So as the registration for Dopey arrives quickly upon us, I have to really think hard about this. I know this is something that I want to do; but I have to believe in myself that I CAN do it.
It is a major commitment not just on race weekend, but all of the long training runs leading up to it. The longest back to back run I have ever done was the 10K and half marathon races at Dumbo Double Dare and Princess Glass Slipper Challenge. I have not done a half marathon back to back with a marathon. When I type that out, I get a little bit of a stomach ache thinking about it.
Training for a marathon doesn’t bother me. I enjoy it for the most part. Even when the 20, 23, and 26 mile runs come up on the schedule because I am proud that I have made it that far and the race isn’t too far off. But to think of adding a training day prior to that for a half marathon is where I get nervous. My friend Gail is obtaining her perfect Goofy this year for the anniversary year of the Goofy Challenge so I hope to run with her and her friends to celebrate her accomplishment which ALWAYS make a race so much fun!
I am planning on using Jeff Galloway as my coach for the Dopey challenge. Mickey Mile Podcaster Michelle Scriber-MacLean did this last year for the Dopey challenge and she said she did very well because of it. I also plan on arriving to Disney prior to my family to get 2 of the early races out of the way. I will also sleep early and rest often when I am there prior to their arrival.
I believe I can do it. I just have to believe that I can commit to the training also. My daughter will begin kindergarten next year so I can save up some vacation days for my long training runs and hit the road once she gets on the bus and I’ll be done in time for when both kids get off the bus. So in that sense, I think the universe is lining up to allow for me to give this a try.
Do you all have recommendations or suggestions for doing Dopey? Was there anything that you didn’t like about doing Dopey besides the early wake ups? Did anyone fail at attempting their first Dopey? I’d like to hear about it. The good, the bad, the ugly.
Haha, I totally should have put my blog or a watermark on the Dopey graphic when I made it, I’ve seen it used all over!
So here are my thoughts on Dopey… The training IS definitely harder because you need to put in the back to back long runs and the 4 early morning wake up calls in a row really do suck. It is a great experience though and what’s better than getting to do 4 Disney races on 1 trip! I have no doubt you can physically manage the training as long as you can work out the time for it. As a marathon runner and runDisney fan I definitely think it’s something you should do at least once…that being said, I think once is enough for me. The early mornings were just not fun, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing Goofy this year. Can’t wait to hear what you decide!
Was that your graphic! OMG how funny! I googled it. I am prepared for the early mornings by getting down there before my family and making sure I am in bed early; however, I am scared of the training. I agree that I have to do it once, the question is, should I do it this year or do Goofy first and then do it next year. My issue is, I want to do Minnie 10K again because I want to keep doing those earch year since I did the first one. So why not just do the 5K also and make it Dopey. hard to decide.
So here’s my thought on Goofy vs. Dopey – other than the extra early mornings, there’s really no difference. Really, when you’re training to do a half & full marathon back to back a 5k and 10k are really nothing, especially if you take it easy, stop for pics, etc. As long as you’re not “racing” them the 5k & 10k in my opinion really don’t make much of a difference on your legs.
Those are my thoughts exactly Danielle! I can walk the 5k. Run the back area of the 10k and then work the plan from Jeff Galloway for the goofy portion.
Hi! I don’t know if it helps at all, but I wrote a “post-Dopey” blog post addressing some of your concerns: http://thefinalforty.com/dopey-challenge-final-thoughts/. I ran Dopey as my first marathon, and have absolutely no regrets. It was an AMAZING time; I could not have asked for a better first marathon experience!
Like Danielle said, as long as you take the 5K and 10K slow and easy, and conserve your legs as much as possible during the half, then I think Dopey is doable for anyone — as long as you train for it! The training is the hard part, of course, so if you’re already comfortable with the rigors of marathon training — and you know you can commit to it — then I say it’s DEFINITELY worth doing. 🙂
DO ITTT!! It was an amazing experience!!! I am a walk/runner so I may not be super helpful to you but about November (No excuses November) and December (Do it December) time I tried really hard to go 8-10 miles a day and there was rest days of course but my body got used to the distance everyday. I personally get bored working out alone so I never went over 10 miles except for my half marathon days. It was also my FIRST marathon so I decided to go all out since it was disney. I was so excited the early mornings didn’t bug me.
As for tips-
*I went as slow as possible on the half marathon I finished just under the 16 minute pace cause I had no clue what a marathon would be like.
*On the marathon RIDE EVEREST!!! That was my biggest hype for the marathon half way through I wanted to ride it so bad and I got there right when it opened. It made the first half of the race go so fast. I know some people are against the whole riding during a race but I do these races for fun.
*Wear costumes!! When I was getting tired people would yell go snow white and it was awesome! Those little cheers make all the difference when you are tired. I even had a laugh when a boy asked him mom which princess it was cause he forgot . He said oh yeah GO SNOW WHITTE…. made me smile.
*wear good socks
*You can totally do it!
You can absolutely do it. I actually followed Lee Hoedl’s Dopey training plan to train for Goofy. This included an extra 3-5 miler each week. I enjoyed it because if something came up and I missed that run, I’d still be prepped for Goofy. I’m a Goofy girl and always will be. You’d be surprised how used to the training you get. You’ll power through those two days! Though during training will you run a back to back half and full? The most I ended up training was 10 and 20 miles; I did it 3 times and it saw me through! It sounds like you’ve already decided you’re in… 😀