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

[flav]

Congratulations for giving it all!
#1 dad is amazing

 

[DopeyBadger]

22 Weeks to go until 2024 Non-Cancelled M - Week 13/35

The 22nd best performance was the 2022 Disney Princess HM (link). I completed the race in 1:35:20 and had a VDOT of 47.7. Of my 24 HMs, this was my 6th fastest performance. This was a not PR at the time. I finished in 51st place out of 12772 runners, and 8th in my AG. The surprising part is that this is my 6th fastest HM, and yet I stopped for every character on the course after the castle. So yea, I was in good shape for this one. I also finished in 9th overall as a challenge runner (10k+HM) with this performance.

11/20/23-11/26/23
Mon (11/20): 5 miles @ 70% M Tempo (9:19 min/mile, 125 bpm)
Tues (11/21): 8 miles @ 90% M Tempo (8:11 min/mile, 132 bpm)
Wed (11/22): OFF
Thurs (11/23): Gobbler 5k
Fri (11/24): 5.5 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)
Sat (11/25): 9 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)
Sun (11/26): 12.5 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)

Total Run Miles - 46.8 miles
Total Run Time - 6:37 hours
Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Training Time - 6:37 hours
Monday
Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 15mph to 23mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 41°F + 33°F; FL - 33°F
End: Temp+Dew = 40°F + 32°F; FL - 33°F

I don't remember much about the run. I know I was coming off the 18 miler from Sunday morning. So I just took it nice and easy. And since I planned on taking off on Wednesday, I wanted to run on Monday to keep the mileage up for the week. Just nice and easy throughout.




Tuesday

Conditions - Clear sky, Wind 5mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 38°F + 30°F; FL - 35°F
End: Temp+Dew = 39°F + 31°F; FL - 35°F

The goal was to do 60-75 min around 85% M Tempo. Ended up closer to 90% M Tempo, but felt really smooth throughout and never really challenged. I liked how I was feeling going into a day off before the Gobbler 5k race.







Wednesday

OFF.









Thursday

See previous recap for Gobbler 5k








Friday

I didn't like how my lungs were feeling, so I decided to run on the treadmill. That was a good choice because I had a nasty cough a few times when running. So better to be inside than dealing with the cold outside at the same time as whatever healing was needed in my lungs.







Saturday

Steph had to work early and I was still concerned about my lungs. So I just ran on the treadmill.







Sunday

Steph had to work early again. It was snowing out and I was still concerned about my lungs. So I ran on the treadmill. I decided to watch James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and just committed to running until the movie ended. I had one hiccup when my hip felt like it fell out of socket around 25 min, but eventually everything settled back in and I was good to go.

I had planned on doing the Last Call HM next Sunday morning. But the weather forecast is for snow Saturday night into Sunday morning. I don't have a desire to relive the First Call HM experience from earlier this year. So I'll probably skip out on it, and just turn my focus towards Disneyland.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congratulations for giving it all!
#1 dad is amazing

Thanks!

 

[RunWI1265]

I had one hiccup when my hip felt like it fell out of socket around 25 min, but eventually everything settled back in and I was good to go.

Congrats on taking first in the Dad category! The weather has taken quite a turn the last couple days here hasn't it? I was not ready.

 

[azrivest]

Congratulations on your performance! I wish I could have seen that college athlete fly by

Hope your lungs feel better today (and you can tell I have strength training on my mind because I initially typed lunges)

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats on taking first in the Dad category! The weather has taken quite a turn the last couple days here hasn't it? I was not ready.

Thanks! For sure. It was 40-50s and now it's less than 0 tomorrow morning.

Congratulations on your performance! I wish I could have seen that college athlete fly by

Hope your lungs feel better today (and you can tell I have strength training on my mind because I initially typed lunges)

Thanks! He's definitely a whole nother level without a doubt.

Lungs are all good. I think taking it easy was the right choice and I should be good to go without any issues tomorrow.

