This Princess Gets Dopey - The start of a new adventure...

princess_jamie

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 16, 2015
Well I have put this off long enough!

It has been over a month since I officially committed to Dopey 2018, and one of my goals was to start a training journal on here to help keep myself accountable - yet this has been way harder to start than actually running.

First off - let me introduce myself: I'm Jamie! I'm 27, a hopefully soon to be puppy-mama, long time disboards lurker, wannabe Disney Princess, and bling inspired runner from Canada.

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My runDisney journey started way back in 2007 - I saw an ad for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in a free running magazine I was flipping through in my dorm in my first year of University. That day I decided it was my goal to run that race by the time I turned 25. If you're doing that math, you know I was giving myself LOTS of time. I was never much of a runner growing up. I played a lot of team sports - basketball, fastball, and some volleyball/field hockey in the "off-season" - but wasn't really into the solo sports. I remember that day I went for a run around a little pond on the edge on campus and thought - I don't think I like running. I ran my very first ever race in 2012 while in University - a 6km night run that included an insanely long and decently steep hill.

Fastforward to 2013 - I somehow convinced myself and my dad to run my very first half marathon - the Lululemon Seawheeze race in Vancouver. Now that I was closing in on my goal of PHM by my 25th birthday, I had to make sure I could actually run a half marathon first. I ran my very first 10k race and three months and likely very minimal training later, I had completed my very first half marathon in 2:34:28.

My dad and I ended up doing that race again the next year with some of my friends from school. Similarly, minimal training led me to a 2:33:16 finish. I remember feeling a bit bummed when some of my friends kicked my butt in the race, but reminded myself that I can't really compare myself to someone who trained well, when I didn't train much at all.

February 2015 rolled around and included many firsts. First time at WDW as an adult. My dbf's first time at WDW. First runDisney race. First runDisney challenge. I turned 25 on the Friday, ran the Enchanted 10k on the Saturday, and ran the Princess Half Marathon on the Sunday - earning my coveted Glass Slipper Challenge medal and a rose and mimosa from my dbf. That was an amazing trip, but also got me totally hooked on the runDisney experience.

I ran my 3rd consecutive Seawheeze Half Marathon in Vancouver in August 2015 - 3 in a row for me and dad, plus first half marathon for my sister and dbf - with a half marathon PR of 2:19:08.

Then less than a month later, I dragged dbf to Disneyland so I could run the Dumbo Double Dare and earn my Coast to Coast medal.

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Running the PHM by my 25th birthday was probably one of the only times that I've set a pretty big, time-bound goal and actually accomplished it. I'm incredible proud of those medals.

After that, it was time for a new goal....
 
Following along! Well done on your journey thus far and no doubt you're going to crush your new goals too! ::yes::
 
When I was getting ready for past half marathons, people always asked me - do you think you'll ever run a marathon? My typical response was absolutely not, never, nope. I couldn't fathom running more than a half marathon. I had a co-worker do Dopey in 2015 and I met with her before I headed to FL for GSC and was so excited for my own runDisney experience - a "manageable" 19.3 miles. Then after GSC and DDD I began lurking the disboards for Dopey race reports and started to wonder... could I do that? Do I even want to do that? The answer - a resounding yes. Disney has a funny way of convincing you that you can do the impossible. So - in late 2015 - Dopey 2018 became the goal.

And here we are. I am registered for Dopey 2018.

Courtesy of the friendly neigh-board-hood @DopeyBadger, I have some science turned into a personalized half marathon training plan to help me train for a local half marathon and work on my endurance so I can feel confident and strong heading into Dopey in January. I am also realizing I have a lot to learn about pacing and breathing and I'm sure a lot more.

As of yesterday, it was exactly 8 weeks until my half marathon. I will update this journal at minimum weekly as I make my way to that race and all my thoughts along the way.

Here are some notes from my last two weeks:

Training Week 1: March 20 - 26
Monday: 3.51 miles - 43:00 min
Wednesday: 3.04 miles - 36:05 min
Friday: 2.5 miles - 28:50 min
Sunday: 5 miles - 57:58 min
Total miles: 14.05

Training Week 2: March 27 - April 2
Monday: 3.51 miles - 44:04 min
Wednesday: 3.41miles - 40:32 min
Friday: 2.52 miles - 29:14 min
Saturday: 6 miles - 1:08:44 min
Total miles: 15.44

Last week we had some great weather for spring running, and then yesterday we have thick wet sleet/snow that just brought miserable weather. I was so glad it held off until Sunday and only lasted for a day. I can't take much more of winter.

