DCM 2019 - Mentored Novices Thread

Mr. Guappa

Karlos80 wrote: »

Not in great shape at the moment, going to break for a few days before I break. Kind of slightly rolled my left (the better of the 2) ankle on LSR on sat, and on sat eve/sun morn my achilles was in pain, stiff and weak. Done Recovery Runs on Sun and Mon (maybe bad idea, but wanted to loosen it out) and am treating it with ice/heat, heel drops, etc since. Not great this morn, prob worse than before. Have physio appt on Thurs, already know from before he will say stop running. Hopefully a few days rest and treatment might have it OK for sat, but I know in the back of my head a tendon is very slow to heal. ☹️

Sorry to hear this. Wise decision to shut things down until Thursday. I had an ankle scare myself recently and it cleared after a few days rest. Fingers crossed for you.

Huzzah!

clickhere wrote: »

Week 8 went well. I got all runs done. I didn't do the run on Wednesday at full PMP as legs still felt a bit heavy from the R&R half marathon on Sunday. LSR was done at @ 6.23 pace per kilometer. I brought a bottle of water with me with a Zero tab in it. I took sips till it was gone at 10K. I had my first gel since the plan started at 13k. I then bought a bottle of water which I dropped another zero tab in. Google pay is handy on the phone to just tap and go. Do you think this rehydration system is ok. Roll on week 9, and good luck to all of you with races the weekend. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement you have given to us all so far.

Sounds good to me on the hydration front. How did you feel when you'd finished your run is the real litmus test?

rizzee

Week 8 went great for the most part.
Did 6 km Tuesday, 10km Wednesday, 22km Saturday and recovery run Sunday (about 3-4km)

The LSR felt 10 times better than the 19km last week. Was so comfortable and recovered really well with virtually no stiffness and pain hours later. I think I've the hydration and pre run plan nailed down at the minute. With 4 weeks out til the DCHM I'm much more optimistic about getting through it and even aiming for under 2:15.

I'm flying Friday straight after work and returning Sunday morning so this weeks LSR will be done Sunday evening.

Also, got my running belt and mp3 player delivered so looking forward to trying them out.

mol36

It is a plan. I want to give this training my all and it seems everyone in my club is doing these sessions so I feel like I should follow.
I think a tempo and speed is too much personally.

DeepBlue

Just noticed in Garmin Connect that they track time spent in heart rate zones.



Unless I'm badly mistaken this is new to Garmin Connect or at least I've never noticed it before.

Would this be something useful for us novices to monitor to see if we're on track (notwithstanding the caveats with accuracy of wrist hrm sensors and calculating heart rate zones) ?

Soulsun

Huzzah! wrote: »

Sorry to hear this.

Did the physio suggest when you can run again? Were you give exercises?

yeah this week

skyblue46

DeepBlue wrote: »

Just noticed in Garmin Connect that they track time spent in heart rate zones.



Unless I'm badly mistaken this is new to Garmin Connect or at least I've never noticed it before.

Would this be something useful for us novices to monitor to see if we're on track (notwithstanding the caveats with accuracy of wrist hrm sensors and calculating heart rate zones) ?

It is new alright. Are the numbers based on your heart rate? If so I hope you didn't call this an easy run! Haha

Huzzah!

DeepBlue wrote: »

Just noticed in Garmin Connect that they track time spent in heart rate zones.



Unless I'm badly mistaken this is new to Garmin Connect or at least I've never noticed it before.

Would this be something useful for us novices to monitor to see if we're on track (notwithstanding the caveats with accuracy of wrist hrm sensors and calculating heart rate zones) ?

skyblue46 wrote: »

It is new alright. Are the numbers based on your heart rate? If so I hope you didn't call this an easy run! Haha

I used to look at the equivalent wheel thing in Strava and then I realised that most people haven't updated their max, so it's working off a default max HR of 184.

I was messing around with mine on Garmin Connect there and I don't fully understand how the zones are set up, which is not to suggest they're wrong.

