Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread

corny

ncmc wrote: »

That is a bit crap Corny. Whatever about not giving refunds, I don't understand why they don't allow deferrals, I thought it said somewhere on the website that they alliwed deferrals to the following year, or maybe that was the Cork City Marathon. They should at least allow a transfer of entry to someone else. How big a deal can it be to change a name with enough notice.

Tell me about it. Had to cancel Rotterdam a few months ago and within 3 days i had a full refund and a sorry about your injury-hope to see again email.

Younganne

Week 12 - Stepback Week

Mon| Tue| Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun | Total
Rest | 4m/6.5km | 8m/13km | 5m/8km | Rest | 12m/20km| Cross |29m/47.5km

Ok this is a stepback/recovery week. Keep the pace slow and relaxed and enjoy the lower mileage.
Those of you who are running the half, keep the pace extra slow early in the week.
Enjoy the race. This will give the best indication of how the training is going for you so try and race it and not stick to your LSR pace, run by feel and see how you get on. Its like a dress rehersal for the main event!!

For anyone who is having niggles or problems try and see a physio or try for a sport massage. This will help with the last few weeks as they are the biggest mileage week coming up now....4 more big weeks(but only 2 long, long LSRs) and then the madness begins...Taper!!!

rasher_m

ncmc wrote: »

Tough 5 miles done in Tuscany this morning, those hill towns are aptly named that's for sure. 2.5 miles steady incline where I seriously regretted that dessert and extra glass (or two) of wine last night. 'what goes up must come diwn' became my mantra and sure enought the 2.5 miles back was an easy downhill jaunt. I think that counts as training towards this infamous Chapelizod hill!

In some ways I'll be glad to get back home and get back concentrating on my training. Although I've only missed one short run due to food poisoning, I'm worried that all the big eating and wine will affect my training. 18 mile LSR on Sunday when I get home, so that should give me an idea where I stand

I dont think it will effect your training, you've already put in all the hard work and have done really well to do your runs while on holiday...i know i wouldnt have if it was me.

LarMan

My first taste of the marathon ciricuit. I was up nice and early on Sunday and in at the start for 8am. Nice morning for a run, not too warm which was great. I was wearing my camel backpack which must make some noise as I approach people with all the liquid swishing around. It almost acts like a bell as people get out of the way when I am coming.

The first few kms were fine, I was planning on 6 minute kms and the first two were a bit quicker as I tried to get used to the pace. By the fifth kilometer I was pretty happy with the pace, not breathing hard just chugging along. Got a little lost in the park so didn't take the exact marathon route. I also stopped briefly for a comfort break. And reached Chapelizoid gate feeling good and not needing to have taken the gell I was planning. I knew that there was the hill coming up after chapelizod but it wasn't too bad, I walked the last 100 meters so that I could take the gell and some fluids but I coul deasily have run.

The run into inchicore and south circular road were fine but then things started to get tough around crumlin. I just felt like it was a real slog. I took another gell around Walkinstown roundabout and continued on but it was hard going and my legs felt really heavy and I could feel the back of my calves stiffening up.

I got a little lost around ternure and instead of turning right on to orwell road I turned left on to rathgar road. So the last two KMs were off the marathon route.

So when I look back on this run I am happy that I didn't need to take any walk breaks other than my gell breaks. On the negative side it was still a hard run and I now have serious doubts about whether I can break 4 hours, it feels like it will be just about finishing rather than time.

Summary Distance: 29.00 km Time: 2:52:35 Avg Pace: 5:57 min/km

docrock

After a niggle in my upper calf & the back of my left knee area on Thursdays 12k I said that I'd let the LSR off until yesterday to give it an extra days rest.I took it handy for the first mile or two just to ease it in & thank God bar for the usual niggle here & there it was ok. I did just short of 30k in 3.05 which was about 8 mins slower than what I did 2 weeks ago for the same distance but the main difference was that 2 weeks ago I fell in the gate at home where as yesterday I still had a bit of fuel in the tank. I took a gel after 12k (they dont really agree with me but it was ok) & I had a packet of jelly babies which I bought during the week to try them out, I took half after 20k & the other half at 25k - theyre a definite from now on. I'm a lot happier now than I was last week, yes I'm a bit sore today but that should come around with a bit of stretching during the day.
I would love to break 4 hours but looking at my times I'd say that a realistic time for me would be from 4.15 - 4.30 which would be great for a 43yr old first timer. The object of the exercise & the goal at the start was to get around so I feel that I need to keep that goal in my head & not get ahead of myself either.I ran slower yesterday, enjoyed it more & didnt feel like I was going to pass out when I finished.

