2022 DCM Novice Thread

PMP: 5:41 min/km; Boards plan

Mon: Rest to recover from 10k PB day before

Tues: 10k @ 5.55 min/km

Wed: 13k @ 5.55 min/km

Thur: 10k @ 5.54 min/km

Fri: Rested as left hamstring a little sore.

Sat: 35.6k @ 6:13 min/km.

Sun: 6.6k @ 5.51 min/km (recovery)

Saturdays LSR was done following Garmin PacePro with easy on hills and 5 min negative split (even if it was mostly downhill on way back). Felt I could have done the "other" 8k if I wanted. Really think the PacePro is a game changer and definitely plan on using for DCM.

I know I could have taken the mid-week easy runs slower, but I was comfortably breathing only through nose most the time, so think the pace was fine.

Have been thinking a lot about race day pace over the past week and thinking back to my only other marathon in 2008 and looking at various online results of random people in 2015-2018, looking at the splits, particularly those around the same time as I am planning (sub 4 hour).

In my 2008 run, my avg segment pace was as follows:

0k-10k: 6:05 min/km

10k-half: 5:54 min/km

half-30k: 6:10 min/km

30k-finish: 7:10 min/km

Overall: 6:22 min/km

Obviously I blew up and remember it well. Terrible experience that took a lot away from the day. What dawned on me looking at the numbers above is that if I paced at 6:22 from the start, I would have finished the same time and it would have been so much more enjoyable.

I've seen this type of blow up repeated by so many people in the online results page.

Feeling completely different this time around. My half-marathon time is 11 mins quicker than 2008. I've done 3 20+ milers this year.

Goosebumps reading that post.

WW is a hero.

Week 14

Monday 6.5km easy 6:06/km

Wednesday 13km easy 6:07/km

Thursday 8km easy 6:05/km

Friday 5km easy 6:05/km

Sunday 20 mile LSR 6:13/km

Hadn't been feeling great coming into the week but it went fairly well in the end. I had thought about maybe dropping one of the mid-week runs but glad I didn't. I remember a post from Murph_D after the first 20 mile on the plan where he said subsequent 20 milers won't feel as hard(or words to that effect). Well as far as sunday goes he was right. Has to be said it was perfect running weather. My route had some elevation changes but not as severe as some of the ones I've been reading about on the DCM course. Have to say I've enjoyed reading the posts in the links posted from novice threads past. Also the advice regarding pacing, etc. - plenty of food for thought.

Best of luck in Chicago @Murph_D  

I think Murph-D has summed it up quite aptly. Fcuking Nailed it is right. Buzzing. 3.43.10

I'll put a race report together once I get a chance to process it. In the meantime, get your application in to run it in April.

Well done, brilliant time too.

“London calling to the faraway towns

Now war is declared and battle come down”

London Marathon 2nd October 2022

Apologies in advance, this is likely to be long!

So Week 16 didn't start great with the worst run of my training block as already mentioned, however things straightened out during the week although the hamstring was still a little grizzly.

I had booked a hotel near Euston station for handiness when travelling with the wife and two kids as we had planned to do a few things whilst in London. Our flight was due to depart Thursday night at 7pm, got to the airport nice and early only to find that due to air strikes in France our departure was now pushed back to 10.30pm, which eventually turned out to be 11pm. This meant it was 2am before we reached the hotel, less than ideal but at least I still had a few days to rest and get some sleep. It's probably best to check out your hotel before you book it, ours was located next door to a pub, right outside our first floor window and a few hundred yards from UCL hospital which meant there were sirens going off all through the night, every night which was a slight disruption and less than ideal.

Up and out to the Expo on Friday morning, got there at 9.40 and it opened at 10am, so no time spent in the queue got my kitbag and bib, spent about 20 minutes looking around it and spoke to the pacers and headed back to the hotel. Went for a little jog through regents park and then off we set to Harry Potter world. Dinner that night and bed.

