DCM 2019 - Mentored Novices Thread

Clareview

Target range for DCM: 4.22 - 4.30!

Recent race times:
5km - 23.40,
8km - 39.10,
Race series events:
SD10km - 51.15,
FD10miler - 1hr 32mins
Dublin HM - 2.05.35


At this point and considering the HM race at the weekend, getting under 4hrs30mins would be great.
LSR's in most recent weeks over 29km and 32km have been ran at approx 6.32/km pace and have felt reasonably good (done in Phoenix Park & castleknock using 2 big loops).

I think if I heed the advice re a slower first 7 miles or so on the day then I can aim for under 4hrs30mins!

Items to keep on top of over next 5 weeks:
- sleep
- stretching and foam rolling
- clean diet

Sunday Runner

2019 Race Results:
10 Mile 1:26:29
Half Marathon 1:58:03
10KM 52:37
5KM 24:10

Now that I see those times above, I'm really proud of how far I have come in a year! Dying to hear what we think an estimated finish time looks like for me.

In terms of race strategies, I am not sure how a consistent pace will work. I'm not good at pacing myself, so i'll definitely be running behind a pacer. I'm hearing alternative ideas of doing the first half fast(ish) and banking some time for the second half. I think that is very risky!

saffron22

Half Marathon : 1:56:53 July
10k: 49.29 May
5k: 23.35 August

smashiner

Sunday Runner wrote: »

2019 Race Results:
10 Mile 1:26:29
Half Marathon 1:58:03
10KM 52:37
5KM 24:10

Now that I see those times above, I'm really proud of how far I have come in a year! Dying to hear what we think an estimated finish time looks like for me.

In terms of race strategies, I am not sure how a consistent pace will work. I'm not good at pacing myself, so i'll definitely be running behind a pacer. I'm hearing alternative ideas of doing the first half fast(ish) and banking some time for the second half. I think that is very risky!

I know a lot of people that went out 'fast' for the first half of the DCM and either didn't finish it or had a horrendous second Half and crawled the last 10K home in bits.......:eek:

You have really solid times there and if your training (LSR's etc) is going well then somewhere between 4:20 (or better) and 4:30 could be where you end up. No one really knows how their body will react to the last 4-6 miles of their first DCM as most people will struggle a bit on their debut (I know that I did).

What I do know is that the Novices on this thread will be amongst the best prepared people on the start line and if they pace themselves right they will have a great day out .

I was a bit too fixated on my finish time for my first DCM and had a bad day out (for a number of reasons, sickness etc.) and I only really copped on after my 2nd/3rd DCM (they went so much better) that just getting around the course is an achievement in itself!

The best advice I could give to all Novices is to by all means have a target time, but also have 'B' or 'C' time in your mind too as you could be overly disappointed on the day if you don't hit you 'A' time. Oh, and don't tell the world what your 'A' time is and just tell people that you will be happy just to get around the course as it is your first time to do a marathon.

So maybe something like:
'A' time is 4:20
'B' time is 4:30
'C' time is just finish the race, get that coveted DCM medal and 'High 5' as many people as possible and soak up the atmosphere in particular the last 6 miles as they will be rooting for you anyway .

Best of luck, you will all have a blast!

See you all on the start line....getting close now.....

Sunday Runner

Thanks Smashiner! I heard that too about the plan B and C.

I keep thinking about a work colleague doing DCM18, he was gunning for sub-4 and he was full of beans and confidence. When we talk to him now, he is full of horror stories and hasn't run since. He must have shot off like a bat of hell, but it took him an hour and a half to do the last 6.2 miles and the wheels were off well before that. Looking back I don't know if he ever ran further than a half marathon, but I don't know the details of his training. All i know is that he wished he followed a plan.

I trust our mentors implicitly! I'm here to learn. :-)

passinginterest

Results this year;
5k - 21.58
5mi - 38.21
10k - 51.22 (a bit sick that day)
10mi - 1.26.07 (bad day)
Half - 1.49.02

DCM Target - sub 4

I was wavering big time after the disappointment of the 10k and 10mi races. But the half has restored some confidence. I was very controlled and comfortable and finished extremely strong. Ran a negative split of over 2 minutes. Plan will be very similar for DCM.

