Chapter 13 – runDisney Marathon Week is Here!

Pacing Strategy for the Main Event 

With the first day of the Dopey Challenge just days away, it’s time to zero in on pacing strategy. When I first started thinking about doing Dopey, I created a spreadsheet modeling different run/walk intervals and paces to see where I would end up.  Before I started training, I had this delusion that I could still run a 2:15 half marathon and a 4:45 full marathon on back-to-back days.   While participating in the Badgerland Striders Marathon Buildup program over the summer, I ran several long runs, 18 or more miles, under an 11-minute pace.  So 4:45 was perhaps a stretch, but 5 hours was within reason.   So I backed off my expectations to a 2:30 half-marathon and a 5-hour full marathon.

 

Then I started my Dopey Challenge training plan with back-to-back training runs and Dopey Simulations with 4-consecutive runs.  That was eye-opening as to how hard day 4, the full marathon, was going to be.  After the first Dopey Simulation where I barely completed 18 miles on Day 4, I thought I was conservatively backing off my pacing strategy to 10:30 for the 5k, 11:00 for the 10K, 11:30 for the half marathon, and 12:00 for the full marathon.  But day 4 of my second Dopey Simulation was still a struggle to finish 20 miles with a 12:12 average pace.  That run was in ideal indoor conditions at the Pettit National Ice Center.  I had nothing left after 20 miles, if that was race day, I would have been walking the last 6.2 miles.

 

I stuck to that pacing strategy for my third and final Dopey Simulation.  This time day 4 was outside on varied terrain with some minor but noticeable hills. I struggled to finish the last 5 miles and my average pace was 12:37 /mile.  Again, I would have been walking the last 6.2 miles.

 

My training strategy for this Dopey Challenge has been to do as much as I can as reasonably fast as I can, without injury, while minimizing episodes of irregular heart rate. My thinking was that the more I can push myself in training, the more I will be able to enjoy the experience at Disney.  I never had expectations for performance other than finishing all four races and being able to walk away from the experience with nothing but good memories.  But there is a relationship between how long I am on my feet one day and recovery time for the next day.  So there is a balance between getting each day done as quick as possible and not burning myself out for the next day.

 

With that in mind, I still want to have a pacing goal for each day.  Learning from my Dopey Simulation experiences, I think it is reasonable to back off my pacing targets by another 30 seconds per mile:  11:00 /mi for the 5K, 11:30 /mi for the 10K, 12:00 /mi for the half marathon, and 12:30 /mi for the full marathon.  The slower pace for days 1-3 should leave me with some extra capacity for day 4.  If I can get to mile 20 of the marathon at 12:30 /mi average pace, I would be fine with walking in the last 6.2 miles.

 

I also must watch my heart rate closely.  More important than the pacing targets is to keep my heart rate out of Zone 3, which means keeping it under 130 BPM. Much like I did on my training runs, I will have to increase the amount of walking if my heart rate creeps up into the 130’s.  I think, however, my new pacing targets are in sync with the heart rate target.  

 

Finally, how do those pacing targets translate to run/walk intervals?  For the 5K, I am just going to start out at my normal easy pace, which is about 10:30 /mi, and watch my heart rate.  If the lines are not too long, I may stop for a few character photos and I plan to take a lot of video with my GoPro.  I think taking in everything around me will naturally slow me down.  

 

Cat is running the 10K with me and we naturally run a lot slower than my normal pace when we run together.  We are just going to enjoy the experience, perhaps stop for a character photo or two, and I will again be capturing video.  I am not concerned about going too fast in the 10K.

 

The half-marathon is where pacing becomes important.  So much of the course is out on open roads, I know my instinct is going to be to get it done as quickly as possible.  While running through the parks, I plan to stop and capture video at the iconic spots.  But out on the roads, I will need to stick to my pacing, so I don’t burn myself out.  I am going to go with the same 3/1-minute run/walk intervals that I did in training, but I must keep my pace during running intervals down to about 10:30 /mi.  

 

The full-marathon strategy will depend on how I feel when I get to the starting line.  If I did everything right on the first three days, my plan is to stick with the 2/1-minute run/walk intervals that I used on my 20-mile training runs.  Again, I think the key is to keep the running pace to 10:30 /mi or slower.  I expect that after 15 miles, I will switch to longer walking intervals and by 20 miles I will be mostly walking.