Saturday morning, I lay in the room organising kit etc and just relaxed. I had two pairs of trainers with me and decided to go with the newer Brooks. They felt a little tight in the upper on previous runs so I wasn't convinced I was going to wear them, but I changed the laces in them to a pair that were more elasticated and gave me a bit more flex in the upper so I opted to go for them if it was dry on Sunday morning. The apps I had been tracking were showing it dry for Sunday but everyone else was now showing me forecasts of rain. I don't mind running in the rain, I'm well used to it but I get blisters on the toes when my feet are wet for that length of time, plus it's always a more enjoyable experience running dry.

Saturday afternoon I had booked the wife and daughter in for afternoon tea (as a slight recompense for their support) and myself and the lad headed off to Fulham to watch them against Newcastle in the football. Back home and out for a load of pasta and water. I had been taking water and electrolytes all week as I was mindful of my previous experience cramping up at mile 18 and wanted to avoid any repeat of that experience.

Spoke with my mate who informed me that our other clubmate was having a rough time of it and didn't know if he was going to run or not. He has cystic fibrosis and was going for a WR for someone with his disability, I think he had to get 2.50 to achieve it, but everything had flared up over the past couple of days and he couldn't eat, he had ulcers in his mouth and just wasn't able to fuel at all. I was disappointed for him after all his efforts in training, he had just returned from Iten a fortnight before after spending time over there training.

Bed for 10pm and slept well enough until 5.30 and just lay on until 7.15am. My sleep when I got to London was probably better than it was at the start of the week and the night before the race I had no worries, anxiety or anything. I was learning to embrace what I was determined to make an enjoyable experience irrespective of how things went during the run. Had a couple slices of toast as I felt perhaps I had overdone the amount of pasta the night before and was feeling slightly bloated. My only fear about running a marathon is making sure I have gone to the toilet beforehand and emptied the stomach, once I have done that I have no anxiety about the race at all.

Tube and train to Blackheath went fine, got a text from my buddy to say he was there and would keep an eye out for me at the entrance to our pen. Well, upon reaching Blackheath I really started to get a buzz, just seeing the full width of the streets full of runners walking to the park. Got to my entrance and realised there was no chance of finding my mate as it was full of people and my phone was now in my kitbag on the lorry. It wasn't an issue as we weren't running at the same pace anyway. Queued up for the toilets at 8.55 and reached the portaloo at 9.35, my wave start time was to be 9.44am and there was still a 20 min queue of people behind me by the time I reached the portaloo. By the time I had finished and came out of the portaloo, there wasn't a single person in the queue, nobody, not a sinner. Oh Christ I says to myself I better get moving here, got rid of the layers I was wearing and got my gel belt on and jumped into the Red wave. I wasn't panicking, I knew now that my stomach was empty and so I was well settled and it's not like the clock had started for me. Never got a warm up done or a single stretch, which was far from ideal but not the end of the world. Crossed the start line at 9.55am and we're off and running London Marathon 2022.

In training I had never taken anymore than 3 gels, so having 5 gels in a running belt was a lot more bouncing than I had been used to. It was a belt with loops for holding the gels and not a pocket so all the gels were on one side of the body. Despite turning the belt sideways, backways or anyways I couldn't get it to stop bouncing, so resigned myself to this is how it was going to feel. With all the twisting and tightening of the belt, I dropped my Bloks so had to pull up and run back five yards into oncoming runners to retrieve them. I was carrying a 500ml soft pouch with electrolyte in it, had another couple of tabs in my pocket in a little plastic baggie for when I needed to refill at mile 13. I was carrying this pouch in my hand and had done for all long runs so there was no issue with it, I just wanted to be able to sip every mile and avoid water stations. The plan was a gel at miles 10, 15, 20 and 25 with a spare just in case I dropped one or something.

