Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread

Duzzie

Just back from my 24km run. It was a tale of 2 runs in one. First 18km were grand, very comfortable and easy going at about 6:20m/km. Once I hit 18kms, my legs went on strike and felt very heavy and lethargic. The last 4kms were torture and I had to walk a couple of hills when my legs refused to cooperate. I wasnt in any pain or discomfort, they just felt very heavy with no energy left in them.

I am running 4 times a week and have only missed one 8km run since I started my programme and I know that I have made great progress compared to where I was just 6 months ago. I was feeling good about my running but after this evening, i'm wandering if I have taken on too much if I am feeling like after half distance, the full 42km feels a long way off with not that much time left. I know everyone has bad days so i guess i'm not the only one who has thought this way but I am questioning my ability to do this.

Having read some of the stories on here though, I am very thankfull not to have picked up any injuries, very rough for those who have after putting in so much effort over the past few months.

corny

Duzzie wrote: »

Just back from my 24km run. It was a tale of 2 runs in one. First 18km were grand, very comfortable and easy going at about 6:20m/km. Once I hit 18kms, my legs went on strike and felt very heavy and lethargic. The last 4kms were torture and I had to walk a couple of hills when my legs refused to cooperate. I wasnt in any pain or discomfort, they just felt very heavy with no energy left in them.

Thats what you're there for. Your legs remember those last 4km and make improvements so that the next time they won't have to go on strike. Adaptive response is what its all about.;)

Duzzie

corny wrote: »

Thats what you're there for. Your legs remember those last 4km and make improvements so that the next time they won't have to go on strike. Adaptive response is what its all about.;)

I hope you are right, feeling very demotivated at the moment

Dilbert75

Don't worry about it too much Duzzie - we all have crap runs every now and then. You'll get through it and the next one will be great.

Duzzie

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Don't worry about it too much Duzzie - we all have crap runs every now and then. You'll get through it and the next one will be great.

Thanks, I hope so. The route I ran today had an elevation gain of 200m which I think is more severe that the DCM course and which I am hoping was partly the cause of me struggling at the end. I know, i'm clutching at straws.

tang1

Duzzie wrote: »

Thanks, I hope so. The route I ran today had an elevation gain of 200m which I think is more severe that the DCM course and which I am hoping was partly the cause of me struggling at the end. I know, i'm clutching at straws.

You've ran over 200 miles in DCM training so far apart from todays run, not being condescending but i bet you didn't run that in the whole of last year. If you can run that mileage in less than 13 weeks you can easily run DCM, believe in yourself man!!

darabbit

corny wrote: »

tang1 wrote: »

Plantar faciitis it is, at least two weeks of no running. Could be worse, at least i haven't been told DCM is a no go. niteowl1 he told me to manipulate the area with a tennis ball in a socked foot 4-5 times a day and do heel drops, leg on a step and lower the foot down below level of step till you feel stretch on plantar, hold for 5 secs and bring foot back up. Made sure to say do it with both feet.

Whoever said we run to get healthy! We're dropping like flies.;)

Bit of a kick in the teeth but like you say its not terminal.

I have a sore ITB in my left leg now (right leg knocked me out of last marathon). It has to be the most frustrating thing a person could suffer from. I feel fine walking around and i'm a bundle of energy but since midweek a couple of miles in and the all too familiar pain starts around the outside of the knee. Don't think its half as bad as last time but i'm not taking chances. Hoping that rolling the **** out of it (more torture) will expedite my return. Really don't want to miss the Phoenix Park next week.

When rolling ITB is not working, get physio or physical therapist to give u a sports massage or leg rub. Sometimes it can be tight hamstrings or back that is causing The problem.

Duzzie

tang1 wrote: »

You've ran over 200 miles in DCM training so far apart from todays run, not being condescending but i bet you didn't run that in the whole of last year. If you can run that mileage in less than 13 weeks you can easily run DCM, believe in yourself man!!

Cheers Tang, you are right. I couldn't run 5k just six months ago and hadn't run in probably the last 10 years. So there is no comparison between where I am now to where I was. I just have to keep plugging away and try to keep my motivation up which for me is key to getting to the finish line. Thanks for the support and the vote of confidence.

Younganne

Hey Guys, everyone is going to have a tough/bad run now and again, its only natural because the body and mind is tying to adjust to the increase in the mileage and for most/some of you, you will be running distances you have never run before.

Its very important to believe in yourself and stay positive. IF you start doubing yourself you will make the training very difficult for yourself. Remember there is no problem with stopping and taking a walking break if you need to, no one says you have to run it all.

Think back to why you want to do the marathon and everyone has different reasons for running. Marathon training is not easy, as the well know saying goes...if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!!!

Make sure that you are well fed, well watered and well rested, especially from now on as the miles increase. You can hit "The Wall" in training too. The Wall is the term used for when runners reach a point where they have depeted their glycogen stores and leads to having very little energy. The LSRs are training your body to getbetter at burning fat, as well as carbohydrates for energy. If you hit the wall, knowing what it is and that you can push through it and come out the other side will help greatly.



Here are a few ideas to help when things are getting tough

• think and say things to yourself when running gets very difficult...eg "keep running, i'll fell better in a minute after a drink/gel etc, i won't let the mental thoughts & images win, the body is well able
• Imagery - imagine that you are running effortlessly and very relaxed, imagine that your running form is smooth and graceful and imagine that you are a world class runner and you are leading DCM 2012:D
• Visualisation - Picture yourself running the marathon, picture the crowds on the days cheering you on, picture the finishing line with the clock showing your finishing time..think of all your friend and family supporting your either there on the day or at home after...picture showing your medal to everyone, picture your marathon report here on boards after( go back and read some of last yrs thread from about the same time and you'll see that what's happening is totally natural!!)

Get into the habit of doing one or all of the above and you will definitely make this marathon experience much more enjoyable and after all Your first marathon is all about the atmosphere and enjoying the experience!!!:D

"If you think you can, or you can't, you're right!.....Henry Ford

Runchick

Just catching up on the thread, sorry to see a few more injuries. I'm not long back from a 15.7 mile LSR, the first of that kind of distance in 4 weeks, since my hip injury reared its head. Over the last few weeks I doubted whether I'd get to this stage again but I followed the physio's advice to the letter, doing the stretches and strengthening 3 times a day, and kept fitness up with cycling. The LSR was fine, well apart from experimenting with going on an empty stomach at 6am and running out of fuel in the last few miles :rolleyes: The hip niggled for a few of the middle miles but didn't get any worse thankfully. But I have to say my legs felt strong so I don't think I've lost much fitness from the setback. Hopefully there'll be similar stories in a week or 2 from others out with injury

Mr Slow

To follow on from Anne's post above, here's my first marathon report - DCM 2010. Maybe some of the other contributors could post up theirs?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=68699444

RayCun

DCM 2010

Runchick

Meant to say good luck to all doing the half marathon today, looking forward to reading the race reports:))

career_move

Mr Slow wrote: »

To follow on from Anne's post above, here's my first marathon report - DCM 2010. Maybe some of the other contributors could post up theirs?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=68699444

RayCun wrote: »

DCM 2010

Love love love reading other people's logs! I'm sure you could get a great book out of them...some of them are so funny

career_move

Runchick wrote: »

Just catching up on the thread, sorry to see a few more injuries. I'm not long back from a 15.7 mile LSR, the first of that kind of distance in 4 weeks, since my hip injury reared its head.

That was a great run after being out injured. You must be thrilled to be back

jinxremoving

Back from a 13.2 mile run today! Can't believe I can run half marathon distances now, could not have dreamt of that this time last year. Flew around phoenix park!

Run was uneventful injury wise. No pain in hip or foot really after physio visit on Thurs. Would recommend everyone get checked out if you have a niggle.worth every penny.

davemcmahon

Just back from a 16.5 mile LSR. Found the last half a mile tough going, not sure i could've gone any further. That said I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to hitting 18 and 20 miles in the coming weeks. But before that its off to spain for a week on thursday, hoping to get out for a couple of runs while I'm there.

Rega

I went down to Clonmel this morning for the half marathon. Have to say that it was an extremely well run event.

I last ran a half marathon three years ago down in Bantry and finished in 2:08 so today, with a lot more training behind me, I was hoping to finish in under 2 hours.

I started between the 1:45 and 2:00 pacers. I tipped along nicely for the first few miles. I fell in with a nice group who were going at the same pace and with the chatting and the craic I didn't notice the miles going past.

I fell back a bit after the nine mile mark. I spent the next mile and a half cursing my holiday in Valencia last week where I didn't run at all. Ended up with just two runs in the last two weeks before today.

My heart broke when the two hour pacers passed me around the 10.5 mile mark. My legs were very heavy and I was sweating buckets. I haven't used gels before and didn't want to start today on a race day but it's something to start looking into.

Passed the 12 mile mark and just kept my eyes on the 2 hour pacers ahead of me. Said to myself there's no point even thinking about Dublin if I can't do this. Sickened. I was dying to stop but kept plugging away and actually passed a few runners on the home straight.

I turned into the IT campus and pushed hard to cross the line at a good pace, stopping my watch.
I looked at the clock on the gantry 2:00:19. F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK!!

Looked at my watch. It said 1:59:51. YEAH! Just got the text confirming my chip time was under 2 hours. Thrilled.

Again, I must say a big thank you to Clonmel AC for organising a great event. The water stations were well manned and the use of small water bottles at these instead of cups of water was fantastic. The stewards were very encouraging and the after race refreshments were a godsend. Tea, a sandwich and a huge slice of chocolate cake after a warm down and a few bottles of water and powerade went down a treat.

