DCM 2017 Mentored Novices Thread

Baby75

Great race reports I was looking out to see if I could spot anyone I think you were all in front of me lol

I started out in Wave 3 and it was a nice steady pace from the start stuck in the pack till it started to spread out and the pace was comfortable. Hubby went on ahead of me I could of stuck with him but wanted to pace my self aim was to not all out race but stay steady and go by how I felt. Which was 6min km pace

Wubble Wubble thank you so much I also found the race breakdown you posted a great help and found the hills easy I actually like running up hill so felt strong on them I was able to maintain my pace or increase it

I chatted to a few other runners along the way and at the halfway point another lovely lady from carlow caught up to me and we stuck together for the rest of the race. Which was lovely . For the last 5k I upped the pace and took advantage of the lovely downhill be fore the last uphill which we ran up at 5min pace lol pulled back a little and last Km was fast don't know pace we sprinted in and I was delighted the legs were well able.

I hugged and thanked my new running buddy lol then off to find hubby and congratulate a few others from my local club that ran.

I managed in the heat no where near as hot at the Irish 5 mile. But I needed water at every station I know someone posted about running to the end of the table as it less congested. Thanks for that tip as I was able to keep my stride (I walked the first one ) but ran through the rest and didn't slow down as I drank the water. I tried the tip about the water cups and managed to spill it all over me lol so just sipped till I was finished.

Great day and great race really enjoyed it and finished 1hr 39 minutes 40 seconds I'm delighted with that especially as I felt I could of upped the pace if I wanted


Well done to all who ran great running by all

skyblue46

quickbeam wrote: »

2:01


I had breakfast pre-run this morning and happy to report no adverse effects from not running on empty. But other than that, and the sips at the water stops I didn't have anything else until the run was over. I know for the HM and Marathon I'll have to carry fuel, but I reckoned 16km was short enough that I could do without it. Thanks to Baby75's recipe, I had a nice refreshing orange drink for afterwards. I'd actually frozen it and taken it out of the fridge that morning expecting it to be liquid by the time I got to use it, but it hadn't quite got there yet and was instead a lovely slushy icy deliciousness, which was an unexpected added bonus!

Congrats to everyone else who completed and got great times!

Look how far you've come!!!!! Massive credit to you.

Lazare

Been on a high all day after that, but only getting around to giving a TR now as had my 3 year old's birthday party today.

That was the most awesome race!!

This year's Raheny 5 will always be my no.1 race, for many reasons, not least because it was my first. I was on a high for days after that, but this matches it. What an experience.

I had a nervous expectation going into it, had my mind on finishing sub 80mins. I'd never ran a 10m before so was going into it fairly blind. Wasn't sure how doable it was for me given I haven't ran near that pace since before training for DCM.

Headed to bed at about 10pm last night and slept in the spare room to get a rare full night's sleep. Got up at 7 and had a bowl of granola and a banana, took a look out at how beautiful the morning was and I knew this was gonna be a good day.

Threw the bike into the back of the van and parked outside the Islandbridge gate. Cycled up the Khyber and I had to stop to take a picture and tweet it. Such a beautiful morning, the runners high had hit before the race had even begun.

Met a few parkrun buddies in around Furze rd while I was waiting for my own friends. Also saw loads of familiar faces from previous races which was cool.

Down to business.
Planned in and around 5:00km pace for the first few km with the idea that if I felt strong I'd push on. Thought I'd fade tbh, but I didn't. I just got stronger. It was the first time that I have ever felt the effects of training. I'm surmising that Fingal was just too early in the program, but today I really felt the benefits of all the work I've (We've) been doing. Even though I knew I was giving it socks, it felt effortless until the final kick.

I bounded down the hills, opening up the stride, decreasing the cadence, using little energy but eating up the ground, then tightening up the stride, quickening the cadence for the uphills. Felt like how you change the gears on a bike. Felt so good. Felt I gained so much time. The drags take so much out of your time you've really got to make the gains on those downhills, I felt I worked them really well today and had a big net positive.

