I'm just back from braving the tundra that is upstate New York for my third and final Dopey Challenge simulation run. I did another 5-7-10-20 over four days. It's scary how accustomed to the distance your body gets so quickly. The first 20 miler felt like it was never going to end. The second one was painful, but I knew what to expect. Today's run felt almost normal. It was also the first time that, at the end of the 20 miler, I said to myself, "you know, I probably could run another 10K if I kept going." That's as good a place to be in for the marathon as you can be.
I'm so excited for the Dopey Challenge. It'll be the culmination of SIX MONTHS of training. I've put in the work to rack up the road miles this year. I've also worked hard on building speed with the goal of getting myself into "A" Corral for the Dopey Challenge.
I'm pleased to report that I got into that corral. I ran hard during the racing season to give myself a chance at it, and I'm so glad that all that hard work paid off. The McMillian calculator has me as a projected 3:17 marathon based on my fastest half time. I can tell you now that's not going to happen. However, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking I've got an outside shot to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
The good news is that runDisney courses are fast and flat with a ton of entertainment. The bad news is I will have already run a 5K, 10K, and half marathon AND walked around the parks. So here's the list of Dopey goals for me to think about as I head into the taper.
Goal A: Qualify for the Boston Marathon -While the qualifying time for women in my age bracket is 3:35, you really need to be under this time to actually get into the race. Goal time: 3:30
Goal B: PR in the Marathon -In order to reach this goal, I will need to run a sub 3:41. I think that's definitely a possibility depending on Dopey fatigue.
Goal C: If it looks like A and B are not going to happen, have as much fun as possible while completing Dopey -Regardless of my marathon time, completing the Dopey challenge will be an amazing accomplishment that I'll be really proud of. So if my splits are making it seem that it's not going to be my day, I'll get as many character pictures as possible and maybe finish with a margarita in hand ;)
Are you heading to marathon weekend? What are your goals for the races?
I'm so excited for the Dopey Challenge. It'll be the culmination of SIX MONTHS of training. I've put in the work to rack up the road miles this year. I've also worked hard on building speed with the goal of getting myself into "A" Corral for the Dopey Challenge.
I'm pleased to report that I got into that corral. I ran hard during the racing season to give myself a chance at it, and I'm so glad that all that hard work paid off. The McMillian calculator has me as a projected 3:17 marathon based on my fastest half time. I can tell you now that's not going to happen. However, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking I've got an outside shot to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
The good news is that runDisney courses are fast and flat with a ton of entertainment. The bad news is I will have already run a 5K, 10K, and half marathon AND walked around the parks. So here's the list of Dopey goals for me to think about as I head into the taper.
Goal A: Qualify for the Boston Marathon -While the qualifying time for women in my age bracket is 3:35, you really need to be under this time to actually get into the race. Goal time: 3:30
Goal B: PR in the Marathon -In order to reach this goal, I will need to run a sub 3:41. I think that's definitely a possibility depending on Dopey fatigue.
Goal C: If it looks like A and B are not going to happen, have as much fun as possible while completing Dopey -Regardless of my marathon time, completing the Dopey challenge will be an amazing accomplishment that I'll be really proud of. So if my splits are making it seem that it's not going to be my day, I'll get as many character pictures as possible and maybe finish with a margarita in hand ;)
Are you heading to marathon weekend? What are your goals for the races?
Congrats on a Corral A placement! You've definitely worked hard for that honor! I'm in corral D and am looking forward to a fun weekend! Best of luck to you!! :)
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