I’ve a slight advantage on some in that I’ve had one attempt at this before. Coming home in 4.00.48 off a half marathon time of 1.37.56 and a 3.50 target on the day (went through the half in 1.55.48). But the training couldn’t be any more different. That time around I never completed a run without walking over the 15 mile mark. This time I’m nowhere near as quick over the shorter stuff but I’ve finished strong on every long run and pulled the pace back on the shorter stuff. The last time training almost came to a standstill coming into October because I was totally wrecked. This time I’m in good shape and ready to put in the biggest weeks to date.

I know the 4hr target is still ambitious, but at the moment I’m up for the challenge. Will be aiming for 2hrs or just over at the half way point and see what’s left in the tank in the last 5 miles.

Finisherpix photos seem to be up now for anyone interested. Caught my demented sprint finish face nicely!

Treviso

Recent Race results:
5k - 19.26
HM - 1.33.39

My DCM target was always 3.30 and it remains the same. The way my training was gone, I'm quietly optimistic about it but have the same worries that I'm going into the unknown distance wise.

jackc101

First off well done everyone on the Half, some great running & reading there and I'm trying to glean every snippet of lessons learnt.

Homework:
I'm addled at this point, I won't lie, on what to aim for.
My current training PMP is 6.15/Km which when worked out would be 4 hrs 25 ish
(That would be 10 minutes off my Cork time, not too shabby)
Extrapolating my Charleville half time (1:53:15) gives;
4 hrs 28 mins (runners world calculator) or
between 4 hrs 05 and 4 hrs 15 depending on whether you classify Charleville as standard or easy (slate calculator)
I'd (still) love 3 hrs 59 minutes and 59 seconds (don't kill me mentors! )
Crush away Sage words of wisdom welcome

Naked Lepper

really enjoyed the half marathon on Saturday, I mentioned earlier that I missed a good chunk (essentially one month) of my DCM training plan so was entering this with very few miles behind me

finished in 1.53 and felt fine, ran with a negative split finishing strongly

the plan now is to build up the mileage and get three solid long slow runs before DCM

I really have no idea where this leaves me 'pace-wise' for the DCM, I just want to enjoy the day anyway. will probably hang around the 4.10-4.20 pacers for the first half and see what I have left in the tank once I pass the half mark up around walkinstown roundabout!

well done to all who ran on sat and have stuck to their plans over the past few months, its a slog but will be worth it.

Huzzah!

kulekat wrote: »

DCHM Race report & DCM time aim

Slept badly due to spouse snoring issue, but managed to get about 6h interrupted sleep. I was well hydrated, nicely carb loaded and did a 2.5k mini run on friday. Sat am brekkie was peanut butter and jam on toast, my usual, with a cuppa tea and i was all set. I parked a couple of km out of the park to get a warm up run in, and then headed straight to the loo-Q. It was all very well organised i thought, and so i noted my pacer (2:30) and his orang balloons and headed for the start area to stretch out.

So my plan was to take the race as a lsr , and stay around the 2:30 pacer. No nerves before hand, so i hung out and just sipped on my electrolytes, waiting for the start.

And were off, nice and slow, god very slow. I just kept thinking those balloons on the back of pacers heads must be so annoying. They deserve a medal for that in itself!! I ended up going 1-16km ish around 6:50km/min pace and found that very comfortable. The hills did not bother me at all, at that pace. I loved the high number of water stations.. i must check if they are that commonly spaced at dcm. The lucozade station was brilliant, just even a taste of the sugar burst was amazing. Around 16k i naturally sped up a little, maybe to 6:20pace. The road on the right after the roundabout on centerfield, went on forwever. I passed someone with a bloody radio blaring, while running! Im normally v relaxed but that should not be allowed. Get a pair of headphones, i nearly shouted. So i just ran faster to get away. Coming up to that long hill at the end i felt very comfortable, and i wondered why so many people were walking at that point. Of course cos they went out too fast, ive done that too in the past, my lesson has been learned the hard way. Anyway, i kept going, nice and easy. Around the 13m marker i wondered how the hell am i going to run this distance twice? My legs/muscles were fine, it was my brain that was getting bored, and the self doubt kicks in. Should i bring my headphones so for dcm, and pop them on if im getting bored?

Delighted then to see the finish line , sped up and strided home. Time 2:20, could of ran further at that pace (6:40km/min average), and tbh i felt grand. People were talking about the brutal hills, i guess its all relative effort. If i ran 5.00, or 5.30km/min up them, yea they would of been killers alright! So kudos to all of ye who raced it.