I'm one of these people that in a race I will have to go for a p after a few miles, I could go just before the start but 2 miles down the road I need to go again - it could be tough finding a secluded tree on O Connell Street with a few thousand people around :eek::eek::eek: Its probably a bit of nervous tension but does anyone else have the same problem????

dechol

docrock wrote: »

After a niggle in my upper calf & the back of my left knee area on Thursdays 12k I said that I'd let the LSR off until yesterday to give it an extra days rest.I took it handy for the first mile or two just to ease it in & thank God bar for the usual niggle here & there it was ok. I did just short of 30k in 3.05 which was about 8 mins slower than what I did 2 weeks ago for the same distance but the main difference was that 2 weeks ago I fell in the gate at home where as yesterday I still had a bit of fuel in the tank. I took a gel after 12k (they dont really agree with me but it was ok) & I had a packet of jelly babies which I bought during the week to try them out, I took half after 20k & the other half at 25k - theyre a definite from now on. I'm a lot happier now than I was last week, yes I'm a bit sore today but that should come around with a bit of stretching during the day.
I would love to break 4 hours but looking at my times I'd say that a realistic time for me would be from 4.15 - 4.30 which would be great for a 43yr old first timer. The object of the exercise & the goal at the start was to get around so I feel that I need to keep that goal in my head & not get ahead of myself either.I ran slower yesterday, enjoyed it more & didnt feel like I was going to pass out when I finished.

I'm one of these people that in a race I will have to go for a p after a few miles, I could go just before the start but 2 miles down the road I need to go again - it could be tough finding a secluded tree on O Connell Street with a few thousand people around :eek::eek::eek: Its probably a bit of nervous tension but does anyone else have the same problem????

Always have that problem too. Spend my time in queue for toilets before a race. Could go three times and will still need to go after a couple of miles!

docrock

corny wrote: »

100 euro down the drain. It seems no refund or deferral of entry is possible for the Dublin Marathon! Very understanding bunch altogether.

Won't be taking part in their race series from now on.:mad:

Thats a bit of a pain in the backside - youd think that in the current environment they would give people a break - they could at least defer it to next year.I still havent registered cos I have the feeling that once I do it I'll pick up an injury or something:(.I know that I should & get it out of the way but I'm a bit superstitious that way:eek::eek:

I just looked at the website & it seems that the last day to register is the end of Sept - is that correct??

Steroo

Does anyone know if there are pace groups for the Half this Sat? And what time Groups they are? thanks

dazza21ie

LarMan wrote: »

My first taste of the marathon ciricuit. I was up nice and early on Sunday and in at the start for 8am. Nice morning for a run, not too warm which was great. I was wearing my camel backpack which must make some noise as I approach people with all the liquid swishing around. It almost acts like a bell as people get out of the way when I am coming.

The first few kms were fine, I was planning on 6 minute kms and the first two were a bit quicker as I tried to get used to the pace. By the fifth kilometer I was pretty happy with the pace, not breathing hard just chugging along. Got a little lost in the park so didn't take the exact marathon route. I also stopped briefly for a comfort break. And reached Chapelizoid gate feeling good and not needing to have taken the gell I was planning. I knew that there was the hill coming up after chapelizod but it wasn't too bad, I walked the last 100 meters so that I could take the gell and some fluids but I coul deasily have run.

The run into inchicore and south circular road were fine but then things started to get tough around crumlin. I just felt like it was a real slog. I took another gell around Walkinstown roundabout and continued on but it was hard going and my legs felt really heavy and I could feel the back of my calves stiffening up.

I got a little lost around ternure and instead of turning right on to orwell road I turned left on to rathgar road. So the last two KMs were off the marathon route.

So when I look back on this run I am happy that I didn't need to take any walk breaks other than my gell breaks. On the negative side it was still a hard run and I now have serious doubts about whether I can break 4 hours, it feels like it will be just about finishing rather than time.