Miles 1, 2, 3 - Settled into a rhythm straight away, looked at the watch and it read 8.30 min miles, which was bang on where I wanted to be. Down into Blackheath and I heard Murph_D words ringing in my ears, it's downhill for the first few miles, don't get carried away. I consciously reined it in, but still the next two miles were still too sharp. About 2 miles in an American runner pulled up beside me and said look tuck your gels in between your shorts and underwear and pull the drawstring on your shorts tighter and they'll stop bouncing for you. He held my water as I did this and sure enough, the bouncing stopped. Why I couldn't think of this still baffles me!! I thanked him and this just reinforced in me to encourage others and to take it all in. About the second mile in there was a rising crescendo behind me and all these Abotts Masters runners came hurtling through like a stampede of wilderbeest through the savannah and a 3.00hr pacer. I was like WTF am I doing stuck in the middle of this, but they passed to allow us mere mortals a bit more room on the course.

8.28, 8.14, 8.09

There was a bit where the course narrowed about mile 4 or 5 and there was a water station near a couple of traffic islands, I saw one of the Masters hit a water bottle and he went down over on his ankle and lying prone on the ground, his race had been run. This made more so determined to avoid going anywhere near water stations and moving to the opposite side of the road when approaching as the thousands of bottles lying discarded just made it a minefield to navigate. About mile 4 I saw the Kerr family from this neck of the woods pushing their son in his wheelchair, I gave them a big shout and wished them well.

Miles 4,5,6 & 7 - determined not to get sucked in and let the time slip a little to get back close to 8.30 average pace. I was high fiving all the kids, got blessed with holy water from someone dressed as a priest and just taking it in. Stopped into a portaloo for a quick pee just whilst I had the chance. Into Cutty sark and waving at the tv cameras and the noise just rose and rose as a cacophony of sound just hits you. I've been to All Irelands and Old Firm matches, but this was something else, it was gutteral, it was the sheer will of thousands of people wanting you to do well, to reach out to you and offer their support vocally to get you around this course, to do everything within their might to wish you success. We're back on track, averaging around 8.26, we're good. I hear my name called and see two friends from home who I'd been keeping an eye out for, but God it takes some searching to try to find people in the crowds, this spurs me on again. Am I even running, I haven't felt anything yet, the body is in great nick, I've been cruising, the weathers brilliant, isn't this some crack on a Sunday morning I say to myself.

8.05, 8.33, 8.33, 8.33.

Miles 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12 - Absolutely more of the same, the crowds are still there, deeper in places, thinner in others, the rhythm is perfect Eamonn, keep it steady, jaysus we're nearly at Tower Bridge. I felt the heat now for the first, god that's warmer than I was expecting, people have been showering themselves with water for a while now, I'm barely breaking a sweat here. At mile ten I took my first gel, washed down with some electrolyte and keep it lit. Just before we cross Tower Bridge I grab a 250ml bottle of water from a station and try to top up my pouch. Well that was a disaster. I had to pull in and get a spectator to hold my pouch whilst I fished the tab out of my pocket, broke it up and dropped it into my water. What a faff and to make matters worse, I had read somewhere on Boards from someone who had tried this previously and said it was a nightmare. Anyway a few seconds lost, but I've a full pouch and on we go. Over Tower Bridge, the crowds are unreal again, phones are out people are running backwards getting shots of themselves and the mood is good.

8.17, 8.18, 8.26, 8.23, 8.23.

Miles 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 - Just coming off Tower Bridge onto the highway I'm searching for my wife and kids, I'm struggling to find them and I'm hoping I haven't missed them, as they'll be more gutted than me. Start to feel the legs for the first time just before mile 13 and wondering now, how is this going to go? Just as I'm fearing I've missed the kids I see them and they see me across the road, send loads of love to them and a big thumbs up that I'm good. Positive vibes received and on we go. The elites are now coming back opposite us and I see a mile 22 marker on their side of the road and I also see a hill that they're running up. Bollox, who put that there, was that on the route map? Down into Shadwell and the Isle of Dogs and I see the friends again from Cutty Sark and they give me a lift. I look at the watch and it says 2 hours exactly and my distance is 14.27 miles. Am I ahead, am I on or off target? That seems slow, that's close to a 4 hour marathon, that wasn't in the plan at all. My maths can't compute, I didn't see a Half marker, what was my half time? I take a caffeine gel at 15 and it kicks in, I'm working now, there's ten to go Eamonn, we're still positive, but we're passing people now which gives me a big lift.

