DCM 2014: Mentored Novices Thread

MLC_biker

Had aimed for 2:10, first 2 miles 11 minutes each because of the crowd , luckily found 2 lads (one in a Barca shirt) going at the pace I was looking for, stuck behind them til mile 13, finished strong in 2:08:35. Very happy with pacing, splitting the race into 5m +5m+ 5k really helpful. Marathon plan is to go 4:50 and enjoy the experience.

Firedance

Those are some smashing race reports folks! Even when things didn't go to plan its still all good as we learn from those & come back stronger. Onwards & upwards.

aquinn

menoscemo wrote:

Ah, I think I have worked out who you are now, is that Aoife? If so well done, you were getting it very tough near the end but you dug really deep and showed great grit and determination. That's half the battle in this game!!

Yes, that's me. Thanks so much for all your help and support. Was ready to just walk the last two miles. Felt so bad to leave you all. Must have been a bit dehydrated as head was fuzzy around there.

neilthefunkeone

Well done and dusted and pretty delighted with myself..

Decided to aim for 1:55 so placed myself between the 1:50 and 2:00 pacers.. was instantly irritated as the roads were packed and the pace was slow.. after 2 miles I couldn't take anymore and put the foot down.. mile times were averaging 8:20 and I was feeling good.. 8 miles in I was still feeling good and got chatting to a guy running the same pace.. we keep each other distracted until mile 10 and the pace was down to 8:15 then.. the stretch outside the park was my least favourite with all the traffic backed up along side.. I dropped a gel and kept the head down.. when we turned back into the park and up the hill I was feeling really good and kept strong up the hill.. Last corner I was able to put in some more pace and Sprint it out from the 13 mile sign..

Resulting time of 1:51:13.. that's 10 minutes better than last year.. was really happy but know in my mind I could have broken 1:50 if not for the crowds!!
Ah well on wards to the main event.. hope everyone is as excited as myself!!

Reesy

Ososlo wrote: »

Hi there Reesy! You're very welcome to the thread!

Are you following a plan? Does that plan only have 3 days of running a week? Even the beginner novice plans would have at least 4 days of running per week so it seems very low.
You might be very tired all the time if you're currently running everything too hard.
Your weekly mileage and lsr seems quite low too at this stage in the year with only 5 weeks to DCM. Would 40km last week be your biggest week so far and is 24km you longest long run?
Here's a link to the Hal plan which a lot of novices here are following. How do you think your current training would compare to the current week in that plan? This plan would be considered the very least a novice should be capable of doing each week to run a marathon.
Good luck with the lsr tomorrow!

Hi Ososlo,

Thanks! To answer your question in order:

Yes, I'm running just 3 days a week. I was originally training for the Cardiff Half but switched to Dublin Marathon as my main goal fairly recently. And yes, 40km would be my biggest distance in a week & 24km my longest run. And yes, I've been running too hard esp. on the long runs & knackering myself. I'll PM you a link to my training plan if that's OK. A buddy who knows more about running than I put it together - basically I'm running between 8k & 15k twice a week, plus my LSR. Compared to the Hal plan I'm running fewer times, further.

So, I guess you recommend I do more runs, and slower LSRs? Should be possible!

Ososlo

Reesy wrote: »

Hi Ososlo,

Thanks! To answer your question in order:

Yes, I'm running just 3 days a week. I was originally training for the Cardiff Half but switched to Dublin Marathon as my main goal fairly recently. And yes, 40km would be my biggest distance in a week & 24km my longest run. And yes, I've been running too hard esp. on the long runs & knackering myself. I'll PM you a link to my training plan if that's OK. A buddy who knows more about running than I put it together - basically I'm running between 8k & 15k twice a week, plus my LSR. Compared to the Hal plan I'm running fewer times, further.

So, I guess you recommend I do more runs, and slower LSRs? Should be possible!

I've had a look at that plan and a lot of things just don't add up. There doesn't seem to be a proper taper included at all.
I'll pm you.

