DCM 2023 Mentored Novices Thread

How long is it taking a toll on the body you think?

Hey Grads - firstly congratulations. Welcome to the very small club of those of us ran a marathon 😁💪. Whether it is one and done or the first of many, fair play. Never lose sight of what an unbelievable achievement it is and something you will have with you for the rest of your life.

To help next years novices, can you jot down any tips or advice that they can read back on, hearing directly from folks who have just being through it? You've learned a huge amount on this journey, so imagine you could talk to your past self, what would you want them to know? There will be plenty of people who in a few weeks time will get that email acceptance for Dublin 2024, and wondering what the heck have they just done 🤣

Dear all, great info here

I'm hoping to get marathon 2024 under my (reduced waistline) belt next year.

Will take on all the advice going.

Thanks to nullObjects for sending me here

1. If you are thinking now about the marathon next year - spend your winter building up good running habits and a base. Get into the habit of a few days a week, and a long run at the weekend. Get to feeling fairly comfortable with running. Build up your long run to say 10/13 miles so that by the time the marathon plan starts next June, that you are very comfortable with those distances - it's a good mental boost but also will make the longer distances feel a little easier.
2. I get that some people are happy and comfortable running on their own, listening to music or podcasts. If you can I would recommend marathon training with other people, even if it's just for the weekly long run. I found that I got so many hints and tips, and also very importantly, support and encouragement, on my long runs with more experienced runners. The company and the chats pass the time and make the ever increasing distances seem less daunting. I had the advantage of being in an athletics club but there was a whatsapp group set up locally for the weekend long runs and non-AC people joined in too through word of mouth. It was fantastic for finding a few similar paced people and motivating you to get out every week for the long run, trying out different routes etc. I think I did only one long run on my own. Another weekend I knew I'd be away and just put in the group that I was going to do my long run myself on Fri evening after work and 3 people messaged back to say they would join me!
3. Look at your calendar for the next 12 months. Have you any weddings, family occasions, holidays, what way does your work schedule go? How is your home schedule in terms of kids activities, family commitments etc. Plan now what days you will run and how that fits in with life around you. Things always come up and that's inevitable, but take control of your schedule as much as you can and make the training plan work for you.
4. If you haven't much experience running races, schedule a few of them in over the next 8 months or so. Get used to travelling to an event in terms of organisation and timing, running alongside strangers, fuelling, pacing, clothing etc.
5. Don't doubt yourself. I know only 1% of the population have done a marathon. But people complete marathons every day - it is possible.
6. Join the Boards Novice thread and interact with it. Post your musings, your struggles, your wins, your progress. You might not realise it but your posts will help others even if they might not say it or even realise it themselves.

In addition to the great advice from @Bungy Girl and @Sunny Dayz I'd add the following:

1. If you haven't ever really run before and haven't signed up the marathon yet I'd say, don't and spend some time learning what you enjoy as you gain fitness. Do some shorter races or time trials enabled by some sort of structured running program; rinse and repeat. Marathon running isn't the be all and end all and you may find more enjoyment in the shorter distances before forking over your entry fee.
2. If you're already signed up then I'd still advise playing around with some shorter programs and distances. Learn what your body can take and how it responds to different volume and intensity. It's important to try and learn to distinguish for you the difference between a niggle and a potential injury that you should really just rest or see a physio about.
3. The reason I'm harping on about the above is that probably the hardest part of the training is to make it to the start line ready to race. I only ran somewhere between 62 - 68% of my planned mileage. Averaged only 32 km a week over the 18 week plan. Dropped all Marathon Pace work from Week 10 on. BUT I always tried to get a long run in and I finally caught a break in September and got to run pretty much everything including my two 32.2 km's. The point I'm making is listen to your body, err on the side of rest and try get the long runs in. If you make it to the start line you'll finish!

I've been editing this for a few days to make sure I have most of my thoughts in it. Obviously, I'm speaking from my limited experience but as a novice these are the words of wisdom I wish I knew and paid attention to when I started my training. A lot is common advice said in many places but out of all the common advice, these are the most important for me.

Training

Easy pace runs must be done at easy pace. This is so important. It improves your fitness, gets you time on feet without exhausting you, gives you mental strength and reduces the risk of injury. Understand what easy pace is for you.

Do some dynamic stretches before each run as a warm up. And some stretches after each run. 5 mins at least before and after.

Include some yoga/pilates into each week.

Include some strength and conditioning into each week to help prevent injury. It can be done straight after a run. Keep recovery days as such. I know with running it's a lot of time to give to it but to give yourself the best chance of getting to the starting line and being comfortable on race day, it is really important.

(The 3 above I did not do regularly enough and picked up an injury two weeks before the race. It didn't stop me completing DCM but had knee and hip pain for most of it and had to keep my pace really slow throughout. Now I've at least two months of rehab to go through!)

Ignore the pace of others on Strava or wherever. Set your own pace.

After doing your warmup, start slow and work up to your run pace. Do 5 mins cool down (slow run or walk) when run is done.

Start trying different gels once your long runs reach about 90 mins long. See which works best for you. I used two different types on race day.

Decide on your gear at least a month before so that you've time to make sure it will work on race day no matter what the weather.

If you have not done a few half marathons already, don't get hung up on goal time as it's not until you get far into training and maybe do a half marathon race will you get a good idea of what marathon goal to aim for. Finishing it is also a goal regardless of time to do it.

Practice what breakfast works best on LSR days.

If you usually listen to music when running, try out some podcasts or audiobooks. Having a distraction during long runs can be nice to help the hours go by. Also, music might make you go too fast.

Try stick to the plan as much as possible. You don’t want any regrets after race day thinking of what you should have done.

Personally, I found it nicer when very few people knew I was doing the marathon. The pressure increased when I went public (which I had to do so I could collect donations for my charity).

Race day

Wear an old hoodie/large bin bag (loads of people do this) to keep warm beforehand. Can be removed once to start or whenever not needed.

On the day, your name is on your bib above your number. The font size is a bit small. Attach your own label over it with your name in a bigger font size. Supporters making the effort to read your name is a real feel-good moment and you should help it happen.

Have dry clothes and shoes to change into after the race, especially if its wet.

Keep moving after the race until you've no need to move. Once you slow down/stop, it's quite hard to move again.

Keep your pace very easy for first 10K, and only when really comfortable and confident to up it, do so.

If you carb load, have a breakfast and time your gels well, you should not hit "the wall".

Sip away at drinks the whole run. It's very easy to get dehydrated on such a long run and you'll suffer in the end if that happens, and it'll be too late to take corrective action.

Hi SimpleDimple, it's good that you have a half marathon planned for June. Depending on how much you've been running in the past year, it gives you plenty of time from now to build up a base, consistency and learning what works for you running wise. Have you raced much in the past? Can you pencil in a 10km sometime in the late Spring to get a gauge on your pacing, and even just on the nuts and bolts of taking part in a race?