Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread

dazza21ie

docrock wrote: »

folan wrote: »

ive just realised its 6 weeks today[/QUOTE

The same thought hit me when I woke up this morning:eek::eek:

In relation to the times, I would be over the moon to do a sub 4 hr - I have averaged just less than 9 mins miles on my latest HM & my LSR's are slightly more than 9 min miles but my problem like a lot more doing their first is whether I will blow out or be able to keep the 9 min pace going???? I generally dont stop unless its a P stop so I can picture myself sprawled across a barrier somewhere around the RDS with a few St Johns ambulance men giving me oxygen:eek::eek: Taking into account that I have 2 more 20+ milers to do & about 4 weeks more decent training - i'm undecided whether to follow the 4.00 or 4.15 pacers or tip along at my own pace & whatever happens will happen.

Any thoughts????:o

If your LSR's were being paced right you would hope to go a little quicker pace in the marathon. However, if you want to have a better chance of enjoying the day the more conservative option would be the best. At least if you are going well near the end you can finish strongly. What was your time for the half?

coalshed

I ran the Dublin HM, starting about 15 seconds behind the 1:40 pacers.

While the course was very crowded initially, especially down the Khyber, the going was still great as everyone was running at the same pace...kind of like we were all on a giant treadmill

The pacers slowly got away from me though, adding a couple of seconds to their lead each mile until I was behind by about 45 seconds by the time we exited the park onto Conygham road. At this stage I was looking at 1:41 or so, which I would have been happy with. However, once we hit the hills I was surprised to find myself catching up, in spite of a stitch which kicked in at mile 9 and never really went away.

I think it must have been Menoscemo who I asked on one the hills if he was bang on for 1:40, he told me to keep going as he was about 10 seconds inside.

So I tried to up my pace some more, catching the other pacers at the turn for the home stretch and managing to get 1:39:1x which I was, and still am, chuffed with.

I thought the race had a great atmosphere, and give my thanks to Menoscemo and the pacers who helped me beat my pb by six minutes.

Like elPadrino, AlanM and Overpronator I'm now hoping to run with the 3:45s on the big day.

Larman recently posted a link to this piece on running calculators and estimating marathon times from half marathon performance. I found it very interesting. http://www.hillrunner.com/jim2/id208.html

morann

Hey, looking for some advice please.

I am up to 15 miles and I am planning 17 this weekend. I just ran the half in 1:48 on Saturday and I am targeting 4 hours for October, sub 4 would be fantastic but I won;t kill myself to achieve it. I run my long runs at about 9min/mile and they are comfortable enough to date.

I haven't followed any of the plans strictly as I really only have time for two runs during the week which I do about 8 miles tempo with a warm up, so averaging about 8:10 or 8:20 mins/mile. I cycle 4 days a week for work, which I find great at keeping my legs going when I'm not running.

I am thinking of doing 17, 19 and 21 miles over the next 3 weekends. Is this wise or should I adopt a different approach before the taper? Most of the strict plans have you running 4 or 5 times a week, so with my long runs getting very long now I am slightly concerned my plan might be a bit much.

Thanks for any help

overpronator

coalshed wrote: »

Larman recently posted a link to this piece on running calculators and estimating marathon times from half marathon performance. I found it very interesting. http://www.hillrunner.com/jim2/id208.html

Yeah that is very interesting alright, ill be bringing my pace back about 45seconds I reckon, would never chance the 28 odd seconds that mcmillan suggests for me!

docrock

dazza21ie wrote: »

If your LSR's were being paced right you would hope to go a little quicker pace in the marathon. However, if you want to have a better chance of enjoying the day the more conservative option would be the best. At least if you are going well near the end you can finish strongly. What was your time for the half?

