DCM 2014: Mentored Novices Thread

echancrure

adrian522 wrote: »

The Norwegians still have it as pretty much perfect running weather.

Way too warm !

Firedance

Pop quiz for a Friday morning..if its raining on Monday I should wear

A: Singlet & arm warmers as originally planned
B: Tshirt under singlet
C: Rain jacket...

My worry is that at my pace (slow!) ill get cold in the later stages (if its raining)

Any advice from folks who have run marathons in the wet before?

ChadHogan

Hi All,

I've been keeping my head down lately here. I'm currently 50/50 to start the race. Since the 14m LSR on the boards plan I’ve done two 4 mile runs.

I seem to have develop some fluid around the instep of my foot. Its especially painful going uphill. I've been doing all the standard RICE measures and have been on anti-inflammatories for a full week. I'm going to pick up my number on Saturday and my physio said he'd meet me on Sunday to give me a final once over and I’ll make the call then if I’m running.

He says there's no risk of doing any further damage so it's just a case of how much pain I can handle and how much I can get the swelling in the area down.

Regardless of what happens, I'll get out on the course to run or to support, what on current evidence is the most aesthetically gifted group of novices in boards history.

adrian522

echancrure wrote: »

Way too warm !

Not really, 14 degrees up until 12:00. It says 17 for 12:00 - 18:00 but I assume that would be after 2pm it would hit that.

Accuweather has 14-15 degrees between 8am and 2pm.

Trust me we will get perfect weather.

adrian522

What runs have people got planned over the next few days if any?

M.J.M.C

adrian522 wrote: »

What runs have people got planned over the next few days if any?

None, better to be fully relaxed for Monday IMO.
Did this last year worked out fine.

Firedance

adrian522 wrote: »

What runs have people got planned over the next few days if any?

Zero

smashiner

adrian522 wrote: »

What runs have people got planned over the next few days if any?

Due to Man Flu I last did a run (13K) on Sunday, my plan then went out the window due to being floored on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I am feeling a bit better now,but still not 100%, head is still a bit bunged up and I am feeling a bit crappy (chest is ok though).

I was planning to do a 4-5K light jog this evening or tomorrow, just to prove to myself that my legs still actually work, what do you guys think?

Also, I am a little concerns that I may feel a bit lethargic and low on energy on the day because of this crappy Man Flu week, any suggestions (food/vitamins/performance enhancing drugs) for an energy boost for today,Saturday and Sunday to give me a good swing at this.

Any advice would be much appreciated on the run and energy fronts
Holy Jeebus, we are collecting our race numbers tomorrow!!

menoscemo

adrian522 wrote: »

Not really, 14 degrees up until 12:00. It says 17 for 12:00 - 18:00 but I assume that would be after 2pm it would hit that.

Accuweather has 14-15 degrees between 8am and 2pm.

Trust me we will get perfect weather.

14-15c is not perfect marathon weather. It's not bad but not perfect.
Perfect would be about 8-10c with little wind.

adrian522

My tentative plan for the weekend...

Friday:

Working till 5 or so, pick up some supplies on the way home, food, snacks etc.
Maybe go for a slow 3 miles, maybe not.
Have dinner, then watch Munster v Saracens, maybe watch a repeat of last nights NFL if I can avoid the result until then.
Early night, hopefully in bed by 11 or so.

Saturday:

Breakfast then into RDS to pick up the race number, not spend too much time at the expo, back home for lunch.
Catch Barcelona v Real Madrid at 5pm
Thinking about heading out to the cinema in the evening.
Early night again.

Sunday:

Thinking about the breakfast run at 10am, back home for 11:30 or so.
Feet up for the day. Epic day of sport, with NFL on the TV from 1:30 until bedtime.
Also Harlequins v Leinster and Man Utd v Chelsea.
Hopefully in bed by 11:00 ish. Not sure if I'll sleep at that stage though.

adrian522

menoscemo wrote: »

14-15c is not perfect marathon weather. It's not bad but not perfect.
Perfect would be about 8-10c with little wind.

Fair enough, we won't go to war over 4 degrees.

rainbow kirby

adrian522 wrote: »

My tentative plan for the weekend...

Friday:

Working till 5 or so, pick up some supplies on the way home, food, snacks etc.
Maybe go for a slow 3 miles, maybe not.
Have dinner, then watch Munster v Saracens, maybe watch a repeat of last nights NFL if I can avoid the result until then.
Early night, hopefully in bed by 11 or so.

