Dopey on the Run

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 m...

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 kn...

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 sl...

  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 ...

  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...

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 ...

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 t...

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 Simul...

🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 🎄 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 chi...

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 an...

  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 m...

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. ...

Before I knew it, Week 11 was upon me with the next level of challenge.  The plan called for three consecutive runs, 5, 8 and 18 miles, along with a 7-mile run on the first day, Monday.  We were traveling for the first two days of Week 11, so I missed Monday’s  7-miler. I tried to make up for it by adding a 5K on Wednesday and making it four consecutive days.  The weather was nice for mid-November so I thought I should take advantage of being able to run outside.  On Thursday I figured I might as well run 10K and see how it felt after the first two days of Dopey.  The insanity continued Friday when I extended my planned 8-miler to a half marathon.  I was curious to see how I would feel after running the actual distances for the first three days. The nice weather was encouraging me to do so.  By the end of Friday’s run, I had made up for missing the 7-miler on Monday.  But there would be a price to ...

At the end of week 10 we have a short travel adventure planned to our nation’s capital.  Fly out first thing Saturday morning, return late the following Tuesday.  Four days of being a tourist with no running or exercise other than walking.  When we get back, however, I jump into the most challenging portion of my Dopey Training Plan.  Week 11 is the first time that my plan calls for three consecutive days of 5, 8, and 18 miles.     With the weather quickly turning to winter, the logistics for long runs also become more challenging.  If it’s too cold, I’ll have to resort to a treadmill or an indoor track.  Neither of which is all that appealing,  but certainly more comfortable because I can run in just shorts and a t-shirt.  Carrying supplies for a 20-mile run with and extra five pounds of clothing in cold weather makes for a real laborious and long run.  Running on a treadmill, I don...

It has been a few years since I trained for something as challenging as the runDisney Dopey Challenge.  The last time was perhaps the 2016 New York City Marathon, just over 7 years ago.  It is easy to forget how time passes by so quickly when you have your head down just trying to get through a training plan day-by-day, week-by-week.  It seems like just last week that I started writing Chapter 10 at the beginning of October. Now we are well into November.  Thanksgiving is less than one week away.  Christmas and New Year’s will quickly follow one month later, and then Marathon Week will be upon us.   With the holidays fast approaching and Marathon Week close behind, I have some logistics that I need to work through.  But I have my head down just trying to get through my training plan.  Before much more time slips by, I need to figure out things like, what training devices do I need to bring?  Foam roller...