So, yesterday, I shared my latest big dream with you all. Today, I want to focus on the training plan that I think will get me to the end of the goal. A dream may be a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep. However, a dream comes true when you put together a good plan and follow through on that plan. So, here is the plan I have to get me to Dopey in 2018. Are you ready? Here we go….

Week Ending	Tuesday (W1)	Thursday (W2)	Saturday (W3)	Sunday (*W4*)
July 17, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	3 Miles	N/A
July 24, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles	N/A
July 31, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	5 Miles	N/A
August 7, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 x 400	N/A
August 14, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles	N/A
August 21, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 x 400	N/A
August 28, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	9 Miles	N/A
September 4, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	Disneyland 5K	Disneyland 10K
September 11, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	11 Miles	N/A
September 18, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	8 x 400	N/A
September 25, 206	4 Miles	4 Miles	13 Miles	N/A
October 2, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	10 x 400	N/A
October 9, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	15 Miles	N/A
October 16, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	Long Beach 5K	12 x 400
October 23, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	17 Miles	N/A
October 30, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	14 x 400	N/A
November 6, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	5 Miles (3 at Race Pace)	N/A
November 14, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	N/A	Avengers Half

This is part 1 of the plan. I’m using Jeff Galloway’s training plan for experienced runners for time improvement. There are a couple of alterations I’ve made to the plan to fit with my current abilities. After all, Jeff has said that one of the issues we can get into as runners is having unrealistic expectations. So, here are the changes I’ve made…

1. I’ve changed  the Yasso 800’s Jeff has in his plan with 400 repeats. Right now, I’m not confident that I can complete even 1 800 without a walk break. After running 30-45 second intervals on my normal runs, going a full 800 without a break is just too much. However, I have run 400’s on the treadmill. So, it is realistic to think I could do so on a track. Or, work my way to doing them on a track. I’ll discuss in greater detail what my 400’s goal times are in a later post.
2. The Disneyland 10K race is going to be run on a day where the Jeff Galloway calendar says I’m to do 8 x 800 (or 400 in my alteration). Part of the reason I’m shooting for a 10K PR at that race is that it falls on a speed work day anyways. So, why not try to PR? Right? Anyways, I noticed that he has 2 weeks with a 4 x 800. So, I’ve eliminated them and decided to run the 8 x 400 two weeks after the Disneyland 10K and just eliminate one of the 14 x 400’s I would have had without this race on the calendar. I still work up to 14 x 400. I just don’t get to do it a second time.
3. Due to the Long Beach Aquarium 5K race, I’ve moved the 400 repeats to Sunday and will have 4 runs that week.

Now, I am hoping to work my way back to getting at least 1 gym workout per week after the month of July. Since, I’m not sure about this yet, I’ve left off any gym workouts. I can always alter the plan to include a gym workout. The same will be true after Avengers as well.

Week Ending	Tuesday (W1)	Thursday (W2)	Saturday (W3)	Sunday (*W4*)
November 21, 216	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles
November 28, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	13 Miles
December 4, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles (Wed)	4 Miles
December 11, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	15 Miles
December 18, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles
December 25, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	17 Miles
January 1, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 Miles (MM)
January 8, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	20 Miles
January 15, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	Star Wars 10K	Star Wars Half
January 22, 2016	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 Miles
January 29, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles (MM)
February 5, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	23 Miles
February 12, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 Miles
February 19, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles (MM)
February 26, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	26 Miles
March 5, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 Miles
March 12, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles
March 19, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles		LA Marathon

So, after finishing the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon, there is no room for too much rest. I’ll be using the Jeff Galloway plan for training for the Walt Disney World Marathon. It’s the plan for experienced runners to finish in the upright position. I’ll be hopping into the plan on Week 11. As luck would have it, this week is a recovery week and fits perfectly with where I will have trained to before getting into this plan. The first long run is a 13 mile run…which will take place 2 weeks after finishing 13.1 miles at the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon. I’ll be viewing that run as a maintenance run. Just like the last plan, I will have to make a few alterations…

1. I’ve decided to keep running 4 miles in the week days. The training plan I’m using calls for 3 miles (or 30 minutes) in the mid-week runs. I figure that, after spending so many weeks running 4 miles 2 times a week, I would be better off keeping that distance. As a matter of fact, I might consider upping the mid week runs to 6 miles at some point. Time will tell if and/or I do that.
2. The weekend of the Star Wars Rebel Challenge, the calendar called for a 20 mile long run. I’ll be getting close to that over two days (19.3 miles for the challenge). However, there is a big difference between running 20 miles in one shot and 19.3 miles over 2 days.  So, to compensate, I’ve eliminated a 7 mile run the week before the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend and replaced it with a 20 mile run. Then, I’ll do the Star Wars Rebel Challenge. After that, I’ll fall right back into the schedule as written.

I believe that I could have come close to running a sub 6 hour marathon at the 2015 Asics Los Angeles Marathon. I was using this same plan to get there. If not for a severe temperature spike the week before the race, I might have a different marathon PR. So, I don’t think I’ll need to use the marathon training plan for time gain. If I’m consistent in my training and set a new half marathon PR at Avengers, this plan will get me to a new marathon PR at the 2017 Sketchers Los Angeles Marathon.