Casey78

One observation from today that I wonder did anyone else notice...
I've never seen so many bare ladies bums!(Well I have done but what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam! ) The amount of girls having a pee in plain view today was astonishing!
I know if you have to go you have to go and the queues for the portaloos were fairly long but even still it was a bit surprising to see so many just drop the pants and go!

denis160

Am I a saddo to say I really enjoyed the race today ? Came in at a pb of 1.56.16 & am delighted. Enjoyed this more than the 10 miler, which I obviously learned loads from, as in: pace properly & realistically, eat well day before, listen to the pacers, they know their job!
I have a habit of starting quick, then thinking I can maintain that pace & slowly dying about half way in, well not today folks! Started with the 2hr pacers, small guy, big personality & stayed just in front for 2 or 3 miles. Kept an eye on pace and stayed around 8.50 / 9.00 kicking on from there on my own. Hills, what hills......usually struggle up these, even walking sometimes, took them all in my stride & booted home for last 500m's.
On the flip side, I don't think i could maintain that pace for the full. I've been running my lsr's at 9.45 avg so still not sure what pace to settle on. 1 thing I do know is that I definitely will be following a pacer! Rock on October.
Well done everyone, keep up the great training, we're nearly there.

Gavlor

Casey78 wrote: »

One observation from today that I wonder did anyone else notice...
I've never seen so many bare ladies bums!(Well I have done but what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam! ) The amount of girls having a pee in plain view today was astonishing!
I know if you have to go you have to go and the queues for the portaloos were fairly long but even still it was a bit surprising to see so many just drop the pants and go!

What pace were you running, just for reference like, to let the organisers know, eh so that they can ensure it, ehm, doesn't happen in future, for reference

Ososlo

Casey78 wrote: »

One observation from today that I wonder did anyone else notice...
I've never seen so many bare ladies bums!(Well I have done but what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam! ) The amount of girls having a pee in plain view today was astonishing!
I know if you have to go you have to go and the queues for the portaloos were fairly long but even still it was a bit surprising to see so many just drop the pants and go!

I see guys peeing all over the place on race day in the park. They whip them out and do the necessary. Do you expect the ladies to form an orderly queue and smile and look pretty whilst calmly waiting?:D
It's not as easy for us to do it as discreetly as you guys but my motto is if you gotta go you gotta go and I don't care who's looking! If the guys can do it without anyone batting an eyelid then why not us?

Ososlo

Ososlo wrote: »

I see guys peeing all over the place on race day in the park. They whip them out and do the necessary. Do you expect the ladies to form an orderly queue and smile and look pretty whilst calmly waiting?:D
It's not as easy for us to do it as discreetly as you guys but my motto is if you gotta go you gotta go and I don't care who's looking! If the guys can do it without anyone batting an eyelid then why not us?

And while we're on the subject ladies, a really good tip for you is to put a little bit of tissue down yer sock on the big day so when you need to do the needful you have it handy. And of course dispose of it in the nearest bin:)

Casey78

I'm not giving out I was just a little amused!
Doesn't take much I know.....

Mimojo

Hi all, really enjoying reading all the race reports today, super times recorded, congrats!!
I had a good day today, some negatives but plenty of positives to take from it. Had been wondering earlier in the week what time to aim for, Im new to running & have only done the 5 & 10 Mile races so far so had settled on 2:06 based on McMillian & advice on this thread & had hoped for a bit quicker if Im honest.
Was feeling tired all week with a bit of a cold & ended up doing 20m lsr last Sat to make up for missing lsr the week before & didnt taper as much as I should have this week so def not the most ideal preparation.
I made the same mistake as the Frank Duffy, started off @ the back of Wave 2 & went off like a march hare, I think its a lack of experience if races & getting caught up in the hype of the crowds but I set off way too fast & I knew by the end of mile 2 Id make a big mistake. Managed to get my pacing on track again & enjoyed mile 3 to about 10, then my legs started to really hurt. The hill on way back into the park killed me & I knew my pacing was gone out the window but pushed on & told myself there was no way I was walking so pushed through & finished ok. Last 1.5 miles legs were on fire, they felt like they do at end of 20m lsr. But I know myself it was the start that messed me up & will learn for that.
Finished at 2:09:22 so all in all not too bad & for my first hm gives me plenty to aim for in the next one!!
On the plus side timed & took 2 gels with no hassle & took on plenty of water & was great trial run for DCM.
I also have to keep telling myself that I am only really running properly since May & I am making good progress & that better race times will come with more running experience.
Today has made me think long & hard about DCM & I do still believe I can do with a conservative finish time of 4:30 or 4:40 which I would be delighted with for my first marathon. I think going with a pacer group on the day will really help me on my pacing issues.
Relaxing now & legs feeling ok after today, will get a few recovery miles in tomorrow & get back to the training plan on Monday.
Congrats again to everyone today!!

