My Goofy (and Marine Corps Marathon) Training Plan!

I've been going back and forth with how to set up my training plan for Goofy for quite some time now.  I had to make sure to properly train for the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct 30th and then transition right into Goofy training.  Looking at the schedule, I'm slightly overwhelmed, not gonna lie!

When I was training for the full marathon last January, I only ran 3x per week.  I talked to my gym owner/trainer and he said that was definitely ok to do.  This time around, I have 4 runs a week planned leading up to the Marine Corps Marathon and then 5 runs a week for Goofy.  I will be COMPLETELY ok if I have to skip a smaller run each week due to my schedule, just as long as it's not my long weekend run or another 'big' run. 

To come up with the training programs, I mixed and matched a few to work better with my schedule:

- Leading up to Marine Corps, I based my training on Hal Hidgon's Novice Marathon Training Plan 2
- After Marine Corps and leading up to Goofy, I used fellow Disney runner, Lee Hoedl's Goofy Plan

Since my training has Marine Corps thrown into the mix, feel free to head over to Lee's Goofy Plan page where he lays out the plan completely with training officially starting in September. 

You guys will be seeing a bit more of Lee's information and videos around here soon.  He creates the most amazing youtube videos about all of the Disney races he completes and I can't stop watching them! Not to mention I get teary eyed watching most of them.  He's graciously allowed me to start posting them on here for you guys to see as well. 

So here it is...finally!  My Marine Corps Marathon/Goofy Challenge Training Plan!

This is definitely not the end all, be all, training plan.  Everyone is different and this might not work for everyone.  Plus I'm sure I'll be tweaking this as time goes on.  Some people insist that you don't have to do back to back runs when training for Goofy, which I can understand.  I just know that for myself, I need to be mentally prepared and this will get me there.  

Oh, and I'll be updating that excel file and posting my progress...hence the color coding for 'Run Complete!' and 'Run Fail' boxes. :)

I've also updated the Disney Running 101 tab at the top of the page to include links to a few of the training plans that I have used, including the Jeff Galloway plans from the runDisney site!

What do you guys think?  Any Goofy runners agree?  Disagree?  Suggestions? :) 

So You Want to Run Goofy?

I never thought I'd actually have to sit down and figure out how to train for Disney's Goofy Race and a Half Challenge.  WHY would anyone want to run that far?!!? Well here I am, registered for Goofy for 2012.  For those that haven't heard, the Goofy Challenge is to run the Disney half marathon on Saturday and then run the Disney full marathon the very next day.  Oh, plus some of us are even crazier and going to run the 5k Friday morning as well.  We lovingly call that the Dopey Challenge. 

As I've been sitting down trying to figure out the correct training plan to use, I got slightly overwhelmed.  Do I run 3x per week like I did for my Disney full marathon training this past January?  Or can I bump up my runs to 4x per week?  Do I have enough time in my schedule with work and school to actually run 4x per week? Ugh...

After browsing a million sites and training plans, I've realized there's a few things that people need to take into consideration....

The only MAIN difference in running Goofy is the drastically reduced recovery time between the two races.  If you can run a full marathon, then obviously you can run the half the day before.  The one thing that kept coming up in my research is to figure out just how hard you want to run each race.  Many people go all out during the half and then try to just get through the full.  Others use the half as an easy 'training run' for the next days bigger race.  And then there's the rest that split their energy and take both races at less than 100% effort and just want to finish.  (There's also a small group that tries to run each race at 100% effort but I honestly think there aren't too many of those crazies out there)

I believe long distance running is a crazy mental game.  More often than not, your body can handle the distance (if properly trained) but your mind can really mess up a great race.  With Goofy I think it's even more important to make sure that you can handle the distances mentally, not just physically. 


A few things that I've gathered...keep in mind that I have NOT completed the challenge yet so I'm still learning as well.  I'm sure a lot of this will get tweaked as the training continues...

