DCM 2016 Graduates: Keep On Running

I was going to talk to you about S.M.A.R.T. goals (or whatever the latest acronym is :rolleyes:) but I realised you all know about setting goals and achieving them. Every one of you graduates has done that by training for, and completing, a marathon.

In the short-terms some of you have time-based goals and are chasing PBs, others want to reach particular mileage goals and a few have more general goals of simply getting back into some sort of running routine. Some of you have mentioned focusing on strength & conditioning (which I wholeheartedly approve of!), losing weight and/or improving nutrition and one or two have mentioned ‘the dark side’ (careful now :P). Some of you plan to join a club. A few want to start a training log. All good.

It is important to have a goal to get you out the door and give a purpose to your running. If you don’t have something to aim for it’s too easy to become complacent, lazy even, and that can become a slippery slope. It doesn’t mean that you pursue your goal relentlessly at all costs i.e. if you’re unwell, injured etc. but it might mean getting out of your comfort zone on occasion.

If I could suggest one thing, it’s that you aim for consistency. I don’t mean doing the same thing day in day out, but I do mean that you follow a structured plan. It often happens that people bite off a bit more than they can chew and are all gung ho for a week or two before the realisation dawns that they can’t keep it up and the good intentions go out the window. You’re better off starting conservatively and gradually working your way up to whatever it is you want to achieve. Sound familiar :pac::pac::pac::pac: ?

I’ll leave it to the Good Witch of the North for some sage advice:

Bungy Girl wrote: »

I was going to talk to you about S.M.A.R.T. goals (or whatever the latest acronym is :rolleyes:) but I realised you all know about setting goals and achieving them. Every one of you graduates has done that by training for, and completing, a marathon.

In the short-terms some of you have time-based goals and are chasing PBs, others want to reach particular mileage goals and a few have more general goals of simply getting back into some sort of running routine. Some of you have mentioned focusing on strength & conditioning (which I wholeheartedly approve of!), losing weight and/or improving nutrition and one or two have mentioned ‘the dark side’ (careful now :P). Some of you plan to join a club. A few want to start a training log. All good.

It is important to have a goal to get you out the door and give a purpose to your running. If you don’t have something to aim for it’s too easy to become complacent, lazy even, and that can become a slippery slope. It doesn’t mean that you pursue your goal relentlessly at all costs i.e. if you’re unwell, injured etc. but it might mean getting out of your comfort zone on occasion.

If I could suggest one thing, it’s that you aim for consistency. I don’t mean doing the same thing day in day out, but I do mean that you follow a structured plan. It often happens that people bite off a bit more than they can chew and are all gung ho for a week or two before the realisation dawns that they can’t keep it up and the good intentions go out the window. You’re better off starting conservatively and gradually working your way up to whatever it is you want to achieve. Sound familiar :pac::pac::pac::pac: ?

I’ll leave it to the Good Witch of the North for some sage advice:

Dare I ask....what is this dark side of which you speak??

Bungy Girl wrote: »

If I could suggest one thing, it’s that you aim for consistency. I don’t mean doing the same thing day in day out, but I do mean that you follow a structured plan. It often happens that people bite off a bit more than they can chew and are all gung ho for a week or two before the realisation dawns that they can’t keep it up and the good intentions go out the window. You’re better off starting conservatively and gradually working your way up to whatever it is you want to achieve. Sound familiar :pac::pac::pac::pac: ?

This really strikes a chord, as this is exactly what happened to me after the Berlin marathon. Since then, my weekly mileage has looked like this:

5
3
15
26
30
27
8
17

I think if I'd taken a few weeks off entirely, I'd be in a much better position now.

tailgunner wrote: »

This really strikes a chord, as this is exactly what happened to me after the Berlin marathon. Since then, my weekly mileage has looked like this:

5
3
15
26
30
27
8
17

I think if I'd taken a few weeks off entirely, I'd be in a much better position now.

Great to see this thread set up. I haven't ran since the marathon. My feet still aren't right. Back to the physio on Thursday so hopefully some treatment will help. I'll answer the questions over the next few days. I'm going to have to start doing some kind of non running exercise to try and keep up the fitness.

kittyclaws wrote: »

I'll look for a good 10k improver plan and try get my time down, any recommendations very gratefully received

Graduate plans courtesy of Myles Splitz will be available in a couple of weeks, after Jingle Bells / alternative 5K.

I'm declaring an amnesty ! All the (running-related ) terms you always wanted to know about but were afraid to ask. Well now's your chance, ask now or forever hold your peace (not really, but it would be very handy if we could get this all answered in one place!). So you have 24 hours, then I'll post a reply.
I'll get the ball rolling.....(please quote the most recent reply to this post, delete the quote marks and add in your own question so we have one post with all the questions, thanks)

1. What are strides and why should I do them ?

aquinn wrote: »

Tights alone, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Shorts over tights, ok.

Laughed when I read this! Agree completely. There was a lad in the HM this year wearing brown tights with no shorts :eek: I made it my business to get past ASAP. Come to think of it, maybe that's why I left Murph_D behind!!!

OK Bunnygirl - another on my plan was Drills ?
So what is a drill in running terms ? for example it had 7 drills + 3 strides - 25 seconds each
No idea what that means

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Don't know what the marathon is after doing to me. I did 5 miles at a fairly handy pace yesterday and was in a heap by the end of it. It's like I've gone back in time 12 months. :rolleyes:

Any chance you were going too fast ? (You can be honest, this is a safe environment ) . How was your perceived effort during the run ? What was the pace like compared to your pre-marathon easy runs ?

Great questions, keep 'em coming.