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

[ZellyB]

Seriously, I needed that Final Countdown earworm right before I head up to bed???

Can't wait to hear about the race. You have definitely put in the work and effort to prove you want it!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Good luck!! I know you'll do great, can't wait to hear about it.

Thanks! Best of luck to you as well at Tink weekend! That weekend is definitely on my list of must dos because my daughter loves Tink and her crew.

It's amazing the progress you've made in a relatively short amount of time.
All the prep and hard work are behind you........now is the fun part.

Thank you. When someone says something like this I always like to look back and remind myself of that progress. It hadn't occurred to me in a while that I've finished 13 half marathons. Only one of which had a faster pace then what I'm hoping to run for my marathon. Ambitious, but it's within me! Yeah for the victory lap!

Seriously, I needed that Final Countdown earworm right before I head up to bed???

Can't wait to hear about the race. You have definitely put in the work and effort to prove you want it!

LOL. Whoops, sorry about that! Thanks! I'll just be happy to finally let loose.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Rain, rain go away. Come again another day... I feel like every time I update the weather forecast we're looking at something new.



Start of the race is 56 with 70% chance of rain and 10mph NW winds. End of the race is 53 with 35% chance of rain and 18 mph N winds. Good news is the wind will be at my back in the middle of the race, but the bad news is that those N winds are the last few miles. More concerned with the rain though because they've been off and on with predicting thunderstorms. So, there's the potential they cancel the race, or cut it short. Did a quick check and there are no other marathons or half marathons on Sunday within 2.5 hours. Best option is a Mother's Day 10K in Milwaukee which isn't too expensive.

So why is this happening. Apparently something called an "Omega Block Weather Pattern" is covering the entire US and is causing some weird weather for the next few days.



You see Wisconsin? Yep, it's covered up by that Jet Stream. Which means we're right on the cut line for warm/cold weather and for high/low wind. It's making it super hard to make predictions about Saturday's forecast.

In the end thats why I always say train in all weather conditions because you never know what race day will bring. Whether it be hot, cold, windy, calm, raining, full sun, snowing, icing, etc. I've run in all conditions recently and still feel confident I will be able to do my best.

BTW, getting Star Wars from Netflix today (haven't seen it yet) and saw it happens to be May 4th. What are the odds. May the 4th be with you all!

 

[Ariel484]

Thanks! Best of luck to you as well at Tink weekend! That weekend is definitely on my list of must dos because my daughter loves Tink and her crew.

Thanks! I CANNOT STAND Tink and know next-to-nothing about her crew! The race courses look great though, so I'm excited for that (and for Disneyland, obviously)!

EDIT: YIKES on the weather updates. Temperature looks better but everything else...

I too haven't seen Star Wars yet, so you aren't alone!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Thanks! I CANNOT STAND Tink and know next-to-nothing about her crew! The race courses look great though, so I'm excited for that (and for Disneyland, obviously)!

EDIT: YIKES on the weather updates. Temperature looks better but everything else...

I too haven't seen Star Wars yet, so you aren't alone!

Funny! Having a 2 year old daughter means I've watched all the movies (multiple times, including within the same day... ). I think I could probably name each friend without help and possibly tell you their fairy powers as well. Yep, I'm that guy...

Haven't been to Disneyland since I was a kid so it's a must on our list and we're just trying to decide which race weekend fits best with our schedule in the future.

Excited to see the new Star Wars movie!

 

[Ariel484]

Funny! Having a 2 year old daughter means I've watched all the movies (multiple times, including within the same day... ). I think I could probably name each friend without help and possibly tell you their fairy powers as well. Yep, I'm that guy...

OMG. That's so funny! Yeah I have heard that they have given Tink an image rehab in the more recent movies (she's sort of a...witch so-to-speak in Peter Pan, I think). Maybe you would appreciate the Pixie Dust Challenge medal then, I think it's supposed to be focused on the fairy powers or whatever. I think it's ugly!

Haven't been to Disneyland since I was a kid so it's a must on our list and we're just trying to decide which race weekend fits best with our schedule in the future.