RedRunner

Great to read of the great performances today in the HM and commiserations to those that had a bad day at the office but as Ososlo said so eloquently, use this day as a learning experience for the big day. Also if you did well, don't get too carried away either. Your work is not yet done. You still have some important long runs to do to ensure your endurance work is covered for the big day.It's very easy to start looking at the calculators and making assumptions about the full distance.

It's great to see so many going well with your plans. Make sure to listen to your bodies over the next few weeks and don't be afraid to miss a run here or there if you feel you will benefit from the rest, except the LSR of course! Don't take things for granted is my advice. I, reluctantly,opted out of today and will not run DCM due to injuries both running related and non running related just disrupting my training too much. So this is my second DCM to miss in a row because of injury so I envy you all. The attrition rate here must be the lowest in years if I am correct so well done to all for staying the pace so far in the programme and for following all the advice being imparted from all quarters. I'll still be following your progress with interest and I'll probably will still be there on the big day but probably marshalling again:(

Congrats to all again and keep the show on the road.

Ososlo

RedRunner wrote: »

Great to read of the great performances today in the HM and commiserations to those that had a bad day at the office but as Ososlo said so eloquently, use this day as a learning experience for the big day. Also if you did well, don't get too carried away either. Your work is not yet done. You still have some important long runs to do to ensure your endurance work is covered for the big day.It's very easy to start looking at the calculators and making assumptions about the full distance.

It's great to see so many going well with your plans. Make sure to listen to your bodies over the next few weeks and don't be afraid to miss a run here or there if you feel you will benefit from the rest, except the LSR of course! Don't take things for granted is my advice. I, reluctantly,opted out of today and will not run DCM due to injuries both running related and non running related just disrupting my training too much. So this is my second DCM to miss in a row because of injury so I envy you all. The attrition rate here must be the lowest in years if I am correct so well done to all for staying the pace so far in the programme and for following all the advice being imparted from all quarters. I'll still be following your progress with interest and I'll probably will still be there on the big day but probably marshalling again:(

Congrats to all again and keep the show on the road.

Thanks for that super post RedRunner. Great to hear a voice of experience and some really useful advice there.
I really hope that as one of my glamorous assistants:D that you'll come to McGrattan's for a drink after your marshalling duties if you decide to do that and meet some of the novices:)

RedRunner

Ososlo wrote: »

Thanks for that super post RedRunner. Great to hear a voice of experience and some really useful advice there.
I really hope that as one of my glamorous assistants:D that you'll come to McGrattan's for a drink after your marshalling duties if you decide to do that and meet some of the novices:)

Well...modest experience!

Re McGrattans, I'm not usually one to miss a party!;)

Casey78

Ososlo wrote: »

Thanks for that super post RedRunner. Great to hear a voice of experience and some really useful advice there.
I really hope that as one of my glamorous assistants:D that you'll come to McGrattan's for a drink after your marshalling duties if you decide to do that and meet some of the novices:)

We won't be novices then,we'll be Marathoners!

neilthefunkeone

Folks.. I know this has been covered but I can't find it in the previous pages.. there was a list of recommended sports massage people recently.. can the name be thrown up again.. south Dublin ish!

Joleigh

Casey78 wrote: »

One observation from today that I wonder did anyone else notice...
I've never seen so many bare ladies bums!(Well I have done but what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam! ) The amount of girls having a pee in plain view today was astonishing!
I know if you have to go you have to go and the queues for the portaloos were fairly long but even still it was a bit surprising to see so many just drop the pants and go!

Sure the day wouldn't be complete without a wee behind a tree! I usually carry kitchen roll in my bra strap incase I need to blow my nose or something. It doesn't dissolve like tissue.

