DCM 2014: Mentored Novices Thread

SamforMayo · 02-08-2014 4:45pm

Casey78 wrote: »

I did a 10k pace run today and it went fantastic.
I broke my 10k PB by about 90seconds which I'm delighted about as I wasn't trying to as I was using my heart rate monitor and was keeping it in the 80-85% zone.It was only I finished the run did I realise I had broken it.
I also did the second 5k faster than my 5k PB time,about 7 seconds faster..does this count as a new 5k PB or not?

Well done, great work of course it counts!

adrian522 · 02-08-2014 5:24pm

Today I've been mostly doing strength exercises, stretching and foam rolling. No running.

2 days ago I was feeling problems with my Hip flexor and IT band on one side. I decided yesterday on a recovery run that I probably needed to sort that out. It feels a bit better today but still not 100%. I may take tomorrow very easy again and go race on Monday.

Strength work today has been:

One legged squats
Step Up's
Lateral Leg raises
One Legged Calf Raises
Hip Thrusts
Side Planks

Onwards.

gingersnap · 02-08-2014 5:26pm

In England for the weekend and did 13 miles along the coast in the lashing rain yesterday. Loved every minute of it! It was great to have a change of scenery and run somewhere new.
Walked a couple of miles recovery today and hope to get six miles in tomorrow.

laura_ac3 · 02-08-2014 6:21pm

Happy with the endeavors of the last week.

Sunday: 4 mile easy recovery pace.

Monday: had plans after work and knew I'd likely be having a couple of pints so to facilitate that I got up early to fit in 3 miles before work.

Tuesday: squash. First match in ages, really enjoyed this, felt good throughout.

Wednesday: usual astro football. Think the last few days caught up with me, felt a bit heavy and couldn't seem to get going properly.

Thursday: supposed to be a 7 mile pace run. Was running to work and planned to stretch it out a bit to make the 7. Got delayed so was running (literally) late for work so only fit in 5.5 miles. Wasn't too gutted, had been struggling a bit. Not the first time I've struggled on a pace run running into work. Not sure if the stop/start element of traffic lights etc ruins my mojo. I am going through the city centre. May rethink those and keep the commute runs to an easy pace. PT therapy session in the evening then, had some work done on my hamstring to help loosen it up. No issues with it, just some tightness.

Friday: rest.

Saturday: 14 mile lsr. My longest ever run! Was happy with this. Considering I'd been worried from last week about where I'd find another 2 miles from it was doable. Not easy at times, needed to dig deep mentally but successful. Down in cork for the weekend so weather was much better than what seems to be in Dublin - warm though. One issue was keeping the pace consistent, could have slowed some of the miles a bit. Was running on unfamiliar country roads for some of it which I'm not used to so got a bit distracted making sure I was going the right way/watching for cars etc. Drank lots of water on the run and after but think I'm still a touch dehydrated...bit of a headache.

Would normally have another rest day in there but won't be playing football and squash in the same week for a while and I wanted to take the opportunity to play squash this week.

Happy running all...keep up the good work and good luck to anyone doing the dlr 10k.

Joleigh · 03-08-2014 8:21am

I get so nervous before my lsr these days! Giant butterflies in my stomach. This stormy weather isn't helping.

Laois_Man · 03-08-2014 10:17am

Laois_Man wrote: »

Lots of great running going on.......I'm jealous.

I've not run at all in 8 days with PTTD type issues on my right leg and some snapping hip syndrome on the left leg which isn't too serious - just a big annoyance.

I think I'm feeling a good bit better. I'm gonna get out for a very slow 5K or something like that later. Trying not to rush back but I can't miss anymore running at the same time since I also missed most of week 1 also.

So, I did it. Except 5 miles instead of 5K

. My legs have felt better - Having niggles in both legs is a bit of a worry :rolleyes:. I am happy, but remaining conscious that my fitness to run is fairly fragile.

I obviously missed this weekends LSR which was to be 16 miles. I want to do some sort of an LSR in the next 24 hours but I'd be happy to go 10 to 12 miles...definately not 16 yet. I could then think of this as a step-back week instead of a week that was a complete write off.