 

My new pacing targets would bring me in at about 2:40:00 for the half marathon and 5:30:00 for the full marathon.  Much slower than I had envisioned four years ago when I first set my sights on Dopey, but I am four years older and perhaps still struggling with long term effects of COVID-19.  And my ultimate goal is simply to finish and still be able to enjoy Walt Disney World after the full marathon.

Travel Day

Wow! That was a whirlwind.  It’s now nearly 14 days after Marathon Weekend and I am just sitting down to write this.  So much as happened since January 1. 

 

January 2 was travel day, with a 6:40 am flight from Milwaukee to Orlando.  I figured getting up in the early morning to make that flight was good practice for getting up at 2:00 am for each runDisney event.  The flight to Orlando was uneventful, quite pleasant.  We collected our checked-in luggage and picked up our rental car without delay and headed off to Disney’s Boardwalk Resort.

 

We arrived at Boardwalk before noon, way before our room was going to be ready.  We parked and headed straight for Epcot for lunch.  After lunch we toured Epcot and checked out the recently opened World Celebration area behind Spaceship Earth and sat for a photo with Walt at Dreamers Point.  After that we headed to the Beach and Yacht Club resorts to check out their Christmas displays before they disappeared.  Then it was off to the grocery store to stock up on some essentials for our stay.  As we were parking upon return to the Boardwalk, our room became available, and we checked in.

 

Our room was a DVC Villa with a Boardwalk View.  I had always wanted to stay on the Boardwalk and the gentlemen from whom I rented DVC points was kind enough to secure us a Boardwalk View when he made the reservation.  It was cool.  We were on the 4^th floor looking out over Crescent Lake with the Beach and Yacht Club across the way.  We could see Spaceship Earth off in the distance with a panoramic view of the Boardwalk.

 

By evening we were pretty wiped out.  The early morning flight and long travel day had taken its toll.  We planned to call it a night early, but soon learned we had a very loud neighbor.  This was first time we’ve had such a problem at a Disney resort.  The housekeeping staff quickly moved us down the hall to a quieter room, but the packing and unpacking pushed us to 10:00 pm by the time we settled down again.  

 

I was feeling very tired and fatigued.  We abandoned our plan to go to Animal Kingdom for early entry at 7:30 am the next morning and settled in to get a good night sleep.

runDisney Marathon Weekend 2024 Expo Day

Given the late bedtime from the previous night, we slept in and let ourselves wakeup naturally.  Too late for early entry at Animal Kingdom, so we took our time with breakfast and getting ready for the day and then headed directly to the runDisney Expo for the 10:00 am opening.  By the time we got there a little after 10:00 am, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex was packed with runners anxious to get their race packets and scoop up Marathon Weekend merchandise.  We had to queue for about 30 minutes to get our race bibs, not bad really.  When we left the bib pickup building the line was out the door and around the corner.  Our timing was pretty good.

 

We got in and out of the Expo building quickly to get our shirts and checkout the vendors.  I had joined the virtual queue to get into the building with runDisney merchandise, but our time was still 90 minutes or more away, so we left the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and headed to Animal Kingdom.  We needed our Starbucks and what better place to enjoy a beverage and people watch than sitting outside Creature Comforts at Animal Kingdom. 

 

We toured a little bit of Animal Kingdom, including taking the train to Raffiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station, something we had not done since 1999 on our first family trip to Disney with our three boys, aged 14, 11 and 8 at the time.  It was a nice trip down memory lane.

 

After that, it was time to chill back at the resort and prepare for the 5K the next morning.  We had a team dinner to attend at Give Kids the World Village at 6:30 pm.   I wanted to be completely prepared for the early morning before we went to dinner so I could crash as soon as we got home.

runDisney 2024 Dopey Challenge Day 1 – 5K

My alarm was set for 2:00 am. I woke at 1:30 and lay awake for 10-15 minutes before I decided to just get up and get going.  Cat had said not to worry about waking her, just do what I needed to and she would go back to sleep if I woke her.  My goal was to be out the door at 2:40 am so I could be in-line for the first bus at 2:45 am.  I made some coffee, fixed a small bowl of cereal with banana and granola, and quietly sat in the entry way enjoying my coffee and cereal while pondering Dopey Day 1.

