Dopey by 40 (comments welcomed!)

Dis4Life10

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 18, 2017
Hello! :wave:

I am starting a training journal to hopefully keep me on track for my new goal. I am "new" to running in that I have never really done any distance races and up until September I have never run longer than 5 miles in a single run, and that was pushing it! I decided back in March my husband and I needed to do something together for a hobby and I signed us up for the Wine and Dine in April :rotfl:It corresponds with our anniversary, so why not?

We have been "training" ever since with me getting up to about 15-20 miles a week (my husband is NOT a runner and has been very reluctant). I don't think I have run enough for this to be a good race, and I'm definitely not in the best shape to be able to run this race well. Being in the last corral I am certainly worried about finishing. However, I am really enjoying having something to work toward and I enjoy the process of pushing my body and yet finding me time with running. That being said, I find that I have only been consistent because I have had a goal this whole time. I get discouraged, however, with how slow I am and how high my heart rate seems to get whenever I try to get faster. I want to get faster, I want to run longer, I want to complete more and more races and challenge myself. And I want the medals! :rotfl2:

Enter my plan to complete Dopey by the time I am 40. Call it a midlife crisis, or whatever, but I haven't even finished my first Disney race and I am already addicted to the medals and I want them ALL! So, in order to do it by the time I turn 40, I need to complete Dopey in 2022. Is this possible? I don't know, but I am going to try. I have a demanding job and child, but I think I can. I have had a few near death experiences, which have also left me with some minor health issues that I would like to try to mitigate with a healthier lifestyle. But also, running helps me be present and keep from getting depressed about the fact that the universe wants to get rid of me. I will have to get comfy with "eating for fuel" and "cross training" (which I absolutely HATE), but if I want to get them six medals! 🏃‍♀️

Anyhow, thanks for reading, and any and all advice/guidance is welcomed. Even if you don't read it, I will try to update regularly. If anyone wants to join me on this journey, feel free! It would be nice to have a partner, even if it is virtual! TaTa for now!
 
You've got this! Just know that endurance running is a long term journey. It's rare to see instant gratification gains. But over time, if you stay consistent, you will improve in so far as how much you really want to. Have fun and enjoy the journey!
 
Thanks for the welcome! I don't like to put pictures on the Internet.

I feel like I'm really struggling with doing my runs slow/easy. Like my form feels like it suffers when I slow down and I end up feeling like I am clomping along like a horse. Is that normal? I just feel more comfortable in my stride when I am running a little faster but then according to my heart rate I'm too fast. Thoughts?

I'm trying to keep my HR under 135 with my easy runs and for me that is like a 14 min pace.

On my faster, more comfortable runs, I'm running like an 11:30. I kinda mix up the run/walk method (used on longer runs) and just running straight (when my runs are 5mi or less).

I've pieced this all together based on what I've read so I'm probably doing it all wrong.
 


I feel like I'm really struggling with doing my runs slow/easy. Like my form feels like it suffers when I slow down and I end up feeling like I am clomping along like a horse. Is that normal? I just feel more comfortable in my stride when I am running a little faster but then according to my heart rate I'm too fast. Thoughts?

Completely normal, especially for those just starting out. But I would say that my form also feels significantly more efficient when I'm trying to run fast versus intentionally running slower.

I'm trying to keep my HR under 135 with my easy runs and for me that is like a 14 min pace.

And why did you decide on a HR of 135? Is that based on Heart Rate Reserve (HRR), Max HR calculations, MAF? Do you know your max HR and resting HR?

On my faster, more comfortable runs, I'm running like an 11:30. I kinda mix up the run/walk method (used on longer runs) and just running straight (when my runs are 5mi or less).

Have you run a single mile as fast as you can as a test run? Something like a 10-20 min WU of very easy running. Then try and run a mile at 95% while trying to maintain as consistent 0.25 mile splits as possible.

Can you run an 11:30 min/mile for 5 miles? Does that feel like an all out effort?

I've pieced this all together based on what I've read so I'm probably doing it all wrong.

It certainly sounds like you're heading in the right direction. It took me 2.5 years before I realized I needed to be training slower and not trying to "PR the day". So it seems to me you're ahead of the curve. Maybe some tweaks here and there.
 
Completely normal, especially for those just starting out. But I would say that my form also feels significantly more efficient when I'm trying to run fast versus intentionally running slower.



And why did you decide on a HR of 135? Is that based on Heart Rate Reserve (HRR), Max HR calculations, MAF? Do you know your max HR and resting HR?