Summary Distance: 29.00 km Time: 2:52:35 Avg Pace: 5:57 min/km

The experienced runners might advise better but maybe you could do with easing off a little for your LSR's. A 4 hour marathon time requires a pace of 9:10 mins/mile (5:42 mins/km). I think the recommended pace for LSR's is 30-60 seconds per mile slower than your goal marathon pace. Your 5:57 min/km pace is around 9:35 mins/mile so your above the upper end of that scale. I reckon if you ease off a little bit especially for the earlier miles you will find a huge difference and probably be able to finish much stronger.

Younganne

StephenRooney wrote: »

Does anyone know if there are pace groups for the Half this Sat? And what time Groups they are? thanks

As far as i know this is the lastest list of Pacers for the Half...(Mr Slow/Raycun can confirm)

The Pacers are:

1:30
Ecoli
Krusty Clown
SureWhyNot

1:40
Menoscemo
Beepbeep67
liamo123

1:50
Chinguetti
Ultraman1
Claralara

2:00
digger2d2
Mr. Marthastew
tHE vAGGABOND

rasher_m

Younganne wrote: »

As far as i know this is the lastest list of Pacers for the Half...(Mr Slow/Raycun can confirm)

The Pacers are:

1:30
Ecoli
Krusty Clown
SureWhyNot

1:40
Menoscemo
Beepbeep67
liamo123

1:50
Chinguetti
Ultraman1
Claralara

2:00
digger2d2
Mr. Marthastew
tHE vAGGABOND

I'm finding it hard to decide which group to run with since I missed the Frank Duffy race and have no idea if my legs are going to be too tired after all the lsrs etc. I'm thinking of just running my own race in case I'm too optimistic and run with the wrong group and then end up bunched at about halfway.

RayCun

1:50
Chinguetti
Claralara
digger2d2

2:00
Ultraman1
Mr. Marthastew
tHE vAGGABOND

Digger and ultraman have swapped places, that's the only change I think.

elPadrino

I haven't posted for quite a while so just thought I'd check in. I have been following the thread and it's been an invaluable resource for advice and general motivation.

I haven't had any bad injuries so far. Just a few niggles that were sorted out by trips to the physio.

My longest LSR to date was on Sunday. I ran from around Clontarf Dart station, out to Howth village, up to the summit, back down the far side and back to Clontarf to cover the 29kms. Managed to keep a steady pace of just under 6min/km (slowed a little going up the steep hill). I'm hoping to run at 5min/km pace for the Marathon so hopefully my LSR pace is ok. I definitely found this run a hell of a lot easier pysychologically than the 28kms I covered the previous week.

The only parts of the actual course I've covered so far are from Parnell Square up to the end of the park. I'm planning to run the first half of the course as part of my next LSR, and the second half as part of the final LSR before taper. I'm sure it's been answered before, but is there an awful lot of stop/start involved with traffic lights when covering these routes?

Looking forward to the half-marathon on Saturday. I took 6 minutes off my PB to run a 1:43 down in Limerick back in May so I'm interested to see if this endurance training will help me improve on that.

Anyway, that's my lot to date. Keep up the good work.

miguelk

LarMan wrote: »

The run into inchicore and south circular road were fine but then things started to get tough around crumlin.

Did a similar run on the course this morning LarMan (at a similar pace) and hit Crumlin around mile 11,12,13 etc and I found it very tough going for that bit in particular.

For me it was that I had to run on the concrete footpath which was uneven at times and was getting busier with school kids etc so I was up and down a good bit, so difficult to get into a rhythm/comfortable stride. After Phibsborough there was a lot of footbath running also except here its avoiding the tree's is the problem. Couldn't go on the road with the parked cars.

It was a downside to doing the course but on the plus side I got to do the Rotunda hill and the Chapelizod hill and they are no longer things to dread as they have been conquered now! No where near as tough as I had built them out to be, they are hard ..... but they don't go on too long so you can dig in and get through them (unlike the never ending incline in the fingal 10k!).

That youtube clip of the course is class, really handy.

I'll try take in the second half the course in one of my other LSR's, worth it to take the mystery out of it and know "I've done this before" for when the day comes.

So 18 miles @ 9:30 Min/mile pace. Will do 5m tomorrow recovery then 8m Wednesday and rest thurs/fri before racing the half, can't wait for it.

