DCM 2017 Mentored Novices Thread

AuldManKing

heebusjeebus wrote: »

I hit a wall. Struggled for the last 3 miles. Probably the worst I've felt in any half marathon. So demoralising getting passed by so many people.
I managed to keep my head so I kept running, just not at a decent pace.
Came in just under 1.50 so not a total disaster. I did better back in Cork in June.

The start was a shambles. I abandoned my car 4km away from the start. I jogged to the start line and got there just on time.

Don't loose heart over today - this is the downside of Boards/Social Media - you see so many around you doing wonderful and you go and flunk it.

Hence the Number 1 Rule: Never Compare yourself to other runners. Ever.

Let me tell you about my day.
I left the house at a decent time, giving myself 50 mins to get there - its a 25 min journey normally. I got caught in the traffic, realised I wouldn't run a good race and turned around with the intention of doing a session in the Phoenix Park. I planned a good session at Marathon pace (not HM pace) - now bearing in mind I had rested for 2 days for todays event. - I haven't taken 2 days off since God was a boy.

So I do a warm up in the PP and then start on the 1st part of the session - by 2 miles at MP, I'm stopping - breathing heavy. I try again. Stop again. try again. stop again. I give up and just run easy for 17 miles - but even that was a struggle with a few stops thrown in. I felt $h!te. Worst I felt in a long long time. I reckon the stress of the morning got to me and my heart wasn't in it.

So - bad days happen to us all. You and me had a very bad day.

you were caught in a particularly bad day, where the circumstances impacted on you more than others. The stress of it, the jog to the start line, the hills at the start, the wind in your face in the downhill section, the lack of water.........

All these things impacted you differently to others.

Hence - it was the worst you felt. We all know you are much better than that.
All else being equal, you'd be celebrating a PB and someone else would have been impacted by the conditions in a more negative way.

So head up and move on - there's probably little to learn from this experience, so put it aside and treat it as a semi decent run.

quickbeam wrote: »

The race itself: as mentioned my Fingal and FD times predicted a 2:40 time but I went out with the 2:30 pacers. I actually overtook them in the first kilometer and I was thinking to myself that I must be fitter than I even realised.


The second half started well with some nice downhills. At 12km the 2:30 pacers passed me. So much for thinking I was fitter than I thought! Once back on the main road (old N1) I found it tough going.
I feared once stopped I'd not get going again but I walked for 1km then managed to run on.

One more stop to walk at 20km for about 500m, then on to the finish line feeling like I was giving the last of my energy to get there. Time 2:34 so still faster than I'd expected.



What I learned: get there early, and stick with your pacers even if it does seem like they're going too slow at first.

BINGO! - Always always always remember this.

If it feels too easy at the start, then you are going too slow.

The 1st few miles in a long race are crucial for good pacing. So well done on acknowledging it.

Bananaleaf

+1 on the above re: pacing. I knew this yet didn't stick to it. I've no idea why. I think it was me getting caught up in the hype of it being my 1st HM. You know what it earned me???? What's the opposite of a negative split? A positive split? But there ain't nothin positive about that! Rather, it's the unimaginable on a course with a gradient like that one!! 1hr 05 at half way to finish in 2:30!!!! :eek: Lesson well and truly learned

clickerquicklic

AuldManKing wrote: »

If it feels too easy at the start, then you are going too slow.

.

Is this really what you wanted to say here? If it is i'm confused !

heebusjeebus

AuldManKing wrote: »

Don't loose heart over today - this is the downside of Boards/Social Media - you see so many around you doing wonderful and you go and flunk it.

Hence the Number 1 Rule: Never Compare yourself to other runners. Ever.

Let me tell you about my day.
I left the house at a decent time, giving myself 50 mins to get there - its a 25 min journey normally. I got caught in the traffic, realised I wouldn't run a good race and turned around with the intention of doing a session in the Phoenix Park. I planned a good session at Marathon pace (not HM pace) - now bearing in mind I had rested for 2 days for todays event. - I haven't taken 2 days off since God was a boy.

