Often becomes easy when the easy is often..
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Dusting the cobwebs off to give a bit of a report on DCM, and the lead up. Hopefully not TL;DR 😊
The marathon is all about goals, a hierarchy of goals. Top dog goal for me this time out was the goal of running the race cramp free.
Calf cramp, quad cramp, glute cramp, being taken out by a sniper cramp, my previous maras have all been hampered by cramp. Crampered.
While I had a really good Amsterdam last year in terms of time improvement, I was pretty unhappy with how the last 10k played out. Cramp forced a slow down and I bled valuable minutes because of it.
Shortly after that race I listened to an interview on the Runner’s Diary pod with George Sherwood, he of Precision Hydration. He was talking about this sweat test they do that allows them determine how salty a sweater you are, and tailor a hydration plan for you, all with the aim of eliminating cramp.
I was all over it. Got in touch with George straight away and booked in for a test.
Did that last November and it turned out I’m a really salty sweater, like a supplier to Macari salty sweater. This seemed like really good news.
I actually had Milan marathon in mind back then, April 2024 but I got injured in Jan so we’ll fast forward.
In and around late April, early May I attended a talk at our club about strength training, hosted by my physio Lee who also happens to be an ex international athlete. He’s currently doing a masters in strength and conditioning and how it impacts running performance. The talk was fantastic, and I decided straight away to begin strength training. Lee is also a personal trainer so I booked in with him and started weekly 30 min sessions. The goal then to simply get stronger, and improve my overall running economy. All running specific stuff, barbell squats, plyometrics (pogo jumps, box jumps) a little upper body. Within a few weeks I was squatting a decent amount relative to my body weight, and really feeling the positive effects of it in my training.
About 14 weeks out from Dublin Lee started asking me about my plan for it. He told me to cherry pick the best bits from previous training blocks and come up with a plan, and he would critique and tweak.
He had been telling me all about Canova’s marathon sessions so I decided to incorporate them into it as the main focus.
These were basically ‘On/Off’ sessions, where the ON is marathon pace and the OFF (float) is 30 seconds or so (per km) slower, so your HR is never really dropping too low. I did these every second week. They built in intensity, starting with an 8x 1k, 1k float, and finishing with a 4x 5k, with 1k float. That last one an absolute beast, but one I felt so good and ready after.
I used a blend of Hanson and Bob Williams to come up with the structure around the Canova stuff. No easy long runs, every long run had something going on.
Six days a week, rest on Thursday. Sessions Wednesday and Saturday. Between myself and Lee we came up with a pretty decent bespoke training program.
I felt I really nailed the training. Consistent running, no slacking off. On previous mara blocks there’s always been chunks of time missing due to injury or sickness, this was different. I did sit out a few days two weeks out (during taper) with what I thought was a developing injury. Was scared shitless of progressing it, so played things safe and rested. Lee reassured me though that it was nothing, and I got back on the horse for the last week. Last session on the Wednesday (5x 1km) and was good to go.
Here's the original plan, a couple of small changes made, but mostly as is.
The Race
With the nippers shipped off to their Nana’s house the evening before, Mrs Laz and I woke up at about 5am after a decent rest. The two of us were racing DCM, her second, my fourth. Park and Ride at the Red Cow then the Luas in.
We had friends staying in the Davenport so headed to them and used the facilities. J was in a later wave so I left her there and headed to the start.
Pre DCM is such an absolute buzz, you can almost feel electricity fizzing off people as we all mill around excitedly. It’s a real pinch me feeling. You’ve been thinking about this moment for so so long, it almost feels like an illusion. Such tremendous excitement.
I positioned myself halfway between the 3:10 and 3:20 pacers in the start pen and soaked it all in while waiting for the klaxon. Target is 3:10. PB is 3:15:47.
Nutrition plan is a Precision Nutrition gel every 25 mins, and 2x salt tablets every hour, the first at 25 mins.
Boom and we’re off. New start line this year, new first couple of km and a new finish. The opening couple of km now takes you around Christchurch down Dame St, left onto Parliament St and then onto the Quays. Was a really nice stretch. Bumped into @MisterJinx along the quays (he will pop back into the story later), he said he was gonna run his own race, and let me run my own, but he would be nearby. Exactly what I wanted to hear, and he knew that. Last thing you want is to feel pressure to waste energy chatting (more on that later also). You just can’t afford it when you’re pushing your limit in a marathon. Every joule of energy is to be put to use.
