DCM 2014 graduates - the next step onwards

laura_ac3

It's probably time that we let go of our mentored novice identities and in the spirit of that we have a brand new graduate thread!

The last few months have been focused on the marathon. There were ups and downs and we got great advice and support along the way. One last thanks to Ososlo again. The day itself had crowds in Castleknock, carnage in Crumlin, the winds of Walkinstown, Milltown mania on to Nutley "nearly there" Lane before the crowds of the final stretch helping us over the line. The aches and niggles are hopefully settling down, we're continuing the recovery and easing back into things. So it's time to start looking down the road (or track or trail) and set new goals into 2015.

I know some of us are hoping to improve times over the shorter distances, and others are already eyeing up DCM 2015 with a sense of unfinished business. Whatever the goal hopefully lots of people will keep logging here and we'll keep up the group enthusiasm.

There's also a rumour that a mystery guest is going to help with new training over the winter. Watch this space! Maggotbrain suggested keeping a new mileage tracker which he is going to set up.

Seeing as training is still probably recovery focused I'll get things started with a couple of questions.
1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?
2) what are your new goals for 2015?

**Details of the mileage tracker here**

2014 DCM Graduate Mileage Tracker : Click Here

* Starts next Monday, and will be populated with a plan at some stage.

Ososlo

Best of luck with the new log laura_ac3 et al. You guys have got a great strong group so I'd say this is going to be a very cohesive group of graduates and a very busy log.
The "mystery guest" will be revealed tomorrow so stay tuned!

Mimojo

Woohoo New Log - Cheers Laura!!! Since DCM feel like I havent a clue what I am at so looking forward to getting going on a new goal.

Guna kick of with answers to your questions:

1) I really enjoyed the marathon training for DCM, loved the progression each week, and ticking off the lsr's. I feel like I have learned a huge amount from this experience, DCM is def one of the best things I have ever ever done & feel really lucky to have been able to complete it.

In terms of things I would have done differently, I think I now realise I didnt have a great running base going into the training, if I could do it again I would have gotten out of the gym in January and running outside to get 6 good months under my belt before the training started. I joined the thread late so was a bit all over the place with the plan, trying to do intervals and hills, when really what I needed to go was get more miles under my belt.

But I really feel like I have gained so much for this experience, all positive, and there are so many things I would now like to build on.

2) The possibilities for new goals in 2015 are just endless! I am still pondering I have to say, reading up as much as possible. After the amazing day that was DCM a huge part of me wants another crack at a marathon, try to bring down my time & get cracking on the challange of a marathon training plan again. Was thinking about maybe Limerick in May as one possible idea. I am getting married in August so dont think I could commit to DCM training in 2015 unfortunately.

However another huge part of me would love to focus of getting faster. The only races I have ever completed were 3 in the race series this year, so there are literally hundreds of other shorter distance races I could target next year instead, which also seems really enticing. I guess I dont know enough about targeted training for this, with the marathon I just stuck to the plan, I feel like I dont know where to start with training to get faster, but Im sure a bit of research will help with that.

I def want to up my mileage in 2015, and maintain a decent level of running week on week. I also want to continue in the gym and get working on strength and core work which I think will help on the running front.

Also considering joining a running club as I think it would be hugely beneficial both in terms of meeting fellow runners, and getting advice and help on how to train.

So plenty of possibilities! Think this thread is going to be a super source of info for the running year ahead and looking forward to hearing everyones goals :-)

Tigerandahalf

Great to see a new thread.
Here were my goals for 2014 that I put up in the goals thread around May......
....
Goals for 2014

5k under 19 mins (current PB 19.37)

5 mile/8k under 30 mins (current PB 33+)

10k under 40 mins (current PB 41.33)

10 mile under 65 mins (current PB 69.55)

Half Marathon under 90 mins (current PB 91.30)

Marathon under 3.30 (to be done)

Not sure yet about the marathon time. I would need to up my LSR mileage and see how my body reacts.
The 10 mile is probably overly ambitious and I may not have too many opportunities to do them.

Currently doing 4 runs per week plus 1/2 swims.
...........

I knew the goals were optimistic. The last 2 I have managed and I am sure I can get the 5k and 10k before the year is out.
My goals going forward would be to continue running and to enjoy it! Goals for 2015 will come in December.
I am currently learning to swim and hope to one day complete a triathlon. I also bought a roadbike this year and have really enjoyed getting out on it. I feel the swimming and biking complement my running and they are also a break when the running may become less enjoyable.
When I started running over a year ago I asked myself what will happen when I stop improving my times and the small gains require a lot of work with maybe no guarantee of improvement. Would I stick at it and continue to enjoy it. I really admire people who have been running/racing for years and still have the enthusiasm to push themselves.
The last year went very well training wise. I have always enjoyed physical training and getting out and clearing the head.
Over the next while I must decide whether I will join a club or not. The use of a track and doing intervals against others is something I need to consider.
Anyway best of luck to everyone.

MKDTH

R.I.P Novice thread

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

I would of not tried to play catch up on my training which meant I ran five days in a row after a trip away. This was the beginning of my injury woes.
I've learnt loads from gait analysis up to training plans.


2) what are your new goals for 2015?

Recovering from my planned Knee operation is still ongoing, however as you can read on my log, I have already pencilled in the Raheny 5 mile, along with the Milton Keynes Half and full Marathons in March and May. I will also hopefully get the chance to race over 10k and 10 miles during that training cycle and continue improving with the long term focus of going under 4 hours in a Marathon by the end of 2015. The second half of the year will be based around training for the unfinished business that is DCM!

ciaranmac

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

Hindsight is a great thing. We use it to annoy our friends, and also to learn lessons from our mistakes. Looking back I should have done a few things differently. When I got to the September LSRs I found I didn't have enough time during the week to run shorter runs, so I only ran 1 or 2 a week. That meant the LSR was 60-70% of my weekly mileage. I've done a lot of reading and I knew the experts recommended no more than 40%. I think it would have helped if I'd taken that advice.

I had problems with keeping a steady pace since before I started training for DCM14, which I blame on my comfortable running pace (6 min/km) being too fast to sustain. To go slower I would include walking breaks. I worked on this a lot over the summer, just running slower to the stage where I ran a half marathon in August at a nice steady 6:50 and got a PB of 2:24. Still too fast for a LSR though, so my September 30k+ runs all included walking breaks of about 30 seconds per km.

I entered the Athlone 3/4 as my final long run, which I didn't really need to do and lost the run of myself a little, feeling good and strong at 18k I picked up the pace and blew up at 23k. I learned from that experience as regards how even well after half way the race can still be screwed up. I also didn't turn on my garmin till I was at the start line and it took ages to get a signal, and I ran a fast km to the hotel to warm up when I should have walked (if I'd got there earlier). I carried those lessons into the marathon and didn't repeat them. However I also carried a niggle in my left foot which flared up on race day on the quays. If I'd run Athlone as a LSR this probably wouldn't have happened.

