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Leader Of The (Mid) Pack
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hillsiderunner wrote: »Good luck with the target. Am likely to be supporting near the KCR but don't have a clue who anyone is (expect annapr). So it will be general cheers only!
Thanks HSR
Sandy cap, shades, MSB singlet (light green, blue trim), black shorts and socks. The field should have separated out a fair bit at 16 miles or so 
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Wubble Wubble wrote: »hillsiderunner wrote: »Good luck with the target. Am likely to be supporting near the KCR but don't have a clue who anyone is (expect annapr). So it will be general cheers only!
Thanks HSR Sandy cap, shades, MSB singlet (light green, blue trim), black shorts and socks. The field should have separated out a fair bit at 16 miles or so
Should have really asked all the novices to source that exact outfit. It would have been great, 30+ WW's running the marathon 0 -
Tue 24/10 - Rest
Still coughing every so often, therefore I had to leave the 200s till another marathon cycle. Oh well. Sometimes certain things are for the best
Wed 25/10 - Club session, Morton Stadium
I was feeling a bit more like myself today, so I decided to head over to Santry and give the body a quick speed test on the track. The session was 3 x 800m with 2 min recoveries. The other two clubmates present were doing four reps, as they're not doing DCM.
The three of us are close in standard, so it worked quite well; certainly far better than solo 200s would have turned out. Alone, I would have ended up wrecked after three or four 200s, and gasping my way through the rest.
First 800 rep was 97/97; a consistency I rarely manage, even in these sessions. Pleasantly surprised
Second was a poor 93/96; I knew I'd gone out too quick on the first lap, and couldn't maintain it on the second. You may be thinking "it was five seconds quicker than the one before"; my point of view being that I ran at a pace which I couldn't hold.
My last rep was a much more pleasing 97/93, with a nice pickup over the final 200 metres to pull nicely clear of my colleagues. A little over three miles in total tonight, adding in warmup and cooldown laps.
I'm feeling much better now, and ready to give this one a shot. Certainly, if I follow half the advice I gave to the Novices across the way, I should be more than capable of getting the job done.
It's my third marathon, so that's something I should be able to use to my advantage (compared to first timers), to know the right spots to push, and know when to ease off if something isn't working. It's going to be sore, that I do know. If it's not, I'm not doing it right, with a fail being the likely outcome. A conservative strategy seems the best way to open proceedings, but I'm not going to just sit back for the duration either. I'll have to fight for my A goal, and be prepared to take myself out of my comfort zone, which I haven't really done in most of my races this year - the Docklands 5k being a notable exception. I'll leave you with a quote I love, which kind of sums up the fact that if I don't try, I'll get nothing (well, not my target!)
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"
- Wayne Gretzky
- Michael Scott0 -
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Best of Luck Sunday, have a good one.
Thanks again, I know how it feels to miss out on DCM. I watched DCM 2014 from the sidelines, and had to wait another two years to become a DCM Graduate (didn't enter DCM 2015).The best of luck Sunday J, Enjoy!!
Thanks L. Your comeback seems to be progressing nicely!Best of luck!
Thanks C, I remember talking to you after DCM 2016. DCM 2018 for you maybe?Hope you have a great race - enjoy!
Nice one, although if I'm enjoying it too much after 22 miles, it's not a good sign overallOOnegative wrote: »All the best WW, hope it goes well for you. Run well. Bravo on an excellent job with the Novices to, am sure they will all do you proud on Sunday.
Thanks B, looking forward to tomorrow, there's going to be some super Novice performances, of that I'm certain.hot buttered scones wrote: »Have a good one! Best of luck.
Thanks M, might catch you before you head off, with a bit of luck.Love the quote, J... no doubt you will give it your all. Have a great day and hope to see you after!!!
From "The Office - An American Workplace" Trying to put thoughts of post marathon pints to the back of my mind for now :pac:All the best! A good result is more than deserved for the effort you put into Boards alone, even outside of the training well part. I don't know how you do it!
Cool, thanks a million! Well to be fair, the role of Novices mentor does take up a lot of your time, especially this last couple of weeks. Even after reading through threads from previous years, you don't realise it until you do it yourself. Sure I've had a bit of help, to be fairThe very best of luck tomorrow J and your quote has hit home. Fair play for taking so much time out of a very busy schedule to help out the novices this year. Will catch ya post race in Mc Grattans.
Thanks again D. Leinster Club championship match this afternoon, and we're going for the league on Monday. A veritable feast of activity this weekend :pac:
Just to bring activity (what little there was) up to date.
Thu 26/10 - 3.1 miles @8:47/mi
Carpenterstown loop, with a couple of 100m strides thrown in. Legs felt surprisingly heavy when I went to pick up the pace. It's probably due to the 800s the night before. Foam rolling session followed nonetheless :cool:
Fri 27/10 - Rest
Out to the RDS at lunchtime to get my bib and bag. Why do all these bars have to have nuts in them? Straight in the bin when I got home.
