WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Lol I am not upset at all about not running 100+ miles in December! It would have been a really dumb decision under the circumstances, and I try as much as possible not to make dumb decisions 
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Controversial Topics
Several months ago, I added a private sub-forum to allow members to discuss these topics without fear of infractions or banning. It's opt-in, opt-out. Corey Click Here
You must be swift as the coursing river (as long as it's the Lazy River) - comments welcome
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WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Race recap: WDW Slightly-more-than-half Half Marathon
Orlando, FL | January 6, 2024
In which
I hit up the expo on Friday at lunchtime and had a surprisingly long line for bib pickup. Last year I went around the same time and had zero line. I guess that was kind of foreshadowing
The switchback portion of the line for bib pickup, which was followed by more line to get to the main floor.
I didn't linger much at the expo because I was hungry, so I grabbed a pretzel and a beer from one of the kiosks outside. Once I finished my pretzel, I took my beer and wandered around the Disney merch area, which still had some stuff but had clearly been pretty picked over, and I didn't see much that appealed to me. I did find a pair of generic rD shorts that I liked, though, so that was nice.
I took a photo with the 13.1 sign because the line was short, which I guess ended up being sort of funny in the end. I still feel a little weird about posting photos of myself here (who are these 36K people??) but also I decided it was more fun this way.
All that had taken a lot longer than I thought, so it was already almost 2 by the time I left WWOS. I parked at Epcot and made a beeline through the park to International Gateway and then to HH. Glad I was still able to chat with a bunch of folks from the boards! I left the meetup in time to catch the last Voices of Liberty show
I was planning on a pretty relaxed evening, but then I heard the news here on the DISboards first that the course had been shortened, which kept my brain quite occupied until bedtime! I went to bed at 9 and actually fell asleep around 11
Woke up a little before my 2:30 alarm...so yeah, about 3 hours of sleep 
I got to Epcot around 3:45, which was my plan, but it took about 30 minutes to park and make my way to the starting area, so missed the meetup I think
However, I was amused to see all the people doing laps around the parking lot. Called it! 
I made my way to the back of A. Unfortunately I basically couldn't hear the announcers at all. Somehow we did get better sound for the national anthem. I had forgotten about the fireworks for "rockets' red glare" and "bombs bursting in air," which was cool
I ended up in the third wave of A, with waves releasing every couple of minutes. It didn't seem like they sped up the start? This based on the fact that it looked like the balloon ladies had just left when passed above the start line a little more than an hour later. The first wave of runners did go off right at 4:45 though.
The course started off crowded and stayed that way pretty much through Epcot. I feel like the highways were narrower than the ones we normally run on? I remember having a lot more space during the marathon.
Robin Hood character shot
The character list Bree shared ended up being surprisingly accurate considering they had to completely change the photo spots for the modified course. It was nice that they had signs at the end of the line for the characters, but it was really hard to see what they said in the dark. Maybe I just have really bad night vision? The lines were longer than I expected - I stopped for about 7 characters which took 40+ minutes total. Eventually I started running faster when I was actually moving and using the wait as recovery time.
Mickey and Minnie character stop
The weather was okay when I was out there. Warm and humid (I am definitely increasingly glistening in my photos, lol) but no rain. Wind was mostly kind of nice except that it blew off the ears of a woman right in front of me and then I ran into her when she stopped and turned around abruptly. I don't blame her because I'm sure I would have had the same reaction (and there's definitely no chance I could have dodged or stopped in time), but it was quite...um...startling
Between the camber and the crowding, I ended up doing a bunch of running in the grass. I felt slightly like I was going to twist an ankle at times but I didn't so it's fine. It's all fine.
Finally after what felt like forever on the highway, we made it back to Epcot. Coming into the park with all the CMs and/or volunteers cheering was one of my favorite moments of the race. It's not Main Street, but it was pretty cool!
Once we got into the park I felt like I finally had space to move. I was moving right along at a decent pace, although as the race went on my legs got stiffer and stiffer at each character stop! I swear I realized and then immediately forgot every single time that bright lights = Photopass, but I actually got some decent pictures from the park.
Running through Italy I think
When I came through the last bit, the gospel choir was singing "Zero to Hero" which I loved
Since I was dressed as Cookie Monster, I had planned to be nom nom noming a cookie coming through the finish line, but when I took one out of my flipbelt, it had crumbled. Oops! That's what I get for not trying it in training. I was a little sad that nobody really commented on my costume, but oh well, I liked it.
Running in front of Spaceship Earth
I was kind of relieved to hear other people in the MW thread confirm that the character lines were unusually long for this race. Last year in the marathon I stopped for I think 14 photos and 4 bathrooms and it added about 20 minutes to my time. This time 7 photos and no bathrooms took 40 minutes. Eek! But hopefully this will remain an outlier and next time the lines won't be so long. I ended up with:
GPS: 7.16 miles
Moving time: 1:01:06 (8:32 pace)
Official time: 1:42:28 (14:24 pace)
This was my hardest "workout" since the marathon and my legs were a little grumpy afterwards. I did a little stretching while eating my remaining cookie. Then I heard the announcers asking people to head out due to impending inclement weather (around 6:45 IIRC). I had forgotten to remember where I parked so I spent some time wandering around the parking lot as the drizzle picked up. Fortunately I found my mom's car (and only had to use the alarm once) before it started pouring. It took a while to get out of the parking lot and then I got to drive home in the rain. Yay...
I got back around 7:30 and apparently no one had taken the dog out yet, so I did that and fed him before I even changed out of my gross clothes
Then I changed, had another snack because I was hungry, and realized I hadn't accounted for character stops in my fueling "plan" and should probably have had something on the course. Oops again! Then did some strength training because I guess the race just wasn't enough for me 
After showering and walking the dog again, I hit a wall around noon (more due to three hours of sleep than the workout) and napped for about three hours Not sure what the Princess challenge will look like - hopefully I'm not sleepwalking through the half!
