DCM 2019 - Mentored Novices Thread

kemcloughlin

Loving the race reports - felt like I was in Edenderry!!

Did I get in all the runs?
I sure did - and really enjoyed this week too. I set off very early in the morning for two of them and had a day full of great energy as a result. I took the advice and didn’t do the Parkrun. On Sunday I went swimming - first time to ever use my Garmin in the pool - I am so slow! But it was great to loosen out everything and I felt much better as a result and even had time for the sauna and steam room. Might become a Sunday thing... This afternoon I feel like I am getting a head cold so resting, loads of fluids and some paracetamol and hope it goes to find someone else fairly lively. Went to see a physical therapist on Friday afternoon for a deeper tissue massage - she was telling me about my slightly turned in ankles and she got some rid of some knots and have a few strengthening exercises.

Live in the country and on Saturdays LSR was running on a road with plenty of room for the driver to indicate and drive around me - I was running facing the traffic - not that there is much - anyway the small local bus came along and instead of indicating and moving out slightly he decided to stop dead in the road up against the road margin I was running on - forcing me to stop completely. There was another car coming against him but it was so far away it was ridiculous. I stood for a second and then had to go in front of the bus and round to the left of the bus as there was nowhere else for me to go. It was utter madness and he made me very 😀 But the anger got me up the hill on the last mile!

Pace...
Slowed down this week.

Tuesday 3 mile 11.58/mile Ave HR 120 and Max 135
Weds 4 miles 12.19/mile Ave HR 125 Max 140
Thurs 3 miles 11.32/mile Ave HR 116 Max 134
Saturday LSR 9 miles 12.04/mile Ave HR 130 Max 147

Is everyone sick of my talking about running?
It’s funny - I am not talking about it that much - a bit embarrassed to tell too many people I am training for DCM as I actually can’t believe that I am! I am so new to running and so out of shape and exercise for so long that this is all feeling very surreal! But I am loving it and can’t wait until October and then I will tell every person I meet! Tuesday night I ran through the village which I found a bit cringy... Saturday morning early run led to meeting a few people in town later that day who saw me out commenting on my energy - wishing they had the same! My husband is training for it too but he had this week off with a knee injury.

Looking forward to the week ahead. Hope this cold doesn’t stick around. Oh and I discovered the feature on Strava where you can plan a route - delighted with that as up to now I would drive around clocking everywhere in the car in advance!

Laineyfrecks

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

Yes got all my runs in as planned

- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?

Yes i defo feel i have adjusted well to the slower paces & am enjoying them

- Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet? :pac:

Haha like others i'm not talking about it too much but when i'm asked i do love sharing all the great tips im getting on here I love the few running groups i have to chat to without boring them!!
Looking forward to another week of training

Huzzah!

Bananaleaf wrote: »

I wasn't sure what to aim for for this race. I knew I most likely wouldn't PB because I had ran quite a good 10km in Feb (57:22) and knew I didn't have it in me to go sub57. So, I would have been happy to get in in 57:XX but disappointed to be on my feet 59mins.

The week leading up to the race was stressful. I don't want to make excuses for myself, but my father underwent lung surgery on Friday. He is great and it was a planned procedure so we knew it was coming up. Therefore, not a shock, nothing sudden and the surgery went really well. But I was tired from it all. Despite that, I had a good night's sleep last night. I was knackered getting up though. It was a real struggle to get out of the bed and I just couldn't get going.

This meant that I was later than planned getting to Grange Castle, so I was panicking. I was still there in enough time to do a short warm up of drills and strides. Then on to the race.

I remember the 1st km being really quite easy. I began at 5:30min/km pace and was feeling good. It didn't feel like a struggle. However, I knew that the maths wouldn't be right if I stayed at this pace so I slowed it down. I am always so afraid of a DNF or running out of steam that I sometimes think I may be conservative to a fault. 1st km: 6:01.

The second km and a half was tougher. I was on that ring road a long time by now and I was willing the left turn into the park into my vision. I noticed that my breathing was still good here and I noted that although I had now sped up to under 6min kms, I was coping okay. 2nd km 5:47.

Once into the park, things felt good. The 3rd km is mostly downhill and the change of scene is most welcome. I did a body check and noticed my fists were clenched. This would become a regular occurrence for the remainder of the race. I unclenched them. 3rd km: 5:54

When I hit the 4th km marker I remember thinking to myself "I can't sustain this." I went from doubtful to pessimistic very, very quickly. Before this km was up I wanted to slow down, I wanted to stop, I wanted to walk off the course. I forced myself on. I remembered the words "Race hard but sensibly"
I told myself that it wasn't sensible to slow down. I needed to push. Push I did. 4th km: 5:41

I don't know if this is cheating or not, but at 5km I took a caffeine gel. I wasn't sure if I needed it but didn't want to wait to find out. In hindsight, I don't think it did anything for me, because my problem seemed to be tired legs (an accumulation of miles from the plan) and an inability to catch much breath. I had a thought that maybe I need to book an appointment with my GP - this has been the second time this year this happened to me. I reassured myself that it was probably the humidity. It was very hot at this point. 5th km: 5:46

