Dublin Marathon 2012 - Mentored Novices Thread

Younganne

JJJJNR wrote: »

Well I'm still here and survived last years so ok...dotted line signed.

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
Dublin Marathon 6.10, Dublin half 3:40, bray 10k 1:22.

Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? No problem if you do!
No

How much training do you currently do? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant
Try to go out for a run everyday, I do about 4 - 5km at a comfortable rate, a small bit of circut training which I will be doing more of.


What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time?
Dream finishing time would be 4hr realistic finishing time will be closer to 5.

How many days a week can you train?
7

Why are you running this marathon?
Running this year as its my brothers 5th year passing and want to raise some money for aware.

Welcome back JJJJNR, you are a great advertisement for the marathon as you're back for more:D

shortie_chik

Hurray! I'm delighted to come across this thread in such good time! Decided just this very morning that I am going to do the DCM, & headed out on the first run of my official DCM training programme this evening, so I'm full of motivation at the moment & happy to have some guidance.

• Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
  Never done a marathon before. I've done 6 half marathons (Dublin 2011, 2008, 2007. Paris 2012, 2010, 2009). PB is probably Dublin 2011 in 2h21. Did Paris 2012 in 2h30 but hadn't really done much (any) training.
  
• Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? No problem if you do!
  Nope. Just plod along slowly if I get tired.
  
• How much training do you currently do? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant
  It's been sporadic over the last few weeks, but probably two or three 3 - 4 mile runs a week. I'm quite slow, ~11 mins per mile I can do for a fairly long time. I'm going to aim to get that down to 10 min miles (in training. For the race I don't care as long as I finish). Last summer I followed the Hal Higdon Novice programme religiously (for the half-marathon) & I felt he had me well prepared.
  
• What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time?
  Really I just want to finish. If miracles happen, maybe about 4h20 (10 min miles).
  
• How many days a week can you train?
  4-5 (was going to follow Hal's novice 2 programme)
  
• Why are you running this marathon?
  I only started running a few years ago. Up to that point, I couldn't run for the bus. To complete a marathon is a secret dream, so don't tell anyone :cool: I would really like to see if I have the discipline to achieve this.

I think this thread will help keep me in the game psychologically. I haven't told anyone ever that I'd like to complete a marathon, because I can just imagine all the :rolleyes: reactions. I can tell folks I'm doing the half-marathon, cos I know I can do that if I just show up & don't quit. A marathon is quite a different challenge though as I don't want to be crippled for the rest of my life.

Without someone to talk to about this, I'm likely to just sneak off quietly & pretend I was never aiming to do a marathon!

I'm interested to hear other people's nutrition regimes as I think this could make a big change to my training. I eat fairly healthily usually, but I suspect I should be eating specific things before & after short / long runs. Sometimes I'd run but just find I hadn't the energy for it, probably from not having eaten enough of or the correct type of food before training.

Excited to have some beginner training buddies; I'll probably be doing all my training in Phoenix Park, so if you see a little tomato-faced runner, give me a wave!

Younganne

shortie_chik wrote: »

Hurray! I'm delighted to come across this thread in such good time! Decided just this very morning that I am going to do the DCM, & headed out on the first run of my official DCM training programme this evening, so I'm full of motivation at the moment & happy to have some guidance.

Excited to have some beginner training buddies; I'll probably be doing all my training in Phoenix Park, so if you see a little tomato-faced runner, give me a wave!

See fate brought your attention to this thread so therefore you are destined to do the marathon...:D

As for nutrition we will go into that in more details later in the thread but for now seeing as you already eat pretty healthy just keep going with that but plenty of fresh fruit & veg and make sure you get enough carbs to give you energy.....don't forget good hydration, plenty of water!!

so are you doing the first couple of weeks of Hals plan to bring you up to the 18 week start of the plan or what way are you working it at the moment?

shortie_chik

Younganne wrote: »

See fate brought your attention to this thread so therefore you are destined to do the marathon...:D

Well I can't argue with fate, so here we go!

I was going to start Hal's novice 2 programme a bit early (from Tuesday), and do some of the beginning weeks twice (then back on the correct dates for the rest of the programme to get the LONG LONG runs & tapering on schedule). If this is a terrible idea, it's better for me to hear it sooner rather than later!

I probably need a week or two of just doing 3 short runs + 1 longer run to get myself back into a regular routine, then going to try to do his recommended distances. Just shaking the cobwebs off this weekend, so I shouldn't be too creaky on Tuesday.

