Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread

Runchick

Not long back from 15 mile LSR, longest run to date. I was really worried about pain in my hip flexor which I had on Thursday. I took the pace slower than normal 10min30 mile pace, and although I tried not to think about it I thought of nothing else the whole way round! Thankfully the pain didn't come back - well just a niggle from about mile 10, so I was happy with that but going to physio this week - seems to be that a lot of folk are starting to get niggles at this stage - regular physio from here on seems sensible.

The only problems I had were upper body aches and pains for the first 8 miles - due to spending my 2 'rest' days surfing in Donegal :eek: I tried a High 5 Isogel for the first time. Took it at 8.5 miles - I was surprised at how liquidy it was - I was expecting some kind of gooey gel - so it was much easier to take than expected. Its hard to tell how effective it was, I definitely felt much more alert after (which helped with the 6.30am start!) and felt strong in last half mile of the run, so maybe the gel helped.

A big thank you to whoever it was on here who suggested chocolate milk straight after a run - tried that today - it was so so refreshing - would strongly recommend! I've logged over 30 miles this week for the first time ever, it feels amazing to have come this far in a few months Its so motivating to read about everyone else's progress, especially now the LSRs are getting longer, and to those attempting LSRs in very hot weather, fair play

tenreds

LSR done this morning 11.1 miles,hard going out for the first 5 miles wind was against me all the way and maybe still running a bit to fast,coming back slowed it right down and wind behind me so that felt better:D

On a side note today I am 5 months off the smokes and been running for 4 months.In that time I built my long runs up to 11 miles :eek: and I have gone from 15 stone to 11.12 stone today.The thing is I think I have lost enough now and don't want to lose any more.What should I be eating so that I don't lose more weight.

FiiFii

murphd77 wrote: »

18k LSR today - my longest run in a long, long, long time. It went very well I think, very comfortable doing the run in just under 2 hrs. Biggest problem was hydration. I don't have a belt so decided to pick up a drink on the way at a shop in knew to be at about the half way point. Only problem was the shop had closed! Managed to find another not too far away, luckily (Bayside area, not too many shops about). Do people carry water or what? I noticed some runners with belts with large bottles attached, looks a little awkward but better than dying of thirst I guess. Suggestions please!

Knees a bit sore afterwards, but it's not that long since they used to feel that way after 5k so progress is being made.

I started bringing drinks with me for runs over an hour and just hold it in my hand. I prefer to sip regularly so in and out of a belt I'd find annoying. Its off putting first few times carrying but then you get used to it and I don't notice at all now. Use Aldi's isotonic drinks so depending on distance, might drink up to half before head out so bottle lighter then can easily throw away (Into bin..!) near the end or if bugging you at all

Mulberry

tenreds wrote: »

LSR done this morning 11.1 miles,hard going out for the first 5 miles wind was against me all the way and maybe still running a bit to fast,coming back slowed it right down and wind behind me so that felt better:D

On a side note today I am 5 months off the smokes and been running for 4 months.In that time I built my long runs up to 11 miles :eek: and I have gone from 15 stone to 11.12 stone today.The thing is I think I have lost enough now and don't want to lose any more.What should I be eating so that I don't lose more weight.

Not sure what you should be eating Tenreds but just wanted to say WELL DONE - you've put in a fantastic 5 months. Normally people pile on the weight when they ditch the fags so you've had two major life accomplishments in one short space of time - three actually if you throw in reaching 11 miles!

Well done - brilliant.

tang1

tenreds wrote: »

LSR done this morning 11.1 miles,hard going out for the first 5 miles wind was against me all the way and maybe still running a bit to fast,coming back slowed it right down and wind behind me so that felt better:D

On a side note today I am 5 months off the smokes and been running for 4 months.In that time I built my long runs up to 11 miles :eek: and I have gone from 15 stone to 11.12 stone today.The thing is I think I have lost enough now and don't want to lose any more.What should I be eating so that I don't lose more weight.

