DCM 2023 Mentored Novices Thread

Ah brilliant post! Great information there! I actually did the half in Tarmonbarry last year, a last minute decision but a good run for me nonetheless. I don't remember that first uphill you mention but I remember flying down the new main road and then that turn right and what looked and seemed like a climb for miles on end! Think that's when the rain started for me last year but OBVIOUSLY it won't rain this year! 😁 The hospitality was great last year, looking forward to that bit anyway!

The difference is you won’t be tired and you’ll have lovely fresh legs and be carb loaded etc!

Like a few others mentioned; it was tough to slow back down after the half. Heart rate seems to be lower for slightly faster so all positive.

32.2 km on Saturday. Felt great starting out. I decided to take in some of the marathon route too; more as a distraction than for any sort of practice. Saw a good few people and groups doing similar. About 28 / 29 km it started to get tougher; really just down to legs & feet being sore as opposed to anything aerobic. Finished it up anyway with no major drama; could I have run 10 km more? Maybe if I was really pushed. Could I have run for 20 minutes more? Yes, definitely. So that's the way I'm looking at it; time on feet isn't going to be much longer than what I've done twice now.

Then Sunday night I start to feel a fever coming on. Went to bed early but fever, chills and aches all day Monday. Off work yesterday and today so we'll see how I go. Will ease back into the running when I start to feel better as very fatigued at the moment; hopefully get something decent done at the weekend but don't know about 29 km.

Not ideal but nothing has gone to plan really so being fairly pragmatic about this. Better now than the week of the marathon. And the general internet consensus is that most of the hard training should be in the tank now so getting sick just before the taper shouldn't have much of an impact.

The main thing I learned from this podcast is my knowledge of Dublin's geography is atrocious!

It was good though, I think a re-listen with the course map Infront of me might be in order though!

This was brilliant.. not from Dublin and a 1st timer so it was really informative. Lots of mentions of hills and drags though 🥹. Thought Dublin was flat 🙄.

Pace it right and it'll be grand. We'll be giving plenty of advice on that subject in the final couple of weeks.

Hi guys! Sorry for my absence, but getting to post here is an absolute luxury at the moment. Husband's marathon is in 2 weeks and we are just tagging in and out of the house getting our runs done and keeping the house and the small-ies going. Sometimes I feel guilty about it (regarding the kids) but neck deep in it now and enjoying it all (selfishly) 😄. We've also absolutely prioritised our sleep the past week or two and it's made a huge difference to the cumulative fatigue - we are heading to bed at kid's bedtime more or less (8pm thereabouts).

Week 14 update (late)

Did my highest mileage this week, 66.2km, and I assume that's the peak of it, having ticked off the second 20 miler of the plan. Tiredness kicked in for me two days post the half so I ended up taking the Tuesday as a rest day. On Wednesday Storm Agnes put paid to my 13km run (attempted it twice in 2 different locations but it was too dangerous overhead) only got about 3km done. So on Thursday I did my first ever double - lunch and evening - (probably a bad idea as I know not to chase lost miles) and I was tired on Friday's run. Didn't get up mega early for the LSR on Saturday as a result, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway - rain, rain and more rain. I couldn't believe the amount of rain 😆😆😆 . I rang my husband for moral support only 2km in that's how wrecked and stiff I felt but I loosened up shortly after. I had 3 dramatic and traumatic toilet pitstops, I'll say no more, and just found it so tough being soaked to the bone for all of it. I had puddles inside my "rain" jacket at the elbows. I remembered saying at many moments - if I can get through this and do the 32km I can do anything. My watch then died in the 31st km. I couldn't believe it. I just stopped and started flailing my arms in the air - waving my imaginary pitchfork up to an imaginary god, effing and blinding as I did so. I was convinced I lost the data and cursed the technology on my arm. It was like a scene from Castaway. Was about to throw in the towel and then just said to myself, the miles are in your legs and that's all that matters. Keep going you eejit! Pulled my phone out and recorded the rest on Strava app, to capture 2km for the day, at least. When I got home I charged the watch and saw the run was still there, I saved immediately, very thankful but still irritated that my Strava only has one 20 miler recorded and not two (it's an ego thing, I'm working on it 😄). I used 4 gels (used up 2 that I tested and ruled out, and they may have caused some GI issues) and skulled a 500ml bottle of water at Lidl in Naas (really, really can't be arsed carrying water in any form in any medium on my body). People in Naas were staring at me like I was nuts. Character building stuff altogether. Anyway, I survived to tell the tale.