As for my new water bottle, it wrecked my head for the run! It's so heavy. My right arm is like Popeyes arm. Don't think I will carry a bottle on the big day. There's enough water stations on the course. I just need to find a new way to carry gels.

Pacing Mule

RedRunner wrote: »

Well...modest experience!

Re McGrattans, I'm not usually one to miss a party!;)

Or a beard shaving

But alas I won't be dipping under sub 4 unless a miracle set of 6 minute miles happens towards the end so my beard is safe !

adrian522

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

Folks.. I know this has been covered but I can't find it in the previous pages.. there was a list of recommended sports massage people recently.. can the name be thrown up again.. south Dublin ish!

Drop ecoli a pm.

bungalow

Joleigh pro touch trousers or 3/4 have a large pocket in the them. I fit about four gels in mine. Available in elverys.

bungalow

Review of yesterday's half : so I was hoping for a very optimistic time of 2.15 and finished at 2.17 nine minutes off my rock n roll time of 2.26. So still chuffed. Legs felt like dead weights for the first 3 miles and I kept thinking there is no way I can stick the pain for another 10miles but it eventually eased off and I got into a good rhythm 11-12 miles up the hill was hard going and I picked up paced for the last mile. Finished comfortable without puking (aim of the day) and delighted with mine time. Initial thoughts... How am I going to do double that!! And it definetly won't be at that pace.

Pacing Mule

20 mile LSS done.

The S at end for struggle !

Marathon goal times need reevaluating I fear

laura_ac3

Right...now I'm a bit more composed and have time here's my report. Never done a proper one of these before but might as well give it a bash! Health warning: this is probably going to be long and waffly.......

Had my usual breakfast of porridge, small glass of OJ & yoghurt. Felt a bit hungry still so had some wheetabix after. Arrived at the park at about 9.30, last minute trip to the loo and popped myself around half way of the crowd in the >120 mins wave. With my hoped for time my mile times were anticipated to be around 10.10/10.14ish.

Miles 1-3

Congestion wasn't too bad initially on Chesterfield Avenue until we turned on the Kyber. Space was at a premium here but I wasn't too concerned, didn't weave but just used any space if it opened up. Pace was in or around what I wanted so was happy to just settle in and take in the buzz around me. Shortly after the first mile the curve in the road showed the crowd bopping away up front and a quick look over my shoulder showed the exact same thing curving away behind. I love that feeling of just seeing runners in every direction. Put a big smile on my face. Heading up Wellington Road wiped the smile off my face as unfortunately the reality of so many people brings annoyances as well - two instances of groups of 4/5 women running together in a line strung across the whole road blocking the way for all behind Then another complete idiot weaving and cutting people off. Squeezing in where nobody should go nearly causing a couple of accidents in the process up ahead with legs close to getting tangled. Heading towards the zoo things thinned out and were much better. Heading up the North Road I decided not to get too worried if I lost a few seconds but to worry about keeping the effort consistent. Felt like I was going well and felt strong and ready for the miles ahead.

10.06, 10.18, 10.11

Miles 4-6

Took water at the first station just to pour over my head as I was beginning to warm up a bit. Saw my dad and OH coming towards the 4th mile mark. My dad taking the usual video that I will never ever want to watch :rolleyes: Had that "i love running feeling" again heading towards the roundabout as you could see runners coming and going in every direction with the different laps and loops! The path on Chesterfield Avenue wasn't too tight and turning back on the avenue I was comfortable. Noticed my breathing wasn't as laboured as others around me which gave me confidence and pushed on a bit to leave some behind. Took my first gel shortly after the 5th mile and a couple of slight inclines in the road had me nervous that maybe I was fading. But any moments of lapse in pace or energy were temporary.