We crossed the Liffey and headed up through Stoneybatter and I all of a sudden started to feel some negativity, the first of the mental wobbles. This was surprisingly early though. Normally these don’t come on until way way later. I had had plenty of niggles and pain throughout the training block and I started getting really anxious that I was going to need to pull out. The thoughts of facing Lee, Mrs Laz and my running buddies after DNFing less than 5k into the race had me sweating. Dealt with that sort of headspace until we entered the Phoenix Park. It lifted then and I felt more of a spring in my stride. I’ve done so much running in the Park the last few months that this just felt like home.
Chesterfield is a long oul drag so I just settled into a rhythm and plodded along.
My pace plan was based off 5k splits, so I had a target average pace for each 5k section.
Target average pace for this section was 4:34 per km and I was a touch quicker than that. Was actually about 40 seconds faster than planned going through 10k. Target time for that split was 46:20 and I went under it in and around 45:40.
That actually made me a little nervous. Remember, my main goal is to get through this thing without cramping, I just can’t be overcooking it or I’m fooked.
10 – 15k was a dream. Target average was 4:25 and I ran it pretty much at that. Lots of downhill, back into the PP for more familiarity and out the gate to run by Donore. The shoutout here from my coach and clubmates was phenomenal. The crowd generally throughout the entire course was a thing of beauty. Such an incredible experience.
Over the Liffey once more and through Chapelizod to Ballyfermot. Took it incredibly easy going up the hill at St Lawrence’s road. Shortened the stride and slowed right down to about 6:20 a km. People were storming past me but I DGAF, I let them at it. This hill will kill you. You just won’t find out it killed you until Milltown. So I pottered up it. When I got to the top I picked things back up.
Mentioned earlier about not wanting to chat. I was running up towards Kilmainham Gaol when I heard someone in the crowd call out a familiar name. ‘GO ON GARY F….), I turned around and spotted the lad, a really really sound guy I know from parkrun. I said hello and asked him how he was getting on. We started chatting and straight away I started to get a wave of negativity, the second bout. Negative thoughts around wasting energy chatting. I figured I needed to drop Gary and do my own thing. Didn’t feel comfortable straight up saying it to him. Came upon a water station and found an opportune moment. Told him I needed to slow to take the salt tabs, so I did that. Actually dropped one on the ground and stopped to pick it up.
Was now back on my own but was still dipping in and out of mental wobbles. A decent boost of morale coming around the bend at Dolphin’s Barn, the crowd here like a furnace. Amazing what that can do for you. The beginning of the long Crumlin slog.
This stretch is an absolutely horrible bastard. It’s always windy, it’s a draggy hill and it goes on and on and on for what seems like forever.
Through the halfway gantry bang on target in 1:35:56, target time on the paceband was 1:35:57 so was really happy with that.
Slogged up Crumlin road then.
I’ve been having this issue with my right leg the last couple of years. It’s a weird one, and hard to explain. It just starts to feel, I dunno, awkward I guess. Like I’ve lost the full range of motion of it and am half dragging it. It tends to last 15 minutes or so, so a couple of miles before working itself out. Not without slowing me down though.
I recently discovered that if I stop and ‘pump’ it, it clears it up. I had decided pre-race that that was what I was gonna do this time. The first of those was on Crumlin road, I pulled in to the right and leaned against a pole, pumping the right lower leg. No more than about 8 to 10 seconds I would say. Between that and the general slog of this section, it was a low ebb in the race mentally. Low ebbs are part of it though, and I remembered that, and repeated it to myself when I came out the other side.
A funny thing happened there actually. I must have ran past Gary, the lad I slowed to avoid chatting to, at some point. As I was pumping out the right leg I just heard ‘Ah Jaysis, WTF are you doing?’, I turned and it was him. I goes ‘ah I only stopped for a sec Gary, have this thing with the leg ya know’. He goes ‘Wha?, no, your man’ pointing up the road at some lad on a bike that nearly knocked him over 😂.
Rounded the bend onto Walkinstown Ave and I felt pretty good now, the slog is over. A good friend from parkrun was outside SuperValu with his own little support table. Got a banana from him. It was a bit bruisy though haha, and I was jealous of the fresh looking ones these oul dears were handing out. Told them as much and they laughed. Good craic, sure you need it.
I love Walkinstown roundabout, to me it feels like the proper halfway point. There’s definitely a bit of a mindset shift when you get past here, a countdown. The roar at it was absolutely awesome.
