Dublin Marathon 2016 - Mentored Novices Thread

ligerdub · 30-10-2016 09:14PM

Well what a day. That finishing stretch will live long in the memory. So many great little nuggets and characters from the run, and certain comments that stick with you, all of them genuine and well meaning. Really brings home that despite its faults at times, we are blessed to live here.

My A plan was sub 3 hr 30 mins. I came in sub 3 h 27 m (1st half 1 hr 44 mins
2nd half 1 hr 42 m 30 s). The PB HM + 20 rule left me a target time of 3 hrs 32 m, so I'm happy with that result. To be honest a couple of years ago it was a goal of mine to be able to run into town without stopping, and that's not a particularly long distance. To go from not being able to run more than a couple of miles without major ankle pain or stopping to finishing a marathon running the whole way is something I've delighted with. The time element is a bonus.

I very much took the advice that you should hold back a bit early doors and push on from the 10 mile mark. I made a conscious effort to resist the temptation of running fast on the fresh legs from the start. Miles 1-7 mostly uphill at a gentle ish pace. Miles 10-14 similarly uphill were quite tough but at a slightly faster pace. From miles 15 on I opened up the legs and didn't let go until the finish line. I think the weather suited me (won't speak for anyone else), as I generally prefer running in slightly warmer rather than colder weather. All in all I'd be surprised if I could beat that time in future, but if that's the case then so be it. I ran negative splits throughout, and felt very strong at the end.

Although I joined this thread very late in the day, the advice on here from nop and others was invaluable. It really made today go so much better. For your time and advice my sincere thanks.

I hope you all enjoyed the day as much as I did.

diego_b · 30-10-2016 09:39PM

Well done to you all, irregardless of times you are all marathoners now and got pbs all around. You can come next year again now and smash it!

Nice to meet a few of you in McGrattans.

I got the sub 4 (3:57:34) I wanted last year but had to wait an extra 12 months to nail it.

paddydriver · 30-10-2016 09:57PM

Top Running and Congrats to all. We all made it home safe which is main thing. We'll learn from experiences both good and bad, and be stronger next time.

I've new found respect for the 26 miles 385 yards.. If it was easy then everyone would do it. As my friend tells me.. We are now the .1 of 1% who have done it and that you need to be proud of

I totally emptied myself in last few miles and somehow found a few needed seconds in the last 800M.. Absolutely delighted. The flip side is that I've been suffering since.. Badly dehydrated this afternoon and only now processing liquids. Supposed it's either beers or bed.. I'm the latter. Well.. TBO bucks trend having to go to work!

Again.. Well done. Times won't matter soon and you'll still have the medal, the t-shirt and the memories..

Enjoy the post marathon relaxation.

The Muppet · 30-10-2016 10:00PM

Just off the phone from My eldest Son ,I used the Garmin live tracking today on my facebook timeline, He told me I frightened the life out of him as I stopped running and he though I had collapsed when we were going through The phoenix park. In fact I was really comfortable there but needed a loo stop . Perhaps live tracking is not such a good idea.

On a serious note I saw someone being treated by medics , around the park, It looked serious enough, does anyone know if that runner is OK

smashiner · 30-10-2016 10:00PM

The Muppet wrote: »

Was that you with the boards Novice Sign , If so you gave me a big shout which was brilliant Thanks.

Yep, that was me alright.....fair play on your first DCM.....congrats!!

I was delighted to be there supporting you guys,I know what it is like when you are in a tough place and someone gives you a lift, the DCM crowds are well know for this!

So proud of you guys, it is a beast of a race and you all came through it

FITZA · 30-10-2016 10:04PM

RasTa wrote: »

My Garmin is telling me I ran 26.4 miles today

Yep mine said 42.65k...I hadn't reached the 26m marker when my watch said I should have been finished!!
:rolleyes::D

The Muppet · 30-10-2016 10:07PM

RasTa wrote: »

My Garmin is telling me I ran 26.4 miles today

Mine is telling me I ran 26.51 but I forgot to stop it at the end, I remembered on the way to Mc Grattans , perhaps I took singers map seriously in mysubconscious.

The Black Oil · 30-10-2016 10:09PM

I saw a Garda bike, jeep and DFB ambulance I think somewhere around mile 20 or maybe 22. That seemed to be the most serious emergency response I saw through the day, apart from the volunteer first aiders. Put things in perspective alright. Hope the person is OK.

This is the [URL="Eiffel Tower bloke a few of us spotted out there, pic from Facebook. [IMG]https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14853263_10154661598353185_6393648032463704889_o.jpg[/IMG]"]Eiffel Tower[/URL] bloke some of us spotted.

STADEdeLUC · 30-10-2016 10:18PM

Saw a woman at about 6:30, walking up by St.Vincets hospital, marathon number and everything, god bless her anyway, said she 'must have been the last' but who cares she completed it (hopefully). Well done everyone!