So I do a warm up in the PP and then start on the 1st part of the session - by 2 miles at MP, I'm stopping - breathing heavy. I try again. Stop again. try again. stop again. I give up and just run easy for 17 miles - but even that was a struggle with a few stops thrown in. I felt $h!te. Worst I felt in a long long time. I reckon the stress of the morning got to me and my heart wasn't in it.

So - bad days happen to us all. You and me had a very bad day.

you were caught in a particularly bad day, where the circumstances impacted on you more than others. The stress of it, the jog to the start line, the hills at the start, the wind in your face in the downhill section, the lack of water.........

All these things impacted you differently to others.

Hence - it was the worst you felt. We all know you are much better than that.
All else being equal, you'd be celebrating a PB and someone else would have been impacted by the conditions in a more negative way.

So head up and move on - there's probably little to learn from this experience, so put it aside and treat it as a semi decent run.

Cheers. As you say, the stress could have been a factor.
I've a lot to take from the day though and it will help me for the big day next month!

muddypaws

I did the Clew Bay Half in Louisburgh today. No problems with organisation (other than no sandwiches left when we finished) but the weather was truly awful. I don't know how we hadn't worked out that it was a hilly course, I guess we believed the organisers when they said it was moderate.

Running up hill with gale force winds hitting you head on feels very like running on the spot, marshalls kept telling us we'd be turning soon and the wind would be behind us - liars. I almost ended up in a field at one point, when a gust caught me, and we were running with our hands over our bib numbers, worried that they would be blown off, no way were we letting that happen. Loads of water stops, poor volunteers, trying to keep the water and themselves from being blown away. I brought a bottle of flat coke with me, which I used to wash my gels down with, and I felt that worked well. I did also take water when offered and had no problems with cramp or thirst today. My breakfast this morning was porridge and a bratwurst, I had intended on having some bacon, but forgot to buy any yesterday, and Lidl in Ballina finally had bratwurst in stock, I figured they are full of fat, so would be good. I also took a toasted bagel with me, intending to have it 2 hours before the run, but was driving and didn't get to have it then, I thought 45 minutes ahead of running would be too soon, so left it.

Really, really hard work, especially when the rain started, horizontal rain hitting your skin like needles isn't particularly pleasant, but we got round, official time was 2:48 - including a brief stop as I went past my van near the end, to grab a towel and dry clothes - which is a Half PB for me, and I'm actually pleased with in today's conditions - and I wasn't last I had hoped to get nearer to 2:30, and maybe on a flatter, calmer course I would have done that, so a good day, I feel like I achieved something today.

We were hearing the reports of the Dublin half before we started, sorry that it didn't all go to plan for everyone, but good to see people ran well, the full will be no bother to you after the stress of this morning.

Baby75

Muddypaws well done that sounds hard work and after running in Achill in similar conditions uphill, you did bloody brilliant I would be delighted with that time in those conditions

Wubble Wubble

muddypaws wrote: »

I did the Clew Bay Half in Louisburgh today. No problems with organisation (other than no sandwiches left when we finished) but the weather was truly awful. I don't know how we hadn't worked out that it was a hilly course, I guess we believed the organisers when they said it was moderate.

Running up hill with gale force winds hitting you head on feels very like running on the spot, marshalls kept telling us we'd be turning soon and the wind would be behind us - liars. I almost ended up in a field at one point, when a gust caught me, and we were running with our hands over our bib numbers, worried that they would be blown off, no way were we letting that happen. Loads of water stops, poor volunteers, trying to keep the water and themselves from being blown away. I brought a bottle of flat coke with me, which I used to wash my gels down with, and I felt that worked well. I did also take water when offered and had no problems with cramp or thirst today. My breakfast this morning was porridge and a bratwurst, I had intended on having some bacon, but forgot to buy any yesterday, and Lidl in Ballina finally had bratwurst in stock, I figured they are full of fat, so would be good. I also took a toasted bagel with me, intending to have it 2 hours before the run, but was driving and didn't get to have it then, I thought 45 minutes ahead of running would be too soon, so left it.

