Who did NOT die! Founding member of Team Not-So-Fast and costume addict training for Dopey #3 (Comments welcome)

[superchime]

Nothing like surprise flooding to keep things interesting! I'm so glad you were home and caught it quickly. I still remember being on vacation and getting a call from my petsitter letting me know it was raining in my kitchen.

The weather was so nice the week you were here (if a tad chilly in the mornings for standing around). I keep checking the long range forecast knowing full well it will change, and right now it’s saying high of 65 and low of 45. I saw that today and told my husband, yes please!!!

Lock it in! That sounds perfect!

 

[The Expert]

I still remember being on vacation and getting a call from my petsitter letting me know it was raining in my kitchen.

Oh nooooo!!! It's just such a helpless feeling. A bit of labor and a $$$ plumbing bill and it was handled, though.

It's a bit funny as my social media memories came up, I had another flood in our storage area at our old condo four years ago this same week! I guess I should start being extra vigilant around this time.

 

[The Expert]

Dopey Training Week 20 (Dec 16-22)
tl;dr PEAK WEEK! Had to rearrange a few things and ended up with two of my longest training runs within this 7 day period, but some new cross-training and lots of rolling are doing their thing. My aches and pains are starting to fade and I'm feeling strong during the harder parts of my run. BRING ON DOPEY!!!

Monday: 8.5 miles easy + 2.5 miles M Tempo
Thankfully this week was pretty quiet at work and I was able to crank this out on the treadmill in the afternoon. I even listened in on two meetings while I was running! I felt good, but not great. I've been focusing on rolling my quads, hamstrings, calves and feet every day (I leave the roller and ball near where I sit on the couch in the evening). It is definitely helping with the nagging pains.

Tuesday: rest
Tick.

Wednesday: 4 miles easy
I'm not sure why but this run ROCKED! I felt super strong and this flew by on the treadmill.

Thursday: Strength training Band workout
I found a nice series of iFit stretching & agility workouts for runners. Did the first one this day, using bands to do a lot of lower body work. It was tough but I felt great afterward.

Friday: 4 2 miles easy
This turned into a surprisingly busy day for some reason. I only had time to fit in 2 miles on the treadmill, but my notes indicate I felt super strong. I'm not really having issues with the quad/hamstring thing or plantar fasciitis anymore. Fingers crossed!

Saturday: 6 miles easy
Chiefs played the early game, so I jumped on the treadmill afterward for this run. It took a few miles to get comfortable, but once things warmed up I was able to settle into this workout. I had hopes of maybe doing this one outside, but temps were single digit and roads were ICY.

Sunday: 8.5 miles easy + 4 miles M Tempo
I was not really worried about executing this run, but more concerned about getting bored. It takes me SO LONG TO DO THESE AND IT IS SO ANNOYING. I slogged through the first two hours slowly and my legs were a bit tired from the cumulative mileage and slow movement. Also, my feet hurt a bit, so I changed my socks before cranking it up for the final 45-ish minutes at M tempo. It was like I got a shot of adrenaline! I CRUISED through those last 4 miles like I had just got on the treadmill! It was such a great feeling.

Now to celebrate Christmas and my birthday week and THE TAPER!!

 

[The Expert]

I posted these over in the costume thread, but figured I'd share here too. It's all Cricut removable vinyl, felt, pipe cleaners and some hot glue!

For the half, inspired by our Small World theme and this guy from the attraction:


For the full, my visor for the Mahomes/Kermit mashup:

 

[The Expert]

Dopey Training Week 21 (Dec 23-29)
tl;dr I had a great week of workouts, in part thanks to the discovery that running to Youtube videos of previous races is hugely motivating to me. I'm SO excited about the cool weather forecast and feeling really ready for Dopey as I cruise into my 54th birthday tomorrow (Dec 30th)!

Monday: rest Stretching/Yoga
I've was a bit tight from my Sunday run, even after rolling a couple of times and stretching afterward, so I pulled up one of the iFit stretch workouts for runners. About 25 minutes of targeted but gentle, long stretches and yoga poses did my body good.

Tuesday: rest 30 minutes shoveling
My watch was nagging me about recovery, so I did rest. Mostly. We got walloped with snow, so I did spend about 30 minutes shoveling walkways and decks.

Wednesday: Strength training
I swapped strength and run a few weeks ago to take Christmas off from the treadmill. Did a little heavy lifting but kept it short and relatively easy since my watch was still saying I needed additional recovery. I'm sure that was NOT helped by the Chiefs game, but we won and clinched the top seed and bye week -- WOOHOO! That means no more stressful games for almost a month!

Thursday: 4 miles easy 2 miles easy + stretch recovery
HRV was still a bit low, so I cut the run to 2 miles and added one of my iFit stretch recovery workouts.

Friday: 4 miles easy
I knocked this out on the treadmill and started watching a Youtube livestream from the Jan 2024 WDW marathon during my run. I figured this would be good mental prep and motivation, and I was right. I got right into the groove from the first interval and felt super strong this whole run! It helps the guys I'm watching started toward the back and were moving somewhat close to my pace.

Saturday: 6 miles easy
I continued watching the marathon livestream, and again it worked like a charm. It really does feel like I'm running the race and I'm super grateful to @Herding_Cats for mentioning it a while back on the MW thread. In fact, I thought I had spotted her and @Mr_Incr3dible at one point in the video, but turns out it wasn't them. I did start to feel some weird pains in my left hip toward the top of my leg, which is brand new. I walked for about 10 minutes roughly 4 miles in and felt good enough to pick up intervals again through the last mile. I spend some extra time rolling and even got out the theragun, and everything felt fine a few hours later.