Saturday:

Breakfast then into RDS to pick up the race number, not spend too much time at the expo, back home for lunch.
Catch Barcelona v Real Madrid at 5pm
Thinking about heading out to the cinema in the evening.
Early night again.

Sunday:

Thinking about the breakfast run at 10am, back home for 11:30 or so.
Feet up for the day. Epic day of sport, with NFL on the TV from 1:30 until bedtime.
Also Harlequins v Leinster and Man Utd v Chelsea.
Hopefully in bed by 11:00 ish. Not sure if I'll sleep at that stage though.

I do like the epic amount of sport being crammed in there

crisco10

adrian522 wrote: »

My tentative plan for the weekend...

Friday:

Working till 5 or so, pick up some supplies on the way home, food, snacks etc.
Maybe go for a slow 3 miles, maybe not.
Have dinner, then watch Munster v Saracens, maybe watch a repeat of last nights NFL if I can avoid the result until then.
Early night, hopefully in bed by 11 or so.

Saturday:

Breakfast then into RDS to pick up the race number, not spend too much time at the expo, back home for lunch.
Catch Barcelona v Real Madrid at 5pm
Thinking about heading out to the cinema in the evening.
Early night again.

Sunday:

Thinking about the breakfast run at 10am, back home for 11:30 or so.
Feet up for the day. Epic day of sport, with NFL on the TV from 1:30 until bedtime.
Also Harlequins v Leinster and Man Utd v Chelsea.
Hopefully in bed by 11:00 ish. Not sure if I'll sleep at that stage though.

1 massive mistake in that...Madness the day before the marathon...It's Castres v Leinster.

LaHaine

Quick question re the 3.50 pacers. I presume they go in the 3.50 to 4.15 start time rather than the sub 3.50 time? God my head is wrecked with over thinking.

Also for anyone in Dublin using powerbar gels a good few shops were sold out of them last night when I was trying to buy some.

aquinn

LaHaine wrote: »

Quick question re the 3.50 pacers. I presume they go in the 3.50 to 4.15 start time rather than the sub 3.50 time? God my head is wrecked with over thinking.

Also for anyone in Dublin using powerbar gels a good few shops were sold out of them last night when I was trying to buy some.

If anyone needs these the top bicycle shop in Clontarf had a big stock.

adrian522

crisco10 wrote: »

1 massive mistake in that...Madness the day before the marathon...It's Castres v Leinster.

Thanks for pointing that out, that would have been a disastrous mistake!

LaHaine wrote: »

Quick question re the 3.50 pacers. I presume they go in the 3.50 to 4.15 start time rather than the sub 3.50 time? God my head is wrecked with over thinking.

Also for anyone in Dublin using powerbar gels a good few shops were sold out of them last night when I was trying to buy some.

Yeah, 3:50 pacers are in wave 2.

Also on FB last night they confirmed you could have a friend collect your number for you if needed, as long as they have all the necessary documentation and a letter from you saying they can collect your number.

chinguetti

Right boys & girls, just coming on here to wish ye all the best whatever your target is. The training is done now so its killing time from here on in.

Don't do anything new between now and Monday, stay off the feet as best you can from Sunday morning, get there in plenty of time on Monday and know what you're plan is and stick to it as best you can.

If you're running with a pace group, they know what they're doing so don't be telling them they're going too slow at the start, its a long time you'll be suffering if you go out too fast.

Enjoy the experience of running in one of Europe's biggest marathons and the feeling of standing in a major capital street with thousands of other inhaling more Deep Heat than is advisable awaiting the get go and wondering why you decided to do this.

And remember all the people who came out to cheer and steward, they're there to help you along so take out the headphones and work off the crowd. You may never run in front of a crowd like it again so use it to your benefit to spur you on.

The pain of running a marathon goes away but the satisfaction of crossing the line always remains.

Laois_Man

Question about the bag drop

So, for people moving back a wave I'm registered with a green number but I'll be going out with the blue wave.

So do I use the blue bag drop or the green one?

The reason I ask is, I want to use the one that will be the less crowded of the 2. Which I think would be the green....right?

tunguska

Firedance wrote: »

Pop quiz for a Friday morning..if its raining on Monday I should wear

A: Singlet & arm warmers as originally planned
B: Tshirt under singlet
C: Rain jacket...

