DCM 2018 - Mentored Novice Thread

Aoifemcc19

Love catching up on all the posts, super well done to all the HM people this weekend, sounds like a rough course but everyone did really well!!
Step back week for me this week and looking forward to it, going to even take paces handy. Did 18 miles last week and I was seriously dreading it but it went great!! (I’m a little ahead on miles because I’ve a few trips in sept and had two down weeks for my July hols)
Few lessons learnt
- I’m a big believer in one run at a time but learnt last week that you actually need to take all the weeks runs at a time!! Lashed my pace run out of it as had a mental block towards pace stuff but then my legs suffered after so I pushed my LSR out a day which I was glad I did but had it hanging over me an extra day which was hard!!
- training is 90% mental, your body will more or less do what you tell it to do it’s the brain flip outs that wreck you!! 18 miles not that different to 16, no matter what the distance the last 2 miles always the most challenging to get yourself through. The ****e I conversed in my brain through 3 hours with no pal or no headphones was something else ;-)
- need to track down bodyglide ASAP
- have a new appreciation for tractors they slow down all the mental drivers on country roads, ha ha!!!
Good luck to everyone this week, DCM looking more achievable with each passing week

aloooof

Fair play to everyone getting the RnR done! Route looked very tough going.

Got my 14 mile LSR in the bag on Saturday. Things I noticed / learned:

1. This was the first LSR since week 1 or 2 where I wasn't daunted by the distance heading out. I think the previous 15 and 16 miler have made me much more confident in these kinda distances, which is mad as, 2 weeks ago, this would've been my longest run ever.

2. Did a new route for this one, an out and back. Also felt that helped mentally too, easily broke it up into sections for me.

3. Also, running into a headwind for a good bit isn't much craic. But having a tailwind during the second half is.

4. The new route also meant I had about 1.5 miles uphill near the end of the run. It was tough but I might try incorporate a hill near the end of my LSR's in future, as prep for Roebuck Road on the day. Glutton for punishment!

5. I'm thinking about starting a log, so I'm not annoying people with these lists every week!

kittyclaws

aloooof wrote: »

I got one early on as well, the advice I got was to leave it as is, and it'll subside on it's own. I also got some 1000 mile socks, with the 2 layers and now make sure to wear these on my long runs. Haven't had any issues with them since.

Dunnes Stores do a really good dupe for 1000 mile socks called Marathon socks - I only run in them now. They're double layered too. €6 for two pairs, a bargain!

juke

aloooof wrote: »

Fair play to everyone getting the RnR done! Route looked very tough going.

Got my 14 mile LSR in the bag on Saturday. Things I noticed / learned:

1. This was the first LSR since week 1 or 2 where I wasn't daunted by the distance heading out. I think the previous 15 and 16 miler have made me much more confident in these kinda distances, which is mad as, 2 weeks ago, this would've been my longest run ever.

2. Did a new route for this one, an out and back. Also felt that helped mentally too, easily broke it up into sections for me.

3. Also, running into a headwind for a good bit isn't much craic. But having a tailwind during the second half is.

4. The new route also meant I had about 1.5 miles uphill near the end of the run. It was tough but I might try incorporate a hill near the end of my LSR's in future, as prep for Roebuck Road on the day. Glutton for punishment!

5. I'm thinking about starting a log, so I'm not annoying people with these lists every week!

I like your lists - as I'm sure everyone else does. It's great to see how each person is getting on.

However, having a log here is great for so many reasons, do it!

eyrie

Well done to everyone who ran the RnR half at the weekend! It's great reading about all the experiences. I did it last year but didn't fancy it when I saw the course for this year, so I'll be doing Tullamore instead.

I had a dream (or should I say nightmare) last night about the marathon, where I arrived late and had forgotten any kind of fuel, and couldn't find where to leave my bag or anything. Major panic! On the bright side there was a water slide to get to the start line...

I'm following a different training plan and the LSRs are shorter - I'm only up to 14 miles. It's amazing reading about how quickly everyone else is getting up to 16 and 18 milers but it's definitely making me feel like I've a long way to go still in comparison. :eek:

gypsylee

eyrie wrote: »

I'm following a different training plan and the LSRs are shorter - I'm only up to 14 miles. It's amazing reading about how quickly everyone else is getting up to 16 and 18 milers but it's definitely making me feel like I've a long way to go still in comparison. :eek:

You are not alone. The HH plan is for 14 miles this week. I am attempting this on Wednesday and it will be my longest run yet. We still have eleven weeks to go so plenty of time to catch up on everyone else.