My plan was to run DCM in 5 hours or just under, and failing that I knew just to finish would be a fantastic achievement. The course lent itself to a negative split and I was happy to do the first half in 2:32 despite the sore foot. The second half didn't go as planned, I was struggling well before I got to 30k and finished in 5:30. I don't like making excuses but what I think really went wrong on race day was the weather, and that was outside my control. I plan on running more marathons in the future (never thought I'd say that!) and I hope experience will tell me when the goal pace isn't sustainable in the conditions.

2) what are your new goals for 2015?

I draw the conclusion if I build to a faster sustained pace I'll have more wiggle room to slow down without walking. So my next goal when I'm fully recovered is to target a 10k PB but more importantly to pace it properly. I ran 61:29 two years ago in training when I'd just started running and even though it included a lot of walking I haven't beaten it since. The closest I got was 63:03 in September, a midweek training run but properly paced with a slight negative split and not flat out either. I think sub 60 is an achievable goal and a good starting point for future improvements.

I had 2 runs since the marathon, both relatively easy and the longer was 6 km. The third was today at a faster pace but still only 4k. I'm still not back to the point when I can comfortably cruise for 10-20 km.

Further ahead I'd like to do another marathon but I'm studying nights for an engineering degree so running will come behind that in the pecking order (and work and family obviously). I think I've a window to target a September marathon, and I've entered the drawing for Berlin. Whatever marathon I run next year I'll have to prepare for running in warmer conditions.

Casey78

This is great a new thread with old friends!

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

I wouldn't have worried so much about what time I would finish the Marathon. In the end it didn't matter as I was over the moon just to finish!!

2) what are your new goals for 2015?
New PBs in all distances but especially 5k and 10k
Currently 24:00 for 5k and 51:54 for 10k
Would like to go sub 23 for 5k and sub 48 for 10k.

99% sure I'll do Marathon again next year also.

Laois_Man

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

What I would do differently, not have been injured from early August for the rest of the plan.

Think I need to do a plan of about 30 weeks for 2015 DCM and do a lot more races or Parkruns in the first half of the year especially

Join a club!

2) what are your new goals for 2015?

join a club (maybe even before 2014 is out)

Sub 22 minute 5K (maybe even before 2014 is out)
Sub 48 minute 10K (really hoping to go a good bit lower than that)
Sub 1:50 HM
Sub 4 hour DCM

(injuries permitting)

chickey2

Hope you don't mind me joining. I only found the novices thread a few weeks before the marathon so just lurked!

I did c25k two years ago and found I loved running but lost momentum after I finished the plan so stopped. I tried again last year and made it up to 10k but then went on holidays and got out of the habit again. In January 2014 I decided I needed a proper long term plan so signed up for the race series. I used the myasics.com site to make a plan and off I went. I did the frank duffy 10 mile in 1.33 and the half marathon in 1.57 which I was delighted with. The day after the half I went mad and signed up for DMC. I figured I could walk half if I had to. In the end I did it in 4.33 and was thrilled. I was going well until clonskeagh and then I ended up walking for a bit. Met a friend at fosters ave who convinced me to keep running so I ran/walked the rest. I really found the novices thread a great help in those last few weeks of training.

So what would I do different? Well have a proper marathon plan first of all! All I wanted to do this year was finish so I took it very easy. I know I have it in me to run a lot faster and my 5k/10k/half times would suggest I could do a 4 hour marathon.

Future plans: I'm not going to do DCM 2015 as I know I'll be abroad in September and if I do it again I want to do it properly. I've just uploaded a 5k plan to try and get a better time (best time currently 25.56) and I just started that this week. I'm enjoying having so much time at the weekend without the lsr's! In the new year I'll concentrate on 10 k so will have to find a race to work towards. I'm also thinking of joining a club. There's one nearby so I've no excuse. I'm going to do a park run next week and I know some of the club members will be there so might work up the courage to talk to someone!

Casey78

Welcome chickey2.
Your times are very similar to my own.
What 5k plan are you going to do.?

chickey2

I got one from myasics.com. You enter your age , gender, previous times and the number of times a week you can run and it calculates a plan to suit. I like the way it gives approximate paces for each run so some are slow and others fast. The one I just got has some intervals too.

hillsiderunner

Ok in my case I'm not a graduate, but I got so hooked on the Novices thread I'm going keep an eye on this one too.

laura_ac3 wrote: »

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

I would have "not got injured" 4 weeks out from the marathon ... Apart from that I would have (1) Started training with a proper schedule 4 months ahead of the event (2) done more mileage and more long runs (hmmm... I could write (3) "stretch more" there but I'm not sure I'd be being honest :rolleyes:). "Most beneficial" was the value of Proper Long Runs, and the advice to take the pace down.

2) what are your new goals for 2015?

Train properly for the Paris marathon on 12th April 2015 - schedule starts 24th November so I'll be training through the winter. So I get a chance to do it right this time . And I want to get my parkrun time under 23:00 by end of January ... that was a 2014 goal but I'm still not there (down to 23:29 a couple of months ago). I won't be trying a parkrun for a few more weeks though, all I'd expect at the moment would be a "personal worst". I'm trying to replace the lost fitness at the moment.

ciaranmac

Any advice on two things I haven't made up my mind on?

After the marathon I got my sore feet looked at in the physio tent and they suggested strengthening and working on my running form in general, as well as some specific stretches which I've been doing since. I was thinking of Chi running to address the form problem. Have any of ye tried it and what's the verdict?

The other thought I had was to join a club. There isn't one in the town where I live so I would be driving to the nearest big town where there's a club. Is it worth the extra effort? I've done all my big runs solo so far.

Nicsx

laura_ac3 wrote: »

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?
2) what are your new goals for 2015?

Thanks Laura for getting the ball rolling on the new thread.

1) During my LSRs I used to stop to buy extra water, at road crossings etc & even though the stops were brief I must have got used to them. Next time I'll keep these to an absolute minimum.
Like Hillsiderunner, I plan on stretching more (well, that's the plan anyway).
I only did the HM out of the race series but I think next year I'll aim to do all of them for race experience & assessing how the training is going.

2) Goals for 2015
Start some speedwork now so I can improve my times over shorter distances. I hope to do a couple of Parkruns soon & I'm thinking of the Raheny 5mile in January. I'd like to find a 10k & HM in Spring.
I'd like to knock a chunk off my marathon time & I hope a year of solid training will help me with that.

laura_ac3

ciaranmac wrote: »

Any advice on two things I haven't made up my mind on?

After the marathon I got my sore feet looked at in the physio tent and they suggested strengthening and working on my running form in general, as well as some specific stretches which I've been doing since. I was thinking of Chi running to address the form problem. Have any of ye tried it and what's the verdict?

The other thought I had was to join a club. There isn't one in the town where I live so I would be driving to the nearest big town where there's a club. Is it worth the extra effort? I've done all my big runs solo so far.

Not in a club myself - something I'm considering as well - but have heard only positives. Maybe contact the club first to suss it all out. In my research I've heard they're welcoming for people to come try a few sessions before joining up - if so it might be a good way for you to see if it's something that you think would be worth it? On the chi running front I think pacing mule did it.

