DCM training by complete novice.

menoscemo

Well that's it. I am officially in taper mode.
20 miles in 3:04. 9:13 pace, HR 152
Can't say I enjoyed it but it was not as painful as the 18 miler a fortnight ago. Just had one blip at mile 6 when I had an unexpected call of nature (being a bloke, I am obviuosly not talking about a number 1), luckily I was just passing a pub and managed to nip in and enjoy their facitlities . Legs are in bits at the moment but looking forward to an epsom salts bath...hopefully they are recovered by sunday so I can do the Rathfarnham 5k, if not I'll not worry too much about it, there'll be plenty of time for the short stuff after the marathon.

xebec

Congrats! Must feel great to be over that hurdle, all the hard stuff behind you and now the 'easy' bit ahead

osnola ibax

Brilliant stuff meno, great run, enjoy the taper

menoscemo

xebec wrote: »

Congrats! Must feel great to be over that hurdle, all the hard stuff behind you and now the 'easy' bit ahead

Cheers but I have a feeling the gaffer will be making us run fast over he next few weeks and I don't like fast :P

goofygirl

Good man yourself! Can't wait for this time tomorrow to be tapering as well.

menoscemo

The legs weren't feeling too bad this morning so I headed out to do the Rathfarnham 5k since it is just around the corner.
A big crowd was out. I lined up near the front as Gerard 65 told me it was best to ignore the time markers as everyone just ploighs straight up to the front in thhis race.
Anyway shot out what turns out to be way too quick. I didn't even notice until I went through the 1k marker in well under 4 minutes. I made a consciuos effort to slow down but still went through 1 mile in 6:35 :eek:. Didn't feel bad and in fariness the mile was slightly down hill. I slowed right up and though the 2nd mile was uphill I think 7:25 was too slow and I could have pushed harder...3rd mile was downhill again and I went through in 7:03...With about 200mts left I noticed I was just about on for sub 22minutes so sprinted in with 21:57 on the clock- 21:54 by the Garmin.

Overall delighted because I told OI last weekend that I would like to go sub 22 and he thought I was mad. I reckon I could have pushed a bit harder on the day, also the legs were still stiff and tired from fridays 20 mile LSR.

Anyway 3.13 miles in 21:54. Pace 7:00 HR 177 (new high HR of 194 according to garmin but because it was in the first 3 minutes, it might be a mistake). Overall with joggin back to Terenure college I am counting that as a 5 mile session.

Edit: Mcmillan has me down for a 3hr33 marathon based on that. lol

osnola ibax

Congrats fella, that's quick, and a great session in the build up to the marathon.

metamorphosis

well done sir!

Jenfer

hi menoscemo, i have been following the logs on here for long time but dont post very often! i really enjoy reading the updates on the sub 4.30 novice thread.
I was just wondering what time u are thinking of going for on race day- the reason i ask is like yourself i went out on friday and did my final lsr 20 miles in 3.05. I did 1.57 in the half but i think i could have knocked about another two min off it if i had of started further forward and not got caught behind people on some of the paths.

The average pace for 20 last friday was 9 min 17 sec but i finished with 9.08 9.09 and 9.02 min miles and felt ok at the end. Am seriously debating whether i should bite the bullet and head out with the sub 4 pacers? mc millan has me at a 4.06
Any ideas?

ps have been following HH novice 2 plan have got lsr in every week.

menoscemo

Hi jenfer. I am definately planning on following the sub 4 pacers group. I did the half in 1.48 and mcmillan think I can go Sub 3.50, but I just want to enjoy the marathon. I have done all my LSR's around the 9.10 pace so i am hoping I can just last another 6.2 miles on the big day.
I can't give you much advice because i don't have a clue but I have heard you can actually 'enjoy' the marathon if you don't set out to kill yourself...I know that I have a tendancy to go out too fast so i think the Pacer's group is the best thing for me.

