Chapter 12 – December 2023, 30 Days to Go

Training in Wisconsin for runDisney Marathon Week

RunDisney Marathon Week takes place in early January in typically warm and relatively dry Central Florida.  When you live in Southeast Wisconsin, however, the peak of your training is in December, when Old Man Winter is knocking on the door and trying to move in.  You must be prepared to adjust to the weather.  It could be okay, 40°-50°F and sunny.  It could be terrible with snow, ice, and temperatures well below freezing.  It’s always preferrable to run outside, if possible, but sometimes conditions make it too risky.  Hitting a slippery spot while running could result in season ending injury.  Guessing incorrectly what to wear to stay warm but not overheat can result in a very unpleasant run.

 

One must have alternatives.  Normally in winter I would just postpone a run if the weather was not cooperating.   But once you start a 4-day Dopey Simulation, postponing is not an option.  You must cover the prescribed distance on the prescribed day regardless of weather.  So having indoor options and enough layers of running clothes for varying outdoor conditions is a necessity.  

 

I am fortunate to have two indoor options.  Two blocks from my house is a fitness center with a large bank of treadmills.  I always have a quality treadmill available just a short walk away.  My other indoor option is a 440-meter indoor track at the Pettit National Ice Center, a U.S. Olympic long track speed skating facility that is only 20 minutes away.  The speed skating track is surrounded by a 3-lane running/walking track that is just a little longer than a standard 400-meter track.  The temperature inside is kept around 55°F with no wind or rain, and perfectly flat, nice conditions for running.  

 

When running outside is going to be miserable, I’ll opt for a treadmill for shorter runs and the Pettit Center for longer runs.  When a Dopey Simulation is approaching, I am scanning the future weather forecast trying to determine where I am going to run and what clothing and equipment I will need.  For runs up to 10 miles, it’s not that complicated.  But when the run is going to take longer than 2 hours, then the logistics around having enough fluids and nutrition come into play, and those logistics change depending on where I am going to run.

Dopey Simulation #2 Complete! Four Weeks to Go

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it’s the first week in December.  We leave for Walt Disney World in 4 weeks!  That means just four more weeks of training, two of which are tapering.

 

Week 13 was my second Dopey Simulation.  The plan was four consecutive days of 3, 5, 8, and 18 miles.  After trying to extend the plan for Week 11 and struggling through an 18 miler, I was content with just trying to stick to the plan.  The goal was to get to the 18-miler in good enough shape to target a 12-minute per mile average.  

 

The week started with a cold and windy day, temperatures below 20°F, and I had no desire to run outside but it was Monday and the plan called for 5 miles.  I could foresee that I would need to use the indoor track at the Pettit National Ice Center soon, so I headed there to reacquaint myself with the logistics and protocol.  It had been 13 years since I trained for a January marathon (the runDisney Goofy Challenge in 2011), so it had been just as long since I ran at the Pettit.  I also need to calibrate the track distance with what my Apple watch measured in Indoor Run mode.  It’s easy to lose track of your lap count and being able to cross check with the distance on my watch allows me to self-correct.  I had a nice run, figured out my logistics, and discovered that my Apple Watch was almost true to the distance.  I ran 20 laps, which should have been 5.51 miles, and my watch measure 5.59.  For a 20-mile run, my watch would only be off by .32 miles, which is consistent with the error in GPS mode.

 

After Monday’s experiment, it was time to get ready for the Dopey Simulation starting on Wednesday. It was cold (30°F, feels like 20°F) but sunny.  Even though it was cold the sun made it feel warmer.  I stuck to the plan and ran 3.1 miles at a 10:25 /mi pace.  My mantra was “slow and easy, do no damage.”  Thursday was warmer (41°F, feels like 34°F), a little wind and partly sunny, not bad for the last day of November.  I ran 5.2 miles at a 10:28 /min pace.  I felt I was running faster than I should, so I threw in a few walk breaks to slow it down.  I made it through the “warm up” days without doing harm.  Success for Day 1 and Day 2.

 

Day 3, Friday December 1, was similar weather conditions as Day 2, except it was overcast, dreary and no sun.  The plan was 8 miles.  I set out on a course that followed my 10-mile loop from 13 years ago when I was training for the Goofy Challenge.  Nostalgia took over and I decided I was going to retrace my steps from 13 years ago.  So I diverted from the plan and extended 8 miles to 10 miles.  I was very conservative though in my pacing.  I used a 3/1-minute run/walk strategy and purposefully kept my heart rate below 130 BPM, most of the time below 125 BPM.  I ran 10.2 miles at a 11:29 /mi pace, right on target for my goal of a 11:30 /mi pace.  