It was kind of a weird race, but I feel like rD did the best they could under the circumstances. Personally I didn't mind the shorter course, although the route wasn't my favorite. I'd probably have been more upset if it were my first half or if I were doing a challenge, but as it was I didn't have anything attached to the specific distance, and I was just happy there were still lots of characters on the course. I have no plans to make up the miles, but between walking to/from the car and walking the dog, my watch says I have covered 13.6 miles today (with one more walk still to go), so, you know...
Homer Simpson "close enough" GIF
Anyway, I'm planning to head to Epcot tomorrow morning to cheer on the marathoners. Will probably be in Germany, I think (read: I want a pretzel), starting around 10. I'll have to check the DISer list for people's costumes to see if I can spot anyone! I've got a noisemaker and am planning be in my HM race shirt and a dark gray jacket, so wave if you see me! Good luck to all of you running tomorrow!
Orlando, FL | January 6, 2024
In which
I hit up the expo on Friday at lunchtime and had a surprisingly long line for bib pickup. Last year I went around the same time and had zero line. I guess that was kind of foreshadowing
The switchback portion of the line for bib pickup, which was followed by more line to get to the main floor.
I didn't linger much at the expo because I was hungry, so I grabbed a pretzel and a beer from one of the kiosks outside. Once I finished my pretzel, I took my beer and wandered around the Disney merch area, which still had some stuff but had clearly been pretty picked over, and I didn't see much that appealed to me. I did find a pair of generic rD shorts that I liked, though, so that was nice.
I took a photo with the 13.1 sign because the line was short, which I guess ended up being sort of funny in the end. I still feel a little weird about posting photos of myself here (who are these 36K people??) but also I decided it was more fun this way.
All that had taken a lot longer than I thought, so it was already almost 2 by the time I left WWOS. I parked at Epcot and made a beeline through the park to International Gateway and then to HH. Glad I was still able to chat with a bunch of folks from the boards! I left the meetup in time to catch the last Voices of Liberty show
I was planning on a pretty relaxed evening, but then I heard the news here on the DISboards first that the course had been shortened, which kept my brain quite occupied until bedtime! I went to bed at 9 and actually fell asleep around 11
Woke up a little before my 2:30 alarm...so yeah, about 3 hours of sleep I got to Epcot around 3:45, which was my plan, but it took about 30 minutes to park and make my way to the starting area, so missed the meetup I think
However, I was amused to see all the people doing laps around the parking lot. Called it! I made my way to the back of A. Unfortunately I basically couldn't hear the announcers at all. Somehow we did get better sound for the national anthem. I had forgotten about the fireworks for "rockets' red glare" and "bombs bursting in air," which was cool
I ended up in the third wave of A, with waves releasing every couple of minutes. It didn't seem like they sped up the start? This based on the fact that it looked like the balloon ladies had just left when passed above the start line a little more than an hour later. The first wave of runners did go off right at 4:45 though.
The course started off crowded and stayed that way pretty much through Epcot. I feel like the highways were narrower than the ones we normally run on? I remember having a lot more space during the marathon.
Robin Hood character shot
The character list Bree shared ended up being surprisingly accurate considering they had to completely change the photo spots for the modified course. It was nice that they had signs at the end of the line for the characters, but it was really hard to see what they said in the dark. Maybe I just have really bad night vision? The lines were longer than I expected - I stopped for about 7 characters which took 40+ minutes total. Eventually I started running faster when I was actually moving and using the wait as recovery time.
Mickey and Minnie character stop
The weather was okay when I was out there. Warm and humid (I am definitely increasingly glistening in my photos, lol) but no rain. Wind was mostly kind of nice except that it blew off the ears of a woman right in front of me and then I ran into her when she stopped and turned around abruptly. I don't blame her because I'm sure I would have had the same reaction (and there's definitely no chance I could have dodged or stopped in time), but it was quite...um...startling
Between the camber and the crowding, I ended up doing a bunch of running in the grass. I felt slightly like I was going to twist an ankle at times but I didn't so it's fine. It's all fine.
Finally after what felt like forever on the highway, we made it back to Epcot. Coming into the park with all the CMs and/or volunteers cheering was one of my favorite moments of the race. It's not Main Street, but it was pretty cool!
Once we got into the park I felt like I finally had space to move. I was moving right along at a decent pace, although as the race went on my legs got stiffer and stiffer at each character stop! I swear I realized and then immediately forgot every single time that bright lights = Photopass, but I actually got some decent pictures from the park.
Running through Italy I think
When I came through the last bit, the gospel choir was singing "Zero to Hero" which I loved
Since I was dressed as Cookie Monster, I had planned to be nom nom noming a cookie coming through the finish line, but when I took one out of my flipbelt, it had crumbled. Oops! That's what I get for not trying it in training. I was a little sad that nobody really commented on my costume, but oh well, I liked it.Running in front of Spaceship Earth
I was kind of relieved to hear other people in the MW thread confirm that the character lines were unusually long for this race. Last year in the marathon I stopped for I think 14 photos and 4 bathrooms and it added about 20 minutes to my time. This time 7 photos and no bathrooms took 40 minutes. Eek! But hopefully this will remain an outlier and next time the lines won't be so long. I ended up with:
GPS: 7.16 miles
Moving time: 1:01:06 (8:32 pace)
Official time: 1:42:28 (14:24 pace)
This was my hardest "workout" since the marathon and my legs were a little grumpy afterwards. I did a little stretching while eating my remaining cookie. Then I heard the announcers asking people to head out due to impending inclement weather (around 6:45 IIRC). I had forgotten to remember where I parked so I spent some time wandering around the parking lot as the drizzle picked up. Fortunately I found my mom's car (and only had to use the alarm once) before it started pouring. It took a while to get out of the parking lot and then I got to drive home in the rain. Yay...
