeks to go until 2024 Non-Cancelled M - Week 16/35




The 19th best performance was the 2019 BratFest 5k (link). I completed the race in 20:39 and had a VDOT of 48.0. Of my 12 5ks, this was my 5th fastest performance. This was a not PR at the time. I finished in 4th place out of 258 runners, and 1st in my AG. This was a phenomenal experience. One of the only times that I led a race for a substantial portion. I definitely went out the gate too fast and it caught up with me, but it was fun just to be blazing out there. Especially since this was the first race back after Chicago 2018 and taking a substantial amount of time off from running to allow my ankle injury to heal. While quite a far aways away from my best performance by time standards, it stands as the best AG performance with 1st out of 10, and best % finish for overall and gender.

12/11/23-12/17/23
Tues (12/12): 5k @ 10k + 4x15s + 2x45s
Wed (12/13): 7 miles @ 75% M Tempo (8:59 min/mile, 127 bpm)
Thurs (12/14): Canova Specific Intensive Endurance
Fri (12/15): 7 miles @ 80% M Tempo (8:55 min/mile, 128 bpm)
Sat (12/16): AM - 4 miles @ 72% M Tempo (9:07 min/mile, 124 bpm)
Sat (12/16): PM - 7 miles @ 75% M Tempo (8:59 min/mile, 126 bpm)
Sun (12/17): 14.4 miles @ 90% M Tempo on Jack/Jill (8:02 min/mile, 135 bpm)

Total Run Miles - 54.6 miles
Total Run Time - 7:41 hours
Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Training Time - 7:41 hours
Tuesday
Conditions - Few clouds, Wind 3mph to 7mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 29°F + 18°F; FL - 26°F
End: Temp+Dew = 29°F + 19°F; FL - 26°F

The plan was to do 3 x 1 miles at HM Tempo (7:02) with 2 min RI between reps and then a Mona like fast finish at the end.





Well... about that. I decided in the middle of the first rep that if I were doing well, that I would try and extend until I didn't want to anymore. Well so much for 7:02 pace. Ended the first rep at 6:47 and was like, yea let's keep this going. I was like, this is so much easier than the Gobbler 5k. Really does say why that race just didn't feel right. I just tried to stay relaxed and keep breathing in check. Hit the second rep at 6:44 and was like, alright let's make it to 3.11 miles. I kept the pedal down, and was putting in a little more effort, but no where close to the effort level of the Gobbler 5k. Hit the last mile at 6:41 and then wrapped it up with 0.11 miles. Finished the 3.11 miles in 20:59 which is faster than the Gobbler 5k. Much closer to 10k pace.

Next up was some short and very fast intervals. Felt like I got stronger as each went along. Did 6:20, 5:27, 4:23, and 4:59 in 15s reps. Then did 5:47 and 5:24 in two 45s reps.

Body felt good in the cool down which is usually a good sign. Worked hard, but not too hard.
Wednesday
Conditions - Clear sky, Wind 5mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 20°F; FL - 29°F
End: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 20°F; FL - 29°F

Just an easy run. I can't say I remember anything about it. Which I guess is a good thing for an easy day.
Thursday

Conditions - Clear sky, Wind 6mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 29°F; FL - 36°F
End: Temp+Dew = 38°F + 30°F; FL - 36°F

Canova Specific Intensive Endurance
4 sets (1km @ HMT + 1km @ MT)





HMT Goal = 7:02, Actual = 7:01
MT Goal = 7:24, Actual = 7:23

Goal was to alternate between HMT and MT without resting intervals. At 8km it was about 5 miles of total work. Overall it went well. The difference between HMT and MT didn't seem like a big difference in effort. I was fairly consistent with the MT, and the HMT got progressively faster (7:10, 7:02, 6:58, and 6:54). That last 7:23 MT I was really feeling it and glad I decided to go for 4 sets and not 5. The CD though was really quick and was a really good sign that I didn't overdo it.
Friday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 6mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 42°F + 32°F; FL - 38°F
End: Temp+Dew = 42°F + 32°F; FL - 38°F

Nice and easy and not memorable.
Saturday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 5mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 31°F; FL - 36°F
End: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 30°F; FL - 36°F

Double! Been since last year's Canova cycle since I've done a double. This time around was just two easy days. Just trying to work on logistics and make sure this is something I want to commit to on a consistent basis next cycle. So up at 5:30am and out the door at 6:20am. Steph had to leave for work at 7:15am. Nothing to note other than I kept it nice and easy, and maybe was a little stiff.




Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 9mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 39°F; FL - 34°F
End: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 37°F; FL - 34°F

Steph got home from work at 6:30pm and then I was out the door at 6:50pm. I felt really good out the gate. Which jives with how doubles felt in the last Canova cycle. I actually found myself feeling stronger in the evening runs and not worn down. Kind of like when I did brick runs after cycling and I actually found myself feeling stronger with the cycle prior then without. It did get a little more challenging at the end, but never all that challenging. Happy with how it went.
Sunday
Conditions - 🌧 Light intensity drizzle, Wind 5mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 39°F + 37°F; FL - 35°F
End: Temp+Dew = 38°F + 37°F; FL - 35°F

Steph had to leave for work at 8:00am. So up at 5am and I aimed to be out the door at 6am.



I did well sticking to the pace throughout. But man was I dragging towards the end of this one. Not really sure why since I've done much harder runs, but this one got to me starting around the 7 mile mark. Looking at the Strava Fitness/Freshness suggests I just might have been overdoing it because I ventured into the overtraining zone.

Ended up doing 54 miles for the week which is the same as two weeks ago and almost the highest mileage of the year.

 

[DopeyBadger]

18 Weeks to go until 2024 Non-Cancelled M - Week 17/35

The 18th best performance was the 2023 Shamrock Shuffle 10k (link). I completed the race in 42:42 and had a VDOT of 48.1. Of my 12 10ks, this was my 4th fastest performance. This was a not PR at the time. I finished in 32nd place out of 386 runners, and 4th in my AG. This race was during the 2023 spring season training plan where I aimed to do multiple races in a single training plan. I had already done Princess Weekend less than a month earlier. Additionally, I was coming off COVID only 11 days prior and having missed a week of training. The course itself was reasonably difficult at 44 ft/mi gain and a GAP of +6 sec/mile. Thankfully the weather was warm enough to stave off a massive amount of snow. I actually ran a reasonably controlled race via GAP for the most part given the hills. I probably picked the pace up too much after the initial hills ended around Mile 2 because I dropped the pace into the sub-6 range. All in all a good one on a challenging course. Sadly no pictures of me in this race.

12/18/23-12/24/23
Tues (12/19): Canova Valley
Wed (12/20): 4.5 miles @ 75% M Tempo (9:06 min/mile, 125 bpm)
Thurs (12/21): 9.5 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)
Fri (12/22): 7 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)
Sat (12/23): 1.5 mile WU/CD + 8 miles @ M Tempo (Goal-7:24, Actual-7:28; 138 bpm)
Sun (12/24): 7 miles @ 80% M Tempo (8:51 min/mile, 125 bpm)


Total Run Miles - 49.9 miles
Total Run Time - 6:53 hours
Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Training Time - 6:53 hours
Tuesday
Alright this week needed to be a little shuffled because of Steph's schedule and because we're getting vaccine shots next week Saturday afternoon. Steph was scheduled to work Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sat. She had a theater board meeting on Thursday. So that was going to be a lot more treadmill running then I really want to be doing this close to race day because my training load plummets on the treadmill. So the in-laws would watch G on Tues, I'd run during G's volleyball practice on Wed, run treadmill on Thurs/Fri, move the hard run to Sat early morning, and then be able to shift the next week's workouts so that I can get the hard workout on Saturday instead of Sunday. So lots of shuffling and just making the best of the situation.
Conditions - Broken clouds, Wind 14mph to 25mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 30°F + 20°F; FL - 19°F
End: Temp+Dew = 30°F + 20°F; FL - 19°F

The workout was a planned reattempt on the Canova Valley workout. The intervals get progressively longer (3 min, 6 min, 9 min, 12 min, 9 min, 6 min, 3 min) while the pace gets progressively slower. I also aimed to do this on a hilly route and not on a flat route. So that added a bit of a challenge on pacing given the grade adjustments, but I tried to adjust the effort at each interval.