 

The night before I had laid out everything I needed to wear or take with me. The pre-planning and lists that I had made at home weeks before we left became very valuable.  I systematically went through my checklist for the 5k, packed my drop-bag and arranged my clothes and gear.  After I finished my coffee and cereal and took care of some grooming things, I simply put on my running gear, grabbed my drop bag, and verified that I had my watch, phone, and ID.  Then I quietly exited the room and closed the door.

A let out a sigh in the hallway.  Here we go, Dopey Day 1.  I looked at my watch, it was almost 2:45 am.  I needed to book it.  Down the hallway to the elevators, off the elevator and toward the lobby, through the lobby out the main entrance, follow the runDisney signs to the bus stop.

It took me a bit longer to get there than I anticipated.  There were about 10 people waiting and I quickly learned that the first bus had already come and gone.  Not really a concern, I had almost two hours before my corral closed.

 

The next bus eventually came, we all piled in and off to Epcot we went.  Arriving at Epcot there was a sense of calm excitement.  Runners stopped for photos in front of the entrance, I turned on my GoPro, and volunteers called out instructions to keep us moving.  We had about a half-mile walk to the runners’ gathering area, which would double as the post-run reunion area.  The area had entertainment, character photos, food trucks, a medical tent, hundreds of port-a-potties, and row of trucks for drop-bags.  I sat in awe on some bleachers for a while to take it all in.

 

As the time approached 4:00 am, I started thinking about all that I needed to do before I went to my start corral.  The start corrals were in a different area of the Epcot parking lot, about 100 yards away, and through a controlled gate where runners funneled through so that race officials could verify that each runner was wearing a race bib.  My start corral, corral C, closed at 4:45 am, if I missed that cutoff, I would have to move back to corral D.

 

I needed to go to bag drop area, decide how many layers I was going to wear during the run, decide if I needed extra layers while waiting in the start corral, put my heart rate strap on, make sure I got my water bottle out of my drop bag, and pack up everything I didn’t need in my drop bag.  Then I needed to stand in line at a truck to check-in my drop bag and start the long walk toward the start area.  Once in the start area, I needed to find the water table, fill my water bottle and mix in my electrolyte powder, use the porta-potty and finally head into my start corral.

 

I started that process around 4:00 am and entered my corral at 4:30 am.  runDisney operates like clockwork.  At 4:40 am, corrals A and B closed, and corral A runners were moved into the start queue and up to the starting line.  Shortly after corral A, corral B was moved into the start queue behind corral A.  At 4:45 am we had the national anthem and my corral, corral C, closed.  A few minutes later my corral was moved into the start queue and up into position behind corral B. By the time we stopped moving forward, it was almost 5:00 am and the final countdown for launching the first wave of Corral A had started.  “3 … 2 … 1” followed by fireworks and cheering.  Every two minutes of so, the countdown and fireworks repeated for each wave in each corral until it was time for my wave, the 3^rd wave in corral C.

 

Once my wave was off, the task ahead was simply to enjoy a 5K run around and through Epcot. I ran an easy pace, kept my heart rate low, and stopped to capture video several times.  I finished the 5K just as the last wave of corral E was being sent off.   We crossed the finish line and followed the gauntlet of volunteers providing space blankets, medals, water, Powerade, bananas and snack boxes.  That few hundred-yard journey dropped us back at the bag drop off.  Since this was day one and I wanted to minimize any impact to the remaining three days, I quickly gathered my drop bag and headed over to the busses to get in line for the bus back to my resort.  Daylight was just starting to show as I got back to my resort.

 

Upon getting back to my room, I went through my post-run routine,  showered and then we headed off to Hollywood Studios for lunch.  I perhaps walked around Hollywood Studios a little too much, but it was a nice day to be out and about.  We headed back to our resort early afternoon because both Cat and I had to get ready for Friday’s 10K.

runDisney 2024 Dopey Challenge Day 2 – 10K

Our alarms were set for 2:00 am, but I woke about 1:45 am again and got up and started my morning ritual.  I made sure Cat was up by 2:00 am.  We both went through similar morning rituals.  I had laid out all my gear the night before, so the process was mechanical for me again.   One quick check of my watch, phone and ID and we were out the door on our way to the bus stop by 2:40 am.  We made one of the first busses from Boardwalk and were in the Epcot parking lot by 3:00 am.

