Dublin Marathon 2016 - Mentored Novices Thread

Brilliant reading guys. Some seriously tough going out there as I was feeling pretty rough after 4 miles of misery, yet some of you guys endured a hell of a lot more than that.

Max massive kudos for getting through that hell, massive mental toughness and huge respect.

Kitty very similar. I can't begin to imagine what it felt like be struggling from 1/2 way. That kind of toughness is hard to come by and you should be very proud.

As for me I'm fine today, was really fine again after my post race lie down. My legs are good and I just plodded 1.5 recovery miles with the OH on the beach followed by a good recovery session in the sea, which felt great for the legs.

Well done all. The achievement of doing the marathon training and the race itself is brilliant.


Dont give up running now, pick a small race for Xmas, like a 5k. Jingle bells is a brilliant one

Well that was epic! It was the closest thing to being a rock star that I ever had. People of Dublin - amazing support!

Went out with the 4.10 pacers who were phenomenal- even pace, so supportive and made it feel doable. Had a great chat with one of them about the Comrades marathon and was at the rds before I knew it! He told me to hit for home there and I came in at 4.08.43 - 13 seconds under my time.

Couldn't have done it with you guys and thanks so much to Nop. Forever grateful to you xxxx

I have to say, it was hard to stop yourself going out too fast yesterday, but that graph of the wall and going out too fast was etched on my mind!. Got passed by a lot of people in the park which unsettled me but I chose to trust the plan. Pass a lot of them at 21 miles in shreds. If there is on thing to learn about this, it's don't do that.

Went to bed at 11 on Saturday and had a reasonably good night sleep. Woke up before the alarm thinking about the day ahead. Got up, dressed and had breakfast. All good so far. Popped in the contacts and one folded up into the back of my eye. Spent the next 15 minutes trying to get it out. Booked a taxi for 7:15 and by 7:25 there was still no sign of it. Rang them and was told there was a mix up and one should be there straight away.

Arrived at fitzwilliam square for 8, dropped off my bag and hung around taking it all in. Spotted the 4HR pacers and tucked in behind the third one (think his name was Gerry) and off we went.

It was really tight and got penned in for the first mile but pace was on the money so there was nothing to worry about. Up towards Christ Church and my bladder complained so I had to make an emergency pit stop up a line. By the time I finished the 4HR balloons were in the distance. Plenty of time to catch them.

Enjoyed the run on Chesterfield Road and managed to reel in the pacers. Then I felt a small discomfort on the outside of my right knee. Really and this early!!! Outside the park I got my first taste of the amazing atmosphere from the supporters. It was spine tingling stuff and I could not help but smile.

Things were going really well and we reached Dophlins Barn. We went through the half way marker and was under 2 hours. Excellent, right on time. I had my family waiting for me on Crumlin Road so I was looking forward to seeing them. I spotted my wife and stared waving like a lunatic and gave a big shout out to my son.

Up towards walkinstown and the pain on my knee kicked in again. This was going to be a problem!!! Made it to the KCR and had to stop and sit down at a bus stop to stretch out my knee. There was a lovely woman sitting there and we spoke for a couple of minutes. Thank you for the kind words.

Off again and I was feeling very good. Legs felt strong but I knew my Plan A&B were gone as I knew it's was going to be a battle for the next 10 miles between my head and knee.

From here it's a bit of a blur as the pain at certain stages was really bad. Arrived at milltown and it was a run for a half mile and then walk. There was no way I was dropping out. It had taken me 3 years to get here so I gritted my teeth and soldiered on.

Arrived at heartbreak hill and stumbled up it. My body at this stage was screaming for me to stop. At this point both my hips were really painful (this is new). Up towards the UCD flyover and I knew I was close. Sat down and gave my hips and knee a good 5 minute stretch. OK, let's finish strong!!! Once I found a comfortable running pace I started to notice the amazing supporters again. It was at this stage I got emotional and fought to hold back the tears.

