Training for Dopey

This page will focus more on training specific items.  The first topic is the overall training strategy and plan that I put together in early March.  It takes a look at the two popular Dopey Training Plans, maps them onto a calendar, and sets incremental milestones between now and Marathon Weekend.

The rest of the topics on this page will be incremental updates to the training plan and accomplishments along the way.

The Final Week, The Main Event, runDisney Marathon Week
Plan and Updates for the Final Stretch - November and December 2023

Short Range Plan and Updates - September and October 2023

Older Training Updates

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Training Plan Update – Final 9 Weeks

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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
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runDisney 2024 Dopey Challenge Day 4 – Marathon

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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 t
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The End of The Long Road to Dopey

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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
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