Note to self (and others if applicable); the closing date for entry to the Frank Duffy 10 is next Sunday. There's another 16 mile LSR on my plan for next weekend....gonna try and get to that and then thru that, see how I feel and if I am OK, I'll enter the FD10 then.

Darren 83 · 03-08-2014 12:51pm

Got just under 8 miles done today, did the clubs 10k route along the river had to stop because some ****heads went and tangled up four life buoys up spent about 15 min trying to sort it out but they where all tied together, started running again and seen the coast guard where out so ran across the river and let them know about. Some people really need a hobby.

Alan30 · 03-08-2014 3:03pm

4 seasons on one run today. Rain, wind and sun on the way to 17.2 miles out to the beautiful Carlingford. Really struggled the last mile or so but it's all miles in the bank at this stage.

Dub13 · 03-08-2014 6:45pm

The plan had me down for an 18 miler run today, about 2/3 of the way through I decided to turn that into a 20 mile as I felt good and paced it right all along. I did have a plan in my head to turn a couple of these 18 mile runs into extra 20 mile runs so good to get one out of the way.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/555984277

A good week, my first 100k plus week (only just). This is the first plan I have followed although I did have high weekly mileage going into it, one thing I have noticed is the body is feeling the speed sessions during the week. I suppose my body is used to the longer runs so this is to be expected.

I am looking forward to my rest day tomorrow, the weeks are flying in it only seems like yesterday I was posting here saying I was looking forward to last weeks rest day. Good luck to everybody racing tomorrow, I am looking forward to reading the race reports here.

adrian522 · 03-08-2014 7:03pm

I'm the opposite to you Dub13. I felt I was putting my body under a lot of pressure and felt an injury coming on this week. I've decided to take yesterday and today off completely with just a recovery run on Friday. So 3 miles over 3 days.

I'll get back to it next week but I'd rather miss a few sessions than have an injury that could cost me a few weeks.

I'm still planning the 10K tomorrow, but am prepared to drop out if injuries/niggles start acting up.

Dub13 · 03-08-2014 7:10pm

adrian522 wrote: »

I'm the opposite to you Dub13. I felt I was putting my body under a lot of pressure and felt an injury coming on this week. I've decided to take yesterday and today off completely with just a recovery run on Friday. So 3 miles over 3 days.

I'll get back to it next week but I'd rather miss a few sessions than have an injury that could cost me a few weeks.

I'm still planning the 10K tomorrow, but am prepared to drop out if injuries/niggles start acting up.

I am sure the rest will do you good and listen to your body tomorrow.

annapr · 03-08-2014 9:34pm

So, here goes... first post here... and maybe first marathon this year, all going well. I am on track with the Hal Higdon plan and have been getting some inspiration from the posts here, although most people seem to be doing the boards plan which seems way more ambitious to me. I'm really impressed by the amount of information provided here, really helpful.

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
August 24th 2013 Frank Duffy: 10 miles 1h:39m:26s
Dublin half marathon, Sept 2013 2h:19m:24s
Dublin 5 mile 43m:37s, Jun 2014
5K, Nov 2013 26m:24s

Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training ? (No problem if you do)
no :-)

How much training do you currently do ? Distances, how many days a week, cross training -
whatever you think is relevant to your current fitness level.
following the Hal Higdon Novice Marathon plan, so whatever that specifies. I run four days a week... hard to get out more often than that, what with working and young children taking a lot of time. For cross training, it's mostly walking and the occasional hill walking/hiking when time allows.

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Or just complete it in no specified time?

Mainly, I would like to be able to complete it... and run the whole way! If I could do 4:30 or thereabouts I would be very happy.