I got back around 7:30 and apparently no one had taken the dog out yet, so I did that and fed him before I even changed out of my gross clothes
Then I changed, had another snack because I was hungry, and realized I hadn't accounted for character stops in my fueling "plan" and should probably have had something on the course. Oops again! Then did some strength training because I guess the race just wasn't enough for me After showering and walking the dog again, I hit a wall around noon (more due to three hours of sleep than the workout) and napped for about three hours
Not sure what the Princess challenge will look like - hopefully I'm not sleepwalking through the half!It was kind of a weird race, but I feel like rD did the best they could under the circumstances. Personally I didn't mind the shorter course, although the route wasn't my favorite. I'd probably have been more upset if it were my first half or if I were doing a challenge, but as it was I didn't have anything attached to the specific distance, and I was just happy there were still lots of characters on the course. I have no plans to make up the miles, but between walking to/from the car and walking the dog, my watch says I have covered 13.6 miles today (with one more walk still to go), so, you know...
Anyway, I'm planning to head to Epcot tomorrow morning to cheer on the marathoners. Will probably be in Germany, I think (read: I want a pretzel), starting around 10. I'll have to check the DISer list for people's costumes to see if I can spot anyone! I've got a noisemaker and am planning be in my HM race shirt and a dark gray jacket, so wave if you see me! Good luck to all of you running tomorrow!
Last edited:
nancipants
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2013
Great job!!
I might head to Epcot tomorrow as well to cheer. I’ll see how I feel in the morning, haha. Given that my son’s favorite thing to do is watch the train in Germany, I’ll try to catch you there if I go.
He can stare at it for hours while I cheer. 
I might head to Epcot tomorrow as well to cheer. I’ll see how I feel in the morning, haha. Given that my son’s favorite thing to do is watch the train in Germany, I’ll try to catch you there if I go.
He can stare at it for hours while I cheer.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Definitely let me know!I might head to Epcot tomorrow as well to cheer. I’ll see how I feel in the morning, haha. Given that my son’s favorite thing to do is watch the train in Germany, I’ll try to catch you there if I go.
Scootin'By
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2023
Great job! I thought your costume was awesome! Cookie monster is definitely my second favorite Sesame Street character (Ernie has always been #1
)
flav
Loving My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2014
Love your costumes and always enjoy the pictures. Thanks for the report and congratulations on the run!Race recap: WDW Slightly-more-than-half Half Marathon
Orlando, FL | January 6, 2024
In which
I hit up the expo on Friday at lunchtime and had a surprisingly long line for bib pickup. Last year I went around the same time and had zero line. I guess that was kind of foreshadowing
View attachment 823549
The switchback portion of the line for bib pickup, which was followed by more line to get to the main floor.
I didn't linger much at the expo because I was hungry, so I grabbed a pretzel and a beer from one of the kiosks outside. Once I finished my pretzel, I took my beer and wandered around the Disney merch area, which still had some stuff but had clearly been pretty picked over, and I didn't see much that appealed to me. I did find a pair of generic rD shorts that I liked, though, so that was nice.
View attachment 823565
I took a photo with the 13.1 sign because the line was short, which I guess ended up being sort of funny in the end. I still feel a little weird about posting photos of myself here (who are these 36K people??) but also I decided it was more fun this way.
All that had taken a lot longer than I thought, so it was already almost 2 by the time I left WWOS. I parked at Epcot and made a beeline through the park to International Gateway and then to HH. Glad I was still able to chat with a bunch of folks from the boards! I left the meetup in time to catch the last Voices of Liberty show
I was planning on a pretty relaxed evening, but then I heard the news here on the DISboards first that the course had been shortened, which kept my brain quite occupied until bedtime! I went to bed at 9 and actually fell asleep around 11
I got to Epcot around 3:45, which was my plan, but it took about 30 minutes to park and make my way to the starting area, so missed the meetup I think
I made my way to the back of A. Unfortunately I basically couldn't hear the announcers at all. Somehow we did get better sound for the national anthem. I had forgotten about the fireworks for "rockets' red glare" and "bombs bursting in air," which was cool
I ended up in the third wave of A, with waves releasing every couple of minutes. It didn't seem like they sped up the start? This based on the fact that it looked like the balloon ladies had just left when passed above the start line a little more than an hour later. The first wave of runners did go off right at 4:45 though.
The course started off crowded and stayed that way pretty much through Epcot. I feel like the highways were narrower than the ones we normally run on? I remember having a lot more space during the marathon.
View attachment 823567
Robin Hood character shot
The character list Bree shared ended up being surprisingly accurate considering they had to completely change the photo spots for the modified course. It was nice that they had signs at the end of the line for the characters, but it was really hard to see what they said in the dark. Maybe I just have really bad night vision? The lines were longer than I expected - I stopped for about 7 characters which took 40+ minutes total. Eventually I started running faster when I was actually moving and using the wait as recovery time.
View attachment 823569
Mickey and Minnie character stop
The weather was okay when I was out there. Warm and humid (I am definitely increasingly glistening in my photos, lol) but no rain. Wind was mostly kind of nice except that it blew off the ears of a woman right in front of me and then I ran into her when she stopped and turned around abruptly. I don't blame her because I'm sure I would have had the same reaction (and there's definitely no chance I could have dodged or stopped in time), but it was quite...um...startling
Between the camber and the crowding, I ended up doing a bunch of running in the grass. I felt slightly like I was going to twist an ankle at times but I didn't so it's fine. It's all fine.
Finally after what felt like forever on the highway, we made it back to Epcot. Coming into the park with all the CMs and/or volunteers cheering was one of my favorite moments of the race. It's not Main Street, but it was pretty cool!