Once I turned left into Clondalkin there was a lovely breeze. Air! I knew water was coming but was horrified when I saw the cups :eek: Eco-friendly and all as they are, I had no time to waste, I couldn't stop, but going without the water was not an option. I would have to grab a cup and try my best. I got a bit in my mouth, a lot up my nose and most down my shoulders. Still, it was plenty. I was feeling very tired and I knew the worst of the route was yet to come ... 6th km: 5:53

Kms 7-9 were so tough. LOTS of people stopped on the canal to walk. There was a lovely man in a Waterstown Warriers top making lovely, encouraging comments to people who had stopped and, even though his words weren't directed at me, I pretended they were and aimed to at least try not to go slower than 6min/kms. It was really really hot here and no chance of air. A bit congested too. I thought to myself that the canal section would be much more palatable if there were crowds of supporters lining it. 7th km: 5:55, 8th km: 6:03, 9th km: 6:09

Okay, this was it. I reached the 9th km marker just at the end of the canal stretch and it was back out onto the road for a quick finish. Then I turned left and saw the little incline that I had totally forgotten about. I closed my eyes and went for it. Thinking about Roebuck Rd and mile 20 of DCM. "It's not a hill, it's not a hill, it's not a hill" "Pain is temporary" and what ReeReeG said to me last night: this is a hobby that we all love. Yes! You WANT to be here, remember that. I ran as hard as I could but it wasn't much. I was wrecked. It was hard to be disappointed at myself because I worked so hard from the very beginning, but I couldn't really believe my chip time was probably going to be 59mins. 10th km: 5:38

Because of the curve in the road towards the end, it took forever for the finish gantry to come into my view. I wanted to make a sprint for it but I didn't know how far I had to go and I had very little left in the tank. Not even the energy to glance at my watch. I crossed the line with a chip time of 58:54. Thank God for that!

In the end, I think I ran both hard and sensibly. I pushed myself. I gave myself a couple of stern talks throughout. I refused to allow myself to pull back unless it was necessary. However, I didn't feel like vomiting at the end. I didn't run myself into the ground. All kms were faster than PMP. I pushed myself enough to be happy with my performance, but not so much so that I won't be able for Tuesday's 4m easy. The show must go on. Keep the main thing, the main thing.

I'm going to warm up the water for a bath now :pac: Anything that even looks like an Epsom salt is getting flung in!

Sorry to hear about your dad. It doesn't matter if it was all planned, it will still be an emotional time. Look after yourself.

That's a really well-managed race.

Hope you enjoyed the bath

Huzzah!

passinginterest wrote: »

Feel ok in general if a bit tired. I felt awful for the long run last week too. It’s been a particularly busy couple of weeks in work so probably more stressed than usual and maybe a bit run down. I could do with improving the diet a bit. I actually did a bit of foam rolling and stretching last night. My quads were incredibly tender, so I’ll need to keep it up. Half suspicious that the unaccustomed foam rolling contributed to the aches in the foot/shin! Although it’s much more likely it’s a symptom of my calves getting tight again and if I don’t keep working on them I’m probably on the road to shin splints again.

If it's feasible, you could always book in for a wee tune-up with a physio. Keep going with the foam roller, too.

Huzzah!

Fraggle07 wrote: »

I made sure to hydrate lots Saturday (after a few bold glasses of wine Friday). I slept well and felt great the morning of. Had my usual breakie and headed off early to get parking and figure my way around as this was my first time doing this course.

Time wise I didn't really know what to expect given the slow training paces. I finished in 58:27 which is my 3rd fastest 10k (1.5 mins off my PB) - so I'm well happy with that.

I positioned myself close to the front of the 2nd wave. I was happy with the start, it didn't feel too congested and I slowed my 1st mile pace down a little compared to what I usually do. The first 3 miles were steady at 9 to 9:15 min/m which is what I had planned. My legs felt a bit heavy at the start. This disappeared as I hit mile 3. I started to struggle with the heat at this stage though so I slowed my pace. I was also aware of the need to conserve a bit for the drag coming.

The canal section was a little congested and there were some strong gusts of wind which made it feel very very long. I found some energy after the hill coming back into the business park for a strong fast finish (for me).

Overall I really enjoyed the course and race itself. I carried water with me and I'm glad I did. I badly needed it at times as it was quite warm and heavy out there.

Splits were:
Mile 1 9:00
Mile 2 9:15
Mile 3 9:15
Mile 4 9:38
Mile 5 9:50
Mile 6 9:33
Mile .3 8:10

Well done to everyone who ran, some great results in Strava!

The heavy legs might be due to the increased training load. It's the nature of the non-target races that you can't taper fully for them, so you'll be racing a bit on tired legs. It's all great practice and you managed really well. Well done.

Fraggle07 wrote: »

- Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
Yes

4 mile easy @11:11
6 mile w/u, pace c/d @ 10:00
3 mile easy @ 11:30
3 mile rec walk PR @ 18:26
South Dublin 10k @ 9:22

- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
Got good feedback on times this week from Mr. Guppa. I'm still a tad too fast, so will try apply this week.

- Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?
Lol - loved this question. I'm consciously not being too bad. My husband of course gets it all but he's very supportive and has dabbled in running himself from time to time over the years.

Your PBs are almost identical to mine. Well done on slowing the training down and good luck with slowing it a bit more this week.

Rojo

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

Yes, all ticked off the list. I'm kind of raging I didn't sign up for the South Dublin 10k. As much as I'm enjoying the running slower, I'm getting itchy feet to go hell for leather to see where I'm at with fitness, times, etc! :-)

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?

Need to slow my mid-week runs down a tad. Stopping at traffic lights is tinkering with my average pace. I've got into the swing of things for the longer ones.

Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?

It's all anyone keeps asking me about... I do other things too. Haha! Although, lots of people are intrigued about the running slower approach and some of my friends are trying it out after hearing how positive I am about it.

Loved reading all the race reports. Well done everyone! And thanks to the mentors for keeping us all in check. :-)

Irishder

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
No, got 3 runs in this week. Planned on going last night for 3 miles but the wind was howling and lashing with rain, so put the kettle on and had a chocolate! Determined to do 4 runs this week
- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?

Tried to slow down this week.

Monday 3.3 Miles at 10:40 Mins/Mile
Thursday 5 Miles at 10:43 Mins/Mile
Saturday 9 Miles at 11:11 Mins/Mile


- Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?
Not saying anything to anyone only my wife who is very encouraging. Want to surprise everyone with a pic of me at the finish line with my medal

jackc101

- Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
All done, no racing for me. Getting the LSR done was a tough one, ended up heading out at 9PM on Saturday night :eek: past some of Corks more popular night spots - won't be doing that again in a hurry, I do enjoy the early morning version of the city more! :rolleyes:
- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
3 mi at 6.47/km (Easy pace)
4 mi at 5.30/km (PMP)
3 mi at 7.23/km (Recovery)
3 mi at 7.10/km (Recovery)
13 m at 6.30/km (LSR pace)
3 mi at 7.22/km (Recovery)
Bonus is my HR is really starting to slow down on the Recovery and Easy runs.
- Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?
Not yet, though it has helped convince a few that I'm utterly bonkers (see LSR on Saturday!)

greentea is just wrong

Time: 1h 04mins 1s chip

A little late for my race report but here we go :

Pre:
Went for quite a few drinks on Friday night so was a little hungover on Sat! Met a friend for brunch and coffee in town, and then headed home in the evening. Headed to bed early Sat night, but with the heat, have been finding it hard to sleep soundly.

In hindsight I defo could of hydrated much better on Saturday for Sunday. And for other races, I know now not be drinking for at least a few days beforehand, as I still think I was feeling the effects a little Sunday, but viewing it as a learning curve!

Sunday - woke up, still feeling quite tired. But had breakfast around 8.30 and did some light stretching.

Got to the race & did a few strides to warm up and some stretches. Put myself near the back as I felt more comfortable there timewise.

Found after km 2 & 3 the heat was starting to get to me, and was very glad to see the water station at km 6. Found 6 & 7 okay then, and the uphill along the canal was pretty tough, but I knew it was nearly over then so tipped away.

I found the last km never ending, and think it would of been nice to see the finish line in the distance, as I feel like I would of sped up a little earlier towards the end if I could of seen it around the corner

Overall, my first 10k & pretty happy with the time. Lots of lessons learned for future races too.

HR was around 175 for the race. Question here in terms of pushing myself... I felt like, I wasn't giving it everything, and the reason was I didn't want to burn out too early, and have to start walking. Should I be pushing myself harder in the races though at the beginning at least, or focusing on maintaining a consistent pace? Looking back at my fitbit, all my kms where roughly the same

Thanks!

fatboyfin

Congrats to all who did the Dublin 10k, and everyone on getting another week’s training under their belt. Great motivation on this board and on strava.

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not
Yes, I felt I had another good week training wise. I enjoyed the mid week PMP run, mixing it up on the pace. Did a 15mile LSR on Saturday as opposed to the Dublin 10k as I’m in Belfast. Stuck pretty much to the pace, but found it tough enough on the last couple of miles. Think I should have planned for either a water / fuelling stop or ran with water as I think that impacted the energy levels towards the end. Recovery run on Sunday recovery was too fast, but it was absolutely chucking it down, and I was running with a mate so we were both just wanting to get home as quick as possible I think towards the end!

Have started varying my routes, exploring new loops so not to get too bored with running the same roads. Helps with motivation I think.
This week I entered the Laganside 10k (Sunday 1st Sept) and the Belfast half marathon (Sunday 22nd September). The half fits with the Dublin one in regards to scheduling – laganside 10k is a bit of an outlier, but I’ll look at the training in the lead to that.

I have cut out the couple of beers on the sofa on a Friday night to ensure not too groggy on Saturday morning.

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
Mostly, yes. Too early to finally decide on marathon time, but I am loosely looking at 9min miles for easy, 8ish min miles for PMP at the minute, with a view to marathon time of somewhere between 3.45 and 3.35.

Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?
Ha! My wife is just humouring me at this stage!!! Mates are embracing it – I have a few friends who are entered for Dublin, but our group training has been sporadic with holidays, ailments etc. Hopefully the structure will return in the next few weeks. But actually, I have to try to remember sometimes not to bore work colleagues to death with running chat!

In summary… need to keep an eye on my pace. Bizarrely, enjoying getting out for a midweek slow run on tired legs – think this will stand us in good stead come October. Determined to keep up the higher mileage, but easier said than done! However, there’s scope to reign it back if needs be. Hope everyone has a good week this week.

Sorbet

“Watch out for the runner” – a Dad to his child on a balance bike in the park the other day – made me smile, I suppose I am a runner now.

Didn’t feel like that when I pulled into the car park at the Grange Castle business park ahead of the South Dublin 10k – my first ever race. Never knew there were so many running clubs – everywhere I looked were groups of runners in club colours – all clearly knowing what they were doing and belonging there – the remaining non club runners were wisely attired in their long sleeve tops to keep warm ahead of the start. Why had I rocked up with nothing but what I was going to toe the start line with….nothing for it but to get out of the car.

Felt better having started a little warm up, the excitement was palpable – couldn’t believe that I was going to run through that professional looking gantry to start in a bit. The announcer (who seemed like great fun) was reminding everyone about running your own race and maybe aiming for a PB. As it was my first race, as long as I finished, a PB was in the bag but I had decided to try and target sub 55 mins so was working on 5.30mins per km. In truth I wanted to come in a bit faster than 55 but more on that later.

Followed the helpful signs to the +50 wave start and slipped in behind a group of Polish runners in Polish-Irish running club colours. They were having a good laugh and my nerves eased just watching them. After watching wave one head off it was our turn.

1st km went well – was a bit congested but eventually managed to get out to a pace I wanted and started out on the ring road. Was a novel experience to be surrounded by so many runners and felt a bit self conscious at first until the breathing and focus took over. 1st km 5.25

2nd km was all about looking for this left hand turn that was going to be bring me to the lovely second section of the race that I had read about – found my pacing here inconsistent as I almost mentally chased down people and my pace was dictated to by others. Decided not to repeat that when I made the turn. 2nd km 5.17

After making that turn into the park really enjoyed the next two kms. Felt downhill and while I was pushing I was enjoying it – pacing so far had meant that I had some time in the bank to cash in against that sub 55 minute target. 3rd km 5.14/4th km 5.09/5th km 5.12

Water……I need water. I never take water on a 10k run, never felt I needed it but the extra push today was telling. I knew there was water at about 6k so this km was all about getting to the water station. Took water on the right hand side (I’m right handed and had read that this was the thing to do) drank a little but found it difficult – tipped the rest over my head and then discarded the cup. Immediately regretted it as I came past a big bin where I could have easily dropped it in – also worried that maybe I’d dropped it right in the path of the next runner. Learning point number one – will definitely be more careful with discarding things at a race next time. 6th km 5.12/7th km 5.26

Just hang on. When I made the turn onto the canal I was prepared for a slight uphill drag. What I hadn’t really thought about was it was a slight uphill after 7kms of the fastest running I had done in a long time. It was staring to hurt. I had read about running 10k races and it was described how 4/4.5 mile point was an important one to keep pushing. I did my mental 1.609 times tables and realised this was it but I wasn’t sure I had it in me to keep pushing. My body and my mind stared doing some bargaining here – they finally settled on keeping the pace under 5.40 and the gains they had made in the first part of the race could be used to still come in under target. I settled in behind two ladies who were pacing perfectly for me while having a chat – amazing that they were so comfortable at this pace but then it takes all sorts. I was hanging on for dear life. A lot of people walking on this stretch but I was determined to keep pushing as hard as I could – in the end turns out I didn’t lose too much. 8th km 5.31/9th km 5.34

The last stretch. Made the turn for the hill that I was prepared for and used my extensive hill sprint experience from our training plan (once!) to power up the hill. After that decided to keep pushing. A man at the last roundabout looked me right in the eye “great running keep it up” and slapped me on the back. You probably all had the identical treatment but at that moment it felt like that was for me and I really needed it. Turns out I started my push a little prematurely. You might recall some ramps just at the final bend before the gantry came into sight – if only that had been the finish line. I was spent. I saw the pictures of Paul Pollock last night crossing the line while setting a new course record - smiling. Thank god there were no pictures of me crossing the line – I’d say it wasn’t pretty! 10th km 4.52

Total chip time 53.13 – achieved my goal and more than that proved to myself that I do belong here - running is for everyone, all shapes and sizes and paces and speeds – I’ll never set the course record but my first race experience was my own course record.

Watch out for the runner – no stopping me now!

