runDisney in one piece
Last week I wrote about the “Broken” Disney Runner and what she’s doing, this week I’m talking about the “In One Piece” Disney Runner and what she’s doing. So if you want to cross the finish line in one piece at your next Disney race here’s what runners who can do that do!
In this article:
“In One Piece” Disney Runner
Caps out training at 70% of race distance
A Disney runner crossing the finish line “In One Piece” makes sure her longest run of the training cycle is about 70% of race distance.
She knows when she caps out at this distance she maximizes her energy for race day. She runs all her long runs slow, about 30% slower than race pace so when she runs at 70% distance at 30% slower she still runs for the amount of time it’ll take her to run the race.
So she proves she can run that long and saves her legs from extra mileage pounding of longer distances.
Plans a different goal pace for each type of training run
When she goes out for a run she has a different goal pace for each run. She does this because it helps her train her body differently. Some days she may just run a “check the box” pace where she’s going out for a run because it’s on the schedule, but she doesn’t really feel like doing it so she goes for whatever pace gets the job done.
Other days she’s working on speed and getting her muscles to give bursts of energy so her goal pace for the run is bursts of fast, with some jogging in there.
Other runs she wants to challenge herself to run the same pace the entire time so she knows what that pace feels like.
Some runs she’s challenging herself to run race pace so she practices running that pace.
And her long runs are her slow, endurance pace. These ones feel like she’s running at a snail’s pace sometimes but she loves this pace because she can run forever and still have energy for the rest of the day.
She knows by practicing the different paces she gets her body used to running different paces, she gets a feel herself so she intuitively knows how fast she’s going and can speed up or slow down when she needs to.
She keeps her energy levels and motivation up because she doesn’t burn out by running all race pace.
Re-runs a week for missed training runs
A Disney runner running “In One Piece” gets a re-do when life happens and she can’t get her long run in one week. Whether she got sick, went on vacation or something came up with the family if she missed her long run she pushes it to the next week.
When she does this she continues to progressively add miles in a systematic way so she is significantly less likely to get injured or burnt out.
Bonus points for her when she plans her training schedule around vacation weeks or known busy weeks, like Holidays or school breaks, and makes that a taper week so she knows the long run won’t be a time suck.
Strengthens their whole body year-round
To cross the finish line “In One Piece” this runDisney’er practices strength exercises for her whole body all year round.
She makes sure she incorporates strength training whether she’s training for a race or not. This way her body is used to the exercises and it doesn’t add extra stress to her joints if she were to add it only when she’s training or after getting injured.
Bonus she modifies how much strength training she’s doing depending if she’s in a training cycle, recovering from a race or injury and still in training for another race, or if she’s coming off a race and her training cycle and getting ready for the rest period/off season.
She’ll dial up the strength with increased weight and repetitions during the off season and dials it back during a training cycle.
Warms up before running
A runDisney’er doing it “In One Piece” warms up before running.
She knows by warming up with walking, dynamic stretches, riding a bike or other light cardio she’s telling her body “let’s prep to get more blood flow to my leg muscles.” When she warms up before running she has less cramping, pain and her legs don’t feel like lead in the first couple of miles.
She knows that warming up means getting her heart rate up by at least 20% and it only takes 10 minutes of brisk walking to get her body into “flight mode” where her blood vessels in her legs dilate to allow more blood flow to those muscles because they’ll be working hard soon.
Schedules cool down and stretching time after every workout
Just like she schedules time to warm up before her run, to run “In One Piece” she also schedules a cool down and stretching time immediately after her run.
Once she’s done running she doesn’t just hop in the car or get in the shower, she walks to bring her heart rate down by at least 20% to tell her body, my leg muscles don’t need as much blood flow anymore.
And before her body has literally cooled down, while her temperature is still up a little bit and her muscles are primed for static stretching she makes sure to stretch for the length of time commiserate to how long her run was… the longer the run (or workout) the longer she stretches.
She knows when she spends dedicated time stretching immediately after her run she will be less sore the next day and more likely to want to go out for a run or cross training because she doesn’t hurt.
Gets massages regularly 1-2x/month during training
To continue that next day good feeling after an intense run, a Disney runner running “In One Piece” gets professional massages regularly, and when in training that usually means 1-2x/month.
She knows these regular massages work out muscle knots and tightness that naturally happen when you’re training for running races.
And when she gets them on the same day or day after a long run or race it helps move lactic acid out of the muscles to significantly reduce post-run soreness and tightness.
Pre-race foods include a variety of complex and simple carbs
To cross the finish line “In One Piece” this runDisney’er knows her pre-races foods will include a variety of carbs, especially complex carbs a few days leading up to the race and adding in some simple carbs.
She knows complex carbs will help her store the carbs as energy in her muscles for her to use during the race. And she supplements that with simple sugars immediately before and during the race for the quick energy release.
When she just uses simple carbs (think sugary candies and drinks) her body doesn’t store them over the days leading up to the race so she doesn’t have them ready to use.
That combo of complex carbs in the days leading up to it and during race simple sugars are her key to not bonking halfway through the race.
Foam rolls after workouts multiple times per week
The “In One Piece” Disney runner knows her foam roll and/or massage gun is her go-to tool during the week to maintain what her massage therapist has worked so hard to do: keep her muscles from cramping and knotting up.
She knows when she does this multiple times per week she can prevent muscle soreness and pain from creeping up, it’s great prevention tool.
Plans for breaking in shoes for part of long runs or short runs
The “In One Piece” runDisney’er plans out when she’ll get new shoes.
She typically buys multiple pairs of her favorite running shoes when they’re on sale so she is ready to switch them out whenever they need to be switched, with no lag time.
She makes sure to swap shoes starting out on short runs, or only a mile of a long run, and build from there.
She knows when she goes out in brand new shoes for too long she opens herself up for blisters or aches and pains, like shin splints, for no other reason than she ran too many miles in stiff shoes.
There you have it, if you’re looking to cross the finish line at your next Disney race “In One Piece” choose which of those aspects should be adjusted and do it.
