Running away

AuldManKing

Best wishes - hope it goes great for you - a very consistent training block - when things get difficult, you've something to look back on and knock those demons off your shoulder.

ariana`

A those damn demons are gonna get their asses kicked tomorrow 😄

Thanks y'all. Looking forward to it now.

ariana`

Week 10 of 10

Monday: 6 * 1min on/on.

Tues: 4m easy

Wed: Supposed to be another easy but took it off as felt a head cold coming on 🙄🙄🙄

Thurs: OFF

Fri: 3m shakeout with a few strides

Sat: Marathon 🤪🤪🤪

Sun: OFF

ReeReeG

I hope we'll be getting a nice detailed race report :)

ariana`

Marathon report

The week of

The build up to this race went pretty well. Tuesday I had a rub down with my PT who I've been going to since 2017. I hadn't seen him in this past year as no real need. As expected he found some tight spots (mostly glutes) but he remarked that things were much better than he expected and also remarked that I have 'proper runner's legs now'! Not quite sure what he meant but i took both comments as good signs! 

Tuesday evening I did an easy run after which i couldn't warm up. Just one of those evenings where i felt chilly all evening and sure enough woke up Wed feeling a slight sniffle. Wed was a miserable day, I wouldn't usually let the rain stop me but with the sniffle and it being race week I erred on the side of caution and decided less is more and skipped my easy run. Spent the day and the following day drinking Lemsips and upping my Vit C intake. Felt ok, like i was fighting off a head cold but I felt I was winning and keeping it at bay at least!  

Fuelled and hydrated really well on Thurs/Fri. I tracked my macros with help from a good friend who knows more about macros than I do, and increased my carb intake without feeling bloated/stuffed at all. Really felt i got my pre-race nutrition and hydration on point, confidence was building nicely.  

Generally felt quite calm all week. Fri the nerves kicked in a bit but I had a fairly easy day, no travelling, no expo and no eating out to negotiate. I've enjoyed all these aspects of doing Dublin but it was also a welcome change to experience a logistically easier marathon week. 

I didn't sleep well on Fri night but no panic about that as I had slept well all week. I was up about 5:50, had my porridge, got my bits together and hit the road about 6:50. Picked up a couple of friends en route and sure we were up and parked in jig time, no traffic to contend with, a couple of torrential showers on the way but the sun was trying to come out when we parked up. Nice bit of buzz around, lots of runners milling about warming up etc. Jogged over to Jurys to use the facilities there and got back to the car about 8:10 to do the final bits of prep. On the jog back from Jurys I had felt a little sharp spasm in my right glute so I rubbed in a bit of deep heat and thought nothing more of it. I've been managing 2 slipped discs for the past 20 odd years so the odd spasm like that is not unusual, once upon a time I had fairly permanent pain but I've come a long way since then and mostly now it's very well managed and I can't remember the last time I've had a flare up. In no time we were heading to the start line, yay!  

The race plan

I was hoping to sit comfortable around 8:40-8:45 pace for most of the race and perhaps be able to find a bit extra for the last few miles. I had run 18 miles of a 22 mile long run @ 8:33min/m fairly comfortably so if anything I felt I may just be selling myself a little bit short. Time would tell...  

The race

The route is made up of 6 laps - 2 short laps + 4 longer laps. The short ones were about 2.3miles and the long ones about 5.4miles. I started well back the pack, there was 30 seconds between my gun time & chip time so I must have nearly started at the very back. I was still with my friends at the start but as they were aiming for 4:30 and I was aiming for a significantly quicker time I made sure to leave them pretty early in the first mile. It was lovely at this stage, a good crowd around and lots of happy chatter. I was on my own but quite enjoyed listening to the various conversations going on around me - very typical of first time marathoners at the slower end of things. I felt a bit smug at this stage being the experienced marathon runner that I am LOL. On my watch screen I had current lap pace and total time, this was all I needed. 

Miles 0-5 (2 short laps) - 9:00, 8:46, 8:43, 8:39, 8:41

These ticked by very quickly and I was doing exactly what I planned to do. Felt great for these 2 short loops. Took my 1st (of 3) gels after 35 mins. Didn't feel the need of it but isn't that the whole idea to take them before you need them. 