Thankfully didn't have to use the bathroom during this run, so I was able to get the whole thing done. I was still coming off that 14 miler on Sunday that left me fairly exhausted and trending towards overtraining based on training load data. So I wasn't exactly sure where my body would be at for this one. Goal paces were (6:44, 6:54, 7:02, 7:24). For the most part, I was in the general vicinity. I was really feeling it during the last 6 and 3 min reps, but I got them done. Body was definitely beat up during the CD and a sign that the workout was fairly challenging. But I came out of it proud of the effort.





Wednesday

Conditions - Clear sky, Wind 7mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 25°F; FL - 27°F
End: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 26°F; FL - 27°F

Steph had to work, so the only time I had available was while G was at practice. So I squeeze in a 45 min easy run. Not much to note.

G asked me to make a miniature t-shirt for the new class doll, George. So I sewed up a tiny 1.5 inch t-shirt real quick and put those sewing skills to the test.





Thursday

Steph had to work late, so I was on the treadmill. I watched Leave the World Behind on Netflix and decided to keep it going for the majority of the movie. I ended up doing 80 min in total.








Friday

Steph had to work late, so I was on the treadmill again. I watched The Creator on Hulu and aimed for just an hour given I was hoping to do something longer and harder on Saturday morning. Nothing really to note other than my left arch was a little sore (has happened off and on this training cycle, but never really been a bother).







Saturday

Conditions - Mist, Wind 2mph to 4mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 39°F; FL - 40°F
End: Temp+Dew = 39°F + 38°F; FL - 40°F

Steph had to leave for work at 7:15am. So I was up at 4:30 with the goal of getting out of the house at 5:30am. I started the run at 5:42, so I was a little slow on the start. I had originally planned for a 5x1 mile HMT uphill workout to be the Thursday run, and then a quick 8 mile @ 95% M Tempo on the weekend. But since the plans shifted, I decided I wanted to go with something that was long and sustained instead. So I opted for a 1.5 mile WU + 8 mile MT + 1.5 mile CD.





The goal was 7:24 pace while on a hilly route, but not Jack/Jill. I was hoping to feel a little more pop in my step coming out the gate given the two very easy treadmill runs on the day prior, but I also realized that my body doesn't typically have that pop in training runs that begin so soon after I wake up. So when I hit the 0.5 mile mark of the first MT rep and saw that I was doing 7:45 pace, I knew that I either had to bag the plans, or rise up and meet the challenge. I dug a little deeper on the effort and settled into a little quicker effort. When I hit the end of the first mile at 7:32, I knew I had gained some ground and was probably operating closer to where I wanted to be. So I finally settled into this groove and then just tried to sustain it. I would say across the whole run I did a pretty good job of staying where I wanted to be. Not straying too easy or too hard. I'd say the effort definitely felt a little more challenging after I hit the halfway mark, but not so much that it became unsustainable. I hit the 7th MT mile and then kicked it a touch for the last mile hoping to get closer to HMT effort. While not quite there, I was in a good place. I didn't quite have the pop I'd want, but I did rise up and meet the challenge at the end of the day.

In all, I did the run at 7:30 pace, 7:28 GAP and with a HR average of 138. While I'm not tracking the HRvPace relationship right now, I like to refer back to the graph to see where I'm at comparatively to other times.



The 7:30 pace and 138 bpm HR is in the same area as the tail end of the 2022 Madison M Canova training cycle. So I'm realistically in good aerobic shape right now, and just need to put the pieces together to be able to sustain these paces.




Sunday

Conditions - Mist, Wind 10mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 46°F + 45°F; FL - 41°F
End: Temp+Dew = 47°F + 45°F; FL - 41°F

Just a nice and easy 7 miler. Nothing really to note.

