To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

SarahDisney · Jan 15, 2018

Great trip recap!
I will admit, I was one of those people who was hoping to see you BQ at the marathon, but after reading your recap ... I think this is almost as good. You went out there and gave that race everything you had, despite having some things working against you. Coming in 20th overall in Dopey and 2nd Perfect Dopey ... that's pretty incredible. (And training for all this while at the same time coaching 20+ other runners ... that's insanely impressive). Great job and congrats on a successful last (

) Dopey!

DopeyBadger · Jan 16, 2018

SarahDisney said:
Great trip recap!

Thanks for reading!

SarahDisney said:
I will admit, I was one of those people who was hoping to see you BQ at the marathon, but after reading your recap ... I think this is almost as good. You went out there and gave that race everything you had, despite having some things working against you.

It was ambitious for sure. I was running on fumes there at the end and am very happy with the final results.

SarahDisney said:
Coming in 20th overall in Dopey and 2nd Perfect Dopey ... that's pretty incredible. (And training for all this while at the same time coaching 20+ other runners ... that's insanely impressive).

Thanks! Seeing those faces of excitement and exasperation come across the finish line makes all that coaching worth it. Just pure raw joy.

SarahDisney said:
Great job and congrats on a successful last ( ) Dopey!

Not last ever, I've still got to get that Sextuple PR. But certainly the last consecutive. I'll be back to Dopey someday. I've just got some other things on my plate that dictate that a January 2019 Disney vacation isn't in the cards. Plus, when I'm running Boston 2020 I really want to focus on that and not have the 48.6 mile weight on my training in January. So, I knew the consecutive was going to have to end eventually. No better time than now.

FredtheDuck · Jan 16, 2018

Read your entire recap over the weekend and WOW, what a weekend! As always, I really appreciated you kind of sharing your mental process, especially when it got a little tough during the marathon and the immediate aftermath. I think it's good to see that mental toughness and how someone as elite as (I consider) you goes through those ups and downs and mental gymnastics.

I also wanted to say that I really appreciated you including the section on runners you coached. I was away during the marathon weekend, so it was kind of a nice place to see a round up of how everyone fared (super well, so much to be proud of!!!). I'm so glad that your wife got to meet some of the people you've helped and see firsthand how grateful we all are for your time. I'm personally really grateful to her, too, for supporting you in your hobby of helping everyone here (me included) - I know it takes sacrifice and patience on her part, too.

A couple of other random things: HUGE congratulations to your mom! Dopey is such an amazing accomplishment, and it sounds like she had to really knuckle through a couple of things and was able to tough it out across those finish lines... good for her!! Congrats to G on her new PR (and, adorable that you guys have matching medal racks), and so glad you're both feeling better. Finally, love that confidence about Boston 2020... excited to see you attack this next chapter.

SarahDisney · Jan 16, 2018

DopeyBadger said:
Not last ever, I've still got to get that Sextuple PR. But certainly the last consecutive. I'll be back to Dopey someday. I've just got some other things on my plate that dictate that a January 2019 Disney vacation isn't in the cards. Plus, when I'm running Boston 2020 I really want to focus on that and not have the 48.6 mile weight on my training in January. So, I knew the consecutive was going to have to end eventually. No better time than now.

Ah. That makes sense. All streaks come to an end eventually ... but I look forward to reading all about the Sextuple PR in 2021!

DopeyBadger · Jan 16, 2018

FredtheDuck said:
Read your entire recap over the weekend and WOW, what a weekend!

Thanks!

FredtheDuck said:
As always, I really appreciated you kind of sharing your mental process, especially when it got a little tough during the marathon and the immediate aftermath. I think it's good to see that mental toughness and how someone as elite as (I consider) you goes through those ups and downs and mental gymnastics.

Sometimes it's not just what happens, but how you react.

FredtheDuck said:
I also wanted to say that I really appreciated you including the section on runners you coached. I was away during the marathon weekend, so it was kind of a nice place to see a round up of how everyone fared (super well, so much to be proud of!!!).