10.09, 10.15, 10.19

Miles 7-10

Enjoyed the stretch outside the park and felt good on the downhill sections and coming back into the park. Turning back onto Chesterfield Avenue I was feeling ok. Saw my OH & Dad again (no video this time thankfully) along here. Thought about a toilet pit stop but didn't want to lose any time so said I'd leave it - hoping I wouldn't regret my decision later! Pace was going well, hard to know sometimes the line between keeping something in the tank and pushing yourself on. I just kept thinking about the outside stretch which I found tough in the FD and also of the hills. At the roundabout near the 9 mile mark I know one of the volunteers. She's a rocket of energy and every time I see her at these things she cheers like I'm about to win the race. Today I got a high 5 with lots of "go, go, go....keep going...doing great" while jumping up and down clapping and giving me a helpful push in the shoulder It made me smile and helped forget about any tiredness for a a couple of more minutes and gave me a great boost of encouragement finishing off Chesterfield Avenue.

10.09, 9.56, 10.03, 9.45

Miles 11-13

Took my second gel somewhere after the 10 mile mark. The first half of the outside section wasn't too bad but I did find it tougher on the Chapelizod Road part. Felt I was beginning to tire and was getting one or two niggles. Looking around me though showed others struggling so I thought to myself it's not just you, stick with it, get this part done and then you're on the home stretch back in the park. Turning into the park the niggle in the outside of my hip was getting worse and was starting to slow me down. Halfway up the first shorter hill I decided to stop and risk losing a few seconds in the hope it would help me in the longer term. Wasn't sure how to stretch the part of the body so I just wiggled my hips about, bopped up and down and hoped the change in motion would help. Set off again and thankfully it was much better and I continued up the hill and turned onto the Upper Glen Road. That was the slowest mile of the day, possibly a combination of having to stop and also being slowed down in the bit before. Having read lots of logs recently I've seen lots about people "picking off runners" so I decided to try something similar. I was feeling good going up the hill and just concentrated on each runner ahead and catching up with them and then moving on to the next. Was happy to note that nobody else overtook me along here and with the distraction of my little challenge the hill was over pretty quick. Turning onto the last half mile after the hill I was wondering if that would come back to bite me and I'd be in a heap with everyone that I overtook going past me again. That didn't come to pass and again I was doing the overtaking with only or two others going past me. Turning onto the Furze Road I took a bit of water and prepared to dig deep for the finish. Mile 13 was my second quickest of the day.

10.17, 10.54, 9.55

The finish

Kept an eye out for my ever traipsing supporters and they were there towards the end...with Dad taking another video. Again. :rolleyes: I knew a PB was on the cards and I wanted to make it as good as I could. Just kept looking at the finish line and tried not to think about anything else. Average pace for the last .1 of a mile was 8.14. For the first time crossing the finish line I thought for a minute that I might puke but luckily that feeling went away after I hung on the railing for a minute. Turned to congratulate a girl I had encountered earlier on the Furze Road sharing encouragement with each other. She commented on being jealous of my finishing pace

Finished in 2.13.14. So just under 2 and a half minutes off my PB so very happy with that. Was happy to finish strong and I felt like I gave it a really good go. Think if I'd gone out faster at the start I'd have struggled big time towards the end. When I took off my socks at home there was a fair amount of blood on one and a half of my toes. Wasn't wearing new socks or anything. Still not entirely sure what it's from - no obvious cuts or blisters, didn't bother me during the race but did notice it walking in from the car. Puzzling. Hip was stiff last night and again today so might skip a recovery run today, will decide tonight. Have a session booked for this week so hopefully that will help sort it out if there's a niggle coming on.

Well done to all running yesterday. Have a few of the reports to catch up on but enjoying reading them. Sorry to hear some people are disappointed with their race or times but I'm sure there's some positives to take away. Thanks to Ososlo as usual with her encouragement and feedback and RedRunner for his encouragement and pearls of wisdom.