Fair play to you, i used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day about 2 years ago before giving them up. Took me alot longer than 5 months to get up to running 11 miles. You eating pasta and rice?? If not try them, i wasn't big fan of pasta as used to only eat dried pasta till i discovered fresh pasta. World of difference taste and texture wise i think. Keep getting the carbs into you for energy aswell.

Mr Slow

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

tenreds wrote: »

Hey PM great pics,can I ask what's it like running in that heat,going on holidays myself next week,I was thinking about getting up around 7 and doing my runs then as maybe not so hot (2 weeks in Lanzarote )

It's a massive difference. Sunrise here is around 6am and it's hot straight away. It does peak as you'd expect around midday but you're talking temps of around 30 degrees just after sunrise and just before sunset. There is a definite difference though as midday approaches 40 degrees here if there's no clouds so running first thing in morning or last thing in the evening is definitely a wise move.

I found that after 200 metres I felt like I had ran 2 km at home. You're straight into sweating, feeling the heart rate up etc. Where I am is particularly hilly which doesn't help. It's actually too steep to run up the hills and too steep to run down them too. :P I'm looking at even the half walking half running as keeping up some sort of fitness level and looking forward to getting out for a good LSR when I get home.

I ran everything at 9:30 min miles on holiday last year up and down hills, when I got back I was cruising 7 min miles in my tempo sessions as opposed to struggling through them. Heat training will bring you on big time, you have to work harder, your body fights to regulate heat, you sweat buckets but it pays dividends.

pansophelia

I did my 14m LSR yesterday (also my LER - Longest Ever Run).
Have to say, found this really tough. Felt a bit achy going into this but did loosen out after a couple of miles. I took the pace v slow - 11'30 min/miles on average. Ended up doing a few loops of the War Memorial Gardens - normally don't like loops, but they kept me going, it broke it up into small manageable distances. Pleased it's done at least - and didnt get sick afterwards, unlike my last two long runs!

Trampas

back after DCM 10km

49:37. Delighted. Was hoping around 51. So breaking 50mins 1st time ever.

6 to 8 were the hardest.

Great support and really enjoyed the race.

Now shower and food and off to Croke Park to cheer on The Dubs

zarkov

tenreds wrote: »

LSR done this morning 11.1 miles,hard going out for the first 5 miles wind was against me all the way and maybe still running a bit to fast,coming back slowed it right down and wind behind me so that felt better:D

On a side note today I am 5 months off the smokes and been running for 4 months.In that time I built my long runs up to 11 miles :eek: and I have gone from 15 stone to 11.12 stone today.The thing is I think I have lost enough now and don't want to lose any more.What should I be eating so that I don't lose more weight.

That's impressive. Well done.

rasher_m

That 10 km in swords was a lot tougher than i expected. ran it in 53 mins, am pleased enough with that but wouldve loved tobreak 50 mins. ah well. im defo going to start hill training. i mustve been doing 7 min miles downhill and 9 min miles uphill at least.

sureitsgrand

Disappointed to be honest. Was expecting to at least beat my previous 10k PB but ended up 1 minute outside it. Finished just under 56 minutes.

In reality I know I should be happy as i averaged 8:55 min/mi. When I consider i finished the 5 mile four weeks ago in 47:44 I should take it as improvement....I dunno though, just don't feel satisfied.

In terms of the race I thought it was excellent....except for the water station. Looked like only one station and everyone piled in there....Whilst there were two more empty ones further up (too far away in my opinion). That said - good organisation and Swords Main Street seemed to work well, with the baggage area and toilets off to the side there was a natural structure to it.

So, anyway - back to the grind. Really, really wanna target a PB in the 10 miler however. Need a bit of success!

