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Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread
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Very late checking in after the Frank Duffy 10m! Was hoping to do 10 min miles & finish around 1:40 (this would be a great time for me!)
Started off a bit too fast (9:30ish min miles for the first 2m), and I felt like I was going to melt with the heat - possibly just my own heat rather than the weather. Slowed down to 10:0x min/miles & was going ok from 3-6.
The 7th mile up that hill to the water station was tough; I run that hill at least once a week but usually @11-12 min/miles, think that was an 11:++ min/mile. Mile 8 - back to 10ish min/mile, mile 9 was tough (11ish) but I guess I'd a little something saved up to push myself for the 10th mile (09:30ish).
As Hal advises, walked through the water stations to get a proper drink & a few seconds rest. Finished in 1:41:xx so I'm really happy with that!
And I learned to stick to my target pace; even if the first few miles seem easy, it'll catch up with me later. :eek: Going to be more strict with myself for the half-marathon next month.
I did last week's 15m LSR from Terenure around to the finish, continued on to the North Circular Road & then headed home. Was great to see that side of the route as I was completely unfamiliar with it. However it took me 90 mins from leaving my front door to getting to my starting point. I could have had half the run done in that time! Maybe it's good practise for race day, having to get a bus & do a warm up in a new place?Plan for LSR is run from Crumlin SC all the way around the DCM course and back to Crumlin SC. Should be around 17 miles. Plan over the next few weeks is to do my LSR on course to get a good look at the course. Anyone else planning running on the course over the next few weeks
So plan for this weekend (17m I think) is to join in the route in the Phoenix Park, run 8.5m away (towards Drimnagh, Walkinstown) & then turn around & come home again! I'm going to go alternating directions of the route over the next few weeks (half the LSR distance away & half back home again).
Tang, really sorry to hear your injury is that serious. I know how disappointed I'd feel if I was told I couldn't take part after all the work that's gone in over the summer. As others have said, hopefully the cross training will keep your fitness up & you can still take part, if not race. Hope you'll still stick with the thread, some of us need all the advice we can get!
Finally, I hope everyone on this thread has gone & got themselves a water belt. My OH experienced severe dehydration yesterday after the Olympic distance Dublin City Triathlon in Phoenix Park. It was a very scary experience for him & for me too
, & I'd hate to see it happen again or to anyone on here. It's entirely preventable, so get your water belts on; plan your LSR routes past a shop / someone's house / an outside tap / a place you can stash some bottles, etc. Just carry more than you think you'll need. Better safe than sorry! :cool:
It was a hot day, he pushed himself too hard & didn't get enough fluid on during the run. We spent 12h in the casualty department of Blanch, with him hooked up to drips, getting loads of tests done. The medical assistance at the event, in the hospital (and some very kind passers by & other triathletes in the park) were fantastic. I'd have been utterly useless on my own He's absolutely fine now thanks to them. Any suggestions on how to thank strangers whose names you don't know? 
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shortie_chik wrote: »Any suggestions on how to thank strangers whose names you don't know?
Email ray@todayfm.com
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shortie_chik wrote: »It was a hot day, he pushed himself too hard & didn't get enough fluid on during the run. We spent 12h in the casualty department of Blanch, with him hooked up to drips, getting loads of tests done. The medical assistance at the event, in the hospital (and some very kind passers by & other triathletes in the park) were fantastic. I'd have been utterly useless on my own He's absolutely fine now thanks to them. Any suggestions on how to thank strangers whose names you don't know?
sounds very scary alright, delighted to hear he is fully recovered...as for thanking those whos names you don't know, i think most people would help out and don't expect thanks...maybe a quick email to the organisers to put message up on their website, but don't think its necessary...
both of you could just pay it forward....ie do something nice for someone some time anonymously!!:D0 -
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sounds very scary alright, delighted to hear he is fully recovered...as for thanking those whos names you don't know, i think most people would help out and don't expect thanks...maybe a quick email to the organisers to put message up on their website, but don't think its necessary...
both of you could just pay it forward....ie do something nice for someone some time anonymously!!:D
I like the sound of that. I don't think you're allowed to give gifts to hospital staff for example, but could make a donation or something.
Will definitely contact the organisers to say thanks to the DCT nurse & St John's ambulance staff. Ray D'arcy could be the best way to say thanks to everyone else who helped.