 

It was a colder morning.  We both had multiple layers and hats and gloves on. In the fall, I had purchased some inexpensive warm top layers, sweatpants, hats and gloves for this purpose.  I was wearing a zippered hooded sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, Cat had a fuzzy half-zip pull over. In addition we both had windbreakers that would go in our drop-bags before we headed to the corrals.

 

We sat in the bleachers for a few minutes and chatted with some friends.  We started getting cold and decided it was better to be moving around.  At 3:45 am we started the process of heading to the corrals.  It seemed a bit more crowded today and I didn’t want to cut it close.  We went through the same ritual.  First, determine what to keep on, what to wear while running, what to throw away, pack everything else and check-in our drop bags.  Start the march to the start corrals, find the water table, fill my water bottle, and use the porta-potty.  It was about 4:15 am now, we didn’t want to enter our corral just yet.  We found an open area outside the corrals and went through our warmup routines and stretching.  That served to loosen up and keep us warm.

 

At about 4:30 we entered Corral C and made our way as far forward as possible.  From there it was the same routine as Day 1.  We saw corrals A and B move into the start queue and up to the starting line and I discarded my throw away sweatpants.  I did not want to be fumbling with pulling those off while in the crowded start queue.  We heard the National Anthem and then we moved into the start queue and watched the first wave take off promptly at 5:00 am.

 

As we rounded final curve to the start line, it was time to plan to shed our throw-aways.  I was trying to wait until the last moment, after the wave just before us was sent off, but it wasn’t easy to determine if we were the next or second next wave.  Rather than risk fumbling with clothing and watches as the gun went off, we ditched our extra layers when we knew we were within two waves. 

 

“3 … 2 … 1” followed by fireworks and we were off.  The hard part was over, now we just needed to enjoy the next 6.2 miles.  The first three miles of the Walt Disney World 10K is all out on roads outside Epcot.  Not all that exciting, especially in the dark.  However runDisney does a great job of sprinkling in entertainment and character stops to break it up.  They also do a great job recruiting Disney Cast Members to come out and cheer along the course.

 

Right after 3 miles, we entered Epcot through a backstage area by The Land.  From here on in, the course was interesting and cool.  We ran through part of World Showcase (Canada and UK) and out a service entrance behind the Skyliner station.  We then proceeded to do a lap around Crescent Lake, past Beach and Yacht Club, Swan and Dolphin, and along the Boardwalk before reentering Epcot at the International Gateway entrance.

 

After a lap around the rest of World Showcase, we ran up the center promenade toward Spaceship Earth, through the breezeway between Connections Café and Creations Shop, and out the backstage areas near Test Track and Guardians of the Galaxy.  Soon we were on the final stretch and across the iconic runDisney finish line. We went through the gauntlet of volunteers and gathered up medals, beverages, and snacks before recovering our drop bags and heading to take the bus back to our resort.

Day 2 was complete.  Time to recover and rest before the half-marathon.  I went through my post run ritual and prepared to just hang out at the resort and rest.  I had video from the first two days that I could start editing, so I had lots to keep myself occupied.  Cathy headed out to Epcot, she was done with her runDisney adventure and free to enjoy Disney world.  

runDisney 2024 Dopey Challenge Day 3 – Half Marathon*

Early Friday evening, the news started to spread that Disney was changing the course for Saturday’s Half Marathon due to incoming storms with a threat of lightening.  I checked my email and found a message from runDisney.  To ensure the safety of runners, volunteers and cast members, Disney wanted the course cleared by 8:0O am.  The course was changed to 7 miles, eliminating a segment of World Drive and the loop through Magic Kingdom.  In addition, the start time was moved 15 minutes earlier, Corral A would start at 4:45am.  Social media came alive with complaints and disappointment.  I took it in stride, one can’t argue with an organization responsible for the safety of 15-20 thousand people when you consider runners, volunteers, cast members and crews hired to tear down and clear the roads along the course.  Completing the full marathon on Day 4 was what meant the most to me.