Trust the plan

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

I had a dream (or should I say nightmare) last night about the marathon, where I arrived late and had forgotten any kind of fuel, and couldn't find where to leave my bag or anything. Major panic! On the bright side there was a water slide to get to the start line...

I'd one recently where David Sedaris (?!) was telling me I'd followed my plan incorrectly

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

I'd one recently where David Sedaris (?!) was telling me I'd followed my plan incorrectly

Ha! Brilliant. I'd say you're safe enough though, he has many talents but I'm not aware of any particular marathon expertise being among them so I wouldn't take it to heart

gypsylee wrote: »

You are not alone. The HH plan is for 14 miles this week. I am attempting this on Wednesday and it will be my longest run yet. We still have eleven weeks to go so plenty of time to catch up on everyone else.

Trust the plan

True gypsylee, thanks for the reminder! There's just so many unknowns in all of this that it's easy to start questioning everything. But the plans work, as has been shown many times before, so we just have to get on with it

racersedge

Summerflower wrote: »

Im starting to feel like I am following Racersedge as I am also signed up for the Tullamore Half however I will definitely be doing the extra miles in my warm up and cool down as I dont want to miss my first ever 18mile run and I cant fit in the 18 if I dont do it that day. I do intend to take full advantage of all the extras that the Tullamore Half are putting on so I will join the queue and get a light physio rub on the legs afterswards .

Stalker!!!! :P‚ And you were in Roscommon for ththe 10 Mile as well, weren’t you?!

Personally I’m treating Kilcock as an LSR. Well, maybe mildly quicker as I need to promptly scoot for my in-laws anniversary dinner. Some might say that might be an excuse to really go slow! I would say I’m semi-tempted to shift one of next weeks runs into this week and take it handy with having Kilcock on Sunday and Tullamore on the following Saturday, it means squeezing three runs basically back to back and probably not been at my best for it. I’ll see how this week rolls out and adjust and tweak if need be.

Believe it or not this is going to be my third 10 Mile event this year and in none of them have I pushed hard at it! The first was Tuamgraney, which was more akin to a mountain climb - and I ran that with the wife. Roscommon was similar and in the second week of training. As tempting as it is to push on here, I’ve ear-marked Tullamore as the race to push it to give myself a good idea of where I stand training pace wise for the second half of the training cycle. Would like to think I’ll have a good idea of where I am at after that - hopefully - and make necessary adjustments after that.

Applegirl26

Is it too late to post my race report on the Rock n Roll Half yesterday?

Yesterday Garmin recorded my run as 2:18:34
My official chip time is 2:19:43.

Splits: 10:44, 10:03, 10:27, 10:27, 10:29, 11:09, 10:27, 10:09, 10:14, 9:57, 11:09, 10:42, 9:57, 2:42

The route had been discussed to death and we all knew it would be challenging so I planned to run it as an lsr and if I had anything extra to give in the last few miles, great. If not, so be it. It was my first half marathon race and I didn't want it to get the best of me. "keep the main thing the main thing". DCM, you consume my life!

I spent Friday in work, carrying a litre bottle (of water with a zero tab)everywhere with me, sipping away. I refilled it a few times throughout the day. I ate a small bowl of pasta when I got home.

I woke up at 0400 and ate a banana in the dark. Then reset the alarm and went back to sleep. I woke at 0500 and did the same thing. When I woke at 0600 I got up, ate a slice of toast with peanut butter, had a coffee and got ready to leave. Don't ya just love that feeling when you pin your racing bib on?

I usually drive myself to races but with no parking nearby, my better half dropped me off near the start. I found the beginning of the race better organised than the end of it. There was music, and the atmosphere was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised at how many international runners there were. I chatted to a few. Some asked me about the route. Was there hills? (🙈)

It was after 0900 before my corral took off. I couldn't get over the amount of runners whizzing past me. I wondered if they knew the route or were they just fitter than me. I checked my Garmin and felt reassured "nope!!! I'm not running that pace yet".

In my mind I had broken the race up into 3 sections: running in town and then until the climb to Knockmaroon Hill, the dreaded hills and passing through Castleknock, then the final stretch back to Kilmainham.

It was a real joy to run through town, past the Guinness gates, down by Christchurch and then along the Quays. I got a rush of how running DCM might feel in October!! I swear I felt like I was glowing.