Some great running this weekend reading back on you're accounts of it, fantastic, well done, almost there!

rasher_m

elPadrino wrote: »

I haven't posted for quite a while so just thought I'd check in. I have been following the thread and it's been an invaluable resource for advice and general motivation.

I haven't had any bad injuries so far. Just a few niggles that were sorted out by trips to the physio.

My longest LSR to date was on Sunday. I ran from around Clontarf Dart station, out to Howth village, up to the summit, back down the far side and back to Clontarf to cover the 29kms. Managed to keep a steady pace of just under 6min/km (slowed a little going up the steep hill). I'm hoping to run at 5min/km pace for the Marathon so hopefully my LSR pace is ok. I definitely found this run a hell of a lot easier pysychologically than the 28kms I covered the previous week.

Sounds like the run I need to do but the thoughts of running up Howth summit has been turning me off. Well done with that, I'm sure it will stand to you.

jinxremoving

Physio again tomorrow to see what the story is with this ankle injury. So jealous of everyone able to run this weekend!

Satanta

Another tough one at the weekend. My running mate decided to map out the route and we were uphill from about 5 miles to 10 miles. Nasty enough hills at that. I didnt really feel them at the time though but I think they affected me later in the run.

I am finding that the limiting factor for me at the minute on my long runs is hamstring pain. At about 14-15 miles in yesterday I started to get fierce hamstring burning. Same happened the previous week. Oddly enough today they are the only part of my legs that feel 100%

ahnowbrowncow

I decided to sign up to the half marathon and try give it a go, hopefully a decent race will give me the confidence to keep going for DCM in 50 days time.
My training for DCM never really started with week 0 being my highest mileage week. I had planned to start the marathon training seriously after the fingal 10k but I got injured the day before it and wasn't able to get out running much after.
Plans for the 10 mile also went out the window due to a different injury and was only able to get out for 4 runs in 4 weeks.

I have to admit I'm a bit nervous after looking at the spreadsheet and everyone's high mileage and lsrs. I managed to run 61km last week though, we'll see whether or not it's too little too late come Saturday.

WRENALDO

LarMan wrote: »

My first taste of the marathon ciricuit. I was up nice and early on Sunday and in at the start for 8am. Nice morning for a run, not too warm which was great. I was wearing my camel backpack which must make some noise as I approach people with all the liquid swishing around. It almost acts like a bell as people get out of the way when I am coming.

The first few kms were fine, I was planning on 6 minute kms and the first two were a bit quicker as I tried to get used to the pace. By the fifth kilometer I was pretty happy with the pace, not breathing hard just chugging along. Got a little lost in the park so didn't take the exact marathon route. I also stopped briefly for a comfort break. And reached Chapelizoid gate feeling good and not needing to have taken the gell I was planning. I knew that there was the hill coming up after chapelizod but it wasn't too bad, I walked the last 100 meters so that I could take the gell and some fluids but I coul deasily have run.

The run into inchicore and south circular road were fine but then things started to get tough around crumlin. I just felt like it was a real slog. I took another gell around Walkinstown roundabout and continued on but it was hard going and my legs felt really heavy and I could feel the back of my calves stiffening up.

I got a little lost around ternure and instead of turning right on to orwell road I turned left on to rathgar road. So the last two KMs were off the marathon route.

So when I look back on this run I am happy that I didn't need to take any walk breaks other than my gell breaks. On the negative side it was still a hard run and I now have serious doubts about whether I can break 4 hours, it feels like it will be just about finishing rather than time.

Summary Distance: 29.00 km Time: 2:52:35 Avg Pace: 5:57 min/km

Hi Larman if you suck all the air out of your Camalbak it get rids of the annoying sloshing of water sound (much better i felt anyways). I plan on wearing mine for the Half marathon on Saturday .

darabbit

corny wrote: »

100 euro down the drain. It seems no refund or deferral of entry is possible for the Dublin Marathon! Very understanding bunch altogether.

Won't be taking part in their race series from now on.:mad:

I know what you mean. I had the same problem with Gaelforce last year. It is a very unfair system. Even if they refunded half the fee you wouldn't feel as hard done by. More pressure should be put on them to give refunds or allow deferrals.

