Dopey Training Week 11 of 18

Week 11 started with the last two days of a 4-day travel adventure which saw us on our feet for hours on end touring our nation’s capital. I did not come back with refreshed legs as I had hoped.  But that is probably how I am going to feel after traveling to Orlando and attending the runDisney Expo the day before the Dopey Challenge begins.

Here is how my actual mileage compared to the plan for the week starting November 13:

Week 11

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thurs

Fri

Sat

Sun

Total

Plan

7

Rest

Rest

5

8

18

Rest

38

Actual

Travel

Travel

3.2

6.4

13.3

18.1

Rest

41

Since I missed Monday’s planned 7-miler, I tried to make up for it by adding a 5K on Wednesday, extending Thursday’s 5-miler to a 10K and stretching Friday’s 8-miler to a half-marathon. We had a batch of nice weather for mid-November, and I thought I should take advantage of it. I was also curious to see how I would feel after running the full distances for the first three days of Dopey.

 

My average pace for the 5K was 10:14 per mile, for the 10K was 10:11 per mile, for the half-marathon was 11:14 per mile, for the 18-miler was 13:23 per mile and my average for the 4 days was 11:57 per mile.  The difference in pace between 13-mile and 18-mile runs should not be that great, over 2 minutes per mile.  That’s an indication that I burned myself out on the first three days.  For the next Dopey Simulation, I need to go slower, perhaps walk more, on the first three days.

 

Now I have two days of recovery followed quickly by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, perhaps an excuse for additional recovery days.  The next Dopey Simulation is week 13.  In week 11, I achieved an important milestone, though ahead of schedule.  For week 13, I am going to dial it back and stick to the plan.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Training Plan Update – Final 9 Weeks

Image
It’s the beginning of November and I just completed week 9 of 18 in my training plan.   I am half-way there (que Bon Jovi).    In week 8, I completed back-to-back runs of 10 and 20 miles.    The 20 miler was not pretty, but I completed it bringing the total mileage for week 8 to 40 miles.    Week 9 was a recovery week with a total of 22 miles. Back in the first few weeks of my plan, I shifted my schedule one week earlier starting in week 2 to sync up with the Badgerland Striders Buildup program. I have remained one week ahead through week 9.    After a difficult 20-miler in week 8, I am allowing myself two recovery weeks (22 miles total each week).    This will shift me back to the original plan I created in August.    I do feel beat up and generally fatigued.    I need to let my body heal before I begin the final stretch. To recap my evolving Dopey Training Plan, in March I created my  Long-Range Plan , back when I struggled to cover 20 miles a week.    The purpose of that plan was to
Read more

The End of The Long Road to Dopey

Image
It’s now almost two months after the 2024 runDisney Marathon Weekend.  And I am still amazed that my Dopey Journey has come to a end, and a successful one at that.  It’s been 4 years since I first planted the Dopey Challenge seed in my brain.  Since then we have had a pandemic that nearly shut the world down, I suffered a bout of COVID that has perhaps done permanent damage to my heart resulting in episodes of irregular heartbeat,  I retired from my lifelong career, and I suffered a hip injury that took over 6 months to recover from. In February 2020, I imagined that I could and would run an 8:30 pace for the 5K, a 9:00 pace for the 10K, a 9:30 pace for the half-marathon, and a 10:00 pace for the marathon.  I even did a test run on a treadmill where I ran a 5K and 10K back-to-back at my target paces with a short rest in between.  By the time I got to the starting line in Walt Disney World, I had added 2:30 per mile to each of my target paces.  And what I ran was even slower than that b
Read more

Dopey Training Week 17 of 18

Week 17.  The final week of training before runDisney Marathon Week.  Week 17 was the second week of taper with total of only 15 miles on the plan.  This week was more about letting the lingering aches and pains heal, getting those last strength training sessions in, and staying healthy.  Oh, and deciding what running gear to take to Florida and figuring out how to pack it all up. Here is how my actual mileage compared to the plan for the week starting December 25: Week 17 Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Total Plan Rest 4 Rest 3 Rest 8 Rest 15 Actual Rest 4.2 Strength 3.2 Strength 8.1 Rest 15.5 As has been typical for me over the years, the last taper week felt sluggish and achy.  The 4 miles on Tuesday was much harder than it should have been.  But I think that is just the effect of cutting back weekly mileage from 45 to 15 miles, along with working out the lingering fatigue and soreness. Experience had taught me not to panic, I will be rested and ready to go on January 4.   I ran faste
Read more