The atmosphere was still great along Conyngham Road. Lots of music and I was having fun. I realised I was singing at one point! I had great fun high fiving other runners here.
I carried my own water bottle with a zero tab in it. I also carried my usual few hard candies that I sucked along the course. So I had no need to stop at any of the water stations.

Then, there she was! Knockmaroon Hill! The one we had all been dreading. I put my head down, pumped my arms and thought let's do this! At this stage I was running alongside the superfast runners who were making their way back to Kilmainham. I couldn't help but notice the look of sheer determination on each of their faces. These guys and girls were incredible! They were working so hard, their faces showed the pain they were in. I had such respect for them. I wasn't working hard at that point, I was about to, but at that time I was running comfortably. These guys weren't and that's why they went on to finish an hour probably before me. I couldn't forget the look I'd seen on their faces, what my Daddy would have called the Eye of the Tiger look. It was a powerful lesson and one I won't forget.

So I'm running up Knockmaroon and it's busy, quite congested. Soon everyone around me was walking . I wanted to keep running even at a slow pace but there literally was no where to run to. It felt a little frustrating but I didn't want to waste energy getting annoyed, there was many more hills to follow. The music and bands seemed a distant memory now. It was each runner on their own now, no high fiving here!

Running up into Castleknock College was fab. My hometown. That lovely feeling I had in the first few miles returned. It was here I noticed I was passing people and those around me who were still running, looked like they were working hard. I knew I was slow running up a hill, yesterday I learnt I'm even slower running down them. My poor knees throbbed for a bit. I was also afraid I'd slip and break something and then how would my training go for DCM with a cast on!!!

Then finally it was time to put the pressure on. I felt strong, I was almost raging a bit that I hadn't upped the pace sooner. I kept passing people and for the last mile especially I gave it everything. I thought of the look I had seen on the superfast runners faces earlier and I raced my heart out. Fair enough it was only for the few miles that I did this, but hey its a start.

When a lovely volunteer handed me my medal I wanted to hug him but thought he might not like that! So I just thanked him politely. I'm not one for bling usually. I run because of how it makes me feel but my medal yesterday was a huge big deal to me. It was a tough course and as my Nana would say "I didn't let it best me".

There was a great spread of goodies laid out afterwards but I didn't get to enjoy much.I was starting to feel a bit weak so went to get my bag. The Q's were ridiculous. I was sent to 3 different Q's before I eventually got my bag. I really felt unwell at this stage and could have done without the delay.
Anyways, a lie down, banana, Lucozade sport and a zero tab later I was fine.

My husband came to collect me and I had a great feed of pizza with my guys when I got home. I'm a little embarrassed to say I was in bed for 20:00 last night. I was totally exhausted!
Alarm was set for the usual 0500 this morning. I was very naughty though and pressed snooze a few times before I got up. The DCM juggernaut rolls on.....

ReeReeG

Applegirl26 wrote: »

Is it too late to post my race report on the Rock n Roll Half yesterday?

Yesterday Garmin recorded my run as 2:18:34
My official chip time is 2:19:43.

Splits: 10:44, 10:03, 10:27, 10:27, 10:29, 11:09, 10:27, 10:09, 10:14, 9:57, 11:09, 10:42, 9:57, 2:42

The route had been discussed to death and we all knew it would be challenging so I planned to run it as an lsr and if I had anything extra to give  in the last few miles, great. If not, so be it. It was my first half marathon race and I didn't want it to get the best of me. "keep the main thing the main thing". DCM, you consume my life!

I spent Friday in work, carrying a litre bottle (of water with a zero tab)everywhere with me, sipping away. I refilled it a few times throughout the day. I ate a small bowl of pasta when I got home.

I woke up at 0400 and ate a banana in the dark. Then reset the alarm and went back to sleep. I woke at 0500 and did the same thing. When I woke at 0600 I got up, ate a slice of toast with peanut butter, had a coffee and got ready to leave. Don't ya just love that feeling when you pin your racing bib on?

I usually drive myself to races but with no parking nearby, my better half dropped me off near the start. I found the beginning of the race better organised than the end of it. There was music, and the atmosphere was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised at how many international runners there were. I chatted to a few. Some asked me about the route. Was there hills? (🙈)

It was after 0900 before my corral took off. I couldn't get over the amount of runners whizzing past me. I wondered if they knew the route or were they just fitter than me. I checked my Garmin and felt reassured "nope!!! I'm not running that pace yet".

In my mind I had broken the race up into 3 sections: running in town and then until the climb to Knockmaroon Hill, the dreaded hills and passing through Castleknock, then the final stretch back to Kilmainham.