Really, really hard work, especially when the rain started, horizontal rain hitting your skin like needles isn't particularly pleasant, but we got round, official time was 2:48 - including a brief stop as I went past my van near the end, to grab a towel and dry clothes - which is a Half PB for me, and I'm actually pleased with in today's conditions - and I wasn't last I had hoped to get nearer to 2:30, and maybe on a flatter, calmer course I would have done that, so a good day, I feel like I achieved something today.

We were hearing the reports of the Dublin half before we started, sorry that it didn't all go to plan for everyone, but good to see people ran well, the full will be no bother to you after the stress of this morning.

Well done on toughing it out. SIL ran the 10k last year and really enjoyed it. Maybe I'll try the Clew Bay HM next year instead

quickbeam

muddypaws wrote: »

...other than no sandwiches left when we finished...

Disgraceful!!!! I hope you wrote a strongly worded letter!!

:P

No, seriously ... well done. They sound like horribly tough conditions, so it was a great result for you. Fantastic job!!

sillymoo

BrownEyes79 wrote: »

I hope you made it sillymoo and had a good race x

Hi BrownEyes79 and everyone - happy to report I am alive!

I managed to get a race number after some tears, didn't get running until about 10.45. Felt ****ty from the get go, I think the stress of the morning up to then really really affected me. Felt lonely also. Had planned to go with the 2.30 pacers but was too late. Got to lusk and nearly cried when they were cleaning up the water station. It's totally a psychological thing, felt absolutely ****ty and felt like throwing in the towel. But the supporters were fantastic and they kept me going. Ended up walking a lot more than I intended - again maybe more psychological rather than physical. Stopped to give some medical assistance I think around mile 6? (I'm a medic) Lady thankfully was fine and stayed until paramedic arrived. Kept trying to get going again proper but I'd totally hit a wall until man o war pub then found my grove again. Honestly the support was unreal. Was one of the last to get back to newbridge house, support from those already finished was excellent but found it hard to run through the crowd to get to finish. I was so thankful to get to the end. Chip time was 2.52 but happy enough given my stop at mile 6.

How do I feel? Today was such a mix of emotions. Was angry with myself for forgetting my number, angry with traffic, really upset about water - probably more than I should have been but felt very much like "maybe they don't care about the slow runners", progressively felt happier as o went along but there was no relief or joy when finishing. My overall feeling was disappointment - I was really looking forward to my first half and felt deflated and wrecked before I even started. The 2 mile walk back to the car was an absolute killer.

Im in two minds about the marathon now after today and the psychological battle I had. That is going to be the biggest challenge for me. I will have to work on this over the remaining weeks. And then make a decision.

Wubble Wubble

sillymoo wrote: »

Hi BrownEyes79 and everyone - happy to report I am alive!

I managed to get a race number after some tears, didn't get running until about 10.45. Felt ****ty from the get go, I think the stress of the morning up to then really really affected me. Felt lonely also. Had planned to go with the 2.30 pacers but was too late. Got to lusk and nearly cried when they were cleaning up the water station. It's totally a psychological thing, felt absolutely ****ty and felt like throwing in the towel. But the supporters were fantastic and they kept me going. Ended up walking a lot more than I intended - again maybe more psychological rather than physical. Stopped to give some medical assistance I think around mile 6? (I'm a medic) Lady thankfully was fine and stayed until paramedic arrived. Kept trying to get going again proper but I'd totally hit a wall until man o war pub then found my grove again. Honestly the support was unreal. Was one of the last to get back to newbridge house, support from those already finished was excellent but found it hard to run through the crowd to get to finish. I was so thankful to get to the end. Chip time was 2.52 but happy enough given my stop at mile 6.

How do I feel? Today was such a mix of emotions. Was angry with myself for forgetting my number, angry with traffic, really upset about water - probably more than I should have been but felt very much like "maybe they don't care about the slow runners", progressively felt happier as o went along but there was no relief or joy when finishing. My overall feeling was disappointment - I was really looking forward to my first half and felt deflated and wrecked before I even started. The 2 mile walk back to the car was an absolute killer.