Once we got into the park I felt like I finally had space to move. I was moving right along at a decent pace, although as the race went on my legs got stiffer and stiffer at each character stop! I swear I realized and then immediately forgot every single time that bright lights = Photopass, but I actually got some decent pictures from the park.
View attachment 823568
Running through Italy I think
When I came through the last bit, the gospel choir was singing "Zero to Hero" which I loved
View attachment 823570
Running in front of Spaceship Earth
I was kind of relieved to hear other people in the MW thread confirm that the character lines were unusually long for this race. Last year in the marathon I stopped for I think 14 photos and 4 bathrooms and it added about 20 minutes to my time. This time 7 photos and no bathrooms took 40 minutes. Eek! But hopefully this will remain an outlier and next time the lines won't be so long. I ended up with:
GPS: 7.16 miles
Moving time: 1:01:06 (8:32 pace)
Official time: 1:42:28 (14:24 pace)
This was my hardest "workout" since the marathon and my legs were a little grumpy afterwards. I did a little stretching while eating my remaining cookie. Then I heard the announcers asking people to head out due to impending inclement weather (around 6:45 IIRC). I had forgotten to remember where I parked so I spent some time wandering around the parking lot as the drizzle picked up. Fortunately I found my mom's car (and only had to use the alarm once) before it started pouring. It took a while to get out of the parking lot and then I got to drive home in the rain. Yay...
I got back around 7:30 and apparently no one had taken the dog out yet, so I did that and fed him before I even changed out of my gross clothes
After showering and walking the dog again, I hit a wall around noon (more due to three hours of sleep than the workout) and napped for about three hours
It was kind of a weird race, but I feel like rD did the best they could under the circumstances. Personally I didn't mind the shorter course, although the route wasn't my favorite. I'd probably have been more upset if it were my first half or if I were doing a challenge, but as it was I didn't have anything attached to the specific distance, and I was just happy there were still lots of characters on the course. I have no plans to make up the miles, but between walking to/from the car and walking the dog, my watch says I have covered 13.6 miles today (with one more walk still to go), so, you know...
Homer Simpson "close enough" GIF
Anyway, I'm planning to head to Epcot tomorrow morning to cheer on the marathoners. Will probably be in Germany, I think (read: I want a pretzel), starting around 10. I'll have to check the DISer list for people's costumes to see if I can spot anyone! I've got a noisemaker and am planning be in my HM race shirt and a dark gray jacket, so wave if you see me! Good luck to all of you running tomorrow!
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
2024 Plans
In which I remember once again that we are in a new year
MW really does create confusion at the beginning of the year. What day is it? What year is it? I have no idea.
I don't necessarily have specific goals for the year, although I do want to try some more group runs. I know @striker1064 has a good group that I keep meaning to check out, but I always come up with some reason to chicken out This year I will do it, though! After I'm back in DC.
If not goals, what I do have, however, is some races lined up for 2024. Currently my schedule, post-WDW 7.1-Mile Half Marathon, is:
Princess 10K, Feb. 2024
Princess Half Marathon, Feb. 2024
Rock 'n' Roll 5K, March 2024
Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, March 2024
DC Half, Sept. 2024
Marine Corps Marathon, Oct. 2024
So my plan right now is to basically break the year into two main training blocks:
Speed training
Because I just did marathon training and will be doing another marathon in the fall, it seems like a good idea to work the opposite end of the spectrum and try to improve my 5K and 10K PRs (which are coming up on a year old and therefore hopefully ripe for improvement). I'm considering racing the Princess 10K, since I'll have the half the next day for fun and photos. But we'll see what corral I end up in (I did put sub-8 mm which would be my racing pace, so hopefully A) and what the weather looks like.
The other middle-distance race I'm currently signed up for is the Rock 'n' Roll 5K. I'm not 100% sure I'll be back in DC by then, but probably; I signed up during one of their sales and bought the race insurance just in case. Because I'm also signed up for the half immediately afterwards, I'm waffling a little on racing this one as well, but I'm leaning towards racing the 5K and taking the half super-duper easy. They're offering an extra medal for doing the "Remix Challenge", and Disney has me in challenge mode now
I'm not signed up for any other spring races, but there's a parkrun not too far from me where I could race an occasional 5K when I'm back in DC. And it's a bit late considering I'm starting my training like now, but I could also do the Capitol Hill 10K in May again, or the 3K. TBD. But it'll be interesting because I don't necessarily have an A race for this block but rather a bunch of different options for racing.
I am still working on the actual training plan (read: I have not started writing a training plan), but here's how I anticipate my week going.
)
Strength/HIIT routines come from Fitness Blender and yoga is always Yoga with Adriene. As usual, the specific days might move around due to other commitments, but I will always try to have a recovery day between hard days. I will post the draft plan here once I've written it.
My dog decided to pause in the middle of doing wormy worms on the carpet upstairs, so he's laying down with his back legs tucked under him and his front half on its side. Yes his head is actually that big.
Marathon training
Overall I mostly liked how my training went for Space Coast, so I'll probably do something fairly similar for MCM (though hopefully without getting injured this time), incorporating the thoughts I had afterwards. One of those thoughts was that I shouldn't race a HM during M training, so I won't be racing the DC Half (6 weeks before MCM). Instead I'll probably do that one at M pace, which should be right around the 110-minute limit. I may also do the Army Ten-Miler as a training run again as well - it would be good prep coming up on MCM because it covers part of the course.
Suggestions? Favorite 5K/10K workouts? Let me know!
In which I remember once again that we are in a new year
MW really does create confusion at the beginning of the year. What day is it? What year is it? I have no idea.
