DCM 2017 Mentored Novices Thread

Baby75

First long run of Marathon plan complete it was hard run last mile was slow and a bit painful my legs are tired but I know that its from the 4k race on friday

this week will be better

Baby75

Lazare wrote: »

Maybe so.

I checked in Avoca yesterday for a bottle of it and it was €5 for 750ml so I said feck that and blended my own.

Just bought the vacuum pack of 4 and blitzed them with water, that good enough do you think?

Try http://www.hollandandbarrett.ie/shop/product/james-white-drinks-beet-it-sport-60004927?skuid=004927 I got it cheaper than that and I felt it really helped me when I ran in the last two races.

You can make your own, just be aware the concentrate of nitrates may vary depending on the variety and condition of the beetroot vegetable at the time you can add lemon juice or apple juice to it as well to make it more palatable. so it should still work but some batches may be better than others:)

Spirogyra

Does anyone else suffer with IBS and 'Reflux', running is not great for this, those body parts in general, especially after 'long sunday' run?

Battery Kinzie

The way my week is, it'd be handy for me to run into work on a Tuesday and then back home the same day. My plan has an easy run of whatever distance that day, so I was maybe thinking of 5k in and 5k home? I know I'd be better off doing 10k in one go, but that'd mean having to get a bus or train into work that day, which I'd rather not have to do. Or else I could cycle home after work and just do the 10k then, but that's not ideal either.

Swashbuckler

Spirogyra wrote:

Does anyone else suffer with IBS and 'Reflux', running is not great for this, those body parts in general, especially after 'long sunday' run?

Out of interest what's your diet like and do you you drink alcohol? What do you nornally eat before running? I always used to suffer from reflux when running until I adjusted my diet and now it's gone.

Singer

Battery Kinzie wrote: »

The way my week is, it'd be handy for me to run into work on a Tuesday and then back home the same day. My plan has an easy run of whatever distance that day, so I was maybe thinking of 5k in and 5k home? I know I'd be better off doing 10k in one go, but that'd mean having to get a bus or train into work that day, which I'd rather not have to do. Or else I could cycle home after work and just do the 10k then, but that's not ideal either.

Go for the double. Splitting an easy 10k into two isn't make or break stuff.

ianm1990

I took the week handy as I done the clontarf half yesterday I ran this in 1hr49min , felt good , sore legs today , I will be going straight into week 2 on the plan as last week I only done three 5ks as I wanted the legs to be fresh for the race.

Spirogyra

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Out of interest what's your diet like and do you you drink alcohol? What do you nornally eat before running? I always used to suffer from reflux when running until I adjusted my diet and now it's gone.

I'm vegetarian and don't drink any alcohol.....

Omeceron

Week 1 over. Tried one gel on the LSR to test for stomach issues. It was a High Five gel from. All went fine. Didn't bring any water but I will bring some next week. Legs a bit sore but went for a recovery run today and ran it too fast!

Day | Run | Pace
Mon | Rest |
Tue | 4.31 Miles Easy | 10:27
Wed | 3.85 Min inc Strides | 10:24
Thu | 4.33 Miles Easy | 10:23
Fri | Rest |
Sat | 10 Miles LSR | 10:45
Sun | 2 Miles Recovery | 10:22

muddypaws

Week 1 finished.

LSR run first on Tuesday, followed by 3 x 3 miles, easy pace, although I was getting a bit disheartened by some of the posts, where people's LSR or easy pace is my normal pace, so I pushed it a bit at Park Run, and would like that to be my MP, whether thats doable or not for that long a run, I don't know. Due to an insect bite I got during the LSR, I took an extra rest day on Thursday, pushing the 3 mile runs back a day.

