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

[DopeyBadger]

DopeyBadger's 2017 Dopey Challenge Prediction Contest

Original post with rules

Here are the final predictions for the 2017 Dopey Challenge Prediction Contest:



A nice spread of guesses, so it should make for a fun contest!

5k - 17:00 to 22:15
10k - 39:44 to 46:30
HM - 1:28:00 to 1:42:30
M - 3:12:00 to 3:53:00
Goofy - 4:43:00 to 5:33:00
Dopey - 5:40:30 to 6:41:37
Rank - 1 (!) to 144

Guesses sorted by race in thumbnails:



@roxymama will update us on the status of the contest starting after the 5k next week Thursday (1/5/17) and after each subsequent race.

My method for my guesses was simple:



I used the predicted fitness time at October. Since I felt the October marathon results didn't quite match where I thought I was fitness-wise I felt this was a closer representation. I went with 19:57 for the 5k because both models (2015/2016) tended to agree. I split the difference on the 10k with a 40:31. I went with the 2016 model for the HM at 1:34:59. And lastly, I split the difference on the M with a 3:19:41. The Goofy and Dopey guesses were pure additions of the other guesses I had already made. My rank was based on looking at the 2015 and 2016 ranks from previous Dopey's to see where a 5:55 time would land (roughly 34).

Now comes the fun part, actually getting to run these, and to see who comes out on top as Champion of the 2017 Dopey Prediction Contest! Thanks for playing everyone!

@rteetz @MissLiss279 @FFigawi @willieT @Anisum @Dis5150 @surfde22 @ZellyB @dis_or_dat @roxymama @opusone @pixarmom @tigger536 @cavepig @disneydaydreamer33 @canglim52

 

[canglim52]

It was 70 with 100% humidity and fog in central Florida at the start of my long run this morning. Not sure that fits into your ideal T+D very well.

Totally agree! We've been getting loads of fog and humidity this winter... Way more than normal, especially considering this is supposed to be our dry season! I feel I'm very well adjusted to the heat, and I'm running at 6:15 am every morning. All I gotta say is hydrate!! It's isn't hot, but it is swampy! Every morning has been between 115-140 TD with humidity usually running mid 90's. I've been watching the weather forecast, and it looks identical to the current weather. There looks like a high probability for rain Saturday night, so if we are lucky that is a low pressure system and we'll get a cold snap! Then you'll get 80-100 TD for the marathon!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Totally agree! We've been getting loads of fog and humidity this winter... Way more than normal, especially considering this is supposed to be our dry season! I feel I'm very well adjusted to the heat, and I'm running at 6:15 am every morning. All I gotta say is hydrate!! It's isn't hot, but it is swampy! Every morning has been between 115-140 TD with humidity usually running mid 90's. I've been watching the weather forecast, and it looks identical to the current weather. There looks like a high probability for rain Saturday night, so if we are lucky that is a low pressure system and we'll get a cold snap! Then you'll get 80-100 TD for the marathon!

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Maybe... just maybe....



T+D of 108 during the marathon... Fingers crossed...

 

[DopeyBadger]

Copied from the running thread:

December Running Totals
Completed/Scheduled (%)
Running Mileage - 232.58 miles / 265.75 miles (87.5%)
Running Duration - 33:00:00 / 37:45:14 (87.4%)
Average Pace - 8:31 min/mile
Average HR - 136 bpm

From a % completed of scheduled standpoint, December was probably my worst month. I took a very conservative approach to the winter. We had some crazy cold days (-30F wind chill), I got a mild cold, and I was still being cautious with whatever happened to me injury-wise in October. Overall though, another solid month in preparation for my Sextuple PR Dopey Challenge attempt.