Week Ending	Tuesday (W1)	Thursday (W2)	Saturday (W3)	Sunday (*W4*)
March 26, 2017	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF
April 2, 20017	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles
April 9, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	9.5 Miles
April 16, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles (MM)
April 23. 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	11 Miles
April 30, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles (MM)
May 7, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	12.5 Miles
May 14, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles (MM)
May 21, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	14 Miles
May 28, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles
June 4, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	RnR SD 5K	RnR SD Half

The next part of the plan has the least amount of time to train. If I’ve hit my first 2 major goals, I should be in fantastic shape heading into this part of the plan. I’m taking the week after the Los Angeles Marathon off. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be mentally fried by the time I cross the line at the Los Angeles Marathon. After working myself into good enough shape to have a new marathon and half marathon PR, I will have earned this week off. I’ll use this week to recover and get ready for the Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon. I’ll be using the “finish in the upright position” half marathon training program from Jeff Galloway for this race. It’s not a time goal improvement because I believe that, after working myself to a marathon PR kind of shape, consistent training should help me get to that 2 hour, 30 minute half marathon time I want. I’ll be hopping into this plan at week 10 and just going from there. No alterations needed because I don’t have any races on the calendar (as of now).

Week Ending	Tuesday (W1)	Thursday (W2)	Saturday (W3)	Sunday (*W4*)
June 11, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	11 Miles
June 18, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 Miles
June 25, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	13 Miles
July 2, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	5 Miles
July 9, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	15 Miles
July 16, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	4 x 800
July 26, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	17 Miles
July 23, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 x 800
July 30, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles (MM)
August 6, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	20 Miles
August 13, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	8 x 800
August 20, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles (MM)
August 26, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	23 Miles
September 3, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	Disneyland 10K	Disneyland Half
September 10, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles (MM)
September 17, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	26 Miles
September 24, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	10 x 800
October 1, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 (MM)
October 8, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	29 Miles
October 15, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	12 x 800
October 22, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles
October 29, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles
November 5, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles		NYC Marathon

Now comes the big push for my overall goal for this plan…running the 2017 NYC Marathon in less than 6 hours. If I’ve finished the Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon in a time of under 2 hours, 30 minutes, I should be in the kind of condition that getting a sub 6 hour marathon at the NYC Marathon is in me. Still, I’m going with the Jeff Galloway Marathon plan for time improvement just to make sure. I’m hopping into this plan on week 6. It should be good because I’ll have just run 13.1 miles the weekend before. So, running 11 the following weekend will be alright. I’ve made a few alterations to this plan as well…

1. I’ve shortened the 1 mile repeats on the Galloway plan to Yasso 800’s. I’m hoping that I’ll be in the kind of conditioning I need to be able to run 800’s on a track by this point. Because it’s so far out, I might even be able to run the mile repeats on the calendar. If I am, I’ll adjust the plan to have these be mile repeats instead of 800’s.
2. I am planning on running the Dumbo Double Dare in 2017! It will be the 5th year of the Dumbo Double Dare. So, I’m anticipating a great medal. Therefore, it’s a must do kind of race. However, this race weekend means a change in the calendar. Instead of doing Yasso 800’s, I’ll do the 800’s on the calendar for that week a few weeks later and eliminate one of the 800’s at the end of the cycle.

If all goes well, I’ll hit my goal of a sub 6 hour marathon at the 2017 NYC Marathon!

Week Ending	Tuesday (W1)	Thursday (W2)	Saturday (W3)	Sunday (*W4*)
November 12, 2017	OFF	OFF		Avengers Half
November 19, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles
November 26, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles/4 Mi.	10 Miles	23 Miles
December 3, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 Miles
December 10, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles (MM)
December 17, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles/5 Mi.	12 Miles	26 Miles
December 24, 20017	4 Miles	4 Miles	6 Miles
December 31, 2017	4 Miles	4 Miles	7 Miles
January 7, 2018	4 Miles	WDW 5K/WDW 10K	WDW Half Marathon	WDW Marathon
January 14, 2018	OFF	OFF	Star Wars 10K	Star Wars Half
January 21, 2018	OFF	OFF	OFF	OFF

Okay, here’s the part for the extra special dreaming. This part will be the most likely part of the plan to change. However, if the finances are there for me to run the 2018 Dopey, I think I can take care of the physical part of getting there. There is only ONE training plan for Dopey. I’d be jumping into this one at week 21 of the 28 week plan. One of the question marks is if I will be able to run another 26 miles just 6 weeks after the NYC Marathon. As you will notice, I am taking the week after the NYC Marathon off except to run in the 2017 Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon. I’m not entirely sure that I will run that race. However, it’s part of the plan for now.

The thing that makes this look doable for me is that I’m hopping into the plan just in time to get the 2 Dopey simulations done. In the weeks prior to this, you go from 2 long runs per week to 3 long runs per week. However, it’s not until the last two crazy weekends that you have all 4. So, even with hopping into the plan so late in the game, I’m getting in just in time for the only 2 Dopey simulations. Plus, by keeping the long distances up, I should be in fantastic shape coming off the NYC Marathon.

I may need this speeder bike by the end to get through the 2018 Star Wars Rebel Challenge. Taking the week between the Walt Disney World Marathon and Star Wars 10K off from running entirely will help. However, I’m pretty sure that I’ll be ready for a break once I cross that finish line at the 2018 Star Wars Half Marathon at Disneyland. It will be a great way to finish this long plan.

At the end of it all, I’ll be getting another Disney Coast to Coast medal! I will most likely never attempt to do the Dopey Challenge ever again. However, at the end of all of this, I should be in so much better condition than I am today and will have set a new 10K PR, 2 new half marathon PR’s, and 2 new marathon PR’s. It should be understood that I will not be making any PR attempts at the Dopey Challenge. The goal will be to simply finish all 4 races and still be able to complete the Star Wars Rebel Challenge one week later. The plan above has me taking the entire week off after the Star Wars Rebel Challenge. That could be two weeks. Time will tell.

Anyways, it’s a hugely ambitious plan. I have no idea if I will complete it all. But, as Walt said…If you can dream it, you can do it. Time will tell how it all goes. If I do finish everything, I’m coming back to this post after it is all done to remember how it all began. Next week, it’s time to ….

Let the journey begin!