Dublin Marathon 2016 - Mentored Novices Thread

nop98 wrote: »

tipping: Are you sure there's nothing physically wrong? Doesn't sound like your usual weeks? Maybe just follow a week of the boards or HHN1 plan. If you don't mind me saying, I think what's needed are easy miles (and plenty of them), not necessarily 6:30-minute miles...

Not sure if something is wrong physically but it felt like it at times. That said moving house with 4 kids does take a toll physically and mentally so I'm going to put it down to that, felt much better yesterday in general after 12 hours sleep the night before and felt great during the session yesterday.
Plan for the rest of the week is easy miles, just thought that a blow-out would let me know that I had/hadn't recovered, as there's no way I was running even 7:30 miles last week and last nights 6:30s felt very comfortable.

Missed on entry to Charleville too which may have been a good thing considering the last 2 weeks, so if all is well I'll get 18 or so done at the weekend.

tony1980 wrote: »

How is yours feeling, any improvement?

I'm feeling so much better today - I done a spin class and had a swim last night and I think it helped stretch out the muscles I'm still a bit sore but not half as bad as last week. I couldn't resist a trial run on the treadmill in the gym - I only done two minutes but I felt fine. (Can I put that on the spreadsheet so it does't look as blank?! )
Dr. Google has advised wearing compression gear and it has definitely helped.
I'll see what the physio says tomorrow but hopefully i'll get the go ahead to get out for a few miles tomorrow night.

Arg! Why didn't I look at the plan yesterday? 6 miles tonight, could have done that as a commute. :rolleyes:

Also yes, major thanks to nop98 and all of the other wise mentor runner people for your sage advice and encouragement! It's a huge asset, I would be much more fast and loose with training if it wasn't for you all. And by fast and loose I mean slow and lazy.

aquinn wrote: »

Eh, you're supposed to be running slowly :eek:

:D

I can do nothing but run slowly. My dad says you could measure a ten mile course by pointing me in a direction and stopping me after two hours. If there was ever a need for a 2.5 hour pacer for a half I could do it without Garmin or Strava, I have weird robot legs that will not change pace. Good day or bad day I run the same speed unless I really, really concentrate on pacing which I never do cause I'm usually spaced out.

People in work who've done marathons in the past are surprised by the amount of training I'm doing. They now seem to have concluded that I'm going to run an impressive marathon, despite me repeatedly explaining how slow I am... :mad:

Ehhh lads, sorry to disappoint you but I'll be lucky to cross the finish line at all.

smashiner wrote: »

Anyone thinking of buying a running belt with 4 bottles to store Skittles and Red Bull :eek:

http://ie.sportsdirect.com/nike-4-bottle-waist-pack-769067?colcode=76906711

A friend of mine bought one on Sports Direct (around €21 incl shipping fee) and is very happy with it, just thought that I would pass it on, as it could come in handy for the last few LSR's and maybe even DCM day itself.

I also invested in one this morning as my old belt is a bit stinky now and needs to be go in the bin along with about 6 pairs of knackered runners

I just stop at a shop.. and on DCM we will get plenty of water. I think if doing long hill/trail runs or maybe Ultra's etc then maybe this belt might come in handy.. maybe I might get one for the next "Project".. but lets get this one done first:pac:

The Muppet wrote: »

Thanks needed a new belt too

Sportsdirect shipping is not nice.. I would split it with you for two if you wanted to sort out at HM... if we meet up?

adrian522 wrote: »

Just to jump in here, I think your taper mileage looks fine. I'd leave the MP in there for this week and maybe even 2-3 @ MP next week around Wednesday.

I'm not sure about the 6 x 400m, have you been doing this sort of thing throughout the plan? Remember the taper should involve a reduction in mileage but not in intensity, so don't drop all the faster running in the taper phase.

What plan are you following?

I've been doing 400 reps every other week all along - admittedly this kind of thing seems out of place on a marathon plan, but it was nice to have a bit of variety. I was thinking of doing a couple of miles at MP instead of the 400s next week, but I don't know if I'd feel comfortable leaving it as late as Wednesday.

