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

[DopeyBadger]

Completed my first runway designer dress for G. It was a Badgley Mishchka made with Mikado fabric. She wore it to her first dance last night. The pattern said it was expert level, but it only took 1.5 days. So not nearly as tough as some of the other patterns we’ve done. Toughest part was making this woman pattern into a child size. Lots of math, stay in school kids!

 

[accm]

As someone who sews, that is amazing @DopeyBadger!! G looks wonderful!

 

[FFigawi]

How did the trip to Disney go? Were the costumes a huge hit?

 

[DopeyBadger]

How did the trip to Disney go? Were the costumes a huge hit?

The trip went really well. Easy nonstop flights on Breeze airlines. The checked bags were like 15-20 pounds which was funny. We stayed at Bay Lake Tower. The 6-day park hoppers came in handy as we went to MK nearly every day of the trip even for just an hour to two.

The MNSSHP was a huge success. The weather was great. No issues at security with the size or shape of the costumes. We got countless comments on how they were some of the best costumes people have ever seen, best costume of the season, best costume ever at MNSSHP. I think we got 9 best costume pins this year. Had countless other guests ask for pictures. Cast members wanted pics too. Had at least one say we should be working for Disney.

About the only ride we could do was Monsters Laugh Floor, but since we had park hoppers we weren’t stressed. Took lots of character pics instead. Watched both parades. All in all a good experience. Highlight was probably randomly running into Powerline Max and them concluding they needed a pair of Bluey’s ears.

The trip overall was good. Everyone held up well. I think we averaged about 12-15 miles of movement each day. Already booked the next trip for mid-September next year on a bounce back deal. Which means we are already planning out the next costumes. And G is really not holding back on this next one. It’s incorporating everything we’ve learned from the last few years and then some new things too.

 

[FFigawi]

Glad you guys had such a great time. The costumes look amazing!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Glad you guys had such a great time. The costumes look amazing!

Thanks!

 

[avondale]

I hope you and your family are enjoying the holidays!

I had a training question for you. I'm hopefully doing a 3-day stage race (51 miles and 10,000 ft elevation gain) in the Rockies in July. For training, I'm planning on 4 days of running per week: 3 on weekdays, maxing at ~60min and 1 long run on the weekend, building up to 4 - 6 hours (haven't decided yet). The weekday runs will have a mix of speed intervals and tempo runs, etc., throughout the plan. This plan will go from approx. Jan. 5 through mid-July, so I have lots of time for build-up. There will be at least one race in the middle there.

I want to do a more race-specific workout on the other weekend day. I have these three types of workouts in mind:

• 2-hour outdoor hilly hike (the stage race will involve a lot of power hiking for the long uphills and obviously the Rockies are hilly; doing an outdoor hike is more specific to the race than doing the hills on the treadmill)
• 2-hour high-incline treadmill power hike (again, helping train the uphills because the stage race has some 10,000 ft of elevation gain over the 3 days)
• 1.5-hour trail run, emphasizing hills (obvious specificity to the race, except that my hills won't be like the Rockies)

What I am trying to decide is how to put these three types of workouts into my plan. I see two strategies:

1. Cycle through the types of workouts, so I'm doing each type every third week.
2. Do the same type of workout for 4 weeks in a row, then do a different type for 4 weeks in a row, eventually going through all three types. I would have time to repeat this to some extent. (I choose 4 weeks in a row because typically I periodize my training plan to 3 weeks of building on the long run and 1 cut-back week.)

The advantage of #1 is the variety and flexibility - if I get a crappy weather weekend, I could possibly swap two and be ok in the end. Also more flexibility in the logistics, because travel time to a hilly hike takes longer than getting to/from my treadmill for the high-incline hike, for example.

The advantage of #2 is the opportunity to build on a single type of workout and hopefully improve fitness on it more. I'm worried that only hitting each type every third week doesn't give as much chance for that improvement - I'm not sure. On the other hand, if I do, say, the 2-hour outdoor hilly hike for 4 weeks and then don't do it for 8 weeks, will I be losing some of what I built?

This is where I need some guidance, if you have any suggestion. Thank you!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I hope you and your family are enjoying the holidays!