How many days a week can you train? 4-5

Why are you running this marathon?
It's the only chance I'll ever have to beat my husband in a marathon... he's a 5-hour pacer this year! and I think I just caught the bug.

hillsiderunner · 03-08-2014 11:17pm

I'm only a tentative DCM candidate for the time being, but am posting my "week of running" to keep me honest :-). My "week" was actually Tuesday-Sunday this time because last weekend's long run didn't get done till Monday night!. Anyhow, I managed to get all 4 runs in this week, by doing my long run late this evening (final couple of miles in the dark...):

Wednesday lunchtime: 650m x 4 with 3-mins rest, plus 3miles (w/u + c/d)
(I had skipped Tuesday night's interval group because of the long run the night before, so I went to the usual spot on Wednesday and did the repeats by myself. All 4 were between 2:47-2:49, which converts to 7min pace. Could not bear to do the 5th one so let myself off the hook as I felt quite pleased to have bullied myself into doing them alone.)

Thursday pm: 5 miles steady at 8:45 pace

Saturday lunchtime: 5km in 23:40 (ie 7:35 pace)
(This run was planned to be a fast-but-not-flat-out run... but the first mile came out quicker than expected at 7:45, so I continued to keep the pace up. Not quite flat-out but pushing a bit. The time is a little bit faster than my Parkrun PB so it looks like I've a good chance of improving that on my next Parkrun visit.)

Sunday night: 12 hilly miles at 9:05 average pace. Final mile (flattish, not downhill) was at 8:00 pace. This is a little bit too fast for a long run given that my planning half-marathon pace is about 8:30 ... the too-fast long run is a long-standing problem for me, I haven't fixed it yet unfortunately.

Next week will have Tuesday intervals and a 4.5mile Thursday run, then I hope to run the half-marathon next Saturday (still not registered but nearly sure). I'm hoping for 8:30 pace which would give a PB of a few minutes ... but I haven't quite given up hope of achieving a little bit better, to get 1:50. This half-marathon is a hilly one, but not nearly as hilly as my long run routes in recent weeks.

I have another record to report: my July mileage was 99 miles which I am positive is the highest monthly mileage I've ever done (for sure that'll have to increase a bit if I commit to DCM 14).

Nice to read of everyone's runs, and I hope the niggles improve, and that records are broken tomorrow.

Laois_Man · 04-08-2014 1:02am

Did a 12 Mile LSR earlier. Fairly happy

Question; What are the pacers in the Frank Duffy 10?

Every 10 minutes from an hour to 2 hours......something like that?

Nicsx · 04-08-2014 10:23am

Week 1 of holiers is over & the weekly mileage is down! Spent a lovely 4 days in London, brought all the gear over but a combination of long days, good food, lots of wine & late nights meant that all the gear came home unused. I guess it saves on the washing! Does LOTS of sight seeing count as cross training? :-)

Week 2 is beginning now & while I know I won't get any LSR in, I hope to get out maybe 4 times this week. There'll be no plan following this week - just get as many runs in as I can. I'm just in from 7.3m after having stood on a weever fish yesterday. Does this mean I can join the HTFU club?! :-)

Good luck to anyone doing the DLR or the Rock'n'Roll today!

Ososlo · 04-08-2014 10:38am

Laois_Man wrote: »

Did a 12 Mile LSR earlier. Fairly happy

Question; What are the pacers in the Frank Duffy 10?

Every 10 minutes from an hour to 2 hours......something like that?

Hi LM and well done on the 12!
I don't remember there being any pacers for this race last year. Hopefully someone else can confirm for you. I certainly didn't see any.

SoundoftheSea · 04-08-2014 11:33am

Finally feel like a real runner and not someone who was dreading every run and who's body was screaming stop, stop.

10 mile run last Sunday was my best run so far and I felt strong all the way. On my 7 miles this Sunday I actually found myself enjoying every step and thinking about life and looking around instead of trying to convince my body to take the next step.

My short runs have been 9.30/10.30 splits and long runs 10.30/11.30 splits. So I am now trying to run at a pace of 11.00 mm. Its hard to slow down on the short runs but I think that is the correct pace for my LSR and my MP?

Love reading all the posts and I have learnt so much already.
So glad I found this thread and its great to know I have this to help get me over the finish line.

scheister · 04-08-2014 12:23pm

2:05 for the Rock in Roll half with last 3.1 run at PMP will put full race report up later

adrian522 · 04-08-2014 12:40pm

48.23 today for the 10k.