Have you run a single mile as fast as you can as a test run? Something like a 10-20 min WU of very easy running. Then try and run a mile at 95% while trying to maintain as consistent 0.25 mile splits as possible.

Can you run an 11:30 min/mile for 5 miles? Does that feel like an all out effort?



It certainly sounds like you're heading in the right direction. It took me 2.5 years before I realized I needed to be training slower and not trying to "PR the day". So it seems to me you're ahead of the curve. Maybe some tweaks here and there.
Thanks for the encouragement!

The HR is based on the random calculation of that 220-age and then 60-70% of that for "heart rate" training. Everything I read said most training should happen in that range?

My resting heart rate ranges a bit but it is usually between 59-65, with the occasional higher and lower days.

And no, I haven't really tried a mile of all out effort yet. Running 5 miles at around 11:30 doesn't feel like all out effort at all, it usually feels like a fairly comfortable pace and then I look at my HR and it's like 160! If my max hr is 183(220-age) that starts to freak me out (thanks PTSD from almost dying a couple times). For some reason I start to worry when my HR gets above 160, so I always try to keep it below that in all my runs. I don't know if that is reasonable or not. So I've never really done a run that felt all out effort.
I'm going to try your suggestion tomorrow morning on my next run I'll let you know how it goes!
 
The HR is based on the random calculation of that 220-age and then 60-70% of that for "heart rate" training. Everything I read said most training should happen in that range?

220-age isn't a great calculation. It's an average, but the standard deviation from the mean is quite large. So the average for you might be 183, but in reality you could be +/-15 bpm from that easily. For instance, I'm 34. So my 220-age is 186. My HR max is at most 172-175 based on my Garmin 235 wrist based watch and I BARELY ever hit that unless it's the tail end of a race and I'm going 110% effort.

And no, I haven't really tried a mile of all out effort yet. Running 5 miles at around 11:30 doesn't feel like all out effort at all, it usually feels like a fairly comfortable pace

So if you were to take a guess, how many more minutes could you run at that 11:30 comfortable pace? Another 11.5 min, another 23 min, another 46 min?

then I look at my HR and it's like 160! If my max hr is 183(220-age) that starts to freak me out (thanks PTSD from almost dying a couple times). For some reason I start to worry when my HR gets above 160, so I always try to keep it below that in all my runs. I don't know if that is reasonable or not. So I've never really done a run that felt all out effort.

No, if there's no basis for the 160, then I'd say it doesn't mean you have anything to worry about necessarily. That being said with the normal caveat that you should also discuss changes in exercise routine with your doctor to ensure you have all the information necessary for your personal experience.

I've worked with well over 100 different runners. I know some runners who have a HR max near 150 and others with a max of 210s. So the 150 person would truly be concerning to be at 160 (well... because they're over their "max"). A person like me, I'm 160 at about 10k pace. A person like the 210s max person is barely breaking a sweat at 160. And there's practically no correlation that I'm aware of between max HR and speed either (so don't worry about that). The 150s (guy), 170s (me), and 210s (girl) all have similar PRs.

That's why my preference is heart rate reserve because it takes into account max HR and resting HR to find the difference between the two. With that and % of those values, we can calculate general values to be within. But even still, I take HR measurements during running as a secondary measure of training data. I find pace and effort to be the gold standards.

I'm going to try your suggestion tomorrow morning on my next run I'll let you know how it goes!

Sounds like a plan. Try and choose a route that's relatively flat. Make sure to do the WU prior because it's a critical component to making sure everything is primed for a good hard effort. Then try and run as even as possible. Don't necessarily go 100% all out best effort on the mile, but it's a close effort.
 


If I were to guess, I've ran at that pace for an hour previously so I think at least that but obviously that depends on heat and humidity.

I tried the mile today but unfortunately I didn't get to really do it well due to a couple reasons. One I was rushed in my run in general because my husband had to leave earlier than normal so it got cut short so I could go home to the little, and our neighborhood is fairly hilly so I had a hard time finding a flat area for the full mile. I'm going to try again next week. We have our last long run this weekend before wine and dine so we'll have a good idea how this is going to go and how well we can run together. My husband is almost a foot taller than me so he is so much faster than I am and we haven't really been able to run together to see how we fair together. So we'll see.

I'm going to try and run another 30 minutes this evening or tomorrow morning. It's funny how now 3 miles doesn't feel like a "real run" anymore.
 
I'm on my taper this week for wine and dine next weekend! Wahoo! Ran my last long run of 12mi with my husband and we averaged 12:30 pace and were pretty consistent. We considered it our dry run. It was basically the first time since March we were able to run together, so I thought we did pretty good!