 

Nevertheless, as I fell off to sleep the night before, I did feel like I was just going through the motions.  Day 3 was going to me just a little more than a 10K.  I felt like this was just an exercise in getting up god-awful early and going through the runDisney pre-race rituals again.  So be it, let’s just get through it and ger ready for the marathon.

 

The first bus for the half and full marathons was at 2:30 am.  So I planned to get up 15 minutes earlier.   I woke at 1:30 am to find myself in an irregular heart rhythm.  Shoot!  This was the one thing that could stop me from completing Dopey, I was hoping the stars would align and I would get through it without an episode.  But here I was, and here it was.  Time to deal with it.

 

It never crossed my mind to throw in the towel.  I immediately went into “how can I get through this today” mode.  My resting HR with the irregular rhythm was still low for a person of my age, so it was not debilitating, just annoying and pace limiting.  So I just gave into the fact that I might be walking the 7-mile course today.   I was in Corral B, I would start almost an hour before the balloon ladies, I just needed to jog 1 or 2 minutes each mile to stay ahead of them.  I had trained for such scenarios, as disappointing as it was, I was still prepared.

 

So I got up and went through the morning ritual, I had laid out everything the night before, and headed out to the bus stop at 2:30 am.  I followed the same ritual before heading to the corrals.  It was warmer today; I did not need throw-away clothes for the corral.  

 

The corral arrangement had changed overnight.  Corral A was now directly in the starting queue.  No ceremonial walk in front of all the other corrals to get to the starting line.  Corral B was where corral A had been but was open to the starting queue.  We entered corral B at the far end of the starting corral area and proceeded to walk in front of all the other corrals all the way up until we were behind and beside corral A. Interesting, it was like one giant corral that almost encircled all the other corrals.

 

National Anthem … 3 … 2 … 1 and we were off.  I started out jogging so that I didn’t impede other runners.  I was in a wave where most people could easily run a 10:00 /mi pace.  I jogged about a minute or two before raising my hand to indicate I was about to walk and pulled off to the side of the road.  I quickly realized that I was not alone.  There was a steady stream of walk/runners along the right side of the course.  I was not going to stand out, even in my somewhat disabled state, I would fit right in.  Some stress was removed, and I settled in to enjoy a slow and easy 7-mile adventure.  

 

I monitored my heart rate closely and, when it became uncomfortably high, I stopped and walked.  When I was walking, I settled into a brisk but comfortable place and enjoyed the environment around me.  When there was something interesting to capture on video, I stopped and took my time to get a good shot.   This was not the way I envisioned completing day 3, but I made the best of it.  Before I knew it, five miles had passed and we were in Epcot doing a lap around World Showcase.  The last two miles flew by even at my 15:00 /mi pace.  I crossed the finish line and proceeded through the gauntlet of volunteers to get my medal and beverages and snacks. 

 

I picked up my drop bag and headed for the bus just as it started to sprinkle. By the time the bus pulled away from Epcot, it was raining steadily.   Fortunately, at my resort I had a covered walkway from the bus drop off into the lobby, so I was able to get to my room without getting wet.  People who finished 10-15 minutes after I did probably got soaked.   

 

Many other runners felt compelled to run the other 6 miles so that they could say they ran a half marathon on that day.  As I went through my post-run routine in my hotel room, I watched other runners pass by on the Boardwalk below my balcony in the rain.  They were doing laps around Crescent Lake, running between the Boardwalk Resort and the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.  It’s about a mile around, so not a bad idea, kudos to them.  In my state, I was happy to be done and recovering for the marathon.

 

To complicate things, we needed to change resorts that day.  We were moving across the way to the Beach Club Villas.  So after I was done with my post run routine, I needed to finish packing up so we could be out of our room by noon.   Sometime between showering and packing, my heart rhythm converted back to normal sinus rhythm.  I felt great all of a sudden, and I was ready to take on the Marathon.

runDisney 2024 Dopey Challenge Day 4 – Marathon

When I woke at 1:30 am, I was ready to go tackle the marathon.  I got up with a sense of excitement, today was the last day of the Dopey Challenge.   I knew that once I crossed that starting line, it would only be a matter of hours before I crossed the finish line and completed the runDisney Dopey Challenge.