Got a bit congested at the start as I started right at the back.

Walked through the water station at half way, needed a breather.

Injury didn't bother me in the first half, was more aware of it in the second half but still lots of work to be done on it as it was very sore in the warmdown.

Still PB has gone from 51.51 to 48.23 or so. Still waiting the official time. Happy with that.

I feel on a flatter course with better prep there is certainly at least another 30 secs or so there for the taking.

MKDTH · 04-08-2014 1:01pm

I did 10.92 miles this morning which is my longest ever run. I was due to start work at 10am so had no option but to bring a rucksack which weighed me down a little extra. Man that hurt, but thankfully no injuries, just a hard run especially with the extra weight!
This is the halfway point for me after starting training 12 weeks ago after going from nothing to this, very happy with my progress, 12 weeks left

KillianByrne · 04-08-2014 2:29pm

Current 10kPB - 50:49 (Fingal 10k 2014)
Target - 49:59 (8:03min/mile)

This race is on 'my' turf so to speak, I occasionally run with a group around here but this was my first time running this race or this course even. But the build up was relaxed and casual. A 1m warm up jog with some stretches happened, but I still had to decide on a race strategy when entering the start corral. The course is pretty much an uphill drag for the first half, downhill for 4k and a flat'ish' finish.

I had enlisted the services of a friend (47min 10k PB) to help me if required, he was looking to run 50mins which suited me fine. I knew 8:03 average would get me there so as I crossed the line, I decided that was the plan.

Felt a small twinge in the hamstring after 1mile, it wasn't going to stop me but I had to decide if I was going to pull out, slow down or keep the pace up. I was bang on pace at the time so decided to push on and deal with the consequences later! There was a lot of weaving through runners which made things difficult.
Mile 1 @ 8:02

Turned off the seafront and hit a big hill towards the end of mile 2 and lost my pacers shoulder, The plan now was to keep him within sight!, hamstring still bothering me but not enough to stop.
Mile 2 @ 8:06

Jeez, Monkstown is a hilly place! uphill for long stretches through mile 3 and past half way to mile 4 (first water station) and things slowed considerably. I was feeling very demoralised here as it was looking like I wasn't even going to make my last PB, let alone break 50mins. The watch was showing 8:17avg pace but I knew what goes up must come down to that kept me going!
Mile 3 @ 8:25
Mile 4 @ 8:25

Turned at the roundabout and I knew I was into a decent downhill stretch, despite the change in elevation many people had stopped to walk and I was passing out people all the time, this is a situation that certainly changes the mood. Ive been that walker before but being the passer makes things much better. I got caught a little with a right hand turn that I hadn't seen on the course map which threw me a little but once I saw the watch clicking off the distance i didn't care. The average place was coming down and that really gave me hope of beating the PB if not the magic 50minute!
Mile 5 @ 7:44

The average kept dropping, down to 8:07 now and I thought 'Bloody Hell, I might have a chance to salvage this here!' more downhill and a flat finish and we could be on to a winner. Was feeling really tired now and several times thought about forgetting all about paces and PB's and just run to the finish, but something there said keep going, theres still a chance.
Mile 6 @ 7:48

Theres a little hill around Teddys Ice Cream, damn it, I didn't bargain on that! The legs were nearly dead at this stage, I ended up breaking the last bit into little stretches and broke my balls to go as fast as I could. The finish line came into sight and I gave it all, but it wasn't the finish, it was some other small gantry, what was that about?! finish was about 20yds beyond it. Came through knowing I gave it my all, can't complain about that.
Last bit... 2.03 (7:17avg pace)

Avg pace for the run 8:03! but it turns out with all my weaving and not keeping the racing line, while I hit my required average pace, I measured 6.28miles on the Garmin instead of 6.21 for a proper 10k!

Finish time 50:34 New PB by 15seconds. No more 10k races left this year, it'll have to wait till 2015!

