DCM 2019 - Mentored Novices Thread

Doc76

Looking for garmin (or similar product) advice. Any opinions on garmin forerunner 235? Or any other suggestions? I don’t want anything too fancy so would a garmin 35 suffice? I just want to be able to track distance and speed and really like prompts every 1/2 - 1 mile letting you know how far you’ve gone and how fast etc ... do these watches do that? My phone battery nearly died after my last long run so think it’s time to look into something with a longer battery life. Thanks!

Mr. Guappa

Doc76 wrote: »

Looking for garmin (or similar product) advice. Any opinions on garmin forerunner 235? Or any other suggestions? I don’t want anything too fancy so would a garmin 35 suffice? I just want to be able to track distance and speed and really like prompts every 1/2 - 1 mile letting you know how far you’ve gone and how fast etc ... do these watches do that? My phone battery nearly died after my last long run so think it’s time to look into something with a longer battery life. Thanks!

I have a 235 and I love it. It's a very popular watch with runners. You can set it up to display whatever you want - distance, pace, HR, etc. If you like you can set up workouts so that it warns you if you are going to fast/slow. As standard it will beep every mile to let you know how fast previous mile was.

If you intend on sticking with the running post DCM then it's definitely a worthwhile investment. Battery life is pretty good - up to a week depending on usage.

DeepBlue

Doc76 wrote: »

Looking for garmin (or similar product) advice. Any opinions on garmin forerunner 235? Or any other suggestions? I don’t want anything too fancy so would a garmin 35 suffice? I just want to be able to track distance and speed and really like prompts every 1/2 - 1 mile letting you know how far you’ve gone and how fast etc ... do these watches do that? My phone battery nearly died after my last long run so think it’s time to look into something with a longer battery life. Thanks!

The garmin 35 will do all that you're looking for. I think you'd probably be able to get it for about €100 - 115 at the moment. It's not the prettiest watch though - if that's a factor. A newer version - the garmin forerunner 45 came out recently and I think is priced somewhere around the €190 - 200 mark. The 235 would be a step up and there's also a newer version of that too - the garmin forerunner 245 which may mean that the price of the 235 will come down. The 235 is somewhere around €180 -215 at present.

Mr. Guappa

jackc101 wrote: »

- Did you complete all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
All runs completed (Monday is always my rest day)
- Did you complete all the runs at an appropriate pace?
Easy & LSR were 6.35/km ish, PMP was 5.35/km, happy out.
- Any regrets in signing up for a marathon?


As others have said, I'm not sure if I could hold the PMP for 26.2 but I trust the plan

I'm curious as to why you are running your at PMP miles at sub 4 pace? That would be knocking 35 minutes off your Cork time, which seems a big ask. Do you have a warm-up race penciled in over the coming weeks? I'm just worried that you are running a bit too fast.

Mr. Guappa

Wombled wrote: »

How was week 7 for you?
- Did you complete all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
All runs completed
- Did you complete all the runs at an appropriate pace?
3 mile 11.14
6 mile 11.56
3 Mile 11.42
12 mile 12 25
- Any regrets in signing up for a marathon?
No regrets, liking the discipline and mental challenge. Trying not to think about the idea of running 26 miles in one go, scary stuff.

This week my plans has to be swopped around to accommodate my work schedule. I have to do my LSR on Thursday morning. I have been out this morning, felt great and really strong, unlike Saturday morning where I felt at times it was really tough.
..

You can probably keep those shorter runs closer to the LSR pace too. Is the Frank Duffy 10 miler still on the cards?

DeepBlue wrote: »

- Did you complete all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
Skipped the Sunday recovery run. Did all the rest.
- Did you complete all the runs at an appropriate pace?
The easy runs on Tuesday and Thursday were done at the appropriate pace. The 5 mile PMP run was about 40s/mile faster (just felt in good form and left it go) and the LSR was run at just slightly faster than PMP.
- Any regrets in signing up for a marathon?
Some minor quibbles. I didn't realise how I'd have to drop or slow down other running events (races, parkruns) for the marathon. Likewise I've had to drop some cycling events I'd like to have done in favour of the marathon. It does seem a lot of sacrifice for one event which itself might not even go well. I think if I were to do another marathon I'd go for one where the training block is over the winter so that I can leave the summer free.
However I'm also enjoying the training for the most part and getting a sense of accomplishment when another week is ticked off and I'm probably saving quite a bit in event fees . Prior to starting the marathon training I had a niggly slight knee pain since last September/October which I feared would get worse with more mileage. Instead it's disappeared which I think is due to the slower paces.