It was a real joy to run through town, past the Guinness gates, down by Christchurch and then along the Quays. I got a rush of how running DCM might feel in October!! I swear I felt like I was glowing.

The atmosphere was still great along Conyngham Road. Lots of music and I was having fun.  I realised I was singing at one point! I had great fun high fiving other runners here.
I carried my own water bottle with a zero tab in it. I also carried my usual few hard candies that I sucked along the course. So I had no need to stop at any of the water stations.

Then, there she was! Knockmaroon Hill!  The one we had all been dreading. I put my head down, pumped my arms and thought let's do this! At this stage I was running alongside the superfast runners who were making their way back to Kilmainham. I couldn't help but notice the look of sheer determination on each of their faces. These guys and girls were incredible!  They were working so hard, their faces showed the pain they were in. I had such respect for them. I wasn't working hard at that point, I was about to, but at that time I was running comfortably. These guys weren't and that's why they went on to finish an hour probably before me. I couldn't forget the look I'd seen on their faces, what my Daddy would have called the Eye of the Tiger look. It was a powerful lesson and one I won't forget.

So I'm running up Knockmaroon and it's busy, quite congested. Soon everyone around me was walking . I wanted to keep running even at a slow pace but there literally was no where to run to. It felt a little frustrating but I didn't want to waste energy getting annoyed, there was many more hills to follow. The music and bands seemed a distant memory now. It was each runner on their own now, no high fiving here!

Running up into Castleknock College was fab. My hometown. That lovely feeling I had in the first few miles returned. It was here I noticed I was passing people and those around me who were still running, looked like they were working hard. I knew I was slow running up a hill, yesterday I learnt I'm even slower running down them. My poor knees throbbed for a bit. I was also afraid I'd slip and break something and then how would my training go for DCM with a cast on!!!

Then finally it was time to put the pressure on. I felt strong, I was almost raging a bit that I hadn't upped the pace sooner. I kept passing people and for the last mile especially I gave it everything. I thought of the look I had seen on the superfast runners faces earlier and I raced my heart out. Fair enough it was only for the few miles that I did this, but hey its a start.

When a lovely volunteer handed me my medal I wanted to hug him but thought he might not like that! So I just thanked him politely. I'm not one for bling usually. I run because of how it makes me feel but my medal yesterday was a huge big deal to me. It was a tough course and as my Nana would say "I didn't let it best me".

There was a great spread of goodies laid out afterwards but I didn't get to enjoy much.I was starting to feel a bit weak so went to get my bag. The Q's were ridiculous. I was sent to 3 different Q's before I eventually got my bag. I really felt unwell at this stage and could have done without the delay.
Anyways, a lie down, banana, Lucozade sport and a zero tab later I was fine.

My husband came to collect me and I had a great feed of pizza with my guys when I got home. I'm a little embarrassed to say I was in bed for 20:00 last night. I was totally exhausted!
Alarm was set for the usual 0500 this morning. I was very naughty though and pressed snooze a few times before I got up. The DCM juggernaut rolls on.....

Never too late for a race report, and that was a great one! Well done on your first half-marathon, and it was such a bloody tough one! I now have 2+2 put together re Strava also

skyblue46

Great race report and great sentiments expressed. Well done. You might not feel it but you paced the race perfectly. That look of pure determination you saw on runners faces is something that comes with embracing and taking on pain. The ability do do that is what changes people from fun runners to runners! Hahaha

Huzzah!

Applegirl26 wrote: »

Is it too late to post my race report on the Rock n Roll Half yesterday?

Yesterday Garmin recorded my run as 2:18:34
My official chip time is 2:19:43.

Splits: 10:44, 10:03, 10:27, 10:27, 10:29, 11:09, 10:27, 10:09, 10:14, 9:57, 11:09, 10:42, 9:57, 2:42

The route had been discussed to death and we all knew it would be challenging so I planned to run it as an lsr and if I had anything extra to give in the last few miles, great. If not, so be it. It was my first half marathon race and I didn't want it to get the best of me. "keep the main thing the main thing". DCM, you consume my life!

I spent Friday in work, carrying a litre bottle (of water with a zero tab)everywhere with me, sipping away. I refilled it a few times throughout the day. I ate a small bowl of pasta when I got home.

I woke up at 0400 and ate a banana in the dark. Then reset the alarm and went back to sleep. I woke at 0500 and did the same thing. When I woke at 0600 I got up, ate a slice of toast with peanut butter, had a coffee and got ready to leave. Don't ya just love that feeling when you pin your racing bib on?

