DCM 2018 - Mentored Novice Thread

ariana`

Helenasca wrote: »

Just something I've been thinking about after reading so many other people doing races. Is it important to include these? I'm based in Galway so the race series isn't an option. I'm doing a 3/4 marathon on Oct 6th but other than that I didn't have any other races planned. Should I be rethinking this?

Kellygirl wrote: »

I wasn’t in a position to do anything besides a 10 miler last year before DCM. Races are handy for the experience of preparing for them, trying out everything you plan to do on Marathon day and maybe seeing what pace you might possibly be able to do on Marathon day but they aren’t essential.

I assume you are treating the 3/4 marathon as a long run rather than actually racing it?

Hi Helenasca, good advice from KG there. Races aren't crucial and certainly i feel one at either 10 mile or half marathon is sufficient. There's a new 10 mile race in Castlebar this year on Sept 9th, it may suit you. There's a half marathon in Clew Bay on Sept 22nd. I'm sure there are others as well... There's a handy facebook page for Running in Connaught
. Where are you doing the 3/4 marathon out of interest?

braynewbie

Baby75 wrote: »

I agree 100% with you Ariana I had a huge eye opener when I went to Run Hub and had a gait analysis
1, I was wearing the wrong size runner
2, wrong heel drop for my Achilles issue
3, I need support runners BUT not all runners will suit you! I tried on 7 pairs of support runners only 3 pairs suited me and gave me the support I needed.

Hi Baby, can I ask what heel drop were you told to get for the Achilles issue? I have Achilles troubles too.......thanks

braynewbie

ok so I'm managed to read all (haha some) of the previous gazillion posts......my fault for being late to the party and some great tips there.

I was given a tip for eating before a lsr, I do mine on a Sunday morning and as the run gets longer the start gets earlier. Obviously I don't want to get up at stupid o'clock to eat then sit around waiting for it to digest etc nor do I want to run that distance on an empty stomach....... so a running friend suggested porridge soaked overnight in milk with berries or whatever you like, then in the morning liquidise the lot so that it's a drink rather than a meal. She has done a few marathons and she says this is what she always does as the runs get longer as it's much easier on the stomach and you don't have to wait for ages before heading out.

Helenasca

Kellygirl wrote:

I assume you are treating the 3/4 marathon as a long run rather than actually racing it?

ariana` wrote:

. Where are you doing the 3/4 marathon out of interest?

OOnegative wrote:

If you plan on racing it I would rethink it, racing 19 miles or more 3 weeks out is to close to DCM in my opinion. Races are handy in training to give you an indication how fitness is coming along but there not essential.

Tks for that. I wasn't planning on full marathon pace but maybe a little quicker than my LSR. So my LSR is 7.30/km average and my MP is meant to be 6.20/km odd. So might try aim for 7 mins and see how I manage with that. I don't want to be stupid about it and end up injuring myself so close to the 'finish line' DCM. So will take it easy if struggling.

It's the Galway Bay 10k and half marathon doubled up so the 10k finishes and you start in the half straight after. It works into the 32k LSR for that wkend.

Another probably silly question obviously I'm a total first timer here do you just manage to find your marathon pace on the day after doing easy runs and LSRs and then on race day you're running faster then you have been. I know there'll be the adrenaline and the buzz but not sure how much my legs are gonna appreciate that versus my head

RayCun

That's one of the reasons why it's useful to do some races in the build up. To get used to running at a faster pace.

It's also good as a reality check on your training paces and planned marathon pace. If you run a half or a 10 all out it gives you some idea how fast you can run in the marathon, which gives you some idea how fast you should be running on easy runs. Otherwise people end up with just one pace they run everything at.

beakerjoe

For anyone struggling and thinks its all very overwhelming, here is my running log this year.