Thanks for the reply Dazza21ie,
my first half in April was 2.04 & the second one in July was 1.57. I felt that I had more in the tank after the second one & could have knocked another few mins off it with a bit more confidence but I was kind of holding back the whole time. I would hope that with another 2 months running in my legs (3 months to Dday) I could knock another few mins off for a half but do I think I'm capable of keeping that pace up for a full????. Its probably a confidence thing more than anything else so I'll go with the flow & see how I'm going with 5 miles to go.

rasher_m

docrock wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Dazza21ie,
my first half in April was 2.04 & the second one in July was 1.57. I felt that I had more in the tank after the second one & could have knocked another few mins off it with a bit more confidence but I was kind of holding back the whole time. I would hope that with another 2 months running in my legs (3 months to Dday) I could knock another few mins off for a half but do I think I'm capable of keeping that pace up for a full????. Its probably a confidence thing more than anything else so I'll go with the flow & see how I'm going with 5 miles to go.

I don't know if this will make you feel any wiser but if you're aiming for 4 hours and you can commute then try the Athlone 3/4 marathon with the 4 hour pacers. I was reading their thread and their plan is not to race the event but to treat it like an lsr. The first 10km's is 10.10 pace, the second quater is 9.38 pace and the last quarter is 9.38 pace. There are hills on the course which are tougher than Dublin. But the idea is if you're able to stick with the pacers for that event which should take you to 3/4 ten minutes outside of required pace for Dublin then you should be able for a 4 hour marathon. It will also count for your last lsr before taper and give you a good idea of where you're at.
I probably won't be going down myself as its too far but its definitely an idea for anyone thinking of their goal time.

dazza21ie

docrock wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Dazza21ie,
my first half in April was 2.04 & the second one in July was 1.57. I felt that I had more in the tank after the second one & could have knocked another few mins off it with a bit more confidence but I was kind of holding back the whole time. I would hope that with another 2 months running in my legs (3 months to Dday) I could knock another few mins off for a half but do I think I'm capable of keeping that pace up for a full????. Its probably a confidence thing more than anything else so I'll go with the flow & see how I'm going with 5 miles to go.

I think for a sub 4 time you would have needed to go around 1:49 in the half. That's what I told myself anyway (which quickly put the idea out of my head!).

I plan to do last 4-5 miles of LSR this weekend at PMP to see if i can manage the pace on tired legs.

docrock

rasher_m wrote: »

I don't know if this will make you feel any wiser but if you're aiming for 4 hours and you can commute then try the Athlone 3/4 marathon with the 4 hour pacers. I was reading their thread and their plan is not to race the event but to treat it like an lsr. The first 10km's is 10.10 pace, the second quater is 9.38 pace and the last quarter is 9.38 pace. There are hills on the course which are tougher than Dublin. But the idea is if you're able to stick with the pacers for that event which should take you to 3/4 ten minutes outside of required pace for Dublin then you should be able for a 4 hour marathon. It will also count for your last lsr before taper and give you a good idea of where you're at.
I probably won't be going down myself as its too far but its definitely an idea for anyone thinking of their goal time.

Thanks rasher, I would love to do the 3/4 in Athlone & its a great idea but its toooooooo far away from me,I'm way down South so it would be too much of a trek in the one day plus run 20 miles in between drives:eek::eek:

career_move

docrock wrote: »

Thanks rasher, I would love to do the 3/4 in Athlone & its a great idea but its toooooooo far away from me,I'm way down South so it would be too much of a trek in the one day plus run 20 miles in between drives:eek::eek:

Ya the driving is a killer....found that out after Athlone on Saturday. If you could get a bus/train to Athlone though there's a free shuttle bus to and from the start

Younganne

morann wrote: »

Hey, looking for some advice please.

I am up to 15 miles and I am planning 17 this weekend. I just ran the half in 1:48 on Saturday and I am targeting 4 hours for October, sub 4 would be fantastic but I won;t kill myself to achieve it. I run my long runs at about 9min/mile and they are comfortable enough to date.

I haven't followed any of the plans strictly as I really only have time for two runs during the week which I do about 8 miles tempo with a warm up, so averaging about 8:10 or 8:20 mins/mile. I cycle 4 days a week for work, which I find great at keeping my legs going when I'm not running.