2016 Running Totals
Completed/Scheduled (%)
Running Mileage - 2500.15 miles / 2608.80 miles (95.8%)
Running Duration - 360:05:00 / 370:17:50 (97.2%)
Average Pace - 8:38 min/mile
Average HR - 137 bpm (for reference, my marathon HR is 152 and my 5k HR is 168)
Elevation Gain - 75,962 feet (Everest is 29,029 feet at its peak)
Calories - 298,131
Average Distance per running day - 8.9 miles
Average Duration per running day - 1:17:11

*The scheduled mileage and duration for 2016 was based on summing each scheduled training cycle (Jan-May, May-Oct, Oct-Dec) and was not the planned mileage at the beginning of the year. I was shooting for 2,016 miles.

2016 will likely go down as the most miles I have run in a year for some time. I'm not sure whether I'll ever surpass that again, primarily because I ran too many miles for my current fitness level during the May-October cycle. All things considered, 2016 was a very solid running year for me. The main goal for the year was run lots of good miles. I knew 2016 was not going to be the year of the BQ because my fitness was too far away.

For my career,

2011 - 0 miles
2012 - 335.2 miles
2013 - 780.0 miles
2014 - 1091.7 miles
2015 - 1915.6 miles
2016 - 2500.2 miles

Career - 6622.8 miles

2017 has been circled on my mental calendar for the last 5 years. All these miles have been building to the penultimate goal of qualifying for Boston and running a sub 3 hour marathon. That means 2017 will be the year of "If you want it, PROVE IT, by doing what is necessary to get it!"

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Found this predictive formula in my old marathon training spreadsheet and thought you might enjoy it...you're not the only one who makes spreadsheets!

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between marathon performance time (MPT) and some training factors recorded for a given number of weeks prior to a race. Among the several parameters investigated, MPT was found to be affected mainly by the mean distance run per week K, during the training period under observation, and by the mean training pace P. These two training parameters have been combined by a mathematical approach to give a correlation for the prediction of the mean marathon pace Pm (easily related to MPT), based on an 8-week training period, as follows: Pm (sec/km) = 17.1 + 140.0 exp[-0.0053 K(km/week)] + 0.55 P (sec/km). The above correlation is able to estimate the MPT with a SEE of about 4 min.​

 

[DopeyBadger]

Found this predictive formula in my old marathon training spreadsheet and thought you might enjoy it...you're not the only one who makes spreadsheets!

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between marathon performance time (MPT) and some training factors recorded for a given number of weeks prior to a race. Among the several parameters investigated, MPT was found to be affected mainly by the mean distance run per week K, during the training period under observation, and by the mean training pace P. These two training parameters have been combined by a mathematical approach to give a correlation for the prediction of the mean marathon pace Pm (easily related to MPT), based on an 8-week training period, as follows: Pm (sec/km) = 17.1 + 140.0 exp[-0.0053 K(km/week)] + 0.55 P (sec/km). The above correlation is able to estimate the MPT with a SEE of about 4 min.​

I recognize that from the 2011 Tanda paper. It seemed to correlate well as a predictive measure in the past, but I can't find where I've used it before. I've attached the Tanda 2011 paper which was accessible for free on google.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

I recognize that from the 2011 Tanda paper. It seemed to correlate well as a predictive measure in the past, but I can't find where I've used it before. I've attached the Tanda 2011 paper which was accessible for free on google.

Yes, Tanda 2011...that's where I found it a few years ago.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Yes, Tanda 2011...that's where I found it a few years ago.

I'll add that he did come out with an updated formula in 2013 with a new paper:

MPT (minutes) = 11.03 + 98.46 exp(-0.0053 K[km/week]) + 0.387 P(sec/km) + 0.1 exp(0.23 BF [%]) (standard error of estimate = 14.3 minutes, r = 0.81)

Using body fat % and an increased study size.

Paper linked here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871414/

 

[DopeyBadger]

6 Days to Go (THE Sextuple PR Dopey Challenge)


(Fly to Disney World)

(Go swimming)

(Meet DIS'ers)

(Collect first medals)

(Sweep up the rest of the medals)

(Proudly display said medals)

(Dance like a Dopey guy after finish all the races!)

Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace, Strength +/- 5 sec, everything else +/- 10 sec)

12/28/16 - W - 2 miles @ 9:47 min/mile + 10 miles @ 7:33 min/mile + 2 miles @ 9:47 min/mile
12/29/16 - R - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
12/30/16 - F - 8 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
12/31/16 - Sat - 8 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile + MBW light
1/1/17 - Sun - OFF
1/2/17 - M - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
1/3/17 - T - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
1/4/17 - W - OFF
1/5/17 - R - Dopey Challenge - Day 1 - 5k
1/6/17 - F - Dopey Challenge - Day 2 - 10k
1/7/17 - Sat - Dopey Challenge - Day 3 - Half Marathon
1/8/17 - Sun - Dopey Challenge - Day 4 - Marathon

Total (training) mileage = 48 miles + 48.6 miles of racing!
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

Wednesday was the last real training run prior to Dopey. A 10 mile Marathon tempo run with a 2 mile WU and 2 mile CD. This was also heat acclimation training run #6. It was a wind chill of 28F, but I dressed as if it were 10F. As the first tempo mile started I felt good and strong. Comfortable. I felt like, "these are my race legs". When the first split came up at 7:48, I knew it was a good split, but not quite where I wanted t be. So I just continued with the same effort to see if things were a bit rusty from a long run on Monday, off on Tuesday, M Tempo on Wednesday. As the miles clicked away so did the pace into a more comfortable and agreeable 7:19-7:36 range. Overall, I'm quite happy with how the paces turned out since this was a HAT run. Which meant when I got home I was soaked in sweat. Like literally was doing my stretches in the main entry of the home and sweat was dripping down my arms through my fingers onto the ground. It was gross. My columbia thermal which normally weighs about 0.5 pounds weighed slightly over 2 pounds. Like it was dropped in a pool of water and just drenched. But the run was done, and it was finally time to taper dance! Although after the run I could tell my ankle was sore again. Not terrible, but noticeable. Again my guess is because I was likely too far over in the opposite direction of cambered streets trying to correct for the "jelly leg" hip fatigue of the past. Although, the soreness has never slowed me down, and is usually gone with a few days. So not worried.

Thursday was originally scheduled as a 10 mile "easy" day. But after a LR on Mon, M Tempo on Wed, I was thinking a 10 mile "easy" would be unwise. So I dropped it to 6 miles easy instead. This served as HAT #7. Although I'll admit I misjudged this one a tad. The temp outside was 20s for wind chill, and I dressed what I thought was like 5F. But I was wearing a brand new columbia thermal from Heidi/Brian which turned out not to be as warm as I thought. So while my legs with two pairs of tights were hot, my torso was comfortable. So not much extreme sweating in the torso region, and this run sort of failed as a HAT run. It was an easy comfortable run with a HR of 125.

Friday and the remaining runs are on the schedule. I fully intend to run the 8 miles tonight and tomorrow given no odd circumstances. The Monday and Tuesday runs will be in Disney World at my hotel parking lot in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Last year prior to Dopey I had full intentions of doing these runs, but ended up bailing because I was uncomfortable running in that area. I'll do better this time being more aware and cautious of my surroundings. Mainly because when I ran the 2016 5k (the first race) my legs were SUPER not happy with me since it had been ~5 days since I had last run. It was actually not a good situation because I was super sore after that first run. I'll be more mindful this year of knowing I need to get those easy days in at the beginning of the week.

Not much else to say about the remaining training. It's almost race day, which means I need to write my training cycle recap too.

 

[DopeyBadger]

2017 Walt Disney World Dopey Challenge Training Summary

Below is a summary of the 2017 Walt Disney World Dopey Challenge training cycle.

