Dublin Marathon 2016 - Mentored Novices Thread

djemba djemba wrote:

Any idea of where is best to park for the Frank Duffy on Saturday. I was half thinking of parking in Heuston station and walking up from there.

If you're parking at Heuston they run a free shuttle bus from Parkgate Street up into the park.

Singer wrote: »

This is the first time you'll have raced a distance over 10k, yeh? Endurance is going to be what hurts you, so try not to get too emotionally attached to the numbers spat out by the calculators - they're definitely unreliable for folks racing distances for the first time. I think there's a lot more elevation gain and loss in the FD compared to the Fingal 10k too (especially the last mile or so).

That said, you have some good training done since and you might well do relatively better on Saturday compared to a month ago in the 10k - figure this out cautiously on the course though, rather than melting down and struggling over the last couple of miles.

Yep, it will be my first above 10k. I appreciate the advice, I suppose I could head out at 1:25 pace and then adjust from there depending on how it's going. I just want to make sure I get everything out of myself on the day and don't let myself off too easy!

Some foam rolling on the cards for this evening....any recommendations on online videos?

Frank Duffy 10 Mile 2016 Course Guide

The route ( http://sseairtricitydublinmarathon.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SSE-AT-DRS16-FD10M-MAP.pdf ) has changed considerably from the previous two years. The dreary Conyngham Road section is gone, and now we run the Glen Road in both directions, to name but two of the changes. It could be a tricky one to get the pacing right. nop98 has asked me to put together a guide on the route; hope it is useful for some of you.

Mile 1
The start is around the same point as we started the 5 Mile this year and in the three (at least) previous. Don't be distracted by the usual hares, and take your time until you find your rhythm and correct pace. There's a slight rise at the very beginning, but a little dip before we swing left onto Ordnance Survey Road. There's usually a slight breeze to contend with here, but it's quite flat and shouldn't cause you any difficulty.

Mile 2
We go straight through the crossroads after passing the Ordnance Survey. The road swings to the left and then the fun starts with a downhill mile that gets steeper as we descend towards the Chapelizod Gate. So many race efforts will basically be banjaxed in this section, so resist the temptation to go too fast. Remember, there's still another 8 miles to go after you reach the bottom, including running this road in reverse on the way back!

Mile 3
For many of you, this will be your first test of the day, as we swing away from Chapelizod Gate. The initial section is the hardest, but then the climb is much less severe as we turn right and head for the S-bends and Military Hill. You may have to give yourself a little push or two towards the top of the S-bends, but at this stage you should still be in good shape, with another fast downhill to follow immediately after you reach the top. You'll see the Magazine Fort on your left as you descend the Military Hill; you'll remember having to go up it in the 5 Mile. Again, easy on the quads, as the steepest part of this descent is at the bottom, just before Islandbridge Gate.

Mile 4
We go straight through the crossroads here; the Khyber will be on your left, but we're heading for Wellington Road, and a short but sharp ascent to kick things off. From there it's fairly draggy as we pass the Wellington Monument before a brief turn left onto Chesterfield Avenue. Very soon, we're turning again, right this time, onto another slight rise along Lord's Walk, which takes us round the back of the azoo.

Mile 5
This is a harder one than it looks. There's a little dip before we leave the zoo and turn left onto the North Road. It may look like nothing if you're driving, but especially if you're starting to feel a bit of discomfort, it can feel really tough. It's slow and draggy, and not very exciting, but try and keep your rhythm and your form and you should still be looking good at halfway (roughly around Cabra Gate).

Mile 6
Another slow drag I'm afraid. I never like racing in this part of the Park, as we always have to go left at the start of the triangle beside the Hole In The Wall Pub. There's a water station here as well. Mind the 45 degree turn as you head back towards the North Road. You'll pass Ashtown Castle Visitor Centre just before the next mile marker.

Mile 7
Some welcome respite as we pass Ashtown Gate and head downhill towards the small roundabout near the Castleknock Gate. However, when we ran the loop on Saturday, this is where the wind was at its strongest in very open territory. Back left onto Chesterfield Avenue and downhill this time, as we pass through where we started just before the 7 mile marker.

Mile 8
We continue downhill, straight through the Phoenix (Eagle) roundabout. Hopefully you will still have plenty of power in the legs and can use it to your advantage here. Just as you can see the actual Áras An Uachtarán on your left, we take a sharp right and head towards the Papal Cross, swinging left onto yet more downhill on the Acres Road. Again, it's very exposed and can be very windy.

