It’s time to start training for this guy! The Dumbo Double Dare and Disneyland Half Marathon training guides are up and can be downloaded at the runDisney web site. So, if you’re running in either of these two races, today is the first day of running on the training plans. One year ago, this is what I wrote on this day. I was really excited for this day last year and am just as excited for this day this year. Why? Because I have a plan again! Let me give you a quick peek at what the Jeff Galloway designed plan looks like.

For purposes of this blog post, I’m going to look at the training plan for the Dumbo Double Dare. Chances are that the logo pictured above is what is going to be on the race shirts.

Regardless of whether you’re doing the Dumbo Double Dare or the Disneyland Half Marathon alone, the first couple pages in the training plan look exactly the same. Jeff Galloway starts off by giving you an overview of what to expect in this plan. I found it interesting last year that the first thing he talks about is the long run and how crucial those long runs are in getting ready to run a half marathon or longer. Last year, I was determined to never miss a long run. If you’re planning on doing the Dumbo Double Dare, you will notice that Jeff Galloway highly suggests that you walk the 10K race and run the half marathon. What I found out last year is that whatever you train for is what you should do. Determine in this first month of training what your race weekend strategy will be. I will be once again running the 10K with my wife. She goes a little slower than I do. So, I’ll train like I did last year. I’ll train to run both distances knowing that I’ll be running slower in the 10K than I train for. In this program, you don’t have to start the back to back long runs until the end of June. So, there is plenty of time to figure out your strategy. It is possible to PR BOTH the 10K and the half marathon. Check out the reports from Lisa of Prairie Princess Runners (10K and Half Marathon) because she did just that.  I put this out there not to say that everyone should try to PR both races, but to say it can be done with the proper training. If you’re new to long distance running, you would be better off deciding to race only ONE of the races and do a lot more walking on the other. Disney races should be fun. Also, it’s okay to not get a PR in either race.

On page one, you will notice Jeff Galloway mention his run-walk-run method for completing endurance events. The above video gives you a good start on understanding this method. I’ve blogged about it here. So, if you want more information about this method, visit that blog post. I use the Galloway run-walk-run method in my running and love it. I use 1 minute run/1 minute walk intervals. I would suggest that, if you want to go this route, to experiment in your first month of training to find the intervals that work best for you. Even though Jeff Galloway gives times associated with the different intervals, those are guidelines. In my 1 minute/1 minute intervals, I’ve been able to finish most of the time somewhere between 12 minutes per mile to 13 minutes per mile. So, I’m a little quicker than the guide suggests.

The training plan that Jeff Galloway has given us includes 3 training runs during most weeks with a few 4 training run weeks. On this page, you’ll find an explanation of how you should treat each of the days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) when you’re training. He also brings up the “Magic Mile” concept. I blogged about my first Magic Mile here. So, if you want more information on what the Magic Mile is, check out that blog post. I didn’t get to do as many Magic Miles in training for the Disneyland Half Marathon races last year as the plan asks for. However, my first couple Magic Miles really helped me understand what a realistic goal for the Disneyland Half Marathon should be for myself. They are good predictors for those of us who don’t have a ton of experience with long distance races. If you want to know what pace you should be training at, do a few Magic Miles and you’ll get a good picture.

Then, you get to the first page of the actual training plan. So get your calendars out and start planning. I’m only giving you the first page to give you an example of what the plan looks like. For the rest of the plan, click here for the Dumbo Double Dare, here for the Disneyland Half Marathon plan for beginners, here for the Disneyland Half Marathon plan for advanced runners looking for time improvement, and here for the Disneyland Half Marathon plan for advanced runners who want to finish in the upright position. You should note that all of these plans are for 19 weeks, with this week being week 1 and concluding one week after the 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. Let the countdown to race day begin!

In closing, I want to give you my advice as a person who is still relatively new to running. The plans that Jeff Galloway puts out are fantastic for us newbies. If you read and stick to the plan, you should have no worries when you line up at the races. You should also know that there are other plans out there to train for a half marathon as well that work for others. Whatever you do , find a plan that works for you and with your schedule. I like the fact that the Galloway plan requires only 3 or 4 days of running per week. I like the fact that the Galloway plan requires only 30-45 minutes of running in the mid-week runs. A year ago, I was a little stressed when my schedule didn’t allow for me to finish my runs on a Tuesday, Thursday, and/or Saturday as scheduled. I found that it’s okay to occasionally veer off the plan but to be cautious about it. There were some weeks I had to run on Wednesday and Thursday instead of Tuesday and Thursday. Some weeks, my long run had to be pushed from Saturday to Sunday. It’s okay if that happens. I was super strict on hitting all of the long runs each week, though. Lastly, if you have one bad long run, don’t stress out about it. My bad long runs tended to be followed by success the next time. It’s just important that you finish the distance. If you have to walk or crawl to the end of the required distance, do that. The next long run, you’ll find that finishing that distance is easier. Oh, I almost forgot…STAY HYDRATED! You’re training for an end of summer race. That means you will be training in warmer weather. Use these warm training runs as practice for race day. In Southern California, we tend to have the hottest temps in August through October. So, it’s probably going to be hot on race day.

Happy training everyone!