Training officially started today for my 2024-’25 (runDisney) running season. My first major race of the season will probably be runDisney’s Wine & Dine (short of any spontaneous local ones I throw in along the way) but I always gear my training to January’s Dopey Challenge since that’s the biggest race set of the season and the only one that includes a full marathon. Wine & Dine just ends up being a set of training runs – in fact we usually joke that we’re actually supposed to run longer than 13.1 on the day of the Wine & Dine Half as a part of our Dopey training.
After Dopey we’ll do the Princess race weekend and Springtime Surprise along with some smaller local races–and at that point I can decide whether to escalate my training and coast into some post-Dopey PRs (between the entertainment and the tired legs, you generally don’t PR at Dopey itself) or relax and focus more on recovery and enjoying the tail end of the season.
So, all of that being said, I’m partial to Hal Higdon’s training plans, and they are 18 weeks long, so if you count backwards from the date of Dopey’s full marathon, and account for Monday’s being a cross training day, you land on today, Tuesday, September 10th, as the actual first day of running on the program.
I’ve been through this a few times. My first Dopey was in 2018–the year after we moved down here. (Looking back, it’s wild that Marathon Weekend was the race weekend that I chose to skip before we lived here! It’s far and away my favorite now. In fact it’s probably one of my favorite weekends of the year period. I think the thought of doing Dopey for four straight days in a hotel room with two young kids just didn’t seem like a great time….)
I usually stretch my training schedule out a bit more, because of all of the benefits of it that I’m about to talk about…but things just kept coming up one after another this summer, so while I’ve been running very regularly, it hasn’t really been on a proper schedule. And that was the problem.
Because what I really want to talk about this morning is just how excited I am to finally be able to give myself back over to a set training plan.
Something that takes the decision-making out of every morning. Something that tells me not only that I’ll need to be in bed early on Saturday for that long Sunday run–but also that I’m supposed to take Friday as a recovery day. That my off day is as much a part of my preparation as my long run days. That it all works together and your only job is to trust the process. (And sleep and hydrate and fuel and warmup and stretch and cross train…but you get my point.)
I love my training schedule because it takes the “if” off my plate every morning and directs me straight on to “what”.
I love my training schedule because if I trust the process the strength will come.
I love my training schedule because I get all of my best ideas while I’m out there.
I love my training schedule because it whittles away at the resistance to action in every other part of my life.
But I think more than anything I love my training schedule because it forces me to wake up and sit with discomfort almost every morning. During every run, as I work my way down the road and back again, I have a lot of time to think about what the discomfort I’m feeling really amounts to. What it means objectively. I try just to let thoughts go while my Shokz play music in the background. I notice my mind looking forward to the run being over, to taking a shower and eating breakfast and sitting still. But then I take a mental step back from that perspective and ask myself, objectively, if that is better than this. It’s all just feeling–nothing about it is inherently good or bad. The discomfort of the run isn’t objectively worse than the comfort of my couch. I learn that I can stay with the discomfort. I can make peace with it. It’s a lesson that I drag with me into the rest of the day. It’s something that gets easier to remember as the season wears on.
{You can do almost anything if you can learn to be bored and to sit with your discomfort and hell if those aren’t two things that you get good at when you’re training for a marathon.}
And then after, being reminded again and again that the good feeling comes after the run is over. That if I was sitting around waiting to feel inspired to run before I laced up my shoes and made myself just do the thing, I’d probably still be sitting around. That’s why I love the program. It takes me away from deciding whether to do it, shoves me out the door, and let’s me enjoy the little boost after without so much as an I-told-you-so.
Not the worst way to start most of your days.
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If you’re interested in my exact training plan, take a look at Hal Higdon’s options. He has a wonderful Dopey-focused plan that I’ve completed several times. This year I’m opting for his Intermediate II schedule because I’m in the mood to get lost in some steady mileage and don’t necessarily feel the need to do the actual Dopey simulations that are included in the Dopey schedule. Considered one of the Advanced plans but honestly I just don’t have the time for the mileage, or at least I’m not willing to trade anything else for it, and prefer the runs to be a little less guided as far as pacing. (I run slow when I’m groggy and fly when I’m feeling it and that’s worked pretty well for me so far…)
If you are interested in other options, like interval training, I’d also highly recommend all of Jeff Galloway’s training plans. He works very closely with runDisney as is such a pillar for the community. Many, many runners find his plans to be accessible when they’re just beginning and continue on with them with great success as they advance in their training.
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Please join me on Instagram for my day-to-day adventures living a mile from the magic.
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Planning a run while you’re here? You can find my complete guide to running trails on Walt Disney World property RIGHT HERE. And if you’re planning a runDisney race weekend, you can find my tips for gear to have on hand right HERE.
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I take pictures too!! (It’s sorta my thing…) If you’re missing home (or love someone who is) and are looking for a way to bring the magic home, I’d love for you to check out my fine art photography prints over at Thousand Circles Images. And if you’re interested in a portrait session while you’re in town, use my contact form to schedule a consult!!
