TRAININGI started following an 18 week training plan in September, but had to cut it short midway through November after I experienced some hip flexor issues after my 15 mile training run. My max weekend mileage was 25 miles - 15 miles Saturday and 10 miles Sunday. My max four day mileage was 30 miles - 7-5-9-9. If you're looking for a training plan for Dopey, you can find a 29 week training plan on the Run Disney site. But I would say the 18 week training plan I was doing for a 50K would've been perfect. It had me peaking at 20 miles Saturday and 12 miles Sunday which would've been great had I got past my 15 mile training run. No matter what training plan you follow - in my opinion the two most important aspects should be time on feet (i.e. high mileage) and time on tired legs (i.e. back to back long runs). Running Mileage Stats Leading up to the Dopey Challenge: July 2019 - 31.4 Miles August 2019 - 67.3 Miles September 2019 - 96.6 Miles October 2019 - 137.7 Miles November 2019 - 106.9 Miles December 2019 - 29 Miles January 2020 (through January 7th) - 37 Miles LOGISTICSUp until a week before the races, the plan was to drive from Tampa every morning. It would've been extra early mornings, but I thought we could handle it for four mornings. A few Facebook posts later from others who live in Tampa and it sounded like it would be a lot less stressful just staying near Disney. We stayed at the Disney Swan Resort - a Marriott resort that is also a Disney resort. Because it was Marriott, I received points and because it's Disney, there was free Expo and race shuttle transportation - awesome! Thursday, Friday and Saturday we woke up at 3am to grab the shuttle around 3:30am. Sunday we woke up at 2:30am and grabbed the shuttle around 3:15am. The busiest morning for traffic was the morning of the Marathon - it was the only morning we had to wait for a bus to arrive and the time on the bus was double the time we spent any other morning. Overall, very happy with the decision to find a hotel with the free transportation! Race Recap - 5K Race Temp: 55 Degrees Fahrenheit We boarded the bus at 3:30am and we were at the venue by 3:50am. By the time we got to the main stage area where the character pics are held, the lines were already 50 minutes long. It was a lot more waiting around than I was prepared for - I also didn't bring my phone so it was a lot of time spent waiting, doing nothing. I was also FREEZING while waiting for the race to start. I didn't have a long sleeved shirt I was willing to part with and I wished I had one of those foil emergency blankets that they usually give out at the end of races when the weather is cool. There was entertainment that started about an hour before the race and we could watch it on a big screen in front of our corral. The DJ was fun and tried to get everyone up and moving! The course itself was great. The first mile was a bit boring, but the rest of the miles went by pretty quick as we ran around the lake at Epcot and the boardwalk. It was really awesome seeing it all lit up and the reflections on the water. The race was over in no time! If you're planning on meeting back up with someone who ran the race, you'll have to meet them at the reunion area. Volunteers and staff won't let you stand anywhere for more than a few seconds from the finish line until you're at the reunion area. The process for the 5k - finish line, get your medal, pick up a foil blanket if you need one, grab water and/or powerade, grab your food box & banana, grab a finisher photo, then exit. Pre-Race: AltRed 2 hours before, PerformElite 30 minutes before, GoGo Squeeze and Honey Stinger Waffle 60 minutes before Race Gear: On Cloudflow, On Running Shorts, LegendBorne jersey Post-Race: RecoverElite, Pizza, Stretching/Rolling (check out my home page for discounts / links to the brands I use regularly!) RACE RECAP - 10K Race Temp: 66 Degrees Fahrenheit Left the hotel room a little later before the 10k than the day before. For the 5k and 10k, it's probably not as necessary to get to the course when Disney recommends, but in case there is traffic for any reason, it definitely helps. There wasn't traffic either day and we got there with no issue at all. It was about 10 degrees warmer from the day before, but the Run Disney foil blanket I got from the 5k the day before helped to keep me warm before the race. Remember - if you do use a foil blanket for warmth, you need to take it off before the start line, otherwise your timing chip won't register! Starting corrals were a little different for the 10k. Instead of 3 like the day before, there were 6. I learned from the day before that corrals open from the front left, so I made sure to get as close to their as possible when the corrals opened up. I ended up being right behind the first row of people holding the Run Disney banner. That was pretty cool! While it was nice being at the very start of the corral, they let everyone out in 2 minute waves I think, so we caught up to the last wave pretty quickly. I really loved turning into the lake again - they were playing "You're Welcome" from Moana and it gave me chills hearing the disney music mixed with the lit up buildings around the lake coming into view. It was magical, really! They