Disneyland is nice because it's so easy to navigate compared to WDW - you can walk pretty much everywhere and the parks are super close to one another. Easy for you to take the kiddo back to the hotel for a nap. And Disneyland Park is so charming.

I really liked the Disneyland Half weekend because it's their flagship weekend, but I think Tink should be good too.

 

[roxymama]

whispers...I am totally doing Tink 2017...if I can woman-up and finally talk to the hubby about it. Convince him he wants to wear wings or whatever.

Ok back to my normal voice. YOUR RACE WEEK IS TOTALLY HERE! GOOD LUCK PREPARING THIS WEEK! (sorry for shouting)

 

[DopeyBadger]

whispers...I am totally doing Tink 2017...if I can woman-up and finally talk to the hubby about it. Convince him he wants to wear wings or whatever.

Ok back to my normal voice. YOUR RACE WEEK IS TOTALLY HERE! GOOD LUCK PREPARING THIS WEEK! (sorry for shouting)

It's totally on my list as my wife has been bugging' to go to Disneyland. Just saw on Ariel484's journal it might turn to Pixar theme and yep, that would seal it for me. I'm in!

So happy it's finally race week. Ready for all of that training to pay off.

 

[Ariel484]

It's totally on my list as my wife has been bugging' to go to Disneyland. Just saw on Ariel484's journal it might turn to Pixar theme and yep, that would seal it for me. I'm in!

So happy it's finally race week. Ready for all of that training to pay off.

Facebook rumor...BUT...Tink has been a slow seller for them, and a Pixar race weekend has a ton of possibilities.......

 

[DopeyBadger]

Facebook rumor...BUT...Tink has been a slow seller for them, and a Pixar race weekend has a ton of possibilities.......

Agreed, just a much larger pool of characters and themes to choose from. Tink is very narrow and has a limited audience in the first place. I just told my wife and she was definitely in if a Pixar race came about.

 

[Ariel484]

When there were rumors of a second Star Wars race being added I was REALLY hoping they'd do Pixar instead. Pixar replacing Tink totally works for me. I have to think there would be a date change involved as well - I think having a race over Mother's Day weekend is a turn-off to a lot of people.

 

[emilyindisney]

Good luck! You got this!

 

[DopeyBadger]

2016 Wisconsin Marathon Training Summary

Below is a summary of the 2016 Wisconsin Marathon training cycle.

Custom Training Plan
Diet
15 Weeks to Go (Welcome back and here is a robot Olaf for your troubles!)
Back to running after taking 2 weeks off after Dopey and there was robot Olaf.
Total mileage = 12 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 8/12 (66.6%)

14 Weeks to Go (How DopeyBadger got his groove back)
Easy starting to feel easy again.
Total mileage = 37.25 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 30/36 (83%)

13 Weeks to Go (The Paces Are Getting Real!)
First full week of Hansons training and it was tough.
Total mileage = 45.75 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 36/40 (90%)

12 Weeks to Go (Oh Wisconsin Winter...)
Super cold temps (-25) prevented me from running
Total mileage = 39.75 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 20/41 (49%)

11 Weeks to Go (It's time to throw down the Hammer!)
I was feeling good so I threw down the Hammer simulation.
Total mileage = 50.75 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 39/45 (87%)

10 Weeks to Go (Welp, that was close...)
Almost had an injury but listened to my body and pulled back.
Total mileage = 52.25 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 41/48 (85%)

9 Weeks to Go (Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger)
Mitochondria reaching their maximum
Total mileage = 53.5 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 36/47 (77%)

8 Weeks to Go (Just keep getting better)
Began marathon specific training.
Total mileage = 56.25 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 40/49 (82%)

46 Days to Go (The Moment)
The "it" feeling is present and things are coming together.
Total mileage = 59.5 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 35/50 (70%)

39 Days to Go (And so the simulation begins)
The runs are getting more difficult, as what was once easy is now harded.
Total mileage = 57 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 34/47 (72%)

32 Days to Go (Dogs Days of Spring, No wait Winter, No wait Summer, No wait Spring... Ok, I'm officially confused, which season is this???)
Super bizzare weather week of training.
Total mileage = 60 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 36/49 (72%)