Jenfer

Thanks for the reply! i think you are right about being conservative to start off with. this will be my third marathon but still consider myself very much a novice runner. the first year i did even pace all the way- 10 min miles and got a 4.21. in the second one i went out way to slow- then tried to make up the time between 13-19- with the result of a massive blow out at mile 22 and ended up doing a 4.30 so i am going to try my very best with regard to even pacing this time around ! i know i can hold 9.17 for 20 and still have something left but whether after taper i could hold 9.10 with the pace group is debatable. might stick this query up on the sub 4.30 log and see what they think.
Thanks again- best wishes with the taper!!!

menoscemo

Went out for 5 after work this evening. Really cold so I put on my under leggings and my running jacket and still felt a bit chilly. I though of something I read on a thread in the main forum a few days ago- if you feel cold, run faster!! So with that in mind I decided to head off briskly. Surprisingly I managed to hold the pace all the way round so:
5 miles in bang on 39 minutes. Thats 7:48 pace. HR 165. Splits: 7:53, 7:33, 7:51, 8:01, 7:39
Really happy with this, I tried a flat out 5 miles in training before the 5 mile in July and again before the half marathon a fortnight ago. Both times I failed to break 40 minutes, so i really feel I have come on in the last few weeks. Actually since the Half marathon I feel I have had really good runs. For the first time I feel in better shape than at the 5 mile in July and since after the 4 week holiday/injuries. My niggles seem to have disappeared as well. Fingers crossed cos I don't want to jinx myself (again).

menoscemo

Just over 8 miles tonight in 1hr 10. Pace 8:44, hr 151.
Really handy, I can almost say I enjoyed that run :eek:

menoscemo

4 miles on the dreadmill tonight in 35 minutes. Will hopefully get 12 on sunday morning and will plan to incorporate the 7 miles of the marathon from Chapolizod gate to Fortfield rd...that includes the apparently ominous Crumlin rd drag . Bought some hi 5 gels today as wll so I plan to test them out on that run.

menoscemo

Went out for 12 miles this moning though had to cut it short just after 9 miles, wasn't feeling great at all this morning and when I took a hi 5 gel at mile 6 it gave me cramps and what still feels like mild Heartburn. I guess I won't be taking any of those on the marathon day....did a bit of the marathon course and all I can say is that I wasn't expecting that big hill between Chapelizon and Inchicore.
anyway 9.4 miles in 1:24, pace 9:07.

I went to the Ireland match last night and had a few beers after, I am just thinking that the last three times I have struggled on runs were the 18 miler 3 weeks ago, the half marathon and today. On all three occasions I had a few the night before. I am beginning to see a correlation here :eek:. On a more positive note, that really is the last time I drink ANY alcohol between now and the 26th.

nosnagaoithe

Went out for 12 miles this moning though had to cut it short just after 9 miles, wasn't feeling great at all this morning and when I took a hi 5 gel at mile 6 it gave me cramps and what still feels like mild Heartburn.

Interesting you should say that - I have been using gels on my LSR's for the last month and reckoned they were giving me heartburn too, although it only lasts for a few minutes

menoscemo

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

Went out for 12 miles this moning though had to cut it short just after 9 miles, wasn't feeling great at all this morning and when I took a hi 5 gel at mile 6 it gave me cramps and what still feels like mild Heartburn.

Interesting you should say that - I have been using gels on my LSR's for the last month and reckoned they were giving me heartburn too, although it only lasts for a few minutes

With me it has lasted a few hours, it might be more to do with the diet and the few coronas I had last night, but at this stage I am going to ditch the idea of taking gels. I have tried a few different ones a few different times and they never have done me any good.
Gonna stick to the jelly babies so- I will also be accepting all offers of any confectionary from the crowd on the day

menoscemo

4.1 miles in 33 minutes pace 8:06 HR 160
On paper it looks like a good run but my legs felt really heavy, I am also finding it hard to motivate myself, should have done this run yesterday. Had all kinds of silly thoughts going through my head on the run like quitting :eek: I think i am suffereing from taper anxiety, but it seesm to be showing itself physically as well as mentally.

Sub430

menoscemo wrote: »

4.1 miles in 33 minutes pace 8:06 HR 160
On paper it looks like a good run but my legs felt really heavy, I am also finding it hard to motivate myself, should have done this run yesterday. Had all kinds of silly thoughts going through my head on the run like quitting :eek: I think i am suffereing from taper anxiety, but it seesm to be showing itself physically as well as mentally.