Monday Rest
Tuesday - 6 miles at 13:31
Wednesday Rest
Thursday Rest
Friday 3 miles at 11:06
Saturday 3 miles Park Run at 9:22
Sunday 3 miles at 11:27

excitementcity

Hi All

Looks like everyone is making great progress so far. All going well enough for me although its been a really tough challenge over the last two weeks getting the runs in as I have had to travel for work and it was becoming so difficult to get the runs in with travel, conferences and work dinners etc. Thankfully I didn't manage to drop a session with some creative juggling.

Sessions the last two weeks:
Week 1: 4 miles, 3 miles, 4 miles, 7 miles, 3 miles
Week 2: 5 miles, 5 miles, 3 miles, 3 miles, 8 miles (had to juggle sessions around). (don't have my Garmin with me to check exact paces but they were all in and around ave 10 min miles for shorter runs 10.30/10:45 min miles for longer runs).


Two big questions for me if anyone can help..
1. Any ideas on how to stave off boredom during the long runs?...(music, podcasts, dividing the sessions into smaller chunks, focusing just enjoying the moment of what I'm doing is the methods I've been using) but just wondering if anyone had any other ideas! Sometimes I just find the longer runs just plain boring which I know is not the attitude!

2. Anyone else finding it hard to increase their speed? I feel like I only have one gear and am finding it impossible to do the paced runs faster. I know the advice is probably just 'run faster' but I just can't seem to do it...any thoughts?

Cheers

Halloween Jack

Made my miles this week and hiked the coumshingaun loop today, taking in the highest point in Waterford today, despite knots in my quad;) To any Waterford folk the comeragh are magic

Baby75

skyblue46 wrote: »

Just joined the DCM 2017 Strava club. Very interesting to see everyone's progress. Now I can play a game of guessing who all the posters here are!

Im Niamh

clickerquicklic

Week 1 done for me
Monday rest
Tuesday 5.5k
Wednesday rest
Thursday 12*400 and 3k warm up
Friday rest
Saturday - planned a long run and parkrun , woke at 9:15 sped to Rivervalley parkrun started late and ran a 19:29 (course pb ) had to overtake most of the field .
Sunday - lsr 21.1k

Observations from week 1

I ran the long run much slower than last week , last week I ran 4.50 per km this week 5.35 per km , funnily enough I would say this week almost felt harder I seem much more comfortable stretching it out rather than holding back and almost feeling like I am running on the spot, near the end of my long run today my legs were really heavy but then I stretched out the legs and ran a fast km and felt brand new like I had loads left in thank. Maybe running slow is using different muscles I've no idea.

Kmagic

muddypaws wrote:

I was getting a bit disheartened by some of the posts, where people's LSR or easy pace is my normal pace.

I feel like this too!!!

quickbeam

Me three.

Baby75

clickerquicklic wrote: »

Week 1 done for me
Monday rest
Tuesday 5.5k
Wednesday rest
Thursday 12*400 and 3k warm up
Friday rest
Saturday - planned a long run and parkrun , woke at 9:15 sped to Rivervalley parkrun started late and ran a 19:29 (course pb ) had to overtake most of the field .
Sunday - lsr 21.1k

Observations from week 1

I ran the long run much slower than last week , last week I ran 4.50 per km this week 5.35 per km , funnily enough I would say this week almost felt harder I seem much more comfortable stretching it out rather than holding back and almost feeling like I am running on the spot, near the end of my long run today my legs were really heavy but then I stretched out the legs and ran a fast km and felt brand new like I had loads left in thank. Maybe running slow is using different muscles I've no idea.

When we run slow, we are training our bodies to use fat as fuel and we use the aerobic system and when we rub at a faster pace we are using the glycogen in our muscles and liver to fuel our exercise which is the anaerobic system so I guess you switched from burning fat to burning glycogen. May be some one knows more or if I am wrong correct me

leesider77

quickbeam wrote: »

Me three.

Me four. glad I'm not the only one!

Wubble Wubble

Week 2

Amazing work done this week from so many of you! And that's just on the posting front :pac: certainly I wasn't expecting to have so much to go through on coming back from the West!