My favourite part of the course was mile 6 to 8. I was running stride for stride along that part with a girl and it felt great, we both got into a great rhythm. Pacing with someone is so beneficial, the kms tick away. I looked down at one point and I was running at 5k pace. It scared me and excited me at the same time. High 5'd a load of people along Chesterfield ave during this stage, so awesome.

That drag at the end just after the 8m mark was absolute sadistic torture stuff. I turned to another sufferer beside me and said 'who's idea was is to put a drag like this here?' and he just turned to me and said 'Bastards'. lol

That was the first time on the course that I really felt tested, which again made me realise how much the training is working.

When it flattened out and the watch beeped 15k I decided to push it on for the last. Upped the pace and overtook a few but when I hit the straight with the end about 500m away, I looked down and saw 1:18:0x and knew I had a bit of work to do so dug deep and sprinted, yelling in agony the whole way. I fell over the line in 1:19:55. A paramedic came over to me asking me was I ok, I just screamed 'Yeeahhh' at him. A high 5 type of 'yeeahhh'. lol.

What a day, what a race. So over the moon.

Very well done to everyone else. We're warriors.

clickerquicklic

So much invaluable advice in this thread , I got up early had a slice of toast and a coffee and drank two pints of water , then no more drinking 2 hours from start time (these tips are priceless , no need for pitstops mid race)

These races are a massive learning curve , I'm so used to looking at my watch at parkrun and speeding up if I see my current lap pace is off target , I've learned now watches are a bit useless for accuracy and running off feel is better. If the pace was too slow I ignored it and it just naturally came back instead of speeding up and slowing down. Running steady is so much easier. For future races I think i'll bring an old fashioned stopwatch and have a target time to be at each mile marker.

Patience is really the key I've heard the negative split mentioned lots of times and it really does work , for every few seconds a mile you make up starting too fast it seems that these seconds can end up at minutes per mile lost later on , for example passed a girl I know at mile 9 and when I checked her time she was in over 90 seconds after me. If you can just maintain your speed your going to overtake a lot of people even without speeding up.

I'm still coming out of this race a bit confused , how hard do you run a 10 mile a half marathon or a marathon? I only really know parkrun speed where I can speak maybe 1-2 words but my breathing is every step or every second step, for the Fingal 10k I wasn't breathing as hard as that but still hard I could maybe say a quick sentence. Today I was running I passed a girl pushing a wheelchair and was able to have a conversation between breaths. For half marathon should this be easier again and should the marathon be a relaxed breathing pace . I was running alongside some people today who where breathing hard from mile 2/3 but still going strong at mile 8 with the same pace and breathing , is this just something we will learn in time?

BrownEyes79

Love reading all the reports, sounds like everyone had a great day.
I really enjoyed today's run, although I was nervous at the start!
Felt really good all the way through and in hindsight probably could of pushed a little harder. My slowest miles were 1,5 & 6 but I managed to pick up my pace again turns out mile 8 & 9 were my fastest so was happy with that.
Realised I shouldn't be afraid to push myself at the start (always afraid I'll run out of steam!)
Anyway finishing time was 1:34:01 so very happy and looking forward to the half in September

Well done to everyone

Lazare

BrownEyes79 wrote: »

Love reading all the reports,

Yeah, the reports are so good.

I really love this thread. Mad how you feel yourself rooting for people you've never even met.

We gotta change that soon.

Who's on for meeting up for the 16th Sep LSR?

Wouldn't matter if you're following boards or HH, we could meet up at the Garda HQ and all start from there.

Who's on?

Dying to meet you all.

quickbeam

Lazare wrote: »

Who's on for meeting up for the 16th Sep LSR?

Not me as I'd be too slow. But, if you were meeting up for drinks afterwards, I'd love to join yous to meet and put faces and names together.

skyblue46

Lazare wrote: »

Yeah, the reports are so good.