Miles 6-10 - 8:43, 8:53, 8:46, 8:46, 8:46

This was my 1st big lap, out to Blackrock, a slightly slower mile up the couple of little drags here by the golf course, back down the little hill by the caravan park and back in the promenade. I took my 2nd gel towards the end of this, after 1hr 15mins. Still feeling pretty good but feeling a slight tightening of the right ITB, nothing to panic about, I've felt this before on long runs and it usually goes away again, it's never been an issue so why should it be today? 

Miles 11-15 - 8:51, 8:43, 8:44, 8:39, 8:41

The 2nd big lap. Still ticking over on plan, looking forward to getting past half-way. I hit 13miles in 1:54:01 so knew I was on for 3:50 or thereabouts, but something was nagging me here, the ITB pain hadn't gone away, in fact I think I can feel my upper hamstring and please tell me it's just demons but right down to the outside of the knee just felt sore. Oh god please tell me this is just demons, f**k off demons. At 2hrs 05mins I took my 3rd/final gel on the way back along the promenade for the 2nd time.  

Miles 16-20 - 8:48, 8:53, 8:56, 8:55, 8:51

Lots and lots of pain here, from my hip to the outside of my knee and down to the front of my shin were all just screaming at me, I felt I had lost some power in that leg, I was dragging it or that's what it felt like. Lots of questions here. Did i go out too fast? Should I slow down? Will that even help? Should I stop? I haven't done that much i could recover quickly and do another one in a month or two. Can I even finish? Is there a chance I can still finish under 4 hours? Do I even want to finish if i don't finish under 4 hours? Will I be at home tonight having a pity party? Oh god no, I don't want another pity party. Remember Alan's post, tell those demons to go and just f*** off, you're going to do this. You're still killing it and sub 4 is not gone, each mile of this was just me convincing myself to keep it under 9:00, get to 20 under 9:00, it was like a mantra, I had to dig so deep for miles 18, 19 & 20. It was heart breaking watching the splits creep up but I was still under 9:00 and as long as I was under 9:00 then I was ok (mentally that is, physically I was anything but). 

Miles 21-24 - 8:56, 9:04, 9:07, 9:25

The turn into the finish area is hard, the wind hits you immediately when you make that turn and you are against it for the next 2 miles, you also hit a winding stony section through the finish area. At the end of mile 21 I turned into the finish area for the last time without actually finishing, the next time I'd be finishing. Each time i made that turn the wind seemed stronger than the previous time and this time was no different, i was on my own as I had been for most of this race since those early short laps, there was no shelter, nobody to hide behind, I was in a world of pain but I had only 1 more lap and next time I was going to be finished. The pace slipped over 9:00 here for the first time (I hadn't registered the opening mile), I was disappointed but I was also knew I couldn't do much about it, just try to keep it low 9s I told myself, you can pick it back up when you turn at the other end, I kept it low 9s for 2 miles but the last of these miles included the hills up by the golf course and also the hill back down by the caravan park, funny but at this stage the downhill hurt me a lot lot more than the uphill, whatever was going on with my knee i was so close to tears running down that blasted little lane hill by the caravan park, I didn't stop running, I didn't walk but i was crawling and I was hurting, and my pride was hurting. This was to be my slowest mile. 

Miles 25-26.2 - 8:51, 8:37, 7:59 (.28)

Just back along the promenade to go now. This was a bit of a blur. I was in a kind of meditative state just focussed on putting one foot in front of the other. I had already bled time, I was disappointed, I didn't want to be any more disappointed. I had been stalking Strava during the week for previous year's participants, we've all seen it, some of us have run it, that typical marathon profile you see where everything is smooth until 21 miles and then in the last 5 miles minutes are haemorrhaged. I've been there, I've had that experience and I didn't want to do it again. Yes, I had leaked time already but that wasn't going to be how this story ends, I was back on the flat with the wind behind me I could get back under 9, I just had to keep on pushing until the end. At this stage the uneven concrete was pure torture and all the walkers, the 10k walkers were out en force, they paid their entry, they had a right to be there but did they have to walk 4 abreast, really. When the watch beeped for 26 miles i could see the finish area but my god it still looked so so far away, had they moved it, it looked to be way further away than I remember from all the other times I came in sight of the finish area but I was running and I was running past people and at this stage I could feel nothing except pure desire to reach that line and for the pain to stop. 