Regarding this week's LSR I know I ran it too fast and that that was wrong. I started it and ran the first couple of miles at what I felt was easy before looking at the watch. When I realised I was going faster than planned I decided on a whim to see how long I could keep it going for before having to switch back to slower pace. I got to about 11 or 12 miles before it started to feel "not easy". Tbh I got a great confidence boost that I felt comfortable for the majority of the run and could have kept going for quite a while longer if I had to do so. And there's 2 months of training still to go.

I threw the phone down in disgust when I first saw those LSR paces on strava :pac:. At least it seems to have given you some reassurance, but please do stick to appropriate paces in future (same goes for PMP). As you say you are making lots of sacrifices for the marathon so don't jeopardise it by overdoing the training paces. Overall though you are training really nicely and you'll run a cracking marathon if you train well from here on in.

Wombled

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

You can probably keep those shorter runs closer to the LSR pace too. Is the Frank Duffy 10 mile still on the cards
Ya, still on the cards,

Mr. Guappa

Wombled wrote: »

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

You can probably keep those shorter runs closer to the LSR pace too. Is the Frank Duffy 10 mile still on the cards

Ya, still on the cards,

Good stuff. We'll do a bit of a preview etc. next week.

Mr. Guappa

Karlos80 wrote: »

Did you complete all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?

All bar recovery on Sunday (went doing a big physical job after LSR on sat. it was something that had to get done that day as was put off from last Monday, and took all day. On Sunday I felt I was coming fown with flu, even had to go back to bed to lie down. Feel fine today, so putting it down to doing way too much on Sat in bad weather, maybe not eating enough, had plenty of water)

Did you complete all the runs at an appropriate pace?

Felt good all week, like there was plenty more mile in the tank
Easy runs - 6.20p/k
LSR - 6.35p/k
PMP run - 5.50p/k

Any regrets in signing up for a marathon?
No regrets, but it's not that easy having to take it serious and put off other thing to prioritise running, easier said than done, but feel a group like this helps with just getting out. If it was easy everyone would do it.

It is definitely a big commitment, but if you're doing it you may as well do it right :cool:

Sunday Runner wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I'm still happy I signed up for the marathon, I'm excited to see what the coming weeks will bring. I'm also enjoying the longer runs too, but it's still taking me ages to settle into them. I love it when it goes up to 15, 16, 17 and it keeps ticking away.

Mileage was down last week - usual life dramas, unexpected visitors and one night we were all set to head out for a long run and the baby fell and hurt himself pretty bad. (He's fine now, but he was very drowsy afterwards and I wasn't going to leave him!). Mileage was well up the week previous though and I am feeling good. Back home now after an active holiday, but lovely food and no work. Thanks to some sound advice on here I did some of the suggested routes; Rosscarberry via Warren strand cliff walk, out to Rathbarry, back via Ardfield rowing club, past the Red Strand and back down again over the cliff. I did that route a few times - 10 miles and I added a few loops to get to 13.1. Also did Barleycove to Crookhaven on a scorching hot day - those hills, i'll never forget them. Up and up and up!

Got back pretty late on Saturday and I was up at 4:30am to get ready for the Rock n Roll half. I have to say, at the start line I was exhausted and cold. I didn't kill myself, but I was aiming for 2 hours and I came in at 1:58. Delighted. I shadowed the 2 hr pacer and I wanted to get back to say hello and thank you, but couldn't get back to him with the crowds. The race itself was good, loads of hills which I wasn't expecting, but I had done some horrendous terrain on holiday and it definitely stood to me. Hung around for the fun run with the kids, then home to relax.

I've made the switch to the HH plan and it's working out a lot better for me! I can fit it in around my gym sessions and i'm enjoying it more.

Good to see that you've committed to one plan and it's working for you. You had some really great holiday photos on strava - I wasn't one bit jealous :pac:

Well done on the RnR - great effort!