 

[DopeyBadger]

17 Weeks to go until 2024 Non-Cancelled M - Week 18/35



The 17th best performance was the 2018 Disney Marathon (link). I completed the race in 3:15:59 and had a VDOT of 48.4. Of my 17 M, this was my 3rd fastest performance. This was a not PR at the time. I finished in 125th place out of 20005 runners, and 25th in my AG. The 2018 Disney Marathon was the finale to my 5th and last Dopey Challenge. I came in to the race having achieved three straight days of PRs and only needed a 3:14:05 to hit the 4th PR for a Sextuple PR. My hamstrings were absolutely screaming before the race and I was barely able to do my WU. And yet, I was able to get going and eventually settled into a reasonable pace. Sadly, the clock at Mile 20 was wrong, and I was a little off in my calculations for needed pace. Altogether, it was a perfect end to my Dopey experience.

12/25/23-12/31/23
Tues (12/26): 10 miles @ 88% M Tempo (8:12 min/mile, 132 bpm)
Wed (12/27): Canova Specific Intensive Endurance x5
Thurs (12/28): 7 miles @ 72% M Tempo (9:14 min/mile, 126 bpm)
Fri (12/29): Double - AM - 4 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)
Fri (12/29): Double - PM - 7 miles @ 72% M Tempo (9:05 min/mile, 122 bpm)
Sat (12/30): 14.4 miles @ 88% M Tempo on Jack/Jill (8:11 min/mile, 132 bpm)
Sun (12/31): 3.4 miles @ 72% M Tempo (9:15 min/mile, 121 bpm)


Total Run Miles - 56.0 miles
Total Run Time - 7:52 hours
Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Training Time - 7:52 hours
Tuesday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 6mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 28°F; FL - 28°F
End: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 28°F; FL - 28°F

Because of the vaccine coming up on Saturday morning, I was a little more aggressive on the five days I could guarantee I was going to run. So instead of doing 8 miles, I went with 10 miles. Nothing else to note.
Wednesday
Conditions - Clear sky, Wind 4mph to 10mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 36°F + 29°F; FL - 33°F
End: Temp+Dew = 35°F + 29°F; FL - 33°F
5 sets of (1km @ HMT + 1km @ MT)





HMT Goal-7:02, Actual-7:01
MT Goal-7:24, Actual-7:24

I extended the Canova Specific Intensive Endurance by an extra rep. About 5 min before I headed out the door my left arch was absolutely screaming at me and I had one of those crumble moments where your leg collapses on you. Ick! It didn't end up bothering me all that much during the run itself though. The run was strong overall and I felt good at the different paces. When I got home I was definitely limping as my left arch was just not pleased with me.
Thursday
Conditions - Mist, Wind 9mph to 11mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 32°F; FL - 26°F
End: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 31°F; FL - 26°F

Arch hurt through most of the day. This isn't a new occurrence. This always seems to happen towards the end of a training plan for me. I had to tie my regular day shoes tight to try and hold off the issues. That helped some.

The run itself was fine. Didn't really have too many issues with the left foot.


Friday
AM

Moved the double to Friday because of the vaccine shot on Saturday morning. I was up at 4:15am and running on the treadmill by 4:45am. Happy with the 30 min turnaround, and if anything if I can be consistent with that I could wake-up a little later. I ran in a fresh pair of Ride 15s.
PM
Conditions - Broken clouds, Wind 3mph to 4mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 29°F; FL - 30°F
End: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 29°F; FL - 30°F

Arch was a bother but not too bad. Body really responds well to doubles. Funny enough I ran 7 miles at 9:14 pace on Thursday, and did 4 miles Treadmill + 7 miles at 9:05 pace on Friday, and the training load of Thursday was far higher than Friday. LOL, so much for trying to increase the load with doubles when your HR plummets on the second run.
Saturday
Conditions - Clear sky, Wind 3mph to 6mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 24°F + 23°F; FL - 21°F
End: Temp+Dew = 27°F + 25°F; FL - 21°F

Vaccine was at 10am, so I was up at 5:30am, and out the door at 7:00am. See, I didn't do nearly as well with this morning routine. Goal was to do something like 14.4 miles (3 laps on Jack/Jill), but pace wise I didn't feel the need to push it since training has been going well recently and the left arch has been bothersome.