I started in June after doing very little since the 2017 Marathon and find it hard to get out as much as last year with a new job since July and a crazy toddler at home.. The first cuts were the deepest, as the first few 3-5km runs were a killer as I found my running legs again. Did a few 5k parkruns and they felt like death. But I kept going and eventually did the 10k south Dublin in 49 mins. Finishing that gave me great hope going forward that even though I feel so far behind, I wasn’t that far behind.

Over the month of August I’ve been away, had a few pints (nothing crazy) and a few 5/6km runs in the extreme heat of Portugal (47 degrees), which was a killer. But running in Ireland since arriving home has been easier. I’ve worked myself up to 8 miles now, and do what I can on lunch breaks and even run the mile to the train station when leaving work. I do about 3 5km runs during the week and a long on Sundays.

Yes I’m way off where I wanna be, I’d like to be hitting at least 12 miles on my weekend runs but I should be able for the 10 miler come 10 days time.

I’m finding it tough, mentally and physically but I’m just doing it. Getting up off the backside is the battle, once I get up and get out I’m fine.

My message to those struggling and feeling the pain of exhaustion, is its supposed to be tough. Its not easy and it will be normal to doubt if you should be bother at all.

But believe me, its all worth it. The buzz of finishing it after all your hard work and sacrifice.

"We're all going to heaven lads, wahey!!"

smeal

If I have learned anything from this whole experience it is I.Cannot.Run.By.Myself.

Took off on a 4 mile route this evening by myself as wanted to head out earlier than the gang. Seemed to blow up after 2 miles!! Pace and breathing were all over the place and I felt like I was concentrating on the sound of my breathing more than the run.

Lost all confidence in myself for about 10 minutes when I got home.. how I could I be so sh*t tonight when I had one of the best weeks of running so far last week and even managed comfortably running alongside a much faster group who I never thought I would train with? Was it the gallons of prosecco and pink gin from the weekend? Was it the stressful day of work?!

Anyways I gathered my thoughts after I stuffed my face with biscuits and just thought how far I have come in the grand scheme of things. 18 months ago I couldn’t run to the bottom of my drive. I just have to face that I can’t run on my own as I can’t pull myself together!! Luckily there are always people from my club out most evenings so I won’t be stuck.. onwards and upwards and roll on the 8 miles tomorrow 🙂

mrs happyfeet

Got some new runners in run logic temple bar at the weekend. brought in my old ones so he could see what the sole looked like. did gait analysis and recommended brooks richochet and also that I go up half a size(hopefully no more black toe nails for me ). did 7 miles in them this evening and feel good. The owner Ash is very knowledgeable about running and gave me some advice about gels/isogels/bloks etc. He has ran a 2;40 marathon so knows his stuff. I asked... he wasn't bragging!!! all in all a good experience and would defo recommend checking it out if looking for new runners. they cost €140 and he threw in a few gels.
Have decided to focus a bit more on eating healthy,drinking lots more water and getting early nights. food and water going well but last two nights have been 1am going to bed. Don't know what I do be doing but never manage to get to bed early!! doing long run Friday morning this week as going out fri night. Hope everyone elses training is going well.

mrs happyfeet

ahhh Smeal I know how you feel. I did 7 tonight on my own - 1st time in ages that I've had to go on my own and it was tough at times. every mile just felt sooooo long. think it was the new runners that kept me going.... I wanted to make a good first impression for them!!!!!!!!

whiskey_sour

Not looking good for me this week....after a couple of weeks of calf niggles and not a lot of running I woke up on Sunday with pain even when walking. Got to the physio and she did some dry needling and gave me some exercises but she says no more running until she sees me again next Friday....after that I should be fine. Not sure if this means the end of marathon training for me...the longest run I've done so far is 15 miles....I wonder if I could drop back to the HHN1 plan when I get back on my feet? I won't be doing any more races (did a half marathon 2 weeks ago) so that gives me a bit more room on the plan....

gypsylee

After running the LSR of 15 miles yesterday I thought I would not be able to move my legs this morning. A little bit achy going up and down the stairs earlier but grand now. Guess that stretching and foam rolling malarkey works!

braynewbie

whats the RISC study? tia

kittyclaws

whiskey_sour wrote: »

Not looking good for me this week....after a couple of weeks of calf niggles and not a lot of running I woke up on Sunday with pain even when walking. Got to the physio and she did some dry needling and gave me some exercises but she says no more running until she sees me again next Friday....after that I should be fine. Not sure if this means the end of marathon training for me...the longest run I've done so far is 15 miles....I wonder if I could drop back to the HHN1 plan when I get back on my feet? I won't be doing any more races (did a half marathon 2 weeks ago) so that gives me a bit more room on the plan....