Frosty McSnowballs · 04-08-2014 4:08pm

Finished the R&R half in 1:59:34 (watch time). The finish line clock said 2:06. Il be interested to see the chip time.

That's the longest I have run in one go. I'm happy enough considering my knee acted the bollox from mile 4. Didn't hit the wall and finished strong.

Next half is the race series one....nervous about that now. I didn't really know what I was getting into today.

All in all, happy out.

Strike that, official time says 2:00:01

. Two fecking seconds

although, 6.5 minute miles.

skittles11 · 04-08-2014 4:37pm

Just stumbled upon this thread while looking for chat on the DLR 10k. It's great!

Looking to run my first marathon this year (having injured myself the 2 years previous) and loving all the advice in here. Following the HH N2 plan for the DCM. Going really well this year so want to give it the best go possible. Finished the Clontarf HM in 1.43.25 so confidant I can finish in under 4hrs. My issue is, because of my HM time (for which I had limited training), with a good 4 months training behind me I think I could push for sub 3.40 or even push for the magical sub 3.30. Problem with that is I don't want to push for those times only to blow up at the 30k stage and not be able to finish. Any advice on the best strategy here?

Btw I finished the DLR 10k in 44.04, 9 seconds off my PB but delighted considering I ran a 21km LSR on Saturday.

Itziger · 04-08-2014 4:48pm

KillianByrne wrote: »

Current 10kPB - 50:49 (Fingal 10k 2014)
Target - 49:59 (8:03min/mile)

This race is on 'my' turf so to speak, I occasionally run with a group around here but this was my first time running this race or this course even. But the build up was relaxed and casual. A 1m warm up jog with some stretches happened, but I still had to decide on a race strategy when entering the start corral. The course is pretty much an uphill drag for the first half, downhill for 4k and a flat'ish' finish.

I had enlisted the services of a friend (47min 10k PB) to help me if required, he was looking to run 50mins which suited me fine. I knew 8:03 average would get me there so as I crossed the line, I decided that was the plan.

Felt a small twinge in the hamstring after 1mile, it wasn't going to stop me but I had to decide if I was going to pull out, slow down or keep the pace up. I was bang on pace at the time so decided to push on and deal with the consequences later! There was a lot of weaving through runners which made things difficult.
Mile 1 @ 8:02

Turned off the seafront and hit a big hill towards the end of mile 2 and lost my pacers shoulder, The plan now was to keep him within sight!, hamstring still bothering me but not enough to stop.
Mile 2 @ 8:06

Jeez, Monkstown is a hilly place! uphill for long stretches through mile 3 and past half way to mile 4 (first water station) and things slowed considerably. I was feeling very demoralised here as it was looking like I wasn't even going to make my last PB, let alone break 50mins. The watch was showing 8:17avg pace but I knew what goes up must come down to that kept me going!
Mile 3 @ 8:25
Mile 4 @ 8:25

Turned at the roundabout and I knew I was into a decent downhill stretch, despite the change in elevation many people had stopped to walk and I was passing out people all the time, this is a situation that certainly changes the mood. Ive been that walker before but being the passer makes things much better. I got caught a little with a right hand turn that I hadn't seen on the course map which threw me a little but once I saw the watch clicking off the distance i didn't care. The average place was coming down and that really gave me hope of beating the PB if not the magic 50minute!
Mile 5 @ 7:44

The average kept dropping, down to 8:07 now and I thought 'Bloody Hell, I might have a chance to salvage this here!' more downhill and a flat finish and we could be on to a winner. Was feeling really tired now and several times thought about forgetting all about paces and PB's and just run to the finish, but something there said keep going, theres still a chance.
Mile 6 @ 7:48

Theres a little hill around Teddys Ice Cream, damn it, I didn't bargain on that! The legs were nearly dead at this stage, I ended up breaking the last bit into little stretches and broke my balls to go as fast as I could. The finish line came into sight and I gave it all, but it wasn't the finish, it was some other small gantry, what was that about?! finish was about 20yds beyond it. Came through knowing I gave it my all, can't complain about that.
Last bit... 2.03 (7:17avg pace)

Avg pace for the run 8:03! but it turns out with all my weaving and not keeping the racing line, while I hit my required average pace, I measured 6.28miles on the Garmin instead of 6.21 for a proper 10k!