Im in two minds about the marathon now after today and the psychological battle I had. That is going to be the biggest challenge for me. I will have to work on this over the remaining weeks. And then make a decision.

Seems as if today's troubles will surpass anything you'll experience in DCM. There was a lot of GUBU stuff going on today (as far as your average half marathon goes).

Stay with it. There's only a few weeks left. Think of how good you'll feel crossing the finish line in the marathon

muddypaws

sillymoo wrote: »

Hi BrownEyes79 and everyone - happy to report I am alive!

I managed to get a race number after some tears, didn't get running until about 10.45. Felt ****ty from the get go, I think the stress of the morning up to then really really affected me. Felt lonely also. Had planned to go with the 2.30 pacers but was too late. Got to lusk and nearly cried when they were cleaning up the water station. It's totally a psychological thing, felt absolutely ****ty and felt like throwing in the towel. But the supporters were fantastic and they kept me going. Ended up walking a lot more than I intended - again maybe more psychological rather than physical. Stopped to give some medical assistance I think around mile 6? (I'm a medic) Lady thankfully was fine and stayed until paramedic arrived. Kept trying to get going again proper but I'd totally hit a wall until man o war pub then found my grove again. Honestly the support was unreal. Was one of the last to get back to newbridge house, support from those already finished was excellent but found it hard to run through the crowd to get to finish. I was so thankful to get to the end. Chip time was 2.52 but happy enough given my stop at mile 6.

How do I feel? Today was such a mix of emotions. Was angry with myself for forgetting my number, angry with traffic, really upset about water - probably more than I should have been but felt very much like "maybe they don't care about the slow runners", progressively felt happier as o went along but there was no relief or joy when finishing. My overall feeling was disappointment - I was really looking forward to my first half and felt deflated and wrecked before I even started. The 2 mile walk back to the car was an absolute killer.

Im in two minds about the marathon now after today and the psychological battle I had. That is going to be the biggest challenge for me. I will have to work on this over the remaining weeks. And then make a decision.

Ah no come on, don't think like that, it was by all accounts an incredibly stressful morning, and you got round, only 4 minutes slower than me, in a race with no such issues Get yourself to the start line, and you'll get to the finish.
I've read somewhere recently, probably on here, that the marathon isn't the tough part, days like today is what the marathon is actually about, the hard days, the lonely runs, the runs where you question yourself about what the hell you're doing. 29th October is our reward for all of these things, a nice day out in the city

S.L.F.

clickerquicklic wrote: »

Is this really what you wanted to say here? If it is i'm confused !

:D

ted1

I’ve been slacking lately mainly because I’ve been trying to shake a cold.

10km Monday , 4km Thursday but today I mange’s to get in a LSR, 30km in 3:20 which puts me in the 4:30 range. (Aiming for 4-4:30)
The last three were a struggle. But that could be because I went totally unprepared and took no water or jellies etc With me, just my leap card and debit card in the back pocket in case I had to get public transport home. !!
Even though I put Vaseline on my nipples I managed to chaffvthem enough to draw blood from both
Anyway the question is do I do a run tomorrow and if so how far ?

Wubble Wubble

3M at recovery pace should do the job.

ted1

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

3M at recovery pace should do the job.

Great stuff thanks, taking the young one to Croke Park tomorrow so will try to get it in early.

Anyone else of the booze till after the marathon ? Amazing how much longer my weekend days are

scotindublin

Lots of brilliant performances yesterday by the sounds of it on what appears to have been a fairly chaotic morning.

Sillymoo (and others whos day did not go to plan) do not be disheartened by one bad day out there; circumstances would have played a huge part in this.

You have all come too far and put in too much effort to give up now. You are all only a few tough weeks from the end of this process. All this hard word and set backs will be forgotten on marathon day; as we say all the time the marathon is the reward for all the sacrifices that you have been making. Not long now and you will be able to proudly say "I am a marathon runner"

Also major kudos to Sillymoo for helping out with medical assistance on the course yesterday! There is one massive positive from you day!

