How to run a marathon without training
Alternative title: how to run the Dopey Challenge without training.
Running a marathon is hard enough itself, but doing it without training is crazy town. I didn’t start out thinking I wasn’t going to train, it just sort of happened that way, but I learned a very value lesson: I could finish.
I also learned an equally valuable lesson: recovery would last several painful weeks. My running journey started with single mile runs in high school and college; after undergrad, I started running longer races, and my running interest peaked with the Dopey Challenge in Disney World.
I occasionally ran in high school, but I wasn’t fond of it. Running in Texas required one to deal with 100% humidity. I also lived in France during high school, and in Paris, running meant dealing with car exhaust and dog poop. Both of these situations were very uncomfortable for me and outweighed any enjoyment I had from running.
I ran a bit during college because I wanted to get in better shape. I always had the issue of what to focus on after one mile. Long runs weren’t too much of an interest to me, and the preparation time to run a mile or two seemed overkill to me.
If preparing to run took longer than actually run the distance, I wasn’t interested.
Running Partner
Then, I met my wife, and while she did not run, she got inspired to run the Disney World Half Marathon. She loved Disney and felt inspired to try something new to get in shape.
I trained with her until I got runner’s knee, and I made the mistake of not signing up for the race. Little did I know, you can run with an injury, and many people have some kind of injury they are dealing with when running. The training she did was very regimented, going up in mileage then down. She stuck to the training to a T. She was really doing the races for the medals, and I later found out that for some reason, the medals appealed to me too.
She completed the race even though the weather was the worst and included snow, sleet, and race. I was a spectator regretting being on the sidelines.
We then ran the Cherry Blossom race in DC a few months later which was dreadful because of the size of the crowd.
We had moved to Northern Virginia, and we started training at night for the Disney World Wine and Dine Half Marathon at EPCOT in Disney World. Night training was partially because the race was at night and partially because it was summer in the south. At night, the temperature would drop a little (to 90F) as the humidity edged up (to 100%). We would bring one or two liters of water and be drenched in sweat within a mile or two of a ten mile run.
However, we had a good time. We bonded and worked as a team, and we have always seen running as a shared sport. We had deep talks about our relationships, jobs, family, and our marriage. It was a time when there wasn’t anything else to do, and you couldn’t be stuck on your phone all day.
On race day, we had a good time as well, and finished with few injuries. Aside from the difficulties of being an inaugural race, it was very enjoyable and a nice precursor to the Dopey.
Pittsburgh
We moved to Pittsburgh, and we did the half marathon there. Then we got the crazy notion to sign up for the full marathon. We were training a few days a week, and things were going good. We hit 12 miles, and my knee started having issues. Suddenly, after only a mile or two, it would hurt so bad, I couldn’t run anymore.
I went to a doctor two months before the race, and he said if I really was going to run the race either way, I should stop training to let me knee heal. So I did. My wife couldn’t get past 13 miles in training, and I think it had to do with being by herself to run those miles. So she ran here and there, but the long runs were over.
Race day came, and I had a lot of Advil with me for the pain. Years later I found out, Advil is quite dangerous while running or afterwards. I should have been taking Tylenol because Advil could have caused kidney failure. Whatever the case, my wife would run ahead of me, then me ahead of her as we ran/walked the race. We befriended different people along the way, and I don’t remember anything from mile 15 to 18.
I didn’t hit the Wall at mile 20, but that’s probably because I hit it at 15. We were making it, and then with 0.2 miles to the finish, my wife starts sprinting. I was mostly angry that I felt obligated to run to catch up because of pride, but we did finish (I was a few feet behind here). I was proud.
The subsequent recovery was painful, probably due to my own making. We took a flight to Paris a few days later, and my knee hurt for three weeks. It probably wasn’t a good idea to plan a bunch of walking and traveling right after a marathon.
Losing Our Marbles
Then we really got crazy. We decided we wanted to do the Dopey Challenge in Disney World.
The Dopey is as follows:
- Thursday : 5k
- Friday : 10k
- Saturday : Half Marathon
- Sunday. : Full Marathon
At the end, we would have 1 medal for each race, 1 medal for doing the half marathon and the full marathon, and 1 more medal for doing all four races for a total of 6 medals. It was irresistible, and the races went through Disney parks.