Hope everyone's race went better than mine!

shortie_chik

Just in from the Fingal 10k & over the moon with my time
For me, 10 min miles are really quick, so I thought I'd be doing well to finish in 62ish mins. I would have loved to do it in 59:59, but thought it was too far out of my reach. In the end, I set my watch to a 10kph pace & thought sure if I don't manage it, I'll see how far I have to go next time. And I finished in 58:44 :eek:

I started at the back of the sub 60 wave (optimistically! ), & when I got close enough to the finish line to read the clock, I could see I was about 15 seconds from finishing while the clock was still under 60 mins. Don't think I've ever run so fast as that last stretch, but it was too far for me & my clock time was 1:00:05. Oh well! :rolleyes:

Overall I quite enjoyed the race. Course was grand, no horrible hills. Didn't think the water station was great; it looked like just one tiny table at first. There were 2 more further on but you wouldn't know it until you came to them. Maybe they could have put the middle one on the other side of the road so you could see both, and not have so much crowding next time. Also there was no water at the finish Sports drinks in the bags, but I'd have preferred water!

And even though it said in the race literature that the parking in the Pavilions would be free (first 2 hours), it wasn't! Not cool Pavilions! :mad:

Well done Tenreds, those are massive achievements & a huge amount to try to tackle in one go!!!

miguelk

Aimed for Sub 48 and got 47.33. Fantastic. It was a step up in pace from my 5m (39.10) and when I got to the 3/4 mark I thought I was in big trouble, that mile up hill was very tough but pushed on and finished very strong again. Well done everyone, it was a tough race.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/201814754

rasher_m

I think they organised that race really very well. I'm a regular to Swords and its a very congested area all of the time. So they done really well there.

As for the water stations, all they needed was a few stewards with a bit of cop to tell some of the people that there was a water station a couple of metres further on and direct them when it got busy at the first station.

As for the hills, Im not sure where some people are training but there was defo a two mile stretch of constant hill without a break like you get in the park. There were other shorter hills as well. So I'd have to challenge the theory that there were none.

Shortie_chick, i'd look at what time you parked at again and got back at because the first two hours are always free in Pavilions, race or no race.

Congrats to everyone, it was defo the equivalent of an easy 9 mile LSR and a good workout as well.

wowzer

Fingal 10k, absolute pig of a course with those conditions today. That mile and a half uphill against that breeze felt endless. Finished it in 44.45 mins, almost 2 mins outside my pb. General feeling of everyone i spoke to was that it was very tough today so well done to all fellow novices who completed it and especially those who pb'd, a pb was very hard to come by today.

Thought the organization was excellent as usual, fair play to all involved and there was great support from the residents in swords.

shortie_chik

rasher_m wrote: »

Shortie_chick, i'd look at what time you parked at again and got back at because the first two hours are always free in Pavilions, race or no race.

Drove in at 09:34, and was at the pay station at 11:24. Charge was €2. Even if I was there for 2:01, the charge should only have been €1, no?

rasher_m

shortie_chik wrote: »

rasher_m wrote: »

Shortie_chick, i'd look at what time you parked at again and got back at because the first two hours are always free in Pavilions, race or no race.

Drove in at 09:34, and was at the pay station at 11:24. Charge was €2. Even if I was there for 2:01, the charge should only have been €1, no?

That sounds like a mistake on their behalf. i do my shopping there each week and never have that problem. you should go to customer service and say it to them. it shouldve been free

shortie_chik

well I'm home now & it's not a massive charge... :rolleyes:
But I've just realised, the woman infront of me (another runner) at the paystation was charged €3. Unlikely that she was there for 5 hours! & it seemed like everyone in the line was actually paying with coins, rather than just getting tickets validated... So if everyone who raced parked in Pavilions (as directed) & they accidentally charged everyone for their first 2 hours parking... :mad:

Duzzie

rasher_m wrote: »

That 10 km in swords was a lot tougher than i expected. ran it in 53 mins, am pleased enough with that but wouldve loved tobreak 50 mins. ah well. im defo going to start hill training. i mustve been doing 7 min miles downhill and 9 min miles uphill at least.

