DCM 2014: Mentored Novices Thread

Firedance

THANK YOU ososo! You're a legend, we'll succeed on Monday thanks to you. And thanks to your (very) beautiful assistants!!! And to all the other novices for sharing your experiences along the way so we knew we weren't the only ones with bleeding nipples (remember THAT photo!) black toenails & taper madness.

Lets do this..

Casey78

Would it be possible to go sub 4 hr when starting with the 4:10 pacers?
If all going well and feeling strong how far into the race would you want to be thinking of upping the pace to get to 4hr?

laura_ac3

Another great post....thank you.

gerard_65

Casey78 wrote: »

Would it be possible to go sub 4 hr when starting with the 4:10 pacers?
If all going well and feeling strong how far into the race would you want to be thinking of upping the pace to get to 4hr?

IMO don't even think about it. If you've planned and trained for 4:10 stick with it. Remember the 'race' only begins at around 20 miles and that's too late to make up 10 minutes.

AuldManKing

Great guidance young lady.
The amount of time that Ososlo has contributed to this forum is truly remarkable.

Amazingly selfless with her time and energy to bring a group to such a great feat.

I actually think she will have withdrawal symptoms in a few days!

We have a great group this year, very motivated and capable and I look forward to reading all the reports.

JohnnyDun

Great post and an even better video,
Thank you ososlo I'll be heading up from Cork in the morning for my first DCM on Monday and I can't wait,
You have been a fantastic mentor,

snailsong

Good luck to all the novices this year. I took part in this thread in 2011 when RayCun was the mentor and I've enjoyed looking in every year since.

I expect you're all nervous but try to look forward to the day. It really is hard to describe what a positive life enhancing experience your first marathon will be.

So enjoy, and keep her lit.

I won't give any specific advice as your marvellous mentor has covered absolutely everything, ye're lucky to have her and her relentless enthusiasm and positivity.

I might make an appearance in McGrattans. As it happens McGrattans is where my club, Mayo AC, are meeting for our tea and sandwiches afterwards, thus sparing me a difficult choice. So if the place is full of sweaty people wearing green and red it's not the new boards uniform, it's just us!

tunguska

Casey78 wrote: »

Would it be possible to go sub 4 hr when starting with the 4:10 pacers?
If all going well and feeling strong how far into the race would you want to be thinking of upping the pace to get to 4hr?

I think that's a good plan, especially if its a windy as its forecast to be(and wind coming from a southerly direction). Wind will be at your back for most of the second half so if you waited until the walkinstown roundabout, its definitely doable.

JohnDozer

Nerves really starting to kick in now! Been distracted with work and life with the last few weeks so hasn't really been sinking in about the day ahead of us all tomorrow. Heading up the M7 in a few hours so **** is about to get real real quick... Mixed training plan behind me but hopeful that the full years running will get me through as I've plenty of miles and 10 mile/ half marathons done. I do think I can get to mile 18/20 on pace and hope that it's not too horrific from there on. Behaving myself early on is going to be my real struggle I think. Aiming for a small negative split due to the course profile but don't think that will happen due to the lack of LSR's in the legs. Aiming to be 5/10 seconds a mile behind schedule coming out of the Phoenix Park and pick it up ever so slightly from there. Pass the half way mark in 1:53/54 or so. Basically then it's try and hold pace for a 3:40 finish for as long as possible. A goal is sub 3:40, B goal is sub 3.43:30 as that's 26.2 minutes faster than my last and only attempt and C goal is sub 4 which I went after in Cork 2012 and failed by 10 minutes. Who knows which one of them will be what I end up with. There seems to be so many factors that can go right or wrong. If Goal A gets achieved I might end up off work sick for a week and a super well deserved session on the beer may occur. In saying that, keeping an eye on other marathons out there before the end of the year in case it all goes wrong! There is always another one!!

Hope to see some of you out there, will keep an eye out for names on numbers for a shout out. Been an avid reader and an occasional poster, and Ive read enough to know the time and effort that people have put in, and the rewards will come because of that.

Lastly, I did read all the tips on the thread for parking tomorrow morning but can't find them again. Will be coming from the Northside (Santry) and heading back there after so any tips would be appreciated.

This time tomorrow will be lining up... Oh the nerves... Off now to cook some pasta bake!

echancrure

Ososlo wrote: »

Press play, and TURN IT UP......... LOUD!

Post of the year!!!