 

Day 3 was complete and I was able to run outside each day, a bit of a moral victory. I had a little fatigue, soreness, and tightness.  But I felt pretty good and ready to take on Day 4. Late in the day on Friday we started getting a little snow and the forecast for the Saturday morning was right around freezing.  That could make conditions dicey.  Since Saturday’s run was going to be nearly 4 hours, I wanted to start early.  Friday night I wavered back and forth on where to run;  outside on roads and trails, outside doing laps on the road at the county park, inside on the track at the Pettit Center.  This is where the logistics of clothing and fueling get tricky.  So I laid out my running gear to handle all three scenarios.

 

I awoke Saturday morning to temperatures a little above freezing and the snow on the ground looking slushy.  The roads near my house were perfectly clear, so I assumed the roads at the county park were clear.  If I got lucky, the bike trail near the county park would be clear also and I could do a combination of laps in the park and out-and-backs on the bike trail.   So I did my warmups, layered up, packed up my extra gear and fueling, and started driving out to the park.  On the drive out to the park, I crossed the bike path a few times and could see that it was still snow covered in many spots.  As I drove into the park, I was concerned to see patches of snow on the 1.7-mile road that looped the park.  But I had to do this, no turning back.  I parked, jumped out of the car with my water bottle and proceeded to start my 18-mile run with a 2/1-minute run/walk ratio.   About 60 seconds into it, I hit a section of road that was slushy and slippery.  Another 60 seconds and it was time for a walk break.  I thought, this is futile!  I can’t do 18 miles on this surface.  Sure, it might warm up and melt, but it’s going to be like this for another hour or two.

 

I stopped my watch, turned around and walked back to my car.  After a quick mental check of the gear I had with me, I set course for the Pettit Center.  I should have just gone there all along, what was I thinking?  I wanted to conquer Wisconsin weather and do the complete Dopey Simulation outside.  But it’s not worth struggling through poor conditions and risking an injury.

 

By the time I got to the Pettit and started running,  it was an hour later than I wanted to start, but no bother.  I was here, running, and going to get it done with no further hinderances.  I also figured since I was in perfect running environment, I might as well complement my 10-miler from the day before and do 20-miles.  72 laps later, my watch gave me credit for 20.5 miles, while my calculation estimated that I covered 20.2 miles.  Pretty close to the error that I estimated from Monday’s run at the Pettit Center.   My average pace was 12:12 /mi, not too far off from my hope of 12:00 /mi.

 

My second Dopey Simulation was complete.  My hips and knees seemed fine.  I experienced the usual soreness and tightness, but I’ve had that all my life.  My right calf was making me aware that it was sore, but it never flared up to the point that it was inhibiting.  I was feeling pretty good about how I faired through this 4-day challenge.  After I got home, I realized that I was in an irregular heart rhythm.  I was disappointed but not surprised.  I took it in stride, acknowledging to myself that I was going to have to walk more in the half and full marathon at Disney.  But I am okay with that.  At this point I am just getting myself as physically fit as possible such that completing the real event is as easy as possible.

The Third and Final Dopey Simulation, Two Weeks to Go!

 

I made it to the final test.  Week 15 of my 18-week training plan for the runDisney Dopey Challenge.  Week 18 is Marathon Week itself.  After this week, I have only two taper weeks before we leave for Disney.

 

After week 14 ended with some beautiful weather for December in Wisconsin, winter returned on Monday of week 15.  It was 30°F colder on Monday, December 11, than on Friday, December 8.  With the windchill it was even colder.  So I headed to Planet Fitness to run on a treadmill.   The plan called for an easy 5 miles.  I, of course, over did it and ran 6.2 miles and pushed a little harder than I needed to.   That left me sore and fatigued and wondering if I would be recovered in time to start the final Dopey Simulation on Wednesday.

 

The weather forecast for the rest of the week was a little warmer with no precipitation, but still relatively cold. I was starting to get nervous and anxious about getting this simulation done.  I would need to layer up, which makes running outside more cumbersome.  I could go on a treadmill, but that is too monotonous for long runs.  I could go to the indoor track at the Pettit Center, but I already did that once this training season and it’s hard to get in the mindset to go back and do it again. 

 

Wednesday morning was 25°F with a feels like of 15°F.   So back to Planet Fitness I went to get in 3 miles for Dopey Simulation Day 1.  Running on the treadmill allowed me to zero in on my target pace of 10:30 /mi.  And I could run comfortably in shorts and a t-shirt, so not so bad for 3 miles.   