I usually drive myself to races but with no parking nearby, my better half dropped me off near the start. I found the beginning of the race better organised than the end of it. There was music, and the atmosphere was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised at how many international runners there were. I chatted to a few. Some asked me about the route. Was there hills? (��)

It was after 0900 before my corral took off. I couldn't get over the amount of runners whizzing past me. I wondered if they knew the route or were they just fitter than me. I checked my Garmin and felt reassured "nope!!! I'm not running that pace yet".

In my mind I had broken the race up into 3 sections: running in town and then until the climb to Knockmaroon Hill, the dreaded hills and passing through Castleknock, then the final stretch back to Kilmainham.

It was a real joy to run through town, past the Guinness gates, down by Christchurch and then along the Quays. I got a rush of how running DCM might feel in October!! I swear I felt like I was glowing.

The atmosphere was still great along Conyngham Road. Lots of music and I was having fun. I realised I was singing at one point! I had great fun high fiving other runners here.
I carried my own water bottle with a zero tab in it. I also carried my usual few hard candies that I sucked along the course. So I had no need to stop at any of the water stations.

Then, there she was! Knockmaroon Hill! The one we had all been dreading. I put my head down, pumped my arms and thought let's do this! At this stage I was running alongside the superfast runners who were making their way back to Kilmainham. I couldn't help but notice the look of sheer determination on each of their faces. These guys and girls were incredible! They were working so hard, their faces showed the pain they were in. I had such respect for them. I wasn't working hard at that point, I was about to, but at that time I was running comfortably. These guys weren't and that's why they went on to finish an hour probably before me. I couldn't forget the look I'd seen on their faces, what my Daddy would have called the Eye of the Tiger look. It was a powerful lesson and one I won't forget.

So I'm running up Knockmaroon and it's busy, quite congested. Soon everyone around me was walking . I wanted to keep running even at a slow pace but there literally was no where to run to. It felt a little frustrating but I didn't want to waste energy getting annoyed, there was many more hills to follow. The music and bands seemed a distant memory now. It was each runner on their own now, no high fiving here!

Running up into Castleknock College was fab. My hometown. That lovely feeling I had in the first few miles returned. It was here I noticed I was passing people and those around me who were still running, looked like they were working hard. I knew I was slow running up a hill, yesterday I learnt I'm even slower running down them. My poor knees throbbed for a bit. I was also afraid I'd slip and break something and then how would my training go for DCM with a cast on!!!

Then finally it was time to put the pressure on. I felt strong, I was almost raging a bit that I hadn't upped the pace sooner. I kept passing people and for the last mile especially I gave it everything. I thought of the look I had seen on the superfast runners faces earlier and I raced my heart out. Fair enough it was only for the few miles that I did this, but hey its a start.

When a lovely volunteer handed me my medal I wanted to hug him but thought he might not like that! So I just thanked him politely. I'm not one for bling usually. I run because of how it makes me feel but my medal yesterday was a huge big deal to me. It was a tough course and as my Nana would say "I didn't let it best me".

There was a great spread of goodies laid out afterwards but I didn't get to enjoy much.I was starting to feel a bit weak so went to get my bag. The Q's were ridiculous. I was sent to 3 different Q's before I eventually got my bag. I really felt unwell at this stage and could have done without the delay.
Anyways, a lie down, banana, Lucozade sport and a zero tab later I was fine.

My husband came to collect me and I had a great feed of pizza with my guys when I got home. I'm a little embarrassed to say I was in bed for 20:00 last night. I was totally exhausted!
Alarm was set for the usual 0500 this morning. I was very naughty though and pressed snooze a few times before I got up. The DCM juggernaut rolls on.....

Cracker of a report. Our times are very similar. I'm wondering if we were near each other at all. It was hard to keep running up those hills when everyone else was walking, alright!

skyblue46

Huzzah! wrote: »

Cracker of a report. Our times are very similar. I'm wondering if we were near each other at all. It was hard to keep running up those hills when everyone else was walking, alright!

Strava Flybys are great for finding out who was nearby.

ariana`

Applegirl that was a super report. You gave me goose bumps :eek: You paced yourself perfectly, please take note everyone - running the last mile(s) "feeling strong" and "passing people" is music to my ears. Applegirl you are going to love DCM

Applegirl26

Ha,ha!! What gave me away?

How do I learn to embrace this pain and keep the pace up? Keep running, keep pushing hard, going back and trying again when it doesn't work the first time?