Keep on trucking folks you are almost there.

scotindublin

I used small strips of surgical tape; comes off nice and easy in the post run shower......the worst part was the mocking at home when I was putting it on!!

ted1 wrote: »

Even though I put Vaseline on my nipples I managed to chaffvthem enough to draw blood from both

Van.Bosch

scotindublin wrote: »

I used small strips of surgical tape; comes off nice and easy in the post run shower......the worst part was the mocking at home when I was putting it on!!

Yup - I use plasters

The Muppet

sillymoo wrote: »

BrownEyes79 wrote: »

I hope you made it sillymoo and had a good race x

Hi BrownEyes79 and everyone - happy to report I am alive!

I managed to get a race number after some tears, didn't get running until about 10.45. Felt ****ty from the get go, I think the stress of the morning up to then really really affected me. Felt lonely also. Had planned to go with the 2.30 pacers but was too late. Got to lusk and nearly cried when they were cleaning up the water station. It's totally a psychological thing, felt absolutely ****ty and felt like throwing in the towel. But the supporters were fantastic and they kept me going. Ended up walking a lot more than I intended - again maybe more psychological rather than physical. Stopped to give some medical assistance I think around mile 6? (I'm a medic) Lady thankfully was fine and stayed until paramedic arrived. Kept trying to get going again proper but I'd totally hit a wall until man o war pub then found my grove again. Honestly the support was unreal. Was one of the last to get back to newbridge house, support from those already finished was excellent but found it hard to run through the crowd to get to finish. I was so thankful to get to the end. Chip time was 2.52 but happy enough given my stop at mile 6.

How do I feel? Today was such a mix of emotions. Was angry with myself for forgetting my number, angry with traffic, really upset about water - probably more than I should have been but felt very much like "maybe they don't care about the slow runners", progressively felt happier as o went along but there was no relief or joy when finishing. My overall feeling was disappointment - I was really looking forward to my first half and felt deflated and wrecked before I even started. The 2 mile walk back to the car was an absolute killer.

Im in two minds about the marathon now after today and the psychological battle I had. That is going to be the biggest challenge for me. I will have to work on this over the remaining weeks. And then make a decision.

Dont be disheartened by yesterday , it was a really tough day for many reasons . You are nearly there now. The crowds on Marathin day are just as awesome for the slow runners as the fast ones .

Put is down as a tough run and move on taper is not too far off now and then it's the main event.

Kudos for stopping to help someone in difficulties .

ariana`

Sillymoo well done on sticking out a really tough sh*tty race. Yesterday took guts and you showed you have that aplenty! I can guarantee you if i was 45mins late getting to the start line of a race after an extremely stressful morning i would have headed for home but you, you didn't. Be proud. And really well done on providing medical assistance, lots would be too selfish to stop. Stick with us now please, the start line is in sight

Andy31

Hi guys

I am a novice marathoner and looking for some advice from some more experienced runners than myself.

I have been training okay (not quite up to 20 miles yet in the long runs but will hopefully get there next week) and have completed the SSE 10K (44mins) and half marathon (1 hr 40) races.

My question is that I have almost no idea what time I should realistically be aiming for in the marathon itself? It would obviously be helpful to know this as then I could try and pace myself properly. Yesterday (the half marathon) , I went pretty quick for the first 10K I am logged as 07:34 min per mile and for the rest of the race that dropped to 7:47 min per mile. This was a bad mistake though - I was pretty much completely gassed coming in the last 1.5 miles, to the point where I was thinking will I even make the finish, and I have not run that fast in any of my long runs. Recently I did a LSR of 17.2 miles at 9:55min per mile and then did 14.7 miles at avg 8:07min per mile ( I think by then I had built up a bit of stamina for that run so felt more confident going a bit faster).

Any thoughts or tips for the next 5 weeks would be appreciated on proposed pacing for the marathon! Baseline fitness would be pretty okay.

Also understand it is not all about the timing BUT some feedback from someone with some experience would be great - thanks.