MaggotBrain

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Seeing as training is still probably recovery focused I'll get things started with a couple of questions.
1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?
2) what are your new goals for 2015?

Can't believe how quickly the weeks flew now, it will be hard to let go of the novices thread.

1) I learned more than I can write down, I tried and won't bore people with a list.

The main thing I learned is at the end of the day a marathon isn't that hard, it's the training that goes behind it that measures the runner. Might sound mad but 16 weeks of training for me was harder than one morning in the big smoke.

2) Setting goals that I think might be possible. sub21 5k, sub45 10k, 1:45 HM. Pencilled in Adare 10K, Limerick HM, Tullamore HM. Dublin City Marathon 2015 :pac:

Main goals are trying to look after myself more. Stretching and breathing. Swimming. No more cigs, which means a little less hooch. Race more.

Great to see so many fellow novices keeping it going. Here's to a daycent 2015!

(I will get the mileage tracker up ASAP.)

SoundoftheSea

Hello fellow marathoners .Great to have a new place to chat and get advice, thanks Laura_ac3.

1. What I learnt the most was to know your limits and train accordingly. Before DCM I had not followed a plan and did not consider the importance of pacing. During the training I was well advised on this by Ososlo and AMK and I believe that this advice got me over the finish line. I was slow but I ran/jogged (no walking) all the way and finished with no injuries.

2. I want to now build on what I have learnt and set some targets for 1/2 marathons and if/when I manage to run a sub 2 hr half I will sign up for DCM again.

On wards and up wards!!

Firedance

laura_ac3 wrote: »

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?
2) what are your new goals for 2015?

Thanks Laura for getting the ball rolling, feels very odd to be a DCM graduate!

1) yes, I would have worked on my base from Jan & got out running 5 -6 days a,week, even just for a few miles to get the body in the habbit of frequent sessions. I would have made a better effort to get the pace of all my runs right, not just the LSRs. I would have learned to run without gels.
Most importantly and nearly forgotten was that I would have revised my pace downwards on the day given the temperature. I've learned that heat really affects me, I need to work a lot on improving hydration generally.

2) at the moment my goals are to work in 5k, 10k & half marathon times. I'm going to target raheny 5 mile, trim 10 mile, bohermeen half marathon, dunboybe 4&5 mile & maynooth 10k & aim to improve last years times. I'm currently not considering DCM 2015 and would prefer to work on half's but who knows how ill feel later in the year!

In the short term ill target jingle bells to keep focused over the coming weeks. Looking forward to hearing everones progress.

JohnDozer

Great to have this up and running. Looking forward to being more a part of this one than I was on the Novices thread... Am I even a graduate seeing as I only barely scraped a Pass on the exam!

I learned many things from thinking back, both in the immediate aftermath of the marathon, and since!

I missed way too much training to consider going after my A target. I missed many LSR's due to doing shorter races instead and managing to convince myself that it would be ok. Not alone here, but doing the LR's I did do at too quick a pace. Not doing anywhere near enough stretching, and strength and conditioning work - because of this I lost two weeks training at a critical time. Booking two weeks holidays in the middle of the training cycle didn't help. Lastly, not adjusting my time target downwards on the day knowing the adverse conditions - rookie error apparently! AND - not going to McGrattans afterwards!

Goals for 2015:- work on the shorter races up to half marathon up until June. Put a bit more structure on the training as in 2014 I was putting in good mileage, but not really following any plan or structure until the marathon plan started. Maybe, just maybe join a club. Currently I'm spending half my time in Kerry and half in Limerick so not really possible at the moment until this changes. I have unfinished business with Dublin City Marathon so that is my Number 1 goal for 2015.

Due to current back problems I think the silly idea I had of running Clonakilty this year is out the window. Unfortunately, this now means the idea of running Tralee marathon in March is very appealing. This would still give me 3/4 months of the year to tackle the shorter stuff before DCM 15 training. Decisions, decisions.....

JohnDozer

Just a suggestion. A good few from the broader Boards AC group are part of that club on Strava. Personally I find Strava very useful and it can be very motivational to see how others are doing and getting on in races training. Especially as part of a club that can be set up. Would there be much interest in setting this up?

And another one, it was mentioned in the Novices thread a few times and never really took off. Is there much interest in getting some Boards AC gear i.e. singlets,
tech shirts or maybe hoodies? If there is I can get in contact with the guy who did the last few orders for here and see if he would take it on. If not maybe myself and one other volunteer could coordinate it?

Mimojo

JohnDozer wrote: »

Just a suggestion. A good few from the broader Boards AC group are part of that club on Strava. Personally I find Strava very useful and it can be very motivational to see how others are doing and getting on in races training. Especially as part of a club that can be set up. Would there be much interest in setting this up?

And another one, it was mentioned in the Novices thread a few times and never really took off. Is there much interest in getting some Boards AC gear i.e. singlets,
tech shirts or maybe hoodies? If there is I can get in contact with the guy who did the last few orders for here and see if he would take it on. If not maybe myself and one other volunteer could coordinate it?

Ill be honest I didnt even know what Strava was, but just had a look at it there and think it would be great idea if people are interested, I would sign up anyhow!

Also sign me up for Boards AC gear, didnt know there was such a thing! If you need a volunteer Id be happy to help

laura_ac3

Great to see so many friendly faces already and one or two new people popping in, more than welcome of course.

I should probably answer my own questions - I just dropped the thread and ran (literally - did 5 miles yesterday evening, felt fresh and strong which was good).

1) I know it sounds basic and silly but I think the thing I learned the most was the types of gains people can make from the right sort of training (and hard work obviously). After my Mum died suddenly a few years back I really got into running for purely personal reasons as a way to clear the head etc, was a great help mentally and emotionally. Once that stuff settled down it had just become part of my routine and I enjoyed it. My times aren't fast, in fact they're pretty slow by comparison to many - I had gotten into running just for running and settled into my own plodding pace I suppose. Each race I would try knock off time alright just to try and improve but with no real structure behind it. So reading so many logs the last while I've realised that it's not all complicated and if I start off even with the basics and the right training there should be good room for improvement. In terms of would I do anything differently over the last year, I would have liked to have a better base than I did. I had hoped to but an injury from winter into spring dented that a bit. I was lucky to stay injury free during the DCM training but I did get some niggles - I probably could have been better with stretching etc - something I need to make part of my routine more.

2) That ties into my goals for next year. Work on my times and introduce different types of running and training I've never done before. In the short term I've the Jingle Bells 5k which I'm excited about. I've never actually done a 5k race and it seems like a good one. The Raheny 5 mile is another one I'm looking forward to and I'd really like to improve my 10k time but no goal race yet, just see how the next while goes. Also looking at the Trim 10 mile in February. Hopefully if the year goes well I can knock a bit off my HM time in September but that's a long way away. Alot can change between now and then but I'm not looking to do DCM in 2015. I would like to do another marathon again but I'm not sure when. I had been thinking about following Bob Glover's novice 10k plan (with some tweaks) but I may wait for this mystery guest and see what's happening there!!! I've never done a parkrun so sampling one or two of them and maybe joining a club are also on my list!

annapr

Hello all and thanks Laura for 'volunteering' to set this up . I know some people are aiming at Half Marathons in Clontarf or Waterford, so posting a post-DCM plan here that Murph is following for Waterford, devised by a mystery expert coach, in case it's helpful for anyone. Hope the table works!