Mile 9
Towards the bottom of Acres Road, as we pass the entrance to St Mary's Hospital, is where the descent is at its steepest. There's a tricky little chicane to negotiate before we go around the back of the Cheshire Home. Remember, this time we turn right along the path we cover in the 5 mile; we DO NOT go right down to Chapelizod Gate. The start of the Glen Road may seem daunting at first, but it's not actually that steep, and if you've got your pacing right, you'll be passing people for fun now. Believe me, it'll feel good!

Mile 10
The last climb gradually levels off as we go through the twisty section in the middle and head back towards the crossroads we went through at Mile 1. This time, we go right onto the Furze Road, the home straight. If we're lucky, we may have a bit of a breeze behind us. According to the graphic, the finish will be about 700 metres from the crossroads, but from my own experience this isn't always 100% accurate. Regardless, you will have a good look at the finish line several hundred metres before you reach it. You've done all the hard work, and there's only a bit left, so if you have it in the legs, bring it home! Well done! If you actually read through all of this, the race itself will be no problem to you. Fingers crossed for PBs galore on Saturday!

Thanks for the run down Wubble Wubble, it's gotten me all determined for Saturday now, it'll be my first FD 10 so I'm looking forward to it. I've raced the Ballycotton 10 and the Stook 10 before and I love it as distance.

Swapped out today's planned recovery run with a recovery swim instead in the hopes that my joints and muscles will appreciate the change of pace, so far so good.

From FB. 3 mins ago:

SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon
3 mins ·

** Important Update **

Following consultation with the relevant authorities, we're delighted to announce that we will be increasing our SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon race capacity from 17,500 to 19,500 in order to cater for the increase in demand this year.

The 2,000 entries will be allocated to participants registered on our Marathon waiting list & we will be contacting everyone on Wednesday 31st August.

For more information on our event, visit our website on: www.sseairtricitydublinmarathon.ie

New to this thread but doing quite a bit of reading. Haven't run a marathon before but have been running on and off for the last couple of year. Longest run was in 2012 when I did 21 miles across Wicklow mountains, have also completed the Wicklow mountains half marathon (by accident, was meant to do the 10km but got on wrong bus) did that in 2hr11min.

Been kinda half-assing my training to this point but am reasonably fit and going to jump into HH1

Runs this week

Monday 3.6m / 33:46 / 9:23avg
Tuesday 2.9m / 16:26 / 7:52avg
Thursday 3.59m / 29:16 / 8:09avg

Sunday 9.91m / 1:34:19 / 9:31avg

My aim is to get to the start line injury free and get around in sub 4:30:00

Do you reckon this is possible?

Thanks

**My cross training consists of bit of swimming, tag rugby once a week and also go mountain biking at weekends**

aquinn wrote: »

Go out with no time or distance and see how you get on. Enjoy the weather and feel of running. Just plod along and don't worry about pace. Just enjoy it. See how you get on. It happens.

+1 on that. 99% of the time I feel far better when I get back from the run so I focus on that. Someone also told me to try less hard. Which I think means go back to why you love running in first place.

Sorry No. Realised today that I haven't been posting my weekly update. I am so busy reading the thread that I forget to post! Anyway I am following HHN2 and actually loving it. I was a bit worried about the three days back to back during the week, but I have adapted to it well. I have slowed right down and am running by feel as much as I can with the watch to ensure that im not straying too far either side. Feeling good so far and got some great advice from a friend who said the most important you can do is respect the distance. So bed early for me, lots of greens and good carbs and lot of water. It really is a total thing isn't it.

She also told me to smile when it get tough and it actually works. It seems to fool your body into thinking it's great... give it a go. I have been running around grinning like a mad yoke. I also have my plan on the fridge and colour in each one done. Really helps me stay focused and love this thread!

I've decided to run the FD 10 mile at PMP (9min/mile for a 4 hour marathon). While I managed last week's LSR on Sunday & I'm back following the plan, I'm still on antibiotics so probably should take it easy.
Although, I really feel like my fitness hasn't improved over the past few months so a 10 miler @ 9min/mile could be an all out race for me:o
It will also give me a good indication of how unrealistic a 4 hour marathon is for me, I probably need the reality check!