Younganne

you don't want to go back into running and end up doing too much too soon....what did you run last week & this week?

aim to be able to run the 3x3m runs and 1x 6m run in 5 weeks when the plan starts but only increase by your current distance by 10% so as not to get injured...

Edit: Novice 2 is 3m, 5m pace, 3m and 8m LSR...if you have not done this much in the last couple of weeks then its too much to do in the first week back!! Don't worry about the pace, it will come down as you move through the training

shortie_chik

There's a 3.75 mile loop nearby that I've done 3 times this week (takes me about 40 mins). I'll aim to go out for an hour tomorrow & see how that goes, not going to stress too much about distance / pace just yet!

I know I can manage the 3 short runs on Novice 2 Wk1 reasonably well, but 8m would definitely be too much for me by next weekend! Might do a few weeks of Novice Supreme until I'm ready for the 8m LSR.

Already this is helpful, managing expectations of what I should be able to do by when!

Mr Slow

A sensible approach would be to get comfortable with 8 miles by the time training starts then you can move forward. Don't grow your total weekly mileage by more than 10% though.

shortie_chik

A sensible approach, eh? Interesting idea
There's very little fear of me pushing myself too hard, hence the need for others on the thread to help keep me motivated with their tales of discipline & mental fortitude!

That hour today was on my bike in the end. It's like I'm afraid I'll get bored of running if I start too soon...

Mrs Noc

Hi, I've got my place. I'm Irish and living in London. This looks like a great threat.

• Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!): I did a half marathon in 116 minutes in 2003 and then quite a few 10kms. No long distance running in recent years though.
• Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? No problem if you do!: Not usually.
• How much training do you currently do? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant: I do a couple of 30 minute runsand usually do a bootcamp session for an hour every week. I do a PT session every second week. Today I did my first long run for 80 minutes. I'm not very good on distances so not sure what distance I did! Any tips on calculating distance would be appreciated.
• What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Dream time would be 4- 4.5 hours. I'll be delighted if I complete in under 5. However, still figuring out what I'll have to do to achieve this...I guess that's where the plan comes in.
• How many days a week can you train? 3-4
• Why are you running this marathon? My mamhad a serious heart attack a few years ago. It was the same weekend as the London marathon. I promised myself then, I'd do a marathon and collect for the heart foundation or similar. She recovered really well. Now years later, my main reason for doing it is to become fit again but I intend raising some money for a heart foundation.

Looking forward to following the thread and doing the plan from the end of June.

Mrs Noc

I've had a look online. Today's run was about 6.5 miles. A tad slow but considering the wind and rain, I'm pleased.

Mr Slow

shortie_chik wrote: »

It's like I'm afraid I'll get bored of running if I start too soon...

You won't, once you get into double digits and make the weekly targets 16,18,20 you'll be buzzing off of your success, I guarantee at the race series half, you'll be saying 'It's only 13 miles'

shazkea

Throwing my hat in the ring for an autumn marathon. Goal is to get to the start line injury free...if I can do that I'll worry about the time on the day

Roller coaster ride here I come!

Mr Slow

shazkea wrote: »

Throwing my hat in the ring for an autumn marathon. Goal is to get to the start line injury free...if I can do that I'll worry about the time on the day

Roller coaster ride here I come!

Fantastic!!!

shortie_chik

Mr Slow wrote: »

You won't, once you get into double digits and make the weekly targets 16,18,20 you'll be buzzing off of your success, I guarantee at the race series half, you'll be saying 'It's only 13 miles'

Indeed! I'm looking forward to that! I was looking over the schedule again today, adding up the weekly totals in my head & thinking "imagine I could be covering insert-large-number-here miles a week!"

Was on the marathon website & saw there are toilets & water stations every 2 or 3 miles, so those were my two biggest concerns for the day. The course is open for 7 hours, so even if I'm walking, I'll cross the finish line.

Going to put my money where my mouth is now & register online. Then I HAVE to do it.

Nules10

Plenty of water on the route and loos a worry i had last year too. never need to stop for the loo once as it turned out despite the amount of water i drank. :rolleyes: And signing up do make it more real too

BobMac104

shortie_chik wrote: »

Mr Slow wrote: »

You won't, once you get into double digits and make the weekly targets 16,18,20 you'll be buzzing off of your success, I guarantee at the race series half, you'll be saying 'It's only 13 miles'

Indeed! I'm looking forward to that! I was looking over the schedule again today, adding up the weekly totals in my head & thinking "imagine I could be covering insert-large-number-here miles a week!"