I really love this thread. Mad how you feel yourself rooting for people you've never even met.

We gotta change that soon.

Who's on for meeting up for the 16th Sep LSR?

Wouldn't matter if you're following boards or HH, we could meet up at the Garda HQ and all start from there.

Who's on?

Dying to meet you all.

Yeah I'd be the same. Have found my interest in the 100+ Strava members wavering but increasingly sharing the experiences of the posters here.

Lazare

quickbeam wrote: »

Not me as I'd be too slow. But, if you were meeting up for drinks afterwards, I'd love to join yous to meet and put faces and names together.

Everyone is running at different paces, don't be silly. We all meet up, spend a bit of time chatting then we all set off as a group. People will then naturally break off after a km or two and then we arrange to meet for a coffee later.

It'll be fun.

The Muppet

Enjoying all the reports , looks like everyone had a good day.

Meet up for lsrs is a great idea. We did this last year and ran in 2 groups for different paces . It made that lsr easier than it might have been . Nice to put faces to usernames.

quickbeam

Lazare wrote: »

Everyone is running at different paces, don't be silly. We all meet up, spend a bit of time chatting then we all set off as a group. People will then naturally break off after a km or two and then we arrange to meet for a coffee later.

It'll be fun.

Definitely on for the coffee anyway.

Lazare

quickbeam wrote: »

Definitely on for the coffee anyway.

You raced 16km today.

Think about that. And, based on the work you've done so far you considered it a short distance. 'only 16km' you said upthread.
Everyone has people that are faster than them, everyone has people that look up to them.

90% of the people you meet day to day will be in awe of you.

So stop caring about your particular pace/speed and realise that you are doing something that most people cannot even dream about.

And join us for that group LSR

Lazare

Your DCM Novices thread needs you!

Lazare

The Muppet wrote: »

Enjoying all the reports , looks like everyone had a good day.

Meet up for lsrs is a great idea. We did this last year and ran in 2 groups for different paces . It made that lsr easier than it might have been . Nice to put faces to usernames.

Meet up is open to all contributors to the thread btw, not just novices.

quickbeam

Okay, question about next week. How early in the week could I do the LSR (15 mile)? I do like to get LSRs out early in the week - usually Monday - but with today's run, I want to be sensible about what's possible. How about:

Sun - fully rest
Mon - 2-3m (aiming for 4km, so approx 2.5m)
Tue - 15m LSR
Wed - walk
Thu - 4 mile
Fri - 7 mile
Sat - 3 mile (5km Parkrun)
Sun - rest

Or, even with a rest day and an easy run, in between today's race and next week's LSR, would that be too soon in the week?

The Black Oil

I believe your mentor is at wedding, so feel free to behave as you see fit tonight. :pac:

Baby75

Lazare wrote: »

You raced 16km today.

Think about that. And, based on the work you've done so far you considered it a short distance. 'only 16km' you said upthread.
Everyone has people that are faster than them, everyone has people that look up to them.

90% of the people you meet day to day will be in awe of you.

So stop caring about your particular pace/speed and realise that you are doing something that most people cannot even dream about.

And join us for that group LSR

I could not agree more be very proud of your great achievement today Quickbeam and if enough of us are around it could be done in two or 3 different pace groups, but also what I would say if I can make it and my hubby he doesn't post here yet lol we would make sure no one is on their own

scotindublin

Brilliant running again yesterday everyone....hopefully there are not too many aches and pains today. May be best to try and get out for a couple of very easy miles or a nice walk in the sun to get the legs moving.

Could be a big weekend for WW as I expect he will be at Croker aswell!

Great idea on the meet up; I missed out on last year's novice one and it is one of the only regrets I have.

Look after yourselves and get back on plan for next week.

Great progress and keep up the good work....no one said it was going to be easy but the reward WILL be worth it!

Now to go and fill my time as I take an enforced break from running!