15 miles is still well above a lot of the plans at this point - I know a few following a plan that had them at 12 miles last week (and 14 this week)
Just take it handy until Friday, get the physio to look at your plan for next week and to alter it to get you back up to where you should be over the next week or two.
And get two pairs of calf sleeves - one for running in and one for sleeping in!:D

smashiner

braynewbie wrote: »

Hi Baby, can I ask what heel drop were you told to get for the Achilles issue? I have Achilles troubles too.......thanks

Lots and lots of stretching and foam rollering on the calves and glutes was the only thing that helped me with my Achilles strain (almost gone now thank God). Tennis ball on the arches/soles of the feet was recommended by the Mentors and this has helped me too.

I am the worlds worst stretcher, I laughed at a running quote I read the other day that said 'You know that you are a runner when you can run up hills but you can't touch your toes'..... that is so me, my physio does be shocked at how knotted up I get myself sometimes

Off to see him tomorrow afternoon for my 3 monthly NCT to get all ironed out for my LSR at the weekend! The joys of long distance running....

smeal

Off to see him tomorrow afternoon for my 3 monthly NCT to get all ironed out for my LSR at the weekend! The joys of long distance running....

I've spent copious amount of cash the past few weeks on Physio, Orthotic in-soles, new runners, sports massages, knee supports... not to mention the 100quid I spent this week on entering the 3/4 marathon and 2 x 1/2 marathons.

Ughhh..

whiskey_sour

kittyclaws wrote: »

whiskey_sour wrote: »

Not looking good for me this week....after a couple of weeks of calf niggles and not a lot of running I woke up on Sunday with pain even when walking. Got to the physio and she did some dry needling and gave me some exercises but she says no more running until she sees me again next Friday....after that I should be fine. Not sure if this means the end of marathon training for me...the longest run I've done so far is 15 miles....I wonder if I could drop back to the HHN1 plan when I get back on my feet? I won't be doing any more races (did a half marathon 2 weeks ago) so that gives me a bit more room on the plan....

15 miles is still well above a lot of the plans at this point - I know a few following a plan that had them at 12 miles last week (and 14 this week)
Just take it handy until Friday, get the physio to look at your plan for next week and to alter it to get you back up to where you should be over the next week or two.
And get two pairs of calf sleeves - one for running in and one for sleeping in!:D

Thanks so much kittyclaws, you've made me feel so much better! Thank God for this thread!

The Black Oil

braynewbie wrote: »

whats the RISC study? tia

https://dcuriscstudy.wixsite.com/dcuriscstudy

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057849598

Kellygirl

whiskey_sour wrote: »

Not looking good for me this week....after a couple of weeks of calf niggles and not a lot of running I woke up on Sunday with pain even when walking. Got to the physio and she did some dry needling and gave me some exercises but she says no more running until she sees me again next Friday....after that I should be fine. Not sure if this means the end of marathon training for me...the longest run I've done so far is 15 miles....I wonder if I could drop back to the HHN1 plan when I get back on my feet? I won't be doing any more races (did a half marathon 2 weeks ago) so that gives me a bit more room on the plan....

kittyclaws wrote: »

15 miles is still well above a lot of the plans at this point - I know a few following a plan that had them at 12 miles last week (and 14 this week)
Just take it handy until Friday, get the physio to look at your plan for next week and to alter it to get you back up to where you should be over the next week or two.
And get two pairs of calf sleeves - one for running in and one for sleeping in!:D

Sorry to hear that Whiskey Sour but good advice from kittyclaws. I’ve been out of action too and currently easing myself back into it so I know how you feel. Can you swim or cycle to keep up the aerobic fitness?

whiskey_sour

Kellygirl wrote: »

Sorry to hear that Whiskey Sour but good advice from kittyclaws. I’ve been out of action too and currently easing myself back into it so I know how you feel. Can you swim or cycle to keep up the aerobic fitness?