8.55, 8.23, 8.23, 8.36, 8.28

Miles 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 - Into the confines of Canary Wharf and the uphill to see the family again on the Highway. My watch is reading current pace of between 9.55 and 10.05. I'm wobbling here, what the actual Fcuk. The effort felt the same as 500 yards ago, what has changed, am I hitting the wall early? I'm really having to work now, **** this is going south and I've eight left to run. Visions of my previous marathon at mile 18 come back to me and I vow to myself the same thing won't happen me today, this will not beat me, remind yourself of that tattoo on your arm and what it says. The planned gel at 20 is moved to mile 19 to give me a kick, the watch clicks to show mile 18 and it displays 8.37 pace for the last mile. Ok, you've pulled it back, keep it steady again but remind yourself it's not a Sunday LSR now, it's the marathon Eamonn, of course it's gonna hurt, you've spent hours prepping for this. This is where you're gonna have to dig, I pop the gel and take some water on board. Up the hill to the family, I move across to them, high five them tell them I'm good and motor on. We've passed 20 now Eamonn, it's single figures, it's a 10K, it's all them things that everyone says and it's all a fcuking cliche because this is now you against you, this isn't anyone else's dogfight. I take a chew as I've one gel left, I nearly choke on it, spit it out and throw the packet from me, I'm looking to lighten the load where I can. I'm still feeling good, the legs are strong, the hamstring is fine, haven't felt it all race but there's just a little nip from my right calf reminding me that whilst I'm gonna finish this, it might not be the finish I'm hoping for.

7.42, 8.03, 8.18, 8.17, 8.18 (The GPS signal went completely haywire at 18 and early part of 19, so my pace hadn't changed but because I thought it had I had to work harder).

22 - 25 -I'm going well, I'm trying to take it in, the crowd support is unreal, there are masses of people cheering on complete strangers, I'm passing people, there are folks everywhere shuffling, down with cramp, people walking, people stopped, the agony and despair is now etched on faces. I see six paramedics on the left hand side of the road, they're carrying what looks like a body bag, it's some sort of green bag that looks heavy and it's taking six of them to carry it past that police car to that ambulance. Oh Christ please tell me that's not what it could be, I say a couple of hail marys, selfishly for them (if it's a them) and me that I'll finish this thing. Up the hill to Westminster, I don't even see Big Ben, I'm looking at the crowds but the smile has gone from my face replaced with a grimace, those looking for high fives are left disappointed, there's a 5K left to go. I see a lad from work, I pass him and give him a big shout, but I think he's suffering now, I haven't looked at my elapsed time for a while now, I'm just focused on current pace and it's holding up. Where's the Mall, where's the markers telling me I've only 1.2 left to go.

8.18, 8.23, 8.29, 8.44

25 - 26.2 - Through the trees of Westminster, how nice this would be for a sunday jog, nice wide roads and views of the Thames but todays not that day Eamonn. The calf nips again, this time with more force, it's gonna cramp and I know it's coming. Suddenly it just bites and I'm on my heels, I'm swinging my right leg but we're not running anymore, we're in some kind of shuffle like the other hundreds of people beside me. I have to stop, I try to stretch it out at the side of the road and as I bend down the cramp in my IT band at my knee takes hold. I try to walk, I can't, I stretch again but I really need to get moving. It's not going away, I'm gonna have to run as best I can with it. We turn the bend to Buckingham Palace, I'm slowed right off and I'm hobbling badly now but there's only about 800m to go, but I still can't see the markers. There's a guy on all fours to my right, trying to move forward, I'm no use to him or anyone else who needs help, it's survival of the fittest for me from here on in. The crowd are roaring at us to propel us over that line, I see the grandstand seats, I know the finish is close I now have it in my vision and I hear the commentator on the gantry and I know I'm doing this today and I try one last surge and I grit my teeth as I pretend to smile for any cameras and photos that I may see some day. I cross that mat upright and I hit the stop button on my watch and I feel the wave of emotion come pouring out of me and I'd cry if there was any salt left in my system. It's done, it's sub 3.45 and that's all that matters. Jonathan puts a medal around my neck and I give him a hug, thanking him and all the volunteers for their efforts in making today one of those special days you get the chance to be a part of.

