Can I do it?

LarMan

Thursday

Was nearly going to postpone this, it is much harder with the dark evenings but put on th egear and headed out at about 8:30. 5 easy miles, let my mind think about what I need to do after the marathon. I am already planning on traing for a 10K after the marathony recovery and then I plan on doing the Cork marathon. I think having another marathon to train for will take away the sting of this one not going to plan, if that happens! My only issues at the moment are a toenail that is sore and I am worried about it becoming infected, and the achilles which definately gets stiff after 5 or 6 Km. Hopefully as the reduced milage comes along it will heal.

Summary Distance: 8.41 km Time: 49:20 Avg Pace: 5:52 min/km

LarMan

Sunday

12 miles. Expected to wake up to blue skys and woke up to a gray sky which quichkly turned to a wet morning. I wasn't expecting that and my pre planned route would have become quickly saturated so I had to change route which was a dissapointment.

I bought a new light weight running jactket in Aldi, it was so light you can actually see through it. I didn't really believe it was waterproof as it calimed. As it was also a bit cold I put on my hat and gloves and off I went.

Once you are out in it the weather was not too bad and it acutally stopped raining during the run. Pace was around 6 minutes per KM, a little slower on the uphill sections and faster on the down hills. Legs still felt a little heavy but nothing too bad. At about 16/17 KM I can start to feel soreness and tightness appear but nothing to stop me running. I am hoping that the continuing taper will push back this tightness happening, other wise I will be running the whole second half of the marathon on very stiff legs.

I lost another toe nail on Saturday and I think I have one more that will probably go. A couple of times during the run I broke into a broad smile, no particular reason just felt happy to be out.

Only two weeks left now. I have been losing some weight over the last couple of weeks and while I won't be down to my lightest I should have lost about 8 pounds over the last couple of months, I had hoped to be as much as 5 kilos ligher than this but a summer of not watching what I was eating caused me to gain weight not lose it during the summer months.

Summary: Distance: 19.60 km Time: 1:56:49 Avg Pace: 5:58 min/km

scriba

LarMan wrote: »

I bought a new light weight running jactket in Aldi, it was so light you can actually see through it. I didn't really believe it was waterproof as it calimed.

I bought one of these myself, how did it hold up? I wouldn't expect it to handle a downpour. I plan to use your damp misfortune to prevent my own!

LarMan

Yes I would say it did work althought the rain wasn't that bad. It is certainly lightweight though.

scriba

LarMan wrote: »

Yes I would say it did work althought the rain wasn't that bad. It is certainly lightweight though.

I know, it's very flimsy looking!

LarMan

Tuesday

Tough trying to keep the pace down and the run felt hard

Summary Distance: 6.46 km Time: 36:10 Avg Pace: 5:36 min/km

LarMan

Wednesday

Not much to say here, 3 miles


Summary Distance: 5.01 km Time: 28:36 Avg Pace: 5:42 min/km

LarMan

Thursday

4 miles nice run, no issues

Summary Distance: 6.48 km Time: 36:35 Avg Pace: 5:39 min/km

LarMan

Saturday

That was the last long/medium run done before the marathon. I had left my car in work the previous day and so had to run back in to get it. I got my wife to drop me 13K from work and ran in. Weather was beautiful, too good in fact as I was wearing a compression top and it was actuallu too warm.

This run is net uphill and went from a low of 6 meters to a height of 89 meters. I did the run at marathon pace and it was tough in places especially where the gradient is steep.

I didn't use any gels or fluids on the run as it was so short. No real niggles but the achilles was starting to stiffen up and I imagine it will be very sore in the later stages of the marathon.

The marathon itself is going to be a real mental test, the ability to keep on running knowing that you are tired and sore. I really hope the crowds are good and that there is some crack along the way to distract me.

I bought a new marathon t-shirt and had my name printed on it. I got hope and tried it on and it was a bit snug so it will have to be my next marathon t-shirt providing I lose some more weight, which I plan to do.

So now with only 3 short runs to do before the race I am thankful to have made it this far in what peace. I think I can say, having not missed one training run, that I have completed marathon training which in itself is a great achievement as it has taken discipline to ensure all runs were done.

Summary: Distance: 13.01 km Time: 1:13:37 Avg Pace: 5:40 min/km

LarMan

Tuesday

3 miles in the mist. Ran this at lunchtime around work. Ran with a buddy and the pace was LSR so nice and easy, despite that manage to get a very slight stitch. Only two more runs to do before the big day.

Summary Distance: 5.00 km Time: 30:55 Avg Pace: 6:11 min/km

LarMan

Wednesday

Getting closer now second last run before DCM, next time I write in this log will probably be my race report.


Summary Distance: 3.25 km Time: 18:30 Avg Pace: 5:41 min/km

Thursday

Had a sports massage today, no major problems with the legs. A few knots but mostly fine.

LarMan

Monday 29th October 2012 Dublin City Marathon

12 months ago I would never have thought I would be able to say I ran a marathon but now I can. My aim was to go sub 4 hours but I did not achieve that and while that is a dissapointment it will hopefully encourage me to train harder eat better and get under the 4 hour mark.

Just as a prelude to the race report, I picked up my race number at the DCM Expo and there was a birthday card attached as my birthday was on the day of the race, I thought that was a very nice touch. Went to the Leinster V Cardiff match afterwards along with two of my kids, managed to break my daughters collar bone by falling on her while catching a ball before the match even started!