I looked up and saw the finish line and gave it all I had and crossed the line. Yes yes yes, I did it.

Got my medal and goodie bag and thought about mcgrattans but I was in a world of pain with my knee and hips.

Made my way home in a taxi and was so grateful to see my family. The kids saw the medal and asked me if I won.

My brother who is in the army and who is a fitness nut came in. He was tracking me and asked what happened from 30km. He said to learn from it and on the bright side I have a marathon PB. He was looking at my running shoes and asked if I over pronate. I said no and he pointed out that my running shoes were to assist in over pronation!!! I could not believe what I was hearing. He reckons this was the cause of my knee troubles. Maybe someone can confirm if this might be the case.

Did the marathon break me? Hell no, if anything it's made me appreciate the 26.2 miles. It's a beast and an ugly one at that but to quote the Terminator "I'll be back". I have a 4:38 PB to beat.

Well done everyone. We made it and have finished our first marathon. Thanks again Nop, Firedance and the background team for everything. Sorry I could meet up and thank you in person. It's been one hell of a journey with highs and lows. Looking forward to the graduate forum to see how you all get on.

Paul

Winning.

(It's not put in the frame properly yet )

Some fantastic race reports there folks, going to be hard to top them!!

I have another Novice Question if someone could provide some advice. I haven't really dealt with blisters as bad as these before. One under each big toe, pretty big ones and they are black. Should I pop them and use a sterile dressing on them afterwards and watch for signs of infection or just let them heal naturally. I don't plan on running this week, well, I was going to try a couple of runs before the end of the week to loosen up but I don't mind missing them because of this. I am back to work Wednesday which means work shoes and been on my feet and I am worried they will pop then so that's why I was thinking of a controlled drain.

Can't answer your question Tony but the one time I got a blister I used compeed platers and found the brilliant . I could still run wit the plaster on.

Loving the reports . Busy today with family stuff and on my phone will get mine up tomorrow .

tony1980 wrote: »

Some fantastic race reports there folks, going to be hard to top them!!

I have another Novice Question if someone could provide some advice. I haven't really dealt with blisters as bad as these before. One under each big toe, pretty big ones and they are black. Should I pop them and use a sterile dressing on them afterwards and watch for signs of infection or just let them heal naturally. I don't plan on running this week, well, I was going to try a couple of runs before the end of the week to loosen up but I don't mind missing them because of this. I am back to work Wednesday which means work shoes and been on my feet and I am worried they will pop then so that's why I was thinking of a controlled drain.

To my knowledge blood blisters like that should be left alone, with normal blisters I would do like you suggested though and get it over with!

Dublin City Marathon 2016

Having read all the fantastic reports I’m not sure I want to write mine!!
Here goes…..

My preparation over the past 18 weeks was spot on, I am delighted to say I did not miss one training session, although a few were painful with niggles, nothing bad enough to stop my training. The couple of weeks leading up to the marathon were the most painful, niggle wise, my back was aching and now with the marathon behind me I really think, what was a repetitive strain from doing a work job, was exasperated by stress of thinking would I have to stop training.

Anyway….the day….

Up at 5.15am as I wanted to get on the road at 6.30….fed the animals (dogs) and had normal breakfast, pint of warm water, cereal, orange juice and bagel with jam.
Felt ok, definitely tense but I drove to Dublin (I live on the Kildare/Wicklow border) with OH and two kids (17 and 20). We left at 6.45.
Absolutely no traffic so was on Stephen’s Green at about 7.30.
Said my goodbyes and set off for the starting area. I hadn’t gone 100m when I saw tony1980 and spent the next hour hanging out with him which was great (thanks Tony). Dropped the bag off and headed to start, I was in wave 2. The 4hr pacers were obvious at the back so hung around that area as my plan was to stick with them for as long as possible. Did a few stretches, nothing much and just waited.

We were off.