Mile 26 - 8.36

Mile 26 - 26.44 - 8.11

I got to mile 26 at 3.37.57 well on course for a push to 26.2 to keep the dream of a sub 3.40 alive only to be completely sideswiped by the cramp and derailing the whole thing. My splits were 1.51.51 for the first half and 1.51.19 for the second half despite having ran another 0.24 miles over the course.

There's not much left to say except a massive THANK YOU to the mentors, it was you who got me over the line through some sage advise and it stayed with me. When I joined the DCM22 novice thread Elaine asked as one of the Questions how much can you commit and how many days can you run? I had answered 4 days a week due to work and being busy etc. She replied in a couched manner asking if I could fit another run in, a fifth day at all, even a short run? I'm a big boy and well used to being spoken to directly, so I instantly knew what she was saying. She was telling me in a very subtle way that if I added a fifth day of running to my week, I would see considerable benefits come race day. I added that fifth day, even if it was just three or four easy miles and I now know the benefit that has given me. Sixteen weeks of four miles a week is another sixty four miles of running in my legs that I fully utilised when going around that course last Sunday, so the mentors do know what they're doing. As for keeping the LSR slow, I'm the proof of aerobic strength that it arms you with on race day.

I would be fairly resilient mental ways, I knew that my head would stay strong during the run, it would just be if the body held up and allowed me to finish. Other than the wobble at mile 18 where the GPS went wrong and I started to doubt myself, I never felt that I wasn't going to finish it under the time I set myself. I didn't hit a wall, the legs never felt tired or failing me and the positivity of hitting my approx times each mile kept me going.

In January the GOAL was to get to the start line, the aim was to finish in 3.45 and the dream was to get sub 3.45 and the ultimate dream was sub 3.40. I came so close to hitting it and possibly would have done had I not had to work so hard at mile 18 when I thought I was slowing down.

As I quoted Rabbie Burns in my pre race post "the best laid plans of mice and men...." it came true, there was simply no way for me to know that the GPS would fail for me and loads of others on race day at mile 18, so be prepared for the unexpected and deal with it best you can, but don't let it derail your run or be the negative focus it could possibly be.

For all of you running DCM22, go and enjoy it and soak up the atmosphere and don't make your time the all consuming focus it could be. I'll be on the sidelines cheering you on.

Best wishes Eamonn

Absolutely brilliant report. Really enjoyed that. Thanks for all the detail. You did really well and so sorry you cramped at the end. Delighted you got the result you wanted.

Absolutely amazing race report and a huge well done Eamonn!!

Wow! Well done! I copied and pasted it into notepad to read with a coffee. That was brilliant - your efforts in the race and the report.

Fantastic Eamonn, what a great race, and a cracking entertaining report.

You've a great writing style.

Delighted for you.

Hi All

I hope training is going well for all. Unfortunately, I had to pull out a few weeks ago due to lack of training, not due to injury but due to a new work opportunity bring me back to Ireland and the logistics etc that go with that.

There is always next year I guess

Best of luck everyone

Great to see the progress on here. I've been dipping in and out of the thread every now and then, another fine read, with top class mentoring as we approach the business end.

Superb report Eamonn !

Thanks to AMK for dusting the cobwebs off that course guide! Took me right back. Hope it helps a few of this year's Novices too. Nice when people remember you doing something good for them 😃 Keep up the good work everyone.

I don't have any experience with getting one, but the advice has always been not to get it in race week. I believe there's a bit of recovery from it.

Good luck to anyone doing either of the two 3/4 marathons tomorrow. Remember, don't race it, whatever you do.

The purpose of it is to test out gear, what you're gonna wear, that new belt you bought, how those socks feel after 18 miles etc.

Do. Not. Race. It.