Karlos80

Have you raced before?
Yes
If so what are your PBs?
(48:30 - 10k 3/3/19)
(23:33 - 5k 28/4/19)
Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training?
No
How much training do you currently do ?
5 days (20-30miles per week currently)
What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time would have to be 4 hrs, but would be happy getting around without falling to bits. (have long history of bad/weak achilles, but managing this)
How many days a week can you train?
5days
And what plan do you intend to follow?
Only new to this thread and had already started the HHI1 plan 4 weeks ago.
What is your biggest worry/fear/doubt
Done a marathon in 2013, aimed for sub-4, died a death from 19-24 miles, finished in 4:20, may have trained too hard, all my Long runs were at marathon pace
Why are you running this marathon?
Will also be 40 just after the marathon, and would like to tick off my sub-4hr before that.
Now my questions-
Is the HHI1 plan too advanced for me, or should I stick with it, the only differ I notice is the MP run the day before my LSR. I'm finding it comfortable so far.

Sunday Runner

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not
No, i was short last week by about 5 miles. Combo of away with work for one day, husband was away for a few days, I had 2 races (Liberties 4 mile and KBC 10km) and I have an infection on my wisdom tooth. So it wasn't a great week for me, but i'm not worried. I'll be back on track this week.

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
I was probably a little bit faster than PMP, but i'm slowly getting better at judging my pace.

Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?
Possibly! My husband reckons if there was a prize for a person who talks non stop about running, or going running, or the marathon; i would place first. He did the 10km with me yesterday and is also doing the 10 mile and half marathon. He really doesn't like running (yet!!), so i'm really grateful for his company and support!

My race report for the KBC 10km
Saturday - in hindsight I didn't drink as much water as usual. I was running around the place doing chores and housework. Some of my kids were away for the week, only getting home after 9pm. Dinner was a couple of slices of pizza and some salad. Usually I would have chicken and rice. At 11pm I started getting my bits ready and my friend called telling me she wasn't going to do the race. Bit disappointed in that, but I went to bed at midnight and slept until 3am. Had to get up and search the house for neurofen plus, my jaw was hopping. Took that and eventually got a few hours. I'm on antibiotics for my wisdom tooth, which is coming out on 12th August.

Morning of the race I felt ok and had breakfast of overnight oats, almond milk and berries. And a coffee. Should have had more water!

The race itself I thought I was doing great. I was aiming for 5ish (heavy emphasis on the ish) per km. I was hoping for 51 mins or so.

At the 7th kilmoetre I felt a stitch coming in my right side and no amount of breathing or stetching or sips of water was getting rid of it. I tried to get a good breath in on the canal stretch and actually let out a huge yelp. I might have even pulled something with that move, my right side under my rib is still sore. I had the blasted stitch right through to the end and when I picked up pace a teeny bit for the last stretch, I was in agony. Closest I've ever been to getting sick during a run.

Splits:
1 - 5:03
2 - 5:02
3 - 5:08
4 - 5:08
5 - 5:16
6 - 5:16
7 - 5:10
8 - 6:09
9 - 5:21
10 - 5:02

My chip time - 52:33. It's a new PB for me by half a minute. I must admit I was disappointed, but I have since told myself to cop on. Last year at the KBC 10km my chip time was 1:05:03 and I told myself I was going to come back and do a sub 60min run. Next year I'll get my sub 50. :cool:

I seriously need to sort out food! Right now before my long runs, I have nothing. Maybe a few mouthfuls of tea and a biscuit or two (50 cals!!), but most of the time it's just water.

And i'm also going to start wearing shorts. I was melting in my leggings.

Treviso

fatboyfin wrote: »

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
Mostly, yes. Too early to finally decide on marathon time, but I am loosely looking at 9min miles for easy, 8ish min miles for PMP at the minute, with a view to marathon time of somewhere between 3.45 and 3.35.

I would be doing your easy miles at 9.30 instead of 9 minutes. Recovery pace should be 10min. There are runners training for 3.15 DCM times whose easy pace is 9mins - if you feel you're not challenged by the 9.30 pace, then add some extra miles to the run.

You could also change the LSR to a progress run if you don't want to run them at 9.30 miles, but it's not the right forum to discuss that here

morceli

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

Yes all runs done, but cut one a few miles short as legs felt a little tired but only 2 miles shorter for the week. 26 miles in total running but with another 18 miles walked.

- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
Not sure, not running with Garmin at the moment and more by feel , pace for all runs was very slow.


- Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?
They have been for years but nothing new there.

This weeks plan will be something similar with 8 miles next Sunday , little behind in the long run but if train smart should be ok. Will jump into a park run either this week or next to get an idea of pace etc and will start to run with my old garmin..
1.6 KG drop this week so on plan.

fatboyfin

Treviso wrote: »

I would be doing your easy miles at 9.30 instead of 9 minutes. Recovery pace should be 10min. There are runners training for 3.15 DCM times whose easy pace is 9mins - if you feel you're not challenged by the 9.30 pace, then add some extra miles to the run.

You could also change the LSR to a progress run if you don't want to run them at 9.30 miles, but it's not the right forum to discuss that here

Thanks Treviso - trying my best to slow it down, the progress run is an interesting one - that I've never really tried before so that could be a good option. Would it this start at say 9.45, and progress slowly up to 9.00?

I am slowly increasing miles to add to the challenge of a drop in pace, and will continue to do this (albeit very slowly, 42m to 43m to 46m over the last 3 weeks). Cheers for the advice Treviso

kyomi

- Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
No, I skipped one on the advice of my physio - I went last Tuesday about a niggle in my left foot. His advice was to skip one of the runs and take an extra rest day, then run the rest of the week as planned including the 15-mile long run, and see how I felt after that. The foot seems fine this week so I think it worked!