Thanks Kellygirl, hope your recovery is going well! I can get to spin classes so will do a few this week to tie me over!

juke

mrs happyfeet wrote: »

Got some new runners in run logic temple bar at the weekend. brought in my old ones so he could see what the sole looked like. did gait analysis and recommended brooks richochet and also that I go up half a size(hopefully no more black toe nails for me ). did 7 miles in them this evening and feel good. The owner Ash is very knowledgeable about running and gave me some advice about gels/isogels/bloks etc. He has ran a 2;40 marathon so knows his stuff. I asked... he wasn't bragging!!! all in all a good experience and would defo recommend checking it out if looking for new runners. they cost €140 and he threw in a few gels.

Having given up pretending that my 'on order' runners will ever turn up at Base2Rrace despite lots of phone calls, I went to Run Hub on Aungier Street this week. Got to say the service was miles ahead of my Base2Rrace experience. Far more knowledge, far more attention to detail, far more giving a damn about the customer. Got me a lovely pair of Brooks Ravanna's, looking forward to trying them out.

smeal wrote: »

I've spent copious amount of cash the past few weeks on Physio, Orthotic in-soles, new runners, sports massages, knee supports... not to mention the 100quid I spent this week on entering the 3/4 marathon and 2 x 1/2 marathons.

Ughhh..

Take up running they say, it's FREE

smeal

Lovely 8 miles this evening! Company was good and had a nice bouncy pace in or around the 9 min miles. Made up for last night’s horror show! New in soles have left a blister though boo.. Going into the weekend positive for my Lsr on Saturday 😌

NyOmnishambles

NyOmnishambles wrote: »

Meltdowns are perfectly acceptable around here I reckon, we are all in this together

If it helps I can share my day yesterday when I think I would have been better staying in bed, even if it was nowhere near as bad as your day

I woke up exhausted (I think we all are) so didn't go for my run deciding I would run home from work

Big mistake

The heat was oppressive and the homeward journey is somewhat uphill plus the gear bag on my back was unbalanced so I couldn't settle into a rythm
It was really tough going and every minute felt like a battle

Then half way through the Park I inhaled a fly and nearly coughed up lung as I could feel the fecker struggling to escape
Shortly after and for the next couple of kilometers I got attacked by a swarm of flies who seemed to be one some kind of kamakazi revenge mission for their fallen comrade

It was sweaty, sweltering, suffering and another S word that I won't utter in polite company

Then we had to go and traipse around IKEA to buy wardrobes which we will be assembling over the weekend

But hey, it is done now and we keep plodding forward, whether that be slowly or at pace, we will all reach the same destination at the end

Morning All

Attempted the run home from work yesterday evening for the first time since the above atrocity

It went much better thankfully

Reasons for this seem to be

Unlike the last run it wasn't hotter than the surface of Mercury out there

The main reason though is that I managed my effort much better, being after work I don't have to wait for my legs and the rest of me to wake up unlike in the mornings so was running at a faster pace straight away, being in town meant not being able to get into a rhythm so the temptation is a sprint to make up time
Thankfully I was able to regulate the effort and keep the tempo steady

Due to the change in weather i didn't have to run the gauntlet of revenge filled winged fury like last time
The flying feckers seem to love my gentle ginger constitution

I managed to keep my gear bag fairly settled

It felt tougher than in the mornings due to being uphill, it felt much slower but was only about 2 mins more