We must have finished fairly close together, I was home in just over 53. I was running with the Army Corps lads for the long drag (6-8) then pulled ahead of them in the last 2ks. I'm surprised how tough some people are saying the course was. I'm not saying it wasn't tough but it certainly wasn't as tough for me as the 5miler in the park. I felt much happier with my run today than I was after the 5miler.

Best bit of the day for me was walking back along the finish line run-in and hearing all the encouragement from the people lining the route for the finishers as the hour mark approached and the effort being put in by them to try break the hour. It was great to see the support.

The only negative for me was the water stop, as others have said, it would have been better to have stations on both sides and maybe the others closer together, when I got to the first station, they were struggling to fill cups fast enough and nobody seemed to realise there were more stations further up. I ended up grabbing a bottle off the table and having a drink from that.

All in all, an enjoyable race which was well organised, not too congested, except for at the end of the cones at the u-turn on the old n1 and very good support along the route.

rasher_m

Duzzie wrote: »

rasher_m wrote: »

That 10 km in swords was a lot tougher than i expected. ran it in 53 mins, am pleased enough with that but wouldve loved tobreak 50 mins. ah well. im defo going to start hill training. i mustve been doing 7 min miles downhill and 9 min miles uphill at least.

We must have finished fairly close together, I was home in just over 53. I was running with the Army Corps lads for the long drag (6-8) then pulled ahead of them in the last 2ks. I'm surprised how tough some people are saying the course was. I'm not saying it wasn't tough but it certainly wasn't as tough for me as the 5miler in the park. I felt much happier with my run today than I was after the 5miler.

Best bit of the day for me was walking back along the finish line run-in and hearing all the encouragement from the people lining the route for the finishers as the hour mark approached and the effort being put in by them to try break the hour. It was great to see the support.

The only negative for me was the water stop, as others have said, it would have been better to have stations on both sides and maybe the others closer together, when I got to the first station, they were struggling to fill cups fast enough and nobody seemed to realise there were more stations further up. I ended up grabbing a bottle off the table and having a drink from that.

All in all, an enjoyable race which was well organised, not too congested, except for at the end of the cones at the u-turn on the old n1 and very good support along the route.

Well you wouldnt be able to miss me, my hair is pillarbox red lol. it all depends on when you started i suppose.

sassyj

shortie_chik wrote: »

well I'm home now & it's not a massive charge... :rolleyes:
But I've just realised, the woman infront of me (another runner) at the paystation was charged €3. Unlikely that she was there for 5 hours! & it seemed like everyone in the line was actually paying with coins, rather than just getting tickets validated... So if everyone who raced parked in Pavilions (as directed) & they accidentally charged everyone for their first 2 hours parking... :mad:

Parked about 9.30, left after 12 and was charged €1

tenreds

tang1 wrote: »

Fair play to you, i used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day about 2 years ago before giving them up. Took me alot longer than 5 months to get up to running 11 miles. You eating pasta and rice?? If not try them, i wasn't big fan of pasta as used to only eat dried pasta till i discovered fresh pasta. World of difference taste and texture wise i think. Keep getting the carbs into you for energy aswell.

I think your right about eating more pasta and rice,I've been kind of forgetting that I need to fuel my body for all this running and the energy levels haven't been great lately so I think its time to fill up on the carbs and time to forget about watching what I'm eating.

Well done to everybody in the 10k run today looks like some good times were done

Plus 10

Plus 10 wrote: »

Thanks for the advise - ran circa 5K on Friday and today - about 40 mins - fairly comfortable but keeping the pace slow. Entered the race series - hope to commit to it 4/5 times a week - tie into the training program you mention.
/QUOTE]

Training hadn't been going well (not committed enough to be honest - hols, euro's, work). Anyway have been running 6K maybe 2/3 times a week. Ran the Fingal 10K today - worried I would even finish it! - enjoyed it - did it in 56 mins and probably could have gone quicker.

