Yes, you CAN walk the Goofy!

[John VN]

Originally Posted by bmbmd

Would you mind telling me how tall you are? That seems like an awfully fast walking pace. Oh-and congratulations on a job very well done.

Height is not really the major determining factor in how fast one moves. Stride length plus foot turn-over or cadence will set your pace. A shorter length in the stride with a faster foot turn-over, again cadence, will be physically better than a long stride and slower cadence. Too long of a stride will create a very harsh heel plant that can lead to problems with the foot, heel, ankles, shins and on up.

[DOOM1001]

This thread really has me thinking I should try doing the Goofy next year,I think if I run the first half of the half marathon and the first half of the marathon at my normal 12-13 minute pace it would give me 18-20 minutes per mile to do the rest of both races walking which I know I can pull off.I'm not the fastest walker in the world but I believe I was doing sub 16 minute miles walking the last few miles of the marathon this year.

[John VN]

Originally Posted by DOOM1001

This thread really has me thinking I should try doing the Goofy next year,I think if I run the first half of the half marathon and the first half of the marathon at my normal 12-13 minute pace it would give me 18-20 minutes per mile to do the rest of both races walking which I know I can pull off.I'm not the fastest walker in the world but I believe I was doing sub 16 minute miles walking the last few miles of the marathon this year.

I had a thread some time ago with lots of additional input from other walkers. You might give it a read to see if there is anything that might be helpful.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3011389

[WaDiWo]

Originally Posted by John VN

I had a thread some time ago with lots of additional input from other walkers. You might give it a read to see if there is anything that might be helpful.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3011389

John VN,

Thank you for this ... I read through the thread, a you're incredible! 2:11 for half and 28 for 5k?? that's faster than some runners! you have given me hope. I am a runner, but due to injury and osteoporosis I may have to walk in upcoming races. Thanks for being an inspiration.

[stasijane]

What an awesome accomplishment! I would have never thought waking the Goofy was possible until I read your story. I almost feel this is something I could do. Thank you so much for sharing!

[John VN]

Originally Posted by stasijane

What an awesome accomplishment! I would have never thought waking the Goofy was possible until I read your story. I almost feel this is something I could do. Thank you so much for sharing!

My bolding.

If you FEEL that you can do it, you are already on your way to accomplishing it.

Set a goal, find a training schedule that works for you, be truthful to yourself during the training, then go out and accomplish the goal. Life's issues will wind up getting in the way but continuing the training during these times will make you MUCH stronger and self confident.

To ALL, good luck and always have FUN in what you do.

[WaDiWo]

Originally Posted by John VN

If you FEEL that you can do it, you are already on your way to accomplishing it.

...

To ALL, good luck and always have FUN in what you do.

Thanks for this John VN,

I strongly believe this. You can feel your way to anything you want ... feel as if you already have it, and it will come to you! And really, the purpose of it all is fun.

[Freight Train]

Originally Posted by WaDiWo

Thanks for this John VN,

I strongly believe this. You can feel your way to anything you want ... feel as if you already have it, and it will come to you! And really, the purpose of it all is fun.

Believe it or not, for my music mix for the marathon itself I found the song from the old Horizons ride at Epcot. "If we can dream it, then we can do it, yes we can, yes we can." I timed that to play at around mile 23 or so. It hit the spot!

[Freight Train]

Originally Posted by John VN

Height is not really the major determining factor in how fast one moves. Stride length plus foot turn-over or cadence will set your pace. A shorter length in the stride with a faster foot turn-over, again cadence, will be physically better than a long stride and slower cadence. Too long of a stride will create a very harsh heel plant that can lead to problems with the foot, heel, ankles, shins and on up.

Amen! And bmbmd, I'm 5'11" but he's right--in training I focused on my getting my cadence as quick as I could. To do that, I chose music with a fast beat and during training sessions I sought to match that beat, which forced me into a quicker foot turn-over. Songs that I thought would work but didn't were a little too slow, and matching the cadence meant a longer stride. I was much slower with those songs, and when I found them I rejected them.

For me the songs were a great help not only in maintaining cadence but also in passing the time. A 5 or 6 hour training session in the middle of the night can be boooooooring!!!

[John VN]

Originally Posted by Freight Train

Amen! And bmbmd, I'm 5'11" but he's right--in training I focused on my getting my cadence as quick as I could. To do that, I chose music with a fast beat and during training sessions I sought to match that beat, which forced me into a quicker foot turn-over. Songs that I thought would work but didn't were a little too slow, and matching the cadence meant a longer stride. I was much slower with those songs, and when I found them I rejected them.

For me the songs were a great help not only in maintaining cadence but also in passing the time. A 5 or 6 hour training session in the middle of the night can be boooooooring!!!

my bolding,

Dang, did you ever hit the nail square on the head. Just realized why I don't need music when training or racing or driving or biking.....I am a boooooooooring person and thus can keep myself happy simply by talking to myself.

[Freight Train]

Originally Posted by John VN

my bolding,

Dang, did you ever hit the nail square on the head. Just realized why I don't need music when training or racing or driving or biking.....I am a boooooooooring person and thus can keep myself happy simply by talking to myself.

Hahahaha!!! Wish you could have been there for my training--there was plenty of talking to myself going on! Wait-there was also plenty of talking to myself during the races too. What does that say about me???

On a side note, my race photos from the full are priceless. You see the full range of emotions. At MK I'm smiling and pointing at the camera. At AK I'm not smiling anymore but I'm still defiantly pointing at the camera. Then at DHS I appear to be crying. This is probably because I was crying. Finally, in the photo outside Epcot near the finish line I've got my fists in the air and I'm screaming at the top of my lungs. That's a full day.

[BikeFan]

Originally Posted by Freight Train

3:21 and 6:47 aren't great numbers. But I did finish and meet my goals and I did walk over 10 hours to get those medals. I'm very happy I did and if you're thinking about walking these races here is my message to you: It is possible to walk them. And do the Goofy. As your first races ever! I hope if there's anyone else in my situation that you'll be encouraged to sign up, train hard, and achieve your goals. Much love to everyone who raced, to the thousands who finished ahead of me, and to anyone bored enough to read this entire post!

Dave

I'm so, so impressed that you did this. You set a goal, you invested the necessary time and training, and you DID IT! Don't ever sell yourself short - you can do more amazing things than you even realize.

[BikeFan]

Originally Posted by John VN

Height is not really the major determining factor in how fast one moves.

This is especially true with long distance runners. Samuel Wanjiru, 5'4", won numerous marathons, including the 2008 Olympic marathon in Bejing. He also held the half-marathon world record at one point. Short doesn't mean slow at all.

[honkytonkmama]

This gives me so much hope that I will be able to walk the goofy in 2015. :D

Congrats!!!

[Freight Train]

Originally Posted by honkytonkmama

This gives me so much hope that I will be able to walk the goofy in 2015. :D

Congrats!!!

Thanks! Here's some visualization help: