“If I go, there’s just no telling how far I’ll go” - *DisneyDreamer’s marathon training journal

*DisneyDreamer

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 16, 2007
Hi all! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Claire! I’m 30 years old, live in Milwaukee, WI, and am a lover of all things Disney! I am starting this journal to document my preparation and training for my first full marathon in October 2018!

A little background on me:

I began my running journey back in 2014 as simply a way to get in more exercise and get myself in better shape. In December of 2013, I did a 2-mile Jingle Bell walk for the Arthritis Foundation and was inspired by the runners completing the 5K. I told myself that I could do that too, and so the next spring, I sought out other races and completed my first official 5K in May 2014. I was immediately hooked and knew that I was not going to be one and done. In July of that year I did my first Color Run, and in December returned to the Jingle Bell event, this time registering for and running the 5K. Everything continued from there, but I thought 5Ks would be my limit.

Enter RunDisney. In early 2015, my younger sister and one of her friends registered for the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge out in Disneyland. Now, due to my teacher schedule, a trip out to Disneyland at that time of year was not possible, but when I found out that my sister and her friend’s plan was to also sign up for Wine and Dine and complete the Coast to Coast, I knew I had to join along too. So on March 17, 2015, I joined the mass of chaos that was Wine and Dine registration, and managed to snag a spot before the race sold out in less than 30 minutes. And just like that, I went from completing only 5Ks to being committed to a half marathon.

And from there the journey continued. We all know 2015 Wine and Dine unfortunately was not a half marathon, but after that disappointment, I vowed to get my redemption and actually complete a real half marathon. That redemption was achieved at a local Milwaukee race in June 2016 (although I did not end up with an official time due to extreme heat on race day and the event going to a red flag). So the journey did not end, and I kept going. Fast forward to today, and I have now completed 6 half marathons (3 at Disney and 3 locally) along with several 10Ks and other races.

This journal is to document my next step - the full marathon! If you’d have told me a few years ago I’d be heading in this direction, I’d call you crazy, but alas, here we are. So I hope you’ll join me and follow along as I embark on this latest journey! As the thread title says, “if I go, there’s just no telling how far I’ll go!”

In coming posts, I’ll outline my plan for the next couple months, and once I begin official training, I’ll share that as well. :)
 
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Ok guys, I’m looking for advice as I put together my ideas for other potential races leading up to the marathon. The marathon I’m signed up for (Milwaukee Lakefront) is on Sunday, October 7. There is another local event that I’ve done the past 3 years that I’d like to continue doing, but it’s a week or so later than it usually is. So this year it falls on September 22, 15 days before the marathon. The event offers a 5K, 10K, and half marathon, so I’m looking for opinions or recommendations on which distance I should do should I choose to register. I’ve previously only done the 10K, but I’d like to do the half. But I’m thinking that this year that may be too close to the marathon. I’ll note that whatever one I choose to do, if any, would definitely not be treated as a race for time and only as a fun training run with a prize at the end!

Thoughts?
 


If your training plan has 13 for two weeks before than doing the half as a training run would be fine in my opinion (of course I say this as someone who doesn't do races as training runs cause of my schedule but others do plenty of times as the support in a training run helps just as well). If though your plan calls for less then do the 10k. But as long as you can control your pace to your long run you should be fine doing the half :)
 
Ok guys, I’m looking for advice as I put together my ideas for other potential races leading up to the marathon. The marathon I’m signed up for (Milwaukee Lakefront) is on Sunday, October 7. There is another local event that I’ve done the past 3 years that I’d like to continue doing, but it’s a week or so later than it usually is. So this year it falls on September 22, 15 days before the marathon. The event offers a 5K, 10K, and half marathon, so I’m looking for opinions or recommendations on which distance I should do should I choose to register. I’ve previously only done the 10K, but I’d like to do the half. But I’m thinking that this year that may be too close to the marathon. I’ll note that whatever one I choose to do, if any, would definitely not be treated as a race for time and only as a fun training run with a prize at the end!

Thoughts?

2 weeks out is most likely a 90 minute run at LR pace if you have me write the plan. Based on the plan from last year that would be about 7.4 miles.
 
So I know I started this journal over 2 months ago, but since I hadn't started official training, I've kind of neglected it. Things have been pretty low-key the past few weeks, with just some light mileage and a couple easy 5K races. But I received my training plan from @DopeyBadger and training starts this week! 18 weeks to go until the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon.

So here is the week 1 schedule:
Monday: Off Day
Tuesday: 3 miles at Easy/Long Run pace
Wednesday: 3 miles at Easy/LR
Thursday: 3 miles at Easy/LR
Friday: Off Day
Saturday: 4 miles at Easy/LR
Sunday: 4 miles at Easy/LR

So it's really a pretty straightforward week to get it started! My easy/long run pace (and all of my runs for that matter) will be intervals, as I am a run/walker.

Along with Marathon training, I have embarked on a goal for the month of June (and hopefully continued throughout the summer). The goal is run/walk at least one mile (consecutive - not just added up throughout the day!) every day. So on my plan's off days, I will plan to keep that up, but keep the distance to one mile and just walking, not running. So far I am off to a good start with 3 miles yesterday and Friday and 4.5 today. Funny story about today: I set out with the idea in mind to really only do a couple miles, going up to Lake Michigan (which is about a mile from my apartment) and then head back. Well, instead of turning at the street I usually do when coming from that direction, I went up one street further and turned there. Well, this street is kind of twisty and I knew this, but I got mixed up with my turns and ended up going in a circle through that neighborhood. I eventually wound up back on the same road along the lake where I had started but about 4-5 blocks south of where I needed to be. :blush: So instead of doing 2 or so miles like I thought I would, it very quickly became 4.5. But oh well, the weather was beautiful, mostly overcast with a bit of sunshine here and there and comfortable temps, so it was all good!

Anyway, I hope some of you will jump back on board and follow along as I begin Week 1! T- 126 days until the Marathon!
 
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Yay for starting your training plan! I'm excited to follow along as you get ready for your marathon.

I love your June run/walk goal. That's such a great way to make sure you're a little active even on non-running days!
 
Random thought of the day: I’m feeling a bit bummed out this week in regards to running since my traditional end-of-the-school year race got cancelled this year (Did I mention this week is the last week of school? 4 days until summer vacation! All of us in the teaching world are so ready!) But anyway, the race cancellation was kind of a bizarre decision if you ask me since it was one of the largest events in the Milwaukee area and always got great turnout. I’ve run it the past 3 years (the quarter marathon in 2015, and the half marathon in 2016 and 2017). The half marathon in 2016 was my first half and redemption from 2015 Wine and Dine, so it’s got a special place in my heart. I loved the event and course so much, despite the unfortunate hot weather we had the last 2 years, especially in 2016 when they red flagged it and stopped timing. I’m really disappointed to not have it to look forward to as my summer kickoff this weekend. :guilty:
R.I.P. Summerfest Rock ‘n Sole
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Anyway, I’ll keep updating as I move along, as long as people are interested. If you’re reading, please like or comment to let me know you’re here! Have a great week!
 
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Random thought of the day: I’m feeling a bit bummed out this week in regards to running since my traditional end-of-the-school year race got cancelled this year (Did I mention this week is the last week of school? 4 days until summer vacation! All of us in the teaching world are so ready!) But anyway, the race cancellation was kind of a bizarre decision if you ask me since it was one of the largest events in the Milwaukee area and always got great turnout. I’ve run it the past 3 years (the quarter marathon in 2015, and the half marathon in 2016 and 2017). The half marathon in 2016 was my first half and redemption from 2015 Wine and Dine, so it’s got a special place in my heart. I loved the event and course so much, despite the unfortunate hot weather we had the last 2 years, especially in 2016 when they red flagged it and stopped timing. I’m really disappointed to not have it to look forward to as my summer kickoff this weekend. :guilty:

Anyway, I’ll keep updating as I move along, as long as people are interested. If you’re reading, please like or comment to let me know you’re here! Have a great week!

They've got a 5k and HM option at Hot2Trot. Just saying...
 
Oh man, sad that they cancelled the race. Those medals are super cool, too - it would have been great to get another one.

Congrats on the end of the school year!
 
Week 1 Recap:
6/4-6/10

Miles scheduled: 17
Miles completed: 20 (including off-day walk miles)

Monday 6/4: Off Day
Although today was an off day, I kept up with my June goal and completed my daily mile of walking. It ended up being about 2 miles since I decided to fit it in by walking to a nearby Starbucks for a latte after a Monday, last week of the school year field trip with kindergarteners. I love the kiddos to death but they are a handful! I wanted to get in the full mile continuously on the way there, so I went a bit out of my way and it clocked in at 1.12 miles.The direct route on the way back was 0.87 mile. It was an absolutely beautiful day so it was nice to get outside and enjoy it even when I wasn't scheduled for a run.

