Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread

Duzzie

Training week 2 complete. 33kms done including a 12km run yesterday at 6min/km. It was comfortable enough but started to tire towards the end, I think it is a psychological thing due to knowing that I was getting towards the end of the run. Other than than, felt comfortable enough. I waited till 8 last night to avoid the heat but it was still warm.

Mr Slow

rasher_m wrote: »

I was only stating that I agreed with Rays initial opinion. I appreciate the fact that you have a collective experience of marathon running, that is why i have joined the thread

I also appreciate the fact that Im entitled to my opinion and that this forum is not a clique.

You're very welcome here, our goal is to help you all get to the start line healthy and well trained.:)

I have no problem with my advice being challenged, it happens on all threads where people base their arguments on their own differing experiences but there are basic constants among people who have run marathons. Practice your gels etc on LSR's, don't run them too fast, do a few races to get used to running in crowds and try and simulate what race day will be like as much as you possibly can.

Pacing Mule

The family think I'm mad.

Niece had her communion yesterday and the whole family gathered at my parents house for a celebration barbecue. I was working yesterday and arrived over with my own daughter at 4.30 but promptly left to do a 6 mile run around my parents area including a gorgeous run down dun laoghaire pier. First time ever running around there and the trip along the seafront from sandycove was very enjoyable if not a bit crowded.

The family were all having a great time barbecue, beers etc and thought I had sun stroke that I was insistent on getting my run in before joining them. Cold beer tasted so much better after a hot run though.

Trampas

was out on 14km run this morning.

haven't upload the times to what rate it was but i think just under 6min pace

jprender

Even though I have completed 1 marathon already, I feel that this thread is more suited to me rather than the improvers one. I made a balls of that marathon too, so I reckon I am still very much in the novice category.


Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)

8km : 40:30 - June 2011
10m : 45:21 - yesterday (26May2012) !! (it was damn hot too)
half marathon : 1:44:33 - Sept 2011
marathon : 4:10:xx - March 2012

I wasn't really prepared for that marathon, but ran it anyway. A really foolish thing to do, and I was thankful that I did not injure myself.
1:47:xx at half way, 2:37:xx at 30km, and then took over 1:30 to finish the last 12 kms. I got what I deserved.


Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? No problem if you do!

No need to walk during training unless I'm having a particularly bad day


How much training do you currently do? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant

Currently in the middle of a 10k training program, so distances are not huge. Some speed work, some tempos, generally getting out about 4 times per week. Target race of the 10k in Dunshaughlin on the 23rd of June where I hope to take another chunk out of my 10km pb.


What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time?

I think that everyone should enjoy their first marathon, and unfortunately I blew that for myself. I'm going to enjoy this one by training correctly and ensuring that I don't have a blow-up again. I'll be training for 3:30 if all goes well, but one way or t'other, I'll be crossing the finish line having soaked up the atmosphere rather than wishing I wasn't there.


How many days a week can you train?

Up to 6 days per week including cross training, stretching sessions, weights etc.
I plan to follow the 18week P&D up to 55miles program.


Why are you running this marathon?


It's been a goal of mine for a long, long time.

Pacing Mule

Hi jprender,

Welcome to the thread ! I have to say though that a 4hr 10 first marathon would be a dream time for most novices here and your "blow up" pace isn't far off my current expected pace I do though appreciate where you're coming from - in wanting to do it right as such. Best of luck with your goal.

Dr Gradus

I'm fairly nervous to take the plunge and sign up for my first marathon at this point. This thread has been a great encouragement thus far to see so many people of so many varying abilities and backgrounds.


Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)

5km - Last week (Dublin fun-run), 25.35
10km - Never in a proper race, but in training about an hour


Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? No problem if you do!

Well for a 10k run, which generally kills me, I tend to stop once for about a minute.


How much training do you currently do? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant

I'm trying to get out for three runs a week at the moment, two shorter (3 to 6k) and one long (at the moment 10k is my maximum). Finding it tough to push myself anywhere passed that distance but sure there's still time.

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time?

I want to cross the finish line basically. It seems a long way away at this point. But in a dream scenario I would finish and finish in about 4.30.

How many days a week can you train?

Well I'm gonna stick to three days a week and up it come July.


Why are you running this marathon?

It will be my first marathon, and I want to prove to myself that I am capable of keeping up over longer distances. Plus it gives me the necessary drive to keep healthy and training throughout the Summer.

macinalli

Dr Gradus wrote: »

How much training do you currently do? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant

I'm trying to get out for three runs a week at the moment, two shorter (3 to 6k) and one long (at the moment 10k is my maximum). Finding it tough to push myself anywhere passed that distance but sure there's still time.