The arch was mostly a non-factor. The run itself was pretty easy through the first 10 miles. Only a slight increase in difficulty for the last lap. But all in all it was a pretty calm and non-challenging 14.4 miles at 8:11 pace.

Got the vaccine at 10am, and then was working on our edits of Mike and Marty Wazowski for most of the day. I reached out to runDisney a few weeks ago and they got back to me after 2 weeks stating that the original costumes were against the rules because of contour to the body. We kind of expected that. The disappointing part was the non-response on other parts of the costume like the hats, laugh canister, microphone, etc. So to be safe, we're just not planning on wearing/bringing any of those things. But we've been making edited costumes for the body that will fit within the guidelines and will hopefully wrap them up sometime this week.

Late afternoon/evening is when the side effects hit and it was rough. Sleep was absolutely atrocious. Like the Garmin Sleep/Stress is just laughable how bad it was. I actually lost body score overnight when I normally gain like 50-60 points. Despite being in bed for 12.5 hrs, I probably only got a few hours of actual sleep.

Sunday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 11mph to 24mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 29°F + 26°F; FL - 19°F
End: Temp+Dew = 29°F + 26°F; FL - 19°F

I planned the week's schedule around likely not running today. But after waking up and giving it a few hours, I felt reasonably well enough to run. So I went out for a nice easy run. Could tell there were some lingering after effects of yesterday's run as well as the shot and thus I called it early. About 0.15 miles from home I almost bit it hard on some ice on the bike path hill. I was sliding down for a second or two, almost lost my footing, and then grabbed a small tree off the path to jump into the snow. So thankfully no worse for where. But that was a close one. Would have been a fitting end to a year that our family is going to be more than fine on turning the calendar on. Here's hoping 2024 is better.

Finished the month off at 239 miles which was the most in 2023. October 2022 was the last time I ran that many miles (257). Ended with 1923 miles for the year. That ranks as the 4th most behind 2017 (2582 miles), 2016 (2500), and 2022 (2454). I'm pleased with getting in that miles and avoiding any significant injuries. That's also a nice total given I took most of the summer as off-season training and did way more strength training. I'm looking forward to the 2024 Non-Cancelled M training season. While I can't know what the future holds, this may be the last good opportunity to put in the sheer time commitment that I'm looking at. All I can do is focus on what's ahead of me, and not get too bogged down on looking further down the road.

 

[DopeyBadger]

2024 Disneyland 5k/10k/HM Weather
Inside the 10-day mark and am now tracking the weather for the 2024 Disneyland 5k/10k/HM!



5k
Date of Forecast - Wind Chill - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 42-42F - 5-10% chance of rain - 80% cloudy - 4 mph NNE

10k
Date of Forecast - WC Range - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 43-44F - 0-5% chance of rain - 58% cloudy - 6 mph N

HM
Date of Forecast - WC Range - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 44-51F - 10-13% chance of rain - 50% cloudy - 4 mph N

I'd say let's lock this one in and call it a day! Mid-40s, cloudy, low wind, and low rain chance!

 

[Scootin'By]

I'd say let's lock this one in and call it a day! Mid-40s, cloudy, low wind, and low rain chance!

If only it were that easy LOL

 

[Naomeri]

I'd say let's lock this one in and call it a day! Mid-40s, cloudy, low wind, and low rain chance!

Did you find a magic weather wand or something?

 

[DopeyBadger]

If only it were that easy LOL

Did you find a magic weather wand or something?

 

[DopeyBadger]

2024 Disneyland 5k/10k/HM Weather
Inside the 10-day mark and am now tracking the weather for the 2024 Disneyland 5k/10k/HM!