Ais_Byrne7

skyblue46 wrote: »

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Maurten gels. They're on the expensive side as gels go but I found them excellent.

Thank you so much for the speedy response - I’ll give them a go this weekend 🀞🀞

pd79

Doc76 wrote: »

Looking for garmin (or similar product) advice. Any opinions on garmin forerunner 235? Or any other suggestions? I don’t want anything too fancy so would a garmin 35 suffice? I just want to be able to track distance and speed and really like prompts every 1/2 - 1 mile letting you know how far you’ve gone and how fast etc ... do these watches do that? My phone battery nearly died after my last long run so think it’s time to look into something with a longer battery life. Thanks!

I have forerunner 35 and I love it, argos were doing a deal on them recently. It does everything you need and if bluetooth is off I can get at least 8/9 days on one charge

passinginterest

- Did you complete all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
I’ve dropped the Monday recovery lately, might start adding it back but happy enough with the extra rest day at the moment. Switched the LSR to Sunday. Headed out Saturday evening in the rain, felt like my stomach wasn’t really settled and didn’t want to chance the long run.

- Did you complete all the runs at an appropriate pace?
Happy with the paces. For the most part runs are slower than the slowest McMillan paces which were based on 5k time. Ran the 14 miles a fair bit quicker than the previous weeks 16. I was feeling pretty good from the start so decided to try and even pace it. Happy with the result.

- Any regrets in signing up for a marathon?
Interesting question. Seemed to be having a lot of negative thoughts last week. I’ve been feeling a bit like I’m losing fitness, weight has stagnated or even creeped up the last few weeks, I’ve no injuries but I’ve been tired at times.

I’ve always suffered from headaches with tiredness/dehydration and find it hard to avoid them. Was pretty bad Sunday, even though I’d had the best part of a litre of water in my hydration pack and I’d been sipping water with a zero tab all morning before heading out. I wear a cap now to keep the sun off my face, and it seems to help most times but not this week. Maybe hadn’t hydrated enough over the previous days. I was off work so probably not sipping water as much as I would in normal routine.

Found myself question why I was pushing myself to run a marathon when I could have been happy running 5 and 10ks and enjoying myself. I rushed into a bit because I suppose I feel like it might be the only chance I get to do it again. I’ve mentioned before having foot pain since before the 2014 marathon and only getting a psoriatic arthritis diagnosis last year. With the pain under control I want to do this just in case it suddenly gets much worse or starts to effect a lot more than just two metatarsal heads in my right foot!

Anyway, negative thoughts be damned. I’m trusting the process and getting focussed again. Really looking forward to the 10 mile and planning to be a bit more strict on the diet and regular fluid intake.

rizzee

Huzzah! wrote: »

I'm glad it went well. I think you might have struggled near then end because you ran too fast.

How's the niggle?

I agree. The flat main road would mean I probably wen too fast towards the end.

What niggle? Feeling fresh! Looking forward to the 3 mid weeks runs from this evening and to try a new route for the 14 mile this weekend.

jackc101

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

I'm curious as to why you are running your at PMP miles at sub 4 pace? That would be knocking 35 minutes off your Cork time, which seems a big ask. Do you have a warm-up race penciled in over the coming weeks? I'm just worried that you are running a bit too fast.

Yea, I set up my PMP to be 4 hours or just under alright, which might be a bit aggressive? I've a bit of a "problem" with weddings & stags over the next three weekends, in that I won't be able to squeeze in a proper race in that time frame and won't be able to do my LSR on the weekend of the 24/25th

Huzzah!

rizzee wrote: »

I agree. The flat main road would mean I probably wen too fast towards the end.

What niggle? Feeling fresh! Looking forward to the 3 mid weeks runs from this evening and to try a new route for the 14 mile this weekend.

I'm glad it's but a distant memory but do keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't reappear.

Mr. Guappa

jackc101 wrote: »

Yea, I set up my PMP to be 4 hours or just under alright, which might be a bit aggressive? I've a bit of a "problem" with weddings & stags over the next three weekends, in that I won't be able to squeeze in a proper race in that time frame and won't be able to do my LSR on the weekend of the 24/25th

Those paces seem far too aggressive to me. Your HR data also indicates that you are working much too hard on easy runs. I'd try PMP at 6:15/6:20, and easy at 7:00mins/km.