Well done to everyone yesterday despite the traffic mess - crowd and participants were all superb.

Andy

Wubble Wubble

Week 14

Again well done to all who braved the madness surrounding the Race Series Half Marathon in Newbridge House. The race was tough enough too Lots of PBs reported already as you see the benefits of the training. Not forgetting muddypaws, who had to battle through a wet and wild day in the West to complete her half marathon.

To those whose day didn't go to plan (race wise), head up, there's not long left now. We're almost at taper time, and very few (if any) of you will be racing again between now and the big day.

Keep the reports coming in! Even if you didn't race this weekend, the training reports are just as good.

Thanks as always to my collaborators/contributors

Plans for next week as follows. The Boards plan reaches its highest weekly mileage here, with the second 20 miler included.

HHN1: (2-3M easy or rest) + 3M easy + 7M easy + 4M easy + rest + 14M LSR + cross

Boards: 4M easy + (rest/cross/3M rec) + 8M easy + 5M easy + (rest/cross/3M rec) + 20M LSR + 3M rec

Good luck!

Lazare

Legs feel brand new today.

That long walk straight after has worked a treat.

scotindublin

Hi Andy;

Firstly well done on the time yesterday and gutsing it out in the end!

If you could give a bit of an overview of the mileage you have been hitting over the last couple of months then WW and AMK are 2 of the go to experts that offer great advice on here. What sort of pace are you doing your long runs at and how are you feeling at the end of these?

It sounds like you have learned some lessons on proper pacing from yesterday which will stand to you in the marathon.


Last year I had a very similar 1/2 marathon time to you and ran the marathon in just over 3:46. This came off a good block of training and a lot of advice from last year's mentors.

Andy31 wrote: »

Hi guys

I am a novice marathoner and looking for some advice from some more experienced runners than myself.

I have been training okay (not quite up to 20 miles yet in the long runs but will hopefully get there next week) and have completed the SSE 10K (44mins) and half marathon (1 hr 40) races.

My question is that I have almost no idea what time I should realistically be aiming for in the marathon itself? It would obviously be helpful to know this as then I could try and pace myself properly. Yesterday (the half marathon) , I went pretty quick for the first 10K I am logged as 07:34 min per mile and for the rest of the race that dropped to 7:47 min per mile. This was a bad mistake though - I was pretty much completely gassed coming in the last 1.5 miles, to the point where I was thinking will I even make the finish, and I have not run that fast in any of my long runs. Recently I did a LSR of 17.2 miles at 9:55min per mile and then did 14.7 miles at avg 8:07min per mile ( I think by then I had built up a bit of stamina for that run so felt more confident going a bit faster).

Any thoughts or tips for the next 5 weeks would be appreciated on proposed pacing for the marathon! Baseline fitness would be pretty okay.

Also understand it is not all about the timing BUT some feedback from someone with some experience would be great - thanks.

Well done to everyone yesterday despite the traffic mess - crowd and participants were all superb.

Andy

clickerquicklic

For those of us that raced the half is 2 x half marathon + 20mins a good estimate of marathon time or is it conservative ?

Want to nail down my PMP now for the last few weeks of training. My biggest concern now is I've virtually no miles done at PMP I have lots of miles faster and lots slower .

I've gone from 3:30 to 3:20 I'm thinking now I could run faster than that 3:10 is 4:30 pace I reckon I could hold that not sure if it's too late in the day now to revise targets again.

leesider77

Anyone doing the 3/4 marathon? I'm waiting to see dates for my next work trip but if I'm around I think I will do it. My hopes of sticking with a pacer yesterday all went a bit pearshaped for many reasons and would like to get the experience. They have a 4:30 marathon pacers but they are running slower so people don't wear themselves out for the marathon. It would be 6:45min / km which would be handy enough for me. If it was too tough I could always hang back after a few miles but think it will give me a good idea where I am at and help me settle on a marathon pace - I've 4:45 in my head at the moment.

