Tuesday, July 1, 2014

WDW Marathon Training Plan- Starts Today!

The official WDW Marathon training plan created by Jeff Galloway starts today! You can find it here on the runDisney site. 

With the training plan starting today, the marathon seems so real and so much closer.

*commence freak out*

My running is not where I was hoping it would be when I started training, but c'est la vie. Just means more motivation!

As I read over the plans on the runDisney website, there are three options for the marathon. I didn't fall into the beginning runners (folks who have been running for less than 6 months), yet I'm not an experienced runner looking for time improvement (those who have done a marathon before). Then I saw the third option- experienced runners looking to finish in the upright position. Hey! That's exactly me! My goal is just to finish, preferably without limping/hobbling/crawling across the finish line.



I'm a fan of running 3 times per week and this fits my usual schedule of two shorter weekday runs and one long weekend run. Depending how I feel, I'll thrown in a 4th run. But I'm not too keen on how the long runs drop to 6 or 7 miles every other week. My plan is to also only train up to 24-25 miles, but have more 20+ mile runs that what this plan has. I'll be roughly following this training plan until I adapt and modify it to my own personal taste.









Are you running the WDW Marathon? Do you have a training plan? Please share yours! :)

8 comments:

  1. 29 weeks!!! woohoo!

    Also, I totally agree on the random drops in mileage every couple weeks. Make me very nervous because of the 10% rule. It just doesn't seem safe... that being said, I'll be revamping my Dopey plan to meet my own tastes as well, also because I'll be starting a month later than everyone else lol!

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    1. Good luck with Dopey!!! I did it last year and the Hal Higdon Dopey plan worked really well for me. It was a good balance of mileage and back to back runs without over doing it or risking getting injured. Not sure if you've looked into that one or not. If you have any questions about Dopey, feel free to email - sarahrunsalot@yahoo.com. Good luck!

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    2. 26.2 miles still seems scary to me. I can't imagine running a full, after a half, after a 10k, after a 5k! Lol. I will definitely be ooo-ing and aww-ing at your medals after! :)

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  2. I agree with you - the drops are not ideal. I would not scale back that much. Also, you definitely don't need to do anything over 20 or 21 miles. You have to remember that Jeff's plans are written for run-walkers (which is fine), but run-walking doesn't put the same kind of strain on your body that solid running does. It takes a lot to recover from anything over 20 and you don't want to risk injury before the marathon. If you have any questions about marathon training, I'm happy to answer/help! Feel free to email me - sarahrunsalot@yahoo.com.

    Good luck! I'll be there running the half =)

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    1. Do you think training up to 24 miles is ok? I like to run the full distance, or as close to possible, before just so I can get in the mindset of "you've done this before, you can do it again." But then again, it's a lot of miles! After I did a 15 mile run, I was definitely sore for a couple days.

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    2. If running 24 mentally makes you feel better, I don't think it will hurt you (unless you are actually injured, then probably not a good idea :) ). I would play it by ear as it gets closer. I honestly have never done more than 21 miles before a marathon. I would get more 20's in then going up to 24 (that's just me personally!).

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  3. I actually agree with the drops in the mileage on the long runs and I actually did my half marathon training that way too. What it does is help preserve the legs! Racking up too much mileage over consecutive weeks puts lots of strain on your muscles, tendons and ligaments. The drop in mileage helps to give the legs a break so that when you attack your longer run the next week, your legs will feel fresher and not quite so tired. More mileage doesn't necessarily equate to better training, sometimes it just means more miles. That's my $.02.

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    1. Glad to have your perspective and experience with his plan! Did you find that you lost any momentum or endurance between the long runs? Towards the end of the marathon training, it just seems like so few long runs before the actual race. I'm worried about losing my endurance, even if it's just mental endurance.

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