Gavlor

tunguska wrote: »

I think that's a good plan, especially if its a windy as its forecast to be(and wind coming from a southerly direction). Wind will be at your back for most of the second half so if you waited until the walkinstown roundabout, its definitely doable.

I dunno, trying to make up 10 minutes at 9 minute mile pace is a risky strategy that would mean really upping the ante for the second half of the marathon.
It's like speeding through traffic when your late for a meeting, anything could go wrong!


IMO if the op wants to run a sub 4 then go with the sub 4 pace group.

adrian522

24 Hours to go.

Going through the motions this morning, got up, running gear on, porridge and blueberries. All good.

Made the call to go with the kinvara's for the race, just feel most comfortable.

Going to head over to the Breakfast run now I think.

For tomorrow I'll line up with the 3:50 Pacers and reassess things at the walkinstown roundabout.

Thanks to everyone on here for all the help and advice. Try not to be too nervous, all the work is done now it's just a case of going out there to collect your reward, talk to you all afterwards tomorrow and also best of luck to the lads in Frankfurt this morning.

Casey78

gerard_65 wrote: »

IMO don't even think about it. If you've planned and trained for 4:10 stick with it. Remember the 'race' only begins at around 20 miles and that's too late to make up 10 minutes.

Of course you are 100% correct.
It was just a mad thought came into my head.
In reality I know I can't achieve sub 4 this year.

Gavlor

Beat of luck everybody!

The work rate and commitment here has been phenomenal. Ososlo has done a great job and has sacrificed so much time to ensure that your build up has gone smoothly. You all owe her a drink (I believe she drinks pints of Heineken and looks remarkably like me)

Stick to your plan and make sure that you enjoy the day. Nerves today and tonight are natural, don't let them consume you and don't worry if you don't get a decent nights sleep. Last night was the important one!

Duanington

Best of luck to everyone running tomorrow - give up worrying about weather, natural disasters or the world ending before tomorrow morning - there's nothing you can do about any of those things!
I've really enjoyed watching people progress through the plan here and have been gobsmacked by the time and effort Ososlo manages to put into the thread - although she doesn't sleep anyway so she has more time on her hands than normal folk

I'm really looking forward to reading some of the reports over the coming week.

Put one foot in front of the other, repeat and enjoy the atmosphere - there'll be thousands of people ( myself included) along the route to help you on your way

KillianByrne

Congratulations Ososlo, you've brought each novice by the hand from start to finish with military precision and compassion at the same time, they couldn't have been better prepared. You've done a great job.

To the all novices, you should be very proud of your achievements, there are runners of all abilities here but you are bound by the single thread that in 24hrs you will line up facing a challenge that none of you will have faced before. Trust your training, trust Ososlo's advice and most importantly go and enjoy yourselves.

I've probably butchered the original quote but here it goes...

'The miracle isn't that you will finish, the miracle is that you had the courage to even start'

skittles11

JohnDozer wrote: »

Nerves really starting to kick in now! Been distracted with work and life with the last few weeks so hasn't really been sinking in about the day ahead of us all tomorrow. Heading up the M7 in a few hours so **** is about to get real real quick... Mixed training plan behind me but hopeful that the full years running will get me through as I've plenty of miles and 10 mile/ half marathons done. I do think I can get to mile 18/20 on pace and hope that it's not too horrific from there on. Behaving myself early on is going to be my real struggle I think. Aiming for a small negative split due to the course profile but don't think that will happen due to the lack of LSR's in the legs. Aiming to be 5/10 seconds a mile behind schedule coming out of the Phoenix Park and pick it up ever so slightly from there. Pass the half way mark in 1:53/54 or so. Basically then it's try and hold pace for a 3:40 finish for as long as possible. A goal is sub 3:40, B goal is sub 3.43:30 as that's 26.2 minutes faster than my last and only attempt and C goal is sub 4 which I went after in Cork 2012 and failed by 10 minutes. Who knows which one of them will be what I end up with. There seems to be so many factors that can go right or wrong. If Goal A gets achieved I might end up off work sick for a week and a super well deserved session on the beer may occur. In saying that, keeping an eye on other marathons out there before the end of the year in case it all goes wrong! There is always another one!!

Hope to see some of you out there, will keep an eye out for names on numbers for a shout out. Been an avid reader and an occasional poster, and Ive read enough to know the time and effort that people have put in, and the rewards will come because of that.