I don't necessarily have specific goals for the year, although I do want to try some more group runs. I know @striker1064 has a good group that I keep meaning to check out, but I always come up with some reason to chicken out
This year I will do it, though! After I'm back in DC.If not goals, what I do have, however, is some races lined up for 2024. Currently my schedule, post-WDW 7.1-Mile Half Marathon, is:
Princess 10K, Feb. 2024
Princess Half Marathon, Feb. 2024
Rock 'n' Roll 5K, March 2024
Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, March 2024
DC Half, Sept. 2024
Marine Corps Marathon, Oct. 2024
So my plan right now is to basically break the year into two main training blocks:
- Winter/spring: speed training (5K/10K)
- Summer/fall: marathon training
Speed training
Because I just did marathon training and will be doing another marathon in the fall, it seems like a good idea to work the opposite end of the spectrum and try to improve my 5K and 10K PRs (which are coming up on a year old and therefore hopefully ripe for improvement). I'm considering racing the Princess 10K, since I'll have the half the next day for fun and photos. But we'll see what corral I end up in (I did put sub-8 mm which would be my racing pace, so hopefully A) and what the weather looks like.
The other middle-distance race I'm currently signed up for is the Rock 'n' Roll 5K. I'm not 100% sure I'll be back in DC by then, but probably; I signed up during one of their sales and bought the race insurance just in case. Because I'm also signed up for the half immediately afterwards, I'm waffling a little on racing this one as well, but I'm leaning towards racing the 5K and taking the half super-duper easy. They're offering an extra medal for doing the "Remix Challenge", and Disney has me in challenge mode now
I'm not signed up for any other spring races, but there's a parkrun not too far from me where I could race an occasional 5K when I'm back in DC. And it's a bit late considering I'm starting my training like now, but I could also do the Capitol Hill 10K in May again, or the 3K. TBD. But it'll be interesting because I don't necessarily have an A race for this block but rather a bunch of different options for racing.
I am still working on the actual training plan (read: I have not started writing a training plan), but here's how I anticipate my week going.
- Monday: easy + core
- Tuesday: easy + lower body strength/HIIT
- Wednesday: easy + upper body strength
- Thursday: off
- Friday: workout + total body strength
- Saturday: easy + core
- Sunday: long + yoga
)Strength/HIIT routines come from Fitness Blender and yoga is always Yoga with Adriene. As usual, the specific days might move around due to other commitments, but I will always try to have a recovery day between hard days. I will post the draft plan here once I've written it.
My dog decided to pause in the middle of doing wormy worms on the carpet upstairs, so he's laying down with his back legs tucked under him and his front half on its side. Yes his head is actually that big.
Marathon training
Overall I mostly liked how my training went for Space Coast, so I'll probably do something fairly similar for MCM (though hopefully without getting injured this time), incorporating the thoughts I had afterwards. One of those thoughts was that I shouldn't race a HM during M training, so I won't be racing the DC Half (6 weeks before MCM). Instead I'll probably do that one at M pace, which should be right around the 110-minute limit. I may also do the Army Ten-Miler as a training run again as well - it would be good prep coming up on MCM because it covers part of the course.
Suggestions? Favorite 5K/10K workouts? Let me know!
NYC_MW
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2021
Challenge medal addiction is a thing. I did/will be doing a 10k, half, 5k, + marathon just to get 2 extra challenge medals. It's just like Marathon Weekend, only spread across 6 months instead of 4 days .
On a more serious note, am super impressed at your dedication and willpower at planning and carrying out all the training plans (both the writing and running).
.On a more serious note, am super impressed at your dedication and willpower at planning and carrying out all the training plans (both the writing and running).
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
The extra challenge with this one is that they are back-to-back on the same day!Just wanted to say that I totally understand about the Challenges being addictive: A whole weekend of celebration
See, now that's the way to do itChallenge medal addiction is a thing. I did/will be doing a 10k, half, 5k, + marathon just to get 2 extra challenge medals. It's just like Marathon Weekend, only spread across 6 months instead of 4 days
Thanks! I find (and this is really being driven home now while I'm between plans) that I am really good at following a plan, but when I'm just winging it, I'm a lot more likely to just skip it. So I like having a plan, and if I write it myself I can make sure it has everything I want!
flav
Loving My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2014
Yes, this is the hardest. I mentioned in my Ottawa 59.2k report that it was harder than Dopey due to lack of recovery.The extra challenge with this one is that they are back-to-back on the same day!
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
My favorite 5k/10k training plan comes from Daniels 3rd edition book. I’ve edited that plan for several others and seen good gains from it. McMillan also has some solid workouts in his blog section for 5k and 10k specific workouts.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
January 1 - 7, 2024
In which I play catch-up
I realized that between MW and planning for the year, I forgot to do my weekly recap! I wouldn't necessarily care, but it's the first week of the year! So just a quick one.
Strength/mobility: 2h 10m
Total: 5h 56m
In which I play catch-up
I realized that between MW and planning for the year, I forgot to do my weekly recap!
I wouldn't necessarily care, but it's the first week of the year! So just a quick one.- M: upper body strength. Made up from the weekend. New routine, which was interesting. I had planned to run also but skipped it due to crappy air quality (fireworks smoke).
- T: 5 miles easy (9:55, 146 bpm) + core. First run of the year! It was a good one too - the weather was pleasant and I felt good. Got a little wonkiness from the HR readings but nothing too egregious. Core workout was tough but doable.
- W: 5 miles easy/strides (10:01, 152 bpm) + lower body strength. At one point on Tuesday evening I thought maybe I should do a mini workout, and then I remembered I haven't even done strides since the marathon, so I decided I should do strides first. I felt a little stiff, so it was probably good to start there. Also I forgot my chest strap so HR may not be entirely comparable.
- T: 5.95 miles easy (10:15, ? bpm). "Get a chest strap," they said. "It'll be more accurate," they said. Suuuurrre.
A very not-accurate HR graph- F: expo + meetup
- S: WDW Slightly-more-than-half Half Marathon + total body strength. Race recap above. I liked the strength workout a lot. It went by really quickly.
