Training for & Running a Marathon…

Oh, wait not just one race,

but 4 races in 4 days,

which is Totally Dopey.

5 years ago, a year after my heart attack, I completed The Donald, the half marathon race that happens every first weekend after New Years in Disney World. I decided that I loved racing and half marathons were the perfect distance. But I needed a bigger goal, I decided to get my body ready to run a marathon in five years and I would run The Mickey, a full marathon, 26.2 miles. The first race was magical why not make this bigger race magical too. Then the next year Disney announced a brand new challenge and a new race distance they had not offered before. 4 races over 4 days through all 4 of the theme parks, they named it The Dopey. They already had the 5k race and renamed it The Pluto 5K. They added a 10K distance and named it The Minnie. They had the half marathon named The Donald and the marathon named The Mickey with a challenge of it’s own The Goofy. If you run Donald and Mickey you accomplish The Goofy Challenge. The Dopey would not replace The Goofy it would be in addition to The Goofy allowing the participant to earn a total of 6 race medals. One medal for each race, then one medal for each challenge. 

I am a huge Donald Duck fan and that is why I chose that race to be my first half marathon. Dopey is one of my second favorites behind Donald and as I read the new challenge and what it entailed, I was sucked in. I decided I had 4 years, I could train and do those 4 races in 4 days including my first marathon ever. 

So I trained, kinda of, I started pursuing training December of 2015, but that kinda of flopped cause I injured myself. I took time off until my injury healed and I kept putting off training until about May of 2016. I started to get scared and determined, cause I had purchased a treadmill for when outdoor running wasn’t an option, I had spent $600 dollars and signed up for the race and I had made a commitment on local TV that I was doing it. I was running 4 to 6 miles a day and I was cross training, then summer heat hit and I couldn’t be in the heat anymore due to my heart and the increasing of my pace. I took to the A/C and the treadmill for July, August and part of September. I used my time wisely and increased my pace and speed, but I needed to get outside on the asphalt to really train for a road race. 

In the middle of September I finally got back outside and was very happy with my results, I was faster, my stride was better and I could breathe well when I ran, I wasn’t huffing and puffing through my runs. 

I started to increase my distance and every single time when I would do my long runs I would hit a wall. I would do 9 miles going for 13 and I once I got to 9 I couldn’t go anything further. I knew it was more mental than physical. I had to work on my mind accepting this goal as well as conditioning my body and increasing my endurance. 

Every day I would say you are going to do this, you can do this, this marathon is in the bag, and the miles started to pile on. I increased my daily runs from 6 miles to 8, then after about 2 weeks I increased my 8 mile daily runs to 10 miles. Some days I would only get 5 miles, but most days I would get the 10. 

Pace, speed and endurance increased. The long runs on the weekend became easier and longer, I hit 16 miles and I was ecstatic. The longest distance I have ever run and I felt great after. Then I had a weekend where I was going for 20 miles, I didn’t make it, I was running against a head wind and exhausted myself by mile 14. I was not happy, I was 3 weeks away from a major race and I hadn’t even hit 20 miles running. So the next weekend was Christmas and I caught a break, I would be off two days in a row. I took to the streets on Christmas Eve and ran. It rained and the people in cars were mean and splashed and drenched me, but I made 22.5 miles. I was happy I knew I was only 4.5 miles away from a marathon. 

I rested the next day and then decided to take advantage of New Years Day too and get more miles in the next week. I did 23 miles and I was ready to go to Orlando. I wanted to get at least one more run before we left, but my feet started to ache some so I rested for 3 days until the big race was to start. 

I wasn’t to concerned with my feet hurting but it was new pain and it was a bit irritating. I pushed it aside and didn’t dwell on it. 

NEXT: Disney World and the Pluto’s 5K

Water...It's what's good for you! Warning contains language about bathrooms visits.

We have all heard it... 8 glasses of 8 oz of water a day. Well I agreed to a point, drink enough until you don't feel dehydrated, Wrong, actually drink until you pee clear (this amount is different for everyone) this keeps you well hydrated and all your systems work correctly.

As a runner I knew I needed enough to sustain me while I ran so I wouldn't dehydrate and get the runner's trots, (see previous post). I was drinking about 16 to 20 oz of water day. It was enough to keep the trots away and keep me hydrated. But I was still dealing with my stomach issues in the morning before I ran (see previous post).