 

[nancipants]

Congrats on winning the Dad division! I love that. Hilarious that the college guy gave his brother a head start. My 4 year old has started to ask to run with me, and I can only imagine that, given his energy levels, if he ever runs seriously he'll be flying by me, too.

 

[avondale]

1st in the dad division.

Love this! You had a terrific race even if it wasn't what you were hoping for.

After the run, and for the remainder of the next 48 hrs, I had a pretty tricky cough.

Yeah, I definitely get this after hard or long efforts in the cold. I got an inhaler once in case I had exercise-induced asthma...didn't seem to do much at the time, but considering it again. But it is way expired.

I read recently (in "Outside" magazine, I think) that a lot more professional runners have exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) than had been previously realized. Someone realized that the typical run-on-treadmill tests for EIB aren't strenuous enough for professional runners and so they never reached the difficulty level needed to induce EIB effects. The speculation is that inhalation of typical pollution is the cause, plus cold and dry weather can exacerbate it. Makes one wonder about the rest of us non-professional running shmucks.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Great job on the Turkey Trot! I laughed at that pre-race group photo - can you tell who is the serious runner in the crowd?

 

[jmasgat]

I had one hiccup when my hip felt like it fell out of socket

But hey, no big deal! Yikes, hope it is not troubling you now. I am a fan of a cycling discipline know as cyclocross (Trek hosts UCI Waterloo in your neck of the woods) Couple of weeks ago one of the riders partially dislocated his shoulder while racing and calm as anything, used the top tube of his bike to help pop it back in place! So you know, no big deal. Hope you didn't have to do anything that dramatic.

 

[DopeyBadger]

But hey, no big deal! Yikes, hope it is not troubling you now. I am a fan of a cycling discipline know as cyclocross (Trek hosts UCI Waterloo in your neck of the woods) Couple of weeks ago one of the riders partially dislocated his shoulder while racing and calm as anything, used the top tube of his bike to help pop it back in place! So you know, no big deal. Hope you didn't have to do anything that dramatic.

No, no, definitely not that dramatic. I had to stop running on the tread. Got off for a minute and rotated my leg around, and then whatever went wrong went right again. Got back on and finished without an issue. I don't really know what happened, but it was rather sudden and was definitely going to prevent me from running anymore in the moment.

 

[kps7795]

Gobbler 5k (unofficial neighborhood race)

Alright, I owe everyone a race recap for the Gobbler 5k.

The race took place on Thanksgiving morning and is run about 50% on my normal training route in my neighborhood. So I wasn't really surprised by anything. The race started at 8:30am, so the goal was to be out on the route around 7:30am for a warmup run. I got up around 5:30am. I had a PB biscuit, and some Liquid IV when I got up. Out the door for the WU at 7:30am on the dot. For the WU, I wore a medium long sleeve, medium gloves, medium hat, and shorts. I wore my singlet underneath the medium long sleeve. I also I took with me a bottle of water and my headband to change into at my SIL's house which was only 0.25 miles from the start line. Lastly, I wore my Next%3 shoes.

Conditions - Scattered clouds, Wind 11mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 32°F + 25°F; FL - 24°F
End: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 25°F; FL - 24°F

I wanted to run about 3.5 miles or so for the WU. I just went at an easy pace that felt comfortable, but I just didn't feel great coming out the gate. I think I was just nervous about the race. As I made my way towards the course, I was hopeful the signs were out for road directions so I could memorize the course. It wasn't long before I found one and I found two women also running the course. They happened to be the race organizers and they were running the course to find the GPS 3.11 mile finish line. So we mirrored each other's route, but it was apparent to me that they weren't following the tangents of the road despite it not being marked that we weren't suppose to follow the tangents. So I anticipated the course might measure a tad short. I had already committed to running 3.11 GPS miles no matter what. I wrapped up the course run and then made my way back to my SIL's house by around 8:05am or so. In all I did 3.6 miles at 8:56 min/mile pace, but my HR was 132 bpm which is about 30 sec/mile slower for the same HR as earlier in the week. Likely nerves.

