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As promised, here are the details of my running/training plan. From my research this summer, I have gathered that there is no great training plan tailored to running the Dopey Challenge. I did look into the Ultras and other long running events (beyond the marathon length) for guidance and found a key component to these plans--it's all about conditioning your body to run tired. This is the key lesson to the Hansons Marathond Method: A Renegade Path to Your Fastest Marathon. Luke Humphrey calls it a renegade path because it does away with the conventional training path--running a couple of times a week and running a very long distance on the weekend, topping out at 20 miles before the marathon. The longest distance you run with Hansons is 16 miles. Yup! Sixteen miles. The reason this work is because you are running 5-6 times a week so by the time you are running your long distance run at the end of the week, you are tired and will work on conditioning your body to run that long distance on tired legs. In the end, this will teach you how to run on tired legs for 26 miles and in my case, beyond that.
Running 5-6 times a week is going to be tough, no matter how serious a runner you are. However, each run has a purpose and each set of weeks introduces a new element. Humphrey discusses physiology and how these runs will maximize each person's potential by building up their fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, optimize each individual's VO2 max, improve anaerobic threshold, and burn fat at higher intensities (to work together with carbs as fuel). Most athletes know this, but as an amateur taking this on her own, this is what I need to know and apply to survive the Challenge. The running activities consist of the following:
In addition to conserving energy by running each event at a different pace, a very important detailed I learned from Humphrey is knowing my exact caloric carbohydrate needs each mile to keep me fueled throughout each event. He provides a formula that will give you an output per mile. This will help in knowing what sources of fuel, how much I need, and at what point to take it so I don't bunk out. Of course, he discusses general nutrition, but especially what you should be eating before and after the event to maximize your performance and to help recover; recovery being key for Dopey. Humphrey also discusses strength training. This was particularly interesting to me since I plan on continuing to lift weights while I train. I don't know how I will find the time but I will do it; muscles are just too sexy to me ;) The official start date of this training season is September 2 (Labor Day--is it ironic I start my training on a day designed not to labor?) and will last for 18 weeks. Remember to look at the countdown on the home page to see how far I'm in to my Dopey journey. Next post will be on Day 1 (September 2). Let's see what the road brings. I started running briefly in 2007 as a way to deal with negative aspects of my lives. Often times, I felt out of control and running allowed me to concentrate those negative feelings to blast my body through the pavement. At the end of even just a mile run, I could feel those emotions melting and my mind begin to clear. This refreshed state of mind allowed me to gain new perspective to allow me to handle the twists and turns of life.
Although I was off and on with running and used it primarily as a means of exercise, in the fall of 2008 I decided to make it a sport. I started training for my first 5k and ran it in February 2009. After not only accomplishing this goal but coming in third place in my age division, running had me hooked. I couldn't wait to work myself up to a marathon. However, even though I ran a second 5k in March 2010 and also placed in my age division, it became hard to keep up without much support. It was hard to not have people close to me to talk to about my daily running struggles and my goals in the sport. Thankfully, this changed in the fall of 2012. After my first year of law school, I had gained some significant weight. I had begun working out the summer of 2012 upon concluding my 1L year to shed it and to re-gain one of my hobbies--fitness. I was hesitant about including running in my life again because I was more concentrated on gaining muscle mass. I was trying to steer away from the "cardio legs." However, around September 2012 a dear chapter sister who was also on the quest of losing weight, asked if I wanted to join her and some other sisters in running a half marathon. After all my previous reservations on returning to running, I said yes rather quickly. We were all in different corners of Central Florida so we were not able to train together. Yet we kept up with each other, shared our experience, and at the end ran the farthest distance any of us could dream of possible at that point. Not only did I finally get some camaraderie but the training experience helped me rediscover why I love to run to begin with. Law school is extremely stressful and training just helped to melt the stress away. Needless to say, after running just two 5ks and successfully completing a half marathon, I knew as long as I made running a part of my life for good, I could accomplish any goal, on and off the pavement. So here we are, I will not only be training for my first marathon but I will be running three distances in the three days before. Just another crazy challenge I know I can accomplish. However, the training will be intense. Read the following article to find out a bit more about my training scheme and I hope you will keep up with me until January! |