Happy you enjoyed it. I was probably most excited to write that section given the across the board experiences. And I didn't want to be cherry picking. So I included everyone's experiences with my plans as a full spectrum of results. Overall though I'm very pleased.

FredtheDuck said:
I'm so glad that your wife got to meet some of the people you've helped and see firsthand how grateful we all are for your time. I'm personally really grateful to her, too, for supporting you in your hobby of helping everyone here (me included) - I know it takes sacrifice and patience on her part, too.

Like I said, it was an important moment for her. We've certainly had discussions about the time I spend on here. But immediately after the HH meet up, there was an even better understanding of what I'm trying to do.

FredtheDuck said:
HUGE congratulations to your mom! Dopey is such an amazing accomplishment, and it sounds like she had to really knuckle through a couple of things and was able to tough it out across those finish lines... good for her!!

Thanks! It certainly wasn't as easy as she would have hoped. But I'm proud of her dealing with those things and getting through it.

FredtheDuck said:
Congrats to G on her new PR (and, adorable that you guys have matching medal racks), and so glad you're both feeling better.

Watch out Florence Griffith-Joyner!

FredtheDuck said:
Finally, love that confidence about Boston 2020... excited to see you attack this next chapter.

All about that mindset. No more complacency. Attacking is certainly the correct term.

SarahDisney said:
Ah. That makes sense. All streaks come to an end eventually ... but I look forward to reading all about the Sextuple PR in 2021!

DopeyBadger · Jan 16, 2018

I've updated the recap with new pictures from runDisney. Some of my favorites!

5k Finish

10k Finish

Wonderful shading

HM Finish

Mile 25 (someone looks tired)

The end of an era....

Something I noticed quite frequently in my running pictures is that I have that elusive double float in my gait at many of my paces. There are actual periods of time where neither of my feet are on the ground during my gait. It's something I've never noted before, but I've never had so many pictures of me running before. Pretty cool!

rootbeerkid · Jan 16, 2018

Question Mr. Badger - I've reviewed your diet. Is it pretty much the same everyday? How does this diet effect family meals - do you all eat the same at family meals or are separate dishes served? I'm looking to improve my diet and wondering how this will work with the family.

dis_or_dat · Jan 16, 2018

Love the pictures! I almost cried looking at the picture of you crying and knowing all the emotions you were going through. By the way, your family is gorgeous! Steph is a great partner and I'm so jealous of her braiding abilities!

GollyGadget · Jan 17, 2018

DopeyBadger said:
I've updated the recap with new pictures from runDisney. Some of my favorites!

5k Finish

View attachment 295916

View attachment 295913

10k Finish

View attachment 295915

10k Finish

View attachment 295914

Wonderful shading

View attachment 295912

View attachment 295910

HM Finish

View attachment 295911

Mile 25 (someone looks tired)

View attachment 295909

The end of an era....

View attachment 295907

View attachment 295908

Something I noticed quite frequently in my running pictures is that I have that elusive double float in my gait at many of my paces. There are actual periods of time where neither of my feet are on the ground during my gait. It's something I've never noted before, but I've never had so many pictures of me running before. Pretty cool!

Congrats on a great weekend! I came across some advice last week..."Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." I know you we're aiming for that marathon PR, but I have no doubt you'll gain something from this training cycle and earn your BQ soon.

I just hope next time I run Disney I can be as fast as you so I can get an awesome castle shot. Like you, I think the price is too high but would probably bite if I got a good pic running through the castle. This year, I found a bit of a gap to settle into and then a couple runners jutted in front. So now I just have a picture of me giving them a dirty look, haha.

Not worth the $$

DopeyBadger · Jan 17, 2018

rootbeerkid said:
Question Mr. Badger - I've reviewed your diet. Is it pretty much the same everyday? How does this diet effect family meals - do you all eat the same at family meals or are separate dishes served? I'm looking to improve my diet and wondering how this will work with the family.