Once at my SIL's I had some water, used the bathroom, took the medium long sleeve off, and then by 8:15am I was back outside and headed to the start line. I took the nice 0.25 mile stroll to the start. I was aiming to arrive around 8:25am or so and have little downtime before the race started. The crowd was gathering and I saw some familiar faces from around the neighborhood. Seemed like there weren't many wearing singlets and shorts in the 24F windchill. Odd... . The race was a fundraiser for the local food pantry, so some speeches were made and then we headed over to the start line. I did get a little chilly because we didn't get started until 8:36am. I looked around at the other runners and along the start line was mostly under 8 year olds, then two high school boys, a few high school girls were hanging back a bit (the local girls with PRs of sub18) were present, I didn't see the college boy runner who graduated a few years ago (their family moved recently), and then some dads around my age or a little older/younger. For me, the goal was to run within myself, run hard, and give it a really hard effort.

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Conditions - Broken clouds, Wind 15mph to 21mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 34°F + 26°F; FL - 24°F
End: Temp+Dew = 35°F + 27°F; FL - 24°F

Mile 1 - 6:36 - GAP 6:35

The kids were flying out the gate, and the two high school boys were running smooth. We were being led by a kid using roller blades, which was fun. The race started flat for a touch, but then we went uphill for the first 0.25 mile. I felt in control during this initial part. I was trying to keep the high school boys within eye shot. The kids started to thin out as we crested the hill. There were the two high school boys, and maybe three 10-13 year olds with me at the front. I wasn't paying attention to pace during the race and just running blind like I had done in the two 5k paced training runs. Per Strava, I was doing 5:20-5:40 pace out the gate, and then settled into 6:01 GAP up the hill. So maybe a little aggressive, but not too bad based on the recent training runs.

After we crested the hill we ran down a similarly graded hill. The high school boys started to open a gap on me, and it was me and two other pre-teens. I was still feeling good and focusing on keeping my form good and relaxed.

View attachment 814019

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Around 0.75 miles I had dropped the other pre-teen and I was now running in 4th place. It was around this time that someone came up behind my shoulder and blazed past me. I was like, whoa, where did this guy come from. He made me look like I was running in molasses. He was sooo much faster than I was. He looked smooth and strong. I would find out post-race that this was the collegiate runner. More on his situation later. I didn't see him for long as he dropped me really quick.

Not too long after we hit the mile mark. I was at 6:36 which is far slower than I wanted to be, but I didn't know it in the moment. But that wasn't for a lack of trying. I was pushing pretty hard.


Mile 2 - 6:56 - GAP 6:49

The start of mile 2 was flat for a little bit, and then a short steep hill. Saw some neighbors as I ran by, and was thinking to myself, yes this is what I train for. Made it up the hill and was keeping close to the pre-teen. I couldn't see anyone behind me at this point, so we were alone in 4th/5th. I kept the pedal down and was pushing hard by this point. I remember weaving around the neighborhood at a good clip. Around the 1.5 mile turn is when I caught up to the kid on the roller blades. He was having a time of it with the hills, but then he could rest on the downhills. But the stretch from 1.5-2.0 was a pitted road so he was doing a bit of dodging to make sure he didn't hit a divot. It was right around the 2.0 mile mark when I had finally pulled even with the pre-teen.

Mile 3 - 6:45 - GAP 6:45

Winning time. This is when I tried to extend the gap between me and the other guy. I was alone in 4th now, and I could tell he was really struggling as I opened a sizeable gap pretty quick and I think he lost some motivation. We rounded the corner to a medium hill and I heard the roller blade let out an audible "ugh". He wasn't looking forward to it, and I powered up it. Now we were finally coming back on the course (it was like a lollipop in a way) so I was running by people who were still making their way out. I took that energy in and just went total tunnel vision. My breathing was erratic at this point as I was really struggling to get a full breath. Hit the last downhill and was doing 6:00 GAP (6:20 real). Hit the final stretch and then when I hit 3.0 miles I saw the total time of 20:18 and was like, oh darn it.