I work in kms (sorry) so my pace, to come in under 4 hours, would need to be 5.40 per K. I decided to stay about 40/50 mtrs back from the pacers and just keep an eye on the balloons.
I don’t know the areas very well in Dublin and to be honest I hadn’t a clue where I was for the most part!! One of my first thoughts was that the pace felt fast and I remember tailgunner saying that the first half should feel easy, so I was a little concerned for a short while. The pace started to feel comfortable and I didn’t feel under pressure at all. The first water station was a bit manic, I ran into the table and had to jump over the bottles at the back of it, it seemed very congested so early on. I remember heading into the Phoenix Park and seeing my daughter, sister and niece and feeling good.
The first 10 km times were 5.49, 5.27, 5.32, 5.36, 5.42, 5.32, 5.32, 5.37, 5.42, 5.35.

For the first half I don’t remember too many details about the run, I didn’t know the route. I generally felt good, the hills didn’t pose any problems, I took my first gel at 1 hour and had decided to take them every 40 mins after that. The crowds along the way were amazing, I had never experienced anything like this and it was awesome. The banners, the offers of sweets, biscuits, fruit. I passed my OH and son for the first time in Kilmainham (although he had been in the Phoenix Park but I didn’t see him), I felt fine and had no issues and all the time keeping the pacers approx. 50 mtrs ahead.
The next 10km 5.39, 5.45, 5.22, 5.28, 5.28, 5.51, 5.45, 5.38, 5.34, 5.33

At the halfway mark I thought oh no, I’m under 2 hours….I will never get a negative split!! Fool….I was only half way!!

The next 10k went by quickly and I felt good, again I had no idea of the route so didn’t know what to expect and I am actually glad I didn’t. The hills were grand, only one short one of note and I can’t even remember where that was.
I took on some water at all stations and I continued to take my gels but they were not sitting very well in my stomach. I had never felt sickly before taking the gels!! I also put half an electrolyte tablet into a bottle of water and drank it all slowly.
The next 10k … 5.32, 5.47, 5.47, 5.46, 5.40, 5.42, 5.41, 5.43, 5.33, 5.36

My OH was in Milltown, the 32k mark (20 miles) and I was bang on target for sub 4hours…but I was starting to wilt.
I was feeling a bit sick, my legs felt like they were not attached to me. I passed Nop, although he didn’t see me, I did say hello! The rest of my run was not pretty…I just kept going, very very slowly, I didn’t walk although I might have been quicker walking. Heartbreak hill I have to say was nothing as I was moving so slowly, the crowds were amazing all the way down Fosters Ave and for the first time I realised the balloons were gone! I remember thinking this is why we have a B target, all I hoped was the 4.10 pacers wouldn’t go by. I took another electrolyte tablet and half a gel as I felt I had to. I just kept going, and my leg and hip were screaming in pain now, my whole right leg felt really weird, I was terrified it was going to give and I would be carted off in an ambulance. I passed my OH and sisters with about 1 mile to go and they said afterwards I was green. I have never been so glad to see a finish line.
My watch read 42.2k and I hadn’t reached the 26m mark!! I saw the clock and it read 4hr 09 something, and I’m not sure where I got the strength but that B target was so important and I tore in… 4:09:48.
Times 5.39, 5.38, 5.43, 6.02, 6.36, 6.58, 6.16, 6.13, 6.29, 7.06, 7.08, 7.16 and last little bit 3.57