DeepBlue

skyblue46 wrote: »

It is new alright. Are the numbers based on your heart rate? If so I hope you didn't call this an easy run! Haha

Presumably. Going into my user settings I see heart rate zones are set off a max heart rate of 172 bpm.
Dunno where that 172 figure came from although it's possible (but unlikely) that I set it to that in the dim and distant past. I'm certain I've seen max bpms in the low 180s in the past so it would appear that it's not correctly calibrated.

skyblue46

Huzzah! wrote: »

I used to look at the equivalent wheel thing in Strava and then I realised that most people haven't updated their max, so it's working off a default max HR of 184.

I was messing around with mine on Garmin Connect there and I don't fully understand how the zones are set up, which is not to suggest they're wrong.

Mine correspond with how I initially set them up on Garmin. I used HRR where others might use percentages of max HR. The 5 zones for me are every 10% of HRR from 50% to 90% and above.

skyblue46

DeepBlue wrote: »

Presumably. Going into my user settings I see heart rate zones are set off a max heart rate of 172 bpm.
Dunno where that 172 figure came from although it's possible (but unlikely) that I set it to that in the dim and distant past. I'm certain I've seen max bpms in the low 180s in the past so it would appear that it's not correctly calibrated.

The first think to do if the data is to have any relevance is to input a reasonably accurate resting and Max HR. I don't use the data for much more than confirming that I am keeping easy runs easy.

passinginterest

skyblue46 wrote: »

The first think to do if the data is to have any relevance is to input a reasonably accurate resting and Max HR. I don't use the data for much more than confirming that I am keeping easy runs easy.

I’ve tried to set my zones, but anything more than a walk puts me in the green. Even the easiest of recovery would be majority in green with maybe a short bit in the blue zone. E.g attached is the recovery run from Sunday with the lowest HR I’ve ever recorded.

skyblue46

passinginterest wrote: »

I’ve tried to set my zones, but anything more than a walk puts me in the green. Even the easiest of recovery would be majority in green with maybe a short bit in the blue zone. E.g attached is the recovery run from Sunday with the lowest HR I’ve ever recorded.

That drop in HR will come as your base builds. It's not a thing that takes days or weeks. It's also probably taking the thread off on a tangent to concern yourselves too much with it anyway. I'm just a sucker for numbers, sorry.

greentea is just wrong

Hey Guys, hope your wk is going okay

How was week eight for you?
Caught the cold that has going around, so not great week at all

Did you complete all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
Nope - week was as follows
Tuesday 6 miles @ 11.18/mil
Friday 2.4 miles @ 9.39/mil (this is inaccurate as it was defo slower, think strava had a bloop)
Sat 14 miles @ 12.31/mil

Did the 6 miles grand on Tuesday but then got sick. Wed/Thursday decided to take it easy & not run, and did 2.5 miles on Friday, and felt okay but tired.

Did the 14 miles on Sat but it was so so tough, felt really sluggish and tired. Was planning to do do the other run i missed on Sunday but couldn't face it.

- Did you complete all the runs at an appropriate pace?
Felt like the 14 miles was so slow. Was thinking to myself I don't know how I'm going to do twice this.

Was off work yday with the cold, hoping it starts to lift soon.

Wondering is it a bad idea to do the 3 miles today if still feeling unwell?

Also, I have signed up to the 10 miler on Sat, just wondering about the benefits of doing it, vs not? Reason being I have my staff summer party on the Friday. Toying up skipping it as I have done the 10k, and signed up to the marathon. But if there is real benefits to participating in another race, i'll sneak out of the party early to run it.

Thanks

Huzzah!

mol36 wrote: »

Hi all, I am running my second Dcm. Last one a couple of years ago was horrific I blew up completely. Trying to be more prepared this time . So at the morning I’m
Doing a 10 k run on a Monday (6 k tempo of about 5.05 /5.10per km), very easy 5k on a Tuesday,10 mile on a Wednesday where I push it and then Lsr on a sat at a pace of 9.30 per mile. I’m not a fast runner barely break the 2 hour for s half but I’m able to keep up these paces so far. My question is should I be doing interval/speed work as well. Someone said to me I need to do it to get my heart rate to go up and down but I do this in a hitt class I do also. Where to find the time ??? Thanks. X

Huzzah! wrote: »

No need to include speed work.



