DCM 2013 Graduates - The Journey Continues!

MiketheMechanic

Bulmers74 wrote: »

Thursday 16th
4.13 @ 10.13 - recovery run in the morning.
Had a sports massage - not too vigorous as I explained to the physio that I'm a delicate creature

Sunday 19th
9.74 @ 8.32
Plan said 12 easy but I was happy enough to get near 10 done. As I didn't fancy my own company I joined a few from the club for this run. Went fine and none of the previous days niggles surfaced

Miles for the week = 45

So into the home stretch now and just try & keep it between the ditches for the week. Have another rub down tomorrow & have 5 mile run midweek with 3 @ mp. Will probably do about 20/25 miles during the week - all very easy.

"Delicate creature", my eye!

Woden

I'll try and get in for one. Need to head to Mulligans then later on.

career move

Hope you have a good race Bulmers, dcorcaigh, mike, woden, exelsomething

SamforMayo

The best of luck to you all on Monday. Looking forward to the reports already.

Ososlo

SamforMayo wrote: »

The best of luck to you all on Monday. Looking forward to the reports already.

+1. Do the 2013 graduates proud all

PauloMN

Edit: sorry meant to post in the Novices thread! Old age etc... :o:o

Martypk

Hi Guys.I just wanted to pop in here and wish everyone who is running the DCM on Monday all the best for the day. Can`t wait to hear how you all did.
I`m still trying to make a comeback after last years run. I did a good job on my IT Band. I`m currently on my third attempt this year to run pain free. So far, so good! Lots of stretching, weights and core work seems to have done the trick.
Good luck everyone

skeleton_boy

The very best of Monday fellow 13ers

martyboy48

Martypk wrote: »

Hi Guys.I just wanted to pop in here and wish everyone who is running the DCM on Monday all the best for the day. Can`t wait to hear how you all did.
I`m still trying to make a comeback after last years run. I did a good job on my IT Band. I`m currently on my third attempt this year to run pain free. So far, so good! Lots of stretching, weights and core work seems to have done the trick.
Good luck everyone

Good to hear from you Marty, glad to hear this recovery is going well so far. It must have been disheartening have the previous set backs.
Hope it goes well, and sure we'll await you rejoining us soon

martyboy48

skeleton_boy wrote: »

The very best of Monday fellow 13ers

Well, if you had used that phrase a few weeks ago, I would have bought a custom "13er" top for Monday

martyboy48

Good luck all, have a safe and enjoyable one

Bulmers74

Best of luck to all - hope to see ye all on the other side

shortstuff!

Best of luck everyone, looking forward to reading all the race reports:)

blockic

Good luck guys and gals!

pgmcpq

Best of luck to all!

Bulmers74

3:18:07 thrilled - 10+ pb
Almost 2 minute negative split

Ososlo

Bulmers74 wrote: »

3:18:07 thrilled - 10+ pb
Almost 2 minute negative split

Fantastic!!!!!

martyboy48

Bulmers74 wrote: »

3:18:07 thrilled - 10+ pb
Almost 2 minute negative split

That's some run man, especially given the conditions as well.
It was well earned fair play..
Celebration pinteens??

Martypk

Bulmers74 wrote: »

3:18:07 thrilled - 10+ pb
Almost 2 minute negative split

Brilliant time. Well done

scheister

can now forget about my fun 4.30 last year came in 3:56:15 this year

SamforMayo

Bulmers74 wrote: »

3:18:07 thrilled - 10+ pb
Almost 2 minute negative split

Good man yourself!

skeleton_boy

Bulmers74 wrote: »

3:18:07 thrilled - 10+ pb
Almost 2 minute negative split

Well done great improvement. Delighted for you

Woden

Nicely done Bulmers!

Not a great day at the office. 3.37 here taking five mins off last year. Not a smart race wasn't 100%. Still went out at 3.30 pace and faded with a 7 mins positive split.

All things considered though still happy enough!

SamforMayo

Woden wrote: »

Nicely done Bulmers!

Not a great day at the office. 3.37 here taking five mins off last year. Not a smart race wasn't 100%. Still went out at 3.30 pace and faded with a 7 mins positive split.