How many days a week can you train?

Well I'm gonna stick to three days a week and up it come July.

That's fine for casual running, but if you're taking on a marathon it's not a good idea. Your weekend runs will gradually get longer, but if you're only doing 2 other runs per week you won't have a base to absorb this training and could easily pick up injuries. IMO you should try and train 4-5 days per week; if those extra 2 days running are just an easy 20 minutes, then that's fine. Regular miles make a big difference - if you have the time, then you should think about getting some extra runs in.

miguelk

I'm in week 2 of my own prep before starting HH novice 2. Reading the thead has been great, Ithink I'll enjoy this a lot more knowing you're supposed to go slow!
Had been training for a 5k but now I'm setting my sights on the DCM.
I'll probably still do a 5k in a month or so for the experience since I have never run a race before.
Last time I trained for a 5k I was aiming at going it in under 25 and that seemed reasonable based on my training, got injured though so didn't work out.
No running experience but I play field sports so would be fit but not super fit either, and definitely not "endurance" fit.

Have you raced before?....no

Do you still need to take walk breaks?....no

How much training do you currently do?
4 days.
3 x 2/3 miles
1 x 4/5 miles
So currently at 10 -12 miles pw, building up the milage slowly. Ran 5.5 miles on Saturday at a very handy 10:45 avg pace per mile.

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time?
I'd love to do a sub 4. I really think I can.
Looking at others targets it may be a bit of a stretch though, I guess I won't know until later on in the training.

But really if I finish my first marathon I will be delighted.

How many days a week can you train?
4 or 5

Why are you running this marathon?
I've always wanted to do it, just for myself.
I admire anyone who does it for charity but for this one its 100% about me working towards a personal goal, may do the next one for charity.
I want to reap the rewards and feel what it is like to succeed at something that I have to put so much into. I want to feel the buzz of crossing the line.

Duzzie

miguelk wrote: »

Had been training for a 5k but now I'm setting my sights on the DCM.
I'll probably still do a 5k in a month or so for the experience since I have never run a race before.

I've decided to do the Dublin Series Races for the same reason, to get a bit of race experience. I don't intend to run them at full tilt but rather use them for the experience of running a race and running in a crowd.

http://dublinmarathon.ie/race_series.php

Mr Slow

Duzzie wrote: »

I've decided to do the Dublin Series Races for the same reason, to get a bit of race experience. I don't intend to run them at full tilt but rather use them for the experience of running a race and running in a crowd.

http://dublinmarathon.ie/race_series.php

You should run them at full tilt, they'll be the best indicator of your improved fitness and the Half in September should be the basis for your marathon goal.

G-Money

2 miles in the bag this morning. Was very hot out there, but managed to get it done. Was nice to see my pace hit 11.23 min/mile when a few weeks ago the fastest I seemed to go was 12.30 min/mile. Although it was just at one particular point that I checked, so I don't know if it was my consistent pace, I suspect not. But in fairness, I'm running purely on feel and not trying to hit any particular pace.

menoscemo

Duzzie wrote: »

I've decided to do the Dublin Series Races for the same reason, to get a bit of race experience. I don't intend to run them at full tilt but rather use them for the experience of running a race and running in a crowd.

http://dublinmarathon.ie/race_series.php

It's definitely a good idea to run your races as fast as possible. It'll teach you more than just training. It'll show you exactly what you are capable of. If you don't run the races as fast as possible there is no point in training. Races are the reward for your training.

Duzzie

Mr Slow wrote: »

You should run them at full tilt, they'll be the best indicator of your improved fitness and the Half in September should be the basis for your marathon goal.

menoscemo wrote: »

It's definitely a good idea to run your races as fast as possible. It'll teach you more than just training. It'll show you exactly what you are capable of. If you don't run the races as fast as possible there is no point in training. Races are the reward for your training.

I was afraid someone would say that. Ok, full tilt it is so. If I pick up an injury, I'll be back to you 2!!!

sassyj

Did a 5 mile on Saturday at a very leisurely pace and I really enjoyed it. I was always focused on improving speed with runs, I am converted to LSR!

miguelk

Duzzie wrote: »

I've decided to do the Dublin Series Races for the same reason, to get a bit of race experience. I don't intend to run them at full tilt but rather use them for the experience of running a race and running in a crowd.

http://dublinmarathon.ie/race_series.php

Only signed up for the Marathon but I May do some of these.