Mile 3.11 - 6:30 pace - GAP 6:31 pace

I finished hard. I hit their finish line at 3.07 miles and 20:47. I kept running until I hit 3.11 miles and then stopped my watch (which registered 3.12 miles) at 21:03.

Final Time - 21:03
Overall Finish - 4th out of ? (maybe a little over a hundred people?)

View attachment 814023

So my initial reaction was disappointment. I was hoping for better. But there was no mincing words. I was just crazy out of breath and really left it all out there. It was post-run that I had a better appreciation for my race performance. First off, I finished in 4th, which is nothing to scoff at. I finished behind two high schoolers and a collegiate runner. So not bad at all. 1st in the dad division. When I checked on Strava post-run I learned what the deal with the collegiate runner was. One of the high schoolers is his younger brother. He beat his younger brother at last year's Gobbler 5k by 2.5 minutes. So he gave him a 2:42 min head start and then chased him down. Based on the college runner's data, he ran it in 16:20 pace (was hard to decipher because he included his WU/CD in the activity). His PR is a 14:02 on a track. So he's in off season training mode, but being 2:20 off his PR is a reasonably good sign for me being 1.5-ish min off my goal pace. So maybe the conditions just weren't that easy to run in. Not overly hilly, but I think the cold got to my lungs.


View attachment 814022

After the run, and for the remainder of the next 48 hrs, I had a pretty tricky cough. I could tell my lungs were mad at me for running so hard in the cold and without wearing anymore than a singlet and shorts. So I definitely felt like I had given my all after a few days of reflection.

So lesson learned, even I have a limit in terms of temps and if I attempt a race in the mid 20s again I should probably wear something more than a singlet.

ETA - Runalyze was the winner of the prediction models with a guess of 20:47 and I ran 3.11 in 21:03 and 3.07 in 20:47 on the dot.

ETAA - Forgot to add that it was much windier than I had originally planned for. It was suppose to be like 7-10 mph and instead it was like 15-24 mph.

I'm a little late to the party, but this sounds like a great fun race. For what it's worth, I can utterly empathize about the "competition" with the kids. For the past two months, I have been doing my interval speed sessions at a track at FAU (Florida Atlantic University) and have quite enjoyed the breeze as these college kids blow past me doing their intervals.
How are you feeling now? Hopefully, the cough doesn't linger.

 

[dis_or_dat]

Cold dry air can be irritating to the lungs especially if you're breathing hard like in a 5k. Nice negative splits and great job. Hope you're recovered. Do you have a time goal for Disneyland?

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm a little late to the party, but this sounds like a great fun race. For what it's worth, I can utterly empathize about the "competition" with the kids. For the past two months, I have been doing my interval speed sessions at a track at FAU (Florida Atlantic University) and have quite enjoyed the breeze as these college kids blow past me doing their intervals.
How are you feeling now? Hopefully, the cough doesn't linger.

Cough was gone in a few days, so no lingering effects.

Cold dry air can be irritating to the lungs especially if you're breathing hard like in a 5k. Nice negative splits and great job. Hope you're recovered. Do you have a time goal for Disneyland?

For sure and thanks!

As for Disneyland, it’s too early to set a time goal. I have to see the weather first. But the beauty of the Disney races is they can be taken fast or slow depending on a variety of factors.

 

[DopeyBadger]

21 Weeks to go until 2024 Non-Cancelled M - Week 14/35



The 21st best performance was the 2023 Princess 10k (link). I completed the race in 42:53 and had a VDOT of 47.9. Of my 12 10ks, this was my 5th fastest performance. This was a not PR at the time. I finished in 32nd place out of 11735 runners, and 4th in my AG. The weather wasn't great and I finished slower than 2022. But I actually felt happy with the performance despite that. I ran a nice even race and felt like I gave a good effort. I was really hoping for a Top 3 AG finish but would have had to go sub-38. So my division was super competitive that year. That also let me have some relief at the results because I haven't sniffed a sub-38 10k.