Yup I saw on Strava that a few of us finished around the same time. We'll have to arrange a meet up before the next big race so we can say hi!

Sorry, I can't do multiple replies in one reply

ReeReeG

Applegirl26 wrote: »

Ha,ha!! What gave me away?

It was the pizza

skyblue46

Applegirl26 wrote: »

How do I learn to embrace this pain and keep the pace up? Keep running, keep pushing hard, going back and trying again when it doesn't work the first time?

No way do you need to worry about that for DCM training. It's all nice and easy remember

Talk to me on the 1st November about what you want to do next. :pac:

yido1882

Applegirl26 wrote: »

Is it too late to post my race report on the Rock n Roll Half yesterday?

Yesterday Garmin recorded my run as 2:18:34
My official chip time is 2:19:43.

Splits: 10:44, 10:03, 10:27, 10:27, 10:29, 11:09, 10:27, 10:09, 10:14, 9:57, 11:09, 10:42, 9:57, 2:42

The route had been discussed to death and we all knew it would be challenging so I planned to run it as an lsr and if I had anything extra to give  in the last few miles, great. If not, so be it. It was my first half marathon race and I didn't want it to get the best of me. "keep the main thing the main thing". DCM, you consume my life!

I spent Friday in work, carrying a litre bottle (of water with a zero tab)everywhere with me, sipping away. I refilled it a few times throughout the day. I ate a small bowl of pasta when I got home.

I woke up at 0400 and ate a banana in the dark. Then reset the alarm and went back to sleep. I woke at 0500 and did the same thing. When I woke at 0600 I got up, ate a slice of toast with peanut butter, had a coffee and got ready to leave. Don't ya just love that feeling when you pin your racing bib on?

I usually drive myself to races but with no parking nearby, my better half dropped me off near the start. I found the beginning of the race better organised than the end of it. There was music, and the atmosphere was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised at how many international runners there were. I chatted to a few. Some asked me about the route. Was there hills? (🙈)

It was after 0900 before my corral took off. I couldn't get over the amount of runners whizzing past me. I wondered if they knew the route or were they just fitter than me. I checked my Garmin and felt reassured "nope!!! I'm not running that pace yet".

In my mind I had broken the race up into 3 sections: running in town and then until the climb to Knockmaroon Hill, the dreaded hills and passing through Castleknock, then the final stretch back to Kilmainham.

It was a real joy to run through town, past the Guinness gates, down by Christchurch and then along the Quays. I got a rush of how running DCM might feel in October!! I swear I felt like I was glowing.

The atmosphere was still great along Conyngham Road. Lots of music and I was having fun.  I realised I was singing at one point! I had great fun high fiving other runners here.
I carried my own water bottle with a zero tab in it. I also carried my usual few hard candies that I sucked along the course. So I had no need to stop at any of the water stations.

Then, there she was! Knockmaroon Hill!  The one we had all been dreading. I put my head down, pumped my arms and thought let's do this! At this stage I was running alongside the superfast runners who were making their way back to Kilmainham. I couldn't help but notice the look of sheer determination on each of their faces. These guys and girls were incredible!  They were working so hard, their faces showed the pain they were in. I had such respect for them. I wasn't working hard at that point, I was about to, but at that time I was running comfortably. These guys weren't and that's why they went on to finish an hour probably before me. I couldn't forget the look I'd seen on their faces, what my Daddy would have called the Eye of the Tiger look. It was a powerful lesson and one I won't forget.

So I'm running up Knockmaroon and it's busy, quite congested. Soon everyone around me was walking . I wanted to keep running even at a slow pace but there literally was no where to run to. It felt a little frustrating but I didn't want to waste energy getting annoyed, there was many more hills to follow. The music and bands seemed a distant memory now. It was each runner on their own now, no high fiving here!

Running up into Castleknock College was fab. My hometown. That lovely feeling I had in the first few miles returned. It was here I noticed I was passing people and those around me who were still running, looked like they were working hard. I knew I was slow running up a hill, yesterday I learnt I'm even slower running down them. My poor knees throbbed for a bit. I was also afraid I'd slip and break something and then how would my training go for DCM with a cast on!!!

Then finally it was time to put the pressure on. I felt strong, I was almost raging a bit that I hadn't upped the pace sooner. I kept passing people and for the last mile especially I gave it everything. I thought of the look I had seen on the superfast runners faces earlier and I raced my heart out. Fair enough it was only for the few miles that I did this, but hey its a start.