Custom Training Plan and Nutrition Plan

79 Days to Go (Oh, it's good to be back!)
Nervousness about whether I could run pain free again after whatever happened to me during the Lakefront Marathon
Total mileage = 10 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 10/10 (100%)

72 Days to Go (I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school.)
Jelly Legs return, still pain free, but wondering what will happen with Dopey...
Total mileage = 36 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 36/36 (100%)

65 Days to Go (HOORAY, I'M NORMAL!)
Finally got the MRI on my leg done and the results were normal. It was definitely a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Now time to focus on training!
Total mileage = 44.5 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 30/36 (83%)

58 Days to Go (He's got a strong heart!)
The data started pouring in once I started using my HR chest strap again. New VO2max of 59, new HR predicted times, and the introduction of the HR vs pace graph.
Total mileage = 55.5 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 36/46 (78%)

51 Days to Go (A step back week and family time!)
Because of the "injury" in October which was believed to be bone related, I made a more conscious effort of including some massive drop weeks in mileage for bone recovery. This coincided with HM Tempo runs of which I had a 6:55 min/mile included! It was starting to become obvious that training was going well.
Total mileage = 44 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 21/32 (65%)

44 Days to Go (The cold never bothered me anyway!)
We had wind (50mph gusts) and cold (19F wind chill). Little did I know that this was only the beginning to the COLD. I was also starting to see a massive improvement in HR vs pace.
Total mileage = 60 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 35/47 (74%)

37 Days to Go (Change is good. Yeah, but it's not easy.)
It became apparent at this point in the training that I wasn't at the preset fitness level anymore. I started to run 100% by effort and what felt comfortable for each "type" of run. I also got a Garmin 235 which gave me another explosion of data. And I set a NEW mile PR at 6:38 during the middle of a HM -10 sec workout!!! The Dopey prediction machine was in full swing!
Total mileage = 56 miles
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

30 Days to Go (Alterations Edna Mode would be proud of)
An amazing 9 mile M Tempo run at 7:11 min/mile. A new VO2max of 61. But the beginning of the switching of runs because of weather. The 17 miler had to be shifted to Saturday due to snow...
Total mileage = 59 miles
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

23 Days to Go (I WILL NOT STOP)
A blind HM Tempo run that set all kinds of land speed records (average pace was 7:01 min/mile for 6 miles) and was an unofficial 10k PR of 43:33. Another huge cutdown week, more cold weather, a meeting with Santa, and more HR data.
Total mileage = 48.5 miles
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

16 Days to Go (Do I live in Wisconsin or on Hoth?!?!?!)
Like "the cold never bothered me anyways" week was 19F wind chill.... LOL.... this week it was -9F, snow, -29F, snow, -8F, snow, and 20s. It was also the start of Heat Acclimation Training. Because training in -9F to 20 isn't going to help as much as I'd like for racing in 50-80F.
Total mileage = 54 miles
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

9 Days to Go (Obstacles)
It figures that once HAT starts the temperatures start to rise to more comfortable winter running... Unfortunately, a mild cold sickness settled in and threw a wrench into the plans.
Total mileage = 34.4 miles
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

6 Days to Go (THE Sextuple PR Dopey Challenge)
The end of the training cycle. The last M Tempo run was a success even with HAT. It does seem like so long ago since all of those weeks of great running, but that was only 17-24 days ago.
Total mileage = 48 miles + 48.6 miles of racing!
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

OVERALL SUMMARY
Total scheduled mileage = 601.5 miles
Total mileage completed =540.5 miles
% of scheduled mileage completed = 89.8%
Total scheduled duration = 85:39:50 hours
Total duration completed = 77:30:00 hours
% of scheduled duration completed = 90.5%
Average miles per week completed after recovery phase = 49.4 miles
Average duration per week completed after recovery phase = 6:46 hours

2017 Dopey Challenge Prediction Contest Rules & FINAL Guesses

This was a more concerted effort on my part to listen to my body. Include more down weeks to recover from a possible bone injury. Do more varied running and sides of the road to correct a potential hip strength issue which was leading to jelly legs. Listen to my effort more than my pace because in the beginning I was slower and in the end I was faster, but the effort always remained the same. And listening to the weather and when it cooperates then I go go go, and when it doesn't better safe than sorry.