Maximus Alexander · 30-10-2016 10:29PM

STADEdeLUC wrote: »

Saw a woman at about 6:30, walking up by St.Vincets hospital, marathon number and everything, god bless her anyway, said she 'must have been the last' but who cares she completed it (hopefully). Well done everyone!

Now that is determination. Fair play

The Black Oil · 30-10-2016 10:45PM

Work done, debriefed with colleague, stats logged. So many posts to catch up on as I stopped reading this thread before 8pm last night and had caught the ~ 6am ones at breakfast.

Remember lads, whatever the times - we, unlike the Samsung Note 7, were not rushed to market and didn't explode.

Rest well.

denis b · 30-10-2016 10:48PM

conor_mc wrote: »

Was that you with the "Go Boards Novices" sign smashiner? I gave out a Go Novices shout as I passed by, same to Nop and Firedance at Clonskeagh. Also spotted denis_b out supporting at the corner turning into Clonskeagh Road (God how I hate that road!!)

Well done Novices, like another 2015 grad mentioned above, I was also a bit emotional at the finish line, knowing you've given 110% to do something so damn hard, it's a very proud moment, eh!

Congrats Conor. You were sharp to spot me on a busy spectator stretch with 20+ miles under your belt. You looked like you were ready to rev up Roebuck. Well done.

Murph_D · 30-10-2016 10:57PM

Congrats All. I think many found out how hard the marathon is in terms of running to a time, but glad to see a few sandbaggers among ye running way under the target. :pac:

Personally I thought it was tough going out there today so well done to you all.

And thanks HSR for the wonderful split tracking. A lot of great data there in one place for anyone who likes to analyse this stuff.

The Black Oil · 30-10-2016 11:05PM

Past 10pm, time to break nop's curfew, yeah?

kin9pin · 30-10-2016 11:05PM

The Black Oil wrote: »

This is the [URL="Eiffel Tower bloke a few of us spotted out there, pic from Facebook. [IMG]https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14853263_10154661598353185_6393648032463704889_o.jpg[/IMG]"]Eiffel Tower[/URL] bloke some of us spotted.

Just checked the tracker for him, bib 20905, and he doesn't have a finish time. Hope he's ok, he looked wrecked on Acres Rd!

Pink11 · 30-10-2016 11:05PM

Congrats to you all! Superstar marathon runners.

I hope you enjoyed every minute of it. Times/goals should go out the window especially for your first.

Max, please don't be so hard on yourself. I don't know the ins and outs of what happened but you FINISHED A MARATHON today, congratulations, that's all that matters.

Next time you can be critical but you're not allowed today!

ligerdub · 30-10-2016 11:11PM

kin9pin wrote: »

Just checked the tracker for him, bib 20905, and he doesn't have a finish time. Hope he's ok, he looked wrecked on Acres Rd!

He finished. Class man.

Maximus Alexander · 30-10-2016 11:13PM

The Black Oil wrote: »

Past 10pm, time to break nop's curfew, yeah?

See no reason to start sticking to it now anyway :pac:

Ososlo · 30-10-2016 11:13PM

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Had a nightmare out there today with multiple disasters, I suppose one of us had to. Feeling extremely disappointed right now but there were lessons learned. Hard to talk about it at the noment, I need to digest it but there will be a report in the next couple of days.

I hope you don't remain disappointed, Max, you really shouldn't. You've just run your first marathon and that's no mean achievement. Try to smile and look at your medal, and be a little bit proud?
But still, I understand why you might feel like you do....

Even though you mightn't think it, it's still a good time for a first marathon. If you trawl through any of the logs of the faster folks on Boards, you'll see that many did much slower times than you for their first, and are running super fast times now. There will be many more marathons in your future if you want, and you'll have learned so much from this one that will stand to you big time.
I hope you can switch the mindset a bit. FWIW, congratulations on your first marathon:)

Huge congrats to all the GRADUATES on this thread and well done to HSR on the updates and table!

The Muppet · 30-10-2016 11:33PM

ligerdub wrote: »

He finished. Class man.

Brilliant what time. I passed him at the 14 mile marker and he looked in trouble then. What wave did he start in ?

Before tge off zi was talking to a soldier in running gear who was hauling a 20 kg back pack and was targeting sub 5 hour . I wonder how he got on?

I also heard flipflop man was out today . though I didn't see him myself .

Firedance · 30-10-2016 11:38PM

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Now that is determination. Fair play

And so is what you did today, you finished your marathon, even knowing you weren't going to reach your only goal. I can empathise completely with your disappointment Max, and you may or may not get over that - but it won't have been in vain if you take what you learned today and use it to smash the heck out of your next one. I'm genuinely sorry you had a bad day but you just ran your first marathon, and you FINISHED IT. Plenty of people drop out because they're not doing as well as they'd hoped but you hung in there, crossed the finish line and you can call yourself a marathon runner. Not a bad days work.