Mindset also was mostly positive now, some negative moments but generally I was doing well. I remember running by the 14 mile marker and calculating that I had 19km left to go but that being a really positive thought. ‘Sure just 9k left and then I’ve only a 10k’.
All was rosey until another bout of that leg thing coming through Terenure. It brings a lot of negativity with it too. I had some cramping issues at this point in 2022 so was generally very much on edge. Even though I knew stopping and pumping fixed it a while back I was really reluctant to stop now, not sure why, anxious about cramp I suppose.
I ran alongside a telegraph pole though and just said feck it, stopped and grabbed a hold of it and started pumping.
MisterJinx ran by me here and asked me was I ok. I jumped in alongside him and told him the craic with the leg.
We ran together for a bit. He said the same thing as earlier, that basically we’ll have plenty of time for chatting over pints later 😊. Absolutely perfect. We both knuckled down and got on with it, but he pulled ahead of me somewhat. (He absolutely bossed it).
Things were mostly fine now, mentally and physically. I had a couple of milestones coming up that I had to get through mentally. Places where things had gone awry before. A spot in Milltown and another a couple of miles later. Got through Milltown with zero issues and the confidence built. Came up to the spot in Clonskeagh where I’d gotten hit with a sniper in 2022, and again, through it with no issue.
About 7km to go now and I all of a sudden start to feel really strong and confident. It’s dawning on me that I may get through this cramp free. Nerves are gone now. Have never felt this way at the business end of a marathon before and it’s exhilarating.
Crested the hill at Clonskeagh and turned onto the downhill of Fosters Ave. I had told Gary back at Kilmainham that I was dreaming of Fosters and here it is. Ploughed down it at around 10k pace feeling absolutely amazing. I saw a couple of Donore singlets up ahead, one a woman that I recognized, a legend of the club. I pulled alongside her and said hello and introduced myself. She kinda looked at me a little funny 😊
We traded places back and forth for a bit, I’m still in awe at how good I feel. Legs are tired and sore alright, and I was dreaming of the finish line but relatively speaking I felt awesome.
Ran by a friend here with his lovely family out supporting, got a great shoutout. Down Nutley and left for home. Just digging deep here and keeping it up, still feeling really good. Shoutout from @scotindublin at the RDS (the third shout from him) and @skyblue46 at the old Burlo. Almost home.
Spotted another Donore singlet, a lad I took in the last 600m of Ratoath half. He was struggling and I took him again. 2k to go and I remember thinking that this time I was going to be mindful of the crowds for the final stretch. The last couple of times they’ve been a blur, a brain boiling mush of noise and flickering memories. Wanted to drink them in this time.
The new finish line gave us that in such a big way this year.
Went through 41k towards the canal bridge and the road narrowed. Roars of crowds left and right. Over the bridge and a left turn, bodies eight deep on both sides, a cauldron of noise. It was **** immense. I actually cried with the buzz of it.
Was still running strong, but had a sense that I was at my max. Along the crowd filled canal, then a sharp right turn to come upon the majestic Pepper Cannister. Around to the left of it, one leg in front of the other, crowd faces, singlets in front, road underneath, crowd noise, echoey commentary, clap clap of runners, grunts and breaths. The gantry coming into view, the purple carpet. Onto it, still moving, legs turning as fast as they can. Can’t believe it, can’t believe I’m about to cross the line, this doesn’t feel real. The whole block and all the sacrifice and hard work that went into it condenses into that moment. That last few metres, when you throw your hands up into the air and cross the line. There’s no feeling like it.
I pressed the button on my watch and collapsed into the arms of a steward 😊
3:12:10 for a new PB and a pretty much nailed on BQ.
Mrs Laz ( @MiniMonstera ) absolutely bossed the thing, bagging a sub 4 (3:59:37), a 45 minute PB and a huge negative split. Although I was really happy with how things went, this was the absolute highlight of the day. Massively proud of her.
Am taking away a lot of positives from this season, and a lot of learning. The S&C work is key, and I’m absolutely keeping that going. The nutrition worked well too so will repeat that. Mostly though I’m going to take a lot of confidence forward with me to the next one, based on how I felt for that last 6 or 7 km. Now that I know it’s possible to run one without cramp I can probably minimise the negativity in the earlier stages.
Hopefully keep chipping away at it.
Cheers guys, thanks for reading.
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