11/27/23-12/3/23
Tues (11/28): 9 miles @ Easy (Treadmill)
Wed (11/29): 1 mile WU + 7 miles @ 100% M Tempo (GP-7:24, AP-7:27)
Thurs (11/30): 7 miles @ 75% M Tempo (9:06 min/mile, 129 bpm)
Fri (12/1): 7 miles @ 70% M Tempo (9:24 min/mile, 124 bpm)
Sat (12/2): 20 miles @ 82% M Tempo on Jack/Jill (8:39 min/mile, 130 bpm)
Sun (12/3): 3.5 miles @ 70% M Tempo (9:17 min/mile, 129 bpm)

Total Run Miles - 54.6 miles
Total Run Time - 7:49 hours
Total Strength Time - 0:00 hours
Total Training Time - 7:49 hours

Tuesday

It was snowing and it was like 9F outside. I didn't feel the urge to go out there in that given that it was going to be in the 30-40s for the foreseeable future. So I opted for the treadmill instead. Especially since it was calling for snow on Saturday night again and so I wanted to move the LR to Saturday morning. This way I would do a hard workout on Wednesday and Saturday instead of Tues/Thurs/Sun. But things didn't work out so perfectly as the week progressed.






Wednesday

Conditions - Few clouds, Wind 9mph to 22mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 37°F + 35°F; FL - 31°F
End: Temp+Dew = 35°F + 29°F; FL - 31°F

I'm off training plan at this point. I didn't do the Madison HM, I added in the Gobbler 5k, and I'm not doing the Last Call which is on Sunday morning (because I'm not interested in running in 1 inch of snow again similar to First Call in March, they're twin races). I also realize the titanic known as training load is slipping into neutral and I needed to jump start it after the Gobbler 5k and then 4 straight treadmill runs (which absolutely kill my training load momentum). So I decided to go with a long distance M Tempo run. But then Steph informed me that she was on a friend call, and we didn't get home in time. So I went from having 90-105 min of time to 60 min of time. So I did a short 1 mile WU and then ran 100% M Tempo until my time was up.





Guess I was excited to do this run because I ran the WU about 1 min/mile too fast. Oh well. The goal for the M Tempo portion was 7:24 pace. I'd say I did alright. I ran this on my normal route. I was hopeful that this being 20 seconds/mile slower than my last year's M Tempo that it would feel easier. But it didn't really. It was still a challenge to maintain the pace and I was working for it. Definitely felt some strain in my right leg bone like I was really pounding it right around where the extra bone growth is. All in all I averaged 7:27 pace and 7:22 GAP. So I'd say I did a pretty good job. HR wise I'm in the right area (around 142-145 bpm based on recent history).






Thursday

Conditions - Few clouds, Wind 0mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 33°F + 29°F; FL - 33°F
End: Temp+Dew = 31°F + 28°F; FL - 33°F

Definitely felt beat up and not fresh for this one, but not too bad. Took it nice and easy and body was happy with being around a 9 min/mile.






Friday

Conditions - 🌨 Light snow, Wind 10mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 31°F + 29°F; FL - 23°F
End: Temp+Dew = 31°F + 28°F; FL - 23°F

It was snowing for this one. Which was actually a surprise. We saw the roads getting treated as we drove into work and realized it was going to snow today. Which we had no idea as it wasn't in the forecast until late. So we just got clipped by the storm unexpectedly. It didn't drop much for than an inch. But it did make for some slippery conditions. The worst conditions were definitely the freshly treated roads as the ice/snow was melting and thus there was less traction. I'd rather run on fresh light powder than melting snow. I was saving myself for the next morning.





