Ready to Run...a return to RunDisney races

Pretty sure it’s an anniversary year for DOPEY. just saying…

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I’m taking a stepped approach. At least as of right now. :wink:

I won’t push. But I’ll say that from my Double Dopey experience, the hardest part about adding the 5k and 10k are the 2 extra mornings of early wake-up. Of course, it also extends your trip making it $$$$$

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I’m so torn! I wonder if I should do only the marathon (it’s only with this crazy crew that only a marathon can be said). Mostly because I love my park time and am worried that I will miss out if I have to get up so early each day.

But the races are sooo much fun! I think I’m going Dopey! The back to back half and full seems the most challenging. Adding on a quick 5 and 10K doesn’t seem too bad. Except for sleep and tired legs after being in the parks all day.

Can you other Dopey runners tell me about how you managed your park time?

Yes exactly this. LOL

I’m not sure you should follow my example because I’m pretty nuts. I went as fast as I reasonably could to make it to parks for RD for 5k and 10k days, did not take mid-day breaks and toured until pretty close to park close each night. I can manage 5-6 hours of sleep for a while before it catches up to me. Doing Dopey and being at Disney helps with the adrenaline. DW was also with me and I did not want to sacrifice her experience so I could get more sleep. I felt bad enough that she missed out on the night-time spectaculars. But that’s where I drew the line, and she didn’t care enough to stay behind by herself. Even though a wonderful friend (looking at you @OBNurseNH) offered to keep her company and watch Harmonious.

On the other hand, 2 years ago I did take Saturday as a rest day. After the half, I did laundry and stretched out in the pool while waiting. Then I rode the skyliner for about an hour while icing my feet. Then I went to Epcot for the American Adventure, losing my wallet (I’ll never forget that, it was traumatizing), and dinner at Via Napoli. But other than that day, I was all-out commando style touring like usual. Even after the marathon, I was at MK through fireworks and got ice cream at B&C around 1130p. That was the day I set my all-time steps record at 72k.

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I think we probably run on the same energy level! I could see myself doing the same thing. But then was worried if I would run out of gas during the marathon. Somehow though when I am at Disney that adrenaline just keeps me going!

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If you train properly, and eat/drink the way you should the day or two before, you won’t run out of gas. Unless you are running for a time goal, which I do not recommend doing at Disney in any case. Course is too crowded, and you lose out on the fun of the event by pushing yourself too hard.

Something I should have mentioned is my nutrition. I don’t watch it so much before Thursday(ish), but then I really start to think about the food I’m eating, and generally limit myself to a drink early in the day then focus on water. I also usually have a coke or something similar in the afternoon for sugar and caffeine.

For the half and full, I tried to eat GU gels every 3 miles, but was not as systematic as I was in my training because I only did it when there was a water station (so sometimes a little early or a little late). I also used the energy chews they provided, so that got me off later in the races.

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I did carry a bottle of my trusty Tailwind on this past half and it helped pull me through. Diet is definitely a hard part of running at Disney! I’m fine to limit my alcoholic drinks until after the marathon. Last week I had 50s PT as my pre-race meal :woman_shrugging:t3: Maybe I should carb load with some Micky pretzels! I had a piece of a Gideon’s cookie every night before bed too :grimacing:

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I was very proud of myself that I only returned to my room with 1 uneaten gel!

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I started to experiment with this very late in training. But I hadn’t done enough with it to rely on it alone. If you use tailwind, theoretically you don’t need gels?? That would simplify life so much

I ate and drank whatever I wanted in the days before marathon but pushed water and electrolytes as well.

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The Dopey is do-able with proper training. The key is to stack multiple runs back to back during your training so you get used to running on tired legs. Mental preparation is a whole different thing. I was still doubting myself at mile 2 of the Full this year.

For reference, I ran the half in 2020 and then proceeded to train for the Dopey the next year. So it is possible to physically make the leap from 13.1 miles to 48.6.

Park time:
This year I ran the 5k with my daughter. We finished in just under and hour. We immediately hopped a bus to boardwalk from the race and walked over the DHS. We were the first group in line at security. This allowed us to rope drop RotR, MFSR, TSMM and MMRR. We then proceeded to have a nice breakfast wrap at Ronto Roasters before heading back to our room for a shower. We then got right back to the parks for more afternoon fun. We headed back to our round around 8pm.

After the 10k, I hopped a bus to AKL and then took a lyft to AK. I met my DS and DD who were already queuing up at the park entrance. We proceeded to rope drop FoP and NRJ. We then had a coffee and food break and headed to the Animation experience for the first character drawing of the morning. We stuck around AK until we finished all the rides we wanted and headed back to the room around 11am for a shower and preparations for afternoon park hopping. We hung around MK until after the Fireworks and then went back to the room.

After the Half, my DS and I grabbed my DD from the hotel. She loved getting to sleep in There was no rope dropping for me on this day. However, we did spend a lot of time in the parks and we had a wonderful supper at Tokyo Dining. After supper we headed back to the room around 8-ish.

During the full DS and DD were on their own to RD the parks. I met up with them at MK after I had a quick shower. That afternoon was spent eating everything in site and making sure I kept moving. We closed down DHS. We were able to ride RotR, MFSR and Slinky without issue and long lines after 8pm.

Weekly Update for Jan 10 - 16:
0 runs.

This week was one of rest and recovery. I end up going to bed early and getting 10 hours of slepp one night! It was glorious.

This week I will start getting the running legs loose and attempt to get back into the grind. There are no real goals yet; as we are 348 days from the Dopey 2023 5k!

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That is the theory! I am thinking of making the leap to tailwind for next year’s Dopey. I could not stomach anymore gels/gummies/bananas after mile 15 this year.

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I think this is normal. I doubt myself all the time, haha.

I went from couch to Dopey between Oct 2018 and Jan 2020 (so ~14 months?). Not bragging, I’m not a good runner, just saying that it is possible if you follow the right training plan.

Awesome!

Good to know I’m not the only crazy one here…

See you there. Hopefully. I think DW may shoot lasers out of her eyes if I bring this up too soon.

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I had to choke down some bananas. I need the potassium to stave off muscle cramps in my calves.

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Hey saw this today and instantly thought of you. You need this.

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Agree. I had to have a conversation with myself and instruct me to get out of my head and run the mile I was in. If you think too far ahead you’re done for.

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Now that I have met her, I do not believe for a second that there are ever any lasers.

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Tailwind will carry me through 13.1 but I can still benefit from a Gu at the 45 min to 1 hr point and then continue every few miles. At the race I drank only water at water stops but then drank whatever that blue stuff was at the end. When I ran my marathon, I filled 1/2 of my hydration pack with water and 1/2 with Tailwind. I still needed to take GUs along the way. I’ve tried Nuun too but really feel Tailwind helps me the most.

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So theoretically I could cut my gel needs by half then (as I usually take one about every 30-45)

The blue stuff was very weak powerade. I had some of each at every water stop.

Nuun is really just hydration and electrolytes. Tailwind has calories. The guy at the running store was talking to me about the differences. Daniel-who-knows-very-little-about-hydration-vests-but-knows-a-lot-about-hydration-and-fuel-products seems to think you can get by with only Tailwind. I was skepetical and that late in training I was not willing to try it.

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