Dublin Marathon 2016 - Mentored Novices Thread

Myles Splitz wrote: »

For those who are a little dubious that this is the approach of some of the top athletes here are just some strava profiles of some top runners.

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Thanks so much Myles! I am really glad the concept of training paces has come up (again ) - so thank you TBO for going off reservation this week (and back next week, you hear!!). It really is the one most important thing to take away from this thread and this whole experience. We should summarize this thread to: "Follow a plan as well as you can" and "Slow down".

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Of course I trust you! That's why I slowed down dramatically and never questioned it when I started thinking about doing the marathon. :P And I've seen the benefits too; constant niggles and injuries have been replaced by every increasing mileage and greater enjoyment. I'm doing race times and distances that even 6 months ago would have sounded like fantasy to me.

And yet... it's so counter-intuitive that my mind keeps rejecting it and every couple of weeks I find myself thinking "But what if I was going a little faster in training; would I be doing even better now?" So it helps to do a bit of reading to find out why it makes sense. I've always been one of those annoying people who, when told "Do this like this" will respond "But why?"

Thanks Max especially for posting about the benefits you see. Maybe your thinking too much during your runs - I am almost inclined to recommend listening to music or so (that was a joke )

scotindublin wrote: »

Firedance will be happy to know I got my 17 mile LSR done by 0930 on Saturday morning;

Well done!

tailgunner wrote: »

22nd August - 28th AugustFour weeks to go for me, but even more importantly, only one till the taper. Can't wait!

Oh - the taper. That's going to be fun. I hope you have no house moves or any other DIY planned. Or five-a-side football matches!

RasTa wrote: »

Finished my first run in 10 days about 30mins ago. To say I'm in a mess would be an understatement. It was all going ok until the 13th mile and then time started going backwards.

Although my splits stayed similar bar the last mile where I almost stopped when I had to wait for the traffic lights and got a head rush that almost knocked me out.

Anyway putting it down to that sun, not fueling correctly and my longest distance I've ever ran.

17m @ 10:00

Hey RasTa - well done on knocking out 17 miles. As others have said, look after yourself really well, plenty of rest, some recovery, and lots of good healthy food. You'll have to be careful, coming of a relative small mileage base, now the length of the runs is going up. What fueling strategy are you following?

Extrasupervery wrote: »

Nothing like a really ****ey training run, is there. Did my 7 miler today (I'm on the HH 1 plan) as I was more free than the next few evenings. I wasn't at all sore but I just felt so uncomfortable and couldn't wait for it to be over. Being in crap gear didn't help, all my comfy stuff was in the wash. I'll have to get another pair of tights/shorts or two and I cannot wait for my new shoes to come, maybe they'll inject some excitement back into this process.

Ha - Extrasupervery, you deserve a trip to the local running-gear shop. Best to do it sooner rather than later, get all your new favourite gear, so you can try it and get really comfortable using it before the big day. And remember, 7 sh*tty miles is still 7 miles, so well done.

JackieChan wrote: »

22nd August - 28th AugustBack to my plan properly this week and I do appreciate the comments Aquinn and Murph_D made. No more unplanned races and adequate rest is imperative.

Ha! Well done JackieChan - good week and especially good resolutions.

ToriV wrote: »

Hi all . Sorry haven't been able to post much but been really busy. I completed the Longford half marathon which tell perfectly with my plan on Sunday and I loved every minute of it! Full report to come, but went out with 2 h pacer and came home in 1.57 with loads left in the tank. Delighted with myself and it was scorching!

Well done! Running sub 2-hours half marathons and feeling fresh afterwards - that's a real sign of progress.

Pomplamousse wrote: »

I was dreading this week's running as I was on holidays in the sunshine. Didn't feel comfortable on Wednesday & Thursday's "easy" runs as it was so hot, probably went out at stupid times of day though. Was more sensible for the 17 miler & was out by 7am, I'd been dreading it all week but wasn't as bad as expected. And my legs weren't too sore for the rest of the day or the following day, I've come a long way in the last year!

Well done, Pomplamousse! Delighted to read the above. 7am 17-milers. What have we become!

tony1980 wrote: »

I am doing this backwards, I never done a week 8 update :pac:

I missed 1 mid week run which was supposed to be seven miles so I done 3 miles on Sat and an extra 3 on the LSR, I know I shouldn't have done this but that's the stubbornness in me :pac:

Okay, we'll look away for the last comment :rolleyes:. Well done all the same.

The Muppet wrote: »

Getting there I think, I actually had some life in the legs for tonights 4 miles.

And this comment pleases me the most . Well done T, onwards and upwards :pac:!

RasTa wrote: »

For this one it was a gel and 400ml of water. I dropped the water bottle at 2.8m beside a tree. Picked it up on the first loop at about 9.8 or so and had a few sups. Did another lap had a gel at 13m or so then picked up the bottle again at 15m however it was left out in the sun and was roasting hot and I couldn't drink it so just poured it over me.

So 17m on about 100ml of water and a gel. It won't be happening again.

I did 100k's cycling on a banana before and passed out on the side of the road with 10k's to go as I ran out of fuel and that Connemara wind, another 2 miles yesterday and it would have being the same.

That was my 8th run since July 2nd 13m and over. Not sure if I should try and do the 19m on Saturday.

Hey RasTa - that does indeed sound like too little, but then again, not that far out. My strategy for the very long runs, was to bring one gel and small bottle of water, and have the same stashed away somewhere about 60-70% in.

Maybe the problem lies in not eating enough leading up to the LSRs, e.g. the days and evenings before. This is - as with everything - something to try out and perfect towards the big day.

For the 19-miler, yep - look after yourself. It maybe worth your while to run in smaller laps near your house / car. You can store smaller snacks / drinks to consume as you pass more often, and if you need to, you can drop out after (say) 3x4M loops and still have a decent 12M in the bank.