My worry is that at my pace (slow!) ill get cold in the later stages (if its raining)

Any advice from folks who have run marathons in the wet before?

Go with the singlet. No need for the arm warmers if its raining, they'll just soak up liquid get heavy and start slipping off your arms. You won't get cold, you'll be pumped so full of adrenaline from start to finish that you won't feel much of anything.

Joleigh

I did 4m easy on wed night. Heading towards home in the dark on a lonely road with just one other runner on the other side of the road, a push bike came up behind me and the man put his hand over my head, I got such a fright. He had a scarf up over his face, and he was definitely African, then he said "don't jog on the footpath". I thought he was giving out to me cos its also a cycle path, then as he cycled on his shouted back, "its bad for your knees, jog on the grass"!!!. I just said, ok!!! I swear my heart was beating out of my chest.

Lastnight I did 3 miles very easy. Rest today. Tomorrow morning I'm gonna do 2 miles easy, just a shuffle around the block to keep the legs loose. Rest Sunday. Marathon Monday. WOOHOO!

I'm still halfway between feeling confident one minute, thinking I've done the training, I've done all my long runs, I've had to consciously slow myself down on long runs so marathon pace will be fine, then 5 minutes later I'm thinking the opposite and panicking.

I have a serious case of paranoia about getting sick. Spent yesterday sneezing and OD-ing on vitamin c, but I'm fine today.

dcorcaigh

Laois_Man wrote: »

Question about the bag drop

So, for people moving back a wave I'm registered with a green number but I'll be going out with the blue wave.

So do I use the blue bag drop or the green one?

The reason I ask is, I want to use the one that will be the less crowded of the 2. Which I think would be the green....right?

its just one bag drop for all waves. first checkpoint before bag drop leaves all waves in to drop bag then it gets separated.

RayCun

Laois_Man wrote: »

Question about the bag drop

So, for people moving back a wave I'm registered with a green number but I'll be going out with the blue wave.

So do I use the blue bag drop or the green one?

The reason I ask is, I want to use the one that will be the less crowded of the 2. Which I think would be the green....right?

(this is how it worked the last times I ran, 2010 and 2011, and how the race series worked)

You'll get a plastic bag for the bag drop at the Expo. You write or stick your number on this bag, it must match your race number. When you are collecting your bag at the end, your race number is your proof of 'ID'.

They might assign numbers 1-5000 to Orange, 5001-10000 to Blue and 10001-15000 to Green, but bag drops are usually sorted by number more than wave colour. If your number is 12523 you would go to the area for numbers 12501 to 13000. You can't go to one of the 'Blue' bag drops, because you have to drop your bag in the area that matches your number.

aquinn

Joleigh wrote: »

I did 4m easy on wed night. Heading towards home in the dark on a lonely road with just one other runner on the other side of the road, a push bike came up behind me and the man put his hand over my head, I got such a fright. He had a scarf up over his face, and he was definitely African, then he said "don't jog on the footpath". I thought he was giving out to me cos its also a cycle path, then as he cycled on his shouted back, "its bad for your knees, jog on the grass"!!!. I just said, ok!!! I swear my heart was beating out of my chest.

That's focking frightening! I'd be in a heap, are you ok?

I'm not having a good morning. I'm slightly panicky.
I have my list for the expo.
I did 3 miles at MP on Wed and 4 last night supposed to be easy but again at MP.
Took the complete p#ss and for dinner had a fish box from the chipper. Felt sick, mostly guilt but the chips were fab. Feeling massive of course today.
Got to bed nice and early, should have had the promised bath but didn't. About to go to sleep and my calf completely cramped. The pain! Still very sore and tender today.
Thinking two easy miles tonight and tomorrow morning, have to go easy though!
Would like to do the breakfast run but was told not to rush out of bed on Sunday morning.

overpronator

Best of luck to all of you guys on Monday, I hope you all have great days and well done to Ososlo and staff on their mentorship, they will be a tough act to follow.

menoscemo

tunguska wrote: »

Go with the singlet. No need for the arm warmers if its raining, they'll just soak up liquid get heavy and start slipping off your arms. You won't get cold, you'll be pumped so full of adrenaline from start to finish that you won't feel much of anything.

+1 deinitely go with the singlet only especially if the weather gods are still predicting 14-15 degrees.
If the forcasts change and predict below 10 degrees then maybe singlet + arm warmers would be a good plan.

