duffer247 wrote: » Came in at 3:51 and very happy with time. I was one of the 2015 Novice group and completed it that year in 4:30 so a huge improvement time-wise. My goal was obviously to be anything sub 4 but as training had gone so well and my 1/2 time being at 1:39 I thought a time closer to 3:45 was doable. I decided a number of weeks ago to go out with the 3:40 pacers, but to not be clinging on for dear life - if it felt too fast I would slow down regardless of what mile number. The 3:40 pacers were about 30/40 meters ahead of me at start and I decided to keep them in sight without trying to catch them. I also decided not to check my mile times on watch, although sometimes I couldn't help myself. The first 7 miles flew by and couldn't believe when mile 11 sign came up, all signs were good. 1/2 way point on Crumlin rd felt tough though, it actually felt like my toes on left foot might spasm, but once we made the turn off Walkinstown r/bt I felt good again. After seeing lots of people I knew around Terenure, I started to feel my left leg tense up at Bushy park and made a conscious effort to slow down let the balloons go out of sight. I honestly thought I could "jog" my way from here, enjoy the crowds knowing I would be on for 3:4* By the mile 20 marker I felt like I was in trouble, although I was still doing sub 9 miles it felt very slow. I got through Roebuck without issue - the main challenge here was I was either passing people or being passed I was no longer in a group. In 2015, my sciatic nerve in the back of my left leg flared up at the exit ramp on the Stillorgan rd, apart from dramatically slowing up it made the last miles un-enjoyable. Unfortunately, same again this year. I had to stop at same spot and stretch which I did a further 2 times. I wasn't able to look at the supporters or enjoy the last few miles. I tried to adjust my gait to put less pressure on leg - God know what I looked like! I was just glad to get over that line. Looking back at my mile times it would appear that my pacing is quite erratic I'm usually very even, only 3 miles (mile 1, 3 & 14) over 8:24 pace in the first 18 miles. I never passed or fully caught up with balloons so this is a bit strange? Anyone else run with the 3:40s? Fab finish time and very proud to say I'm sub 4 marathon runner - at what cost though? And what next? I love distance running but I'm not sure where to go from here. FT 3:51:31 Avg Pace 8:46 10m 1:22:40 20m 2:46:14 Last 6.2m 1:04:36
smashiner wrote: » A big congrats to all of you that managed the Sub 4, great achievement, well done!! I didn't quite manage it this year myself, I felt strangely lethargic at the start of the race for some reason, I did the first 10K in 58 minutes, but it felt harder than it should have. I hit the HM point in 2:01, perfect pacing but again felt a bit 'meh', I pushed the pace a little as planned at mile 16 and caught back up with where I needed to be but knew that I was bluffing it a bit. I sensibly decided to back off a little after Mile 20 as I was starting to fade anyway. I ran the last 4-5 miles a bit slower but solid enough and finished a 4:07:52, a 10 minute PB on 2015, so I was happy with that. I probably could have done a 4:04/4:05 on the day if I didn't push between miles 16-20, but a part of me want to 'have a go at it' anyway, so no regrets anyway. Thanks again to RayCun and Murph_D and other mentors for the really useful tips on this thread.....I will probably be back next year to have another go...:cool:
eyrie wrote: » Hi all, congratulations to everyone here who ran DCM. Sorry to hear some had a tough day but there will be other days! I wrote a full report on my log but thought I'd post briefly here too since I got a lot of help on this thread. The day went really well for me and I finished in 3:55:26, better than I could have dreamed of really. The key takeaway for me was definitely starting really slowly, and staying pretty damn slow for the whole first half and up to Walkinstown. It worked well and I would definitely use the same approach if I do it again at any stage. I hit 10k in 59:22, my first half was 1:59:57, and the second was 1:55:29. It was an amazing day. Looking forward to doing some different stuff for the next few months though!
Pink11 wrote: » Thanks for sharing the sub 4 secrets guys. Delighted a fair few of ye nailed it. Seems the general consensus is to keep it nice and steady for first half. I had forgotten how bloody rough that first half is.
aquinn wrote: » Hey Smash, That was me roaring as you went up the hill to Sth Circular. Great to see you have another go. Sorry you missed the target but great going.
ariana` wrote: » After toying with a sub 4 attempt I went out for 4:05 but came in way off the mark @ 4:27, a disappointing 10 min pb. Since Sunday I've got some useful feedback on what went wrong both online and offline and will live to fight another day but in the meantime i want to congratulate everyone here who achieved the milestone time and thank everyone for the useful info on the thread throughout the weeks and in the past few days also from those who detailed their experience on Sunday. Well done sub 4 marathon runners
Van.Bosch wrote: » I’ve been in this boat a few times - what do you think the issue was?
boardtc wrote: » Yes :mad: I think my body thought the 26mile arch was the end as I more or less seized up and shuffled the last 300m.I was straight on a drip for an hour and wrapped in ice as my temperature went up to 39.2 with hypothermia. Out of the tent at 3pm and it was time to go for pints! McGrattans & O'Donoghues's were bedlam! Thanks for all the advice here! So close. Still not so shabby!
ariana` wrote: » A combination of things but ultimately I don't think I was fresh on race day and that combined with self induced pressure to perform and I cracked. I raced a lot in May and June - i pb'd at 5km, 10k, HM and Parkrun during those two months and ran close to PB a few times also. The first week in July I did a further 2 races: i got a big course pb and 1km record in a 5km and did a tough 10 miler 3 days later both in very hot weather. I went on holidays for a week (ran a few times on hols) came back and launched straight into a 14 week marathon block which included another big HM PB. It's been said to me in the past few days that a 3-4 week break (only very easy running) in July followed by a shorter marathon cycle may have had me fresher on race day. However had this been said to me last July I doubt very much I'd have had the confidence to do it so it makes little difference now but it's food for thought for the future for sure. I guess it's where having a good coach is a real benefit. Maybe this will help someone else in the future to structure their year a bit better.
ewc78 wrote: » What are your pr's for those other distances?
ariana` wrote: » I raced a lot in May and June - i pb'd at 5km, 10k, HM and Parkrun during those two months and ran close to PB a few times also. The first week in July I did a further 2 races: i got a big course pb and 1km record in a 5km and did a tough 10 miler 3 days later both in very hot weather. I went on holidays for a week (ran a few times on hols) came back and launched straight into a 14 week marathon block which included another big HM PB.
ariana` wrote: » 5k - 23:33 Park run - 23:42 10k - 49:4x HM - 1:52 Lots to work on before I try another marathon.
Swashbuckler wrote: » Sorry I hope you don't feel like I'm following you around Boards E but I think you should read that last paragraph back to yourself. I know you're disappointed with the DCM result but Jesus re-read that paragraph again..... Thats a year any of us would be proud of. I didn't realise (or had forgotten) you did so well in the lead up to the marathon block.
ewc78 wrote: » Going to start working on my 5km time in a few weeks (22:04 presently from about 3 years ago) and go from there. The general consensus on here seems to be a half time of 1:45 is needed for a sub 4hr Just wondered your times as I was also wondering is there a certain 5km or 10km needed for say a 1:45 half or sub 4hr Marathon. In two years the only races I've done are DCM 16 DCM 18 and the Dublin half this year, so the plan is to actually get an idea of where I am on other distances before training for DCM 19 starts. I've never done a 10km race for example so have no idea of my 10km time. As you say plenty to work on.