Big shout out to all the contributors who kept the show on the road it makes a massive difference, and thankfully I'm going to be on this side of the country for the next number of weeks

Well done to those who raced the Clontarf Half. Flat it may be, but very deceptive and so easy to get wrong. If it didn't work out for you this time, don't worry, as it isn't "the main thing"

Super effort on the LSRs. They take getting used to all right, but as time goes by the pacing, slowing down etc should be second nature. Keep the weekly reports coming in!

Schedules for Week 2:

HH: 3m easy + 3m easy + 3m easy + 7m LSR + cross
Boards: 3m easy + session (1m w/u, 3m PMP, 1m c/d) + 3m rec + 10m LSR + 2m rec

For the session, I wouldn't panic too much for the moment if you can't stick to your PMP. This may change anyway with the passing of time.

Couple of other general notes:-

Races: In general, I wouldn't recommend taking on too many races between now and DCM. The Race Series events are timed in such a way that you should race them. If you feel the need to go to a parkrun every week, it's so good if you can fit it into an LSR. Try it and see.

Posting: In a radical change from the ancien régime, I'm not going to set a curfew on posting here :pac: However, as I say that, I'll also mention that sleeping properly, diet, hydration etc are going to increase in importance as the big day approaches.

Good luck!

The Black Oil

excitementcity wrote: »

1. Any ideas on how to stave off boredom during the long runs?...(music, podcasts, dividing the sessions into smaller chunks, focusing just enjoying the moment of what I'm doing is the methods I've been using) but just wondering if anyone had any other ideas! Sometimes I just find the longer runs just plain boring which I know is not the attitude!

I haven't run with an audio device in quite a while. I don't miss it. The road I use for warming up is probably what I found the most boring. Saying that, there's sometimes little things - yesterday, a lost pair of earphones, there's some baby hens knocking around (and the parents) and there's a chap who seems to have a weekend routine with his 97 Opel Astra. Get the odd positive shout too. There's a dog walker who is probably sick of me by now. I only use a small bit of the bypass as I don't really have an interest in running it or crossing busy roundabouts, etc. Running after work, well, knowing I'm not stuck in traffic helps. Will this week be the third week of the abandoned white wan with a puncture?

Long runs - I go the back roads. This is very familiar from DCM training last year, mostly quiet. It's everything, the fields, nature, knowing what this bend feels like, tarmac better in some places compared to others. Another dog walker is friendly and who keeps her 2-3 dogs calm as I pass. It's also the rhythm of my body and the feel of the run itself, letting the mileage clock up. Confident I'll get back home, shower and refuel and the rest of Sunday is mine. :P I'm perhaps in a slightly different situation, last year the training was by distance, this year I'm running by time and maybe this has a bearing on how I feel. I didn't mention it in my log, but I was smiling quite a bit on my runs this week...

Is there anything of interest to you, a park? Is running with someone possible? Good luck.

skyblue46

excitementcity wrote: »

Hi All

Looks like everyone is making great progress so far. All going well enough for me although its been a really tough challenge over the last two weeks getting the runs in as I have had to travel for work and it was becoming so difficult to get the runs in with travel, conferences and work dinners etc. Thankfully I didn't manage to drop a session with some creative juggling.

Sessions the last two weeks:
Week 1: 4 miles, 3 miles, 4 miles, 7 miles, 3 miles
Week 2: 5 miles, 5 miles, 3 miles, 3 miles, 8 miles (had to juggle sessions around). (don't have my Garmin with me to check exact paces but they were all in and around ave 10 min miles for shorter runs 10.30/10:45 min miles for longer runs).


Two big questions for me if anyone can help..
1. Any ideas on how to stave off boredom during the long runs?...(music, podcasts, dividing the sessions into smaller chunks, focusing just enjoying the moment of what I'm doing is the methods I've been using) but just wondering if anyone had any other ideas! Sometimes I just find the longer runs just plain boring which I know is not the attitude!

