2024 DCM Mentored Novices Thread

Trampas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122324594#Comment_122324594

You might need more s&c on glutes and do some stretches on glutes and hip flexors to release the knots.

If you’ve 6km you should stick to the plan and avoid the sprint finish. I know it’s just 6km and only 500m but you can undo a session by not following it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122323522#Comment_122323522

take it easier if feeling tired. If dehydrated on 13km run look at your fluid consumption beforehand. Are you drinking enough without pouring fluids down. Soft flasks are great for bringing as they can be squeezed into a pocket and you can bring as little amount and with the recycling charge has made kids bottles less appealing

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122323514#Comment_122323514

Best of luck with the half marathon. Make sure to keep the easy runs easy this week. Otherwise this week plenty of sleep and hydrate well.

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122323522#Comment_122323522

Well done. You've had to take a bit more of a step up than others, it's normal that the body will feel a bit tired with an increase in activity but your body will adapt. Don't be afraid to move the schedule slightly to suit, perhaps slotting in a rest day between consecutive days of running. You've learned a lot this past week.

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122324594#Comment_122324594

a very comprehensive post! 😁

Look after that glute and hip flexor.

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122324670#Comment_122324670

Well done on your week. Make sure to get a little warm up done before your sessions and start off easy and build into it. Probably easy for me to say but don't worry about what the other plans are saying/doing. A phrase that is rolled out around here plenty of times "Trust the plan". Your Runna plan is designed to take you to the start and finish line of the marathon.

Lastly, don't worry or stress about what your marathon pace should be. Has your plan called for a run at marathon pace? My post on Sunday eve has a rough table with paces.

rosenallis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122329210#Comment_122329210

Marathon pace - not yet. The reason I ask is because i don't really have a clue what paces i should be at/ would like to be at.

In Runna, I find that there's suggested times to run at during each of the session but find that these are a bit easier than I expected. e.g. tempo session run X metres at 9.30 but I can do it at 8.30 (sounds like a humblebrag, but is more of just a concern about whether I'm training hard enough!). As you say, Trust the Plan and maybe don't second guess the times!

Sunny Dayz

Hi Novices!

We have set up a Strava group for the DCM2024 novices. You are very welcome to join and from there myself and my assisting mentors will be able to see your training if you use Strava. You don't have to join but if you would like to you are very welcome and it can allow us to give you a bit of feedback on what we see. We would still encourage you to post here on the thread weekly - looking at your run on Strava might only give half the story, posting on the thread adds some context to your training

Please click the link below to request to join. You then will need to send me a private message on Boards with your real name (or whatever name you use on strava) in order to be accepted into the group. Please note that it is a private group and is for this year's novices only.

https://www.strava.com/clubs/1266640

Sunny Dayz

good luck to anyone running Clontarf half marathon tomorrow.

SimpleDimple

Nice morning for it! I have a half next weekend, after which I’ll slip into either the boards or hal hig training plans.

SimpleDimple

What are the thoughts on treadmill running? During the week it works better for me to get the slow runs in in the gym before work, so I’ll usually tip away on them at a 1% incline. I know the ideal would be to be doing them in the wild, I still get my long weekend runs in outdoors though.

marathon2022

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122346429#Comment_122346429

Treadmill is fine, boredom is the only negative I know of

TheRef

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122346429#Comment_122346429

Aoife Clearly, the female winner of last year's Dublin half does half her running on the treadmill.

mossiepark

Half Marathon completed so now to concentrate on the 27th October.

Really enjoyed (most of) today. The first 18km were good and maintained my pace, with thanks due to 3 Castleknock runners who I paced myself off.

The run back in the coast was tough with a strong wind and the heat 🥵

I lost some time on the last 3km and had to walk for 100 metres. I was worried I wouldn't get going again with the tightness in my acheilles and calf but thankfully slow and steady got me over the finish line in 1.47.30

Sunny Dayz

Hi all!

It was good to see a few weekly training reports posted for week 1. I hope the last 7 days of running went well and that you are settling into your training plan. Those of you following the Boards plan had a go at a marathon paced run – hope it went well and gave you a rough idea of your paces. 

Please do let us know how you got on with week 2. Well done to those who ran the Clontarf half marathon yesterday – do let us know how it went. Please answer the following questions in relation to week 2: 

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

- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace? 

So looking ahead to this coming week – week 3, we have the first event in the Dublin race series - the Fingal 10k: 

Plan | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday 

HHN1 |rest | 3m easy | 3m easy | 2m easy | rest | rest | Fingal 10k 

Boards | rest,cross or 3m rec | 3m easy | 1m w/u, 4m PMP, 1m c/d | 3m recovery |rest | 3m easy | Fingal 10k 

Best of luck to anyone racing the 10k or any other race this coming weekend. Give it a good bash and see how it goes. Much of marathon training is made up of easy runs and longs runs – it's nice to let loose and race a bit! If you are following the Boards plan I would suggest you take the Monday after the race (beginning of week 4) as a rest day as the mileage will be increasing that week.  