El Caballo

clickerquicklic wrote: »

For those of us that raced the half is 2 x half marathon + 20mins a good estimate of marathon time or is it conservative ?

Want to nail down my PMP now for the last few weeks of training. My biggest concern now is I've virtually no miles done at PMP I have lots of miles faster and lots slower .

I've gone from 3:30 to 3:20 I'm thinking now I could run faster than that 3:10 is 4:30 pace I reckon I could hold that not sure if it's too late in the day now to revise targets again.

I would consider you very borderline for 3:10 at the minute especially as you have yet to feel and experience what running a marathon is like. You ran a great race yesterday with a big negative split but the marathon is a different kettle of fish and it's a very rare occurrence to run a strong marathon relative to half and below first time out. The lack of MP miles will also play a big factor as you won't be as conditioned for that pace. My honest opinion would be that you may not be quite ready for a 3:10 just yet. You've gained a ton of fitness throughout training as your evolution of goal times suggest but my general advice to novices would be that a conservative time is best for your first time as it is usually more realistic as well. A mispaced marathon can be a harrowing experience so my advice would be to go out conservatively and see what you can do come 20 miles. Most of all, enjoy it.

hot buttered scones

clickerquicklic wrote: »

For those of us that raced the half is 2 x half marathon + 20mins a good estimate of marathon time or is it conservative ?

Want to nail down my PMP now for the last few weeks of training. My biggest concern now is I've virtually no miles done at PMP I have lots of miles faster and lots slower .

I've gone from 3:30 to 3:20 I'm thinking now I could run faster than that 3:10 is 4:30 pace I reckon I could hold that not sure if it's too late in the day now to revise targets again.

I haven't been keeping up too much, but I gather your half was in and around 1:30. Is this your first marathon or 1st Dublin? I'm assuming it's your 1st because it's the novices thread. If you are confident at 3:20, stick with it and go with the pacers. Don't be afraid to drop back if you find the going too tough early on, otherwise you'll face a death march home over the second half. On the other hand, if you make it too halfway feeling strong, then gradually pull away from the pace group.
The first marathon is very much an unknown quantity and you have to respect the distance. I understand that you want to do yourself justice on the day, but you also want to have a good experience. You don't want to put yourself under too much pressure to make a time, as you have no idea how you'll get on in the closing stages (again assuming this is your first marathon) Sure even if you decide to do a 3:30 and it's not a bother to you, you'll have run a marathon, had a great day AND have a soft target to beat for your next one (there'll always be a next one).
You should definitely nail down a target now and do at least one PMP session at this pace.

Big caveat: Like I said, I haven't been following to closely, I'm not quite sure of your running history etc. That's a cracking HM time. I fear though that the correlation between HM time and Marathon times may not necessarily apply to first time marathoners.

TLDR: Just go for a 3:20 and have a great day. Do 3:10 the next time.

Edit: What El Caballo said ^^^^^^

clickerquicklic

Thanks lads , yeah maybe its a bridge too far for me this year but I'm feeling very strong , I was able to speed up at will yesterday and wasn't looking for the finish line felt I could of kept running at that pace for a few miles longer. It was a 1.29 in not ideal circumstances stopping and starting trying to get around people was very draining , but running a few 4.30km's with a crowd of runners around feels effortless. Just looking at the times 3.20 pacers be doing 4.45km's thats going to be feel like an LSR in a race scenario.

I know I should respect the distance and its always going to be an unknown because you don't run 26.2 miles in training but lately I feel like I've been giving too much respect to the distance and maybe I should just get on with it.

I ran in marathon in 2007 in 3.54 but only ran one of two runs a week for it , did no running then till about 2015 started doing Parkruns then and then and maybe the 2 runs a week at most during the summer , summer 2016 I started running about 3 times a week and have gradually upped it to be running 4/5 times a week now and following a plan.

AuldManKing

clickerquicklic wrote: »

Is this really what you wanted to say here? If it is i'm confused !

Yep - although its a bit tounge in cheek - the 1st few miles should feel super easy. Don't question it by speeding up or worrying it is too slow.

26m is a long way.