Week|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thu|Fri|Sat|Sun|Mileage
Nov 3|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|8 inc. 4 @ HMP|Rec.|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|14 easy|30-35
Nov 10|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|2 w/u 3x2 mile @ HMP w/ 2.30 min jog rec|Rec.|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|13 miles steady (MP +30 sec)|45-55
Nov 17|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|10 easy w/strides|Rec.|Easy/rest|Race 5k|13 miles easy|30-40
Nov 24|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|10 inc. 6 @ MP|Rec.|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|14 miles progression (last mile @ MP)|30-40
Dec 1|Easy/rest|Easy/rest|4x1k @ HMP w/ 90 sec rec|Easy/rest|2 Easy|Race HM|Rec.|30-40

Darren 83

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

Always have a secondary goal so if you don't hit your primary target it wont be as bad.

2) what are your new goals for 2015

I recently moved up a group with my club so it will take time too get use to the quicker paces, but targets are 20:xx 5k, 43:xx 10k and 1:44 half.

annapr

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

I followed Hal Higdon novice plan for DCM and probably would have benefited from one more 20-miler.

What I learned: I am finally realising that I should have gone SLOWER in my LSR's. (Ososlo did tell me this...repeatedly).

And I'm going into quarantine for the month before my next marathon to avoid infection!

I had a good 2014 though: PB's in 5k, 5 mile, 10 mile and half.

I also learned that I can go the distance... Even if I had to walk some of it, I got there in DCM.

2) what are your new goals for 2015?

For 2015 I want to:

PB in the entire Dublin race series!
Sub 2 hr half marathon.
Sub 4:30 DCM... Maybe even 4:15 as a goal. Some day sub 4
5k/Parkrun...current PB is 25:50... 25:30 goal? Would love to think I could break 25 but doubt that's possible.
5 mile... 42 min? (Current PB is 43:37)

Overall, I want to build endurance and move a bit beyond the very basic novice training plans I've been following.

Signing up for the Raheny 5 mile in January. Considering Waterford HM In December but more likely to do jingle bells 5k on the same day. I haven't done a 10k race in ages so might try to find one before the end of the year.

I would love to do Connemara but that's for 2016!

Main goal is to keep running!

hillsiderunner

annapr wrote: »

5k/Parkrun...current PB is 25:50... 25:30 goal? Would love to think I could break 25 but doubt that's possible.

You can do it no problem, annapr ... only problem with the 5k distance is that it seems to take a bit longer to bring the improvements (if your focus has previously been the longer distances). Just a matter of a bit of interval training.

annapr

laura_ac3 wrote: »

I've never done a parkrun so sampling one or two of them and maybe joining a club are also on my list!

Sorry to hear about your mother, Laura. I have also found running a great way to stay sane/cope with a bereavement.

As for Parkrun, come on out to St Anne's any Saturday morning, great way to start the weekend.

annapr

hillsiderunner wrote: »

You can do it no problem, annapr ... only problem with the 5k distance is that it seems to take a bit longer to bring the improvements (if your focus has previously been the longer distances). Just a matter of a bit of interval training.

Thanks for the encouragement! I suppose improving a 5k time is proportionally more difficult. My first 5k race was in May 2012 and I was delighted with something like 32:30! PB in sept this year was 25:50... Without any interval training, so will definitely try to keep improving.

Ososlo

Hi guys,

I'd like to introduce you to Clearlier who'll be here to guide you with a little bit of training over the coming months if you wish to participate. Clearlier has been on Boards for quite a number of years and has an extensive knowledge about many different coaching methods and running philosophies. His posts have always been full of fantastic detailed information and he has provided comprehensive answers to training questions from Boardsies of all levels, over all distances over the past few years. I've been an avid follower of his ever since I started reading Boards.

Clearier is based in Bournemouth and is in the same running club as the legend Steve Way!!!

Clearlier takes his coaching influences from Lydiard, Pfitinger and Douglas (P&D) and Canova amongst many others.

I'm delighted to tell you that davemacmahon is going to be helping you all out also and you can read all about dave's training here on his super training log.

I'll be dropping by myself from time to time no doubt as something tells me I won't be able to let go of you all completely!!!

You're a privileged bunch to be getting this coaching to help you all achieve your goals post DCM!
I'll let Clearlier himself tell you a little bit more about his own running and his coaching philosophies and what he might have in store for you over the coming months.
I'm really confident to be passing you into the expert hands of Clearlier and am very excited to see what he has lined up for you! I'll follow with intent interest!

menoscemo

That's a great team there O.
Clearlier is definitely one of the best posters on training on boards and Dave is a great example of how consistent work can bring huge and consistent improvements.

annapr

Great stuff, looking forward to hearing more! Thanks Ososlo, clearlier and Dave... And Meno hope you aren't going away either!

ECOLII

Great shout

Delighted to see Clearlier come on board for this, the man was tergats second coming and is deeply knowledgeable in both methodology as well as application of training methods and does so with a common sense aspect taken into account which I think often gets overlooked

You folks are in great hands

Dub13

1) is there anything you would have done differently in your 2014 training or what was the most beneficial thing you learned?

Maybe not be a slave to the plan, I did what I now believe to be many "junk miles" as in miles just for the sake of it I was addicted to doing as many as I could just to be safe. I think next year I will not be so much as slave to the mileage.

2) what are your new goals for 2015?

DCM15, but before that like many here to work on my shorter times. My PB's now are
half: 1:43:56
10k: 48:02
5k: 23:13

AuldManKing

Such a good team. Everyone will learn a lot here.
Clearlier is a Boards legend, Everyone, graduates and experienced alike will be popping on here to hear his advice.
Ososlo must have paid a small fortune to get him

Dave is the personification of 'sensible & dedicated'. From his own training and the progression he has shown, you are in great hands.

Well done Ososlo, great team!

laura_ac3

annapr wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your mother, Laura. I have also found running a great way to stay sane/cope with a bereavement.

As for Parkrun, come on out to St Anne's any Saturday morning, great way to start the weekend.

Thanks Anna, and you too. It really is a great tool to cope, definitely helped me with the tougher days.

Yeah I think I'll head out to the st Anne's one this Saturday. Been meaning to do it for ages but the LSRs just kept getting in the way :rolleyes:

Dub13

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Yeah I think I'll head out to the st Anne's one this Saturday. Been meaning to do it for ages but the LSRs just kept getting in the way :rolleyes:

I am the same, been dying to do the St Anne's one for ages, I hope to break my cheery this Sat if I can fit in in around the young lads football.