5k
Date of Forecast - Wind Chill - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 42-42F - 5-10% chance of rain - 80% cloudy - 4 mph NNE
1/7/24 - 41-41F - 2% chance of rain - 57% cloudy - 4 mph ENE

10k
Date of Forecast - WC Range - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 43-44F - 0-5% chance of rain - 58% cloudy - 6 mph N
1/7/24 - 44-46F - 17-23% chance of rain - 74% cloudy - 3 mph E

HM
Date of Forecast - WC Range - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 44-51F - 10-13% chance of rain - 50% cloudy - 4 mph N
1/7/24 - 47-54F - 21-34% chance of rain - 65% cloudy - 5-7 mph S

Rain chance has increased a touch for Sat/Sun. Still a little far out for precipitation forecasts. Weather wise we're holding steady at 40-50F.

 

[DopeyBadger]

16 Weeks to go until 2024 Non-Cancelled M - Week 19/35




The 16th best performance was the 2017 Brat Fest 5k (link). I completed the race in 20:30 and had a VDOT of 48.4. Of my 13 5ks, this was my 2nd fastest performance. This was an official PR at the time (Bunny Head Time Trial #1 was faster, but unofficial). I finished in 11th place out of 247 runners, and 7th in my AG. This race was at the culmunation of the 2017 Spring Daniels 5k/10k training plan. I made a lot of speed gains off this training plan and was interested to see what I could do in a real race. All in all a good experience.

1/1/24-1/7/24
Mon (1/1): Canova Valley
Tues (1/2): OFF
Wed (1/3): 3 min Cutdowns (x10)
Thurs (1/4): 7 miles @ 70% M Tempo (9:18 min/mile, 123 bpm)
Fri (1/5): 7 miles @ 71% M Tempo (9:16 min/mile, 130 bpm)
Sat (1/6): 10 miles @ 78% M Tempo w/ Strides (8:57 min/mile, 126 bpm)
Sun (1/7): 7 miles @ 75% M Tempo (9:05 min/mile, 124 bpm)


Total Run Miles - 51.7 miles
Total Run Time - 7:29 hours
Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Training Time - 7:29 hours
Monday

Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 7mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 26°F + 22°F; FL - 18°F
End: Temp+Dew = 26°F + 22°F; FL - 18°F

Because of the basketball game on Tuesday, the forecasted snowfall on Saturday and Tuesday of next week, I shifted up the runs all one day. Today I was aiming for the last of the Canova Valley workouts. The interval rep gets longer and goal pace gets slower. Was aiming for a GAP around 6:42, 6:52, 7:02, and 7:24.





Still not quick enough out the gate as I'd like. But despite how hard the first 3 min rep felt, I was able to match the GAP for the 6 min rep as well. The 9 min rep (7:02 goal) was right on target at 7:06 GAP. The 12 min was spot on as well at 7:24 goal and 7:23 GAP. These are always hard to nail because of the uphill nature of the reps. So hard to know what's the right goal pace to hit the desired GAP, but that's just where you have to trust the effort. Definitely didn't pick up the pace on the back end 9 min as much as I'd like. The 6 min rep was close, but a little off, and then so was the closing 3 min rep. The CD wasn't too bad, but pretty sure I could tell I was pretty beat up after this one. No issues with the arch from what I can remember. The ankle tried to protest this week, but it was minor. The left calf twinged during this run, and lingered throughout the week, but never developed into an issue.





Tuesday
OFF. We went to the UW vs Iowa basketball game, so I didn't run this day.

Wednesday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 6mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 28°F; FL - 27°F
End: Temp+Dew = 31°F + 27°F; FL - 27°F

I was planning on doing a 10 x 3 min workout at Alternations between LR and HMT pace. But I decided to switch things up because I wanted to see some slightly faster paces to put some juice back into the legs. So instead I went with 3 min cutdowns where the goal was to reduce the split pace by 10 second on each successive rep. If I couldn't hit the pace, then the workout was done. So a workout to failure. OR, if I hit 10 reps, as I felt like that was a sufficient amount of work this close to race day.