So I ended up doing four runs - the Liberties fun run on Wednesday, which I ran as an easy run, then 7 miles easy on Thursday, 5 miles easy on Saturday, 15 miles on Sunday, for a total of 32 miles (had originally planned to do 37).

- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?
Loving the easy pace. I think I nailed all the runs this week! It was a bit of a pain coming in 10 minutes after my friends in the Liberties, but I had warned them and it was a good test of discipline. The 15-mile long run was average 10:30 min miles and I found it easier than the last few long runs - not as much of a struggle on the two-mile hill back to my house. I didn't have to slow down a huge amount in the last couple of miles as my heart rate stayed fairly even.

I took a gel around 9.5 miles - not an aqua one this time, just a regular one - and it was fine, no stomach issues and I even felt I was running a bit stronger for a while afterwards, although that might have been partly because of a tailwind!

I'm also getting used to carrying my medium-sized bottle of water (with Zero tablet) and I didn't find it bothered me much even though it was quite heavy at the start.

- Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?

I'm sure they are! Luckily there are two other people in my office who have also signed up for DCM, so we can chat to each other, although I'm trying to be careful not to annoy the non-runners too much. My husband and best friend are also fairly serious runners (although neither is doing the marathon this year) so I have plenty of outlets for discussion!

Even though all my friends (and relations, in-laws, acquaintances, and work colleagues!) know I'm doing DCM, I've yet to tell my parents. My dad is pretty old school and thinks running is dangerous and damages your heart and your joints, and I'm just not ready for the hassle, which would be on top of the stress of trying to fit in all the training. I know I'll have to tell them at some point, and I'd probably appreciate their support on the day, but I might leave it until closer to the time. Yes, I'm 43 and still worrying about my parents giving out to me!

Mr. Guappa

fatboyfin wrote: »

Thanks Treviso - trying my best to slow it down, the progress run is an interesting one - that I've never really tried before so that could be a good option. Would it this start at say 9.45, and progress slowly up to 9.00?

I am slowly increasing miles to add to the challenge of a drop in pace, and will continue to do this (albeit very slowly, 42m to 43m to 46m over the last 3 weeks). Cheers for the advice Treviso

I'd have a couple of concerns about what you're doing at present:
1 - Too fast
2 - Too many miles

If we take your 3:45 (target) or 3:40 (dream) times as you identified initially, that would put PMP at 8:30/mile. You've been running pretty much all your runs within 30 seconds of that, which is far too fast. You need to be keeping easy and long runs at 9:30/mile, or slower. Running everything as fast as you currently are will only serve to burn you out.

On the miles you're putting up. It seems Belfast '18 was run off pretty low mileage, and then you did very little until January this year, from when you averaged 30mpw up to Belfast '19. Now you're nudging 50mpw - it's too much of a leap IMO. I'd stick much, much closer to the mileage on the boards plan.

Mr. Guappa

greentea is just wrong wrote: »

Time: 1h 04mins 1s chip

A little late for my race report but here we go :

Pre:
Went for quite a few drinks on Friday night so was a little hungover on Sat! Met a friend for brunch and coffee in town, and then headed home in the evening. Headed to bed early Sat night, but with the heat, have been finding it hard to sleep soundly.

In hindsight I defo could of hydrated much better on Saturday for Sunday. And for other races, I know now not be drinking for at least a few days beforehand, as I still think I was feeling the effects a little Sunday, but viewing it as a learning curve!

Sunday - woke up, still feeling quite tired. But had breakfast around 8.30 and did some light stretching.

Got to the race & did a few strides to warm up and some stretches. Put myself near the back as I felt more comfortable there timewise.

Found after km 2 & 3 the heat was starting to get to me, and was very glad to see the water station at km 6. Found 6 & 7 okay then, and the uphill along the canal was pretty tough, but I knew it was nearly over then so tipped away.

I found the last km never ending, and think it would of been nice to see the finish line in the distance, as I feel like I would of sped up a little earlier towards the end if I could of seen it around the corner

Overall, my first 10k & pretty happy with the time. Lots of lessons learned for future races too.

HR was around 175 for the race. Question here in terms of pushing myself... I felt like, I wasn't giving it everything, and the reason was I didn't want to burn out too early, and have to start walking. Should I be pushing myself harder in the races though at the beginning at least, or focusing on maintaining a consistent pace? Looking back at my fitbit, all my kms where roughly the same

Thanks!

Well done on your first 10k! It's good to learn these lessons about preparation at this stage too. Everyone will approach races differently, but I tend to start a touch conservatively and then empty the tank over the closing quarter or so of the race. When you are stepping into the unknown in terms of distances you haven't raced before it is probably wise to start conservatively and then pick up the pace (if you're able) over the closing miles.