Dub13

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Yeah I think I'll head out to the st Anne's one this Saturday. Been meaning to do it for ages but the LSRs just kept getting in the way :rolleyes:

I am the same, been dying to do the St Anne's one for ages, I hope to pop my parkrun cherry on Sat if I can fit it in around the young lads football.

annapr

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Thanks Anna, and you too. It really is a great tool to cope, definitely helped me with the tougher days.

Yeah I think I'll head out to the st Anne's one this Saturday. Been meaning to do it for ages but the LSRs just kept getting in the way :rolleyes:

Hope to see you there!

Clearlier

I'm blushing here

Thanks to Ososlo for the introduction. I've heard nothing but good things about her work on the novices thread. I feel very lucky to be given the opportunity to try and add to all the help that she has given so many people.

I've been where you are and I'm just hoping that I can help guide you a little. Maybe help you avoid some of the mistakes that I made. Having looked through Dave's log I suspect that we'll be on the same wavelength but if not all the more interesting.

Initial bits of advice
First piece of advice I can offer is to follow ecoli's thread. There's bound to be a ton of good advice coming out of it. If you spot any conflicts between what ecoli says and what I say call it out because that's where you'll get the really interesting ideas about how to train.

Second piece of advice is to sign up for this. For anyone working in a seated position all day the hip flexor stretch is worth the time alone (just make sure you follow carefully what he says).

What's the plan?
I will have a plan for everyone who wants one to follow (although I'm happy to take a stab at answering questions relating to other plans if I'm familiar with them). I hope that by the end of the plan everybody who follows it will be fitter, well prepared for their next goal and have a deeper understanding of how to train effectively.

The plan will be based on a link that ecoli posted a few weeks ago. It's aimed at 5k in it's original version but I'll adapt it to suit any races up to 2 hours long. I think that it's an ideal next step for people who have just completed their first marathon.

The plan will start next Monday. In the meantime anyone who completed DCM should start jogging again this week if they haven't started already. Get out as many days as you think you can commit to doing consistently even if some of them are actually short walks. I expect that one or two will have already got down to doing some sessions. Be cautious and ease your way back into them. You won't lay down the foundations for your next PB this week but you could get yourself injured.

Your history
I had planned to go through the DCM novices thread to get an idea of what has happened already but then I opened it - 421 pages!!

That does mean that I'll need to ask for a little information. It's not mandatory obviously and I hope that I don't scare anybody off but the more that I know about your training history the better I will be able to advise you so here's my wish list.

1) I'd like to know your PB's and roughly when they were set. I'm most interested in 5k, 10k, 10 mile, half and full marathon. Any three of those will give me something to work with. More is better. If there's anything peculiar about them (e.g. your marathon PB is from the Snowdon marathon) please let me know!
2) Tell me about your running history including what plan/training you did for DCM.
3) What's your sporting history? This can range from you got a note to avoid PE at school all the way up to you represented Ireland at something. Without asking anyone to reveal too much it would helpful if I had an idea as to how far in the distant past the sporting history is.
4) What other training including strength and conditioning training do you do regularly?
5) Any injuries/niggles and what are you doing to manage them?
6) What are your goals for the next 6 - 12 months?

I'm looking forward to this. Let's do some good things.

rockstar_91

Hi everyone. DCM graduate who hitched onto all the great work on the novices thread. I'm hoping that by being involved on the forums that I can learn a bit more about my running and making improvements.

As a bit of background, I started training to lose weight after I finished my masters degree in Summer 2013. A few months in the gym soon led me to look for more adventurous ways and means to enjoy my workouts. As I am only 23 (I do feel like a bit of a big baby when it comes to running at races and at club nights), I opted for running, as I have always had an interest in it and it seemed less costly than cycling and didn't require a focus on bulking up as I would have to for the likes of rugby or American football.

I started out with some 5km and 10km races without undertaking any particular training regimen. I was enjoying my running so I decided to join my local club. Soon after joining, the opportunity arose to take part in a half marathon. After that I was bitten by the bug, running another half marathon two weeks later! Since then I set myself the goal of running a race every month and making incremental improvements.

My times to this point were as follows:

Special Olympics 5km: 27.46
Movember 10km: 53.45
Run for Rehab 5km: 22.19
Carlingford Half Marathon: 1.57.12
DUNE Half Marathon: 1.54.58
PK5K: 22.35
Great Irish Run 10km: 50.15
Dundalk 10km: 56.54 (picked up knee injury at 7.5km having been on pace for sub 50 mins)
Boyne 10km: 52.40 (reaggravated knee injury at 6 km having been on pace for sub 50 mins)
Green 5km: 21.22
Annagassan 10km: 48.44

I was late deciding to run DCM as I wasn't sure if I would be able to get time of work as I work 5 days a week, but these are not set days. Luckily I was able to get the time off so taking into account my fitness and the relatively short lead in time of about 11 weeks I put together a rough-shod training plan that included the Dublin Half and Athlone 3/4. My plan consisted of 1 or 2 short runs of about 6 miles and an increasing LSR each week, combined with a day of crosstraining (swimming) and core work on alternate weeks. For the most part, I fitted this into my schedule.

Dublin Half: 1.48.xx
Athlone 3/4: 3.12.xx

With these performances under my belt I set a best case scenario goal of running 4.20 at DCM. This was my race report.

"First marathon today. All I can call it is an ordeal. My target was sub 4:20 (which might have been foolish on my part). The wind around Dolphins Barn on that open stretch took it out of me and I just had to let the flags drift away. Kept running up until 17 but after that it was walk a few minutes, run a few. I know "Heartbreak Hill" and whether it is one is a bit of a debated topic, but today with the nasty headwind and the heat, there were a lot of broken souls by mile 22. The support at the top was incredible and really spurred me on. Struggled home from there with a dodgy knee but the shouts of encouragement were incredible. Made it across in 4:58:39 and was very happy to come in under 5 hours all considered."

To answer the questions laid out at the start of the thread

1) What could I improve on from my 2014 experience?

-My training regime - Putting a more concrete plan in place should really help. Also mixing it up a bit more eg: added speed work and hill work and a more manageable approach to LSR's.
-Listen to my body more in terms of recovering from the little niggles
-As another poster mentioned, not putting as much focus on shorter races in the build up

2) Goals for 2015

My overall aim is to improve(!)

In terms of times, I would like to bring my pace across all distances more in line with each other. Right now my goals look something like this.

5km: Sub 20mins
10km: Sub 46.30mins
Half: Sub 1hr45mins

I don't know how I feel about undertaking another full marathon just yet but if I were to go the full distance again I would simply look to improve on my time of 4hrs58 and enjoy my race.

After a two and a half week break from running since DCM I'll be back on the roads this week to get back in the running groove. Safe to say I can't wait!

crisco10

What a great thread to see on a Monday morning! Thanks for the guidance Ososlo! and thanks in advance to Clearlier!

1) What could I improve on from my 2014 experience?

Tough one this, lots of things went right and I had a good year. I played tag rugby which wasn't a great idea (picked up a few knocks) but at the same time I really enjoyed it so I don't regret that per se.