A great day out. Made up that I finished in under 2 hours. Looking forward to continuing my training on Tuesday.

Runchick

career_move wrote: »

Runchick wrote: »

Just catching up on the thread, sorry to see a few more injuries. I'm not long back from a 15.7 mile LSR, the first of that kind of distance in 4 weeks, since my hip injury reared its head.

That was a great run after being out injured. You must be thrilled to be back

Thanks career_move Absolutely thrilled to the point where I don't mind having sore legs today;)

doledude86

Can anyone help me structure my next weeks runs ahead of the 10mile in the park...

the schedule reads tuesday 4m wed 9m thurs 4m and sunday half marathon...

I was going go with monday 4m tuesday 6/8m wednesday 3/4m then saturday 10miles, sunday LSR maybe 10...

My PB at this distance is 0:75:34 so maybe a stab at that or somewhere near it

Pacing Mule

Going to head out and try a couple of kilometres - see how the injured foot holds up. I've only ran one 5k run since last Mondays LSR and am afraid to head out for tomorrows scheduled 14 mile LSR without giving things a test first. /says prayers

tang1

doledude86 wrote: »

Can anyone help me structure my next weeks runs ahead of the 10mile in the park...

the schedule reads tuesday 4m wed 9m thurs 4m and sunday half marathon...

I was going go with monday 4m tuesday 6/8m wednesday 3/4m then saturday 10miles, sunday LSR maybe 10...

My PB at this distance is 0:75:34 so maybe a stab at that or somewhere near it

Do mile warm up/cool down Saturday to bring you up to 12. Then 8 mile recovery Sunday after racing Saturday?

career_move

Good luck PM

Mr Slow

doledude86 wrote: »

Can anyone help me structure my next weeks runs ahead of the 10mile in the park...

the schedule reads tuesday 4m wed 9m thurs 4m and sunday half marathon...

I was going go with monday 4m tuesday 6/8m wednesday 3/4m then saturday 10miles, sunday LSR maybe 10...

My PB at this distance is 0:75:34 so maybe a stab at that or somewhere near it

tang1 wrote: »

Do mile warm up/cool down Saturday to bring you up to 12. Then 8 mile recovery Sunday after racing Saturday?

8 miles is too long for 'recovery' if you're doing a recovery run just do 4, a few miles off the week's training won't hurt but if you have to run Sunday then an 8 mile easy run is good training on tired legs.

tang1

Mr Slow wrote: »

8 miles is too long for 'recovery' if you're doing a recovery run just do 4

Just out of curiosity, whats max distance for 'recovery' run?

menoscemo

tang1 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, whats max distance for 'recovery' run?

I have been told 45 minutes.

Mr Slow

tang1 wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, whats max distance for 'recovery' run?

P&D have 6 mile recovery runs but you're on the cusp here, 4 is safe to ensure they're serving their purpose. If you need to get mileage in sometimes it's a good idea to run recovery in the morning and your easy run of 8 or so in the evening.

tang1

menoscemo wrote: »

I have been told 45 minutes.

Cheers meno.

doledude86

Thanks all, yeah Mr Slow I had planned to trim the miles next week as this week was tough and I want to give the 10mile a good lash on Saturday... Dying for it now

shortie_chik

Had to delay my LSR from Sat to Sun to give a damn blister an extra day to heal. It's not even a running blister, I got it from wearing my Converse on Thursday morning! :mad:

15m LSR done on the DCM course today, starting from Fortfield Road (about the 15m mark), through the city centre & back out to the North Circular Road (about 3.5m mark & then home). Didn't know the route very well so had the list of roads & turning directions drawn on my left arm There wasn't much left by the time I got home, but I know the city centre & northside roads! :rolleyes:

The first 9 miles were very comfortable. I had a handful of pauses at lights, so took these few seconds to stretch a little & continue on. It often feels a little hard to start up again but this usually fades quick enough. Running up a fairly busy O'Connell St wasn't great. Ran out of water by then & bought myself a lucozade sport at the top of the street to keep me going on the tough last 5m. Once I stopped for that minute, it's like the soreness got the chance to creep in & it was far less comfortable on the last 5m.

I didn't take a gel on this run; I'm not that keen on them, but I'll take one for my next LSR. Had a cereal bar & some jellies, water & lucozade instead & felt ok.

Pros: I've seen a good stretch of the route, as I didn't know the south side part at all. I've seen the 2 tough hills in the second half of the route so I won't get a horrible surprise on race day!
Cons: took me about 90 mins from leaving my door to getting to my start point (buses & waiting...) I'd have half the LSR done if I'd just started from my front door! :eek:

Next LSR I think I'll start from home, join the DCM route at some point in the Phoenix Park & just run away for half the LSR distance & then come back home again. Can go in the opposite direction the following week so I'll get a little more familiar with the route.