Tuesday 6/5: 3 miles at Easy/Long Run pace
First official run of marathon training! It was a cooler than average day for early June, but beautiful for running. Temps at the time of my run were around 55 degrees, with a dew point around 44, and it was sunny with a breeze. The intervals for my long runs are 50 seconds running at 12:10/mile pace and 30 seconds walking at 16:00/mile, averaging out to a pace of about 13:22/mile. It's going to take a bit of adjusting to get used to this slower pace. It's hard to know exactly what pace I'm running at since the intervals are short and sometimes my Garmin gets a bit wonky. But my mile splits were 12:25, 13:03, and 12:45. So a bit faster than it should be but pretty close. And the run felt great.

Wednesday 6/6: 3 miles at Easy/LR
Happy Global Running Day! It was another great day today with another easy, comfortable run. It was warmer than yesterday, temp around 65 and dew point around 52, with less of a breeze, but the run still felt great. Splits: 12:10, 12:23, 12:49 (so once again a bit faster than prescribed). I'm continuing to try to slow it down even when I feel comfortable.

Thursday 6/7: 3 miles at Easy/LR
Weather was about the same today as yesterday - temp 62, dew point 51, sunny, a bit windy - overall it's been a great weather week for running! The run once again went smoothly, and my splits were a bit closer to the prescribed pace (12:15, 12:58, 13:17).

Friday 6/8: Off Day
Today was the last day of school. It was bittersweet since although it was a crazy school year with the kindergarteners, I'm going to miss them! And I unfortunately will not be back in the same role next school year since I knew going in that it was a one-year position to support 2 large kindergarten classes. Which means a summer ahead of trying to find another job. :( Anyway, since today was an off day, there was no running, but I fit in my one mile of walking after the school day. The streak stays alive!

Saturday 6/9: 4 miles at Easy/LR
Today's weather was overcast and foggy - Temp around 60 and dew point around 56. But at least there was no rain. My 4 miles once again felt very comfortable. Splits were 12:10, 12:19, 12:38, 12:34 (still not quite hitting the paces).

Sunday 6/10: 4 miles at Easy/LR
I was not sure whether today's run was ever going to happen. It was already raining first thing this morning and although it wasn't pouring and it didn't look like there was a ton of rain around, it was just hanging out right over us and took forever to move out. It finally cleared around 3:00 and I headed out almost immediately. It was funny how when I first started, I was the only one on the recreational path, but then as I went on, bicyclists passed me here and there, and by the time I finished, it seemed like a lot more people were out. I think everyone was anxious for the rain to pass! It was another solid, easy run with no issues. Splits were 12:27, 13:01, 12:58, 12:55.

Overall, it was a really solid first week! I got in all my runs and felt really comfortable with my long run intervals. I'm going to keep working on trying to slow it down a bit more though, since I know the runs are going to get longer and the weather is going to get hotter as we head into summer. Although I've held up so far, I want it to continue. I'm trying to figure out what I need to change - with my Garmin, it's hard to know exactly what my running and walking paces are at any given time. I think both the run segments and walk segments are a bit fast but I'm not sure. Hopefully I'll figure it out!

Here's the week 2 schedule:
Monday: Off Day
Tuesday: 3 miles at Easy/LR
Wednesday: 3 miles at Easy/LR
Thursday: 3 miles at Easy/LR
Friday: Off Day
Saturday: 4 miles at Easy/LR
Sunday: 2 miles at Easy, 0.6 miles at 10K pace, 1 mile at Easy

I hope everyone has a great upcoming week!
 
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Great start to the plan! Slowing down can be very hard, especially if you're adjusting to new paces, but if you just remember to take it easy, you'll get there eventually.

In terms of the Garmin - mine has the option to display current pace, which is what I use to make sure I'm close to where I should be for my running and walking paces (actually, my current one allows me to display both current pace and average pace, but my old one only had one of the two, so I did current). I don't know if your Garmin has that option, but it might be worth investigating.
 
Great start to the plan! Slowing down can be very hard, especially if you're adjusting to new paces, but if you just remember to take it easy, you'll get there eventually.

In terms of the Garmin - mine has the option to display current pace, which is what I use to make sure I'm close to where I should be for my running and walking paces (actually, my current one allows me to display both current pace and average pace, but my old one only had one of the two, so I did current). I don't know if your Garmin has that option, but it might be worth investigating.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure I do have mine set to display current pace, but it’s just a bit hard to know my exact pace since I’m switching so frequently between running and walking. It takes the Garmin a little time to readjust the pace when speeding up or slowing down (it slowly changes every few seconds while it’s going up or down) so by the time it’s figuring it out, it’s time to change again. I’m hoping that as long as my easy runs stay easy I’ll manage, and that the current pace display will work better for tempo runs when the running intervals are longer.
 

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