Anyways to close out the nigh, some inspiring words from a classic villain: "You're only a fool if you give up" - Jafar
 


Well I am already behind in my training journal.

Of course, I'm on my lunch break and don't have all my running details from the last week. I have been meaning to write since last week, but my grandpa was rushed to the hospital via helicopter from his small town to my city so it has been a crazy weekend. He is stable for now, but has minimal time left with us. Basically anytime between a day to a month. It has been a rough weekend for my mom and her siblings. It has been nice for me to see a lot of family but definitely not under the best circumstances.

I've been doing my best to make sure to take time for me - which includes running. We have also been having crazy weather - last week I think we had a day that was plus 18C and this morning we woke up to snow.

Yesterday was the roughest day of training. I couldn't get my mind focused. Nothing really felt bad about running - my legs felt a little heavy, but mentally I couldn't push passed it. I was running on the treadmill at the gym because it was insanely windy and cold out so it was a struggle to get going outside, which led me inside. But I couldn't do it. So I settled with my 1.12 miles and went for a steam and hot tub to enjoy some 'self care'. That was promptly interrupted by some steam room drama - so my wonderful planned night of getting my run in with some steam room/hot tub time didn't go so well. Oh well - honestly I thought about being frustrated with everything and mad at myself that I didn't make my run, but I actually felt okay. For some reason my body was telling me not to push it and I'm confident I can make the rest of the week worthwhile. I am so proud of myself for actually making every single run up until this point. I have never been good at actually training before and I have made this a priority in my life and although I'm still incredibly nervous for Dopey, I believe that I can get to a point where I know my body is ready.

More soon.

A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart - Zeus
 
Of course, I'm on my lunch break and don't have all my running details from the last week. I have been meaning to write since last week, but my grandpa was rushed to the hospital via helicopter from his small town to my city so it has been a crazy weekend. He is stable for now, but has minimal time left with us. Basically anytime between a day to a month. It has been a rough weekend for my mom and her siblings. It has been nice for me to see a lot of family but definitely not under the best circumstances.

Hoping for the best!

Yesterday was the roughest day of training. I couldn't get my mind focused. Nothing really felt bad about running - my legs felt a little heavy, but mentally I couldn't push passed it. I was running on the treadmill at the gym because it was insanely windy and cold out so it was a struggle to get going outside, which led me inside. But I couldn't do it. So I settled with my 1.12 miles and went for a steam and hot tub to enjoy some 'self care'. That was promptly interrupted by some steam room drama - so my wonderful planned night of getting my run in with some steam room/hot tub time didn't go so well. Oh well - honestly I thought about being frustrated with everything and mad at myself that I didn't make my run, but I actually felt okay. For some reason my body was telling me not to push it and I'm confident I can make the rest of the week worthwhile. I am so proud of myself for actually making every single run up until this point. I have never been good at actually training before and I have made this a priority in my life and although I'm still incredibly nervous for Dopey, I believe that I can get to a point where I know my body is ready.

Always an advocate for listening to your body. It's about finding that balance between not enough, enough, and too much. If you continue to put in the training, hit about 80% of the intervals in the pace window, and do about 90-95% of the scheduled mileage you'll have nothing to worry about come Dopey. But regardless, just take it moment by moment, interval by interval, day by day, week by week, and month by month. Keep up the great work!
 


Just over a month since my last post, so obviously journaling hasn't been going as well as expected. Starting this week, my goal is to make time every Sunday to wrap up my week and do some reflection. Unfortunately my grandpa passed away in April so I missed a couple of runs in week 4/5 because of the funeral and helping my mom do some packing and cleaning at my grandparents house out of town.