From a pure running perspective; would have done more races earlier in the year at shorter distances. And maybe concentrated more on the importance of the mid-week "sorta long run" in July/August. I only really started doing that run properly in September



1) I'd like to know your PB's and roughly when they were set. I'm most interested in 5k, 10k, 10 mile, half and full marathon. Any three of those will give me something to work with. More is better. If there's anything peculiar about them (e.g. your marathon PB is from the Snowdon marathon) please let me know!

5k: 19:3x (June 2014)
10k: 40:16 (June 2013)
10 mile: 70:16 (August 2013, although I actually beat that as part of the below half this year)
half: 1:30:40 (August 2014)
Full: 3:24:49 (DCM 2014)

2) Tell me about your running history including what plan/training you did for DCM.

Long time here and there runner, mainly to supplement other training for football and rugby. Tried training haphazardly for DCM 2013 before my ITB gave way. Came back in 2014; followed the boards.ie plan and paid more attention to core strength, foam rolling and stretching.

3) What's your sporting history? This can range from you got a note to avoid PE at school all the way up to you represented Ireland at something. Without asking anyone to reveal too much it would helpful if I had an idea as to how far in the distant past the sporting history is.

"Weekends are for sport" was the rule in my house growing up. So have a strong sporting background. Mainly played football, rugby and golf growing up and until I was mid-20s (played with future internationals in rugby and soccer!); then grownup life and work got in the way so I turned to running to keep fit.

4) What other training including strength and conditioning training do you do regularly?

Bit of stretching/foam rolling; and 1 core-strength class a week.

5) Any injuries/niggles and what are you doing to manage them?

Dodgy knee from rugby and running. Manage it with plenty of single leg squats!

6) What are your goals for the next 6 - 12 months?

Haven't decided yet but I have a few PBs I'd like to take down. I also have been toying with the idea of trying to bottom out my 5km time. I'm still at the stage where whenever I concentrate on a distance I improve the PB so the idea of keeping at one distance to see how low I can go is quite appealing in a sense. Also, trying to get a quick time while I'm still young (ish) might be fun.

What's the best way to continually target a time? Just keep picking races 6 weeks away and targeting them? or does that get boring?

RonanP77

You're all about a year ahead of me, I'm going to hide in the background on this thread and hopefully learn from what people are saying they would've done differently.

Firedance

Clearlier wrote: »

I'm looking forward to this. Let's do some good things.

Thanks for coaching us Clearlier, super way to start the week although I'm wondering when I'm going to get any work done with all the reading to catch up on :-)

Initial bits of advice
First piece of advice I can offer is to follow ecoli's thread. Done :-)

Second piece of advice is to sign up for this. For anyone working in a seated position all day the hip flexor stretch is worth the time alone (just make sure you follow carefully what he says). Done (I sit a lot of the day so this is perfect)


1) I'd like to know your PB's and roughly when they were set. I'm most interested in 5k, 10k, 10 mile, half and full marathon. Any three of those will give me something to work with. More is better. If there's anything peculiar about them (e.g. your marathon PB is from the Snowdon marathon) please let me know!

January 2014 Raheny 5 Mile 47.46
Carlingford Half Marathon 1st March - 2.12
Clontarf 10 mile April 1.36
Maynooth 10K May 56.15
Park run 5K Sept 2014 - 25.46
Athlone 3/4 Oct 5th 2014 3.33
DCM 2014 5:20 (half way point 2:17)


2) Tell me about your running history including what plan/training you did for DCM.
Pre DCM I had run casually for a couple of years starting with C25K, the first proper training plan I followed was jan/feb this year for the half marathon, probably running 3, sometimes 4 days a week. I joined a club in April and followed a combo of HH novice II and the club marathon plan for DCM so basically I did club interval sessions on tuesdays & tempo runs thursdays along with one other mid week run and the LSR on Saturdays and a short recovery on Sundays.


3) What's your sporting history? This can range from you got a note to avoid PE at school all the way up to you represented Ireland at something. Without asking anyone to reveal too much it would helpful if I had an idea as to how far in the distant past the sporting history is.
Zero sporting history, I played B team basketball in school about 100 years ago but I would'nt even count that. Before I took up running I did strength training for about a year.

4) What other training including strength and conditioning training do you do regularly?
Yoga and Pilates & walking
5) Any injuries/niggles and what are you doing to manage them?
1. Ongoing foot pain that's recently (finally) been diagnosed as stemming from QL's that are not firing at all on either side, am doing prescribed exercises for this.
2) Shallow breathing caused by diaphragm that's constricted/tight. I'm doing tummy breathing twice a day to try and get out of the habbit of just breathing into chest.
3) Tight hamstrings & calves for which I'm also doing exercises & foam rolling although I do need to improve this whole area of warm ups/cool downs/stretching/rolling

6) What are your goals for the next 6 - 12 months?
january: Raheny 5 Mile 42 min goal
Feb: Trim 10 miles 1:30 goal
march: bohermeen half marathon - 2:00 goal (primary goal)
march: dunboyne 4 mile 32 min goal
May: dunboyne 5 mile 40 min goal
Are these realistic?..

I've been out for a couple of 3/4 mile runs in the last few days and think i'm recovering well from DCM, I really want to move on from that day, learn from all the mistakes i made and use that to achieve my goals.

davemcmahon

Looks like its time I stuck my head in and said hello since I'll be helping Clearier over the next few months.

So a little bit about me. I started running from a pretty poor fitness at the start of 2012 and was part of the 2012 Novice group (seems like a lifetime ago). This was my one and only marathon (to date), had planned on this two this year but one got cancelled and I picked up an injury that kept me out of Dublin. I spent 2013 focusing on 5/10k and HM distances and improved my time. The biggest change for me has been lifestyle and diet changes that have seen me shed in excess of 5 stone since I started running. I finally joined a club at the start of this year after putting it off for a long time and its one of the best running decisions I've ever made.

Anyway I'm looking forward to the next few months and seeing what Clearier has planned. More importantly I'm looking forward to seeing the progress this years graduates make and hopefully I'll get to meet some you at some races this year.

Mimojo

Thanks for taking on this thread Clearlier, really looking to all the brilliant advice and getting stuck into your new plan!!

In answer to your questions:

1) I'd like to know your PB's and roughly when they were set.

I am very new to running, only really gotten started with races this year. My PB’s and only races completed are from the Race Series 2014:

5 Mile: 43:17
10 Mile: 1:32
Half Marathon: 2:09:30
DCM 2014: 4:52:53

So these are the only races I have ever done….so plenty of room for improvement!!

2) Tell me about your running history including what plan/training you did for DCM.

Long story short in Jan 2013 decided enough was enough, I was very overweight (woman in late 20s) & needed to cop on & lose weight. My fitness was below zero at this stage. Began by joining Slimming World, and walking, which eventually lead to jogging, joined a sports team and began training regularly with them. Then joined a gym in September 2013 and moved away from Slimming World towards a more sustainable healthy diet. Have been going to the gym 4/5 times ever week since then. From Jan 2013 to April 2014 I lost 8 stone.