This was the last time I officially updated my diet regimen:

Diet change in March 2017 to prepare for sub 3

In October 2017 (after my marathon), I realized I had gained 10-13 pounds from March 2017 to October 2017. So I re-evaluated in Oct 2017 using myfitnesspal and ended up dropping the quinoa and almonds from the lunch. I slightly increased the chicken at lunch as well. We also started using Hello Fresh for dinners (3 meals for 2 people for $60 a week).

With that being said, yes - my breakfast and lunch is very consistent on a daily basis. Eggs, oatmeal, chicken sandwich, spinach salad with avocado. The Hello Fresh has introduced a lot of variety into my dinner. It saves Steph a ton of time cooking and shopping for groceries. We've had only a small handful of bad meals and have been extremely pleased with the value. It helps that it is portion controlled for 2 people. I highly recommend it.

So, I eat breakfast and lunch the same nearly every day. Post-workout shake is consistent. Dinner is a family meal (that 3/7 times is Hello Fresh). The non-Hello Fresh meals are general things that both Steph and I like.

Hope that helps!

dis_or_dat said:
Love the pictures! I almost cried looking at the picture of you crying and knowing all the emotions you were going through.

Thanks! So many different emotions on display and thoughts going through my head.

dis_or_dat said:
By the way, your family is gorgeous! Steph is a great partner and I'm so jealous of her braiding abilities!

Thanks! I'm a lucky guy in more ways than one.

GollyGadget said:
Congrats on a great weekend!

Thanks!

GollyGadget said:
I came across some advice last week..."Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." I know you we're aiming for that marathon PR, but I have no doubt you'll gain something from this training cycle and earn your BQ soon.

Absolutely. I try to never lose sight of the big picture. Every training run and all the time I have spent in the last 5.5 years is to reach that "A" goal. Everything that happens in between is part of the learning process to help get me there. The 2018 Dopey Challenge training cycle was highly successful. I got my weight back where I wanted it. I also reinforced to myself how valuable the Daniels T training was from Spring 2017 (and incorporated it in Dopey 2018 training). Those were two important learning lessons moving forward. Outside of a side stitch in the 5k, there was literally nothing I could have done differently for the 2018 Dopey race experience. The plan was executed as planned throughout.

GollyGadget said:
I just hope next time I run Disney I can be as fast as you so I can get an awesome castle shot. Like you, I think the price is too high but would probably bite if I got a good pic running through the castle. This year, I found a bit of a gap to settle into and then a couple runners jutted in front. So now I just have a picture of me giving them a dirty look, haha.

LOL! Dirty looks. I have no doubt that you can and will get that fast if you want to. It's a nice benefit of running faster having solo glamour shots.

Sailormoon2 · Jan 17, 2018

Incredible finisher shots!! I love the happiness on your face in the 10K, and of course ALL THE EMOTIONS at the end of the marathon!
Her is my favourite (marathon finish) OH so happy!

rootbeerkid · Jan 17, 2018

DopeyBadger said:
This was the last time I officially updated my diet regimen:

Diet change in March 2017 to prepare for sub 3

In October 2017 (after my marathon), I realized I had gained 10-13 pounds from March 2017 to October 2017. So I re-evaluated in Oct 2017 using myfitnesspal and ended up dropping the quinoa and almonds from the lunch. I slightly increased the chicken at lunch as well. We also started using Hello Fresh for dinners (3 meals for 2 people for $60 a week).

With that being said, yes - my breakfast and lunch is very consistent on a daily basis. Eggs, oatmeal, chicken sandwich, spinach salad with avocado. The Hello Fresh has introduced a lot of variety into my dinner. It saves Steph a ton of time cooking and shopping for groceries. We've had only a small handful of bad meals and have been extremely pleased with the value. It helps that it is portion controlled for 2 people. I highly recommend it.