Definitelty do not plan to run with a rain jacket unless you plan to throw it away after a mile or so.

Dubgal72

aquinn wrote: »

That's focking frightening! I'd be in a heap, are you ok?

I'm not having a good morning. I'm slightly panicky.
I have my list for the expo.
I did 3 miles at MP on Wed and 4 last night supposed to be easy but again at MP.
Took the complete p#ss and for dinner had a fish box from the chipper. Felt sick, mostly guilt but the chips were fab. Feeling massive of course today.
Got to bed nice and early, should have had the promised bath but didn't. About to go to sleep and my calf completely cramped. The pain! Still very sore and tender today.
Thinking two easy miles tonight and tomorrow morning, have to go easy though!
Would like to do the breakfast run but was told not to rush out of bed on Sunday morning.

I know, Joleigh, scary! Well meant advice but shouldn't have put his hand on you. Besides the cycle path on a road is definitely better than a bumpy grass verge...
Aquinn, my tuppence worth, the fish and chips were grand. It's from today the diet is most important, one blip yesterday is not going to hurt. Also this week is very useful for imprinting MP on your cadence/rhythm so that's not going to hurt either but you're right...easy from today :-)
I did an easy/steady 5.5 miles on Tuesday, 6-7k last night with a few fast strides thrown in to shake the legs out. Easy 6.5k this afternoon, rest tomorrow and 15mins easy Sunday. No breakfast run for me, 3 miles is too far for me and too far to travel.
I know what you mean about feeling panicky, I'm trying to control the nervous energy at this stage and save it all for Monday. Who was it was given a brush down from the 'club elder', Firedance? I hope you told him (nicely) where to go!
Good luck everybody, I know it might be unrealistic but I sincerely hope everyone achieves their target on Monday whether it is to enjoy the whole experience or finish within a certain time!

statina

Have been following this thread with interest for the past couple of months. Best of luck everyone, ye have the hard work done so enjoy the day :-) Looking forward to reading the reports afterwards

Mimojo

Good luck everybody, I know it might be unrealistic but I sincerely hope everyone achieves their target on Monday whether it is to enjoy the whole experience or finish within a certain time!

Amen to this! Thanks so much to everyone on this thread, especially Ososlo, everyone is just amazing! If I didnt have this thread for the past few months I certainly wouldn't be here a few days out from DCM, that I know for sure. All the excellent advice, motivation, practical tips, help, support, humour, just brilliant! For the last week I think I am actually a complete nervous shell of a human, and the stuff on this thread has kept me going BIG time!

Almost there now, can hardly believe it. Hope everyone has an amazing experience on Monday ;-)

Might do a really slow 2 miles tomorrow, will see how I am feeling, and go pick up the number. Then take it very handy for the rest of the day, early night, and will have my feet up for the whole of Sunday with a few box sets to keep me company!

Joleigh

aquinn wrote: »

That's focking frightening! I'd be in a heap, are you ok?

I'm not having a good morning. I'm slightly panicky.
I have my list for the expo.
I did 3 miles at MP on Wed and 4 last night supposed to be easy but again at MP.
Took the complete p#ss and for dinner had a fish box from the chipper. Felt sick, mostly guilt but the chips were fab. Feeling massive of course today.
Got to bed nice and early, should have had the promised bath but didn't. About to go to sleep and my calf completely cramped. The pain! Still very sore and tender today.
Thinking two easy miles tonight and tomorrow morning, have to go easy though!
Would like to do the breakfast run but was told not to rush out of bed on Sunday morning.

Thanks, I got a fright but ended up smiling afterwards because he was being nice in the end. I could have had a whole debate with him about running on the grass but he was gone. I felt like shouting after him "but what about the dog poo". Shortly after that I was passing a parked van and the door suddenly opened as I passed. I jumped so much I don't know who got the bigger fright, me or the man getting out. I was glad to get home that night.

Think of the chipper as carb loading and forget about it. My house is full of chocolate since my birthday. I had a big lump of milka lastnight after my dinner then went to bed early.

I'm heading to the expo sat morning hopefully around 11 before it gets too busy.

pistol_75

Best of luck to all of the novices on Monday. Remember you only get one chance to run your first marathon so enjoy it and take it all in. Time is of secondary importance. There really is something special about running around the streets of Dublin on bank holiday Monday.