I felt drained, emotionless….I moved on, got my medal and when I went to get t-shirt the lady asked me was I ok, I said I was but I wasn’t sure, she asked again and I said I’m ok. I kept moving. Firedance’s leg drain came into my head and I found a spot by the railings and lay down and stuck my legs in the air…two young guys asked was I ok but I wasn’t the only one doing it!! I felt it was an ordeal to walk to my bag drop area and then my bag felt soooo heavy. I found a spot and was offered a sheet (clever idea) by a very nice girl to change my clothes. Did all that but started to feel really unwell, like I had a really bad hangover. I wanted to be sick. I sat for ages and eventually made my way to meet up with family.
I sat for another long while and drank water, eventually felt ok to head to McGrattans.
Delighted to meet all there and started to feel a bit more normal after a Lucozade.
I didn’t stay too long, met family and went for grub. My brother in law ran it as well.
The feeling of elation, achievement, etc…slowly hit me, it wasn’t immediate.
I am delighted I took on this journey, it was made so much easier with all of you on here. The advice I have received here has been phenomenal and I cannot thank you all enough. Especially Nop, Firedance and all the backroom team. Also the well wishers on here are incredible. Thank You. I ran a marathon.

Okay. I'm going to make an attempt at typing up a race report. I'm **** at formatting and at layout, and I'm not sure if there's a specific template I'm supposed to follow, but I'm going to type up everything now before I start forgetting things.

Finishing Time: 5:19:16

Race Report!!!

Pre-Race

The day started off well. I woke up to my dad bringing me breakfast in bed - porridge, which I could barely choke down due to nerves. I drove in with my parents and was in town around 8:00. The nerves were atrocious. I spent a lot of the morning messaging my best mate over in America about how nervous I was, I actually felt ill. Once we were out of the car and I was waiting outside the barriers I felt grand though, started to feel excited. I had one of those gel things at 9:00, then said goodbye to my parents and went on through the barriers.

Once through, some official was calling out "purple numbers this way!" I hadn't realised our race numbers were even colour coded and I asked him what I was. Then looked down and realised I was purple. He just rolled his eyes at that! The queue for the toilets was around the feckin block and I was nervous that I wouldn't have time to go before the start, but I obviously did. One thing that confused me was the amount of people waiting to go after me; I'm sure some of them must have missed the start line. I didn't even know where the start line was until I was at it. I was just walking forward and next thing I knew people were stopping and I realised I was there. The countdown commenced, the horn went, a cheer rose up and we were off...

0-10K

Off we went, around the corner and around another corner and I couldn't ****ing think, I didn't know what was going on. My heart was pounding in my chest and I kept whispering to myself "I'm running a ****ing marathon..." and I blindly followed the crowd. After what seemed like thirty seconds I checked my running watch and we'd already gone 3km. How was that possible! What! I didn't feel those first 3km go at all. It was insane. The crowds were roaring, the atmosphere was mighty and I had one major goal in mind - I was going to run this entire distance, without walking a single step. I kept telling myself to slow down as my watch told me I went from 8:30 per km down to 7:11 per km, but the adrenaline of the event made slowing down impossible. On we ran, on through town and before I knew it we were at the Phoenix Park. We were 7k in and the 4:30 pace setters were away in the distance, and soon after that the 5:00 pace setters caught up to me. We ran on and before I knew it we were at 10k. I'd been running for 1:12 at this point - a nice steady pace that I would hope to keep going.

10-21.1K

We ran on. The amount of people bunching up around the pace setters was ridiculous - there was a small cluster ahead, obviously people who really wanted a finishing time starting with 4. Then there was a massive bottleneck of literally over a hundred people running with the pace setters. Then there was a small cluster of people behind them. I was one of these stragglers, and I don't know what everyone else's motivation for being here was but for me it was coincidental; I was going at a nice steady pace that was comfortable for me, and it just so happened that this placed me slap bang into this massive crowd. Not complaining, it made for fantastic atmosphere. At this point into the race people had found their groove, meaning that the people I was now surrounded by would be the same people I would likely finish the race with. I knew that at km16 or so, in Chapolizod, I'd be seeing my aunt. I kept that in my head and was looking forward to that. I had told her to expect me between 11 and 11:30; luckily she had been tracking me through the SSE website because I was faster getting there than I had anticipated and was in Chapolizod by about 11:00. This gave me a boost and suddenly I was passing people who had been just that much in front of me for the past 5km or so, in some cases passing people who wouldn't manage to catch me again. The 5:00 balloons were right in front of me and as I came upon a hill I practically sprinted down to meet them, and rejoined the ****ing small village of people that had formed around them. I kept with them until km18 or so. At 19km in, some chap called Tommy came up to me and we got to chatting. He'd been running almost the exact amount of time I had and we had a great chat. The crowd had thinned dramatically by this stage and the people around me were more or less going at my pace, and it made conversations and running buddies possible. Tommy gave me two of his gel things, just because I was out and mentioned in passing that I was looking forward to the gel stand at mile 16. After roughly two km he saw his brother and we parted ways. I rounded the next corner then and someone said we wee halfway! Then I saw the big "HALFWAY" banner. I passed two ladies at this point, and I turned to them and said "now all we have to do is do it all over again!" They laughed and told me that we're on the way home now, and I passed the halfway point. Two and a half hours, fastest half marathon I've run in my life.