Saturday

Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 7mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 36°F + 32°F; FL - 31°F
End: Temp+Dew = 35°F + 32°F; FL - 31°F

Given the snow overnight, and the forecast for high 30s for the afternoon, I waited to do the 20 miler. I'd rather run in clean roads then force myself onto the yucky mess. So I watched the WI vs Marquette basketball game. Once the game was over at 1:35pm, I was headed out the door. I had eaten lunch around 11am to give myself enough time before the run. I also took a liquid IV not long before heading out. I took with me three scoops of Tailwind in 5oz of water, and then set out ~66oz of water outside my house to drink at 5, 10, and 15 miles. I also brought a Nutrigrain PB biscuit as I wanted to try eating a "real" food while running.





I ran on the Jack/Jill course so it was up and down the hill over and over. I did the laps in 43:00, 43:27, 43:00, and 43:42. So reasonably consistent, but I was definitely starting to drag in the last 5 mile loop. I also had to take a short 1 min break after the 15 mile mark to put on my nighttime gear as the sun set while I was finishing the last loop. I'd say my body took a real pounding after this one compared to the recent 16 and 18 milers. Definitely didn't feel as fresh in this one and it wasn't like I was really pushing for this, but definitely didn't feel smooth. But from a training load standpoint it did the trick and I pulled myself out of neutral and back into optimal training. Now I just need to stay in this area for the home stretch of Disneyland training.

ETA - Just looked it up and this was the 6th longest duration training run since Dec 2014. So it makes sense that the body is beat up after this one as I don't tend to go this far in training.



Sunday

Conditions - Overcast clouds, Wind 6mph to ?
Start: Temp+Dew = 34°F + 31°F; FL - 28°F
End: Temp+Dew = 34°F + 31°F; FL - 28°F

More snow (not a ton, but enough to be an annoyance) and I made the right decision not doing Last Call. I waited till everything cleared up in the afternoon and then headed out. I wasn't expecting much given I had done 20 miles the day prior and didn't feel great. But I felt worse than expected. Sort of like Frankenstein's Monster out there with super stiff legs and joints and everything hurt. So it was good and bad for me to get out there. I had planned on doing 6.5-7 miles, but my body just wasn't having it and I listened. So I made it to 3.5 miles and then pulled the plug.

A good week all in all. The second most mileage (54.6 miles) in the last year's span. Highest was 61.4 miles the week of Feb 6th. Was hoping it felt as easy as some of the other recent 50+ mile weeks, but it didn't. So trying to balance maintaining what I've got without overdoing it.

As for next week, we'll see how I feel. It was supposed to be a down week as I recovered from Last Call. But I didn't do that so I don't need that type of recovery. But even today, I don't feel fantastic and I'm not sure whether I want to do a hard run on Tuesday yet. Looking at the schedule previously written, I've got an uphill Ladder which looks fun scheduled for Thursday, and then I'm moving into faster but shorter long runs leading into Disneyland. The week after (week of 12/11) is the first of two doubles on the weekend. So I've got that to look forward to in 1.5 weeks as well. Days are counting down and I'm still trying to get my body into race day shape.

 

[azrivest]

The 21st best performance was the 2023 Princess 10k (link). I completed the race in 42:53 and had a VDOT of 47.9. Of my 12 10ks, this was my 5th fastest performance. This was a not PR at the time. I finished in 32nd place out of 11735 runners, and 4th in my AG. The weather wasn't great and I finished slower than 2022. But I actually felt happy with the performance despite that. I ran a nice even race and felt like I gave a good effort. I was really hoping for a Top 3 AG finish but would have had to go sub-38. So my division was super competitive that year. That also let me have some relief at the results because I haven't sniffed a sub-38 10k.

Hey I was there!

The worst conditions were definitely the freshly treated roads as the ice/snow was melting and thus there was less traction. I'd rather run on fresh light powder than melting snow.