All things considered though still happy enough!

Well done on the PB Woden, a good result on a tough day.

Woden

Cheers Sam. Just caught up on the main thread there and see I wasn't the only one struggling. I don't feel so bad now. Happy it's done and with a positive report back for everyone that was sponsoring/supporting me

dcorcaigh

first day back at work and I am still on a high after Monday! 3-47-34, that's a 32min PB, over the moon the with how it went. I was aiming for 3-50. I struggled from miles 19-22 but once I got to the top of Roebuck I got a new lease of life and in total contrast to last year I found the last few miles not too bad and in fact my fastest mile was mile 25, go figure!! it was fairly brutal out there with people walking and on stretchers.

xElDeeX

So I promised SamforMayo a detailed race report in exchange for the good advice. I have a feeling she is about to get more than she bargained for!

The not ideal lead up
I couldn't have asked for a better training cycle for this marathon. All had gone to plan and I was feeling really strong. I did try to make sure though that apart from the time when I was out training I wasn't sacrificing family life for the race. I had know before I started training that I would be travelling to London with my teen on the weekend before the marathon. The timing wasn't the best but she had an event to go to and it was her birthday and exam results present so couldn't be moved around. The plan was to try to stay off my feet as much as possible without ruining the weekend! This went ok apart from the Saturday where we got a bit carried away looking for a particular shop and we both came home with tired legs. Then our early flight out on Sunday was cancelled and we couldn't fly back until 6pm so that wasn't the most restful. Thank god I had given a copy of my registration stuff to a friend just in case! So 9pm Sunday night I finally got home.

I was so wrecked at this stage that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow so at least I had that.

Race morning itself went fine and I felt strangely calm. I think I was just delighted I was going to get to the start line after the panic the day before. Despite a total lack of interest in food I managed to force down two cinnimon raisin bagels with butter and honey along with a couple of pints of water and a strong black coffee. I felt ok. Not buzzing but fine.

The trip up to Stillorgan Park-and-Ride was uneventful, as was the Luas journey in. Although I did feel for the poor souls who normally have the tram to themselves in the morning and were now cheek to jowl with a load of runners. At least we were clean and fresh smelling at that stage!

As soon as I arrived at the bag drop I knew that a final loo stop wasn't going to happen at the portaloos. The lines in the baggage area were huge and I remembered from last year that the lines in the wave holding areas were even worse so I hadn't a chance of getting there on time. Luckily I have a friend G who lives on Upper Mount Street which meant I was able to pop into her place for a proper loo. Heaven! I chilled out there until about 15 minutes before the start time and then made my way to the start area. A bit of bobbing and weaving later and I was up near the 3:50 pacers and just as I got there the gun went for the start of the first wave so I knew we only had ten minutes to go. I had my first gel and tried to relax.

The early miles - Start to the PP
I never felt boxed in at the start. I did feel that the pace was a bit fast right from the off and I was conscious that this should feel really easy at this stage and it never did. Usually I'm having to keep a close eye on the garmin on my longer runs or I automatically drift towards 8 minute miles.......this never felt like it was going to be an issue.
In fact I was quite relieved anytime there was a bit of congestion and I got to back off the pace a bit. I didn't have the urge to chat to anyone around me either and usually I'd be quite talkative in the first few miles. It does usually take me a while to settle into a run and start to feel comfortable though so I decided to stick with it to see if my legs felt a bit springier later.

The PP to Chapelizod
Between the wind and the long incline I had decided before the race to take the park very easy. I tried to not expend any extra energy going up the hills and allowed my pace to slow fractionally here. I did try to find a group to block the wind for me a bit but it wasn't that congested. Maybe if I had been right up beside the pacers I could have done that but I certainly wasn't wasting energy trying to catch them. At this point I was getting a bit concerned that the pace still felt quite challenging. I took my second gel on schedule at 5 miles. At this stage I had been through one or two water stations and was already starting to douse myself with water to cool down. This would continue all the way to the end!
Halfway through the park I was spotted by a group of supporters from my club who made me feel like a rockstar. Nice boost!