So running wise I started with the Couch to 5k & completed this in early 2013. I then joined a sports team (camogie) and was running short distances 4/5k a few times a week plus training from April-Sept. When I joined the gym in Sept 2014 I was mainly doing interval running on a treadmill (2/3 sessions per week), from then until May 2014. I then got the mad notion of training for DCM and got out on the road.

For DCM I followed the HHN1 plan available on the Novices Thread from May to October 2014. I joined the thread late but once I got stuck into it I followed the plan & feel that for the most part I stuck to it and completed all lsr’s.

So really my running knowledge and experience is very limited, but I do know that I absolutely love it & I really want to get back into a structured running plan asap!!

3) What's your sporting history?

Played camogie from about age 8 to 19, would have been very into it when I was younger & relatively fit as a result. Then from about age 19 to 28 things went DOWNHILL! Did very little/no exercise while in college & first couple of years working, if I am brutally honest a lot of eating and drinking was done! Then as above decided to cop on & running/gym/camogie followed!

4) What other training including strength and conditioning training do you do regularly?

For the past year I go to the gym 4/5 times a week, working on strength and condition training. Generally do 2/3 sessions of free weights/weights machine/core work etc, or mix in a class or two of toning or circuits. I started off with no experience so I am still very new to it, but increasing the weights little by little, and following a plan given to me by my instructor.
I also enjoy spinning and before the marathon training would have done 2 classes a week, but since then reduced to one per week, and not at all in the weeks before DCM. Would love to know if it is beneficial for running purposes?

5) Any injuries/niggles and what are you doing to manage them?

Glad to say I am injury free, long may it continue. Did have a little niggle in my knee during the DCM training and physio said I need to strengthen up my legs so want to aim to incorporate more leg work into the strength training.

Would love to do a Chi Running course too, I have read a lot of good stuff. I must admit I am not great at spending time stretching or foam rolling and know this is something that I need to work on.

6) What are your goals for the next 6 - 12 months?

As per my previous post, I am still thinking about what to aim for. After the amazing day that was DCM a huge part of me wants another crack at a marathon, try to bring down my time & get cracking on the challenge of a marathon training plan again. Was thinking about maybe Limerick in May as one possible idea. I am getting married in August so dont think I could commit to DCM training in 2015 unfortunately.

However another huge part of me would love to focus of getting faster. The only races I have ever completed were 3 in the race series this year, so there are literally hundreds of other shorter distance races I could target next year instead, which also seems really enticing. I guess I dont know enough about targeted training for this, with the marathon I just stuck to the plan, I feel like I dont know where to start with training to get faster, but Im sure a bit of research will help with that.

I def want to up my mileage in 2015, and maintain a decent level of running week on week. I also want to continue in the gym and get working on strength and core work which I think will help on the running front.

Also considering joining a running club as I think it would be hugely beneficial both in terms of meeting fellow runners, and getting advice and help on how to train.

Tigerandahalf

I have posted a bit about myself on the first page.

I want to ask something about core work. I will give a breakdown of what I did. I would like to know if I am doing them right or should I add others, etc. Maybe they will also help others.

During my training I used to do core work about 3 times a week. Normally I would do it at the end of my run before a cool down run, e.g. run 5 miles, do stretches and core work and then a mile cool down run.
I did my core work outside, making use of the exercise machines you see in parks. However, I wasn't following a specific plan and I have to admit after a while the core stuff became a bit boring.
I would normally stretch first - calves, groins, quads, hamstrings - holding each for about 10 seconds. This worked well and I had no problem doing it after each run.

After doing a half marathon back in May I had pains in my glutes (the muscles in my backside behind my hip bones, I think). I went to a physio and he gave me a couple of exercises to do. He also stated the importance of getting up and moving around every 15 minutes.
I incorporated the exercises into my core work and added other stuff that we had done in football training down through the years. So this is what I did but I am not sure what they are called and what muscles are targeted, so maybe someone in the know can comment. All these were static stretches.

Plank for 1 minute
Side planks with top leg raised and extended, each side for 30 secs
Hollow Back extensions (5 secs looking over each shoulder, 5 secs head up in the air, and then pushing the backside back to stretch the glutes for 5 secs)
Chin-ups (3-5 x 10)* - sometimes I would only do 3 sets of 10 as these were quite hard. I used a chin up bar in the park.
Push-ups x 30
Leg raises lying on my back - legs were extended, 3 x 15 secs.
Stomach clenches - 3 x 15 secs (same position as above except legs were raised with knees bent and lift my upper body up to clench the stomach and hold for 15 secs)
Knee raises - 3 x 15 (These were quite tough and sometimes my knees would click but it definitely strengthened the core area. I used my arms to hold my body weight on an exercise machine)

The above normally took me about 20 minutes. Even though I did them outdoors I was never too cold as I was well warmed up from the run I had done and thus the muscles were well prepared for it. At times especially in the run up to the marathon I was getting tired of them but I knew they served a purpose and in fairness I had no injuries.

*Btw is it 3 x 10 or 10 x 3 in terms of repetitions of an exercise. I always get confused.

MaggotBrain

2014 DCM Graduate Mileage Tracker : Click Here

* Starts next Monday, and will be populated with a plan at some stage.

Laois_Man

Firstly, THANK YOU Clearier for any pieces of advice you will give

1) I'd like to know your PB's and roughly when they were set. I'm most interested in 5k, 10k, 10 mile, half and full marathon. Any three of those will give me something to work with. More is better. If there's anything peculiar about them (e.g. your marathon PB is from the Snowdon marathon) please let me know!

My PBs:
- 5K 23:03 (December 2013)
- 10K 49:40 (March 2014)
- 10 Mile 1:24:56 (August 2014)
- Half Marathon 2:06:xx (June 2013)
- Marathon 4:57:41 (DCM 2014)

One of the problems I now aim to rectify is the fact that I don't race enough. All of these "PBs" above, with the exception of 10K, are from my one and only race over the respective distances (and I have only done 10K races three times).

In fact, all of these races were done when I wasn't really fully fit or soon after missing a few weeks training. Well, I was fully fit at the start line of the HM but I got injured during it but stupidly kept running and ended up out injured for 2 and a half months.




2) Tell me about your running history including what plan/training you did for DCM.
One word sums up my history. Injuries!
Started running in June 2012 and my body objected strongly to the shock at the beginning. But ever since then I get so many problems, mainly, it seems, due to being quite a severe over-pronator and all my bio-mechanics are ****ed up. I've spent a fortune on physio. I am currently getting some professional advice on what I can do about it all. Had an array of injury issues on the DCM plan - mainly ITBS/Runners knee and lower back nerve issues. I know I need to be very very serious about, and committed to, the boring cross training too.

Specifically for DCM 2014, I followed a plan based on HHN2. But I added a lot of miles to it as due to my injury history, I felt I needed to build up my mileage much more slowly and so my long runs were already up to HM distance before week 1 of the plan. However, although I did complete all bar one of my LSRs on the plan, I did miss a lot of midweek runs and from early August, all of my training was one-paced and slow - it became much slower than I was training at before. But I did 5 long runs of between 18 and 21.2 miles. But the missed runs and the very slow training pace contributes to me falling off my pace in the second half of DCM and resulting in a positive split of about 28 minutes! :eek:



3) What's your sporting history? This can range from you got a note to avoid PE at school all the way up to you represented Ireland at something. Without asking anyone to reveal too much it would helpful if I had an idea as to how far in the distant past the sporting history is.
Played a bit of soccer. But history wise, I have nothing much to speak of.