I had a training question for you. I'm hopefully doing a 3-day stage race (51 miles and 10,000 ft elevation gain) in the Rockies in July. For training, I'm planning on 4 days of running per week: 3 on weekdays, maxing at ~60min and 1 long run on the weekend, building up to 4 - 6 hours (haven't decided yet). The weekday runs will have a mix of speed intervals and tempo runs, etc., throughout the plan. This plan will go from approx. Jan. 5 through mid-July, so I have lots of time for build-up. There will be at least one race in the middle there.

I want to do a more race-specific workout on the other weekend day. I have these three types of workouts in mind:

• 2-hour outdoor hilly hike (the stage race will involve a lot of power hiking for the long uphills and obviously the Rockies are hilly; doing an outdoor hike is more specific to the race than doing the hills on the treadmill)
• 2-hour high-incline treadmill power hike (again, helping train the uphills because the stage race has some 10,000 ft of elevation gain over the 3 days)
• 1.5-hour trail run, emphasizing hills (obvious specificity to the race, except that my hills won't be like the Rockies)

What I am trying to decide is how to put these three types of workouts into my plan. I see two strategies:

1. Cycle through the types of workouts, so I'm doing each type every third week.
2. Do the same type of workout for 4 weeks in a row, then do a different type for 4 weeks in a row, eventually going through all three types. I would have time to repeat this to some extent. (I choose 4 weeks in a row because typically I periodize my training plan to 3 weeks of building on the long run and 1 cut-back week.)

The advantage of #1 is the variety and flexibility - if I get a crappy weather weekend, I could possibly swap two and be ok in the end. Also more flexibility in the logistics, because travel time to a hilly hike takes longer than getting to/from my treadmill for the high-incline hike, for example.

The advantage of #2 is the opportunity to build on a single type of workout and hopefully improve fitness on it more. I'm worried that only hitting each type every third week doesn't give as much chance for that improvement - I'm not sure. On the other hand, if I do, say, the 2-hour outdoor hilly hike for 4 weeks and then don't do it for 8 weeks, will I be losing some of what I built?

This is where I need some guidance, if you have any suggestion. Thank you!

Hope you and yours has a happy holidays as well. First, let's start with the timeframe. You have 26-30 weeks between now and your race. So that's likely two distinct plans more than a single plan (although you could see it as a phase 1 and 2 I guess).

For the next 12 weeks I'd focus hard on lower body strength and endurance in lifting. Lots of fatigue inducing lifts through a higher rep count. During this time, the focus on running should be on power and less so endurance. So I'd consider capping the long run at 90-120 min, but keep those weekday runs at 60 min. The long runs shouldn't be on mountains per se. The weekday runs, you could do some short uphill faster paces. Again, this will increase power.

In the second half of the training, I'd switch the focus to the longer endurance climbs. Pushing to 4-6 hrs depending on pace will unbalance from the weekday 4hrs. So that means I'd focus on low and slow pacing on the longer efforts. At least 2-4 min/mile slower than you'd ideally like to be able to complete the race effort at. The off weekends can be the workouts you describe. I think the volume is going to be the most important part of the off weekend workouts in terms of choosing between the two options. As described, they're all roughly the same volume, which means it's better to rotate through different workouts. Do the off workouts at 75 min a piece, then 90 min a piece, then 105 min a piece, and then 120 min a piece. If you keep the workouts too similar in training load (volume and effort) over the course of the training plan, then you'll increase the likelihood of stagnation which will dampen gains. So you need to be building throughout the plan. You do want to make sure you have some step backs in training load every 3-4 weeks to help induce recovery as well.

So, 75 min hilly hike + 75 min treadmill + 75 min trail run + cutback + 90 min hilly hike + ... is better than 75 min hilly hike + 90 min hilly hike + 120 min hilly hike + cutback + 75 min treadmill...

The workouts you're proposing for the off week are close enough in nature, that I wouldn't be overly concerned about on touching on them every 3-4 weeks.

Thoughts?

 

[DopeyBadger]

Well, only about 100 posts in 2025 in this thread. I've definitely got to get back into the groove. But somehow despite the low post count there were still roughly 190,000 total views in this year alone (up to 982,000 for the record keeping). Arguably the most in any one year I've had. So I guess you all are saying you read more when I don't have anything to say.