When a lovely volunteer handed me my medal I wanted to hug him but thought he might not like that! So I just thanked him politely. I'm not one for bling usually. I run because of how it makes me feel but my medal yesterday was a huge big deal to me. It was a tough course and as my Nana would say "I didn't let it best me".

There was a great spread of goodies laid out afterwards but I didn't get to enjoy much.I was starting to feel a bit weak so went to get my bag. The Q's were ridiculous. I was sent to 3 different Q's before I eventually got my bag. I really felt unwell at this stage and could have done without the delay.
Anyways, a lie down, banana, Lucozade sport and a zero tab later I was fine.

My husband came to collect me and I had a great feed of pizza with my guys when I got home. I'm a little embarrassed to say I was in bed for 20:00 last night. I was totally exhausted!
Alarm was set for the usual 0500 this morning. I was very naughty though and pressed snooze a few times before I got up. The DCM juggernaut rolls on.....

Great report and well done on your first half marathon! I'd much rather be upping the pace towards the end and be overtaking people like you did, than to be overtaking people at the start.

Supercell

Legs a bit sore after Rock and Roll yesterday, the hills really lived up to the billing. I actually found the last hill at 10 miles the worst and had to walk for a few metres to catch my breath. Really felt it in my quads coming down Knockmaroon and for a couple of miles after that. No injuries though so will take it easy next few days.
Glad I did it, but I wouldn't run that route again. Ever.

I'm down for the Kilcock 10 mile next weekend which I regret entering now as its interfering with my DCM LSR plans. Going to run to run it as a training run, collect my medal and tshirt and then go back out for another 6 on the same roads to complete my planned 16 LSR.
I'm also down for the DCM race series 10 miler at the end of the month too in Swords and plan on doing another 8 after it, though I don't know the area well so may just drive back to town and do it in the Phoenix park, don't want too much of a gap between runs as I've read to two short runs in a day don't equate to one long one when building endurance. Anyone have any suggestions?, I guess I could run four out along the race route and back as I plan on doing in Kilcock but thats a very straight course so I shouldn't get lost! I don't know Swords at all.

skyblue46

Supercell wrote: »

Legs a bit sore after Rock and Roll yesterday, the hills really lived up to the billing. I actually found the last hill at 10 miles the worst and had to walk for a few metres to catch my breath. Really felt it in my quads coming down Knockmaroon and for a couple of miles after that. No injuries though so will take it easy next few days.
Glad I did it, but I wouldn't run that route again. Ever.

I'm down for the Kilcock 10 mile next weekend which I regret entering now as its interfering with my DCM LSR plans. Going to run to run it as a training run, collect my medal and tshirt and then go back out for another 6 on the same roads to complete my planned 16 LSR.
I'm also down for the DCM race series 10 miler at the end of the month too in Swords and plan on doing another 8 after it, though I don't know the area well so may just drive back to town and do it in the Phoenix park, don't want too much of a gap between runs as I've read to two short runs in a day don't equate to one long one when building endurance. Anyone have any suggestions?, I guess I could run four out along the race route and back as I plan on doing in Kilcock but thats a very straight course so I shouldn't get lost! I don't know Swords at all.

Oh my God you'll regret opening the door to me giving suggestions! :pac:

Running the 10 mile races with a couple of miles warm up and cooldown will be every bit as good for the training as the LSRs you will miss. 14 miles of running with 10 at race pace is a very good session. Enjoy racing. Give it socks.

What would be far better for your DCM aspirations is to seriously slow down the training runs. Doing all your runs at near HM pace is a bigger handicap than racing for 2 weekends instead of doing long runs.

Supercell

skyblue46 wrote: »

Oh my God you'll regret opening the door to me giving suggestions! :pac:

Running the 10 mile races with a couple of miles warm up and cooldown will be every bit as good for the training as the LSRs you will miss. 14 miles of running with 10 at race pace is a very good session. Enjoy racing. Give it socks.

What would be far better for your DCM aspirations is to seriously slow down the training runs. Doing all your runs at near HM pace is a bigger handicap than racing for 2 weekends instead of doing long runs.