Also, if you didn't notice every week was "Disney" themed.

The goal for the 2017 Dopey Challenge has been ever changing. In the beginning of this training cycle, it was to run it at all. I wasn't sure whether my body would allow me to after the injury and inability to walk following the October Lakefront Marathon. Then, as the training plan progressed and I was blessed with a good MRI report, I became stronger and more confident in my capabilities. So much so that it has put me in the position to attempt the Sextuple PR Dopey Challenge. The plan is simple. PR all 6 distances (5k, 10k, HM, M, Goofy (HM + M), and Dopey (5k + 10k + HM +M)) as non-first attempts at each of these distances. So I count myself as very lucky to go from "run it at all" to a plan of "PR all distances". I do not take it for granted. More than anything else though, I hope to meet many of the people here who have shared their time with me in this training journal.

 

[pixarmom]

6 Days to Go (THE Sextuple PR Dopey Challenge)

View attachment 212372
(Fly to Disney World)
View attachment 212371
(Go swimming)
View attachment 212367
(Meet DIS'ers)
View attachment 212369
(Collect first medals)
View attachment 212370
(Sweep up the rest of the medals)
View attachment 212366
(Proudly display said medals)
View attachment 212368
(Dance like a Dopey guy after finish all the races!)

Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace, Strength +/- 5 sec, everything else +/- 10 sec)

12/28/16 - W - 2 miles @ 9:47 min/mile + 10 miles @ 7:33 min/mile + 2 miles @ 9:47 min/mile
12/29/16 - R - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
12/30/16 - F - 8 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
12/31/16 - Sat - 8 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile + MBW light
1/1/17 - Sun - OFF
1/2/17 - M - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
1/3/17 - T - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
1/4/17 - W - OFF
1/5/17 - R - Dopey Challenge - Day 1 - 5k
1/6/17 - F - Dopey Challenge - Day 2 - 10k
1/7/17 - Sat - Dopey Challenge - Day 3 - Half Marathon
1/8/17 - Sun - Dopey Challenge - Day 4 - Marathon

Total (training) mileage = 48 miles + 48.6 miles of racing!
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

Wednesday was the last real training run prior to Dopey. A 10 mile Marathon tempo run with a 2 mile WU and 2 mile CD. This was also heat acclimation training run #6. It was a wind chill of 28F, but I dressed as if it were 10F. As the first tempo mile started I felt good and strong. Comfortable. I felt like, "these are my race legs". When the first split came up at 7:48, I knew it was a good split, but not quite where I wanted t be. So I just continued with the same effort to see if things were a bit rusty from a long run on Monday, off on Tuesday, M Tempo on Wednesday. As the miles clicked away so did the pace into a more comfortable and agreeable 7:19-7:36 range. Overall, I'm quite happy with how the paces turned out since this was a HAT run. Which meant when I got home I was soaked in sweat. Like literally was doing my stretches in the main entry of the home and sweat was dripping down my arms through my fingers onto the ground. It was gross. My columbia thermal which normally weighs about 0.5 pounds weighed slightly over 2 pounds. Like it was dropped in a pool of water and just drenched. But the run was done, and it was finally time to taper dance! Although after the run I could tell my ankle was sore again. Not terrible, but noticeable. Again my guess is because I was likely too far over in the opposite direction of cambered streets trying to correct for the "jelly leg" hip fatigue of the past. Although, the soreness has never slowed me down, and is usually gone with a few days. So not worried.

Thursday was originally scheduled as a 10 mile "easy" day. But after a LR on Mon, M Tempo on Wed, I was thinking a 10 mile "easy" would be unwise. So I dropped it to 6 miles easy instead. This served as HAT #7. Although I'll admit I misjudged this one a tad. The temp outside was 20s for wind chill, and I dressed what I thought was like 5F. But I was wearing a brand new columbia thermal from Heidi/Brian which turned out not to be as warm as I thought. So while my legs with two pairs of tights were hot, my torso was comfortable. So not much extreme sweating in the torso region, and this run sort of failed as a HAT run. It was an easy comfortable run with a HR of 125.