Happy New Year everyone! To 2026 being a more balanced year!

 

[avondale]

Hope you and yours has a happy holidays as well. First, let's start with the timeframe. You have 26-30 weeks between now and your race. So that's likely two distinct plans more than a single plan (although you could see it as a phase 1 and 2 I guess).

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

I'm likely doing a 30k trail race on April 25 in the middle of this, which is a way that I'm breaking it up. I want to take that race fairly seriously since it's a distance I really can "race", whereas the big race I will not.

For the next 12 weeks I'd focus hard on lower body strength and endurance in lifting. Lots of fatigue inducing lifts through a higher rep count. During this time, the focus on running should be on power and less so endurance. So I'd consider capping the long run at 90-120 min, but keep those weekday runs at 60 min. The long runs shouldn't be on mountains per se. The weekday runs, you could do some short uphill faster paces. Again, this will increase power.

I do normally do weight lifting. Due to the need to "maintain" my knees so to speak, I have to do a lot of unilateral work and somewhat special/modified moves to keep from stressing the knees.

In the second half of the training, I'd switch the focus to the longer endurance climbs. Pushing to 4-6 hrs depending on pace will unbalance from the weekday 4hrs. So that means I'd focus on low and slow pacing on the longer efforts. At least 2-4 min/mile slower than you'd ideally like to be able to complete the race effort at.

LOL....this is where I realized that you are taking the "race" part of "three-day stage race" too literally. I cannot actually "race" 50-some miles with 10,000 ft of elevation gain at altitude (i.e., the Rockies) even with this much training. For one thing, the altitude is going to kill my aerobic capacity (see my race report for my April 2025 25k trail race in Utah), and since I can't go out to the race area several months ahead of time to acclimate, there is absolutely nothing I can do to help with this. I am looking for completion. I expect to do a lot of hiking, maybe even mostly hiking. My average "race pace" will end up at 15 min/mile if I'm lucky but will probably be even slower because of the elevation gain. Somehow I don't think that you are really suggesting that I train at 17 - 20 min/mi.

The longest stage is approximately marathon length, and depending on the time cut-off, I think I should be able to do it with a lot of power hiking.

I'm hoping to do long runs building up to 4 hours with average paces of perhaps 13:30 min/mile. But, because I'm in flatter territory where I'm training, these will not have the same elevation gain as in the race, so this training will translate to something slower in the race.

The "extra" weekend workouts are intended mostly to beef up my uphill fitness and get me moving faster and with more endurance in a hiking gait. Since I know that realistically I won't be running the uphills, I feel like I should be able to work on these aspects without adding more running, which will be easier on my knees.

The off weekends can be the workouts you describe. I think the volume is going to be the most important part of the off weekend workouts in terms of choosing between the two options. As described, they're all roughly the same volume, which means it's better to rotate through different workouts. Do the off workouts at 75 min a piece, then 90 min a piece, then 105 min a piece, and then 120 min a piece. If you keep the workouts too similar in training load (volume and effort) over the course of the training plan, then you'll increase the likelihood of stagnation which will dampen gains. So you need to be building throughout the plan. You do want to make sure you have some step backs in training load every 3-4 weeks to help induce recovery as well.

So, 75 min hilly hike + 75 min treadmill + 75 min trail run + cutback + 90 min hilly hike + ... is better than 75 min hilly hike + 90 min hilly hike + 120 min hilly hike + cutback + 75 min treadmill...

The workouts you're proposing for the off week are close enough in nature, that I wouldn't be overly concerned about on touching on them every 3-4 weeks.

I see your point about building volume on the off-weekend workouts and that makes it a little easier to fit into life, too. I was mostly interested in your thoughts on sequentially going through the types of workouts versus periodizing them, and I see that you think going through them sequentially will be best.

Thanks for your thoughts on this! I'll incorporate into my plan.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Happened sometime between the turn of the year and today, but we're celebrating...



ONE MILLION VIEWS!

The thread also crossed the 10 year mark!

Lots to celebrate!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Congrats! Just one data point to measure your influence around here.

Hope all is well!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats! Just one data point to measure your influence around here.

Hope all is well!