Lastly, I did read all the tips on the thread for parking tomorrow morning but can't find them again. Will be coming from the Northside (Santry) and heading back there after so any tips would be appreciated.

This time tomorrow will be lining up... Oh the nerves... Off now to cook some pasta bake!

I'll be lining up beside you with the 3.40 pacers, similar enough plan, keep it steady til Walkinstown RAB, then hopefully increase pace by 10sec a mile. Then just see what's in store from 6 miles out (I've a couple of family members around Roebuck Hill and Fosters Ave to spur me on!)

Was worried last night that I was coming down with a cold but feel pretty good now tg. In fairness though, I drank so many Lemsips last night I could have a full blown flu now and not feel it!

Will probably stick a SKITTLES11 on the back of my T-shirt for Boardsie purposes so keep an eye out and give a shout out!

Best of luck to all tomorrow. And a huge thank you to Ososlo and co. for all the help, advice and guidance over the last few months. I started out training on my own for this and I'm not convinced I would have had the motivation to keep pushing myself without this thread. That doesn't just go for the mentors but the other novices too, the stories of others pushing through bad patches to get to where we all are now were a great help along the way.

Really enjoyed the last few months and can't wait for tomorrow!!

ice9

Casey78 wrote: »

Of course you are 100% correct.
It was just a mad thought came into my head.
In reality I know I can't achieve sub 4 this year.

just to put it in perspective...for 4:10 marathon you'll be running 5min55sec per KM. If at halfway you decide you want to beat 4 hours you now only have half the distance to make up the deficit and this is the equivalent of a 3H50M marathon pace for the second half. That means you need to speed up to 5min27sec per KM. Sound easy?!

I also advise you stick to the 4:10 strategy. If you want to beat 4 you need to start at that pace (5min41sec) but it sounds like you will enjoy your day more if you stick to the plan you are confident with and enjoy the experience. If you have a tonne left in the tank then you can take a good chunk off in Limerick in May ;-)

Enjoy the day!

Casey78

No as I said it was just me going slightly crazy and getting carried away. I'll be happy to finish around the 4:10 mark.

annapr

heading out to do the breakfast run, or at least some of it... can't wait to see the re-enactment of the battle of clontarf!! ??

johndoe11

my plan is to start around 3.54 pace, keep that up until 22 but try make up a small bit on the downhill sections. if possible pick it up from around 22 to try and get under 3.50.

ice9

johndoe11 wrote: »

my plan is to start around 3.54 pace, keep that up until 22 but try make up a small bit on the downhill sections. if possible pick it up from around 22 to try and get under 3.50.

that sounds like a good plan. just listen to your body once you up the pace and back off if you need to. I've gotten a few twinges towards the end when pushing it - they don't mean you are about to run into trouble but keep appraising the situation.

here is my story of a fast finish....I travelled back from the states 2 days before the marathon last year. hardly ideal. My digestive system was all out of whack and to be honest I was quite stressed about it which probably made it worse. Anyway on the day my worst fears were realised, and no matter what, I was getting no-where with visits to the loo. I was running the race with my mate and off we went. At the walkinstown roundabout I knew I wasn't going to get away with it and at the top of Roebuck hill that was it - I had to duck into a portaloo that my mate pointed out to me. An eternity went by and my average pace soared but I decided I was not beaten yet. (both myself and my mate were trying to beat a time and we were bang on target before this happened). I came out of that portaloo like superman out of a phonebox! Two girls right beside it nearly keeled over laughing at me but I cared not! I had lost 3 mins 30 seconds and had roughly 8K to make them up to get my time. I figured out what I needed to do as I pegged it down fosters avenue and it meant I had to run the last 8K at tempo run paces! My left quad creaked a couple of times and you've never seen a more determined look on someones face! (I certainly wondered who I was looking at when I saw the pictures of me). I caught my buddy at the Molly Malone and we beat our time by 30 secs. It was a great feeling.

So it can be done of course. My experience says you have to be very determined to make up time at the end and be prepared to take a risk or two because you are stressing tired muscles. If you are well trained you can do it though!

Football Friend

Hey guys,

Been lurking on this thread for the last few months having contributed a little at the start. Happily I've stuck with the training and will be lining up for my first marathon tomorrow!

What time to people reckon we should get there at? I live pretty close so parking etc won't be an issue. I'm heading out in wave 2 the 3:50-4:15 batch. I'm hoping to get close to a 4hr pacer from the off and stick with them.