1. Figure out your diet for before AND after races:  It's been mentioned before but now it's even MORE important.  Be sure to eat mainly 'basic' foods that are high in carbohydrates and easy to digest. You do not need tummy problems for any of these races!  Experiment and track the results. Your recovery diet must begin as soon as possible after the half marathon on Saturday… like in the first 20 minutes! Fluids typically will suffice if they are high in carbohydrates and you introduce one of the replacement drinks with some protein (to facilitate muscle rebuilding). I usually stick to chocolate HoneyMilk or regular chocolate milk. I usually carb up two days before a race so now I'll have to play around with back to back carbing!

2. Start to double up on long weekend runs:  Build into your training “long double weekends.” Run a long run on Saturday and come back with another one on Sunday. For example, run 18 on Saturday and run 12 on Sunday. You need to get your body used to running long distances with short recovery times in between.

3. Though “goal” paced running may play less of a role in an event like this since most people are in this to experience it and complete it; quality runs (track and tempo runs) are still essential. Running some of your longer runs at faster than “stick it out and finish” pace.  I've seen training plans where every other week has a medium-long run (8-14 miles) at what would be your goal marathon pace and/or 5-8 miles at your goal half-marathon pace (…if you were racing for a time in either the marathon/half-marathon).

4. When you plan your goal pace for these two races think of the total time and distance of the race, rather than taking each of them on its own. As you would with a relay race or multi-sport race, think of the total effort and then pace yourself accordingly. Don't run the half marathon at your fastest half marathon pace and kill yourself.  In the Goofy Challenge, you’ll be running 39.3 miles over the course of two days. Pace yourself accordingly and you’ll feel a lot better.

The Goofy Challenge is a unique twist on something that many people have done over the years: relay running. Races like the Ragnar Relays test people by having them run three or more times in a 24-hour period. Here, the twist is running a marathon and half-marathon in a short period. This challenge should be a fun and interesting one; just remember to take it easy on day one or you’ll be paying for it on day two!

Tomorrow I'll post my Goofy training plan too... Good luck!

Official Race Program for Disneyland Half

This means the race is getting close, yikes!!

runDisney just released the Official Race Program for the Disneyland Half Marathon that's being held over Labor Day.  Since it's my first time EVER to Disneyland, to say I'm excited is an understatement!

Can't really tell if anything is drastically different from past races, except that they're going to be using B-Tags instead of D-Tags.  Never used the B-Tags...anyone have any thoughts?

The expo vendor list has some trusty favorites so I'm sure I'll be spending a pretty penny while browsing! 

I just know I'll be pretty excited to finally get this beauty..... :) 

To download the guide from the runDisney site, click here.

How About This for Some Bling?

Call me jelly....jealous..uber jealous, etc

runDisney just released photos of the new Tinkerbell Half Marathon medal for the race in Cali next January.  What do you guys think??

And the best part?  Tinkerbell SPINS!!

I seriously need to win the lottery or become employed by Disney so that I can run all these races in one calendar year. 

Woah, It's Been a Little Quiet Around Here

I know I know... same old song and dance.  I disappear for awhile, and come running back to you guys asking for forgiveness.  :)  Things were slightly crazy since I came back from my trip in May and I haven't been doing much running at all either.  Looking at DailyMile, I've only ran 21 miles since the end of May! :(

So I guess you can say I was kind of in a funk.  I just had NO motivation to run or do much of anything.  With the Marine Corps Marathon inching closer and closer, not to mention the Disneyland Half over Labor Day and Wine & Dine half at the end of September, I really need to get my butt in gear and officially start training!

Although I haven't done much running, I did run 3 races out of those 21 miles since we last chatted!  I'll be writing race recaps for all of them.  I PR'd in my 5k and 10k times and had a HILARIOUS adventure during the Spartan Race! Got a few good pictures from that one too.

I'll also be recapping my trip in May eventually! Keep an eye out for a few dining reviews soon.

And for everyone that wants to run Goofy, I think my friend Daniel and I have FINALLY hashed out our training plans so I'll post that hopefully in the next week or so.

I'll be back real soon (promise this time!)