The section where we exited the park briefly was downhill and I let myself speed up on these sections. I wasn't particularly worried about frying my quads on the downhills as I train on (too many) hills so I should be used to them by now. The crowds around the hills at Chapelizod really took the sting out of them although again I was being passed like mad on the uphills. Every time I felt like pushing on a hill I kept repeating to myself "Think of mile 22!"

The long stretch of death (Crumlin Road)
I hated the next section of the race last year when it came earlier in the race so I didn't have any illusions about the area from the park out the Crumlin road and up to Fortfield. I knew it was going to hurt so I just tried to do damage limitation. The wind was straight into our faces for most of this stage. The pacers were still in sight but I hadn't seen any signs from my legs so far that there was going to be any picking up of the tempo so I just concentrated on not messing up. The marathon tide was starting to come back the other way here so even though I wasn't speeding up I was passing people constantly which was encouraging for me but probably a sign that it was a hard day out there!

Regroup at Bushy Park
The section from Bushy Park to Milltown is a lovely part of the course. If only I hadn't been running a marathon I could have really enjoyed it! This bit was all about making sure I had enough energy for the hills. The legs were really starting to ache now but a respectable finish was starting to feel doable despite my lack of energy. I had let go of the pacers and was concentrating on running my own race with the legs I had on the day.

Milltown and UCD
I think I spent so long dreading the hills and the flyover that when they did arrive it was a bit of an anticlimax.
I used the same strategy of slowing down to conserve energy but it felt like I was flat out sprinting on both of these due to the amount of people walking. I honestly think it was about 4:1 ratio of walkers to runners.
Which in itself is not a problem..........walking in a long line of five abreast is a problem if nobody can get past you! Got a great cheer from club members again here and on of my training partners jumped in and ran with me for a bit although I don't think I was very good company. I apologised later!

The last bit
The last part of the course is lovely and would be a delight if your body wasn't screaming at you to stop and walk. This was where the real countdown started and I had to use every trick in the book to convince my body to keep going. Again I can see by my splits that I slowed a bit here but runners were few and far between at this stage. I've never seen anything like it......but then again I was practically an extra on The Walking Dead last year so I can't remember much! When I got to 25 I was surprised by our AC coach out on the road shouting for me so that was nice, although I didn't have it in me to improve my form even for him!
I must say I love the new finish. I loved being able to see it from quite a way out. The roar of the crowd really lifted me up in that last mile and I managed to get my head up and pick up my stride a bit. And after the longest 400m of my life I was finally on the finishing stretch, capable of soaking it all in and look around and I was with it enough to put my arms up in victory crossing the finish line. A year later I finally got the marathon finish line I wanted!

Chip time 3:54:19
Over 4 minutes over my goal time but a 15 minute PB. Even on the day I was really happy with the way I tackled this one but I know I have more in me. Spring marathon anyone??

SamforMayo

Thanks xEIDeeX. Super report. I think you ran a very smart race. Congrats on the massive PB.

SamforMayo

dcorcaigh wrote: »

first day back at work and I am still on a high after Monday! 3-47-34, that's a 32min PB, over the moon the with how it went. I was aiming for 3-50. I struggled from miles 19-22 but once I got to the top of Roebuck I got a new lease of life and in total contrast to last year I found the last few miles not too bad and in fact my fastest mile was mile 25, go figure!! it was fairly brutal out there with people walking and on stretchers.

I did nt see this till now. Well done dcorcaigh, fantastic result. Race report please!!!!!

dcorcaigh

Ok Sam you asked for the report here it is…

Buildup and pre race..
After last year I knew I didn’t have enough miles in my legs so this year I said I would build a decent base and then go into the marathon cycle in June and my plan was to break the marathon into two, first part of 6 weeks to get me a 1:45 in clonmel half (a 7min PB) and then up the training for the last 10 weeks to Dublin. With input from Blockic in early June on my plans I achieved my 1:45 in clonmel (peaked at 45miles for this cycle) so then for the second half I jumped into the last 10 weeks of the P&D 55 (loosely) mile plan. I also need to point out that I was only given to go ahead to go into another marathon cycle from the boss at home if I caused minimum disruption to home life as we had our first baby last May. This meant all my running had to be done either before work or at lunch time, towards the end of the plan I was getting up at 4-15am to get 10 and 12 miles in before work, I did this on wed and Friday, with lunch time runs on Tuesday and Thursday. Long runs were done then on Sat mornings. The training cycle went great overall, I think the fact I had it split into 2 meant it wasn’t too long and drawn out. Actually enjoyed running around cork city that early in the morning, you def see some weird things and people at that time! I peaked at 62miles. I did 280 more miles this year than last year over the same time span AND I thought I had enough done last year!!