More preamble, my training had gone well. I trained for a 4 hour marathon in that my marathon pace runs were all done at a pace that would get me under 4 hours. My race times would have indicated that I should have been able to get under 4 hours so my plan was to line up with the 4 hour pacers and push on near the end of able, the reality was quiet different.

The morning of the race came along and my wife drove me into town and I was in by 8:10. I made my way to the bagage area and got ready, used the loo and then walked to the starting area, I needed to use the loo again so queued up for the toilets which were much busier than in the baggage area. I then climbed over the barrier to get as close to the 4 hour pace group as possible. We had about 20 minutes to wait here before the start. I was wearing my plastic bin liner to shield against the cold, but the weather was actually perfect for running with very little breeze or sun so could not have asked for better.

National anthem was played and I gave a roar which probably startled those around me. As our time drew closer and avalanche of clothes and bags were thrown to the side. We heard the off for Wave 2 and away we went, just as we got to the line a woman in front of me fell over, she got up pretty quickly but it was a warning to me to be careful as there are so many people running it was really crowed.

The first KM was slow as we rounded the corner and next few KMs were also busy as I tried to stay with the pacers who seemed to be moving away from me. This was a little unnerving and I didn’t want them to get too far away, as we turned onto Dorset street we passed a man who had collapsed, he was consious but seemed to be out of it. Other runners were putting him into the recovery position so fair play to them. I read in other logs that he jumped up rather miraculously and continued running, I wonder how he got on.

I had gotten into a nice rythm at this stage and was running nicely with the pacers a 100 meters ahead or so. In the phoenix park there were a couple of instances where the volume of people nearly led to accidents, some people ran into cones and one women dropped her inhaler and tried to retrieve it which obviously caused issues for both her and the people running behind her.

I was still well on track at this stage and coming up through chapelizoid and the first hill was no problem. I caught up with the pacemakers on the Crumlin road and had a brief chat with Brefni who told me this was his 57th marathon!!. The pacers then pulled a little way ahead of me but I kept behind them comfortably throught the half way point.

I think things started to get tough at this stage, I had struggled on my longs runs at about 24KM but I was glad to be realtively OK at the same point but I could definately feel the legs starting to get sore. My wife and family were planning to meet me at the 30K mark so I was determined to keep running until I passed them but at this point walking breaks were starting to enter my head. Orwell road and the turn onto Milltown gave some relief in that they were downhill and I passed my family who said I was looking fresh but that was not how I felt, my brother and a couple of his kids were further up the road and once I passed them I gave in and took my first walk break going up the hill, I think the main reason I felt like I needed to walk were my calf muscles which felt like they were going to pop.

I should mention that I had a Go Larry printed on my shirt and the support I got from this was amazing, in some ways it actually became a millstone as when I was walking people were shouting go Larry which was probably a good thing but at the time felt really bad. The crowds were amazing, I wish there were some way of telling these people how great they made this race and how grateful all the runners were for their particiaption.

The last 12K were hard hard hard, I lost a minute a KM here . I basically applied a walk/Run strategy where I would walk a 200 meters and then try and run the next 800. This took care of Roebuck road and clonskeagh as I walked up these, once I knew 4 hours was gone I relaxed a bit but still wanted to finish before the 4:15 pacers. I passed another friend of mine on Shelbourne road and I was walking at that stage which was a little dissapointing that she didn’t see me running. I ran the last 1.2 km without walking and my family who were now at the finish line saw me run over the line. I did not see them or hear them given the level of noice and my level of
discomfort.

I collected my medal and goody bag and as I walked towards the baggage area I stopped and cried. I don’t know why I was not elated I was not dissapointed , I was just sore and tired and emotional, I got my bag and met my family and started crying again, my sister took some pictures of me looking very emotional which I can laugh at now.

My time was 4:12:59 so well outside what I had hoped but even if I had been a minute over I would have been dissapointed so it was of no consequence that I was 13 minutes over.

The marathon is hard but I am so proud to have completed it. I will look back on the crowds and the experience with great fondness but I am also looking forward to my next one. I have now conquered the distance, now I need to get better and faster. I have a target to beat which is my current time but I also still want to get under the 4 hour mark. I will God willing be back at DCM 2013 fitter and faster and will get to enjoy the race even more.

scriba

Well done LarMan, you'll be all the wiser for 2013!

LarMan

For my own amusement some thoughts on why I missed my target.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056795013

LarMan

Thursday

First run after the marathon, life back into the legs, still a bit sore but I thought I would go out and see how things were, any sign of soreness and I would stop.

The plan was to do 4 very easy miles with heart rate kept at recovery rate < 76% maximum heart rate which for me I was taking at 136. So aerobically know issues but at 5K my left leg started to hurt and I decided to end the run there and just walk home. Legs are feeling better each day and with the next 7 runs all being recovery I should be in good shape in a couple of weeks.

Summary Distance: 6.52 km Time: 48:33 Avg Pace: 7:27 min/km

LarMan

Tuesday

My leg is still hurt and is a bit of a concern so I think I will need to take a break until it is better. I tried to run but the pain came back after a KM. I'll take a break for a week and see if that helps

LarMan

Tuesday

Despite a weeks rest and some rolling of the area, I am still not back to full fitness. The leg started hurting again after about 3 KM which is an improvement on the last run but I may need to go to the physio about it at this stage.

Summary Distance: 2.50 mi Time: 27:00 Avg Pace: 10:47 min/mi