I read in the programme that we have to there for 8am and we are setting off at 9:10. Though I only glanced so might be wrong there. Just looking. For someone to back me up? The last thing I want to be is late after all the training ha.

I have all my gear lined up and my Jaffa cakes purchased. Gonna get a cheap throwaway jacket in dunnes today for the waiting around and after that I think I'm all good to go.

Best of luck everyone!

ice9

Football Friend wrote: »

Hey guys,

Been lurking on this thread for the last few months having contributed a little at the start. Happily I've stuck with the training and will be lining up for my first marathon tomorrow!

What time to people reckon we should get there at? I live pretty close so parking etc won't be an issue. I'm heading out in wave 2 the 3:50-4:15 batch. I'm hoping to get close to a 4hr pacer from the off and stick with them.

I read in the programme that we have to there for 8am and we are setting off at 9:10. Though I only glanced so might be wrong there. Just looking. For someone to back me up? The last thing I want to be is late after all the training ha.

I have all my gear lined up and my Jaffa cakes purchased. Gonna get a cheap throwaway jacket in dunnes today for the waiting around and after that I think I'm all good to go.

Best of luck everyone!

I'd aim to be dropping the bag no later than 8:20 and then making your way round to the start.
Probably better off aiming at 8:00 though and taking time to soak up the atmosphere and talk to others around. Its a nice time before the start as you anticipate heading off. You don't want to be stressed. You can take your time and do a few light stretches etc.

I'd normally advise bringing a black bin liner for warmth too but it does not look like it's going to be that chilly tomorrow morning.

johndoe11

ice9 wrote:

So it can be done of course. My experience says you have to be very determined to make up time at the end and be prepared to take a risk or two because you are stressing tired muscles. If you are well trained you can do it though!

ice9 wrote:

here is my story of a fast finish....I travelled back from the states 2 days before the marathon last year. hardly ideal. My digestive system was all out of whack and to be honest I was quite stressed about it which probably made it worse. Anyway on the day my worst fears were realised, and no matter what, I was getting no-where with visits to the loo. I was running the race with my mate and off we went. At the walkinstown roundabout I knew I wasn't going to get away with it and at the top of Roebuck hill that was it - I had to duck into a portaloo that my mate pointed out to me. An eternity went by and my average pace soared but I decided I was not beaten yet. (both myself and my mate were trying to beat a time and we were bang on target before this happened). I came out of that portaloo like superman out of a phonebox! Two girls right beside it nearly keeled over laughing at me but I cared not! I had lost 3 mins 30 seconds and had roughly 8K to make them up to get my time. I figured out what I needed to do as I pegged it down fosters avenue and it meant I had to run the last 8K at tempo run paces! My left quad creaked a couple of times and you've never seen a more determined look on someones face! (I certainly wondered who I was looking at when I saw the pictures of me). I caught my buddy at the Molly Malone and we beat our time by 30 secs. It was a great feeling.

It's my first marathon, so I'm definitely taking it handy at the start. I think I'm running it pretty conservatively, I trained at 4hr pace, relatively comfortably, and only planning to run a bit quicker than that. Hopefully I'll have a bit in the tank at the end!

Dub13

I would like to thank Ososlo for all her time and commitment plus the great advice dished out to us all here, thanks to you many of us will be at the start line in much better shape. I would also like to thank AuldManKing for his BAA plan advice, its a great plan and suited me.

Now its up to us to do our bit tomorrow.

adrian522

Breakfast run was a whole lot of fun, a lot of foreign visitors, flags etc. Re-enactment of the battle of Clontarf. Finished running up to the premium level of Croke park where there was a decent breakfast provided and a free T-Shirt. Very good setup.

RedRunner

Confirmed I'll be stewarding in the morning. Mile 2 and 25. Couldn't have asked for better.

annapr

adrian522 wrote: »

Breakfast run was a whole lot of fun, a lot of foreign visitors, flags etc. Re-enactment of the battle of Clontarf. Finished running up to the premium level of Croke park where there was a decent breakfast provided and a free T-Shirt. Very good setup.

+1 those French people were very enthusiastic... Croker looked great and the battle scenes were hilarious -- 8 guys dressed in mediaeval garb whacking each other with swords and shields... not sure what the internationals made of it :rolleyes:

adrian522

Ready now...