Nutrition .. i took gels at 8k and 16k, and carried my water, and drank loads during the course. I wore my dcm outfit, so happy with that. Now to determine my pmp and dcm time. So i comfortably ran the half at 6:40. Do u think i should start at that pace for dcm?

If i ran the full dcm at 6:40 pace it would get me in around 4:41 which i would be delighted with.

Thanks!!

What effort did you run the half at? PMP effort or LSR effort?

I ran an exact 6:40/km pace and came in at 4:44 - you will run over the distance, so it's just something to be aware of.

Huzzah!

If you take one piece of advice from this thread and nothing else, let this be it: (please) do not try to "bank" time on DCM day. It will be all too easy to set off quickly with the atmosphere on the day and on your freshly tapered legs. There is a steady enough climb at the start until about mile 7.

I've plenty of horror stories as to how that strategy won't work for DCM, but I thought I'd share some positive race reports from conservative starters over the years:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=105124072&postcount=5531
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=105124106&postcount=5532
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=108504792&postcount=4453

TheW1zard

Personally I like going out strong. Mentally i would find trying to keep up harder than staying ahead.
Also banking time is making hay while the sun is shining.
Everyone should just do what they feel natural though!

Ais_Byrne7

Hi Guys,

Hope everyone is well rested and recovered from Saturday? it was great meeting you all at the baggage area - I agree those flapjacks were delish - SHARE THE RECIPE!!!

I'll keep my race report short and sweet.

Slept really well the night before and was super mindful of my water intake for the days leading up. Got up at 6am, had my usual pre race brekkie of overnight oats and a banana, teamed up with a pint of water and a high 5 zero tablet. Had my gear laid out from the night before, bag packed, headphones and watch charged and ready to go!

Myself and Ro could have probably got to the park a wee bit earlier, considering the lines for the loo haha, bag dropped in and more or less straight to the line!

My goal was to beat my PB of 2.18 and had a workout set on my Garmin to keep the paces at check. I started out faster than what my watch workout had instructed, but I felt strong, comfortable...and decided to hell, lets go with it! STUPID AISLING! Start of Mile 4, the tole of running slightly faster got to my head - debated quitting for a few mins. Fuelled up, slowed down and somehow snapped my head back into focus. This became the pattern for the race.

Mile 1: 9.41
Mile 2: 9.56
Mile 3: 10.10
Mile 4: 10.17
mile 5: 10.19
Mile 6: 10.21
Mile 7: 10.12
Mile 8: 10.39
Mile 9: 9.58
Mile 10: 10.44
Mile 11: 10.10
Mile 12: 10.01
Mile 13: 10.05

Average Pace: 10.13
Chip time: 2.13.44 PB

Going forward I need to pay serious attention to my heart rate, which was very high from the get-go on Saturday (despite me feeling comfortable for a good chunk) I get very anxious and nervous which I assume would be a factor at play but realistically the pace needs to slow down too.

Ideally i'd love to finish sub 5 hours come D-Day, but judging by the weekend's heart rate i'm thinking perhaps it maybe best for me to stick at my training pace of 11.40ish which will get me in around 5.03.

kulekat

Huzzah! wrote: »

kulekat wrote: »

DCHM Race report & DCM time

What effort did you run the half at? PMP effort or LSR effort?

I ran an exact 6:40/km pace and came in at 4:44 - you will run over the distance, so it's just something to be aware of.

Thanks huzzah,

I ran between my lsr and pmp paces, the first 16k averaged 6:50km/min, and the last 5 averaged 6:10km/min (just from eyeballing my strava).

Im not overly caught up on times for dcm, but i hear u regarding the extra distance... due to weaving, long corners etc

I forgot to add my race times to the previous post

5k 24:24 may2018
HM 2:05 june 2018
10kRS 54:xx august 2018

All pbs for me

kyomi

Thanks for all the race reports, I've been enjoying reading them over the last couple of days!

Just to add my recent stats for the homework. I know they're less informative/useful than some others because I didn't race the half marathon.

5K time: 21:50
10K time: 46:56
10 mi time: 1:19:50 (this is actually from last November, but I've been training continuously since then)
Half-marathon time: 1:56 (run at PMP of 9 min/mile)

As I said way back at the start, my primary goal is to finish. But I keep wondering if there might be a tiny chance of going sub-4. I know the sensible thing to do is just finish this year and then next time train hard for a sub-4. But I promised my other half that he could do the marathon next year (we have a toddler so there's no way we could both train), so I won't get another chance for at least a couple of years.