Sat 28/10 - 2.4 miles @9:49/mi
Four laps of Tír na nÓg (roughly half mile laps). Surprisingly breezy there. Legs felt a lot better for the two 100m strides, both on the last lap - one with the breeze behind me on the long side of the triangle, the other into the breeze towards the end of the straight. This was followed by a volunteering stint at Porterstown parkrun, as I decided marshalling would be more beneficial than running it.
Well, here we are. This time tomorrow, it will all be unravelling unfolding around the DCM course. Somewhat surprisingly, I'm not thinking "What was I at, signing up for this again?!" More like, this is a chance to really improve my marathon PB after the last few months of training.
It feels like my running activity is building up to some sort of climax, with my stint as Novices mentor also coming to an end. Last year I was in McGrattans for post marathon pints, as my predecessor Nop congratulated our new DCM 2016 Graduates who made it in. Little did I think at the time, that a year later I would be about to do the same. Not sure whether I'm more excited/nervous about running my own marathon or meeting happy Novices Graduates afterwards! Fasten your seatbelts, this could be a bumpy ride.....but hopefully one with lots of happy endings Good luck all!
J.0 -
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Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 18,550 CMod ✭✭✭✭
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Sorry to hear. Sounds like the right thing as it wasn't going well.
Moderator: Television, Psychology and Dublin County North.
CMod: Entertainment
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Thanks for all the good wishes!
Two days later, I'm pretty sure my downfall was caused by either an old cold which I thought I'd shaken off earlier in the week, or a new one which I picked up immediately prior to DCM. What is true is that as I'm sitting here typing, I've got a stuffy nose, and my throat isn't fully cleared up. It didn't feel like that on Sunday morning :rolleyes:
Anyway.
Sun 29/10 - Dublin City Marathon
Pre Race
After starting my DCM training on the hills of Inishbofin at the end of June, I ran my first sub-20 5k in the Docklands race. Subsequently I discovered the Asics sub 3:30 16 week plan, and used this for speed sessions in particular.
Races included the Fingal 10k, which although I got a PB, was one of my worst ever performances. The others were a too fast Rock 'N' Roll HM, which knocked me back for a couple of weeks, and the Race Series HM, which I treated as a progression run.
In spite of missing four out of five LSRs over August and September, I'd trained well in the closing weeks, and was confident of nailing the elusive sub 3:30.
My wife dropped me to Haddington Road about 7:30 or thereabouts. A clubmate had kindly offered the use of his offices near the start and finish, for us to relax before and after with toilets, shower etc. This was brilliant, as it saved me the hassle of queueing to drop in a clear bag, with all my paraphernalia on display :eek:
I found 3:30 pacer FBOT before the start, and told him to shout at me if I passed him anywhere in the first half. That certainly wasn't the plan :pac: Bit of waiting around to get going, and after a walk became a shuffle, which became a slow jog, we were off and running.
Miles 1-3
Very, very slow in the opening few ks. The pacers were pulling away, but I was comfortable with this, as I had lots of time to reel them in if I was good enough on the day. No drama really, apart from the first water stop at 4k was a bit mad. Thankfully I managed to grab a bottle, even though I had to come to a near stop to do so.
Miles 4-6
Easy does it through the narrow roads around the Garda HQ. I'd been running with a group of four or five from Rosses AC, but pulled away from them along the slow drag of Chesterfield Avenue. I spotted AGYR at the Phoenix roundabout and gave her a shout. In return I got "COME ON WUBBLE WUBBLE!!" :pac:
Not much else to report through here, apart from spotting a lad with a mock bloodied hurling helmet with a hurl sticking through it, who was getting plenty of cheers. It was very breezy, but I found a couple of bigger lads to run behind, so it was smooth sailing for now.
Miles 7-9
Through Castleknock Gate, and I'm hit by the amazing support all the way from there up to Myo's. Through 10k in 51:33, 8:18 min/mi. This is fine. Nearly at the end of the longest drag in DCM, and the pacers aren't completely out of touch. As I swung left at Myo's, I saw my wife and her pal out of the corner of my eye, so I turned back down the hill and gave my wife a kiss, to cheers from the crowd
Back up the hill, and loads of friends and clubmates along here cheering us on, right up to Castleknock College. A couple of nice downhill miles followed, to bring us down to Chapelizod Gate. Another clubmate was supporting along here. I was indeed looking (and feeling) strong!
Miles 10-13
Another water station beside Donore Harriers. I made it my business to pick up water at every station. More great support as we turned left after crossing the Liffey. scotindublin was on St Laurence's Road and gave me a shout. 10 miles in the bag, all fairly straightforward. I had to work through the hill, but kept the effort even up to Ballyfermot, and again at the end of mile 11 entering Inchicore. On the narrow Inchicore Road, apart from having to dodge around an old lady walking her dog, it was easy coming to Kilmainham. Lots more support here to help with the short but steep climb to SCR. Nothing much of interest between there and Dolphin's Barn, where the roars of the large crowd were in stark contrast to most of what was immediately before us.
Miles 14-16
Over the Grand Canal, and for the first time I felt like I had to start digging in for more than a minute or two. Through halfway in 1:46:46, 8:01 min/mi.