Do whatever you can to squeeze in that LSR, maybe the Thursday before the stag, or Monday after are on option. All the runs on the plan are important in the overall picture, but the long runs are the most important, so do everything you can to get them in (while leaving adequate recovery days between the previous/next long run).

The Charleville HM in mid September might be an option for you? It's not a must to do a race in the build up, but it can be useful.

jackc101

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Those paces seem far too aggressive to me. Your HR data also indicates that you are working much too hard on easy runs. I'd try PMP at 6:15/6:20, and easy at 7:00mins/km.

Do whatever you can to squeeze in that LSR, maybe the Thursday before the stag, or Monday after are on option. All the runs on the plan are important in the overall picture, but the long runs are the most important, so do everything you can to get them in (while leaving adequate recovery days between the previous/next long run).

The Charleville HM in mid September might be an option for you? It's not a must to do a race in the build up, but it can be useful.

Ok, will do on the pace front, must check the family calendar for Charleville but sounds ideal.
What distance is the boards LSR for non racers on the weekend of 24/25 Aug (2x stag weekend:o) so I can see where I could fit it in

Treviso

jackc101 wrote: »

Ok, will do on the pace front, must check the family calendar for Charleville but sounds ideal.
What distance is the boards LSR for non racers on the weekend of 24/25 Aug (2x stag weekend:o) so I can see where I could fit it in

Would recommend doing the HM in Charleville, it's my first time doing it but my OH says the course is one of the fastest around. 40 euro entry goes up to 45 after the 15th of August

If you're looking for a race around Cork/Munster then you will find a list of them here - http://munsterrunning.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html

More detailed info from running in Cork too - https://corkrunning.blogspot.com/

They also have a facebook group called Running in Cork which is very useful

Mr. Guappa

jackc101 wrote: »

Ok, will do on the pace front, must check the family calendar for Charleville but sounds ideal.
What distance is the boards LSR for non racers on the weekend of 24/25 Aug (2x stag weekend:o) so I can see where I could fit it in

It's a 17 mile LSR that weekend, but if thats going to be too much to squeeze in then anything in the 2/2.5 hour range will do nicely to keep you on the right track.

mister paul

Treviso wrote: »

Would recommend doing the HM in Charleville, it's my first time doing it but my OH says the course is one the fastest around. 40 euro entry goes up to 45 after the 15th of August

The Charleville half is a great race, I did it last year and will hopefully back in the future. It's definitely a fast and mostly flat course.

coogy

Treviso wrote: »

40 euro entry goes up to 45 after the 15th of August

€45 for a half marathon?? That's a bit steep, no?

Mr. Guappa

coogy wrote: »

€45 for a half marathon?? That's a bit steep, no?

Yeah definitely. It has a great reputation and is very popular so I guess they are charging what people are willing to pay.

Treviso

coogy wrote: »

€45 for a half marathon?? That's a bit steep, no?

Seems to be the norm for most decent half marathon races. Early bird entry was 35 euro and you get a medal, goody bag and T-shirt for that. Good chance of a PB too. RnR half is the same price, same with Cork and Galway Bay. Not sure what price the Dublin half is.

Dingle Half is 60 euro and is sold out!! Paying for the privilege of constantly running up hills and mountains

Huzzah!

Treviso wrote: »

Seems to be the norm for most decent half marathon races. Early bird entry was 35 euro and you get a medal, goody bag and T-shirt for that. Good chance of a PB too. RnR half is the same price, same with Cork and Galway Bay. Not sure what price the Dublin half is.

Dingle Half is 60 euro and is sold out!! Paying for the privilege of constantly running up hills and mountains

Think the Race Series Half is €25?

Most seem to be around the €35/40 mark alright. Think the more expensive ones like Connemara Half or Killarney Half usually have to bus people to the start or from finish.

Mr. Guappa

Huzzah! wrote: »

Think the Race Series Half is €25?

Most seem to be around the €35/40 mark alright. Think the more expensive ones like Connemara Half or Killarney Half usually have to bus people to the start or from finish.

Yep, race series was €25. Clonmel was €28 when I booked it on early bird. Whatever the price, I've spent far more on far worse :pac:

Bananaleaf

Is it cheating to do easy miles even easier again in the week leading up to a race? Or would it all work out the same due to being on my feet longer if doing them slower?