C

leesider77

Assuming work doesn't surprise me with more last minute trips, I'm up for the meet-up. I'll be firmly in the slow group and very happy to run as slow as needed - the slower the better for me. Also it's only 12 miles that week so should be able for that. I'm still behind the plan due to my injury so it's a great choice of week. Will be delighted for someone to lead the way as find the navigation tiresome. For that reason I'm considering doing the 3/4 marathon in athlone in October for my 20 mile LSR.

leesider77

Also I'm still confused on who's who in strava so if anyone wants to help by PMing their name it would be great so I can follow you and not get confused by the lurkers.

sillymoo

Well done everyone on the FF 10mi, I've really enjoyed reading all your reports and sad I couldn't be there this year. Hopefully next year.

This week has been a bit of a disaster. I have been having trouble with pain in my right foot on and off so I decided to rest this week and just do long run yesterday. I had planned to do 14 miles, which I had managed last week with some difficulty but not huge discomfort.

Crikey it was hot yesterday wasn't it?! I got it all wrong yesterday, I don't think I had enough fluid on board and hadn't eaten enough, felt sluggish ++ after work but decided to head off anyway. Foot started acting up almost straight away. Nothing felt right. The most awful run so far. Had to stop after 10 miles as my whole body was screaming, especially my right foot.

So the foot has been up since yesterday afternoon, plenty of ice, will rest for 2 days and try a short run then. But might be game over for me if it doesn't clear. Will have to see how the next 2 days go

Lazare

leesider77 wrote: »

Also I'm still confused on who's who in strava so if anyone wants to help by PMing their name it would be great so I can follow you and not get confused by the lurkers.

My initials are CT. What's yours? Only f you're comfortable posting here.

ariana`

leesider77 wrote: »

For that reason I'm considering doing the 3/4 marathon in athlone in October for my 20 mile LSR.

Oooooh sounds great I'd be interested in a 3/4 in Athlone too! Can you send on a link to enter?

leesider77

sillymoo wrote: »

Well done everyone on the FF 10mi, I've really enjoyed reading all your reports and sad I couldn't be there this year. Hopefully next year.

This week has been a bit of a disaster. I have been having trouble with pain in my right foot on and off so I decided to rest this week and just do long run yesterday. I had planned to do 14 miles, which I had managed last week with some difficulty but not huge discomfort.

Crikey it was hot yesterday wasn't it?! I got it all wrong yesterday, I don't think I had enough fluid on board and hadn't eaten enough, felt sluggish ++ after work but decided to head off anyway. Foot started acting up almost straight away. Nothing felt right. The most awful run so far. Had to stop after 10 miles as my whole body was screaming, especially my right foot.

So the foot has been up since yesterday afternoon, plenty of ice, will rest for 2 days and try a short run then. But might be game over for me if it doesn't clear. Will have to see how the next 2 days go

Don't give up just yet. You never know the rest might do the trick. My Physio told me to build up slowly after the rest - so try 3 miles first and then maybe 5/6 before trying the LSR again. You've done 14 already so you're still well ahead of me so if you're out for a few weeks you still have time to get there.

leesider77

ariana` wrote: »

Oooooh sounds great I'd be interested in a 3/4 in Athlone too! Can you send on a link to enter?

http://www.athlone3quarter.com/

I know it's more money but think I will need some encouragement to get me through my longest LSR. Hope they don't have a cut off time ;-)

Wubble Wubble

Week 10

We are about to officially enter the second half of our marathon plans!!

Well done to all of you who ran the Frank Duffy 10 Mile yesterday, and I think one or two others were racing in the West? I was out supporting at the FD10 for a while, and it definitely got a lot warmer than most were expecting.

Regardless of whether you thought it went really well or you felt it was not so good, take the lessons (e.g. pacing strategy, nutrition, hydration, preparation on the day) from it and bring them forward for your next racing experience. You can definitely feel the excitement levels building here!

Some fantastic reports up there already, and hopefully many more to come Feel free to indulge your creative instincts
Most importantly for those who raced yesterday, listen to your body, and don't be afraid to skip the odd easy run if the legs are still complaining.