 

The temperatures rose into the 30’s for Thursday.  With clear skies and bright sun, it turned out to be quite a nice day for running.  My target pace was 11:00 /mi. but I struggled to keep my pace down.  Even with throwing in a few walking breaks, my pace was 10:40 /mi.  But I felt good, the weather was great, and I enjoyed the run.

 

Friday was a little bit warmer with partly sunny skies and temperatures nearing 40°F.  Another good day for running.  I set out with a run/walk interval of 3/1 minutes.  My target average pace was 11:30 /mi.  I hit that almost exactly with an 11:25 /mi average pace.  But I started feeling fatigue in my legs at about 6 miles. That was not a good sign for what was to come the next day.  

Here’s a vlog from Day 3:

 

Saturday’s forecast called for rain starting about noon.  The temperatures were going to be in the low 40’s early in the morning, so I set out a little earlier on Saturday to try to avoid the rain. My legs were not completely recovered from Friday’s 10-miler, so I was a little concerned that 20 miles may not be attainable.  I set out with a run/walk interval of 2/1 minutes.  My hope was that I could maintain a 12:00 /mi. average pave.   It was overcast but the temperatures made it good weather for running.  I covered the first 10 miles in 2 hours, right on target.  I slowed down to about a 12:10 /mi. average pace for the next 5 miles.  My heart rate was starting to climb during my running intervals, so I started extending the walking intervals. 

 

The last 5 miles were very tough.  The rain started a little earlier than forecasted.  It was a very light rain, not really that bad, but still a little unpleasant.  The fatigue in my legs and an elevated heart rate forced me to a 1/1-minute run/walk interval.  My pace dropped to 13–14-minute miles.  I began to wonder if I should just walk the rest of the way.  I was not moving much faster in my running intervals than in my walking intervals.  Nevertheless, I stuck with the 1/1-minute strategy to the end.  My average pace for the first 15 was 12:03 /mi.  My struggle with the last 5 miles dropped my average pace for 20 miles to 12:37 /mi. 

Here is a vlog from Day 4:

I partly lamented the fact that I was unable to get through the 20-miler easily after the first three simulation days.  My strategy all along has been to take the first three days slow enough to get to day 4 in good enough shape to easily cover the distance.  My best experience was Simulation #2, where I ran Day 4 on the indoor track at the Pettit National Ice Center.  Perhaps that is not a fair comparison because it was in ideal conditions with a perfectly flat surface.  Perhaps running a 10K on Monday at an unnecessarily aggressive pace left me depleted for the simulation days.  Perhaps carrying the GoPro and taking video along the way was an added stress on my body.  Perhaps I need to go even slower than what I targeted.  

 

Regardless, I have completed the pinnacle of my training, and now I need to taper and let my body heal and recover.  I have done all I could, whatever level of fitness I have now is what I am taking to Walt Disney World.  Although I struggled through the 20-miler, I do have confidence that I can complete the first three days of the Dopey Challenge and start Day 4, the full marathon.  I will be immersed in the energy and comradery of thousands of other participants along with the atmosphere of a runDisney event.  I should be able to feed off that to get across the finish line.

Tapering Over the Holidays

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Week 16 and 17 of my training plan were two weeks of taper before the main event. Week 16 ended on Christmas weekend and week 17 ends on New Year’s weekend. 

I followed the Hal Higdon plan as my model for tapering.  Maintain the intensity but cut back the volume, about one-half of the longest weekly mileage in week 16 and about one-third of the longest weekly mileage in the week 17.  Higdon doesn’t state that in the plan, but that is the model that I have followed through decades of marathon training, and his plan seems to fit that model.  My longest mileage was 45 miles in week 15,  so Week 16 was 22 miles and week 17 is 15 miles. I also included 1-2 strength training days each week.

Seems easy until you factor in the hazards of the holiday season.  Week 16 included the days leading up to Christmas which included last minute shopping, planning, and prepping for the holiday weekend, and having adult children home for the holidays.  week 17 started off with Christmas Day which meant attending a family gathering with the temptations of some food and drink that one should avoid 10 days before Marathon Weekend.  Learning that some of the attendees had recently had COVID and hearing people coughing and sneezing was a little unnerving.  Do I have enough time to get sick and recover before the first race day?

Just being out of my training rhythm brought back aches and pains I had not felt in months.  My right hip started feeling achy again and my left knee started feeling a little weird again.  Is it just nerves?  Just my typical taper?  The effects of sitting around for long periods of time during the holidays?  I think it’s all of the above.  So I am going to stick to the plan and keep plugging away at each day until the end of Week 17. I am optimistic that the aches and pains will go away once we land in Orlando.