Crumlin Road is awful to run along. It's long, straight and boring. As usual, the wind was against us, and the support was, for the most part, relatively sparse. So it was a case of get the head down and the legs moving. I found the broken white lines in the middle of the road, and just focussed on those until we were moved into the right hand side of the road at Our Lady's Hospital. On Drimnagh Road, I spotted an old friend from home up ahead, and eventually passed him on the drag up through Walkinstown. Swinging left at the roundabout, we were in another quiet zone on Cromwellsfort Road. Not much support, and no chat among the marathoners ; virtually the only thing you could hear was the sound of runners pounding the road. However, I had gained a bit on the pacers. They were maybe 200-250 metres in the distance. Having got through the horror stretch from Dolphin's Barn to Walkinstown roundabout, I was thinking I was right in the game. The strategy was being executed to perfection.
Mile 17
Keith Hunt: Does the word Titanic mean anything to you?
Alan Partridge: Oh yeah, people go on about Titanic, Titanic... Let me tell you something about the Titanic, people forget, people forget that on the Titanic's maiden voyage there were over 1000 miles of uneventful, very pleasurable cruising before it hit the iceberg!
(Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge)
Cruising down towards KCR, a little over 10 miles to go. Legs felt great considering I'd run 16 miles of a marathon. I knew I'd have to scrap, but at the same time, it was on! And then BOOM! I suddenly start to feel a bit of dizziness. Alarm bells going off. No warning. Luckily, there were toilets just before KCR, so I ducked into one for a minute. Which became 2-3 minutes. I think. I was seeing spots in front of my eyes while in the portaloo, and I could feel my legs starting to go. Even so, I decided to get back out, and see if I could work my way back into it, starting at a much slower pace. Disaster. I could feel myself rapidly losing power, with people I thought I'd left behind an hour or more before now sailing by, while I was completely unable to offer any resistance. This wasn't going to work. No chance. I had no idea where the next medical station was, as I shuffled along Fortfield Road. I was convinced I'd have to get all the way down to Terenure village - another mile and a half further on, give or take. Mercifully, passing Greenlea Road I saw a medical van and stepped off.
They did the basic checks, while wrapping me up in a space blanket. HR was fine, oxygen levels great. Nothing like after the R'N'R. Anyway, I was gutted, sitting there feeling like I'd completely failed. It seemed like an eternity before me and a few others were given a lift back to Merrion Square in a medical car.
Of course, while all this was going on, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to collect my stuff from my clubmate's workplace. Surely by now everyone else would have been long since finished, and either gone for a pint or gone home? My phone was in my bag, and I didn't know anyone's number. To my great relief, my clubmate was still waiting there when I got back! A shower later, and it was time to head to McGrattans, while I updated those who were worried about me disappearing off the tracker.
Aftermath
As it turned out, the first friendly face I spotted in McGrattans was that of annapr, who also had a DNF, so at least we were able to console each other! RedRunner came in shortly afterwards, beaming from ear to ear, and who could blame him, after all his injury worries. From there, I made my way around and found some very happy DCM 2017 Graduates. Spending time in their company was a joy, on a very special day for them, and for me as their mentor. I'll have to wear the t-shirt when I get back out and about. Love it
Others I met in McGrattans included a delighted Singer, KennyG (for the first time, finally!) a suitably chuffed Murph_D, FBOT (who of course I never did pass in the end) as well as AGYR and (also for the first time) aero2k.
Future Plans
Well that's it. I didn't achieve immortality. Neither did the 2017 Lions.
(Un)fortunately, I've no intention of tackling Clonakilty or the Curragh :pac:
In less than six months time, I'll have completed my degree, and there are two assignments due in mid-November. That will be my main focus until late April. I'm even going to miss the Raheny 5 for the first time in six years, as it clashes directly with a college seminar.
As running goes, I'll just be keeping myself ticking over in the interim. No races to train for as such, just get out and run them really. The BHAA Irish Life XC on November 18 in Santry will probably be my next race. Jingle Bells is also high up on the list, as I hope to improve my 5k PB before the end of the year.
Other than that, I plan to have covered all the Dublin parkruns (three outstanding) before end 2017, and I'm aiming to give the Dublin and Leinster Masters XC races another crack in January. Marathons wise, I haven't been put off trying more, although in the second half of 2018 I want to concentrate on shorter distances. In practice, this will probably mean a load of HMs Connemarathon 2019, if all goes to plan, will be the next marathon I train for.
As always, thanks for reading. Go dtí an chéad uair eile, slán go fóill.
J.0 -
Hard luck again, J. I hadn't realised you'd gotten all the way to 17 miles, so that's even harder to take than an early exit. Very odd. But you're in one piece and will have plenty of opportunities to put this behind you. Disappointed for you all the same. You've had quite an up and down year, really, but yes, plenty of stories to tell the grandkids. Onwards. Well done with the mentorship, you've kept up an excellent tradition there. #applause 0
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Agh, you must only have been metres away from us when you pulled the plug, not that I could have done much to help. Was really sorry to hear your misfortune J. It's just not fair Hope you're on the mend now, mind yourself and see you at jingle bells. 0
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