Pacing Mule

Today was LSR day in the Messiah camp. 16 miles / 26 kilometres on the schedule.

Last weeks 15 miler was very tough as the wheels had well and truly come off by the last 5k and I struggled badly to finish - leaving many questions about being ready for the big one in the back of my mind.

I ran the midweek 8 mile home on Thursday and had been in quite a bit of discomfort since - (shin splints were killing me) ended up skipping the last midweek 4 mile run completely to give myself a chance to recover.

So to say I wasn't overly looking forward to today would be fair to say.

I figured I'd give myself the best possible chance to finish and took things a bit slower than last week. (Heading for a snails pace of 7:15 per kilometre) I also got up early enough to have a bowl of porridge an hour before starting out and for good measure set out sporting my newly acquired 1000 mile socks too and clutching a drink bottle with a handgrip. The plan was to head out from home towards the Phoenix Park (about 9k) take a bit of a trip not exactly planned out to hit 16k before turning back to finish up in Blanch Centre where I could grab a quick shower in Westpoint before Mrs Messiah picked me up to head for our first baby scan. As such things were time critical so falling off the wagon could have been a disaster.

Schoolboy error right from the start - realised that I had messed up my pre LSR vaseline applying and forgot to do the nipples. :eek::( Was only 1k into the run when I copped it but as I had no key to get back into the house resolved to see how things went and if neccessary use some of my limited drink money (not beer ) to pick up a small tub if needed along the way.

Was comfortable at 7:15 ish pace. I passed the spot where I first stopped to buy a drink last week (which was in effect a break spot that last week I had to push myself to get to) and realised I was in much better shape than last week. This gave me a great confidence boost and I plodded on into the park and down the entire length of the park - hitting 13k halfway through the run just before the Zoo and delighted with myself that it had been done with no walk breaks. At this stage the Nipples were making themselves known and I decided I would for novelty value head up the quays and find a chemist along the way.

Passed the scene of an horrific accident between a skip truck and a Luas tram at Parkgate St. Hope everyone involved will be ok. The quays were busy with walkers on the path (as they have every right to be! ) and between navigating them and stop starting at the traffic lights every couple of minutes the quays soon lost novelty value. Found a chemist who was very amused by my dramatic dash in the door and grabbing of vaseline in a hurry. Hit the bridge just before the halpenny bridge at 16k and turned around to head back for Blanch via the Phoenix Park. Stopped to buy a lucozade and refill the water bottle along the quays too. End result was a not very smooth few k section here.

Hit the park along the way back - Newton said "what goes up must come down" - unfortunately it was the other way around for me today. The park was an absolute killer going back up. I knew it was going to be uphill, had even factored it in as good practice for the Clonskeagh hill at the DCM but still was regretting the route choice. That said I kept my head down and the legs going, took a very short walk break halfway through but in general covered the uphill back at close on the same time wise as on the way down.

By the time I got to the end of the park it struck me that this time last week I was in absolute tatters. Yes it was hurting today and there had been a couple of walk breaks but it wasn't anywhere near as bad. I was still travelling at a decent pace without it being an almighty struggle. I crossed last weeks LSR 8 minutes up (despite running slower - which shows how bad the last few k were last week) and continued on the extra mile - to a full 26k - in 3 hours 11 min. I had a bit in the tank too and could have gone on a bit longer. Calves were absolutely aching after stopping but that disappeared after half an hour.

I know that was a bit of a ramble more appropriate to a full race report but I hope it serves as inspiration to those who have struggled recently. The difference in one week for me was huge - the core basis that we have all built up over the weeks is still there even with a bad run. Have faith !

Alanm

I'd just add my condolences to those that have had to pull out due to injury. I was training all through last winter with the aim of completing Connemara full as my first Marathon, like many on this thread as the mileage increased I ended up with many niggles and missed a few weeks here and there. Eventually in mid feb I had to give up on the idea of completing it as my first and dropped down to do the half. To be honest, I'm really glad I did now as the base I built up then has really helped with training over the last few months. Last week, I completed my first ever 70k+ week with no significant problems!