For those not racing, this is your plan for week 3: 

Plan | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday 

HHN1| rest | 3m easy | 4m easy | 4m easy | rest | 7m LSR | Cross 

Boards |rest,cross or 3m rec | 3m easy | 1m w/u, 4m PMP, 1m c/d | 3m recovery | rest| 10m LSR |3m rec 

7m = 11.25km 10m = 16.1km 

For those following the Boards plan, there’s another go at a planned marathon pace run mid week.  

 

Thanks to those who joined the private Strava group – please note that this group is for 2024 novices only. If you haven’t let me know by DM your Boards name and real name – just so we can match up the people to the posts. 

 

Good luck for the week ahead!! 

Edit to add: those who raced Clontarf half at the weekend, take the easy runs easy this week.

comanche_cor

Last Week: 34k

Needed to juggle things around this week but happy I got it done. Still have niggles when running, going to see physio.

Got all the runs done, and thought they were pretty much on pace.

Mon: S&C skipped, Yoga

Tues: 7k - 3x 1200@ tempo (4:55). Little fast on first interval (4:44) but paced better after that.

Wed: S&C morning, Yoga evening -

Thurs: 7.2k - K200 intervals (1k @ 4.50, 200m @ 4:25. Again fast for the first sprint, pace a little slow on last interval, but think that was GPS error

Fri: 14k Long Run (3.5k easy, 5.5 @ 5:40, 3.5 easy, 1.5 @ 5:40)

Sat: Rest

Sun: 6K easy

This week: 35k.

Strength | 5.5k Half Easy, Half Tempo | Strength | 7.5k - 1.5 warmup, (1k @ 4:50, 60s rest, 500m @ 4:35, 120s rest) x 3 | Mobility | 6k Easy | 16k Long

This week I am going to have to juggle some things around again. Am signed up for the Docklands 5k on Thursday, so will probably move my 5.5k workout to then and not race it (though part of me wants to). Probably going to have to swap the weekend runs around and do long run on Sat.

slingerz

hey SunnyDayz the HHN1 plan is 3/3/2 this week on the drive should it be updated to 3/3/4?

slingerz

followed the full HHN1 this week. Got the 3 runs in a row in. Have the say the 3rd one was tough. Long run on Saturday was ok had a bit of a break after just over 3 as I met my neighbour I haven’t seen in years only home from Adelaide but the full distance was covered by the end

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122353879#Comment_122353879

Thanks yes you're right it should be 3/3/2 for those racing this coming weekend.

I've updated that there now - I think I was square eyed after looking at spreadsheets in work all afternoon.

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122353487#Comment_122353487

A great week, well done. For the 5km on Thurs, either swap the Tues & Thurs sessions. Or instead of doing the Thurs session, just cover the distance - 1.5km warm up, 5km run, 1km cool down. Don't race the 5km on Thurs if you've your long run on Sat.

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122353924#Comment_122353924

Well done. Don't worry about the short stops on a long run. I'd often have a short pause on a long run if I meet someone I know out for a run - what distance are ya doing, have you much left, the weather!

mossiepark

I had some pain in my knees after the HM on Saturday. Put it down to IT band and it left me by last night. Woke this morning and can barely walk with pain on the other side of the knee. Resting with ice and physio booked for later....not encouraging though. Here's hoping it's nothing serious 🤔

TheRef

Hopefully just temporary @mossiepark and the physio can help sort. I always think better for these things to happen earlier on so you have time to recover and learn from.

I've been guilty in the past of skipping S&C which can lead to weaknesses becoming problems down the road so I always advise folks to get a set of resistant bands and use them. Talk to the physio though and get their professional and expert opinion with any injury.

slingerz

week 3 done and I have to say it help tough. A lot of it self inflicted. Went overboard last weekend after the long run and felt it’s affects on Tuesdays run. Played golf Thursday before that days run and that was a struggle too. Feeling tired today after all the efforts and glad of the couple days break

mossiepark

A disappointing week for me with injury but happy to report no serious injury done and physio is happy to see me back running this week. I'll take it slow and see how it goes. I was very tempted to go out on Thursday but decided to stick to the advice.

My key takeaway is don't neglect S&C training. I'll be starting a plan from Tuesday and will incorporate it into my training weeks going forward 💪

Sunny Dayz

This week saw us pass the first landmark on the plans - the Fingal 10k. I see one Novice ran it this morning, well done. I also see a few other novices run events at the weekend, well done to you! It would be lovely if you could give us a little report as to how the race went, did it go as expected and if you learned anything from it? 