So, I eat breakfast and lunch the same nearly every day. Post-workout shake is consistent. Dinner is a family meal (that 3/7 times is Hello Fresh). The non-Hello Fresh meals are general things that both Steph and I like.

Hope that helps!

Thanks. It does help.

Dietary discipline is a challenge and one of the factors is associated with family meals. They're important together times and trying to integrate nutrition with the standard family menu is often incongruous.

steph0808 · Jan 17, 2018

Finally finished the marathon recap - so awesome! I love reading about all the things to do at Disney that I have no idea about - new places to eat, pony rides, etc. I need to start a list.

I love the shorts you wore for the Minnie 10k! haha. Fashion is always first

Like you, I would have similar conflicting emotions at the end of the marathon based on that incorrect clock time.

Now let me get to my PMs so you can have another training plan to work on this weekend!

DopeyBadger · Jan 17, 2018

Sailormoon2 said:
Incredible finisher shots!! I love the happiness on your face in the 10K, and of course ALL THE EMOTIONS at the end of the marathon!
Her is my favourite (marathon finish) OH so happy!
View attachment 295971

That's a nice one!

steph0808 said:
Finally finished the marathon recap - so awesome!

Sweet, thanks for reading!

steph0808 said:
I love reading about all the things to do at Disney that I have no idea about - new places to eat, pony rides, etc. I need to start a list.

All the off the beaten path options!

steph0808 said:
I love the shorts you wore for the Minnie 10k! haha. Fashion is always first

For sure! Same company has some pink flamingo ones, or taco ones, or scary bats ones. Lots of interesting choices.

steph0808 said:
Like you, I would have similar conflicting emotions at the end of the marathon based on that incorrect clock time.

steph0808 said:
Now let me get to my PMs so you can have another training plan to work on this weekend!

Gotten through ~20 plans in the last week or so. On a roll! 11 more formally requested to go! Plus, I've got to finish my own! :eek:

Sailormoon2 · Jan 17, 2018

DopeyBadger said:
~20 plans in the last week or so.

You are a machine!

GollyGadget · Jan 17, 2018

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm still figuring out my goals for the rest of the year. It's a delicate balance between work/running/life that I'm trying to determine how much time I can spend running long term. I always viewed the WDW Marathon as a one time thing so it was easier to make sacrifices elsewhere. Now I need to figure out what that balance looks like going forward.

DopeyBadger · Jan 17, 2018

GollyGadget said:
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I'm still figuring out my goals for the rest of the year. It's a delicate balance between work/running/life that I'm trying to determine how much time I can spend running long term. I always viewed the WDW Marathon as a one time thing so it was easier to make sacrifices elsewhere. Now I need to figure out what that balance looks like going forward.

It's a very critical step moving forward. Set your goals and determine what is a realistic amount of time you have available to train. I'll always say that a well written and well executed 4 day plan can out perform a well written but spotty executed 6 day plan. My training plans have proven that to me time and again. There are many ways to be successful.

DopeyBadger · Jan 17, 2018

Two more goals checked off: 3/102 complete!

73. Run a sub 40 minute 10k - Completed 1/5/2018 in the Walt Disney World 10k (39:54)
77. Run a sub 20 minute 5k (in a race) - Completed 1/5/2018 in the Walt Disney World 10k (5k split of 19:36, Strava of 19:27, and total time of 39:54 for 10k)

DopeyBadger · Jan 17, 2018

Also, an updated career racing chart for Half Marathon, Marathon and Dopey pace:

Screen Shot 2018-01-17 at 2.07.44 PM.png

Anisum · Jan 17, 2018

DopeyBadger said:
Gotten through ~20 plans in the last week or so. On a roll! 11 more formally requested to go! Plus, I've got to finish my own!

Oh man, good thing I'm waiting until I finalize my race schedule.

To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

So ... Yeah

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So ... Yeah

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Did I hear a young noise blast through here?

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Did I hear a young noise blast through here?

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