Looking at you paces on strava and I think you are running too fast. I'd put your easy pace at 7:45/k or slower.

fatboyfin

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

I'd have a couple of concerns about what you're doing at present:
1 - Too fast
2 - Too many miles

If we take your 3:45 (target) or 3:40 (dream) times as you identified initially, that would put PMP at 8:30/mile. You've been running pretty much all your runs within 30 seconds of that, which is far too fast. You need to be keeping easy and long runs at 9:30/mile, or slower. Running everything as fast as you currently are will only serve to burn you out.

On the miles you're putting up. It seems Belfast '18 was run off pretty low mileage, and then you did very little until January this year, from when you averaged 30mpw up to Belfast '19. Now you're nudging 50mpw - it's too much of a leap IMO. I'd stick much, much closer to the mileage on the boards plan.

I know you are right - and whilst I've been enjoying the increased mileage, the risk of burn out has been niggling at the back of my mind. This week I will drop mileage to the other side of 40 mile and aim for mid 30's. I suppose I've been flirting with the thought of maybe hitting 3.30 at DCM and have literally lost the run of myself. I keep checking in here though for a reality check and will drop the pace.

Part of the reason for running Dublin in October is to ensure that my running doesn't fall off a cliff as it did post Belfast 18 marathon

Mr. Guappa

fatboyfin wrote: »

I know you are right - and whilst I've been enjoying the increased mileage, the risk of burn out has been niggling at the back of my mind. This week I will drop mileage to the other side of 40 mile and aim for mid 30's. I suppose I've been flirting with the thought of maybe hitting 3.30 at DCM and have literally lost the run of myself. I keep checking in here though for a reality check and will drop the pace.

Part of the reason for running Dublin in October is to ensure that my running doesn't fall off a cliff as it did post Belfast 18 marathon

Delighted to see this. I'd let thoughts of 3:30 go to be honest - 22 minutes (that's almost one minute per mile) is a lot to find in 6 months. Running requires patience in every aspect - building miles, achieving goals, training paces. You obviously have a talent for it and the will to do well - train sensibly and you'll stay in one piece, stay motivated, and reach your goals (eventually) :cool:

mister paul

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

All runs completed

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?

Yup. Didn't hit my target for the 10k, but it was still a 40s PB and over 4 minutes faster than the same race last year, which was my first 10k. Overall happy with how I raced on the day.

Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon yet?

I've not been kicked out of any whatsapp groups yet, so they're coping so far.

passinginterest

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

Yep, good week for getting it done at least.

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?

I’d say so. PMP maybe a touch quick and the 10k didn’t go to plan. Feeling a bit under the weather though so maybe a touch of a virus or something to add to the excuse book 🀒

Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon?

I'd say my wife was sick of it the day I signed up! She's unlucky enough to work with a few lads who are big into running too so tolerance is wearing very thin. Having said that I'm trying to work running around life as much as possible and not letting it be a reason to say no to things and as much as she hates it she'll be there as support crew whenever needed. Friends wise, luckily enough most people are interested and a few will do a bit of running too. There's one or two who'll owe me a few quid if I finish it too, having claimed the last one broke me and I'd never do another!!

Bananaleaf

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

Yes I did.

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?

Yes. I increased the pace a little as advised. This weekend's LSR is meant to be around 12:30min/mile. Previous ones have been up to 14:30min/miles so I will see how I go this week and may compromise at 13:30 if I have to as I will be a little out of my depth with the overall mileage and the LSR length.

Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running and the marathon?

I think they are to be honest, but bless them they are tolerating it all the same. I am going to make a better effort to talk about it a bit less because I can imagine that patience will wear thin pretty quickly if I don't!

Doc76

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

Yes plus a few more. Kind of between HH1 and the Boards plan although this week definitely planning to keep the LSR around 10 miles rather than 15.

Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace?

I think so although I know my training runs are probably still a little too fast. I put my new 10k time into McMillan and Run fast coach calculators and my training paces are fairly on target although I know these two predictors are a bit optimistic. I didn’t go full out on the 10k race though (mainly due to congestion in the canal) so feel happy enough keeping easy runs between 1130-1145, LSRs around 1200 and recovery runs over 1200? I know that’s probably still too fast for the mentors liking though?

Are your friends/family fed up of listening to you talk about running?

My husband and kids are really supportive I must say. I try to run early in the morning so as not to eat into too much of our day together. Beyond that I only really talk about it with running friends or on here

Mr. Guappa

Doc76 wrote: »

I had no idea what I was able for today, but I was really hoping to come in under 1:02. My chip time was 1:01:07 and I couldn’t be happier. It’s the quickest 10k I’ve done since having my three kids and I know I am slow compared to most of you flyers here but for me, it was a huge confidence boost.

Well done yesterday - looks like a very well-judged raced and a nice confidence booster.

I think so although I know my training runs are probably still a little too fast. I put my new 10k time into McMillan and Run fast coach calculators and my training paces are fairly on target although I know these two predictors are a bit optimistic. I didn’t go full out on the 10k race though (mainly due to congestion in the canal) so feel happy enough keeping easy runs between 1130-1145, LSRs around 1200 and recovery runs over 1200? I know that’s probably still too fast for the mentors liking though?

Yep, just a touch fast for my tastes :pac:. I'd put easy around 12:00-12:15 with LSR a touch slower.