also had a couple of marching bands playing - the one toward the end gave me an extra boost toward the finish! I didn't stop for any characters during the 5k or 10k because lines were really long by the time I got there since I started in B for the 5k and C for the 10k. Corral A is definitely where you want to be if you want to be in and out for pictures - Mitch was able to stop at every character stop for the 10k since he was in the very first wave to go out for the day and there were no lines at any yet! By the way - this was my first official 10k road race! Obviously not as crazy as a half or full, but it was still a first! Pre-Race: AltRed 2 hours before, PerformElite 30 minutes before, GoGo Squeeze and Honey Stinger Waffle 60 minutes before Race Gear: On Cloudsurfer, On Running Shorts, On Performance T, JUNK Headband Post-Race: RecoverElite, Pizza, Stretching/Rolling (check out my home page for discounts / links to the brands I use regularly!) Race Recap - Half Marathon Race Temp: 73 Degrees Fahrenheit I brought my phone with me for the half marathon. Since disney pics are so expensive - $70 for one day or $200 for all pics in a 30 day period - it makes sense to have your phone with you so you can have the staff take character pics with your phone. You'll also have them immediately so you don't have to wait for them to load online! The line to get a pic with Dopey wasn't too long, so we got in line around 4am and had our pic by 4:25am. Then we made the long trek to the starting corrals. Be prepared for a LONG walk to get to the start line for the half and full marathon. By the time I made it to corral F, I already had 5,000 steps. It wasn't even 5am yet! Insane!! For the half and full, there are some cases where there will be characters during the long stretches of road. In some cases, you'll be able to catch them again on the way back when the line won't be as long. Keep that in mind if you don't want to wait in a huge line at the start. While this could be a good strategy, know that there is always the chance the characters might not be there on the way back. But if you're willing to risk it, it can save time! Mitch and I did the half together. My goal was not to walk or stop for the whole thing - this was my first half marathon! We ended up stopping once to get a picture with Pluto since the line was so short. And then we walked from 9 - 9.5. I could live with that! My favorite part of the race was turning into Magic Kingdom when the castle came into view. It was beautiful and all lit up - breathtaking! The one downfall to disney races - there were SO. MANY. PEOPLE. Most of the race is spent weaving in and out of walkers - and there are walkers that start in the higher corrals too! I recommend doing whatever you can to get into a higher corral for disney. This may mean training for a marathon before Disney to use as a time verification. I'm positive it would make for a better experience starting in corral A/B/C vs F/G/H. And finally, an important reminder to make sure the gear you wear can handle the miles. Sometimes clothing that may be comfortable for a 5 mile run won't be comfortable for a 10 mile run and definitely wouldn't be comfortable for a half. I made the wrong choice with my shirt and had horrible chaffing under my arms. I also had some chaffing from the shorts, but not as bad. Both issues probably could've been solved while still wearing the same gear had I put body glide on in the right places. I would've known this if I did a 13+ mile training run with this gear! But now I know for next time. Pre-Race: AltRed 2 hours before, PerformElite 30 minutes before, GoGo Squeeze and Honey Stinger Waffle 60 minutes before Race Gear: On Cloudsurfer, Nike Compression Shorts, Spartan shirt, JUNK Headband Post-Race: RecoverElite, Coach Soak Lavender Muscle Soak, Burger & Sweet Potato Fries, Stretching/Rolling (check out my home page for discounts / links to the brands I use regularly!) Race Recap - Marathon Race Temp: 80 Degrees Fahrenheit My first marathon! I definitely did not think I'd have to wake up at 2:30am for it, but I did and survived my 4th morning waking up before 3am. For those of you who don't know - there's the Goofy challenge which is the half and full and the Dopey challenge which is all four races. It's not the extra 15k that makes Dopey harder than Goofy - it's waking up early for two extra days!! Needless to say, I was very happy it was my last early morning. The traffic situation before the marathon was crazy. It took forever just for our bus to be able to pull out of the hotel entrance street. I was surprised how bad it was given that traffic was practically non-existent the three days before. I'm guessing it was due to some road closures that didn't exist the few days before, but figured they would've had a better system for the buses. I heard some people missed their starting corrals because their buses were so delayed. Someone said they were on a bus for close to 1.5 hours and it was just a 5 mile trip! We were supposed to start at 5am but due to delays, the first wave didn't go off until 5:22am. Given the predicted forecast for the day (HOT!), this wasn't ideal, but that's just how it went. Given the set up of the