I am thinking of doing 17, 19 and 21 miles over the next 3 weekends. Is this wise or should I adopt a different approach before the taper? Most of the strict plans have you running 4 or 5 times a week, so with my long runs getting very long now I am slightly concerned my plan might be a bit much.

Thanks for any help

Hi Morann, well done on the half time, you sould be able for the 4hr pacers at the marathon IF you slow down you LSR. You need to drop back to 10 - 10.30 min pace or your body will be fecked for the marathon and the last 6miles could be very difficult.

As for the last few LSR i would suggest 18m this weekend, 14m next weekend, 20m, 12m, 8m and then the last week will be resting.

This is to give your body a change to recover from the long runs and enable you to not pick up an injury from too many long runs without a chance to recover. Why don't you follow the last six week of the plan here with the gang. Theres a nice big group of them.

This weeks plan is here

career_move

Younganne was just reading your race report from Saturday. Well done on the PB I think we have a similar time in mind for Dublin (sub 4?)

rasher_m

dazza21ie wrote: »

docrock wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Dazza21ie,
my first half in April was 2.04 & the second one in July was 1.57. I felt that I had more in the tank after the second one & could have knocked another few mins off it with a bit more confidence but I was kind of holding back the whole time. I would hope that with another 2 months running in my legs (3 months to Dday) I could knock another few mins off for a half but do I think I'm capable of keeping that pace up for a full????. Its probably a confidence thing more than anything else so I'll go with the flow & see how I'm going with 5 miles to go.

I think for a sub 4 time you would have needed to go around 1:49 in the half. That's what I told myself anyway (which quickly put the idea out of my head!).

I plan to do last 4-5 miles of LSR this weekend at PMP to see if i can manage the pace on tired legs.

Yeah totally agree about sub four time, was referring to anyone hoping to try for sub four to see how they cope. wont be trying for it myself though

docrock

This is a word of WARNING, I missed my LSR over the weekend :mad:as I had a few to many beers on Sat night. Went for 11k this evening & I'm absolutely wrecked,legs were dead, breathing all over the place & if I listened to my head I'd have disappeared into a ditch after 2 miles. I havent felt as bad on a run that short in a long time, it must be the beer or lack of it over the past few months but definately something that I'm not doing again before Dublin.I suppose with all the training it was easier to get half jarred & my body couldnt handle it:mad:.

rasher_m

docrock wrote: »

This is a word of WARNING, I missed my LSR over the weekend :mad:as I had a few to many beers on Sat night. Went for 11k this evening & I'm absolutely wrecked,legs were dead, breathing all over the place & if I listened to my head I'd have disappeared into a ditch after 2 miles. I havent felt as bad on a run that short in a long time, it must be the beer or lack of it over the past few months but definately something that I'm not doing again before Dublin.I suppose with all the training it was easier to get half jarred & my body couldnt handle it:mad:.

Yeah sure I went down to EP the day after an lsr and could only manage 3 cans of beer. Between pitching tents, blowing up beds and making 3 trips to the car park and back with gear I got a brief panic attack the next day so had to drink Baileys instead to relax. Running and drinking do not mix.

Mr Slow

rasher_m wrote: »

Running and drinking do not mix.

:eek:

We'll see how you feel about that when you're dancing on the pool tables in McGrattans swinging that big shiny medal about the place.:)

rasher_m

Mr Slow wrote: »

:eek:

We'll see how you feel about that when you're dancing on the pool tables in McGrattans swinging that big shiny medal about the place.:)

haha...I'm so glad you said swinging a big shiny 'medal'
I was wondering where that was going

Mr Slow

rasher_m wrote: »

haha...I'm so glad you said swinging a big shiny 'medal'
I was wondering where that was going

I know you're female, if you weren't there'd be another option to swing about the place, I believe it's called 'Doing the Helicopter'

career_move

Mr Slow wrote: »

I know you're female, if you weren't there'd be another option to swing about the place, I believe it's called 'Doing the Helicopter'

Too much information :eek:

Mr Slow

career_move wrote: »

Too much information :eek:

Not speaking from experience you understand, I'm simply recanting information provided to me by that hellraiser Younganne.

rasher_m

Mr Slow wrote: »

Not speaking from experience you understand, I'm simply recanting information provided to me by that hellraiser Younganne.