The Aftermath

Of course the pain didn't stop when I reached the finish line. I sit here 2 days later with an ice pack strapped to my swollen knee. Maybe running on wasn't the sensible thing. I'm proud I dug deep, I've never dug that deep before. The organisation was excellent. Lots of crew out on the course handing out water and encouragement. Quite a few supporters around as well which was nice. However, I thought the course was tough. The concrete, the wind, the volume of walkers/obstacles. I wouldn't do it again. On the positives I got my fuelling right, the 3 gels were grand, I didn't hit a wall, there was none of the oft experienced dry retching, no chaffing, the pace never felt too much for my fitness... However the distance may have been too much for the condition of my body, a friend suggested, and Dr. google seems to confirm, that i may have a medial collateral ligament injury, i will give it a few days of ice & rest and reassess. I'm happy with result I got, I did what I set out to do 10 weeks ago. Chip time 3:51:52, a PB of 34mins 26seconds since DCM 2019, avg. pace 8:49min/m. 

Thanks for reading and good luck to all those reading this who may have their marathons in the coming weeks. It's a beast but by god it's some buzz too 😉

ReeReeG

Wowwwww the things you don't know from a Strava upload eh? That's an amazing result given the pain you were in, I don't know how you did it but I am delighted for you. Hopefully rest and ice will be plenty for recovery, hope the family are spoiling you :) I'm in awe!!!! What a finish you had.

Lambay island

Well Done - excellent execution. You dug deep when you needed too and then finished strong. Hope your injury heels quick. You also described the route perfectly. That is a sneakily tighter turn than expected at the end of that lane next to caravan park too.

yido1882

Brilliant report and really well raced, to be in that pain with so much of the race to go and to stay pushing on takes some doing.

Congrats on the sub 4, it's really well deserved for all your training and the support you've given to everyone on here.

skyblue46

I'm with V on this one.....the story a Strava upload doesn't tell! What could I say to you after sending you a pic of sandbags on WhatsApp a few weeks ago? Pmsl. Massive congratulations on the huge PB and great to see that there is obviously lots more in there. Mind that injury and there are lots more PBs ahead at every distance.

aquinn

Eh, that sounds fairly awful. You started so positive and well and like others said you wouldn't have known from Strava the absolute effort and pain.

E it was a very gusty performance you should be extremely proud of. I'm proud of you as a fantastic time and a brilliant PB. Massive congratulations again, sure that all sounds horrific.

When you can I want to learn more about this: 'Fuelled and hydrated really well on Thurs/Fri. I tracked my macros with help from a good friend who knows more about macros than I do, and increased my carb intake without feeling bloated/stuffed at all'

Laineyfrecks

That's some race report! Take a lot from the guts & utter determination it took to see this race out, I really admire that. Being a fellow female on a very male dominated forum I have really enjoyed following your training block which has been consistent & you worked hard during it which will stand to you completely for future runs. Looking at all the different Marathon reports over the last few weeks just shows what a beast the Marathon actually is & sometimes things are just out of our control!

In saying that I hope you are absolutely thrilled & so proud of getting your sub 4 hour result, what a great PB for you🤗 Take care & I can't wait to see what the future holds for your running.

Murph_D

Ah well done, had no idea there was so much difficulty and pain involved, so now I'm properly impressed. Very well done, and great detailed report!

Omeceron

Super running and digging in. Delighted for you.

Wubble Wubble

Brilliant race and report E. Really dug in to save the sub-4. Massive PB a more than just reward for the training and effort on the day.

ThebitterLemon

Super stuff, great guts and determination to see it through. I’ll think of you next time I’m hurting.

Make sure it’s not your back, initial glute and hammy pain could have stemmed from a pinched nerve and caused the knock on effect with the knee.