I suppose it's been on my mind for a while, which is why I've settled on a PMP of 9 min/miles. I'm conscious that, because it's my first, I've no idea what the last 6 miles will be like, and I'd worry about blowing up and not finishing at all.

If I decide to do the sensible thing and Just Finish, I'll have to pick some kind of time, so maybe 4:30. I feel like I could at least get to mile 20 doing 10 min miles, since I've done that distance in my LSRs at 10:30. That would give me 4:22, and then I'd add on at least another 8 minutes to account for the extra distance run, plus a possible slowing down in the last six miles.

As you can tell, I haven't been overthinking this at all, no sirree!

Huzzah!

Ais_Byrne7 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Hope everyone is well rested and recovered from Saturday? it was great meeting you all at the baggage area - I agree those flapjacks were delish - SHARE THE RECIPE!!!

I'll keep my race report short and sweet.

Slept really well the night before and was super mindful of my water intake for the days leading up. Got up at 6am, had my usual pre race brekkie of overnight oats and a banana, teamed up with a pint of water and a high 5 zero tablet. Had my gear laid out from the night before, bag packed, headphones and watch charged and ready to go!

Myself and Ro could have probably got to the park a wee bit earlier, considering the lines for the loo haha, bag dropped in and more or less straight to the line!

My goal was to beat my PB of 2.18 and had a workout set on my Garmin to keep the paces at check. I started out faster than what my watch workout had instructed, but I felt strong, comfortable...and decided to hell, lets go with it! STUPID AISLING! Start of Mile 4, the tole of running slightly faster got to my head - debated quitting for a few mins. Fuelled up, slowed down and somehow snapped my head back into focus. This became the pattern for the race.

Mile 1: 9.41
Mile 2: 9.56
Mile 3: 10.10
Mile 4: 10.17
mile 5: 10.19
Mile 6: 10.21
Mile 7: 10.12
Mile 8: 10.39
Mile 9: 9.58
Mile 10: 10.44
Mile 11: 10.10
Mile 12: 10.01
Mile 13: 10.05

Average Pace: 10.13
Chip time: 2.13.44 PB

Going forward I need to pay serious attention to my heart rate, which was very high from the get-go on Saturday (despite me feeling comfortable for a good chunk) I get very anxious and nervous which I assume would be a factor at play but realistically the pace needs to slow down too.

Ideally i'd love to finish sub 5 hours come D-Day, but judging by the weekend's heart rate i'm thinking perhaps it maybe best for me to stick at my training pace of 11.40ish which will get me in around 5.03.

It was lovely to meet you on Saturday and congrats on the PB.

On the HR, mine is always higher than usual before a race - it's down to the adrenaline. It's supposed to be high when you're racing. There's not too much to be negative about that performance at all - apart from the quick start, your splits are fairly even and you ran a PB. Congrats.

11.40/m sounds like a good strategy to me.

DBB

I had started this journey thinking of 4:30hrs, at that stage not really knowing anything about how to scale up paces from shorter races, but I knew from previous races I could do 10km in about an hour, so in my ignorance scales it up x4, and added a bit of wriggle room!
I stuck 4:30 in as my predicted time when entering DCM, so I don't really understand how I've ended up in Wave 3, but no matter. I'll start off at the back of Wave 3 and get myself absorbed into Wave 4 with a nice, gentle start. Would that work?

I've learned a lot since about pacing! Times this year so far:
June 2019, Women's Mini Marathon 10km @ 10.05 mins/mile, 1:02:12
July 2019, Edenderry 10 miles @ 9:59 mins/mile, 1:39:39
Aug 2019, Tullamore HM @ 10:22 mins/mile, 2:15:58

So, based on the rough guideline of HMx2 + 20mins, I'm looking at around 4:52ish, but happy with sub 5hrs too.
Sub 5hrs is an avg of 11:25 mins/mile.
4:52ish is an avg of 11:08 mins/mile.

My thoughts are to start out with the 5hr pacers in view for the first 7-8 miles, then see how I'm doing and all going well, see can I get the 4:50 pacers into view towards the end.
I hope that sounds do-able and sensible?

greentea is just wrong

Race report, Dublin Half Marathon

Up early and looked outside and seen clouds. Delighted! I had porridge for breakfast. Got into the car turned the corner & realised it was not overcast at all, it was in fact warm. Noooo. Anyway got to work & realised I had left my pass behind to leave my car (panic). Didn’t have chance so parked up outside and ran in to get a temp badge. All sorted, but just after 9am, I grabbed the bike & cycled up to the start.