- S: marathon spectating + yoga
Strength/mobility: 2h 10m
Total: 5h 56m
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
January 8 - 14, 2023
Spring training week 1 | 41 days until Princess 10K
In which I start again
I decided that if I'm going to race the 10K at PW, I should probably start actually training. Although this week is therefore technically the first week of my training plan, I'm thinking of it more as the beginning of a short "pre-training" block in which I remind my body how this works again. Plus I've only written the first few weeks of the plan and it's all subject to change.
Monday
Easy + strides: 5.37 miles (10:25), avg. HR ?, max 173
core
Kind of blah. HR was weird for the first mile (watch only; I have given up on the chest strap). Core was harder than I expected.
Tuesday
Easy: 4.13 miles (10:42), avg. HR ?, max 163
lower body strength + HIIT
Central Florida weather continues its identity crisis. This morning was warm and humid and I felt kind of crappy for no reason. Also I tripped on the wooden bridge and almost fell. Also also it has been quite a while since I did more than like one interval of HIIT at a time, and that was tough. In a good way though.
Wednesday
Easy + strides: 6 miles (9:58), avg. HR 157, max 177, 90% Z1-2
upper body strength
Probably could have dialed it back a little but overall not bad. Achilles still not hurting, but not necessarily feeling 100% either.
Thursday
rest
Friday
Hills: 2 mile WU + 2 x across the bridge and back (hard uphill, easy downhill) + 1 mile CD
total body strength
Strava workout analysis GAP chart
Sort of improvised. I thought about doing another round over and back but decided not to push it because this was my first real workout post-marathon.
I was in the gym for the strength so no video (and no water because the fountain was broken
). I did 2 x 10 [per side]:
Deadlifts/chest press
Squats/close row
Alternating lunges/overhead press
Side lunges/lat pulldowns
Sumo squats/bicep curls
Single leg deadlifts/tricep extensions
Saturday
Long: 9.37 miles (10:12), avg. HR 158, max 167, 96% Z1-2
For scheduling reasons I did my long run on Saturday instead of Sunday. Nowhere else is it clearer that my endurance has still not recovered from the post-marathon break. I am trying to have patience
Also, dear drivers, please stop and look both ways BEFORE you get to the crosswalk, not after you've driven across it right in front of me when I'm halfway across the road. Then once you have done the opposite of that, staying there and freaking out really just compounds the problem, as you are STILL blocking the crosswalk
Sunday
Easy: 4 miles (11:26), avg. HR 142, max 150, 100% Z1-2
yoga, core
My body wanted to take it super easy today, so that is what I did.
Totals
Running: 5h 51m, 33.92 miles
Strength/mobility: 2h 16m
Total: 8h 8m
Well, it looks more like a normal week, even if it doesn't quite feel like it yet. I keep reminding myself that the first few weeks back in regular training are just going to have to suck (which is why I'm not targeting any specific paces)
Spring training week 1 | 41 days until Princess 10K
In which I start again
I decided that if I'm going to race the 10K at PW, I should probably start actually training. Although this week is therefore technically the first week of my training plan, I'm thinking of it more as the beginning of a short "pre-training" block in which I remind my body how this works again. Plus I've only written the first few weeks of the plan and it's all subject to change.
Monday
Easy + strides: 5.37 miles (10:25), avg. HR ?, max 173
core
Kind of blah. HR was weird for the first mile (watch only; I have given up on the chest strap). Core was harder than I expected.
Tuesday
Easy: 4.13 miles (10:42), avg. HR ?, max 163
lower body strength + HIIT
Central Florida weather continues its identity crisis. This morning was warm and humid and I felt kind of crappy for no reason. Also I tripped on the wooden bridge and almost fell. Also also it has been quite a while since I did more than like one interval of HIIT at a time, and that was tough. In a good way though.
Wednesday
Easy + strides: 6 miles (9:58), avg. HR 157, max 177, 90% Z1-2
upper body strength
Probably could have dialed it back a little but overall not bad. Achilles still not hurting, but not necessarily feeling 100% either.
Thursday
rest
Friday
Hills: 2 mile WU + 2 x across the bridge and back (hard uphill, easy downhill) + 1 mile CD
total body strength
Strava workout analysis GAP chart
Sort of improvised. I thought about doing another round over and back but decided not to push it because this was my first real workout post-marathon.
I was in the gym for the strength so no video (and no water because the fountain was broken
). I did 2 x 10 [per side]:Deadlifts/chest press
Squats/close row
Alternating lunges/overhead press
Side lunges/lat pulldowns
Sumo squats/bicep curls
Single leg deadlifts/tricep extensions
Saturday
Long: 9.37 miles (10:12), avg. HR 158, max 167, 96% Z1-2
For scheduling reasons I did my long run on Saturday instead of Sunday. Nowhere else is it clearer that my endurance has still not recovered from the post-marathon break. I am trying to have patience
Also, dear drivers, please stop and look both ways BEFORE you get to the crosswalk, not after you've driven across it right in front of me when I'm halfway across the road. Then once you have done the opposite of that, staying there and freaking out really just compounds the problem, as you are STILL blocking the crosswalk
Sunday
Easy: 4 miles (11:26), avg. HR 142, max 150, 100% Z1-2
yoga, core
My body wanted to take it super easy today, so that is what I did.
Totals
Running: 5h 51m, 33.92 miles
Strength/mobility: 2h 16m
Total: 8h 8m
Well, it looks more like a normal week, even if it doesn't quite feel like it yet. I keep reminding myself that the first few weeks back in regular training are just going to have to suck (which is why I'm not targeting any specific paces)
Last edited:
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Some thoughts on pacing and generic plan structures
In which we get into the weeds
I was looking at the Jack Daniels 5K/10K plans since Billy recommended them, and it got me thinking about different types of paces. So I decided to write about it here because there is a slight chance that someone might be interested, whereas if I start talking about it in real life, there is zero chance
The way I look at it, there are two groups of paces: race (distance-based) paces and physiological (body dynamics-based) paces.
