Dopey Challenge Training – Week 4: Shoes, Glorious Shoes

 

My injured wrist has not been healing very quickly and since I’m in denial that anything is seriously wrong, I have not gone to my Doctor. At the advice of a co-worker I purchased a wrist brace because functioning at my job has become a struggle. And to my surprise IT WORKED!

 

This week my obsession with running shoes hit an all time high. I have now accumulated 4 pairs of running shoes. All Hoka shoes of course, my tried-and-true Arahi’s have increased by two. And I’ve introduced a new shoe to my collection. It’s the Carbon X-SPE, it is a tongueless shoe. I loved my first pair so much I immediately bought another before they were discontinued.

 

Now is the time to start testing out shoes for marathon weekend. We are a month into the training plan, this gives you plenty of time to find the shoe that fits your feet the best and gives yourself enough time to break in not just one pair, but several. I usually take three pairs of running shoe to January’s marathon weekend. You don’t know what the weather will be like, and if it rains you want to have an alternate pair for the next day race. Also just like you, your shoes need time to recover, you should never wear the same shoe for all four races. You need to give your shoes time to “bounce” back for best cushion and support. 

Why do you need to break in your shoes? Well, the material that makes up your shoe will most likely be stiff and inflexible. When the material hasn’t softened or doesn’t have a lot of give, it’s easy for friction to develop and this will cause blisters on your feet. Ouch, not fun, take if from someone who has experience in the area. 

 

You can avoid problems by gradually breaking in running shoes, a process that shouldn’t take more than a month and typically takes me only in a few weeks. 

 

Here are a few tips I use to break in my new running shoes.

Tip #1. Walk in you new shoes before taking them out for a run. Do this for a few days so your feet have time to adjust and allow the soles to loosen. Start out wearing them for half an hour around the house and gradually increase your wear time.  

 

Tip #2: Alternate between wearing your new shoes and your old shoes. I usually wear my newer shoes for shorter distance training runs until they are broken in completely. Never wear brand new shoes on race day, that is a recipe for disaster and a whole lot of pain.  

 

Tip #3: Once you’ve put some miles on your new shoes, pay attention to any unusual discomfort in the rest of your body. Remember running is a full-body workout and this will be a good indication if that shoe choice is not the right fit for you.

 

If you are thinking of switching it up and getting a totally different shoe or if you don’t know how to select the right shoe. I suggest going to a running store that has a 3D foot scanner or at the very least a treadmill. This way they can scan your foot and it will show if you have any pronation and the position of your arches. If they have a treadmill they will be able to look at your running form and give you suggests. It’s free and helps you select the perfect running shoe. 

 

This week’s recipe is from the Disney Cookbook: The Grey Stuff

Ingredients are few and instructions very simple. I served it over Mickey shaped brownies. Make sure to have some milk handy because you can’t eat too much as it is super rich. How does Disney do it, well take a look.

How does Rose do it: I think I did a great job. What do you think?

 

 

Next week is Dopey registration, Good luck everyone!

 

Week #4 Training video can be found on my YouTube channel just click here to watch!

Dopey Challenge Training – Week 3: “Cheers”

 

I am still suffering from my July 4^th fall. My wrist may not be fully functional again for while I fear. But that didn’t stop me from getting excited for my first in-person race registration since 2019!!

 

Race registration for Wine and Dine weekend was Tuesday morning. I was so nervous that I would not get a bib that I woke up at 4am to be at work by 6:00am. I got all my devices (laptop, iPad, and iPhone as well as my work computer) all dialed in to my company’s internet and logged into the RunDisney site. I was able to get into the queue about 6:50am and as 7:02am approached I got a message that my wait would be one hour. But surprise surprise I was in and out of registration in 20 minutes with every race I wanted. 5K and the Challenge. Come to find out, days later races were still available. All that worry and stress was for nothing. 

 

Oh well, open the wine and celebrate because Disney, here I come! Let the planning begin!

Villains themed costumes have me stomped, but I’m up for the challenge!

 

The weather is still so very hot and running after a long day at work is making my pace slow slow slow. I seem to be doing more walking than running, but at least I’m getting out there and getting the miles and time done. I did have to do one of my training runs of the treadmill this week because the heat was way too hot for safe running. 