corrals, once you're in them, you don't really have access to the port-a-potties anymore unless you leave the corral. Each morning I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom right before the start of the race, but I powered through and ended up being fine once I started running. Before the marathon it felt different, but I convinced myself I'd be fine. Finally our corral was making our way toward the start line. The stage was in sight - there were also port-a-potties in front of the stage, just a fence jump away. I was two waves away from taking off, but I made the decision to jump the fence to go to the bathroom - the last thing I wanted to do was have to stop once I started the race. I felt much better and was able to get right back into the corral and be off in the next wave.  My legs felt surprisingly good given the 22.4 miles they already ran the last three days. At the 5k point, I was thinking "wow, I feel great and I only have to do this a little less than 8 more times - totally doable". LOL. Someone told me the truth over instagram after the race.. the halfway point of a marathon isn't 13.1 miles. I don't think I've ever heard something more true about a marathon. For the half marathon the day before, I felt pretty even the entire race, running negative splits the last 4 miles of the half. But 26.2 miles is a little different. If you're feeling just as good in the back half as you did in the front, you must be a seasoned veteran. Things started falling apart at mile 5 when I got a side stitch I couldn't get rid of. The only two reasons for this that I could think of - the heat (it was a bit hotter than the last three days) or going to the bathroom right before the race (I didn't do this the last three days). I started doing some run / walk intervals mixed with a lot of speed walking. I felt I was able to speed walk faster than I could jog, so I just went with it. For the first 13 miles, I was able to keep my pace under 14 min per mile, even with speed walking a lot of it. By mile 10, my feet were in pain from speed walking but when I tried to jog, my knees felt like someone was hammering them with a sledgehammer. So okay, I was pretty much falling apart by mile 10 and it felt like I still had so many miles to go... and I did have so many miles to go. By this point, the sun was already beaming - 80 degree weather and humidity was not a great combo for a marathon. Oh - and remember that underarm chaffing from the day before? Well, body glide does wonders to prevent chaffing, but once you have chaffing, it's not that great. So the burning under my arms just got worse as the race went on. After 11 miles, they started having food on course - sports beans, bananas and chocolate. They also had sponges with cold water. I made sure at every single water station I drank both powerade and water. I did not want to be pulled from the course for dehydration. Many, many people had symptoms of dehydration and heat stroke that day.  At Animal Kingdom I stopped for a photo with Timon (Lion King is and always will be my all time favorite disney movie!) but other than that, I was really hurting at this point and this was just a blur. After Animal Kingdom, we did Blizzard Beach. This is one of the points where you double back and you can see everyone coming in on the opposite side of the road. However, once we left Blizzard Beach, the other side of the road was empty - the side we were on in order to get into Blizzard Beach. At this point we were around mile 23 and once we got back down to the main road, instead of everyone turning onto the road going to Blizzard Beach, everyone was being directed into our route. Blizzard Beach was cut from the course due to the extreme heat. It cut off about 1.5 miles for those who missed it. It also caused major back ups the last 3 miles, especially on the boardwalk areas that could really only fit four people across. I understand why they did it though - I'm just happy I was able to complete the full 26.2 miles. Crossing that finish line felt amazing - so much pain that day, but such a great feeling of accomplishment! And an excuse to waddle around the rest of the day. I think if you want to do the Dopey Challenge as your first marathon, it's totally doable and a great challenge. But one issue I had - I was getting disappointed with myself as my pace slowed with every passing mile, especially after that 10 mile point. I think it would've been different had I not run the half marathon the day before, but I was still upset. Just know if you are a first time Dopey and first time marathon, this marathon (unless you put in a lot of high volume training weekends) will most likely be completed to finish and not done for time. Pre-Race: AltRed 2 hours before and every 2 hours during, PerformElite 30 minutes before, 2 GoGo Squeeze and Honey Stinger Chews 60 minutes before Race Gear: On Cloudsurfer, Nike Compression Shorts, On Performance Tank, JUNK Headband Post-Race: Pizza (check out my home page for discounts / links to the brands I use regularly!)
5 Things I Wish I Did Differently Before The RacES
So who's doing the dopey challenge in 2021?!?! Get ready to have an awesome experience!
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