Training Week 3:
Monday: 3.5 miles - 44:10 min
Wednesday: 3.61 miles - 42:22 min
Friday: 2.5 miles - 29:46 min
Saturday: 7 miles - 1:26:44 min
Total miles: 16.61

Training Week 4:
Monday: 1.12 miles - time missing (mental block - struggled to even get a mile)
Wednesday: 3.33 miles - 42:58 min
Friday: 2.5 miles - 31:00 min
Saturday: missed (funeral - out of town - insanely long day)
Total miles: 6.95


Training Week 5:
Monday: 2.5 miles - 31:36 min
Wednesday: missed (spent 4 hours driving and most of the day helping my mom out of town)
Friday: 2.5 miles - 29:00 min
Saturday: 4 miles - 46:02 min
Total miles: 9

Training Week 6:
Monday: 4 miles - 50:17 min
Wednesday: missed
Friday: 2.51 miles - 28:47 min
Saturday: 9 miles - 1:44:37 min
Total miles: 15.51

Training Week 7:
Monday: 4 miles - 50:39 min
Wednesday: 4.6 miles - 53:27 min
Thursday - approx. 20 min easy cycle
Friday: missed (rest)
Saturday: 10k race (watch says 6.4m) - 1:08:51 min; 2m WU - 26:10 min
Total miles: 17

Week 7 Notes:
Well, this was the first Wednesday in a long time that I've done my scheduled run (except 0.4 short - miscalculated my distance - got the WU and tempo in, but only 2/3 of scheduled cool down) and it's my tempo run so although it went pretty well, by the end I was tired. I wasn't used to running at that tempo pace. I also had my first two slopitch games that night. Between both of those, my body was exhausted and incredibly sore (who knew you used so many muscles in slo-pitch). I was supposed to run 2.5 miles on Friday but my body was still so sore that with my morning race the next day, I decided to take it easy and have a rest day. In hindsight I probably could have got my 2.5 miles in and it could have helped flush out my legs, but I decided on a bubble bath instead.

First race of the season - I've never done a WU before a race ever so that was a little different. It did help me get some of my stomach jitters out and I'm actually glad I did it because I got to sort out a few issues before I started. Except I still struggle to run my WU pace in real life (vs a treadmill) - it's sooooo slow. This race definitely didn't go as planned. My stomach wasn't happy and it made the first mile and a bit uncomfortable. Around the 2.5km mark we run down a long hill (what goes down must come up...) and then had to run up an insanely steep hill to get to the 5km turn around point.. only to run back to go up that hill we ran down. Now, when I initially looked at the race route, there looked to be tiny elevation changes at a few spots, but nothing too daunting and it seemed fairly consistent. Wrong. These hills were no joke. When I run around my neighborhood, I have to run hills. They are long and a little steep in places but I figure they make me stronger. The hills in this race were SO steep. I had to walk up one for a small section to the turnaround point. I was definitely not mentally prepared for these hills. To make matters worse, it jumped about 10 degrees C in an hour, so when I started warming up it was about 12 degrees C and by the time I was done it was 22 degrees C. It got hot fast. I knew it was going to be warmer but my body isn't used to running in the heat yet. Needless to say I wasn't happy with my time - its quite far off from my best - but given all of the factors (soreness, heat, hills) I was just happy to finish.

I am definitely getting nervous for my half marathon on the 28th. This is the absolute best and most consistent I've ever trained for a half ever. But I am nervous that the tempo runs I missed have impacted my speed and that I'll be slower than I want to be. All I can do is follow my training plan for these last three weeks and eat to support my training and take time to rest and stretch.
 
Okay so it's Monday and not Sunday.. oops!

I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 last night so my plan of Sunday evening posting got a bit sidetracked but I'm here!

Week 8 Recap:

Monday: 4.5 miles 54:50 min
Wednesday:5.00 miles 57:20 min
Friday: 2.51 miles 28:34 min
Sunday: 10 miles 2:00:44 min

I had the cutest thing happen to me on my 10 mile run. I was running around the neighbourhood, headphones in, not paying too much attention and this little girl on her bike looks like she's trying to say something to me, so I take my headphones out and she says 'you're so beautiful' - so I said 'you're beautiful too' and she said 'thank you' - I'm assuming it was because she was dressed in all pink and I was in mostly pink, ha, but I was just over halfway through my run and was tired and a little over it and it just made me so happy!

My legs were pretty exhausted after my 10 miles - I ran around my neighbourhood and its quite hilly so by the end my legs felt dead. Thankfully my half marathon course is fairly flat. Maybe these hills will pay off.
 
Well done on your running! I'm hoping to manage to see GoG Vol 2 this weekend.

And that's adorable about the little girl.
 

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