25 Days to Go (I Lost It....)
My body got really fatigued and I lost that "it" feeling.
Total mileage = 57 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 35/47 (74%)

18 Days to Go (DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS)
Got really sick and it threw off my training
Total mileage = 39.5 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 12/53 (23%)

11 Days to Go (It's all coming together!)
Made a comeback from being sick and started to get that "it" feeling again.
Total mileage = 56.25 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 40/49 (82%)

4 Days to Go (It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN, Ba-da-dun-dun-dun!)
Final week of the taper.
Total mileage = 46 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 39/40 (98%)

OVERALL SUMMARY
Total scheduled mileage = 756 miles
Total mileage completed = 722.75 miles
% of scheduled mileage completed = 95.6%
Average miles per week completed = 48.2 miles
Peak week mileage = 60 miles
Number of intervals within pace = 481/653 (73.7%)

Overall, a successful training cycle. I hit on 95.6% of the scheduled mileage and 73.7% of intervals were within either 5 seconds or 10 seconds depending on the workout. Other than the sickness blip at 18 days to go, I feel as if everything went as well as expected during a winter/spring training cycle. Always fun to look back and see how each week unfolded.

FINAL CARB STRATEGY
FINAL RACE STRATEGY

 

[DopeyBadger]

Final Carbohydrate Consumption Strategy

Day Prior

The day before the race I will attempt to follow the Western Australian Carb Loading Procedure (2nd attempt as 1st was part of Dopey 2016). Here is an outline:



The plan calls for 10.3 g carbs consumed for every kilogram of body weight. My weight this morning was 154, so I will use that. This means I need to consume 721 g carbs tomorrow. About 80% of that should come in liquid form to reduce GI bulk (576.8 g). In addition, 144 g carbs should come from non-liquid sources and real meals. This means I will consume 2884 calories of carbs and need to fill in the remainder of my diet with protein and fat. I will attempt to consume 80g of protein and 8 g of fat (that's tough for me). In order to consume 576.8 g carbs in liquid form I need to consume 34 scoops of E-Gel powder which contains 17g carbs per scoop. Each scoop needs 8 oz of water. I would need to space out this consumption of carbs with no more than 3 scoops per hour to ensure my body is absorbing all of the carbs and not overloaded. This means at least 11 hours of drinking 24 oz of carb drink (the earlier in the day this ends the better to give my body time to absorb everything prior to the race). In theory, this will boost my muscle's capacity to store carbs by 1.9 and will give me the ability to run as fast as a 2:47 marathon. However, this just means energy shouldn't be the limiting factor, and not that I will run a 2:47 (obviously there are a few other things to running that fast).

The amount of calories being consumed is not abnormal for me and that's key because you don't want to all of the sudden flood your body with more calories then it's used to. You just want to alter the percentage of the different sources (carbs, protein, and fat).

Race Day

Using my current weight and estimated VO2max we can determine by body's needs for carbs on race day. In theory, because of the carb loading on the day prior I shouldn't need any carbs on race day. However, because I like the boost it gives me during the run this is my compromise for this run. I'm not fully comfortable giving up the race day nutrition yet.



Here are the relative paces as predicted by my estimated VO2max.



My goal lies between 65% and 68% and thus I need to consume between 36 and 44 g carbs per hour to stave off hitting the wall.



My two strategies entering race day are either one gel per 5 miles or one gel per every 4/5 miles. My choice of strategy will depend on race day weather. The hotter it gets, the more I need the water to be used to fuel the muscles. Interestingly, if the body is put in a position of choosing water for muscles or water for gut, it chooses gut. Which means you can actually dehydrate yourself faster by consuming carbs if you don't have sufficient water for both gut and muscles (because the body takes water away from muscles to give to gut). The key to absorbing the e-gel correctly is making sure I always have enough water in the gut to do it. It takes about 0.5 oz of water to absorb 1 g of carbs on a normal day.

Overall between the day prior consumption and the race day consumption, energy should not be an issue. Tomorrow, I'll add my final post on race day strategy which will be dictated by the weather forecast.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Final Race Strategy for Wisconsin Marathon

Weather
The weather outlook is looking better.