Race paces are pretty straightforward. What's the fastest pace you can run for 5K under ideal conditions? For a marathon? And so on. Lots of calculators will give you estimates for these paces if you give them a recent race to work with. I've been using McMillan for my race paces, but I usually check others as well just to see what they say.
Physiological paces are a little more complicated. They represent transitions where... *waggles fingers dramatically* ...stuff happens. Inside your body. (Look, I fulfilled my science reqs in college with Astronomy and Biology of Dinosaurs. I don't know anatomy and physiology. This is what I've got.) The one everyone generally knows is lactate threshold, which is the point where lactate builds up in your blood faster than your body can clear it out. There's others too, though: where your body switches from carbs to fats as a primary fuel source, where you change from aerobic to anaerobic training, etc.
The problem with physiological paces (besides needing a biology degree to understand them, and apparently spelling "physiological"), is that you can't see them happening in real time. Like, okay, you can go to a 5K and be pretty sure the course will be 3.11 miles. That might not be exactly what your GPS tells you, but the actual course, if it's certified, was measured professionally and confirmed. A 5K is pretty much 5K for everyone, and one 5K is pretty much the same as the next 5K, at least in terms of distance.
But you can't look inside your cells and check if your lactate is clearing. (Well, you can, but you have to pay money and be in a lab on a treadmill, and it's not really useful enough, for most recreational runners at least, to be worth it.) And people are individuals, so my lactate threshold might not be the same as your lactate threshold, even if our race paces are the same.
In practice, so that we can actually use them in day-to-day training, physiological paces usually come with time guidelines. Lactate threshold is the pace you could race for 60 minutes. Critical velocity is the pace you could race for 30 minutes. VO2max/maximum aerobic speed is the pace you could race for between six and 12 minutes, depending on who you ask
Wow, that was a lot, and we haven't even gotten to the point yet! Look, here is a cute Rottweiler melting into the carpet. Please stare into his sweet, chocolate-colored eyes for a long moment and give your brain a break.
Okay. So. We've established that there are two different types of paces. Now, this might seem obvious, but the next step is: they don't line up the same for everyone. For example, here are my paces - both race paces and physiological paces - in order from slowest to fastest:
Example. Say I find a plan, and it has a workout that includes an interval of 5 minutes at 5K pace. I would cover about 2/3 of a mile in that time, or about 22% of a 5K. Our 32-minute 5K runner would run a little less than half a mile, or about 15% of a 5K. And our elite would get through 1.16 miles, or 37% of a 5K. (Hopefully those numbers aren't too far off; I had to Do Math.)
Let's assume that this 5K is, regardless of speed, equally hard for everyone. All three runners are going as fast as they can over the distance. Which means that the same fraction of the race is also the same effort for each runner. If all three of us ran 25% of a 5K, we would each be using 25% of our 5K effort. (It is not quite that simple, of course, but for purposes of this argument, and to keep this post from being even longer than it already is, we are going to pretend that it is in fact that simple.) So 5 minutes at 5K pace results in very different effort expended for each runner.
Same goes for physiological paces, but the other way around. If a plan says to run 1 mile at lactate threshold, it would take me, according to my current pace calculations, 7:46, or about 13% of my total potential LT duration. It would take the 32-minute 5K runner more like 11 minutes, or 18% of potential LT. And the elite would fly through it in about 4:40, just 8% of their LT potential. In this case, we're putting in the same effort, but for very different durations. That mile at threshold, counterintuitively, is going to be a lot harder for the 32-minute 5K runner than for the elite.
Sorry again for all the words. Here is another picture of my dog begging for attention by resting his chin on the bed where I am working.
Why does this even matter? Well, if you see, as I did in the Daniels plan, something like 3 miles at lactate threshold followed by 4 short, fast reps and think, "That seems pretty hard..." You're right. (Aside: I dismissed a Pfitz plan for the marathon pretty quickly because he frequently calls for things like 7 miles at lactate threshold, which would be a really bad idea for me and literally impossible if I were a little slower.) But you can still use the plan if you really want to; you just have to figure out what kind of runner it was written for, what their paces would be, and how long the rep would take them (or how far they would go, if the plan is using time for race paces).
To be clear, this doesn't apply if a plan was written for you specifically. If Billy gives you a plan and says to do a mile at lactate threshold, you should do that because he's taken your individual paces into account. If I say in my own plan to do 5 x 5 min at 10K pace, that's fine because I wrote it for myself. But you couldn't then give the same plan to another runner with different paces and have the same impact.
Conclusion: If you're writing a plan that you want runners of varying abilities to be able to use, put physiological paces in time and race paces in distance. If you find a generic plan that doesn't do that, you might want to make some adjustments, or find another plan. In other words, I will still use some of the Daniels workouts, but I will not be doing that 3-mile interval at lactate threshold, thank you.
The end! Now you see why I needed a whole 13-part series to write a training plan the last time
In which we get into the weeds
I was looking at the Jack Daniels 5K/10K plans since Billy recommended them, and it got me thinking about different types of paces. So I decided to write about it here because there is a slight chance that someone might be interested, whereas if I start talking about it in real life, there is zero chance
The way I look at it, there are two groups of paces: race (distance-based) paces and physiological (body dynamics-based) paces.
Race paces are pretty straightforward. What's the fastest pace you can run for 5K under ideal conditions? For a marathon? And so on. Lots of calculators will give you estimates for these paces if you give them a recent race to work with. I've been using McMillan for my race paces, but I usually check others as well just to see what they say.