I am a rather portly gentleman so part of the training is the aim of losing weight to make it easier to get round on the day
I am down a stone now without much effort, the aim is another stone gone before the end of October, will still have a bit to go after that anyway

*A NyOmnishambles ramble*

brownbinman

back from few days holiday in Wexford. Forgot my bloody gear, was raging but am only getting over sickness. Was floored for over a week

First run in nearly 2 weeks tomorrow. Aiming for gentle 10m to see how I'm fixed. Will be touch and go for next few weeks

aloooof

NyOmnishambles wrote: »

It felt tougher than in the mornings due to being uphill, it felt much slower but was only about 2 mins more

Great stuff on the better runmute effort. The above in particular made me laugh! :pac:

RayCun

NyOmnishambles wrote: »

I managed to keep my gear bag fairly settled

I run in and out of work all the time, but I try to arrange it so I don't have to carry a bag - eg, cycle in with a bag containing running gear and change of clothes, leave bag and bike at work and run home. Next day run in, wear the change of clothes from the day before, cycle home with the bag of laundry.

NyOmnishambles

RayCun wrote: »

I run in and out of work all the time, but I try to arrange it so I don't have to carry a bag - eg, cycle in with a bag containing running gear and change of clothes, leave bag and bike at work and run home. Next day run in, wear the change of clothes from the day before, cycle home with the bag of laundry.

That is definitely something I could do better, just haven't been able to get the logistics of it right yet

beakerjoe

whiskey_sour wrote: »

Thanks so much kittyclaws, you've made me feel so much better! Thank God for this thread!

Im only at 8 miles now (goal was to be 12 miles by this weekend) and Im not sweating it , so being at 15 miles is a great position to be. Rest up, dont rush it even though you'll be eager to get into the swing of things. Recovery is as important as teh training itself.

You can afford the rest so dont fret too much

coogy

Any fellow novices on the Board plan as excited as me about this weekend's 18 mile lsr?

When I think back to the moment I first took a look at the training schedule, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I saw '18 mile lsr' and '20 mile lsr'. It was like that scene from The Wicker Man when Edward Woodward is dragged kicking and screaming into the wooden effigy before being burnt alive...........or something like that. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I think my eagerness for tomorrow's run is testament to the wonderful advice and support from the mentoring folk on this thread. I know we're only half way there but thanks to all of you!!!

bucketybuck

coogy wrote: »

Any fellow novices on the Board plan as excited as me about this weekend's 18 mile lsr?

First world problems, trying to decide upon a 30km route I'm happy with...

When I did the Hal Higdon 1 plan in 2016 there was only one 30k+ run included and in retrospect I felt that wasn't enough. Now I'm going to be doing 4 such long runs in the next 7 weeks, its definitely a step up!

I know technically there are 10 weeks of training still to go, but to be honest I don't count the last 3 weeks, they are for the taper and should be a piece of cake really. So in my mind I am past the halfway point and its now just these 7 weeks that are important, there are a lot of miles in them but hopefully they will pass by quickly enough!

skyblue46

coogy wrote: »

Any fellow novices on the Board plan as excited as me about this weekend's 18 mile lsr?

When I think back to the moment I first took a look at the training schedule, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I saw '18 mile lsr' and '20 mile lsr'. It was like that scene from The Wicker Man when Edward Woodward is dragged kicking and screaming into the wooden effigy before being burnt alive...........or something like that. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I think my eagerness for tomorrow's run is testament to the wonderful advice and support from the mentoring folk on this thread. I know we're only half way there but thanks to all of you!!!

Thanks for giving the mentors a mention but in all truth ye are the ones deserving of the praise. Some really amazing progress so far, some struggles, some injuries and some missed runs but all in all a fantastic effort so far.

The next couple of months will present a new and different set of challenges. The number of daylight hours will be less, temperatures will be colder and planning running routes can get more difficult as some routes are not safe after dark. Be ready for this in advance. Get a decent rain jacket, high vis reflective belt or armbands and a good woolly hat! Haha.