2. Anyone else finding it hard to increase their speed? I feel like I only have one gear and am finding it impossible to do the paced runs faster. I know the advice is probably just 'run faster' but I just can't seem to do it...any thoughts?

Cheers

Is it possible that you are running all runs at your pace and that your long and easy runs could be slower?

aine_fainne

excitementcity wrote: »

Hi All

Looks like everyone is making great progress so far. All going well enough for me although its been a really tough challenge over the last two weeks getting the runs in as I have had to travel for work and it was becoming so difficult to get the runs in with travel, conferences and work dinners etc. Thankfully I didn't manage to drop a session with some creative juggling.

Sessions the last two weeks:
Week 1:  4 miles, 3 miles, 4 miles, 7 miles, 3 miles
Week 2: 5 miles, 5 miles, 3 miles, 3 miles, 8 miles (had to juggle sessions around). (don't have my Garmin with me to check exact paces but they were all in and around ave 10 min miles for shorter runs 10.30/10:45 min miles for longer runs).


Two big questions for me if anyone can help..
1. Any ideas on how to stave off boredom during the long runs?...(music, podcasts, dividing the sessions into smaller chunks, focusing just enjoying the moment of what I'm doing is the methods I've been using) but just wondering if anyone had any other ideas! Sometimes I just find the longer runs just plain boring which I know is not the attitude!

2. Anyone else finding it hard to increase their speed? I feel like I only have one gear and am finding it impossible to do the paced runs faster. I know the advice is probably just 'run faster' but I just can't seem to do it...any thoughts?

Cheers

I like to use Audiobooks for most of my training as they help me run at a nice even pace and you can easily get caught up in the story. I'm currently working my way through the Harry Potter series read by Stephen Fry which are so enjoyable. Have yet to try listening to an audiobook version of a book I haven't read before though

D3PO

Week 3 of my plan out of the way

Monday 10.25km steady splits @ 5.15 pace
Tuesday 40 min swim
Wednesday 5km speed work @ 4.54 pace
Thursday 50 min core work session
Friday 8.5km recovery run @ 5.56 pace
Sunday LSR 13km @ 6.04 pace

Thanks to the helpful people on this thread realized I'm running to fast in training for sub 4hr marathon training so hope to drop the paces next week based on the advise received.

Thanks to you all for your advice so far.

brownbinman

Week one of HH Novice 1 plan done. Had to shuffle things about though

i went down and met up with Civil Service Harriers on Tuesday. Sooo happy I did, lovely bunch, very welcoming and friendly. Great running with a group, there's a great sense of we're all in it together

Tuesday: 5x1 mile loops with hills thrown in. 1-1/2 min rests in between. 8.77km in total including warm up
Wednesday: Legs were wrecked, absolutely wrecked so decided not to go out
Thursday: 8km comfortably
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10.5km at 6:15min average pace. First LSR on the official plan. Felt really strong and held myself back from doing anymore so as not to do too much
Sunday: Rest

My legs were stiff on Saturday morning still after Thursday, so went for 1km warm up and stretched to see how they'd go. Seemed to loosen up a bit and I went off on my LSR. Still felt them a little throughout, especially at the tops of my hamstrings but they weren't sore, just stiff. Got back fine, stretched and I'm fine now.

Visitors staying this weekend so again need to shuffle things about, I'm planning on scrubbing Thursdays session and doing my LSR on Friday, and get out on the bike Sunday afternoon.

Speaking of which, cross-training, should they be on a par with what you LSR would be in terms on time. i.e. my LST would be an hour or so, should this be the target to just keep the legs moving??

It's great finally being on the plan

The Muppet

mudypaws wrote:

I was getting a bit disheartened by some of the posts, where people's LSR or easy pace is my normal pace.