I'm following BAA Level 2.

Thanks for the input!

After 10 days away from Boards, time for an update in relation to my own Week 11 preparations...I'll catch up on the 30/40 pages worth of extra posts on the thread later, hope everyone else is still doing well!

Sun 4/9 - Rest

Up in the dead of night to catch the redeye flight to Rome, followed by two train journeys and a taxi to bring us to our departure point in Civitavecchia (the port of Rome). Our base for the next eight days would be the cruise ship Jewel Of The Seas. The trick for me (in our context) was to try and keep DCM preparation from going completely off course, in the midst of potentially colossal amounts of eating and drinking. So, how did I get on?

Mon 5/9 - Ajaccio, Corsica

There was a gym on board the ship. For today I kept it simple, with a few stretches and some gentle workouts on some of the machines, followed by 15 easy minutes on the cross trainer.

Tue 6/9 - Toulon La Seyne-sur-Mer, France

Plan was for 4 easy miles on the treadmill. What actually happened was anything but. I'm not a great man for treadmills at the best of times, but even at 9:30/9:45 pace I was sweating buckets, so off I hopped with just over 2 miles completed there - and out on to the running track (a red strip around the upper deck) to bring the overall tally up to around the 4 mile mark - much harder work than I was expecting.

Wed 7/9 - Barcelona

Plan was for 8 miles; I should point out the script in relation to the running track here. 6 laps was supposedly a mile, with 4 laps being a kilometre. Having done numerous laps of it, 6 of their laps is nowhere near one of our miles; try 1500 metres! Anyway, I set off early to try and beat the crowds and the heat (and of course, we were going for a wander after breakfast)
Even before the ship had docked, there were lots of other people on the strip - mainly walkers, with one or two runners even slower than I was. In addition, you had the staff laying out pool chairs and whatnot, so I had to keep my wits about me. 48 laps brought it up to 12k for the day, in something like 1:10? Times were more or less irrelevant this week IMO; it was more about getting it done!

Thu 8/9 - Valencia; Asi Me Gusta A Mi

Not as busy this morning, and the fact that it was a shorter run meant I was in far better mood. 6.5k in 39:30 or thereabouts.

Fri 9/9 - Palma de Mallorca

Normally a rest day for me, however I felt it was more important to be active every day of this week. 2k on the rowing machine, followed by 15 minutes on the cross trainer.

Sat 10/9 - All At Sea

No ports to stop in today; we were to the west of Sardinia, as I got up in pitch darkness with the intention of starting my 20 mile LSR - or 129 laps! - at 6 AM (same as the gym opening time). Having got there, I was the only person on the deck, although the jacuzzi was still bubbling away on the deck below, and the big screen with its continuous music loop was still going. The track was "Closed For Maintenance". After a few minutes of this, I went into the gym and for about 10 minutes I was the only person there as I kept active on the cross trainer, in the hope that I would get a chance to run outside. It being a sea day, would they use the opportunity to close the track for the duration? I hopped on the treadmill, but after two painfully boring and sweaty miles I saw a staff member removing the "Deck Closed" sign, so I decided to go out and see could I salvage this, although the previous 45 minutes or so had seen me rapidly lose interest, and wonder was I completely off my rocker even thinking that the plan might work. By the time I hit the "track", I felt like I was dragging my body around, and not feeling the love at all. 8 laps (2k) later, I'd had enough and pulled the plug.

Sun 11/9 - Naples

Plan was to get away early and head for Capri, so I was up early once more to see could I gain some comfort after the previous day's debacle. Less people around, and it was cloudy and a lot cooler as I set off around 6:45 AM (as soon as the track was opened). I actually ran in the pouring rain for the last five or six of my 20 laps (5k in 27:34) stint, picking it up on a completely clear track for the last lap.

Overall, not as much running as I intended, however, I probably ran more than anyone else on the cruise. All things considered, it could have turned out a lot worse than the 22.5(ish) miles I covered. 7 weeks to go and still injury free, but with a few extra pounds to work off now I'm back home, and with next week's HM to focus the mind!