Okay so we got about 8-10 inches here from Sunday to Monday morning. I went out this morning for the first time in snowy conditions and, as expected, it felt more laborious and I didn't have the same traction. This isn't my first year running in wintery conditions but I seem to ask myself the same questions every year. Is there some kind of GAP to consider when running in snow? I'm asking because my plan has me doing some Yasso 800s on Thursday and I don't think I can hit the prescribed paces, or it will feel much more difficult. So i'm wondering how to adjust my workout?

 

[DopeyBadger]

Hey I was there!


Okay so we got about 8-10 inches here from Sunday to Monday morning. I went out this morning for the first time in snowy conditions and, as expected, it felt more laborious and I didn't have the same traction. This isn't my first year running in wintery conditions but I seem to ask myself the same questions every year. Is there some kind of GAP to consider when running in snow? I'm asking because my plan has me doing some Yasso 800s on Thursday and I don't think I can hit the prescribed paces, or it will feel much more difficult. So i'm wondering how to adjust my workout?

I’m not aware of any thing like grade adjusted pacing or T+D adjustment for winter conditions. I would think making something would be difficult because winters conditions can come in lots of varieties and within a run you could encounter multiple different types. Unlike temp or grade which are more static.

For me, I’ve found that I’m usually 20-40 sec/mile slower in SOG (snow on ground) conditions. But the premise of your question really is, how should I adjust workouts for winter conditions? The answer isn’t terribly different than when encountering other adverse conditions. Trust the effort. We set pace goals for training based on what efforts those paces represent. When the conditions are bad the effort remains the same but the pace will slow. In the case of some things like grade and temp we can have a general idea where we should aim for pace wise to align the goal effort. But not so easily with wintery conditions.

So first, ask yourself what the purpose of the workout is. In the case of Yassos, it’s two fold. It’s a speed workout, which could still be doable in wintery conditions if you stay smart. But secondly it’s meant as a predictive workout (whether I believe that or not). I wouldn’t use it as a predictive method in wintery conditions and I wouldn’t aim for the same pace as I would under ideal conditions. So you can do the Yassos if you play it smart and run by effort, but don’t aim for the same pace and don’t use it as anything predictive of fitness under wintery conditions.

When trying to run fast in winter conditions, make sure your footfall is light and underneath your body/center of gravity. It’s pretty easy to slip when running fast in winter. A little off your fitness because you took it too easy is better than injured.

 

[azrivest]

So you can do the Yassos if you play it smart and run by effort, but don’t aim for the same pace and don’t use it as anything predictive of fitness under wintery conditions.

Should I try something else? But yes, going by effort is great advice. I'll do what I can.

A little off your fitness because you took it too easy is better than injured.

Absolutely, my intention is 100% to get to Dopey in good physical shape.

 

[kps7795]

Do you have any plans to return to Marathon Weekend for another Dopey Challenge in the future? Assuming that I'm successful in registering for it, I'm using Dopey Challenge 2025 as my revenge race following a disappointing Goofy marathon run last year.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Should I try something else? But yes, going by effort is great advice. I'll do what I can.

You can try something else, but the advice would remain the same. No matter if it's a long duration M Tempo run or a fast short interval run. The longer stuff is hard in wintery conditions because of the toll it takes and because you're likely stressing other parts of the muscle less used under ideal conditions. The shorter stuff is hard because it's difficult to get good footing and one misstep can make for a serious injury. So they both come with their own set of pro/cons.

Do you have any plans to return to Marathon Weekend for another Dopey Challenge in the future? Assuming that I'm successful in registering for it, I'm using Dopey Challenge 2025 as my revenge race following a disappointing Goofy marathon run last year.

Not anytime soon. I'm content with how it ended for me in 2018 with coming within 1 minute of setting PRs in all four distances and finishing in 20th place overall. It was a nice end to that chapter of my running career. Doesn't mean I won't ever do it again, but it's not something that moves the needle for me at this moment in time.