I'd prefer an earlier HM than september 15th, any recommendations?

Younganne

Well done, everyone seems to be getting the buildup in place and going slowly.;)

Just remember to drink plenty of extra water in the heat on both running and rest days as its vital for being able to run properly and being able to recover properly.
Don't wait until you are thirsty as then its too late. Just get into the habit of constantly sipping away at a bottle of water!!

For anyone who has trouble drinking water, drop of diluted juice in it helps and drinking it at room temp is much easier!!

Keep up the good work everyone and remember everyone runs at their own ability/pace!!

Younganne

miguelk wrote: »

Only signed up for the Marathon but I May do some of these.

I'd prefer an earlier HM than september 15th, any recommendations?

check out www.runireland.com for list of events!!

shortie_chik

So glad to see some more people who are running at my pace joining this thread! (At the moment, on a "normal day" I'm doing 10 min miles on my short runs, 11-12 min miles on my LSRs.)

Gonna try to do a weekly check in so an eye can be kept on me!

Last week's plan was 3+3+3+7LSR and a visit to Amphibian King and I ticked all the boxes

My Tuesday & Thursday runs felt comfortable enough (10-10:30 min miles) but my Wednesday pace run was horrible (11 min miles). Way too hot for me in the afternoon & I had to stop twice to walk for a minute or two. Anyway I learned to make sure I get my run in while the weather suits, so I'm aiming for early morning runs this mid-week.

I was happy enough with my weekend 7 mile LSR around the Phoenix Park. Did the first 2.5 miles on the trails around the circumference, for a change of surface & scenery. Definitely needs a lot more concentration on the ground to make sure you don't trip over a tree root & I was a bit slower (even than I'd planned!) as a result. Went back to the paths / worn grass for the rest of the run. My average pace was 12 min miles, which is fairly slow even for me. Was a little bit tired after staying up a past my bedtime, so I'm going to have to be a little more strict on my sleep routine, especially as my LSR distances increase. Of course, the last half mile or so felt super easy (must have been the comfort of knowing I was nearly home), so even though I had a few hard moments earlier, was good to know there was still actually plenty of energy in the tank. Wonky fuel gauge I think :eek:

Even though it was only a slow 7 miles, I did feel a little bit excited! Like look at me doing a marathon training programme! Stick with this & I will earn my marathon finisher t-shirt which is going to be my favourite item of clothing I ever wear in my entire life. So motivation is going well at the moment.

Bought some new more supportive runners in Amphibian King. Aisling out there was really helpful; she told me to replace my runners every 300-500miles which prompted me to calculate how far I'm planning to run this summer: over 500 miles!!! So far over the last 3 weeks I've done about 50, so I've only got 10% of the necessary miles in my legs at the moment. But that's 10% done, only 90% / ~450 miles left to do! :cool:

Also I finally told someone (at home) what I'm up to. I didn't want to tell anyone I was training for the DCM incase something would go wrong, like I'd get injured & not be able to do it. I really don't like talking about something that hasn't happened yet, & was foreseeing a whole Summer of being asked the same questions over & over & over... I'll be happy to talk all about it once it's done!

So I've told my boyfriend about my plans, again incase anything goes wrong at any stage & I get injured. He'll be there on the day to hold my handbag & I'm his hero now apparently (there were a few beers onboard when this was said...) He's training for triathlons over the Summer too, so it'll be early nights with lots of carbs & less alcohol for the two of us for a while. Glad he's gonna be in a similar training-boat so I won't feel like I'm missing out!

On a related note, I've been staaaaaaaarving all weekend! Eating plenty of carbs & protein too but it keeps coming back! Looking forward to some tips on managing nutrition / appetite / carb-loading over the next few weeks.

This week: 3+3+3+ 7 LSR. Feeling well rested at the moment & looking forward to seeing how I get on tomorrow morning.
Next week: 3+4+3+ 5 LSR.
Following week: 3+5+3+ 8 LSR.
(I've taken a chunk out of a Hal Higdon programme to get me very comfortable for the Novice 2 programme by the end of June.)

If any of the pros have feedback / comments on my week, I'd be happy to hear it!

Mr Slow

shortie_chik wrote: »

If any of the pros have feedback / comments on my week, I'd be happy to hear it!

Only one thing, you're going to get hungrier and hungrier!

shortie_chik

Mr Slow wrote: »

Only one thing, you're going to get hungrier and hungrier!