The usual bit of homework: a quick self-assessment of how week 3 went for you: 

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

- Did you run the runs at an appropriate pace? 

- After three weeks, how do you feel your training is progressing? 

 

So now we move onto week 4 and the plans are as follows: 

Plan | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday 

HHN1|rest| 3m easy | 4m easy | 4m easy | rest | 6m lsr | cross 

Boards| rest,cross or 3m rec | 3m easy | 5m easy with 5 x hill sprints | 4m easy | rest,cross or 3m rec | 13m lsr | 3m rec 

13m = 21km (half marathon distance 13.1m/21.1km) 

HHN1 

Ok so this week sees your midweek run increase from three to four miles and you have a step back to six miles for the LSR. It’s funny how you are probably already thinking 6 miles/10km is short for a long run! Enjoy!  

Boards Plan: 

So this week will see you increase the Thursday easy run by one mile and the lsr will go up by three miles to 13. If you’re like me you’ll run 13.1! This week you will be introducing hill sprints to your training. I would usually aim to do these near the end of the run when the legs are a little tired but midway through your run is fine too. Some pointers 

- make sure you are thoroughly warmed up for these. 

- pick a hill in advance, plan your route. Ideally, it will be fairly steep. Think: short and sharp. 

- these are done fast, but not for long. Think of your sprint for the finish line of a race. 

- count slowly to 8 or 10 for each sprint. There is no benefit in doing them for longer and no need to use your watch. 

- after each sprint, walk back down or jog down very slowly. Recover completely before you start the next one, even if that means standing at the bottom of the hill for a few moments. 

- really focus on form: work the arms to propel you up that hill, lift the knees high and keep the shoulders relaxed and the head neutral.  

 

I haven’t really mentioned hydration yet – to be honest it hasn’t felt like I’ve really needed to yet - the weather being so miserable and changeable. I am finding it a bit humid though on my morning runs after 9am. But nonetheless there’s been a few hours here and there of summer weather so it’s best to stay well hydrated. Plenty of water each day, the odd day there’s no harm adding an electrolyte tab or powder (eg Hi5 zero, ORS, AYA, NUUN,) You’ll see them in most sports shops.  Try and stay hydrated on your long run and find a way that suits you best whether that’s carrying water with you, stashing water along the route or bring a few euro and buying a bottle along the way. 

Lastly, if you’ve been like me the last week looking up last minute breaks to Spain or you already have a holiday booked – have you planned out how to work your training around your break? I know it sounds like a bit of a killjoy but you will need to at least keep the miles ticking over.  Personally I love running on holiday – running along a prom early morning, other runners out as well, back in time for a quick shower, breakfast and you have the whole day ahead to enjoy. Please be mindful of where you are running and avoid more isolated areas when you are not familiar with a place and be careful on the cobbled paths - I slipped a number of years ago in Albufeira while training for my first half marathon and hurt my ego.   

Anyway - good luck with week 4. 

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122380102#Comment_122380102

Well done for keeping going even when you do find it tough. Get that recovery in.

SimpleDimple

Good week. I got my couple of training runs in and then ran the Skibbereen half marathon today. I was a bit hesitant about the run because I had a fairly noticeable calf niggle on Thursday, so I spent a good 30 mins working it out that evening.

Fast forward to today and it was a lovely day for it and a nice course. It was good to get some race experience in to get used to not letting the start line adrenaline take over. I also was relieved to see that sticking to the plan does work; having done all my long training runs a lot slower than my planned pace I was skeptical that I’d be able to keep the pace up for the whole thing but I was able to hold on comfortably and keep a consistent enough pace. I even have my last 2km be my quickest. I think I also ran a negative split for the second half. Most importantly everything held up, sore in parts this evening but nothing that would count as an injury.

Also I started working weights back into my midweek sessions so will continue to do that.

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122380610#Comment_122380610

That's good to hear that the knees are ok. Please take it very easy this week and don't panic about falling behind plan. And do the exercises or S&C that the physio has given you. Update us later in the week as to how you are getting on.

Mantis Toboggan

My week went grand, was a down week, still managing the knee injury, pain isn't too bad but it's there all the same. Been foam rolling, on the massage gun, Pilates and introduced some strength training.

Managed to do all the runs. Still no ticket for the marathon so hopefully pick something up next week.

Plan ticks up next week so if the knee isn't up to it I'll have to call it. Pity as I feel fairly fit and was looking forward to the training and giving it a good shot.

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122381500#Comment_122381500

Have you been to the physio about the knee?