 

Recipe of the week was from the Disney Eats Cookbook – Remy’s Ratatouille 

I love love love love this dish. Just make sure to use the right kind of eggplant. The recipe called for Chinese eggplant, but did I get Chinese eggplant?  NOOOOOO. I soon discovered why you can’t use just plain everyday eggplant.  Chinese eggplant is the same size as yellow squash and zucchini thus creating a more uniform look to the dish.  I also didn’t slice the veggies as thinly as I should have. Even so, this was a delicious meal and will definitely make it again.

 

 

Here's how the finished dish in the cookbook.

And then there's mine, not to shabby.

 

If you want to watch week #3 Click here

Dopey Challenge Training – Week 2: Recovery

Second week of Dopey training and I get injured,😢

4th of July started out with a face plant to the pavement during my July 4^th Virtual 5K. Baxter ran in front of me and I went down HARD. Truly earned this really cute medal.

 

The stars and strips top hat glides back and forth, truly amazing!

 

Although my knee looked torn up, the joint escape injury. As a runner that is all that matters, I don’t care what else hurt as long as I can run. My shoulder, elbow and wrist took the majority of the impact. My brand new Bose prescription sunglasses went flying off my face, followed by my visor. Poor Gymboss interval timer still works but looks like crap.  This unfortunately means I can’t take my sweet Baxter on my training runs for a while because I can’t hold him and the camera with my sore wrist. 

To celebrate my 5K victory and numb the pain, I put on my patriot tank and proudly flaunted my race wound with mimosas at a local wine bar. 

And yes, people did stare at me like an escapee from an abused women's shelter.

 

Morning running is an impossibility because Baxter wreaks havoc to my house and barks and whines so loudly if left in the kennel. So, after work in the heat will be my only alternative. I don’t want to run every training run on the Treadmill, well because how exciting is that for my YouTube channel. 

 

Recipe this week is from Disney’s Simple Family Cookbook: Super Fitness Juice. 

I wanted to really like this cool refreshing drink, however the grapefruit was super overpowering and made for a bitter taste. It also didn’t make the same amount as pictured in the book, I think I was supposed to use just the juice from the Grapefruit and orange, I peeled them and put them in whole. Made for more of a thick smoothie consistency.

This is the photo from the cookbook, how pretty are they?

And then there's mine. 

Oh Well, Click here to watch Week #2

Dopey Challenge Training – Week 1: I’m Doing This!

This is the first week of training for the 2022 Walt Disney World Dopey Challenge. RunDisney has not even announced the dates yet and in person races are still up in the air at this point. But I am trying to be optimistic and want to believe by January 2022 life will be normal enough to gather in the Epcot parking lot and cross that start line. 

 

The first week of a training plan is always the best. You’re so full of excitement, the miles are low and you feel like nothing is going to get in your way of training. How naive we are. 

 

 

This time around was a little different and a little bit more difficult. Coming off a year of non-running thanks to COVID. Adding 15 pounds and motivation at an all-time low I was wondering if I was even fit enough to begin a training plan. Then you add in new puppy Baxter and his separation anxiety, plus record breaking temperatures makes outdoor running a near impossibility. 

 

I wanted to do something different and fun for my training videos this year. I spend hours going through past videos to create an intro video that I liked. I also thought it would be fun to add a new segment… we are going to be cooking, but not just any recipes DISNEY RECIPES.  Amazon fed my shopping addiction and delivered enough Disney cookbooks to get me through all my training and then some. 

 

 

I am much slower this year, but I’m not going to get discouraged. Age, weight and sedentary has caused me to fall backwards. But I’m doing the Galloway run-walk-run method, which has gotten my over the finish line of many races and many future races for sure.

 

At the end of the week, Disney announced in-person races will begin again YEAH!!!!, however travel agents are no longer allowed to obtain bibs. My travel agent contacted me with a heavy heart to let me know this, but I’m going to keep training and hope I get in.

 

Join me on my training journey on my way back (hopefully) to Walt Disney World. All my training videos will be on my YouTube channel: Run Run Rosie. Make sure to check it out and hit that subscribe button and follow me for the next 28 weeks.

 

Click here to watch Week #1