Congrats on the PB 👏👏👏

TbL

Swashbuckler

If ever a strava upload didn't reflect the reality! Unreal run E. Just brilliant. Hopefully the injury is nothing serious.

I was anxiously refreshing strava at the weekend to see your result....you took forever to upload! It just looked like you had the normal battle to hold it together for a few miles but then motored on.

Huge result and great report. Onwards and upwards.

Dubh Geannain

Congrats on a super time. That's some serious grit shown to finish it out too. Hopefully a quick recovery for you.

healy1835

Excellently raced and reported. I could relate to a lot of your late race thoughts 😯

Mr. Guappa

I'm blown away by that report - had no idea from strava of what you went through. Unreal guts and heart to dig in and smash the sub 4. No doubt that further massive PB's await at all distances, and it's so deserved. I too spent far too long on Saturday impatiently refreshing strava for your upload 😊

ariana`

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I'm recovering thankfully, still some twinges and I think a physio session will be no harm, at least find out what I need to work on and maybe even actually do it this time 😳

A few days on from it and I'm beginning to wonder if I imagined the pain and could I really really not have eked out a little bit more. No surprise to anyone reading this I'm sure as we're all the same breed but after the event I was certain 'no more marathons', two days later it was 'maybe another marathon but definitely not Galway' and now 5 days later 'well, Galway was very very handy' 😂🙄

The mind is a force to be reckoned with 😉

Swashbuckler

Would you consider Limerick?

ariana`

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117987320#Comment_117987320

I wouldn't rule it out P. I did really appreciate the logistical easiness of Galway. Limerick would be similar for me in that it's only an hour down a familiar the road, I know Limerick reasonably well and have lots of family living in the city and around & about too etc... Don't get me wrong I love DCM and in some ways nothing will ever compare to it but logistically you have no choice but to travel up the day before and deal with the expo, hotels, taxis etc. But right now I have no plans yet for what to do next. May even take a year to work on shorter stuff! It's a shame in a way that marathons are so addictive, you are right to hold off cos you do one you can't stop 😉

Swashbuckler

Haha I won't be holding off for long...gonna see what way I come out the other end of this three kids madness.. also moving to a new role at work... I don't do myself any favours do I... To be honest the past year I've definitely felt it mentally doing the 5k/10k training.. those are hard sessions to up yourself for week in week out all year round. If things have settled for me by the end of the year and Ive maintained decent shape I wouldn't rule out Limerick marathon myself but it's unlikely..I can only see me spending a couple of months with interrupted sleep and a stressful ramp up in the new role at work.

Anyway sorry I've made this all about me..lol..Yeah I figured Limerick would have a convenience for you and logistically it's just easier. Easier to get here. Easier to get around. Easier accommodation. Maybe an Easier route than DCM? Less support though...

And finishes just in time to still allow you to do DCM.....maybe.....

skyblue46

Are you just doing the Amsterdam half as a recovery run or is that dependent on the physio visit?

ariana`

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117988015#Comment_117988015

You could always use your own log to write about yourself 😜😜😜

But super to hear you speak of a marathon in the not to distant future, I think it might suit you.

@skyblue46 definitely just a recovery run. I won't rule out targeting a HM next but I think it's too soon for a hard effort even if I was so inclined.

The Black Oil

Brilliant racing and report! The sub 4 support thread should take note.

Bluesquare

Well done on your pb and for pushing past the demons . Great race report !

ariana`

Thanks TBO & BS.

Nothing much happening here since. I took 8 days complete rest, followed by a couple of short easy runs, followed by Amsterdam Half @ a comfortable pace, another few rest days and more short easy runs to get me to 3 weeks post marathon. Back to slightly longer but still easy runs this week, week #4 post marathon.

Not sure what's next. Maybe a Spring half.

Swashbuckler

Was hoping to hear more about the post race Amsterdam shenanigans but similar to skyblues and Oonegatives tales of debauchery it seems like what happens in Holland stays in Holland...lol

ariana`

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118080752#Comment_118080752

Haha sorry to disappoint you P. We were fairly civilised anyhow... in comparison to that other pair it wouldn't be hard 😛