We started training, but quickly decided staying uninjured before the race was more important. For some reason, we could not get past 10 mile runs, and we weren’t motivated to try harder because we knew how much training we needed to complete the race. We weren’t going to win, just finish. We also had to deal with recently moving and child care for a 1 year old, so it was tricky.
We learned over the years that most of the training isn’t necessary if you are in shape. The point of training is to become mentally prepared to run for that long because it is boring. We’re talking about hours and hours where one runs out of things to talk about.
Focusing on the next step for seven hours is a challenging mental task.
Alas, the races were upon us, and her parents came to Disney World to watch our son. All the nights but the last one, we got decent sleep. It was tough to get the baby to bed and then wake up at 3:30am to get ready to catch the bus. The first three races, we did well, but the last race, Andrea brought the wrong bib when we got on the bus, and she had an epic dash back to the room to get the right one.
The first three races weren’t too bad. By mile 10 of the half marathon, my knee was causing me issues. The final few miles were tough. Then again, we saw a firefighter dressed in full fire fighting gear (oxygen tank included) running the Dopey. She finished before we did.
The Marathon
At mile 5, the problems started. I was just trying to keep pace, and I was tracking my pace and our overall pace with the Apple Watch.
This was in 2015 a few months before the launch of the Watch, and I was quite possibly the only person running the Dopey with a Watch. I turned off every feature I could to make the battery life last, and I got 5:15 of the race on the Watch. It took us 7 hours to finish. On the plus side, nobody recognized that I was wearing the Watch.
At mile 12, we were running through Animal Kingdom, and the line to Expedition Everest was extremely short. We had enough spare minutes, so we went on it! It was awesome, and it tightened my quads, which meant that my runners knee was alleviated. Unfortunately, my feet were absolutely killing me.
The best part of that race was that everyone encouraged each other. I found myself telling people out of the blue that they are doing great, and to keep going. I was so excited for them when they finished.
As we rounded out the race, we were exhausted. We kept taking pictures with the characters along the route though. During Disney races, they have characters all along the route. Once you get into the park, you can cut the line for any character. It was fun, but towards the end, I wasn’t smiling anymore. I was ready to collapse. I saw someone who had collapsed at mile 25, and I was just trying to keep it together.
We came around the last corner, and I couldn’t believe it. As we finished, I started crying. My tears are reserved for sadness expect for 4 other times in my life: getting married and the birth of each of my three kids. This was the only other time I’ve experienced that level of happiness.
I was so happy, but I was also relieved. Maybe the tears were ones of a traumatic event ending and the hope that all this pain will go away. A self caused traumatic event.
We got our medals, and then we ended up in the Magic Kingdom by ourselves that night. We walked another 13 miles that day after having runIng 26. We were in pain for awhile. I had a grimace for a full week after returning to California, but everyday, I wore a different race shirt, medal, and Disney hat to work to celebrate.
Running while pregnant
The insanity didn’t stop there; oh no, it continued. With Disney races, if you run a half or full marathon in Disneyland and a half or full marathon in Disney World in a calendar year, you get a Coast-to-Coast medal. So we signed up for the half marathon in Disneyland in September. Andrea got pregnant a month later, so by the time we raced, she was 6 months pregnant. It wasn’t a hard race for me, but for her, it was tough. Again, another race we didn’t train for.
The moral of the story is that the majority of running a race is mental, and your body will pay a price; you determine if you want to pay installments in advance or owe on a bad loan.
Post Script
Aside from one other non-Disney race, we haven’t be able to race because of the kids. However, I have learned that short of doing long distance running, I really like to run 2 or 3 miles. The key for me is that it can’t be everyday; every other day works best otherwise I get burned out. I also like to run fast to keep everything interesting. I’ve been doing that for almost two years, and I’ve quite enjoyed it. I think we might train just a little bit more before the next race we run.
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Further readings of mine:
The Tale of the Stolen Espresso Machine
Why Starbucks makes burnt coffee