Finish time 50:34 New PB by 15seconds. No more 10k races left this year, it'll have to wait till 2015!

Well done on the pb. Just to say for future reference, the vast majority of Garmins are slightly inaccurate (there's technical reasons for this which have been explained many times on here). Mine is usually about 1% out sometimes a tiny bit more, sometimes a tiny bit less. My last Half was 21.36km and the last 10k race was 10.13. Something to think about when planning pace and targets. I know it's not much but of course a lot of us are looking to do xx.59 or x:xx:59 !!

Ososlo · 04-08-2014 7:03pm

skittles11 wrote: »

Just stumbled upon this thread while looking for chat on the DLR 10k. It's great!

Looking to run my first marathon this year (having injured myself the 2 years previous) and loving all the advice in here. Following the HH N2 plan for the DCM. Going really well this year so want to give it the best go possible. Finished the Clontarf HM in 1.43.25 so confidant I can finish in under 4hrs. My issue is, because of my HM time (for which I had limited training), with a good 4 months training behind me I think I could push for sub 3.40 or even push for the magical sub 3.30. Problem with that is I don't want to push for those times only to blow up at the 30k stage and not be able to finish. Any advice on the best strategy here?

Btw I finished the DLR 10k in 44.04, 9 seconds off my PB but delighted considering I ran a 21km LSR on Saturday.

Great racing today, well done and welcome to the thread skittles.
No reason whatsoever that you can't get your sub 4 in DCM or a lot better if your training continues to go well and you're doing your long runs at the correct pace, but I wouldn't pick any target times yet. It's a bit early. Most people decide after a half marathon in September as you'll have a much better idea then of your capabilities.
Are you planning on doing another half marathon before DCM?
Also, you shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself with a target time for your first marathon. Most people would advise you to go for a fairly conservative target as there are so many variables for your first. But as I said, it's a little early yet for picking a time so just continue to enjoy your training and re-think the whole thing in another month or 6 weeks.

Ososlo · 04-08-2014 7:14pm

SoundoftheSea wrote: »

Finally feel like a real runner and not someone who was dreading every run and who's body was screaming stop, stop.

10 mile run last Sunday was my best run so far and I felt strong all the way. On my 7 miles this Sunday I actually found myself enjoying every step and thinking about life and looking around instead of trying to convince my body to take the next step.

My short runs have been 9.30/10.30 splits and long runs 10.30/11.30 splits. So I am now trying to run at a pace of 11.00 mm. Its hard to slow down on the short runs but I think that is the correct pace for my LSR and my MP?

Love reading all the posts and I have learnt so much already.
So glad I found this thread and its great to know I have this to help get me over the finish line.

Great running well done! If you're enjoying it then you're doing it right;)
What's your time from Clontarf? I think that's the last race you did?
Keep the LSR very easy and you should always feel like you have a bit left in the tank for a few more miles if you had to and run the MP with a little more effort, but it shouldn't be too taxing as you do have to run 26.2 of them after all:pac:

scheister · 04-08-2014 7:22pm

My plan going off was a 10.30 pace that would end with a 2:15 time. But the way to corrals work the 2:15 paces where in a different section. So i planned to slow down and allow then to catch up. But quickly notice this would not happen as the crowd carried me in the 1st mile looking at my garmin i realised i needed to slow down so tried to keep it above 9:50 as the new pace. The 1st mile came in at 9.50 on the nose. As we went further down the quays i had to slow myself down a few times to shop the pace getting faster then i wanted it to be. The 2nd mile came in a little faster at 9.43. As part of the 3rd mile we had the slight decline at Christchurch cathedral so the pace was a little faster in this mile coming in at 9.38. The next 3 mile passing islandbridge inchicore and kilmanagh were striaght forward enough and i was pacing a little better. The pace for these 3 came in at 9:49 9:43, 9.43.