Kmagic wrote: »

I feel like this too!!!

quickbeam wrote: »

Me three.

leesider77 wrote: »

Me four. glad I'm not the only one!

I felt this last year, looking at other novices data here or on strava and thinking I should be doing similar. In reality chances are that you are not comparing like with like. Everyone is different and you could be comparing yourself to someone who is much younger or fitter than you are yourself or have just been running longer than you have.

Stick to your own paces especially for the LSR which are designed to develop your aerobic base and not pace anyway . Running them too quickly is counter productive to your training.

https://runnersconnect.net/wrong-long-run-pace/

positron

Is it true that wearing earphones are discouraged or sometimes not allowed at all in big races?

I run on my own and if I had to listen to my own huffing and puffing for hours.. I might just give up and go home! I have been listening to podcasts and audiobooks (currently listening to World War Z, nicely done with voice actors etc - more like a documentory than a book) when training, but have been running without earphones on races like Boyne 10k. I find listening to something really engaging takes your mind off constantly thinking "how much further to go" which makes it easier for me personally.

brownbinman

I've also been listening to podcasts, especially Graham Hunter football interviews. keeps my mind off my legs

kin9pin

D3PO wrote: »

Week 3 of my plan out of the way

Monday 10.25km steady splits @ 5.15 pace
Tuesday 40 min swim
Wednesday 5km speed work @ 4.54 pace
Thursday 50 min core work session
Friday 8.5km recovery run @ 5.56 pace
Sunday LSR 13km @ 6.04 pace

Thanks to the helpful people on this thread realized I'm running to fast in training for sub 4hr marathon training so hope to drop the paces next week based on the advise received.

Thanks to you all for your advice so far.

Great stuff dropping your LSR pace!
I see you had two speedy sessions, Monday and Wednesday. We're these in you plan? With the LSR that's 3 sessions in a week (the LSR should be considered a session because of the duration) which is risking injury. I would pull at least one of these back to easy pace, around 6 min/km.
Remember, you need to build the endurance first and you do this by running at your correct easy pace. Too many pace sessions will mean you're not recovered sufficiently for your long runs, the most important part of your plan. It might seem too easy now, but that won't be the case when you get to 20+ km runs.

smashiner

positron wrote: »

Is it true that wearing earphones are discouraged or sometimes not allowed at all in big races?

I run on my own and if I had to listen to my own huffing and puffing for hours.. I might just give up and go home! I have been listening to podcasts and audiobooks (currently listening to World War Z, nicely done with voice actors etc - more like a documentory than a book) when training, but have been running without earphones on races like Boyne 10k. I find listening to something really engaging takes your mind off constantly thinking "how much further to go" which makes it easier for me personally.

Hi positron,
I always always listen to music when I run as I tend to run on my own (billy no mates ), so I am with you on this one. However, I can 100% guarantee you that you will not need earphones on DCM day as the atmosphere will be electric and you will miss out on so much if you wear them. By all means bring them and have them in your pocket if they are a 'crutch', but I never took mine out for the 4+ hours of running.

There is also the safety element of running in large crowds, and the thread will probably explode with the pros and cons of this. For me its ok on training runs but I have given up wearing them for races........best of luck.

AuldManKing

The Muppet wrote: »

I felt this last year, looking at other novices data here or on strava and thinking I should be doing similar. In reality chances are that you are not comparing like with like. Everyone is different and you could be comparing yourself to someone who is much younger or fitter than you are yourself or have just been running longer than you have.

Stick to your own paces especially for the LSR which are designed to develop your aerobic base and not pace anyway . Running them too quickly is counter productive to your training.

https://runnersconnect.net/wrong-long-run-pace/

Great post.
I use that website a lot - its full of good information and advice.

I actually read some of the Novice '16 thread this morning - and its all very similar - so what you are going through is very normal.

Do not worry - it's just the start of week 2.

oh - btw:
The number 1 commandment of running:

"Thou Shalt not compare thee to other runners"