4) What other training including strength and conditioning training do you do regularly?
I have been lazy since DCM. But I have an exercise bike. I do resistance band work that the physio gave me. I was doing that and a lot of AIS until it started really hurting my runners knee in September but I'll be going back to that and adding new stuff, not sure what though. Any cross-twining element of any new plan is really important to me I feel....even if it bores me to tears!

5) Any injuries/niggles and what are you doing to manage them?
As above

6) What are your goals for the next 6 - 12 months?
Well, whatever plan is starting on November 17th, I'll probably be a couple of weeks behind. I will not run again until I am completely satisfied that I am completely clear of all symptoms of everything and I can run with a clean slate!

Other than that, I want to do a lot more races and reach PBs in every distance above. I'm tentatively thinking the next major milestone will be the Wexford HM at the end of April where I hope to make a serious assault on a 1:4x:xx finish. I'm convinced I am capable of that even now if I were niggle free and ran it next week.

The main target is a DCM finishing time to be proud of - The unconverted non-runners are in awe of me having actually completed a marathon - but I myself am not proud of my time (although satisfied given the circumstances for the nearly 3 months before it). Not thinking too much about what exactly that target is at this point.

davemcmahon

MaggotBrain wrote: »

2014 DCM Graduate Mileage Tracker : Click Here

* Starts next Monday, and will be populated with a plan at some stage.

Just added in an upcoming races and goal times sheet.

MaggotBrain

Thanks in advance Clearlier and davemcmahon

1) I'd like to know your PB's and roughly when they were set. I'm most interested in 5k, 10k, 10 mile, half and full marathon. Any three of those will give me something to work with. More is better. If there's anything peculiar about them (e.g. your marathon PB is from the Snowdon marathon) please let me know!

My PBs:
Distance | Time | Date | Race
5K|23:13|May 2014|Galway 5K Race Series - Ballybrit Racecourse
8K|38:12|Aug 2014|Streets of Galway 8K
10M|1:29:28|Mar 2014|Craughwell 10 Mile
HM|2:23:24|Aug 2014|Tullamore HM (Sick)
Marathon|4:23:09|Oct 2014|Dublin City Marathon
10K|58:44|Sep 2013|Galway Bay 10K


2) Tell me about your running history including what plan/training you did for DCM.

Started running in July 2013 with the C25K and caught the bug. Helps me with stress and really enjoy the competitive element.

Followed the boards.ie novices plan for 18 weeks prior. Tried to follow as strictly as possible but in the end only managed 75% of the total mileage.

3) What's your sporting history? This can range from you got a note to avoid PE at school all the way up to you represented Ireland at something. Without asking anyone to reveal too much it would helpful if I had an idea as to how far in the distant past the sporting history is.

All-round sportsman up to the age of 16. Once won a silver medal in a summer school decathlon :cool:. Between 18-24 BMX and mountain biking, not a lot. Sitting on my hole since. (I'm 29)

4) What other training including strength and conditioning training do you do regularly?

Farming. Following physio's orders at the moment to stretch ham, quads and calves 10x20second reps. Signed up for the kinetic revolution 30 day challenge so will do that also. Swimming around twice a week now, trying to figure it out.

5) Any injuries/niggles and what are you doing to manage them?

Have a dicky left knee since the marathon, physio says it's down to lack of flexibility. More detail here

6) What are your goals for the next 6 - 12 months?

Back on the wagon. Would like to do another cycle of 5K, 10K and HM racing until starting an 18 week training program for DCM 2015 in late June. Aiming for 3:45 this time.

ciaranmac

Firstly thanks to Clearlier and davemcmahon, not to mention Laura and Ososlo!

1) I'd like to know your PB's and roughly when they were set. I'm most interested in 5k, 10k, 10 mile, half and full marathon. Any three of those will give me something to work with. More is better. If there's anything peculiar about them (e.g. your marathon PB is from the Snowdon marathon) please let me know!
5k - 28:10 - split time in Corofin 8k race, Nov 2012. Fastest actual 5k race is 29:54 (Garrafrauns, 1st June 2014).
10k - 1:01:29 - training run, Oct 2012. Fastest 10k race is 1:04:31 (Milltown Run for Ollie, 14 June 2014).
10 mile - 1:49:52 - split time in Athlone 3/4 marathon 5 Oct 2014, moderately hilly. Never done an actual 10 mile race.
HM - 2:24:10 - split time in Athlone, see above. Fastest HM race is 2:24:11, Corrib Mask HM 31 Aug 2014, moderately hilly.
Marathon - 5:30:00, DCM 14.

2) Tell me about your running history including what plan/training you did for DCM.
I started running in 2012 but put it on hold due to my mother in law becoming seriously ill. Actually her being sick partly motivated my OH and myself to look after our own health, but as it got worse we didn't have the time to get out running. This year I took it up again and decided to remember her by running the marathon and fundraising for cancer care. I followed the Boards plan but not very closely and I didn't do all the easy runs.

3) What's your sporting history? This can range from you got a note to avoid PE at school all the way up to you represented Ireland at something. Without asking anyone to reveal too much it would helpful if I had an idea as to how far in the distant past the sporting history is.
I struggled through PE and the only thing I was picked for was the quiz team! My PE teacher actually agreed to stay behind and help me with stuff like throwing and catching. It must have worked because I played a bit of football and tag rugby since then - I wasn't great but I was good enough to enjoy it. I did cycle a huge amount though, about 150k a week in my early twenties. That fitness didn't last when I got my first car.

4) What other training including strength and conditioning training do you do regularly?
I occasionally do weights, sit ups, planks, exercise bike and swimming. I love long walks. None of that is part of a plan though, apart from Yoga which I started a few months ago and do once a week.

5) Any injuries/niggles and what are you doing to manage them?
I get pain in the arches of my feet on long runs. In the physio tent after the marathon they suggested it might be due to poor form and to practice walking alternately on my heels and toes to strengthen different muscles. My knees also get sore but I haven't done anything to address that yet. I'm considering Chi Running for all of these. I used to get tight calves and sore achilles, but I got orthotic insoles from the local foot clinic as well as some stretches which I do religiously, and that's worked since.

6) What are your goals for the next 6 - 12 months?
Firstly get rid of the sore feet, whether by rest, specific exercises, or improving my gait. Secondly add more gears and eliminate the dreaded jog/walk - if my goal marathon pace is 7 min/km then my LSR pace of 8 min/km requires walking breaks because I can't comfortably run that slow. I think that might have hurt my endurance this year. But if I could realistically plan on 6 min/km MP then I could run my LSRs. So once I'm recovered I'm going to have a go at sub 60 10k and then build to a 10 mile and HM pace to match.