SoundoftheSea

Spent the morning reading all the posts from the half. Well done to all.
Planned to do 18 miles today but cut it short at 16. Average pace 11.44
Hips, knees and shines were so sore. I had only done 5 on Tuesday ave pace 10.00.
I had been speaking with a guy at work who is running his 8th marathon. His advice was to shorten the mileage to three 5/6 faster miles than my normal 11.20 pace and then only do about 12 mile long run at this stage and again faster than my 12.20 pace.(Ososlo had already questioned this pace) He reckons I am only training my body to run slower.
So the 5 miles on tue felt great but the 16 today were so tough.
I think I will just try and stick with the original plan and just bring my 12.20 pace up to about 11.45 and my shorter runs to about 10.30 pace.
Its looking like a 5:10 DCM for me so I hope you guys will wait for me in McGrattans. Its all that is keeping me going at this point lol

Tigerandahalf

Just back from a cycle to loosen out the legs. Fabulous day out with clear blue skies, must be over 20c. One of my insteps was a little tinder so decided to take the weight off it. An hour in total on the bike. Now for the football.

chinguetti

I was one of the 2 hrs pacers yesterday and great to see that we seemed to get some of ye home under target. Its great to help folks in any way achieve their target and to those who has came up and said thanks on here or in person, we're glad to help and thanks.

For those that had a bad day, you learn on the bad days more than you'll ever learn on a good day/training run. Its not the end of your world so don't despair. Figure out where your day went wrong (sometimes it could be in the days leading up to it) and aim to correct it for your next race or lsr.

One thing I noticed in our group was that a good few seemed very worried about the hill at the end from talking to them and were holding back along Conynham Road or dropping back to us. The Half is a good replica of the full course with a hill near the end. The only way to give yourself confidence about hills is to run them, slowly and in a steady pace at the latter end of a lsr. It will be tough but the hills in Dublin aren't that bad, its just where they are as the pain starts to kick in then and the mind starts to wander why you've ever decided to inflict such fun on yourself.

Jelly Legs

chinguetti wrote: »

I was one of the 2 hrs pacers yesterday.

Hi chinguetti. My boyfriend has asked me to pass on his thanks to you and the other pacers. He started behind you and only caught you on the chapelizod road. This was his third attempt at sub 2 - he came in at 1:58:3x and is delighted. In particular he commented on the wonderful support and advice on glen road.

Mimojo

Mimojo wrote: »

Hi all, really enjoying reading all the race reports today, super times recorded, congrats!!
I had a good day today, some negatives but plenty of positives to take from it. Had been wondering earlier in the week what time to aim for, Im new to running & have only done the 5 & 10 Mile races so far so had settled on 2:06 based on McMillian & advice on this thread & had hoped for a bit quicker if Im honest.
Was feeling tired all week with a bit of a cold & ended up doing 20m lsr last Sat to make up for missing lsr the week before & didnt taper as much as I should have this week so def not the most ideal preparation.
I made the same mistake as the Frank Duffy, started off @ the back of Wave 2 & went off like a march hare, I think its a lack of experience if races & getting caught up in the hype of the crowds but I set off way too fast & I knew by the end of mile 2 Id make a big mistake. Managed to get my pacing on track again & enjoyed mile 3 to about 10, then my legs started to really hurt. The hill on way back into the park killed me & I knew my pacing was gone out the window but pushed on & told myself there was no way I was walking so pushed through & finished ok. Last 1.5 miles legs were on fire, they felt like they do at end of 20m lsr. But I know myself it was the start that messed me up & will learn for that.
Finished at 2:09:22 so all in all not too bad & for my first hm gives me plenty to aim for in the next one!!
On the plus side timed & took 2 gels with no hassle & took on plenty of water & was great trial run for DCM.
I also have to keep telling myself that I am only really running properly since May & I am making good progress & that better race times will come with more running experience.
Today has made me think long & hard about DCM & I do still believe I can do with a conservative finish time of 4:30 or 4:40 which I would be delighted with for my first marathon. I think going with a pacer group on the day will really help me on my pacing issues.
Relaxing now & legs feeling ok after today, will get a few recovery miles in tomorrow & get back to the training plan on Monday.
Congrats again to everyone today!!

Just uploaded my Garmin stats, and just as I figured, got slower as I went around rather than faster!!

9:03
9:42
9:43
9:42
9:43
9:31
9:42
9:38
10:06
9:44
10:04
10:30
10:39

So def need to work on this. Average pace was 9:49. My average for the Frank Duffy was 9:11, and the 5 Mile was 8:42 (I am getting slower!!)

20 mile LSR last Saturday was average pace of 11.01.

So for DCM I am thinking somewhere around 10:30, is this a realistic target?