Is the structure you're following one you made yourself or is it based on a plan? I'd have concerns that doing a 10 miler every week where you "push it" will lead to burn out. The LSR also seems too fast. It would be worth slowing it all down; it will help build endurance.

mol36 wrote: »

It is a plan. I want to give this training my all and it seems everyone in my club is doing these sessions so I feel like I should follow.
I think a tempo and speed is too much personally.

I think tempo and speed work is sometimes included in more advanced plans but rarely in the same week. I don't think you need to add speed work. I think you would be better served slowing down your runs.

Huzzah!

skyblue46 wrote: »

Mine correspond with how I initially set them up on Garmin. I used HRR where others might use percentages of max HR. The 5 zones for me are every 10% of HRR from 50% to 90% and above.

passinginterest wrote: »

I’ve tried to set my zones, but anything more than a walk puts me in the green. Even the easiest of recovery would be majority in green with maybe a short bit in the blue zone. E.g attached is the recovery run from Sunday with the lowest HR I’ve ever recorded.

skyblue46 wrote: »

That drop in HR will come as your base builds. It's not a thing that takes days or weeks. It's also probably taking the thread off on a tangent to concern yourselves too much with it anyway. I'm just a sucker for numbers, sorry.

Bingo - it looks like they're using HRR percentages rather than max HR percentages - but you're right: probably a discussion for elsewhere.:P

Huzzah!

greentea is just wrong wrote: »

Hey Guys, hope your wk is going okay

How was week eight for you?
Caught the cold that has going around, so not great week at all

Did you complete all the runs on your plan - if not, then why not?
Nope - week was as follows
Tuesday 6 miles @ 11.18/mil
Friday 2.4 miles @ 9.39/mil (this is inaccurate as it was defo slower, think strava had a bloop)
Sat 14 miles @ 12.31/mil

Did the 6 miles grand on Tuesday but then got sick. Wed/Thursday decided to take it easy & not run, and did 2.5 miles on Friday, and felt okay but tired.

Did the 14 miles on Sat but it was so so tough, felt really sluggish and tired. Was planning to do do the other run i missed on Sunday but couldn't face it.

- Did you complete all the runs at an appropriate pace?
Felt like the 14 miles was so slow. Was thinking to myself I don't know how I'm going to do twice this.

Was off work yday with the cold, hoping it starts to lift soon.

Wondering is it a bad idea to do the 3 miles today if still feeling unwell?

Also, I have signed up to the 10 miler on Sat, just wondering about the benefits of doing it, vs not? Reason being I have my staff summer party on the Friday. Toying up skipping it as I have done the 10k, and signed up to the marathon. But if there is real benefits to participating in another race, i'll sneak out of the party early to run it.

Thanks

If it's the only other race you're doing, then I think it's worth doing to get race practice in and also to get a better idea of how to pace the marathon.

If the cold is in your chest, don't run. If it's a head cold, then you're probably okay to run but don't force the issue for the sake of a three-mile run.

clickhere

Huzzah! wrote: »

Sounds good to me on the hydration front. How did you feel when you'd finished your run is the real litmus test?

Yeah I felt good afterwards. The legs were a bit tired but the head and body felt fine. Previously I would sometimes feel a little light headed. Just want to make sure I am not over doing it. Thanks again.

Sunday Runner

At what stage do we decide on a goal time to complete the marathon? Or fully settle on a PMP?

Asking for a friend.:p

passinginterest

skyblue46 wrote: »

That drop in HR will come as your base builds. It's not a thing that takes days or weeks. It's also probably taking the thread off on a tangent to concern yourselves too much with it anyway. I'm just a sucker for numbers, sorry.

I’m the same with the numbers. I think it was yourself that mentioned Runalyze at some point. Between that, Garmin, Strava and my own spreadsheet I’ve plenty keeping me occupied. Anyway no more thread derailment!