And yes, very very very scary to see someone in that condition. In the grand scheme of things, dehydration is a "minor illness", but at the time he thought he'd died. End of the world for me 0 -
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Just a quick question it's probably been asked before but there's a lot of pages o this forum
I'm just finished a protein shake I was taking to aid muscle recovery etc I'm now about to buy another but I figured I'd ask if anybody recommends a particular brand or could advise a supplement I should be taking.
I run regularly and have done a few triathlons but never put much thought into supplements and the body is starting to ache the last while especially the knees taking glucosamine sulphate for that one
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sureitsgrand wrote: »Hey lee,
I'm a novice, so I'm interested to hear what people's thoughts on supplements are also...
What I've been doing is having a chocolate milkshake (Yazoo) after my LSRs as I hear it's roughly equivalent to those powdered mixtures in terms of nutritional content....and tastier!
After a session I try to have an isotonic drink - I get tesco ones for 60cent which seem to do the job.
I take a multivitamin, omega oils, vitamin b complex and glucosamine sulfate each day too....
The protein shake i was taking wasn't to bad really I'm just taking it for when I'm falling short of protein in my diet it's supposed to build lean muscle so hoping it'll do some good for stabiliser and core muscles.
I must try that isotonic drink after runs I knew you were supposed to replace salts after long runs and sweating so much.
Haven't tried the omega oils I must pick some up think i've tried every other oil considering 3in1 oil next
What does the Vit B complex do?0 -
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sureitsgrand wrote: »Vit B complex is meant to be good for energy levels.
I know some people are dubious bout the benefits of vit supplements and that they just lead to expensive piss but they're working for me (if only as a placebo!)...Especially as my diet isn't always as good as it should be.
I'd be in the same boat and sure there's no denying your body needs vitamins
I wonder if you drink said expensive piss is it twice as good for you 0 -
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On the back of Chinguetti's suggestion on another log, please see below.Cheers for the well wishes lads - I'm afraid I haven't brought a wonderful glowing report home but I'm just about in one piece so that's all that matters...:)
Mile Pace
1 8.54
2 8.45
3 9.02
4 9.28
5 9.08
6 9.30
7 9.04
8 8.59
9 9.37
10 9.26
11 9.08
12 9.04
13 8.58
.14 8.40
Woke up in Waterford to hideous weather conditions so I pressed snooze once or twice or ten times hoping that each time I opened my eyes that the winds would have blown the rain clouds away – not a hope!
In short (because I still haven’t got the energy to engage my brain to write a lengthy or interesting report) it wasn’t my day. Physically, I felt ok (not amazing) but alright. Mentally, it just wasn’t there. I probably went out a little fast but I felt great and was enjoying it for the first 4 miles. Miles 5, 6 and 7 were tough and probably the worst terrain and weather of the race. The 2 hour pacers passed me just over the halfway point and I just got this horrible sinking feeling which remained for pretty much the rest of the race. I managed to stick with them for the downhill mile but my brain had given up on me by the time we turned back towards Waterford. For some reason all I could think about was Connemara and how much worse it was going to be and that was really giving my confidence a battering. The 2 hour pacers were savage though –despite me shouting “I’m not in your group, I’m only out for a run!” they came back and insisted I stick with them at that stage. They were offering people gels and water and to carry jackets – really sound guys so big thanks to Maire and Ian. I even got complimented on my running style – apparently it’s very ‘energy efficient’...I expect that’s a very nice way of saying ‘lazy’ :rolleyes:. I knew that once I got to 10 miles it was mostly flat home so I found a bit of something to get me there. I thought the finish line was going to be at the gates to the RSC so I put the foot down with a belt of energy that. And then I realised I had about 300m more to go...Ugh. I could see the seconds counting down on the clock and rounded the last stretch thinking I still had the 2 hours but the wind hit me like a truck at the turn and I knew it was game over.
Garmin Summary: 13.14miles - 2.00.19
Met up for a few drinks with Menoscemo, RK, Ainman, Brianderunner, and jcsmum after – great running out of the lot of them. Fair play lads! I had one cup of tea / pint of water too many...the drive home was dreadful!
Obviously not the worst time considering the conditions and the fact that this time last year the New Year’s resolution was to do a HM by the end of 2010 but definitely the most mentally trying run I’ve ever done. There were some serious emotions running through me for most of it! Anyway I only expected to be able to run it as a training run so I won’t complain.