Friday and the remaining runs are on the schedule. I fully intend to run the 8 miles tonight and tomorrow given no odd circumstances. The Monday and Tuesday runs will be in Disney World at my hotel parking lot in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Last year prior to Dopey I had full intentions of doing these runs, but ended up bailing because I was uncomfortable running in that area. I'll do better this time being more aware and cautious of my surroundings. Mainly because when I ran the 2016 5k (the first race) my legs were SUPER not happy with me since it had been ~5 days since I had last run. It was actually not a good situation because I was super sore after that first run. I'll be more mindful this year of knowing I need to get those easy days in at the beginning of the week.

Not much else to say about the remaining training. It's almost race day, which means I need to write my training cycle recap too.

Yay! Enjoy your last few runs - was wondering how you were going to run at AKL. If we see you in the parking lot during our AKL stay, we'll wave! I keep very brief notes regarding my training, and it was emotional looking back on them today and saying goodbye to my treadmill (trusty backup in all the yucky weather!) for this training cycle. Great for you to be able to look over the detail and remember the weeks.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Yay! Enjoy your last few runs - was wondering how you were going to run at AKL. If we see you in the parking lot during our AKL stay, we'll wave! I keep very brief notes regarding my training, and it was emotional looking back on them today and saying goodbye to my treadmill (trusty backup in all the yucky weather!) for this training cycle. Great for you to be able to look over the detail and remember the weeks.

I tried to run at AKL and got frustrated by the lack of space to do so last year. The roads aren't runner friendly and the sidewalks consist of a lot of blind turns. But this year, I'll just slow down and do my best. You'll find me out there Monday and Tuesday 12-1pm.

Well, to be honest without this journal I'd remember some of the details but not nearly all of them. I try to keep good notes on here and on Strava to help keep everything straight. And it's come in handy a few times, like when I wanted to look up my sickness pre-Wisconsin Marathon to see the recovery time I had prior to race day. I like to put together the summary of the training cycle because it gives me a nice breif overview. Kind of like the yin to the "training plan" is the "training summary".

See you and @mateojr in a few days. Safe travels tomorrow!

 

[DopeyBadger]

It's far out, you don't have to tell me cause I know things will change, but still.... LOOK AT MARATHON SUNDAY!



With a T+D of 92 there would be a lot of really happy people (including myself)!

 

[FFigawi]

Don't get too excited yet. The front looks like it's coming later now.

 

[roxymama]

(Post sponsored by @FFigawi )

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'll definitely take the predictions for the race mornings @FFigawi with T+D of:
5k - 101
10k - 110
HM - 110
M - 101

Those would be downright amazing!

View attachment 212560
(Post sponsored by @FFigawi )

LOL! So so true! If it was going to be harvested, it's there now!



ACK, wait nooooo!!!!

 

[roxymama]

View attachment 212565

I'll definitely take the predictions for the race mornings @FFigawi with T+D of:
5k - 101
10k - 110
HM - 110
M - 101

Those would be downright amazing!



LOL! So so true! If it was going to be harvested, it's there now!

View attachment 212568

ACK, wait nooooo!!!!

 

[canglim52]

6 Days to Go (THE Sextuple PR Dopey Challenge)

View attachment 212372
(Fly to Disney World)
View attachment 212371
(Go swimming)
View attachment 212367
(Meet DIS'ers)
View attachment 212369
(Collect first medals)
View attachment 212370
(Sweep up the rest of the medals)
View attachment 212366
(Proudly display said medals)
View attachment 212368
(Dance like a Dopey guy after finish all the races!)