Doc76

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Well done yesterday - looks like a very well-judged raced and a nice confidence booster.



Yep, just a touch fast for my tastes :pac:. I'd put easy around 12:00-12:15 with LSR a touch slower.

Thank you! I’ll work on slowing it down this week

Fusitive

fatboyfin wrote: »

I know you are right - and whilst I've been enjoying the increased mileage, the risk of burn out has been niggling at the back of my mind. This week I will drop mileage to the other side of 40 mile and aim for mid 30's. I suppose I've been flirting with the thought of maybe hitting 3.30 at DCM and have literally lost the run of myself. I keep checking in here though for a reality check and will drop the pace.

Part of the reason for running Dublin in October is to ensure that my running doesn't fall off a cliff as it did post Belfast 18 marathon

I hope no one minds me chipping in here but I don't think there's anything wrong with having a dream goal even if you feel it's way out there and only very slightly attainable. Some of the best training blocks I've ever had were where I was thinking about a goal time that seemed farfetched, more often than not, I didn't hit it but the motivation of the possibility of doing it however small really helped. I ran my first marathon in May 2013 in 4:07, my second one 5 months later was a 3:15.

The important part I think is distingushing between current fitness and dream fitness. I.e. you train to your current level and hope it ends up at dream level, it might not but the motivation of the thought can help you get closer. Patience is key though as the weeks will get harder so you got to keep something in the tank for that last stretch which will be the last few weeks before the taper. Just as you pace a race, you gotta pace a training block too. There's nothing wrong with been highly motivated, it's just about where you direct it imo. As big a task as it is to chop down to 3:30, it's not impossible and you'll have an even better chance the earlier you start focusing on getting the simple things right.

My few tips for everyone in general fwiw

Self preservation

A training block for a marathon is more about the cumulative months of training than it is for one run. If you are exceptionally tired or feeling the beginnings of an injury, back off whether it's your long run or MP session or whatever, Is it better to win the battle but lose the war or vice versa.

This will come in on pace of your runs too, fatigue cumalates throughout a training block and the actual marathon training itself is an ultra in disguise ran over many days, weeks and months. Pacing a marathon block is an art in itself and the key to getting the best result you can on the day. We all know that pacing in a race is hugely important(go out too fast and you hurt like he'll coming home) but that's equally as applicable to the actual training.slightly undercooked is better than overcooked so you don't take off a bigger bite than you can chew before you hit the meat of the schedule. So it's important to feel your way into the first few months of training so that you still have gas left when the hardest weeks come.

SLOW DOWN!!

Train at Current Fitness; not goal fitness

This is so important but often overlooked. Whether it's the calculators or your dream goals, this will not be current fitness 4 months out from race day. So if the calculator says you are capable of 3:45 from your result in the South Dublin 10k or whatever, take it with a grain of salt as that is a prediction of highly trained marathon race day fitness, not what true marathon pace is right now 4 months before race day. Pace should go down as you come closer to race day, not be forced by running goal pace so you will probably have to run even slower than calculator says for MP runs too.

Goals

The time for deciding realistic goals will be in the last few weeks to even as late as race day depending on the weather and your fitness. Don't get hung up on what you can or can't do yet.

For now, it's more important imo to focus on good consistent training and enjoying the process. That means:

Self-preservation
Training to current fitness
Getting the volume in consistently
And enjoying the experience and challenges of marathon training

ReeReeG

Fusitive wrote:

I hope no one minds me chipping in here but I don't think there's anything wrong with having a dream goal even if you feel it's way out there and only very slightly attainable.

Delighted to have you chip in Fusitive! Lots of wisdom for us all

Mr. Guappa

Karlos80 wrote: »

Have you raced before?
Yes
If so what are your PBs?
(48:30 - 10k 3/3/19)
(23:33 - 5k 28/4/19)
Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training?
No
How much training do you currently do ?
5 days (20-30miles per week currently)
What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time would have to be 4 hrs, but would be happy getting around without falling to bits. (have long history of bad/weak achilles, but managing this)
How many days a week can you train?
5days
And what plan do you intend to follow?
Only new to this thread and had already started the HHI1 plan 4 weeks ago.
What is your biggest worry/fear/doubt
Done a marathon in 2013, aimed for sub-4, died a death from 19-24 miles, finished in 4:20, may have trained too hard, all my Long runs were at marathon pace
Why are you running this marathon?
Will also be 40 just after the marathon, and would like to tick off my sub-4hr before that.
Now my questions-
Is the HHI1 plan too advanced for me, or should I stick with it, the only differ I notice is the MP run the day before my LSR. I'm finding it comfortable so far.

Welcome Karlos80!

There's not too much mileage wise between the boards plan and HHI1, but for your level I'd rather the structure of the boards plan which has the MP days midweek and so separated away from the long run. Check out the boards plan here (you may have to navigate to the correct tab if on phone) and see what you think.

More important than which plan you are following is what paces you are running. I just followed you on strava and you need to seriously slow it down. I'd have your current MP at something like 09:50/mi, so easy runs at 10:50+/mi.