Was on the marathon website & saw there are toilets & water stations every 2 or 3 miles, so those were my two biggest concerns for the day. The course is open for 7 hours, so even if I'm walking, I'll cross the finish line.

Going to put my money where my mouth is now & register online. Then I HAVE to do it.

That's the spirit best of luck.

shortie_chik

I did it! (I registered I mean.) I am both very excited & very terrified right now.
I expect at many stages over the next 6 months I'm going to be very tired & very frustrated, but the thought of earning a marathon finisher t-shirt will keep me going. Then I'm going to wear it every day for the rest of my life!

red face dave

shortie_chik wrote: »

I did it! (I registered I mean.) I am both very excited & very terrified right now.
I expect at many stages over the next 6 months I'm going to be very tired & very frustrated, but the thought of earning a marathon finisher t-shirt will keep me going. Then I'm going to wear it every day for the rest of my life!

Congratulations welcome to mad, frustrating and very very tired world of marathon running. One thing to always remember smile for the camera :):):)

BobMac104

The group is getting bigger by the minute. Thats great as i think one of the biggest helps is sharing the new aches and pains along the way.

Younganne

sshh Bob, don't mention aches and pains yet;)

Shortie Chick, congrat on entering..there's no stopping you now!!

as shazkea said...welcome to the Rollercoaster.....:D

greenspurs

yay ... A dub mara thread..

6 months to the day !!

Mrs Noc

shortie_chik wrote: »

Was on the marathon website & saw there are toilets & water stations every 2 or 3 miles, so those were my two biggest concerns for the day. The course is open for 7 hours, so even if I'm walking, I'll cross the finish line.

it.

Good to know. Two of my concerns as well.

BobMac104

Younganne wrote: »

sshh Bob, don't mention aches and pains yet;)

ah they're good pains.

run44

Well done for taking this on Anne, you're the perfect choice! Will dip into the thread every now and then, will be interested to see how everyone gets on!

Best of luck all!

(PS - Several times you may think you must be crazy, this is normal pre-marathon behaviour )

Mr Slow

BobMac104 wrote: »

ah they're good pains.

Pain is your friend.

couerdelion

I've entered the marathon and the race series and it will be my first long distance run!

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
10km - 46:48 KClub Apr 2012

Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? No problem if you do!
No

How much training do you currently do? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant
6-7 day Triathlon training, 3 swim, 3 bike, 4-5 days a week running at the moment as I'm focusing on it as my weakest discipline. 2-3 easy runs ~ 40 mins, 1 speed/tempo session ~ 1 hour and a long run which is currently ~22km

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time?
Dream time - 3:30 ish - realistically 4 hours.

How many days a week can you train?
I need to fit it in with triathlon training but 7 days if I need to.

Why are you running this marathon?
Probably the main reason is to get a good base for my triathlon goals next year. By entering the race is makes me focus on completing the addditional training. The race is just the icing on the cake and something I want to do before I'm too old.

My big limiter is my weight. At around 110kg I'm too heavy for running a marathon. Aim is to get down to <=90kg by the time of the race.

Younganne

couerdelion wrote: »

The race is just the icing on the cake and something I want to do before I'm too old.

My big limiter is my weight. At around 110kg I'm too heavy for running a marathon. Aim is to get down to <=90kg by the time of the race.

you're never too old or too heavy to do a marathon...not once you do the training and you have the advantage of being fit.

Trampas

I think I will target the Hal Higdon Novice II schedule.

chinguetti

Mr Slow wrote: »

Pain is your friend.

Mr S is nicking my saying. Shame on him:rolleyes:

To all the newbies, enjoy the trip, the pain, blisters, nipple rash, mental and physical exhaustion, more pain, messing with your own head caused by yourself, taper madness, the ability to talk in code about HRM, ITB, Gait, Hal, Pace, Garmin, footfall etc which your friends will look oddly at you and the wish to go home at 9 o'clock cause you've 15 miles to do in the morning which goes back to the pain.

But twill all be worth it crossing the line on October 29th. Your first reaction will be 'never again', your second will be to curse loudly with the last breath in your lungs and your third will to start thinking what the next marathon is. And by the time you get to McGrattan's, you'll be as mad as the rest of us.

Have fun folks.

Mr Slow

Take it as a compliment, it means I listened to you at least once ;-)