 

I went through my morning ritual once again.  The preparation the night before was a little more challenging because I had to include enough fuel for a 5–6-hour journey.  My FlipBelt was loaded with four Hüma gels, 3 extra servings of HEED electrolyte powder, and a dozen electrolyte capsules as well as my phone and a spare GoPro battery.  I slipped the belt on, laced up my shoes and headed out to catch the 2:30 am bus.

 

I ran into some friends on the bus and upon arriving in the pre-race gathering area, about 3:00am, we were able to snag an open picnic bench.  We sat and chatted about many things and before we knew it,  it was 4:00 am and time to head to the corrals.  

 

Each of the runner areas seemed more crowded for the marathon.  I had to fight through the crowd to get into the bag drop area and wait in line to check in my bag.  Then the crowd was thicker going through the check point to get to the start corrals and the open area near the start corrals was more crowded.  I had to navigate through the crowd to get to the water table to fill my bottle, and then wait in line for a port-a-potty.  The clock was ticking, I had less than 10 minutes before my corral closed at 4:45 am.  Anxiously I waited in line waited with several other anxious runners.

 

When I exited the port-a-potty, I had 2 minutes to get into my corral.  I was standing near corral A which was right in front of  the starting line.  But the entrance to corral B was clear across the corral area and I had to jog through the heavy crowd to make it.   Ironically, after I safely made it through the checkpoint, I then had to walk the perimeter of the corrals for about 400 yards to end up about 20 yards from the port-a-potty I had just exited.  <sigh>.  But I made it, in 15 minutes the first wave of the marathon would be off, and my wave would be shortly after that.

 

3…2...1 and we were off.  After three days of this my legs felt lifeless.  No problem, this was the same as I felt during training.  I settled into my 2/1-min run/walk rhythm and just let the time pass as I had done on my training runs.  The first few miles were probably mentally the toughest with doubt lingering in my head.  After about 5 miles the doubt stopped being the problem and the cumulative fatigue took over.  But we were nearing the Magic Kingdom area and the entertainment and spectators started pulling me through.

We were entering into Magic Kingdom before I knew it.  I had planned to walk down Main Street USA to ensure I didn’t let the crowd pull me through and make me go too fast.  My plan did not materialize, I turned the GoPro on and let the crowd pull me down Main St.  It was hard not to just run all the way through Magic Kingdom.  I walked a little but ran most of the way.  Once we exited, I slowed down to walk for a while. 

But now it had started to rain.  There had been no rain in the forecast.   It rained for about 30 minutes, steady and heavy at times.   We all go soaked, my running shoes were heavily attracted to the large puddles that formed in the road.  For a while it seemed this was going to get miserable.  But then the rain tapered off and the air temperature was high enough that my clothes dried out pretty quickly.

 

By that time, I was well past the halfway and approaching the north service entrance for Animal Kingdom.  I had been marching along with my 2/1-min run/walk pacing for almost three hours now.  It was not effortless, but it was not extremely difficult either.  I entered Animal Kingdom near Kilimanjaro Safaris and cruised through the park letting the cheers of spectators and cast members carry me through.   We passed through “Africa” and “Asia” and exited the park near Dino Land.  After another mile on service roads around Animal Kingdom, we were back out on the highways.

 

Mile 17 … 18 … 19 … a diversion into the parking lot of Blizzard Beach, not the park itself, just the parking lot … Mile 20 … 21 … 22 … up the cloverleaf off-ramp to take us to service entrance for Hollywood Studios.   Mike 23 was just inside Hollywood Studios near Fantasmic.  A little more than 5K to go.   

 

The last 5K was the easiest final 5K of a marathon that I can remember.  Most of the last 5K was lined with spectators and/or cast members.  We passed through a short part of Hollywood Studios, exited near the front where guests were entering, past the Sky Liner station, along the waterway to Swan and Dolphin, onto the Boardwalk, into Epcot near the UK pavilion, a lap around World Showcase, up the center of Epcot, into the backstage area by test track and into the parking lot for the finish.

 

I was done. I had completed the runDisney Dopey Challenge (with an asterisk for the shortened half marathon).  I continued through the gauntlet of volunteers to collect my medals and some beverages and then headed to bag drop area for the last time.  Onto the bus back to my resort for recovery and celebration.