The Black Oil

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Is it cheating to do easy miles even easier again in the week leading up to a race? Or would it all work out the same due to being on my feet longer if doing them slower?

Next week is a step back for me, 30-35 miles compared to this week's 45-55. Normally have a session on Weds, but am going to take it handy and keep it easy (that's the advice, but I would have done this anyway) as I've the FD10 on the 24th. If you are already being sensible on the easy side why slow further around race time? Concerned about something?

Bananaleaf

The Black Oil wrote: »

Next week is a step back for me, 30-35 miles compared to this week's 45-55. Normally have a session on Weds, but am going to take it handy and keep it easy (that's the advice, but I would have done this anyway) as I've the FD10 on the 24th. If you are already being sensible on the easy side why slow further around race time? Concerned about something?

Well if you pushed me for an answer on if I was concerned about something, I would say I'm concerned about not getting a PB in my 10mile race this Sunday. I know that the 3 lead up races play a factor in what finish time we will eventually settle on for DCM and I'd like to give myself the best possible chance on Sunday, without doing anything I shouldn't do of course.

I am doing everything I should be, but I feel myself approaching the stage where the accumulation of miles is .... not taking its toll (I'm not in any pain) ... but it's beginning to become apparent.
Edited to try to elaborate. I guess I am starting to feel more tired. It could be because I am currently home alone for a bit so am sort of doing the work of two in the house. But it could also be because the long runs are getting longer!

Mrs Mc

Ais_Byrne7 wrote: »

Well done all on another week done and dusted!

Did you get in all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
Yes, all runs done with runners yoga as my cross train day


Did you run all the runs at an appropriate pace?
I've slowed down a lot (thank god) but can be slower again. It's a constant battle that i'm still working on!!

Any regrets in signing up for a marathon?
No regrets so far!


My only issue this week ( and in general) is my rather annoying sensitive stomach! I've to watch what I eat before a run/race or else I'm running to the loo or trying not to vomit From trial and error, I've learned that banana + oats work for me 2 + hours before a race, but apart from water/energy drink, I can't eat anything else until I cross the finish line. I can get away with this for HM distance, but I know this won't be the case for DCM.

So far I've tried jelly beans and clif blocks, both have been a disaster [I don't think the sugar sits down well], so next stop is gels! The amount of availability and advice online re.gels is overwhelming...would anyone have any idea what ones I should look into keeping my dodgy tummy in mind???

I am the sane with my stomach I’ve had a few good long runs the last few weeks with cut up fig rolls they do the job with fueling and don’t seem to be impacting on my stomach.

Mr. Guappa

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Well if you pushed me for an answer on if I was concerned about something, I would say I'm concerned about not getting a PB in my 10mile race this Sunday. I know that the 3 lead up races play a factor in what finish time we will eventually settle on for DCM and I'd like to give myself the best possible chance on Sunday, without doing anything I shouldn't do of course.

I am doing everything I should be, but I feel myself approaching the stage where the accumulation of miles is .... not taking its toll (I'm not in any pain) ... but it's beginning to become apparent.
Edited to try to elaborate. I guess I am starting to feel more tired. It could be because I am currently home alone for a bit so am sort of doing the work of two in the house. But it could also be because the long runs are getting longer!

Your adjusted plan has strides instead of the tougher PMP session, and don't forget the race is on Sunday, so you've an extra day there too compared to your regular Saturday LSR. That's enough of a mini-taper to allow a good crack at this race without taking from the main goal.

There is other things you can do to help you arrive at the start line in Kilcock in good shape:
- get lots of good sleep this week (and every week!)
- eat well and hydrate well

Mr. Guappa

pd79 wrote: »

Did you complete all runs ?
Yep 5k at 7:08/km
10k at 7:22
5k at 7:17
And 19k at 7:40/km
Was quiet tired this week and bit worried about pain in knees by end of long run . Plan on new runners this week

Any regrets ?
No regrets but few wobbles about magnitude of 42km ! But happy with how training is going

You've been training very consistently - nice work! I would like to see those midweek runs a little slower, pretty much at 7:40 pace.

Hopefully the knee pain is nothing serious. Let us know how you get on at the physio.