Feel alright today – bit of pain in the lower back so I really need to work on the core strength for the longer runs. Gonna join the group for a very easy 5 miles at 1 and then have a good ole stretch in front of the TV for the evening:D
The above was posted Jan 2011, Claralara has gone from struggling through Lsr's, snot bubbles and tears to winning the Longford half marathon yesterday in 1:27. Stick with it, every mile counts and you will get to where you want to be if you hang in there.
I 'll post in her race report if she ever gets around to putting it up. 0 -
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Claralara will be 4:30 pacer for DCM FYII’ve started writing this race report quite a few times today but every attempt has been a massive fail. It’s genuinely mostly a blur. Now I’m sitting down with some brain food in the form of chocolate covered rich tea biscuits and a large bar of dairy milk and I’m hoping it’ll jog the memory and give me enough fuel to bore you all to tears
This race had been a goal race of the Berlin Marathon training plan since its inception back in May. In May I set a HM PB of 1:33.35 and the intention was to see whether I’d made any improvement (or otherwise) on that and to put some sort of perspective on the Berlin target. Breaking 1:30 was a target that was in my mind; but I had to be careful that I wasn’t falling into a trap of setting an unrealistic goal based on an arbitrary glory time. Failing that I wanted a PB. In my heart I knew I wanted a top 10 finish. And in my mind I wanted a top 6 finish so TRR could watch that Heineken go down the swanny. I knew I was capable of taking at least two minutes off Kildare on the right day. About 3 weeks ago I ran a hard session (12 miles: 7 easy followed by 5@HMP) – 8:20 being easy pace and 6:50 being HMP. Suffice to say that it was a nightmare of a run. Ran a 6:52, followed by a 6:48 followed by a 7:09 within which I had to stop for about 3 minutes, followed by a 7:08 within which I had to stop about 3 times, after which I just called it a day and trotted home at 8:30 pace. I tried to erase this run from memory as the thought of running 13.1 miles at that hard pace was just ridiculous and incomprehensible and terrifying! Fast forward to race week and a horrible 14 miler on Tuesday during which I could barely hold easy pace (8:22) and was completely empty and broken by the time I finished. I panicked after this and was worried I’d overcooked it and ruined my chances of a good race. I diligently took the rest of the week really handy and did all things sensible (apart from a midweek bottle of wine to calm the nerves...). I was genuinely gutted on Saturday when a recovery run at 9:45 pace did not feel so hot.
Stewarding at the 10 mile race on Saturday morning stirred the competitive spirits and racing excitement and I figured that there was nothing I could do except relax, cop on and run as best as I could.
Myself and Digger headed off bright on early on Sunday morning picking up Meno en route. I had forgotten all of my pace bands – yes, all of them.... I had one for every minute from 1:29 to 1:35. With the help of 3G technology, I decided that I’d get the paces for my dream time (sub 1:30) and if I couldn’t hold it, then I’d just do what I could and my pace wouldn’t matter at that stage. Like a true pro (or a bold child!) I scribbled the important info all the way down my right arm in blue ink. We arrived well on time, registered, used the loo, got excited about the perfect weather conditions, started fretting about the fact that it was hotting up, tied my shoelaces too tight, loosened my shoe laces too much, got a pain in my knee and my ankle, stretched too much, didn’t stretch enough... all of those weird and wonderful things a crazy runner does before a race! It was about half a mile from the car to the start line so we jogged down together to get the legs moving. By the time Meno got his picture taken for the 100 marathon club and the Olympian action on the stage was finished, it was time to hit the start line and brave the unknown. Linda Byrne got the race started and off we went.
I had lined up as far as close to the start line as I could and headed off pretty quickly with the top groups. The first mile was a loop of the town and I was on Meno’s shoulder (he didn’t know as any time he cocked his head in the slightest, I dipped out of his sight!). We ran the first mile at 6:24 and I knew it was too quick. I also knew that it was first mile excitement and it’d settle down so given that I wasn’t feeling it or breathing heavy, I didn’t worry about it. There was another girl right up there and she was kind of annoying me in an ‘invading my personal space’ sort of way so I just backed off and didn’t bother getting into a race with her. Secretly, I knew she had definitely headed out too quickly and wouldn’t last long - I was not falling into a trap to have my race ruined. Sure enough she made it about another half a mile before completely dropping off the pace. The next couple of miles were good. A guy from Donadea was definitely targeting me and I could hear him coming for the big overtake for what seemed like an eternity – he went past me looking really strong but not sounding it. The average pace dropped and remained at 6:36 or so. I noticed this average at about 3.5 miles and thought ‘dear lord, what am I doing?!’. But I couldn’t help it; I figured a couple of seconds here and there wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. At this point, I knew I was the first lady and started day dreaming about a potential win. I swiftly gave myself a severe kick not to be thinking such things – there was still a long way to go and racing that distance is not to be disrespected – anything can happen over 10 miles; hell anything can happen over half a mile. And I’ve had my fair share of nasty races to know that nothing should be taken for granted!
I don’t remember a huge amount of mile 4/5. The Donadea guy who had passed me stopped for a pee (so unfair that guys can do that!) and I went by him. He made me his target again and went flying by me. He made about 200m on me and there he stayed (until the 11th mile....mwah ha ha!) There was a decent drag from mile 5 to 6 and a man who had been behind me caught up and ran with me for a good mile and a half at this stage. There were no words spoken but we both knew we were getting each other up that hill. I think I would have lost a lot more pace on it without the angel in black beside me.
When we got to the 7 mile mark I had the wonderful realisation that I was over halfway and I couldn’t get over how strong I felt. My form was good, my breathing was controlled, I had no nasty stitches threatening and I felt so strong mentally. The guy who I’d run the previous mile and a half with kicked on at that point and I let him be. I was happy with my pace, which was averaging about 6:39, and I knew there was still a hell of a lot more work to do. At this point I was just focusing on the guys up ahead and maintaining a steady strong pace. Again, it’s all a bit of a blur...
I popped a gel at about the 8 mile mark. I didn’t feel like I needed it but better safe than sorry. I was sensible enough to know that I was putting my body through a tough effort and it must need refuelling. I was a little worried that it might not go down well running at the pace I was, but the stomach behaved thank god. I nearly choked on a mouthful of water at about the 8.5 mile mark and thought it was game over. I recovered from that but it turned me off having any more water.
At the 9 mile mark, I started to allow myself enjoy the fact that I was first lady. Until I looked over my shoulder and spied someone about 500m behind. I convinced myself it was a lady who was using me as a pacer and who was going to bail right on by when I was shot. I started to think how annoyed I’d be having pretty much led from the start, to be sniped like that so that spurred me right on. At this point, I wanted to win!
There was a turnaround point at about 10 miles and I was keeping a good eye out for Meno who I knew was a couple of minutes ahead of me but I didn’t spot him. When I didn’t see any other women at the turnaround, I got a bit more confident. There was a short sharp climb at this point and I just put the foot down and barrelled on. The pace was at 6:43 at this stage and I knew that if nothing went horribly wrong that I had 1:30 in the bag. I had a good minute up on goal time which was reassuring. When I rounded the corner up towards the 11 mile mark I spied my target – the Donadea guy who’d passed me earlier. Twice. I could see he was struggling and I knew I could go past him and maintain a strong pace to put a bit of distance between us – and so I did passing another guy at the same time.
I think it was about the 11.5 mile mark when I spotted the lead car holding up traffic, driving on the wrong side of the road. Not being great at maths, it took a moment to put 2 and 2 together and realise that it was there for me. It was absolutely mortifying. When I relayed my feelings at this point to the lads, I think they nearly choked on their lunch – basically, I was so worried that I was holding up the car, and that they’d be cursing me, that I put the foot down and just went hell for leather for the last stretch. I could see the time ticking over and that took my mind off any pain (I say that because I don’t remember it but I’m sure there must have been some!) Running up the finishing straight towards the banner, watching the clock counting down, I was elated at the thoughts that I was going to break 1:28 – break 1:28 and win?! Incredible! Finishing was just hilarious – I couldn’t believe what I’d achieved and I was so delighted.
I can’t get over how strong I felt. I am so used to demons and pain and doubts during races, and none of them visited me during this race. I couldn’t have dreamed for a better race and I will not be taking it for granted or forgetting it in a hurry. The podium photographs were wholly embarrassing (especially when I realised I still had my 1:30 paces scrawled all over my arms... – how professional! I don’t think Linda Byrne has anything to worry about just yet!)
I’d like to thank Digdig for the loan of his blue pen, the present of my go-faster kinvaras, and for cooking my dinner on Saturday night. I probably wouldn’t have broken 2 hours without those individual god-sends...
Chip time: 1:27.48
1st (very extremely happy!) female over the line0
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