The goal for the first split was 7:30-7:35. I was a little behind pace out the gate, but I rallied to get the pace down into goal area. That would have been a quick workout if I missed the first one. Second rep was 7:20-7:25, and overshot this one and had to slow down to the 7:21 finish. Next was 7:10-7:15 and I was pretty even on the pace with this one. I stopped at the water bottle and had a drink. Goal was 7:00-7:05 and I was on target at 7:02 pace. I could tell I was picking up the pace at this point. Which means I way overshot the next rep and had to pull back. Goal was 6:50-6:55 and I slowed down into a 6:50 finish. Way overshot the 6:40-6:45 goal as well (came out at low 6s) and slowed down into a 6:38 finish. Had another drink of water. With as strong as the last two reps felt and I had to slow down to hit goal, the difficulty definitely ramped up for the end of the workout. Goal was 6:20-6:25 pace and I came out the gate a little too hot. I remember trying to slow down, but I slowed down too much. Hit 6:26 pace. I was outside the range, but close enough. Came out super hot on the next one (5:50s) even though I had a goal of 6:10-6:15 and it definitely cost me as I struggled to a 6:17 finish. I knew I had one rep left (6:00-6:05). So I didn't pay attention to pace and gave it a really hard strong effort. I was out the gate on pace, but slowed to a finish of 6:22. This was the last rep either way, but I did fail to hit the last one. Took a nice CD home. Average pace was 8:03 and HR of 130. So solid all around.

Thursday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 3mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 28°F + 20°F; FL - 24°F
End: Temp+Dew = 27°F + 20°F; FL - 24°F

Easy 7 miler. Body felt reasonably well coming off the hard workout.
Friday
Conditions - Broken clouds, Wind 10mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 31°F + 27°F; FL - 23°F
End: Temp+Dew = 30°F + 26°F; FL - 23°F

Easy 7 miler. Felt easy enough, but the HR was a little higher than expected.
Saturday
Conditions - Haze, Wind 1mph to 3mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 30°F; FL - 32°F
End: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 29°F; FL - 32°F

There was a little snow overnight that stuck on the roads. So I waited until mid-day when it had mostly melted and the roads were just wet. Goal was an easy 10 miler. Body felt reasonably good and settled into a pace a little slower than 80%. The focus of the workout was to get some strides in. Hit the low 5s and felt reasonably strong. Not quite the pop I'm looking for, but since I'm in a mini-taper I'm entering that no-mans land where things aren't going to feel as good.

Sunday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 7mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 25°F; FL - 26°F
End: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 26°F; FL - 26°F

I needed to be up early. Nope, not because Steph has to work this morning, but because it's the Disney Marathon Weekend Marathon Day. I had several runners to track, but one runner in particular needed my support. K reached out back in April with the goal of finishing the Dopey Challenge. Her HM PR was 3:40, and she had DNF'd a M previously. I told her that the slowest HM PR that I could remember successfully getting across the finish line was a 3:08. She was not deterred and knew there was a high probability she wouldn't finish. But she wanted to put in the work and at least try. If she was willing to put in the work, then I was willing to find the best path forward.

K had ups and downs throughout training. She had done at least one mile time trial and came in at the mid 15s (from memory) which certainly had me worried. Could we really manage Dopey with a mid 15 mile fitness. But all the credit goes to her. She trusted me and did everything I asked. She managed several months of high level training. Back in November she REALLY wanted to do a M to have one successful one under her belt. I convinced her that wasn't the right play and instead to do the HM if she wanted to test things out. She was down after that race because she finished just around 4 hrs. K was ready for real talk. What are her odds? I told her they were very low, but not impossible. She would have to work hard the last few months, and then really dial in at race weekend.

My advice for K for the weekend was to run as slow as they would let her. She normally trains in the 19-20 min/mile range, so the goal was to stay near that pace or slower for the first few races. K completed the 5k, 10k, and weather shortened 7 miler. Because the runner tracking didn't have live updates, I told her the best strategy was to have a friend/family keep her updated during the M so she could focus on running. But I also offered my help and she took em up on it.