Sunday: 7 miles M Tempo
More of the livestream today -- some tough parts of the course with Bear Island Road and exiting AK toward BB parking lot. But again, good mental prep for the real thing! I hardly noticed the longer run intervals and faster speed I set for these tempo runs.

This coming week is even easier. I have a rest day Monday and dinner out for my birthday, then 4-mile easy runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'll do some of the iFit strength/stretching workouts on the other days, and by next weekend I'll be in full blown packing mode for my flight out on Jan 7!

 

[azrivest]

Happy birthday!

 

[jmasgat]

Happy Birthday!

 

[GollyGadget]

Happy Birthday!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Well, I tried to post a GIF of the birthday song from the Emperor's New Groove, but the DIS wasn't having it. So you'll just have to imagine it. Happy birthday!!

 

[The Expert]

Thanks for the bday wishes, everyone. @WillRunForPizza I can totally see the exact GIF you're talking about!

One thing I forgot to add to my weekly update -- I've been chasing a mystery of sorts. I couldn't figure out the common denominator in those runs when I felt super strong. I started with things during the run (nutrition, time of day, what I was watching), then with what I was eating before the run (and how long before), sleep the night before, etc. I thought I'd figured it out, then I'd have an off run. Yes, I know it's not an exact science but I really wanted to try and nail this down. Turns out, there was one thing I wasn't accounting for that I started to pay attention to: the days when I had a second cup of coffee, I had a great run! I realized this a few weeks ago and have paid close attention to it since, and it has borne out.

Now, I also have an issue with the world's smallest bladder, so this is a tradeoff. But I do think in addition to taking a cup of coffee from the room to have on the way to the race, I'll be adding a second cup pre-corral.

 

[nancipants]

Happy birthday!!!

I have watched that livestream (and many others of theirs) many times. It was one of the reasons I wanted to do the marathon.

I also like runSota's POV videos. They're not livestreams and he cuts out some of the extra waiting in line times, but they feel like being there!

 

[jmasgat]

But I do think in addition to taking a cup of coffee from the room to have on the way to the race, I'll be adding a second cup pre-corral.

Maybe you could try a caffeine boosted gel or other non-liquid thing?

 

[The Expert]

Maybe you could try a caffeine boosted gel or other non-liquid thing?

I have tried caffeine gels and my stomach doesn't like them for some reason. You'd think it would be the same as coffee, but nope. ::sigh::

 

[col1]

Dopey Training Week 21 (Dec 23-29)
tl;dr I had a great week of workouts, in part thanks to the discovery that running to Youtube videos of previous races is hugely motivating to me. I'm SO excited about the cool weather forecast and feeling really ready for Dopey as I cruise into my 54th birthday tomorrow (Dec 30th)!

Monday: rest Stretching/Yoga
I've was a bit tight from my Sunday run, even after rolling a couple of times and stretching afterward, so I pulled up one of the iFit stretch workouts for runners. About 25 minutes of targeted but gentle, long stretches and yoga poses did my body good.

Tuesday: rest 30 minutes shoveling
My watch was nagging me about recovery, so I did rest. Mostly. We got walloped with snow, so I did spend about 30 minutes shoveling walkways and decks.

Wednesday: Strength training
I swapped strength and run a few weeks ago to take Christmas off from the treadmill. Did a little heavy lifting but kept it short and relatively easy since my watch was still saying I needed additional recovery. I'm sure that was NOT helped by the Chiefs game, but we won and clinched the top seed and bye week -- WOOHOO! That means no more stressful games for almost a month!

Thursday: 4 miles easy 2 miles easy + stretch recovery
HRV was still a bit low, so I cut the run to 2 miles and added one of my iFit stretch recovery workouts.

Friday: 4 miles easy
I knocked this out on the treadmill and started watching a Youtube livestream from the Jan 2024 WDW marathon during my run. I figured this would be good mental prep and motivation, and I was right. I got right into the groove from the first interval and felt super strong this whole run! It helps the guys I'm watching started toward the back and were moving somewhat close to my pace.

Saturday: 6 miles easy
I continued watching the marathon livestream, and again it worked like a charm. It really does feel like I'm running the race and I'm super grateful to @Herding_Cats for mentioning it a while back on the MW thread. In fact, I thought I had spotted her and @Mr_Incr3dible at one point in the video, but turns out it wasn't them. I did start to feel some weird pains in my left hip toward the top of my leg, which is brand new. I walked for about 10 minutes roughly 4 miles in and felt good enough to pick up intervals again through the last mile. I spend some extra time rolling and even got out the theragun, and everything felt fine a few hours later.

Sunday: 7 miles M Tempo
More of the livestream today -- some tough parts of the course with Bear Island Road and exiting AK toward BB parking lot. But again, good mental prep for the real thing! I hardly noticed the longer run intervals and faster speed I set for these tempo runs.

This coming week is even easier. I have a rest day Monday and dinner out for my birthday, then 4-mile easy runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'll do some of the iFit strength/stretching workouts on the other days, and by next weekend I'll be in full blown packing mode for my flight out on Jan 7!

Happy Birthday

I just tried 3 miles watching Disneyland 5k on YouTube it was great and helped pass the time, thanks for the tip

 

[Herding_Cats]

Happy Birthday!!!

Remember that there are food trucks right by the meetup spot, and a coffee one will likely be one of them.

 

[The Expert]

Happy Birthday!!!

Remember that there are food trucks right by the meetup spot, and a coffee one will likely be one of them.

Yes! The Joffrey's truck historically is right there by us.

 

[superchime]

Late to the party as usual, but Happy Birthday! I hope you had a good day!