Physiological paces are a little more complicated. They represent transitions where... *waggles fingers dramatically* ...stuff happens. Inside your body. (Look, I fulfilled my science reqs in college with Astronomy and Biology of Dinosaurs. I don't know anatomy and physiology. This is what I've got.) The one everyone generally knows is lactate threshold, which is the point where lactate builds up in your blood faster than your body can clear it out. There's others too, though: where your body switches from carbs to fats as a primary fuel source, where you change from aerobic to anaerobic training, etc.
The problem with physiological paces (besides needing a biology degree to understand them, and apparently spelling "physiological"), is that you can't see them happening in real time. Like, okay, you can go to a 5K and be pretty sure the course will be 3.11 miles. That might not be exactly what your GPS tells you, but the actual course, if it's certified, was measured professionally and confirmed. A 5K is pretty much 5K for everyone, and one 5K is pretty much the same as the next 5K, at least in terms of distance.
But you can't look inside your cells and check if your lactate is clearing. (Well, you can, but you have to pay money and be in a lab on a treadmill, and it's not really useful enough, for most recreational runners at least, to be worth it.) And people are individuals, so my lactate threshold might not be the same as your lactate threshold, even if our race paces are the same.
In practice, so that we can actually use them in day-to-day training, physiological paces usually come with time guidelines. Lactate threshold is the pace you could race for 60 minutes. Critical velocity is the pace you could race for 30 minutes. VO2max/maximum aerobic speed is the pace you could race for between six and 12 minutes, depending on who you ask
Wow, that was a lot, and we haven't even gotten to the point yet! Look, here is a cute Rottweiler melting into the carpet. Please stare into his sweet, chocolate-colored eyes for a long moment and give your brain a break.
Okay. So. We've established that there are two different types of paces. Now, this might seem obvious, but the next step is: they don't line up the same for everyone. For example, here are my paces - both race paces and physiological paces - in order from slowest to fastest:
- Easy
- Marathon
- Steady (2h - 2h30m race pace)
- Half marathon
- Lactate threshold (60 min race pace)
- 10K
- Critical velocity (30 min race pace)
- 5K
- Easy
- Marathon
- Half marathon
- Steady
- 10K
- Lactate threshold
- 5K
- Critical velocity
- Easy
- M/steady
- HM/lactate threshold
- 10K/CV
- 5K
Example. Say I find a plan, and it has a workout that includes an interval of 5 minutes at 5K pace. I would cover about 2/3 of a mile in that time, or about 22% of a 5K. Our 32-minute 5K runner would run a little less than half a mile, or about 15% of a 5K. And our elite would get through 1.16 miles, or 37% of a 5K. (Hopefully those numbers aren't too far off; I had to Do Math.)
Let's assume that this 5K is, regardless of speed, equally hard for everyone. All three runners are going as fast as they can over the distance. Which means that the same fraction of the race is also the same effort for each runner. If all three of us ran 25% of a 5K, we would each be using 25% of our 5K effort. (It is not quite that simple, of course, but for purposes of this argument, and to keep this post from being even longer than it already is, we are going to pretend that it is in fact that simple.) So 5 minutes at 5K pace results in very different effort expended for each runner.
Same goes for physiological paces, but the other way around. If a plan says to run 1 mile at lactate threshold, it would take me, according to my current pace calculations, 7:46, or about 13% of my total potential LT duration. It would take the 32-minute 5K runner more like 11 minutes, or 18% of potential LT. And the elite would fly through it in about 4:40, just 8% of their LT potential. In this case, we're putting in the same effort, but for very different durations. That mile at threshold, counterintuitively, is going to be a lot harder for the 32-minute 5K runner than for the elite.
Sorry again for all the words. Here is another picture of my dog begging for attention by resting his chin on the bed where I am working.
Why does this even matter? Well, if you see, as I did in the Daniels plan, something like 3 miles at lactate threshold followed by 4 short, fast reps and think, "That seems pretty hard..." You're right. (Aside: I dismissed a Pfitz plan for the marathon pretty quickly because he frequently calls for things like 7 miles at lactate threshold, which would be a really bad idea for me and literally impossible if I were a little slower.) But you can still use the plan if you really want to; you just have to figure out what kind of runner it was written for, what their paces would be, and how long the rep would take them (or how far they would go, if the plan is using time for race paces).
To be clear, this doesn't apply if a plan was written for you specifically. If Billy gives you a plan and says to do a mile at lactate threshold, you should do that because he's taken your individual paces into account. If I say in my own plan to do 5 x 5 min at 10K pace, that's fine because I wrote it for myself. But you couldn't then give the same plan to another runner with different paces and have the same impact.
Conclusion: If you're writing a plan that you want runners of varying abilities to be able to use, put physiological paces in time and race paces in distance. If you find a generic plan that doesn't do that, you might want to make some adjustments, or find another plan. In other words, I will still use some of the Daniels workouts, but I will not be doing that 3-mile interval at lactate threshold, thank you.
The end! Now you see why I needed a whole 13-part series to write a training plan the last time
Last edited:
Scootin'By
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2023
Great post. I have never understood either the lactate threshold or VO2 max and now I feel like I do. Especially great because there was math, hard spelling AND science. I'm an attorney, so all very hard for me (you know the only math attorneys are good at is billing and settlements LOL)
I'm totally stealing the dog breaks the next time I have to run a training at work. I have to do one in February, maybe I'll make the whole thing Puppy Bowl themed
I'm totally stealing the dog breaks the next time I have to run a training at work. I have to do one in February, maybe I'll make the whole thing Puppy Bowl themed
azrivest
Chasing the rDream
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2020
That is so awesome. I studied in Engineering and our electives were nowhere near as cool as this.
You've summed up so well why I have issues with the training plans I find on the internet, like Luke Humphreys or Matt Fitzgerald. They're always built for much faster runners than I, and I end up exhausted at the end of the training plan. Probably because my workout sessions end up being longer and harder than a fast runner's
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