Great run sir, focus on the positives, good pace, you actually did it and you didn't pick up an injury! In 13 days time your legs are going to feel really heavy but you will have completed the DCM 2009 :eek:

I'm probably of a different mindset as I was out for a while and glad to be back so probably not feeling the effects of the taper as much as you guys.

Anyhoo, 4 miles in 32m57 - happy with that, stretched the legs to make sure everything is back working properly and it seems to be.

menoscemo

Thanks sub 430. I guess with the long stuff done, you just expect everything to be easy, but maybe it never was and never will be easy!!

Good running yourself. As you know i missed 4 weeks myself but thankfully got most of my LSR's in after, I admire you for going for the marathon so close to an injury/layoff, it will be tough!! Are you feling like 'now or never'? I know I would be like that cos with all the training done I am not sure I want to put myself through all this again :P

Sub430

Completely now or never, think I'll stick to the shorter stuff once I have the marathon box ticked off. I got an 18 miler done which was hellish so I expect the last few miles of the marathon to be a bit of a mare :rolleyes: but pain fades and all that malarkey!

menoscemo

What a difference a day makes. Went out for 6 miles tonight straight after work and the legs felt brilliant!! Took in the Crumlin Rd drag which i skipped from my LSR on sunday. Anyway, I was mosying along at 8:15 pace when I got a call from the electrician outside the gate of my flat. He had come to fix my storage heaters but was 20 minutes early. I quickly thought of a short cut home which unfortunately took half a mile of my planned route, but the gas thing is I ended up doing the last 1.5 miles in 7:30 pace without even thinking of speeding up. It was remarakble how easy it felt too, I reckon I could have gone on for a nother 3 or 4 miles at that speed. Christ this training is like an emotional roller coaster, one day you feel like you haven't got a hope the next you feel like it's all childs play. Anyway enough of my babbling.

5.5 miles in 44 minutes. 8:00 pace HR 158

osnola ibax

Good stuff horse, nearly there, if I could just give you one piece of advice..........








Get rid of the storage heaters, they are rubbish

menoscemo

3 miles on threadmill tonight, 25 minutes. Really feels like countdown mode now, haven't done a 3 miler in months.

menoscemo

Last biggish run done. 8.4 miles in 1:16 pace 9:04 HR 152.
Wanted to run at PMP and did so exactly, really comfortable and legs feel good. I hate running in the dark though, there are so many leaves on the paths that I am paranoid of putting my foot in a pothole and twisitng an ankle...also I have bad eyesight without glasses or lenses and find it very hard to make out kerbs. Luckliy enough it should be bright enough on the big day, I also plan on wearing my contacts, so i should be ok

osnola ibax

Hi there, what's your plan for the rest of the week. I might try 5 on Friday maybe after work but nothing until then or after, just watch food intake, bar maybe one more egg and bacon mcmuffin

menoscemo

I'm just going to follow the HH plan which says 4-3-2. Will probably do the 2 on saturday. RE food, I am waiting for Amadeus' advice on carb loading, I reckon it is carbs only on saturday and sunday and drink plenty of water. Get yer egg and bacon mcmuffin in before the weekend and ya should be grand :pac:
BTW I dont think that pizza counts as carb loading

menoscemo

4 miles tonight, was going to do a quick loop of the park but the rain and the darkness drove me to heading into the gym. Normally I avoid the threadmill like the plague but the fear of falling over in the dark and/or catching a cold in that rain made it the sensible choice this time.
4 miles in 33 minutes...Also picked up my Boards AC singlet tonight, I will be wearing it over the half marathon t-shirt on monday, Hopefully I can do it proud.

scottreynolds

menoscemo wrote: »

......Also picked up my Boards AC singlet ......

Can I enquire how to get one of these

menoscemo

Hey scotty....first you gotta joing the club, details and appliation form here:
http://boardsac.blogspot.com/
I just joined a few weeks ago, then you need to let Woddle know your size so he van order you a singet. They are €25.


Thursday 22nd: 3 miles 26 mins pace 8:42, HR 146, nice stroll around the park