Date - Day - Scheduled Workout (Intervals within desired pace, Strength +/- 5 sec, everything else +/- 10 sec)

12/28/16 - W - 2 miles @ 9:47 min/mile + 10 miles @ 7:33 min/mile + 2 miles @ 9:47 min/mile
12/29/16 - R - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
12/30/16 - F - 8 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
12/31/16 - Sat - 8 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile + MBW light
1/1/17 - Sun - OFF
1/2/17 - M - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
1/3/17 - T - 6 miles @ 9:01 or slower min/mile
1/4/17 - W - OFF
1/5/17 - R - Dopey Challenge - Day 1 - 5k
1/6/17 - F - Dopey Challenge - Day 2 - 10k
1/7/17 - Sat - Dopey Challenge - Day 3 - Half Marathon
1/8/17 - Sun - Dopey Challenge - Day 4 - Marathon

Total (training) mileage = 48 miles + 48.6 miles of racing!
Number of intervals within pace = ?/? (?%) *I'd say 100% based on "effort"

Wednesday was the last real training run prior to Dopey. A 10 mile Marathon tempo run with a 2 mile WU and 2 mile CD. This was also heat acclimation training run #6. It was a wind chill of 28F, but I dressed as if it were 10F. As the first tempo mile started I felt good and strong. Comfortable. I felt like, "these are my race legs". When the first split came up at 7:48, I knew it was a good split, but not quite where I wanted t be. So I just continued with the same effort to see if things were a bit rusty from a long run on Monday, off on Tuesday, M Tempo on Wednesday. As the miles clicked away so did the pace into a more comfortable and agreeable 7:19-7:36 range. Overall, I'm quite happy with how the paces turned out since this was a HAT run. Which meant when I got home I was soaked in sweat. Like literally was doing my stretches in the main entry of the home and sweat was dripping down my arms through my fingers onto the ground. It was gross. My columbia thermal which normally weighs about 0.5 pounds weighed slightly over 2 pounds. Like it was dropped in a pool of water and just drenched. But the run was done, and it was finally time to taper dance! Although after the run I could tell my ankle was sore again. Not terrible, but noticeable. Again my guess is because I was likely too far over in the opposite direction of cambered streets trying to correct for the "jelly leg" hip fatigue of the past. Although, the soreness has never slowed me down, and is usually gone with a few days. So not worried.

Thursday was originally scheduled as a 10 mile "easy" day. But after a LR on Mon, M Tempo on Wed, I was thinking a 10 mile "easy" would be unwise. So I dropped it to 6 miles easy instead. This served as HAT #7. Although I'll admit I misjudged this one a tad. The temp outside was 20s for wind chill, and I dressed what I thought was like 5F. But I was wearing a brand new columbia thermal from Heidi/Brian which turned out not to be as warm as I thought. So while my legs with two pairs of tights were hot, my torso was comfortable. So not much extreme sweating in the torso region, and this run sort of failed as a HAT run. It was an easy comfortable run with a HR of 125.

Friday and the remaining runs are on the schedule. I fully intend to run the 8 miles tonight and tomorrow given no odd circumstances. The Monday and Tuesday runs will be in Disney World at my hotel parking lot in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Last year prior to Dopey I had full intentions of doing these runs, but ended up bailing because I was uncomfortable running in that area. I'll do better this time being more aware and cautious of my surroundings. Mainly because when I ran the 2016 5k (the first race) my legs were SUPER not happy with me since it had been ~5 days since I had last run. It was actually not a good situation because I was super sore after that first run. I'll be more mindful this year of knowing I need to get those easy days in at the beginning of the week.

Not much else to say about the remaining training. It's almost race day, which means I need to write my training cycle recap too.

What are your thoughts on running after 10 am on Monday? That'll give you an intense HAT training that will be harsher than anything you'll actually face in race day.

 

[DopeyBadger]

What are your thoughts on running after 10 am on Monday? That'll give you an intense HAT training that will be harsher than anything you'll actually face in race day.

Current schedule to run on Monday is Noon to 1pm. So, yea it'll happen. Just nice, slow and easy.