I did a 3 mile today and tried the fast mile and I felt like I was going fast and then when I got done I found my Fitbit didn't record my splits! 😠 This is the second time in a week it's done this and I'm starting to think about a new fitness tracker for Christmas if anyone has suggestions!

My overall pace for 3 miles was 10:56 though, and I know my last mile was pretty slow so if I had to guess that fast mile was probably sub 10:00 or right at it, based on the time I looked at when starting it. I'll have to try it, yet again, to see what that pace is. 🙄

For now my plan is to run another 30 min/3mi on Thursday, then an easy five miles on Saturday or Sunday and drop to 2 mi Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week. Thoughts?



So excited for my first run Disney race and longest race over 5k!
 
I did a 3 mile today and tried the fast mile and I felt like I was going fast and then when I got done I found my Fitbit didn't record my splits! 😠 This is the second time in a week it's done this and I'm starting to think about a new fitness tracker for Christmas if anyone has suggestions!

Garmin w/ GPS. Then it just matters how much you want to spend and whether you need all the bells and whistles at your max price.

For now my plan is to run another 30 min/3mi on Thursday, then an easy five miles on Saturday or Sunday and drop to 2 mi Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week. Thoughts?

I'd say stick with whatever plan has gotten you to this point. Usually I stick to the same # of days per week, but the total volume (not including the race) is somewhere between 40-60% of peak week.
 
Due to travel I didn't get a chance to do my scheduled 5 mi for my short "long run" before wine and dine, so I got out this morning and ran easy and for as much as I could fit in before having to get ready for work. Ended up with 4.25mi at an 11:10 pace and avg HR of 130.

My plan is to do two easy 30 mins wed and Friday. We'll be walking around the expo and a little MK on Saturday so I'm trying to save my feet.

I was encouraged by the increase in my splits to under 11 for all but the warm up mile. Tells me the speed work I've been doing is helping, I just need to commit to doing it consistently.

The HR staying at such a low level for me (mostly at 125 whenever I looked) was motivating to me. The weather helps though. I'm used to the southern heat and humidity so being 55 with only 80% humidity was much easier to run in. Not looking forward to trying to do wine and dine in much higher temps as the last couple weeks have been cooler around here.

I'll check in later this week to see how my plan has gone!
 
Well, did our first RunD race, and our first race over a 5k EVER. Finished the W&D half in 2:41:47, a PR, of course! My husband even admitted that he enjoyed it as well! Avg. pace of 12:21, and I was never out of breath, and never felt strained. A very comfortable pace overall. Actually pretty consistent in the splits as well, 5k 12:26, 10k 12:19, 15 12:24, and the final was 12:16. Didn't stop for any characters because we were in the last corral and I was worried. Felt like a lot of people and the first five miles were actually really annoying with the bobbing and weaving it felt like we were doing and we weren't even going that fast. Hopefully we can get into a higher corral for any future ones. Got my husband considering the star wars run now! :) The weather was nice though so that made a big difference for this one, so who knows whether we could do any better for that one, unless we did better training. Overall, I am happy with our first one, and hope we can get better from here. I wanted to take it easy and not feel rushed, and we did that. Might need to do some smaller races to see what my actual potential is!
 
Awesome job!

At a minimum, your 2:41 HM has pushed you up into the top 50% mark for the corrals (last POT corral, but not in the non-POT ones). So gained another 30-45ish min on the balloon lady start. I'd say you'd have a maximal 70-90 min of "character time" on your next race if you truly tried to maximize it.
 
Well, I have fallen off the wagon a bit since the wine and dine! I have only hit the pavement twice since then. No reason excuses other than I didn't want to wake up early.

So I made a smaller goal of just getting out and running 30 mins a day this week. So I started this morning and I decided not to to any specific way of doing it just get out and run for 30 mins not paying attention to pace or heart rate, just doing what felt comfortable after not being out for a week. I figured since I have been a bit out of practice I should take it easy.

Well I really surprised myself today! Did my fastest run yet as I walked the first five minutes. By the time I hit 30 minutes I was right at 3 miles, with walking the first .20. so I figured if I was already almost at a 5k I might as well go the rest of the .10, so I finished 3.1 miles in 30:52! My 3rd mile was the fastest I've ever done at 8:40! 🤯
Hr avg was 140 and the highest I ever got was 155. The 40 degree weather is really a friend of mine! My overall pace was 9:53. I question the accuracy of Fitbit, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt, not it's a needed motivation to get me out there this week.

I also realized I definitely need a race to keep me motivated so I signed up for a 10k on December 7!
 

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