Just about had some time to grab some pins & position myself behind the 2.20 balloons.


M1 9.36 - Feeling great
M2 9.13 - Feeling great & overtake the pacers on the downhill. Want to make some time for the hills I know are coming
M3 10.23 - Hill slows me down but still feeling okay here.
M4 9.51 - Still feeling okay & pick up a bit of momentum here
M5 9 .32 - I think the pacers pass me out around here (or else mile 6) ? Try to keep up but I let them for around a mile or so but eventually let them go on, It’s feeling tough.
M6 10.13 — I think it’s around here the 6mile water stop is ? Stop for water and a gel, and find it hard to start again, legs are feeling v heavy. Also, Fitbit dies !! nooo.
M7 10.52
M8 11.15. — heading out the gate and feeling okay
M9 11.35 — See the hill, and it seems to go on forever here ! Happy to have the water and lucozade as we come back into the park, have 3 cups :O
M10 11.29 — Happy to have a little downhill back into the park . Hitting the 10 mark here and still can’t believe there is another 3 to go. Feeling weary
M11 11.21 Feeling okay & glad of a flat, downhill here
M12 11.22 Just want it over, but don’t mind the terrain here
M13 11.55 — This bloody hill again, OMG. Have to stop and walk, wish I was able to keep going mentally but I couldn’t face it
M13 + 10.34 — Top of the hill & kick up the pace for the final sprint to the finish line.

Feel better coming over the finish than the 10mile (I think). See the chats in the group, so find the guys from here which is awesome & have a lovely flapjack

Overall, I think I’m around 20 mins faster than I ever did it in training, so delighted with that. Hard to not feel a little disappointed (although I know I shouldn't) with the time when you see so much fast times coming in and feel like it was hard to even keep the pace going for my time.

Feeling nervous now for the full thing & also not sure about how to pace myself for the full!

skyblue46

TheW1zard wrote: »

Personally I like going out strong. Mentally i would find trying to keep up harder than staying ahead.
Also banking time is making hay while the sun is shining.
Everyone should just do what they feel natural though!

This....and a few other people talking about banking time....FORGET IT!

There could not be a worse way for a novice to approach their first marathon. It's bonkers plain and simple. I'll leave the mentors to go into the details in good time but I just want to point out the difference between blowing up in the marathon compared to other distances...Pain, and lots of it! Go out too fast in a 5k race and you'll slow down a bit by the end, maybe even a minute a Km slower. Go out too hard in the marathon and you'll come to a grinding stop at about mile 18 if you are lucky and the 3 minutes you have banked will be lost in the next 800 metres and every 800 metres after that! Think of the old story of the 3 little pigs...the one who rushed to build his straw house saw it knocked over very quickly but the smart little pig who slowly built his house of solid blocks saw his creation survive.;)

Rossi7

TheW1zard wrote: »

Personally I like going out strong. Mentally i would find trying to keep up harder than staying ahead.
Also banking time is making hay while the sun is shining.
Everyone should just do what they feel natural though!

If this is your first marathon then this is an absolute nuts way to approach it, given DCM is a slower first half you'd be well served to do the complete opposite. One thing to try and hold on in a 5K race but you'll be walking by mile 20 if you manage to get there

Rojo

Well done, everyone. Found it really interesting as always reading all the race reports and it was great to meet some of you after the race too. :-)

I didn't have the best sleep on Friday night, eventually nodded off after 1ish. My legs felt a bit tired all this week... Couldn't figure it out but then it dawned on me that I ran on the beach on Bull Island for the LSR last Saturday. I think that might have zapped my legs. Breakfast was 3 slices of toast and marmalade and a big banana and a coffee. As Ais said, we were definitely a bit tight on time and didn't have any time to faff around before the start.

Official chip time was 1hr58m

Splits below:

Mile 1 - 8:36
Mile 2 - 8:12
Mile 3 - 8:39
Mile 4 - 8:48
Mile 5 - 8:53
Mile 6 - 9:02
Mile 7 - 8:55
Mile 8 - 8:56
Mile 9 - 8:37
Mile 10 - 9:06
Mile 11 - 8:37
Mile 12 - 9:15
Mile 13 - 9:00

Because the legs were tired I didn't really go hell for leather. Took water x 2 at all stops bar first one which was just the one bottle. I took three gels evenly spaced after the one hour mark. Felt very strong and comfortable the whole time.