One other word of advice, I'm going through runners at an incredible rate - only getting around 500km a pair. I'm a bit on the heavy side (over 13 stone) and am constantly running on concrete/tarmac which I suspect is part of the reason I'm not getting huge distance per pair. Note: I started feeling a bit sore/niggely a couple of weeks ago and swapped to an alternative pair of runners I had (I knew they hadn't been used much) and the minor pains went away. Something to keep in mind if your running has being going well for a long time, it could be worn out runners..

Have a quick question somebody may have advice on: A long time ago I signed up to run the Rathfarnham 5k race on 23rd Sept. I just realised the other day that I am/was/should be doing a 20 mile LSR that weekend too. Is my best bet for that weekend to run the race on Sunday morning and then do some sort of shortened LSR after? Or should I be sensible and not race the 5k? Or just race the 5k and forget some distance that weekend? I'm guessing there would be a significant risk doing a long run on the sat and race on the sunday. I don't really want to attempt a long run during the week (family/work etc commitments)

menoscemo

Alanm wrote: »

Have a quick question somebody may have advice on: A long time ago I signed up to run the Rathfarnham 5k race on 23rd Sept. I just realised the other day that I am/was/should be doing a 20 mile LSR that weekend too. Is my best bet for that weekend to run the race on Sunday morning and then do some sort of shortened LSR after? Or should I be sensible and not race the 5k? Or just race the 5k and forget some distance that weekend? I'm guessing there would be a significant risk doing a long run on the sat and race on the sunday. I don't really want to attempt a long run during the week (family/work etc commitments)

I had the same dilemna when training for DCM 3 years ago (my first Marathon). I really wanted to do the race so I ended up doing my 20 miles on the Friday evening rather than saturday. The 20 miler almost killed me but It worked out well and I was fully recovered by Sunday morning and hit my goal in Rathfarnham. Rathfarnham 5k is a great race and it'd be a pity to miss it.

Trampas

I will be doing the run out of chapelizord again as he hit me hard at the weekend so need to get on top of it next time.

I hit it on my lsr at the weekend around 23/24kms and in the race it is a bit less so hopefully not as bad but I think it is the worse climb on the course and would recommend everyone to have to have a look at it.

Anyone else looking forward to the temps dropping to make the running easier? I know it is crazy thing to say.

On a sad note I am having my last beer tonight until after the marathon.

Pacing Mule

Trampas wrote: »

On a sad note I am having my last beer tonight until after the marathon.

I said that last week but was offered a celebratory beer for today's run and it would be very rude not to accept

blockic

Trampas wrote: »

On a sad note I am having my last beer tonight until after the marathon.

Already! :eek: Good on ya! I'm sticking to October 6th for mine!

curr33

Hi all, i've just come across this thread as I googled marathon training plan. I had no thoughts of doing it until i did the Dingle half 2 weeks ago and loved it (even though it was mainly uphill). I have been cycling in and out of work (7.5m each way) 2-3 times a week. 1-2 short runs and one LSR. Am I too far behind the Hal Higdon to continue? I am not looking to win, just finish happily maybe in less than 5 hours !
I hoped to run 14-15m on Saturday but could barely manage 10 comfortably and had to walk most of the rest. It was only afterwards someone pointed out that it was extrmely hot. My only other bad LSR was also in the heat. I had planned the Dublin half next week but think I should do 15-16 again to make sure i can or should i just swap it with next weeks 16 miler?
Is it madness to be thinking about the full at this stage? Do I need to give up the cycling and do more running mid week? A lot of sites say that the cycling really helps and I thought it was keeping me fit and injury free.
Now that it's in my head, it won't go away....

career_move

Great running today PM. Enjoyed reading your report. Hope Mrs M's scan went well

Trampas....can I just say R.I.P to your beers...they'll be there for you in the after-marathon-life

career_move

blockic wrote: »

Already! :eek: Good on ya! I'm sticking to October 6th for mine!

Alco :rolleyes: Show some commitment can't you


:D:D

Pacing Mule

career_move wrote: »

Great running today PM. Enjoyed reading your report. Hope Mrs M's scan went well

Trampas....can I just say R.I.P to your beers...they'll be there for you in the after-marathon-life

Yeah everything went well. 2 arms 2 legs a head and a heartbeat is all they were looking for and all were present and correct. Was great to get the scan prints etc. It was a good day all round.

If the missus is eating for two i am happy to drink for two so will take up trampas's slack for a couple of weeks. !