Then I started to do my morning exercises and I got thirsty, I increased my water to about 48 oz of water a day. I had to pee all the time, then something happened after about a week and a half, my bathroom breaks started to become fewer and I felt like I peed like a normal person, I wasn't going to the bathroom like a pregnant woman in her 9th month. My skin was not as harsh, cracked or dry. And then the most amazing "side effect" of consuming so much water per day, my poop was normal. I didn't have bad poops or runny poops. I started to poop later in the day and not early in the morning. I could get a whole run in and not have to worry about pooping until later. I was so excited, I had solved my poop problem (see previous post) by just increasing my water intake therefore helping my body and organs to function correctly. 

Water: It's What's Good For You! 

The Story Continues… The Tortoise and the Hare!

The story of The Tortoise and the Hare is about how the fast do not win, but slow and steady does. However in running the fast do win, but slow and steady is how to train your body for endurance.

As a young girl my mother wanted me to be dainty and girly, well, I was built like my dad and I was not dainty or girly. Give me a football over a ballerina tutu any day. But my mother still tried, she signed me up for Jazz, Tap and Ballet classes, I have no grace or rhythm so one year was all it took for me to want to stop. Then piano lessons; practice indoors when all the guys were out in the backyard tackling each other. I wanted to play football not practice on that stupid instrument.  Finally my mother gave in to my tomboyish ways and signed me up for soccer. OMG! The heavens parted and the Angels started to sign Hallelujah. I had found my calling I loved soccer, but, yes there is a but… I hated to run. Over time I found ways around not having to run, being put in the stopper position, they stay at one end of the field, also goalies didn’t run either. I made it all the way through my childhood soccer career without doing a lot of running, at least until High School.

High School was another beast all together; there were several different coaches, not just one or two. We had 5 coaches and all of them wanted to make us run, so we would have endurance during our games. I was not happy, but I gutted it out. A friend said, lets train, we will run every morning and build your endurance for soccer practice and in turn the games. I agreed, but we didn’t start off slow, no we ran 1 or 2 miles fast, I could never catch my breath, I always had a stitch in my side and my shins were killing me. You will work through this, you will overcome this, just give it time. I didn’t and I hated the running and in turn I started to hate Soccer, so I quit.

Now all these years later, I end up in a hospital with a stent in my heart, dying of a heart attack. I have got to get out and walk. At rehab I asked a vital question, “Do you think I need to run to get this weight off?” No I was told, just walk and keep a heart rate of 109 to 120 beats per minute for 60 minutes a day, sounded good to me, which lead me to walking a 5k a day. Then, Reid (my brother-in-law) told me about Disney and the half marathon. You should know this story if not check out this blog entry here. As I did my research on the rules of the Disney Half Marathon, I realized I didn’t walk fast enough to actually do the race. So I started to work on my time, I suck at walking fast. So I started to run, my knees were holding up well, I felt better, I could breathe, no stitches in my side and my shins didn’t hurt. I decided to start running. But not a full distance of a 5K, I was going to have to start over.

So I continued to walk and run a few more days increasing my running during my walks, to get my body ready for the full run I was planning in a few days. Now there is a lot of information on the internet about this, I did my research on walking and running. So please if you are planning on weight loss, new eating habits and exercise, talk to your physician and do research so you don’t hurt yourself.

Then on April 4, 2011, 4 months after my heart attack, I started to run. I did a whole .70 of a mile in 13 minutes running the entire time. Each day I added about a tenth of a mile, some days I didn’t add any more distance, then some days I would add more than a tenth. But I took it slow and steady; I listened to my body as well. By the end of May I was running a mile and a half, by the end of June I was running 2 miles. Over the course of 5 months I worked my way back up to a 5k a day. Then in October I ran my first 5k race, now because of adrenaline and a hilly course I walked most of the hills, I didn’t run the entire course but I finished and that is all that matters.

Then on October 29 a Saturday I did my first “long” run, 6.31 miles. I did it in honor of my brand new niece Azlynne Merie who was born the Wednesday before. Once I did that first long run I knew I could do any race. I was now doing 4 to 5 miles a day and every weekend I would add a mile to my long runs, until I increased to 12 miles on my long runs.  I did 12.24 miles on December 24, 2011 before my Disney run in January. I didn’t want to do 13.1 miles until I was in Disney I wanted my first 13 miles ever to be in the Magic Kingdom.

I didn’t win that race of course, a fast hare did, but I did finish the race and I got a medal and the feeling of accomplishment so slow and steady got me to my destination and I have gone beyond that. I am now working on getting the rest of my weight off so I can train for a marathon; really I am in training now. But I have goals in my head and I want to do them in order.

Next how to deal with colds and sickness so stay tuned.