Plans for next week as follows. Both plans reach their highest mileage and longest LSRs so far.

HHN1: (2-3M easy or rest) + 3M easy + 7M easy + 4M easy + rest + 15M LSR + cross
Boards: 4M easy + (1M w/u + 6M PMP + 1M c/d) + 4M easy + 19M LSR + 2M rec

Good luck everyone!

Spirogyra

Limped , really struggled to do 12 miles today Hadn't at all recovered from Friday nights race. Did 2 miles at marathon pace or faster. The rest was literally a limp.

Damo 2k9

leesider77 wrote: »

Don't give up just yet. You never know the rest might do the trick. My Physio told me to build up slowly after the rest - so try 3 miles first and then maybe 5/6 before trying the LSR again. You've done 14 already so you're still well ahead of me so if you're out for a few weeks you still have time to get there.

This!! As you've all known as I haven't stopped giving out about it, my knee has been acting up the last couple of weeks. I took this week off and although I feel like I'm after falling behind, I'm delighted because my knee feels a lot better.

As WW says, listen to the body! If it's giving out, leave it alone for a while :pac: don't be too hard on yourself!

Also, my Strava name is Damien O C. I'm sure most people know as my boards username is pretty straight forward.

Baby75

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Week 10

We are about to officially enter the second half of our marathon plans!!

Well done to all of you who ran the Frank Duffy 10 Mile yesterday, and I think one or two others were racing in the West? I was out supporting at the FD10 for a while, and it definitely got a lot warmer than most were expecting.

Regardless of whether you thought it went really well or you felt it was not so good, take the lessons (e.g. pacing strategy, nutrition, hydration, preparation on the day) from it and bring them forward for your next racing experience. You can definitely feel the excitement levels building here!

Some fantastic reports up there already, and hopefully many more to come Feel free to indulge your creative instincts
Most importantly for those who raced yesterday, listen to your body, and don't be afraid to skip the odd easy run if the legs are still complaining.

Plans for next week as follows. Both plans reach their highest mileage and longest LSRs so far.

HHN1: (2-3M easy or rest) + 3M easy + 7M easy + 4M easy + rest + 15M LSR + cross
Boards: 4M easy + (1M w/u + 6M PMP + 1M c/d) + 4M easy + 19M LSR + 2M rec

Good luck everyone!

Wubble Wubble were you at a corner on the path I think before we turned to the nice drag up towards the zoo wearing a black t-shirt I think

muddypaws

I did the Wild Atlantic 10 miler in Ballina yesterday. I volunteered at Park Run first, as it was at the same place, and jogged back to the van to get changed, thats when I knew it was going to be a bad day, could barely jog 200 metres!

Ran with a friend, who is also DCM training, and about the same level as me. A few people had said they were going to run it slow - then they all disappeared off over the horizon. I really don't do humid and warm, and I think we started too fast, so by mile 4 I was struggling lots. Had a gel and water there, and kept going, up and up and up the hills, there were lots of them. I was determined to keep running (or jogging) until mile 7, didn't quite make that, walked for a while, and then found it really hard to run again, my legs were gone completely, so we walked fast, then ran, then walked, then ran, then walked, although we did manage a sprint for the finish on the running track.

I've run over 10 miles a few times now, and it shouldn't have been that hard. However, actually checking the time, and the splits, it wasn't a bad run at all, when compared to my other runs. I don't really have a race pace, I just have a pace.

I need to eat more, and sleep more, the days of going out partying all night, then straight into work are long behind me, it takes me days now to recover from either a night out, or even a long drive - and it appears, running.

We are going to do a half marathon in Enniscrone next weekend, we both have 15 miles in our plan, so will do a 2 mile warm up, then the half, not race it, just run it as a training session, and get a medal for it

Great to see the enthusiasm from everyone who raced yesterday, well done, wish I lived in Dublin (for many reasons) so that I could meet up with you for your training runs, have fun.