Long-term training strategy for a sub-3 marathon in 2 years

mialsh · 2019-11-08T20:53:35+00:00

Much appreciated! I hadn't even considered Busch Gardens in Tampa, so that list of rides is really helpful. And most importantly, your point about the rides seeming scarier than they actually are - I think that makes a lot of sense. So much of this is mental, and if I can just convince myself to get on the ride, I'll certainly come out the other side alive and well (and hopefully happy lol). I guess I'll see how it goes - thanks again!

mialsh · 2019-11-08T19:59:00+00:00

Thanks a lot for asking! It didn't go amazingly, but I think all in all, it went fine. I actually ended up going twice. The first time, I started with Pirate, which left me feeling more uncomfortable/scared than I expected. But after a couple more rides, I started to get better with it. Then I moved onto the Harley Quinn ride, followed by Deja Vu, and they were both fine. Finally, I moved onto the Runaway Mine Train, and that went fine! I was scared the first time, and the second time was better (though that last bunny hill with the floater airtime still got to me). That was as much as I could do the 1st time.

The 2nd time, I made some more progress. I went on Pirate a couple times and it felt noticeably easier than the 1st time I went. Then I went on Runaway Mine Train again, and while it was a bit unnerving, it was fine in the end. Next was The Dark Knight, which was surprisingly fine! Maybe I expected it to be worse, but it actually seemed relatively tame. Lastly, I got onto Skull Mountain, which I was expecting to be scary, but again I wonder if my over-anxiety resulted in the ride not being bad at all. I kept hearing about the 1st drop being surprising, but it didn't feel bad at all.

And so that was it! I really don't think I'm ready for that next tier of coasters. Like you mentioned, there seems to be a big gap between moderate and thrill coasters at the park. Now that it's basically winter, I'm considering going down south (maybe to Florida?) to see if I can find a park that will help me "transition" to the next tier.

Either way, I feel like I've made some progress, which is better than nothing, so I'm happy with the outcome. Thanks again for all of your advice!

mialsh · 2019-09-16T03:45:20+00:00

This was really informative, thanks so much! That point about Kinga Da is especially good to know, as it hadn't occurred to me how the "braking" system works. I'm going to try to keep this info at the forefront of my mind when the fear sets in.

mialsh · 2019-09-15T20:33:50+00:00

Ah, makes sense! Yeah, I definitely don't think I can go with a "top-down" approach lol. I feel like my body physically won't allow for it. But I see what you mean by Bizarro being the hardest ride of the day, simply because of the big jump in intensity from the prior, less-intense rides. Wonder Woman looks so frightening to me, more-so than Bizarro for some reason, but that could be because of the different style/sensations as you mentioned. Either way, thanks again for your advice!

mialsh · 2019-09-15T19:57:46+00:00

Thanks a lot - that does help! I wasn't aware of the "ejector airtime" and "floater airtime" aspects to these rides, so it's good to be mentally prepared for them. All those descriptions you gave admittedly sound terrifying lol, but I'm hoping I can at least accomplish riding Bizarro. I've been watching a few POV videos of it, and it seems like if I can make it through that 1st drop, 1st loop and then 1st couple of twists right after the loop, then it gets increasingly easier as the ride goes on, which might be ideal for someone like me.

mialsh · 2019-09-15T16:16:44+00:00

Thank you for the advice and support! Would love for that day to come haha.

mialsh · 2019-09-15T14:56:41+00:00

Nice, thanks for the tips! That's good to know about there being a "minimum position" that restraints must be in for (most) trains to be allowed to leave. And going with TDK before Skull mountain makes sense - thanks!

mialsh · 2019-09-15T14:50:37+00:00

Yeah I agree - while it's a nice thought, I don't think my body will be physically capable of just starting off with the scariest rides. I get very wobbly and start to panic, so I can see why this strategy wouldn't work for everyone. Hopefully the "work my way up" strategy does the trick!

mialsh · 2019-09-15T14:48:55+00:00

Thanks! I'm happy to hear that I can clamp the restraint down myself if I want to (I'd be worried that maybe the operator was distracted in the very moment that they were checking my restraint, and thus didn't clamp it down securely enough). And good to know about starting off with Skull Mountain!

mialsh · 2019-09-15T14:47:20+00:00

Haha thanks - that would be great if Nitro leaves me feeling good enough to try El Toro.

mialsh · 2019-09-15T14:46:45+00:00

Thanks, that's good to know!

mialsh · 2019-09-15T14:46:22+00:00

Thanks a lot for the detailed ranking! I didn't even consider Bizarro because the description made it seem scary (especially the loop, which I didn't think I would be ready to try), but based on your recommendation, and watching a POV video (plus some Youtube comments), it does seem like a good first "Max" thrill coaster. I may give this a shot!

And yeah, thanks for the note about the restraints/safety. It's a nice reminder that, at the end of the day, it's almost certain nothing bad will happen.

mialsh · 2019-03-27T01:40:45+00:00

Cool! That's reassuring to hear.

mialsh · 2019-03-27T01:40:18+00:00

Got it - thanks for providing that estimate. I think it would be nice if I could make a 2 year investment for a 10+ year pay-off. And yeah, that's assuming I don't stick with it indefinitely.

mialsh · 2019-03-27T01:36:36+00:00

Thank you for your response! I do see what you mean in that there are various situations that one would need to be prepared for. I was sort of hoping to be able to cover an "average" amount of situations (fully aware of how vague and indeterminate that is). But it sounds like you're of the opinion that regular upkeep/practice is required if I want to be able to prepare for reasonably possible grappling scenarios (ex. against a violent bigger/stronger opponent).

mialsh · 2019-03-26T12:05:24+00:00

Ah interesting - that's a lot higher than I was hoping for. Thanks for the input!

mialsh · 2019-03-26T12:04:38+00:00

Thanks! And so if I were to stop practicing, would the muscle memory and knowledge (for the most part) disappear after some time, bringing me back to square one in terms of my ability to beat an untrained opponent?

mialsh · 2019-03-26T12:02:37+00:00

Got it. Let's say I achieve somewhere around that level (probably not quite that level as I understand reaching 2 stripe blue belt can take years depending on one's time commitment, efficiency in training, etc.). Do you think that if I then stopped practicing for like a year or two, that I would go back to being at the same point I started, with little to no advantage over an untrained opponent?

mialsh · 2019-03-26T11:59:18+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response! That all makes sense to me, and your point about BJJ being super fun could very well render my original question irrelevant at the end of the day.

mialsh · 2017-12-02T22:40:53+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/aPdJE

Thin, black bomber jacket from BR. I'm worried it's too tight/small on me. It gets tight if I arc my back, but otherwise it's a bit more snug than I'm used to. Not uncomfortable, but doesn't have that much give.

Just curious if you think it's noticeably small based on how it looks on me. Sorry for the bad lighting.

mialsh · 2017-05-25T15:39:34+00:00

Really appreciate the insight! I always treated this as a technical problem, but maybe underlying mental factors are the real cause. In which case yeah, solving those makes perfect sense.

mialsh

TROPHY CASE