21.1-30K

I felt great passing the halfway point, and I had no issues for the next three or four kilometres. I was actually running faster at this point than I'd started out at, and the music stops along the way kept me going. By kilometre 24 or so I was starting to tire a small bit, I kept telling myself that once I reached kilometre 30 I'd be grand since I'd only have just over 10k to go to the end. At 27k in another aunt and uncle were there, and my uncle ran with me for a kilometre or so. It was great to have someone to chat to and that spurred me on another good bit.

30-40K

After thirty km I was tiring a good bit. I remembered telling myself that once I hit 30kms I'd be on the home stretch, but by 30kms it didn't feel like it. I kept telling myself I only had 10k to go, even though it was a bit over 12. Throughout these 10k, two different women tried to strike up a conversation, but they were short lived as just by chance they were both a bit slower than my pace and I was trying to get as close to the five hour mark as I could. A lot of people around me were walking by this stage, and it just made me more determined to not walk any of this marathon. At roughly 38km in my cousin's running club had a station, he ran two or so kilometres with me up to kilometre 40 or so, then turned back. This 10k stretch was just trudging on and not much happened here to write about. Apparently "Heartbreak Hill" was here, which funnily enough I found out about by someone at the top saying we'd beaten it. I didn't even notice. Everything was the same and I was just trudging forward. at 21k in there was a Lucozade message on the ground saying "you've beaten the wall" and that was a bit emotional to see. I wasn't too sure it was right but it was great to see anyway.

Last Two Kilometres

I came up to the RDS and my parents were there a mile from the finish, cheering. That was great. Some elderly chap on the sideline told me not to push too hard and take it easy, I must have looked in pain. I kept trudging along until the finish line came into view. Then I sprinted, and it was weird because I was the only one running, and I'd had this sprint finish planned for ages and I forced myself to do it. People on both sides were yelling "go on son" "look at this guy" and I stuck my arms up and yelled "COME ON!" and the crowd ****ing roared, that last half a mile was honestly the highlight of my year. Then I crossed the finish line and collected my medal and t-shirt, forgot my goodie bag, had to go back, got my goodie bag, left, got my free hot drink, and went home. Then went out for a meal. Then went out for pints. ****ing great day.

So that's it, that's my write up. The marathon went great, I never hit any sort of "wall", the training paid off. If I wasn't still in aches and pains I'd want to run another one, I'm looking forward to my next one already. I was happy to get under 5hrs20mins today, but next time I'll definitely be under the five hour mark.

It's amazing reading all these reports guys, massive congrats to you all. I honestly find the ones who had tougher races, and more problems to overcome, more admirable. Not that it was easy for any of us.

I'm trying to get my own thoughts together and will get my report up soon. It's all a bit of a blur, trying to remember what happened where. My most vivid memories are of the amazing spectators! Anyway, I will get it up as soon as I can.

There's videos up here: http://www.asics.com/ie/en-ie/marathon/videos?rdpage=results&e=DM16

I look so pale at the end! But at least I had the energy to put my arms up:D

And I do a lot of looking around when I'm running! Never realised before.