For the big one, I have always had a sub 4 in my head... I think all things going well over the next few weeks, I might just have it in me to do that but I really just want to enjoy the day so I won't sacrifice that for a sub 4 time. Like other posters, I'll have plans B and C in my head. Prior to this forum and thread, I would have tortured myself to do go sub 4, thankfully enjoying the day is now my main priority.

CANNOT believe it's just over a month away.

TheW1zard

Rossi7 wrote: »

If this is your first marathon then this is an absolute nuts way to approach it, given DCM is a slower first half you'd be well served to do the complete opposite. One thing to try and hold on in a 5K race but you'll be walking by mile 20 if you manage to get there

This worked for me on my first dublin marathon, times went:
50.42
1.45.31
2.31.48
3.39.36

Each to their own though!

skyblue46

TheW1zard wrote: »

This worked for me on my first dublin marathon, times went:
50.42
1.45.31
2.31.48
3.39.36

Each to their own though!

Yeah I'd be trying to avoid a fall off in pace like that.

TheW1zard

skyblue46 wrote: »

Yeah I'd be trying to avoid a fall off in pace like that.

A year later i did it in 3.57. Not as much training though - still a positive split.
Also ran the first half faster on Saturday, came in at 1.42.

It might be easier to do a negative (dont know) but if i got tired and the balloon was disappearing up the road id be doing well to keep up!
Just my mentality:D

skyblue46

TheW1zard wrote: »

A year later i did it in 3.57. Not as much training though - still a positive split.
Also ran the first half faster on Saturday, came in at 1.42.

It might be easier to do a negative (dont know) but if i got tired and the balloon was disappearing up the road id be doing well to keep up!
Just my mentality:D

But you wouldn't be losing the balloon because you'd have run well within yourself. It's not that it's easier per se, it's the optimal strategy. You could have run faster by not being 9 minutes slower on the second half. Most likely if you had gone through half way 3 minutes slower you would have been more likely to hold the pace.

Huzzah!

kulekat wrote: »

Huzzah! wrote: »

Thanks huzzah,

I ran between my lsr and pmp paces, the first 16k averaged 6:50km/min, and the last 5 averaged 6:10km/min (just from eyeballing my strava).

Im not overly caught up on times for dcm, but i hear u regarding the extra distance... due to weaving, long corners etc

I forgot to add my race times to the previous post

5k 24:24 may2018
HM 2:05 june 2018
10kRS 54:xx august 2018

All pbs for me

First, you really need to slow your training runs down. Try and slow everything down by a minute a km.

Your times are very close to mine, which makes me think 6.40/km is achievable but were you out with injury for a while? If so, I'd probably be more conservative.

Mr. Guappa

Some really interesting chat around target times and race strategy already. Here are a couple of great posts on these topics which are well worth a few minutes of your time:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104771538&postcount=3527
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104842786&postcount=3772

rizzee

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Some really interesting chat around target times and race strategy already. Here are a couple of great posts on these topics which are well worth a few minutes of your time:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104771538&postcount=3527
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104842786&postcount=3772

I don't have much of a plan I just want to finish and enjoy the day, especially for my first marathon . I don't mind running 7 minute kilometres on the day, I just want to soak in the atmosphere and get over that line!!

Looking forward to getting back into training tomorrow after 2 days rest.

ByrneDCMbrian

Evening folks

Half went well for me came in at 1.51.30 pace wise tried to stay in 8.20 t0 8.30 a mile felt very comfortable going around. Didn't try and kill myself.

For dcm I still hope for 4 hrs feel it's in me if all goes well on the day. Plan to keep the pace 9.09 a mile till the 20 mile mark and then if anything in the tank try push on then.

TillyDcm

Hi all. I haven't posted in quite a while, but have been following all the advice and fantastic race reports. Well done everyone on the recent races and your training.
I ran the Ratoath half marathon last week, and got a PB of 2.09.xx. I felt fine throughout and came away from it believing that the full is definitely achievable. But now I need to decide on my plan for DCM. Is 4:40 too optimistic? Should I stick with the 4:50 pacers and see how things go? Any thoughts? Thanks.