Anyway the days coming up to the marathon I was starting to feel rundown so loads of vit c and Echinacea tea was had. I had the same feeling as last year’s i.e. the anxiety and not have enough done but I knew what it was thankfully. Another flying visit to the expo just in got pack, very quick run around, got pace band and out the door was back in hotel for 3pm with feet up. That night I even got a great 8hours sleep! I am usually unbearable on the morning of races but I was very relaxed this year, met a few from the club beforehand for chit chat and a few photos and just wandered down to the start line. I wandered down to wave 2 and positioned myself right at the front next to the 3-50pacers, that’s when the nerves started. I noticed that it was quiet warm so discarded my layers very early. It was great feeling to be at the front of wave knowing that there are 1000’s of people behind you ready to push you forward!!

The Race….
9-10 and we are off…. I noticed a guy in the first mile with a GAA jersey on absolutely lifting it past people, he was even on the footpath at one stage, I passed him later at around mile 17 and he wasn’t in a good place! The first few miles were uneventful bar the congestion in places but it didn’t bother me. Crowds as we went onto the quays was great. I was sweating a lot from this stage which is not typical of me, chatting away to the people around and the mood in general was good. Passed the great Tony Mangan just before the phoenix park, gave a shout out. I got a bit of shock when I saw the climb into the phoenix park but thankfully I had digested Tunguska report so I backed off the pacers and ran what felt like a comfortable pace until it flattened out. Saw my wife a few from the club so that was great. exited the park still behind the pacers which was handy for the wind up chesterfield avenue only downside was that it was very congested. Into castleknock, this was definitely the place for the crowds it was amazing. Road narrowed again and it got even more crowded around the pacers, I made the decision once I got back into the park I would overtake them and just ahead. Overtook the pacers in the park and just tipped along at a pace that was comfortable out of the park and into capelizord, looked back, couldn’t see the pacers anymore…. I did tell myself that’s not good!! Had a few cross words with myself but decided that I was feeling good and to just continue on my own. Kept on tipping away and the miles were flying by but then got the crumlin road section and that bloody wind, crowd was bare enough and no pacers so nothing to do but suck it up and drive on. after what felt like an eternity we finally got out of the headwind and I did a check to see how I was going, things were still comfortable. It was from about mile 15on that I started noticing more and more people walking or stopped and the closer we got to mile 19 it got worse and worse, it really was unbelievable Mile 19-22 were definitely my worst miles, I was really struggling in these sections but I kept picking a point and running to it, next thing I knew I was over the clonskeagh hill and it was only 4 miles to home… my pace before mile 19 was around 8-30pace, for miles 19-22 it dropped to around 9-10minute miles. At the hill in clonskeagh I was one of the very few people actually running, crazy stuff.. I was starting to overheat now also so at every station I had one bottle for drinking and one for pouring over myself. At the top of Roebuck I said it its only 4miles to finish so on the downhill to stillrogan I picked up the pace again, got it back to marathon pace (8-43ish), mile 23 I had it my pace down to 8-32, mile 24 pace dropped again to 8-25 and unbelievably my fastest mile of the day was from 25-26 this was 7-52!!!!. The crowds from ballsbridge all the way to the finish was fantastic. Those last few were in total comparison to last year were I was barely moving!! The wall of noise on the finishing straight was something else but I did thought the finish was closer that I thought so I picked up my pace a little too early and nearly paid for it with a speed wobble!

Crossed the line in 3:47:34… delighted, 32min PB!! Pretty much an even split.

Overall I found the course harder than last year but more enjoyable as obviously my training paid off… will I be back next year?? I don’t know yet, might try a different marathon next year. But I do think the longer distance suits me better as I am not a speed merchant!!