You are absolutely right as my history of injuries will attest to!
Getting into serious distances now and an injury at this stage might well be enough to end DCM hopes, post RnR I'm slightly terrified of running fast this week after what happened the week following the Clontarf half when I didn't hold back like i should have:( (groin strain that took three weeks and a physio to shake)
This time it will be different, God, I sound like an alcoholic except my addiction is running!

skyblue46

Supercell wrote: »

You are absolutely right as my history of injuries will attest to!
Getting into serious distances now and an injury at this stage might well be enough to end DCM hopes, post RnR I'm slightly terrified of running fast this week after what happened the week following the Clontarf half when I didn't hold back like i should have:( (groin strain that took three weeks and a physio to shake)
This time it will be different, God, I sound like an alcoholic except my addiction is running!

You may have to dial Kilcock back a bit but probably not too much. What's more important between now and then, in fact all the way through to DCM is to run easy miles at no faster than 9:30 pace. Running 'easy' miles at 8:10 is stuff of 37 min 10k runners or 1:22/1:25 half marathon runners.

AuldManKing

skyblue46 wrote: »

You may have to dial Kilcock back a bit but probably not too much. What's more important between now and then, in fact all the way through to DCM is to run easy miles at no faster than 9:30 pace. Running 'easy' miles at 8:10 is stuff of 37 min 10k runners or 1:22/1:25 half marathon runners.

I've ran a 36 min 10k and my easy pace varies from 8:20 to 9'ish.

Best change I ever made was slowing down the easy runs.

Your body reacts physiologically the same way to an easy run at 8 min/miles as it does at 9:30 min/miles - all you do running faster is get more tired and prone to injury.

The Black Oil

Applegirl26 wrote: »

I'm a little embarrassed to say I was in bed for 20:00 last night. I was totally exhausted!

Some running days =

Applegirl26 wrote: »

Alarm was set for the usual 0500 this morning. I was very naughty though and pressed snooze a few times before I got up. The DCM juggernaut rolls on....

We'll have you fully addicted yet. :P

Mr. Guappa

Applegirl26 wrote: »

I woke up at 0400 and ate a banana in the dark. Then reset the alarm and went back to sleep. I woke at 0500 and did the same thing. When I woke at 0600 I got up, ate a slice of toast with peanut butter, had a coffee and got ready to leave. Don't ya just love that feeling when you pin your racing bib on?

Great race report. The above snippet had me in fits of laughter!

Summerflower

racersedge wrote: »

Stalker!!!! :P‚ And you were in Roscommon for ththe 10 Mile as well, weren’t you?!

LOL... Yep I was in Roscommon for the 10 mile too , I really enjoyed it, I thought it was such a great atmosphere and really well organised. I think it will be on my list for next year too.

I am actually really looking forward to Kilcock, it is in my head now to give it a try as I have not raced much this year at all and missing the buzz so hopefully I will be feeling good on the day and can hold a good pace for it. Best of luck in the Tullamore Half, its a great idea to pick the half as your one to push and your right it will give you a good idea for DCM

Applegirl26

The Black Oil wrote: »

Some running days =





We'll have you fully addicted yet. :P

Ha,ha!! I'm having a lot of those days recently. If I'm not sleeping I'm daydreaming of when I can legitimately sneak off to bed!

The man in red and black

SkyBlue has kept drilling it into us to slow down but I am still learning the hard way.

The way last weeks runs worked out I took Thursday off then 8miles Friday, 8miles Sat and 16miles LSR Sunday. After the rest on Thursday I ran too fast on Friday (8:44/mile), felt very sluggish on Saturday doing the 8miles at 9:15/mile then on Sunday I was still on call so had to do a strange route for the 16 miles so that I was still within 4 miles of the house at all times, involved too many hills and by the end my quads + IT band on one leg were really burning after 9:50/mile average.

Yesterday I went out for 6 miles and felt seriously stiff and like there was nothing in my legs. Went slow. Felt refreshed today and another 6 mile run at 9:05/mile felt like a light job. The hills on Sunday didn't help trying to do 16 miles but alot of the hardship of the weekend was brought on by going too fast on Friday nights 8 mile run. So I will continue to try keep myself going slow.

Then again I am wrong about most things so maybe this doesn't make any sense. I think the moral of the story is to go slow though :P

sumsar

So far I've not encountered any injuries except for pretty bad chafing after my 12 mile at the weekend..

I chose not to do my run tonight and wait for tomorrow in hope that it's somewhat improved rather than risk making it even worse tonight.

I've been whacking sudocrem on, hopefully this time tomorrow I'll have a run done or I'll be very disappointed.

In a slightly positive note.. I think this has been my proper wake up call that I need to cop on and eat healthy as I've been piling on the weight recently and the chafing is the equivalent of me hitting rock bottom ha.

Well.. let's see what happens from here.