As we entered Phoenix Park i was feeling well but also knew that I would need a little extra for the 2nd half as their was a lot of hills. At i continued the 7th mile the pace starting falling to the wrong side of 10 minutes so i picked the pace up a little to try and keep the other side of 10 minutes. The 7th mile was the slowest of the day at 9:54. But this seemed to be a blimp rather then a sign of things to come as the 8th mile can in 9:38 which i could feel was to fast but sure what can ya do. The 9th and 10th mile were grand but i felt the path was very tight and made it a little hard to over take. Also at this point i was planning to run the last 3.1 at PMP so i did not mind if i had to slow down for a little while the paces came in at 9.43 and 9.37 little fast then the earlier ones but was feeling very well but tired to keep it within 20 seconds of the slowest mile.
So i decided the last 3.1 at pmp so at the 10 mile point picked the pace up but looking at my garmin i could see the pace was a little 2 fast as it showed 7.30 so i slowed down to get it to around 9 per mile which i did. As i started the next mile i could see the lovely hill so i knew the pace would fall a small bit, but pushed to try and keep it close to PMP while this was the hardest mile of the day as a result i was able to run it in 9.15 which was not bad. For the last mile I went I was finding myself nearing closer to 8.50 pace then the 9 so tried to slow but but as i saw the finish line finally appearing this was hard as my body pushed to get the race finished so this mile came in at 8.51. For the last 100 yards i decided to give it socks and see what happens. Only issue at this point was the crowd was spilling onto the course so it was a bit narrow so had to slow down where needed but still finished off with a nice sprint.

Overall I enjoyed the race and found the course a very nice one. While at the start 5 water stations seemed a lot but with the way the heat was today it was actual just enough. While i stuck to only getting the water at the station as i carried my own gels. Also am sorry to the few people I cut in front of at times in the race was not meant.

laura_ac3 · 04-08-2014 8:09pm

Hi all,

Well done to those racing today. Interesting reading the race reports.

Just had a quick question - I was wondering if anyone was planning on doing the athlone 3/4 marathon? I was reading up on it and alot of people seem to use it as prep for dcm and that's what they aim for with the race. Obviously I would never intend racing it due to the proximity to dcm but use it as one of my 20 milers, from reading about it this is something alot of people do.

Kind of like the idea of doing a 20 mile with lots of others around for motivation etc. I wouldn't want to do it if it was a really bad idea timing wise but as I'll be doing a 20 mile around that time it seems like it could be good prep.

KillianByrne · 04-08-2014 8:18pm

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Hi all,

Well done to those racing today. Interesting reading the race reports.

Just had a quick question - I was wondering if anyone was planning on doing the athlone 3/4 marathon? I was reading up on it and alot of people seem to use it as prep for dcm and that's what they aim for with the race. Obviously I would never intend racing it due to the proximity to dcm but use it as one of my 20 milers, from reading about it this is something alot of people do.

Kind of like the idea of doing a 20 mile with lots of others around for motivation etc. I wouldn't want to do it if it was a really bad idea timing wise but as I'll be doing a 20 mile around that time it seems like it could be good prep.

I signed up last week, heard lots of good things about it; I like the idea of pacing it actually, and the pacers being easily identified with marathon times. i.e: I will probably follow the 4hr pacer

Also and a purely selfish reason, with my MIL living in Ballinasloe it means we can visit, without me actually having to be there!

Pacing Mule · 04-08-2014 9:35pm

Throwing this here as well as my own log so apologies for those who see this twice. Race reports from fellow novices always interest me as it gives you an insight into where everyone is at. Here's where I am currently

Previous 10k PB 57:52
Previous DLR 10k route PB 01:02:xx

As anyone who reads my log on a regular basis knows I was caught in two minds on this due to recent injuries, changing of running style after the chi running course I attended and overall eye on the DCM prize. Even entering it was a last minute change of mind. So late that they only had medium t shirts left but as it turned out I can actually fit in one these days. A great start !