I know I am way off any program for the Dublin marathon - any opinions should I just be realistic and forget about it for this year or if I up the distances, etc could I still do it?

zefer

shortie_chik wrote: »

Also there was no water at the finish Sports drinks in the bags, but I'd have preferred water!

There was loads of water & fruit after the race!
It was just after you collected the goodie bag as you followed the barriers around to the exit at the side of the council offices...

I thought it was an excellent race, well organised & great local support and I got a PB of 48.19

folan

the next 3 weeks are pretty busy for me, so gettting to the plan is going to be tough, so i might move my long runs to midweek for the next 2 weeks. im really not sure how it will work out though.

if i jog home from work, its roughly 9 miles, but i can detour around to make it 12 really easily. the follwoing week its a 9 miler, which ill probably increase to a 10. but the following weekend, for the 14, im in trouble. ill be travelling all week, so getting the shorter midweek runs in will be trouble, but when i have to try and find a 14 mile run in a new and strange place, i just cant see it happening!

career_move

folan wrote: »

the next 3 weeks are pretty busy for me, so gettting to the plan is going to be tough, so i might move my long runs to midweek for the next 2 weeks. im really not sure how it will work out though.

if i jog home from work, its roughly 9 miles, but i can detour around to make it 12 really easily. the follwoing week its a 9 miler, which ill probably increase to a 10. but the following weekend, for the 14, im in trouble. ill be travelling all week, so getting the shorter midweek runs in will be trouble, but when i have to try and find a 14 mile run in a new and strange place, i just cant see it happening!

Would it be any use using mapmyrun.com and having a route planned out before you go? I've found it great for doing my runs cause we haven't lived here long and I didn't really know the locality that well before I started running

ncmc

folan wrote: »

the next 3 weeks are pretty busy for me, so gettting to the plan is going to be tough, so i might move my long runs to midweek for the next 2 weeks. im really not sure how it will work out though.

if i jog home from work, its roughly 9 miles, but i can detour around to make it 12 really easily. the follwoing week its a 9 miler, which ill probably increase to a 10. but the following weekend, for the 14, im in trouble. ill be travelling all week, so getting the shorter midweek runs in will be trouble, but when i have to try and find a 14 mile run in a new and strange place, i just cant see it happening!

I find I can stick to the plan brilliantly on a normal week, but if I have something on that throws my schedule, I struggle to get all the runs in. I had a weekend away this week, I moved my 14 mile run to midweek and did my 7 mile pace on Saturday while I was away. Was supposed to do a 4 mile run yesterday and missed it as I was wrecked from a late-ish night on Saturday. It’s the first run I’ve missed in about 10 weeks! I’m trying not to get too panicky about stuff like that, life is bound to get in the way of training sometimes and I think once you’re getting 90% of your runs in, you’ll be ok. I am not on hols til September, so I will try and stick to the plan as much as possible, but i'm not going to beat myself up if I miss one or two short runs.



As for your 14 mile LSR, I agree with Career Move, try and have a route planned out in advance, maybe take a shorter route and do it a few times. I actually enjoy running in a new place, I get so bored of looking at the same route week in week out.

folan

ive had a look round the area on mmr, and its thrown up a few options, but it looks to be on pretty busy roads so i cant see it being that easy a gaunt! but theres a few shorter ones that i could repeat to get the numbers up! ill get by!

Pacing Mule

Just in from my LSR - thank God I scheduled this as a step back week. Wouldn't have been able to do a 9 or 10 miler here at all.

5 miles in just short of an hour. 33 min out and 26 min back in. Spot which half of the trip was up the very long and steep hill.

Back home tomorrow night so next report will be from a much cooler and much flatter Dublin.

darabbit

Just wondering if I missed the post for this weeks schedule. I am following HH1 and I know its 3, 5, 3, 10 but are there any strides included for this week?