Thanks!



Things are going well. MIL has made it 3.5 years after her stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis. Just wrapped G's 80s Mall Mystery Themed birthday party for 24 kids at our house. Job in cancer and pulmonary fibrosis research going well, but keeps me busy. Now that birthday is wrapped, I'm starting on Gs Halloween costume. We're going to Oogie Boogie in Sept and MNSSHP in Oct. I'm aiming to do a better job of recapping the costume process this year. I've also got requests for G's theater group on costumes for Footloose and Aladdin, but it should be lesser volume than last year. However, 2027 theater is setting up to be a whopper if we go with the plays they're aiming for. Been running on the treadmill just to maintain lately, but I'm definitely out of shape and want to get back outside more often.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Haunted Mansion Costumes: Blue Sky ideas

Alright, let's talk Halloween costumes! We're going to the 2026 Oogie Boogie Bash and Mickey Not So Scary Halloween Parties this year. Since we started making costumes a few years ago, one of the costume sets on our to do list was Haunted Mansion themed. I've wanted to try and pull off a Hat Box Ghost, and we've never quite known what we would do with G's costume. But things changed in November when we decided to buy a Bambu Labs P2S 3D printer. It opened up the possibilities on what I could be capable of. And one day not long after our 2025 MNSSHP trip, a 3d print came up on my newsfeed and then the imagination juices were flowing. Set without any more delay, let's take a look at the blue sky ideas on G's costume: an homage to the Haunted Mansion.



The costume is split into three different parts to pay an homage to three different scenes on the Haunted Mansion ride. Let's start with the head.



Gigi's head will be Medusa themed, and this is really where everything started. When I was perusing social media, I saw a 3d print for a kinetic Medusa headpiece.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7443193439052778807

And I thought, wow that's really cool, and the Haunted Mansion has a Medusa themed image in the picture hallway. I love the motion it in. But I wanted to find ways to amplify that headpiece that maybe could cover up some of the mechanisms. I found this tiara that fits the theme (link).



I also found a variety of articulating snakes that I can add around the rim (like these link).

And then we had the bright idea of doing full make-up. That's when we found this youtube for a half snake half marble medusa that we're going to attempt.

This means that the tiara and snakes will also be either snake or marbleized.

Next was the torso design.



We decided to pay homage to the stretching room. I found this dress on redbubble (link).



I also found a vendor on Etsy that makes a vinyl print of the portraits (link). So then I can sew the portrait onto the front and back of the dress. Only 2 portraits in total, not all 4. We haven't decided what we'll do for the sleeves yet. Might do something lace? But we're not sure yet.

I found these Haunted Mansion gargoyles (link). I'm going to try and route a flickering LED through the candle to make it look like there are tiny flames on the tips.



The real ambitious part of this part of the costume is to try and make an illusion of the portrait stretching. So a mechanism at the waistline that goes up and down.



My cousin is an engineer, so he's going to take a stab at designing this piece. It's a real pie in the sky, and not sure we'll pull this one off.

Lastly is the base of the costume.



An homage to the scene with the eyes.

To pull this off, I'm going back to Adafruit to use their animated eyes (same as the Darcy helmet). Except I'm going with the Monster M4sk eyes which come in a in synch set of two. It'll be on a non-reflective black fabric base with a petticoat underneath to make it puffy and help hold up the weight of all the electronics in the dress.

So that's what we've got for G. It's ambitious and has lots of new things for us including motion, 3d printing, and full artistic make-up. Excited to see how it turns out in the end.

 

[nancipants]

This is amazing. When you decide to do something, you go ALL in!

 

[DopeyBadger]

This is amazing. When you decide to do something, you go ALL in!

Thanks! I always strive to do my best and make the best of something.

 

[The Expert]

I can not WAIT to see how this all turns out! You should really consider doing D23 Expo (or whatever they call it now) one of these years. Your costumes would fit right in, AND you could get some stage time with the contest!

 

[DopeyBadger]

I can not WAIT to see how this all turns out! You should really consider doing D23 Expo (or whatever they call it now) one of these years. Your costumes would fit right in, AND you could get some stage time with the contest!

Thanks! Yea Steph says the same thing about D23. One of these days it’ll align.