I knew a PB was on the cards even without racing it 100% - the old PB time set back in March was already looking soft considering the recent progress. Indeed prior to the layoff and reduced training I would have had a reasonable chance at sub 50. A sub 40 5 mile being evidence of this. If I had of gone out to try and get this I'd have wrecked myself but there was still a decent PB to be had. Set off roughly aiming at 54 minutes but was open to suggestion on the day depending on how I felt. Main thing for me was not to push myself too much on the hills as this had a great injury risk.

Lined up this morning on what was a glorious day. I love the DLR 10k - It's a local race to my hometown, the organisation is top notch. Little things like a water station at the start to hydrate beforehand (which also doubles as a late in race water station on the way back round) really go a long way. Off we went on time and straight away I was penned in by the usual crowd of slower runners who seemed to be forming a line right across the road. Wasn't too bothered as I wasn't chasing a set time as such but if I was trying to hit a sub 50 I'd have been crying

Got some space after half a mile and after that it was all my own running. I knew the first half was hilly but had for some reason remembered the first mile as being flatter than it actually was.
Mile 1 8:13

Not too bad. Felt good and more importantly felt fresh enough not having gone all out. So began continued the drag up to the halfway point. 2 miles here of fairly consistent climbing. The occasional flat stretch but overall an energy sapping climb that the first time I ran this race reduced me to a walk. Today it reduced many others to a walk too but I was ok. Reduced the speed slightly on all of the actual climb parts, dug in but didn't really push them as was the plan.
Mile 2,3 8:29, 8:44

Hit the halfway mark in bang on 27 minutes. Was quite happy at that point. The worst of the hills was over and a negative split would see me creep in under 54. I felt at that stage that this would be easy. I was wrong.

Took a strategic walk through the water station costing myself a few seconds but again wasn't chasing a hard target time so could afford this. Approx 3.5 miles into the race you hit the peak as such and from there it's net downhill. There is approx 120ft of a difference from start elevation to here and strava tells me there was a total of 210ft of climbing done today all round.
Mile 4 8:47

The walk through the water station had cost me the bit of time there and I realised at that point I needed to up my game a bit if I wanted to achieve a sub 54 minute time. Concentrated on the chi running style which when I successfully pulled off increased my speed for sure with the same effort level but I was getting tired - more tired than expected. The hills had taken a bit of a toll as did the heat. And I was falling out of the style on a regular basis. Unexpectedly Mrs Mule and the kids were here having been unable to gain access to the finish area with road closures so it was great timing to see them. I also saw Mr Stew during this mile and the man looked very healthy. Was delighted for him - big high five and hearty congratulations for his return to health. Later on there was a few minutes where I thought I had accosted a random stranger after Marthastew mentioned he was at the rock n roll half marathon supporting her. The man though managed to fit in two events today

Fair play to him and to all those who came out and supported.
Mile 5 8:24

Slightly surprised by that split - thought I had upped it a bit and this was a predominately downhill section. Realised then that this wasn't going to be the walk in the park I thought my earlier holding back would set me up for. From then on in it got tough. Heat was taking its toll. Passed a man down on elton park with first aid around him. Actually felt a bit woosy myself at this point and began to wonder should I abandon the sub 54 and crawl home safely. Eased off a little and silently counted down the distance. Left turn onto the sea front and I was into the last 1k. Needed to speed up a little to get under 54.
Mile 6 8:33

Cruel feckers the route planners here. a) Another hill to sap your strenght and then b) a gantry that looked like the finish from a distance (was probably a backup chip reader) but you then realise the actual finish is further up the road as you approach it.
Avg Pace 8:02

New PB 53:20

Crossed the line having given it a bit more than I planned with a new PB of 53:20. All things considered am quite happy with that. I left a little time out there and it's still a soft PB in the greater scheme of things but there was no way I could have hit sub 50 today. Still a bit to go to regain fitness that would put me in with a shout. The course as well is certainly not a PB course either.

Superbly run event. Will be back next year.

DCM 2014: Mentored Novices Thread

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