So I was up at 4:45am local (5:45 FL time) to keep track of the 7hr pace group. The goal was to run 17:15 min/mile until we saw when the 7hr group started. K started at 5:12am, and the 7hr group started at 5:53am. So we knew she had a 41 min buffer. The goal was a 7:41 hr finish. No more and no less. I also assumed a 27.0 mile finish on her Apple Watch based on the distances she had run the previous days. So we changed the goal to 17:05 min/mile Apple watch pace and she locked in. She consistently was hitting her marks all throughout the race being super consistent. And slowly the 7hr pace group was catching up to her. First her lead was 41 min, then 32 min, then 26 min, then 22 min, then 13 min at Mile 20. From there it was all heart. While she was in EPCOT and nearing the finish line is when the 7hr group passed her. She looked back, and within eyesight was the balloon ladies. So so close to the finish, and they were closing in on her. It was nerve wracking sitting in the Blaser household holding our collective breaths as the time ticked away and without an update. I saw the 7hr group finish and knew it was now or never. K rounded the corner and finished about 45 seconds behind the 7hr pace group and just barely ahead of the balloon ladies. She had done it. OFFICIALLY a Dopey Challenge finisher at 12:53pm local time. Literally one of the very very last finishers, and not with a moment to spare. I definitely teared up a bit. I knew how hard she worked to earn that Dopey medal, and she had made it JUST barely.

For me, my easy run was uneventful. Body feels stuck in neutral. I've got a 3 x 1 mile workout tomorrow, then as much as 12 inches of snow on Tuesday, and then we fly out Wednesday morning. We finally finished up the edited Mike and Marty Wazowski costumes as well. I'll make a separate post with some costume details at a later time.

 

[garneska]

Love how invested you are in for the people you coach.

 

[eminemilie]

Love how invested you are in for the people you coach.

Seriously! It makes me want to get coached by him though in the future lol

 

[garneska]

Seriously! It makes me want to get coached by him though in the future lol

I have done it and highly recommend it. I will do it again, but I am dealing with a knee issue at the moment. It has been a long moment, like two years. FYI though, I got a BQ with his training plan.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

I also assumed a 27.0 mile finish on her Apple

my watch clocked in at 26.9!

This is an amazing story. So proud of you & her. I know I didn’t technically use a training plan with you this round because I wanted to align my training with someone else/chunk it a month at a time, but I also really credit you for my finish this year after previous failure. You taught me a lot and helped turn me into the runner I am today. Thanks for being such a bright spot for so many here.

 

[DopeyBadger]

2024 Disneyland 5k/10k/HM Weather
Last update before race days!



5k
Date of Forecast - Wind Chill - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 42-42F - 5-10% chance of rain - 80% cloudy - 4 mph NNE
1/7/24 - 41-41F - 2% chance of rain - 57% cloudy - 4 mph ENE
1/9/24 - 41-41F - 0% chance of rain - 42% cloudy - 3 mph ENE

10k
Date of Forecast - WC Range - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 43-44F - 0-5% chance of rain - 58% cloudy - 6 mph N
1/7/24 - 44-46F - 17-23% chance of rain - 74% cloudy - 3 mph E
1/9/24 - 44-44F - 4% chance of rain - 46% cloudy - 3 mph E

HM
Date of Forecast - WC Range - Precipitation Chance - Cloud Cover - Wind
1/3/24 - 44-51F - 10-13% chance of rain - 50% cloudy - 4 mph N
1/7/24 - 47-54F - 21-34% chance of rain - 65% cloudy - 5-7 mph S
1/9/24 - 48-50F - 10-16% chance of rain - 67% cloudy - 4 mph E

 

[DopeyBadger]

Love how invested you are in for the people you coach.

I know what it feels like to achieve my goals. I want others to experience that as well and do what I can to help.

Seriously! It makes me want to get coached by him though in the future lol

You know where to find me!

my watch clocked in at 26.9!

This is an amazing story. So proud of you & her. I know I didn’t technically use a training plan with you this round because I wanted to align my training with someone else/chunk it a month at a time, but I also really credit you for my finish this year after previous failure. You taught me a lot and helped turn me into the runner I am today. Thanks for being such a bright spot for so many here.

Woot woot!