The start will be 57 with 74% cloud coverage and 11 mph North winds. The end of the race will be 52 with 80% cloud coverage and 20 mph North winds. The chance of rain has been downgraded to 13-44%. Honestly, other than the wind this is a good forecast.



The course is a little bit of a loop going North-South. So given the weather, I should have a tail wind from mile 7.5-19. Then for mile 19-26.2 it will be a head-wind. There were approximately 30 people who finished between my estimated time last year of 3:18-3:26. So not very many, but enough that I should find a person or two after mile 19 to team up with. My strategy is to get behind someone at mile 19 and draft and then if someone passes me tag onto them. After a mile or so of drafting, I'll offer the other person the same opportunity off me. Hopefully, we can break the wind together.

Warm-up
I'll do 1 mile at a very easy pace.

Pacing
There are no pace groups or corrals. There is signage to find similarly paces people in the starting area though. I'll line up with other people going for a 3:26 (or a 1:43 half). At the start of the race, I'll implement my Pac-Man strategy. Allow everyone of similar goal time to pass me in the beginning (I imagine they are my ghosts). If everyone around me is going faster, then I'm likely going the right pace. I find most people start races too fast and fade late. I prefer to start slow and finish fast. Chomp-Chomp! I'm coming for you ghosts!

All of the training I've done over the last 15 weeks has one sole purpose. To teach me effort. I memorize the effort necessary to run each training run in an effort to use those memories to define my race day. I check my intervals religiously during training. How many within 5-10 seconds, etc. etc. But when it comes to race day, it's time to go blind. I run by feel. This ensures that I won't have any negative thoughts during the run. It ensures I won't lose my motivation of doing the best I can. I'll do my best regardless of whatever the number says, but not knowing the number removes the chance of it being used against me.

I won't pay attention to my Garmin, but if my pacing is on point I expect mile 1 to be around 8:15-8:25 min/mile. Between mile 1 and mile 4, I'll slowly increase the pace to around 7:52. The first 10 miles will all be at a comfortable pace (similar to how the long run feels (8:33 min/mile)). Once I hit mile 10, it's go time. To me mile 10 is actually mile 1. I visualize the race in two parts: 1-10 and 1-16. So once I hit the second mile 1 I will start to push the pace. I visualize slowly pressing on the gas of the accelerator. It shouldn't be a dramatic increase just a slow increase. I anticipate by mile 19-23 I should be hitting my peak and these should be the fastest miles. As the final stretch comes, I'll keep pushing but imagine that my pace will start normalizing again. Mentally though: start slow, finish fast, and eat as many ghosts (Pac-Man) as I can in the second part of the race.


Outfit
I'll be wearing my new Hansons singlet. It's tight fitting which should reduce the drag in the heavy winds. I'll be wearing my racing shoes, Kinvara 5 Black. I'll have my ipod shuffle for music (it has a clip so it just attaches to my shorts). I'll wear my nathan 10oz handheld bottle to ensure I have water whenever I want it at each mile marker. I'll store two gels in the nathan, one in my shorts, and my wife will hand me one at mile 11.

Hazards
From mile 14-18 there is an equivalence of one mile of pebble gravel road. This isn't ideal for me and my short shuffle stride, but I just need to overcome and push through.

Overall
Regardless of what happens, I'll just enjoy racing again and doing my best. Whatever that time ends up being it's just a number. It doesn't define me. I'll be as surprised at the finish time as anyone else because I won't know until then how fast I've actually been running.

VICTORY LAP!

 

[ZellyB]

Excellent race plan!!! I'm so glad the weather is looking better for your race as well. Run strong. Can't wait to hear how it goes.

 

[Dis5150]

Good luck! I know you will do great!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Excellent race plan!!! I'm so glad the weather is looking better for your race as well. Run strong. Can't wait to hear how it goes.

Good luck! I know you will do great!

Thanks for the support guys!

 

[opusone]

Look forward to hearing the post-race report… I hope you sleep well and dream of lots of Pac-Man ghosts.

 

[Blue Caterpillar]

Enjoy your race! I have learned a lot from reading your journal, thanks for time you put into it.