Try not to be too hard on yourself, take a well earned rest for a few days/weeks and bounce back wiser, better and stronger.

smashiner · 30-10-2016 11:45PM

conor_mc wrote: »

Was that you with the "Go Boards Novices" sign smashiner? I gave out a Go Novices shout as I passed by, same to Nop and Firedance at Clonskeagh. Also spotted denis_b out supporting at the corner turning into Clonskeagh Road (God how I hate that road!!)

Hi conor_mc ,
Yes, that was me before the KCR, you were flying at the time so you were a split second blur to me (u da Flash).....congrats on another DCM

Max.....as other have said, don't be too hard on yourself, I had a nightmare debut in 2014 (they needed a calendar to measure my time:eek:) and did it again in 2015 and it went so much better. Looking back I now see 2014 as my 'best' race ever as I had to really dig deep to finish my first DCM.

The 2016 DCM will put steel in your legs that will really stand to you whatever distance you decide to run at....you will probably feel a bit better about it in time, after all.... you are now a marathon runner.....not everyone can say that!

ligerdub · 30-10-2016 11:48PM

The Muppet wrote:

Brilliant what time. I passed him at the 14 mile marker and he looked in trouble then. What wave did he start in ?

He finished at just after 3.30pm. He was in wave 1.

nop98 · 30-10-2016 11:59PM

A quick word from your tired but oh-so-proud former-mentor!

Not as tired as you guys, come to think of it!

What an amazing day and what an amazing set of performances from all of you! I could not be more proud. You may have ran sub-8 minute miles all around, or set a slower pace - you may have beaten your target times or (unfortunately) missed it, you are now all marathon graduates and that is absolutely amazing. All of you who set-out this morning finished. Take a deep, deep bow, 2016 grads.

I have seen almost the entire field come by on Clonskeagh Road today. From the smooth running elites to the guy struggling with the Eifel Tower. :cool: But what struck me were the polar opposites performance, even in the faster groups. From strong and relaxed running to complete and utter carnage. Amidst all this, you all looked controlled and well prepared for the task at hand. The amount of totally exhausted, cramped, bloodied (:eek:), spaced-out and generally underprepared runners was something else. In contrast, most of you looked really strong, relaxed and determined. Most importantly, you finished and graduated (not everybody I saw at 21M did). It's testament to your commitment to your training.

I want to take some time to respond to your individual performances, which I will do over the coming couple of days. I would really encourage you to take a bit of time write a race-report, for a couple of reasons... They are the highlight of this thread, it will be nice to re-read your own words a few months from now, years even! And mostly, I venture a guess that some of the novices of 2017 are already lurking and the graduation reports are the best form of motivation to commit and lace-up.

Lastly, I would like to thank you for all your very kind and friendly words of thanks for me and my staff - and I am completely blown away by your very generous presents. I am running tomorrow in my new t-shirt, which I absolutely love; and my parkrunning 9yo wants to go to Amphibian King to get new runners! And I love the card which will take a pride place on my desk.

Thank you very, very much. It has been an absolute pleasure. :cool:

faithmc · 31-10-2016 12:02AM

Only barely checking in now. Will post my report soon but to say I am buzzing, ecstatic, super happy, emotional only barely touches the surace. Came in 3 mins behind my goal which doesn't bother me in the slightest. I finished...I did it...I AM A MARATHONER. BOOOOOOM.
Well done to one and all. I'll read everything properly when I get to the laptop.

aceygray · 31-10-2016 12:06AM

So when do entries open for next year?

hillsiderunner · 31-10-2016 12:10AM

Murph_D wrote: »

And thanks HSR for the wonderful split tracking. A lot of great data there in one place for anyone who likes to analyse this stuff.

I was tracking you too but I didn't add the splits for the backroom staff! Well done on the PB

.

lyonsk3 · 31-10-2016 12:20AM

What can I say. What a great day. The hair was literally standing on the back of my neck at different stages due to the phenomenonal support from the people in the street. It's something that will always stay with me. Thanks to all of you for the advice, stories and opportunity to share with you a wonderful experience. I haven't posted in this thread before, but lurked for the past few months.

What a great day.

Battery Kinzie · 31-10-2016 01:02AM

Fair fecks to anyone who finished out there today. I'd say it's so good to be able to say that you're all marathon runners.

Oh, and definitely do a race report. I've been looking forward to them for a while.

Murph_D · 31-10-2016 01:15AM

hillsiderunner wrote: »

I was tracking you too but I didn't add the splits for the backroom staff! Well done on the PB .

Thanks for not doing so. Ugly stuff!

Dublin Marathon 2016 - Mentored Novices Thread

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