As I said before, uh-oh :eek:

This marathon training malarky is gonna cost me a fortune in food! Should have thought of that before I started I guess. Too late now, I'm sucked in! :pac:

G-Money

Younganne wrote: »

For anyone who has trouble drinking water, drop of diluted juice in it helps and drinking it at room temp is much easier!!

Diluted juice? I'm not sure what you mean.

Younganne

G-Money wrote: »

Diluted juice? I'm not sure what you mean.

G-Money - Blackcurrant, orange etc, any juice/squash/cordial you add water to before you drink it...it flovours the water so some people who don't like the tast of water can drink it this way!!

Shortie Chick - I'll do a longer post on Nutrition in a few days, I just have to get my facts all together before i post it up!!!In the mean time, top up with plenty of fruit & veg and extra carbs

career_move

I saw this on another thread and thought it was interesting re water consumption.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/18/how-much-water-drink-marathon

RedRunner

shortie_chik wrote: »

On a related note, I've been staaaaaaaarving all weekend! Eating plenty of carbs & protein too but it keeps coming back! Looking forward to some tips on managing nutrition / appetite / carb-loading over the next few weeks.

Hi,

I'm no pro but there are a couple of docs on nutrition here that look quite useful

http://dublinmarathon.ie/training.php

Keep up the great work with the training.DCMwill be no bother to ya by the sounds of it if you keep up that spirit and training!

Trampas

nothing like going for a 4 miler before work and breakfast.

makes you feel good for the day ahead.

worked on a bit of pace this morning.

Started off at around marathon pace for about half and then picked it up over the 2nd half

zooming

I hit a milestone on Sunday, 10 miles! It was warm out, even though I went out at 7am, took me 1hr 59...speedy Im not! Im for Dublin on Monday...nervous!

ncmc

shortie_chik wrote: »

Bought some new more supportive runners in Amphibian King. Aisling out there was really helpful; she told me to replace my runners every 300-500miles which prompted me to calculate how far I'm planning to run this summer: over 500 miles!!!

I've been wondering about this, I heard this before, that you should be changing trainers every 400 miles or so. So lets say you're running a fairly conservative 30 miles per week, this would mean you'd be buying new runners every 3 months or so! If on average they are costing €100-150, I really don't think I could afford that! I am currently wearing the most battered runners you could imagine, wouldn't like to think how many miles they've done. I'm going to get my gait analysed in the next week or so and buy a new pair of trainers, I'd be hopeful that they will see me through the marathon.

So what do you reckon, should we really be changing trainers so frequently or is it a bit of a ploy by the footwear sales people ?

Trampas

ncmc wrote: »

I've been wondering about this, I heard this before, that you should be changing trainers every 400 miles or so. So lets say you're running a fairly conservative 30 miles per week, this would mean you'd be buying new runners every 3 months or so! If on average they are costing €100-150, I really don't think I could afford that! I am currently wearing the most battered runners you could imagine, wouldn't like to think how many miles they've done. I'm going to get my gait analysed in the next week or so and buy a new pair of trainers, I'd be hopeful that they will see me through the marathon.

So what do you reckon, should we really be changing trainers so frequently or is it a bit of a ploy by the footwear sales people ?

Really depends on your weight, surface you are running on as a person 8 stone isn't going wear out a pair of runners compared to a 20 stoner.

I bought a new pair of runners about 2 months ago and I don't expect to be wearing them for the DCM but if I am comfy in them and running well I will buy the exact same runner about 2 months before the race so gives me time to break them in easy.

shortie_chik

ncmc wrote: »

I've been wondering about this, I heard this before, that you should be changing trainers every 400 miles or so. So lets say you're running a fairly conservative 30 miles per week, this would mean you'd be buying new runners every 3 months or so! If on average they are costing €100-150, I really don't think I could afford that! I am currently wearing the most battered runners you could imagine, wouldn't like to think how many miles they've done. I'm going to get my gait analysed in the next week or so and buy a new pair of trainers, I'd be hopeful that they will see me through the marathon.

So what do you reckon, should we really be changing trainers so frequently or is it a bit of a ploy by the footwear sales people ?

Aisling in AK took a look at my previous runners & they aren't worn out & are a reasonably good support for me, so I've started wearing in the new pair but am going to wear both for the next few weeks. I might continue to do some short runs in the old pair, but get used to the LSRs in my new pair (probably from next week or so, want to wear them a little more before I do a long run in them).