Oh yeh and the royal kick in the sweets was Sunday was only massive weather-wise!

So that's my update from my leaba in the dark, with two snoring kids topping and tailing beside me! Ain't life grand! 🥰😅

Keep her lit, everyone!!!.

I'm a bit of a blow in to the group so am not into the swing of leaving a weekly report.

I decided to switch from my garmin plan to the boards plan, as I felt it had more mileage and I was a little concerned the garmin plan had too many shorter runs (lots of variety though) as on my longer runs I was really fading badly for the last third. The legs would just become stiff and be like lead. All in that worked out at 70.7km for the week. Definitely the most I'd run in a week as I think Garmin was closer to 50km.

I'd the opposite experience to @MiniMonstera as I did my LSR on the Sunday. It was warm, sunny and dry. I fancied doing a new route so headed towards the Phoenix Park. I carried a 500ml bottle of water with the hope that would do me. But with the sun and heat, I was sweating buckets. So the water was gone at around 15km and even then I was rationing it to stretch it that far. I got more water at around 20km (my son met me with a few bottles) but I think the damage was done then and I struggled for the rest of it. So, if the big day is a warm one and possibly in all conditions, I'll definitely will be carrying a bottle and refilling/replacing at each water station to sip as I go along. I find having sips every few minutes breaks up the time too which mentally helps get through the 3-4 hours.

Towards the end of the LSR my knee got a bit sore. Since then I've been doing daily exercises to help strengthen. I've done the scheduled runs so far this week but I might take a couple of extra days off running to give it time to recover. I'll keep with the knee exercises and will do some general running strength and conditioning to keep the activity up. I really don't want the knee to get worse and become a problem for the 29th.

The course information was very interesting. I'll definitely be re listening to it with the map in front of me so I can do a pace plan. I'm going out slow and in order to stick to it I need exact limits per km. I have it in my head that I really, really want to enjoy the final 10km. You only do your first marathon once, I keep hearing, and it's so true!

Yeh the warmth and sun can be just as challenging, in fact more. I find the sun zaps my energy completely. By the way, just as an FYI, I had 750ml Zero tab before I set off on my lsr and the 500ml was at the 16km point. I am all about the water, just not carrying it, if I can get away with it. I'm kind of lucky in that I can knock back a lot in one go and it doesn't give me GI issues to do so. I wouldn't be a sipper at all, it would be too distracting for me to keep remembering. But yeh, water, water, water.

70.7km is great for the week. I wouldn't stress about being tired for the last third of an lsr. You're meant to be tired by then and it's getting through that (mentally as well as physically) that will stand to you on race day 💪🏽

Great update, well done on getting it all in!

You know there's a way to stitch those two strava runs together to 'legitimise' your 20 miler, right?

https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/221258108-Merge-or-Combine-Activities

(Only for the chronically OCD runners among us) 😉

Can we talk about marathon pace?

I found this calculator

https://vdoto2.com/calculator/

Now if i put in my half marathon time from two weeks ago of 1hr43m it is pretty much spot on for guessing my 5k and 10k times under the "equivalent" tab. But for the marathon distance it says I should manage 3hr 33m. I was planning to go far slower pacing for 3hr 50m.

No idea what to pace it at as all my 32k's so far have been slow slow slow but still draining (especially last saturday in the sideways rain). I did my first marathon last year (still a novice!) and died so bad on the last 10k for a 4hr finish. Kept up the jogging since though and hoping that does not happen again. Would it be brave or stupid to try stick with the 3hr 40m pacers?

Yeah I used that too based on my recent HM time and got a 3:59 time which I would love the "Idea" of. In reality I know I cant do that and Mister Jinx post on the 35 seconds on your HM PB makes alot more sense to me.

I have settled into my marathon pace for the first 20Miles being 6:20 as I know I really struggle as the distance goes on. I will push on for the last 6 miles if i am able or settle back to 6:40.

All the talk of drop out zones made me nervous in the podcast I havent had those in my training runs lol I am thinking they will be so tempting.

if anyone doing 3/4 races over the weekend. Make sure you stick to plan and not get caught up in the race. Very easy to do it and race 32km