She was probably recalling your drunken escapades that you don't remember.....swinging the helicopter...never heard that one before, I must be living a sheltered life.

Younganne

Hey you, Mr Slow, Don't be dragging me down to your level :eek::eek:...i live a good country sheltered life !!!!:o:o

Trampas

out this morning at 6.45 for my 5 mile recovery run. it was cold. 1st time to have the running jacket on in a long time.

still not cold enough for the baselayer

Mr Slow

rasher_m wrote: »

She was probably recalling your drunken escapades that you don't remember.....swinging the helicopter...never heard that one before, I must be living a sheltered life.

Absolutely not, my body is a temple!

Younganne wrote: »

Hey you, Mr Slow, Don't be dragging me down to your level :eek::eek:...i live a good country sheltered life !!!!:o:o

We all know what goes on in the country Anne

Younganne

Mr Slow wrote: »

Absolutely not, my body is a temple!
:D:D:D:D




We all know what goes on in the country Anne

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

ncmc

I actually think I had a bit of taper madness while on my holidays last week. I had a dream where I was running the marathon, the dream actually seemed to last for the full 4+ hours! At one stage, I stopped in someone’s house to go to the loo and was happily chatting away to the owner for about 10 minutes, at another stage we all had to push an empty wheelchair up a hill I don’t live in Dublin and don’t know the area, so the hills people are talking about are taking on mythical proportions in my head, in this dream, one of the hills was practically a right angle :eek::eek::eek: So, in the dream, I round the corner and see the finish line and I look at my watch, seconds over 4 hours, I can still do it in 4:00:xx, only problem is, it feels like I am running through water, literally cannot move forward, even though I’m only metres from the finish.


I actually woke up wrecked, as if I’d actually been running. I was gutted as well, because I had crashed at the finish line If that is what taper madness is like, I’m not looking forward to the last few weeks before the marathon!!!

alanking

dancing on tables?, Swinging 'things' around?, doing the helicopter ? mad dreams about big hills?
I tell my wife that I'm on a running website - hope she doesn't read this page :-)

Great banter folks............

folan

me and my girlfriend are looking for a house, so the stress is already at a high. And ive been warning her about taper madness for ages!

this could get messy!

miguelk

Back on the horse this morning for a 5 mile run, really nice morning but chilly as Trampas said. Must look into warmer clothes/hat/gloves etc. Had very little on today but after a mile its grand.

Legs felt great and I'm putting it down to doing a recovery run on Sunday. Couldn't resist the Ratoath 5k as it was on my doorstep, was still on a high from Saturday. Prob not smart but felt good after a slow warm up and the first mile so upped the pace and came in at 23:06, so thats a pb by 40 secs, shows the improvement the miles are giving, even on tired legs. And got a nice mug from Ratoath AC as a reward which was nice.

Doing my 19 miler in the pheonix park early on Sunday morning. Can only do a 7am start though if anyone is willing? I doubt it but I'll stick it in the group meets section but mentioning it here as a lot of us novices prob don't check that section. It'll be roughly 9:15 min/mile with a few slow ones to build up and maybe a couple at MP at the end but I'm flexible.

miguelk

folan wrote: »

me and my girlfriend are looking for a house, so the stress is already at a high. And ive been warning her about taper madness for ages!

this could get messy!

GF: "Do you think we should hold out for a property with a south facing garden and 3 beds"?

folan: "Yup, I think I'll go with miles 6, 12, 18, 21 for my gel strategy.

oh lord

Trampas

decided to take my marathon runners out of the box today since been sitting there for 2 weeks.

so breaking them in today while i am working from home today.

take them out next week for their 1st run.

6 weeks today we will all be walking like john wayne and saying never again but I am sure most of us will be looking at the next one a few days later.