Mr. Guappa

Sunday Runner wrote: »

At what stage do we decide on a goal time to complete the marathon? Or fully settle on a PMP?

Asking for a friend.:p

If you are working off a realistic PMP at the moment, then it's not going to drastically change over the coming months. Certainly, I don't think anyone is doing their PMP miles too slow, but some are doing them too fast, so hopefully we'll get them to slow down appropriately.

Similar story for goal times really. Hopefully by this stage we have set people's expectations towards a realistic ballpark. The upcoming races should also help to a certain degree in confirming or re-assessing potential target times. As we've said many times though, don't get too focused on a particular goal - one novice last year missed their goal by 7 seconds and was devastated. Try not to let the time you achieve define whether your first marathon was a success or not.

Doc76

Parking question for the race on Saturday... last time I believe we parked on Chesterfield Avenue toward the main gate entrance but in case that is full do you know if there’s access to parking over by the Garda HQ that morning? Thanks!

ReeReeG

Doc76 wrote: »

Parking question for the race on Saturday... last time I believe we parked on Chesterfield Avenue toward the main gate entrance but in case that is full do you know if there’s access to parking over by the Garda HQ that morning? Thanks!

There generally is if you're there early enough. I've always managed to park around there before races, I'd also usually be in good time though!

Fraggle07

Not good news for me I'm afraid.
Two separate issues going on. Anti- inflams, exercises and referrals for further tests all happening. I'm on running rest for another 10 days...

Bananaleaf

Fraggle07 wrote: »

Not good news for me I'm afraid.
Two separate issues going on. Anti- inflams, exercises and referrals for further tests all happening. I'm on running rest for another 10 days...

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear that. I hope the tests go well for you and hopefully we will have you back soon.

Did the physio say that you could cycle or swim?

Karlos80

Fraggle07 wrote: »

Not good news for me I'm afraid.
Two separate issues going on. Anti- inflams, exercises and referrals for further tests all happening. I'm on running rest for another 10 days...

I really feel your pain, and I know it's hard to stay positive when not getting out, every day feels like the finish line moves further away, but do the right thing, if you miss a week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or whatever, you can re-evaluate when you come back, and still get through it. If thing don't go to plan, I know my back up plan is to move my DCM back by 12months, not ideal, but sometimes we have no say. Stay positive, if there is anything you can do like swim/cycle/crosstrain/s&c, maybe give it a go. Best of luck.

Fraggle07

I'm fairly disappointed tbh, but yeah trying to keep a positive outlook.
Cycling is the plan for a while to keep fitness up.

DBB

Fraggle07 wrote: »

Not good news for me I'm afraid.
Two separate issues going on. Anti- inflams, exercises and referrals for further tests all happening. I'm on running rest for another 10 days...

Aw no, that's rubbish
But try to stay positive until you know more, if you can keep the fitness ticking over with cycling or swimming, hopefully you'll be back on track soon.
Will keep everything crossed for you

ReeReeG

Fraggle07 wrote: »

Not good news for me I'm afraid.
Two separate issues going on. Anti- inflams, exercises and referrals for further tests all happening. I'm on running rest for another 10 days...

Really sorry to read this Fraggle07. Let's see where you're at after the 10 days anyway.. main thing is not to do any more damage.

The man in red and black

Hi all.

Was a novice myself last year. Not going to be able to run this year. Trying to help advice a friend who is running a marathon for the first time but will not join boards.

Question: Should you run 60-90 seconds per mile slower than PMP on all runs or just LSRs? My friend did the Rock and Roll HM in 2:11:49. He is convinced this was an off day and is trying to aim for 4hr marathon. He is consistently running 10mins per mile or faster in training.

I worry that his marathon goal should be closer to 4.30+ so his MP would be closer to 10mins/mile and therefore he should be training at 11mins/mile or slower? He feels any slower than 10mins/mile in training has him down to an awkward jogging pace...Does the 60-90 seconds per mile slower rule still apply at these times? I worry he's running faster than PMP alot of days and will get injured or burnt out. I keep trying to convince him to come here for mentorship but he won't give in:mad: