Bananaleaf's journey to DCM2019

Plan|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
Boards|rest,cross or 3m rec|4m with 5 x 100m strides|8m easy|4m easy |rest,cross or 3m rec|18m LSR|3m rec


This week didn't really go according to the above plan. I wasn't sure I would be able to race the DCM half and on Tuesday night I decided it wasn't going to happen, therefore switching to the 'not racing the half' plan for the week

Monday & Tuesday - Rest days. I didn't go to work and stayed in bed for both days.

Wednesday - 4 miles recovery @13:40min/m. (Av. HR 160bpm) I intended this to be 6m as I knew 8 was too much, but 2miles in I also knew that 6 was too much so I just did the 4.

Thursday - 4 miles easy @12:54min/m and my lovely yoga teacher allowed me to reschedule the class I missed on Monday.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 18 miles LSR including the half marathon in PP. @12:48min/m

Sunday - 2 miles recovery @13:09min/m (Av. HR 149bpm). I read the plan wrong and thought I was only supposed to do 2miles, when it should have been 3. Annoying.

The difference in HR readings from my Wed and Sun runs lead me to believe I am well and truly on the mend.

That's 2 LSRs in a row that have been a bit taxing. To be honest, a couple of hours ago I was feeling really sh!t about everything, particularly because even LSR pace was a struggle on Sat. But this evening's run was just what I needed - it was truly easy and it was short. I wasn't coughing throughout, the effort was low and I liked being out, even if it lashed the whole time.

Next week I do my final 20mile run and then it's taper time. I feel like a young soldier getting ready for imminent battle :pac:

Total miles: 28. 5 weeks to go.

Plan|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
Boards|rest, cross or 3m rec|5m easy|1m w/u, 5m pace, 1m c/d|3m rec|rest, cross or 3m rec|18m LSR|3m rec


This week saw us move into marathon month and hit the taper all at once :eek:

Monday - Yoga. I left my watch in the yoga room, but this would not become clear until Wednesday when the yoga instructor found it and I had almost bought a new one!

Tuesday - 5miles easy @11:50min/m. This was a little over easy and that was because I was using Strava to record (no watch) and found it difficult to use at first.

Wednesday - 7miles - 1 warm up and cool down and 5 at PMP. The splits were:
warm up: 12:22
mile 1: 10:49
mile 2: 10:54
mile 3: 10:52
mile 4: 10:52
mile 5: 10:52
cool down: 12:02

I was delighted with this session as the legs were feeling wrecked and I really didn't think I had PMP in me. I've banked this run and how it felt in my brain for D-day.

Thursday - 3miles recovery@ 13:07min/m Reunited with the watch. Wrapped up well for the storm, but it ended up being quite mild and almost warm.

Friday - REST

Saturday - 3miles recovery@12:53 min/m

Sunday - 20miles LSR - Longwood 3/4 marathon @12:08min/m

**Run report**
I'll keep this short enough as, to be honest, I don't remember a huge amount about specific parts of the course.
I ran it with the wonderful DBB - was brilliant to meet her in person!
It was harder than I thought to keep slow pace in check, especially after the 20min wait for the race to get going. It was good to experience that as I know the wait on race day will be longer again.
When we did get going and the first mile registered at 11:50 we had a chuckle about the idea of Mr Guappa's antenna going off telling him "someone's running faster than slow pace" before slowing down :pac:
I also learned that in the hype of it all one can forget to fuel. I was 10mins late taking a gel more than once. Not the end of the world when it's 10mins, but something I'd want to keep an eye on.
I experienced some discomfort with some of my race day clothing - was great to figure this out now rather than later.
We started off slow but steady. So many people passed us by and at one point I'm pretty certain we were fairly near the back of the pack. But we went from strength to strength and just kept reeling people in the whole time - it was a serious confidence booster
At the end of the race, myself and DBB gave each other a hug and a pat on the back. We did it. The hard work is done. Now, we taper.

Total miles: 38. 3 weeks to go.

skyblue46 wrote: »

Congrats on sending your pic into the Irish Runner mag... Famous you are!!

Fixed your post :pac: Let's face it, it's the only way I'm getting my face in there!

Thank you so so much to everyone for the really kind and thoughtful words and for the encouragement to keep going no matter what.

As I think back over the various weeks of training, all I can really say is 'what a ride'.

There have been runs I loved doing, runs I hated doing. Runs I didn't want to do and runs that I couldn't do. At times the pace felt hard and the task seemed impossible. Other times, wild notions of the Donadea 50km entered my mind.

Each week had its own little highlight:

week 1 - My club 5km saw me get as close to my 2016 5km PB as I ever have.
week 2 - The heat made me feel like I was altitude training :pac:
week 3 - I sampled some of the course and remarked "I found Roebuck Road very easy" heh ... lets see about that tomorrow!
week 4 - I ditched the HR running and began running by pace
week 5 - Tried my recovery run on grass. Tough!
week 6 - 16mile LSR over the Cliffs of Moher :eek:
week 7 - A stepback week that consisted of 32miles!!!!
week 8 - A PB at my club 10mile race (1:37:52)
week 9 - Half way :cool:
week 10 - The first time I went into 30km territory
week 11 - The week that Donadea 50km seemed like a great idea
week 12 - The week I got sick
week 13 - DCHM week
week 14 - Bad weather and general lull in motivation
week 15 - Longwood 3/4 marathon with DBB
week 16 - Bought my throwaway clothes :eek:
week 17 - I hit the 1,000miles mark

Tomorrow I will do something I always said I'd never do. Tomorrow I will run a marathon. And, do you know what? I'm going to go out of my way to love every single minute of it.

I'd love to come home in under 5hrs, but more than that I want to love it. I will get to run other marathons, I'm lucky like that, but I'll NEVER run my first again. I want to remember it for the right reasons.

Eek! Here it goes...

*Sorry for the essay*

I finished my first marathon yesterday in a time of 5:16:10. The time wasn't what I had hoped for and wasn't what I had trained for, but that doesn't bother me. I do, however, sit here this morning with mixed feelings

• I feel like I have achieved something, although this has yet to sink in I think.
• I feel grateful that I was able to be part of the day.
• I feel very proud of the grit and determination I showed yesterday because from mile 14 it was NOT easy for me.
• But I'm going to be very honest and say that I also feel resentful of how yesterday went for me, because I really don't feel that I deserved to have the day I had.

Here is my race report for DCM 2019. My heart and soul poured out on a page. Apologies in advance for its length.

The final week of the taper was so difficult for me mentally. I was panicking a lot and not sleeping well. I was feeling pain in all different parts of my legs.
Pain where there shouldn't have been pain. There was never pain before.
Why is it here now? Is it in my head? It must be in my head. However, the final 2 days before DCM a calm descended on me. I was ready. The night before, I got a great sleep.

The morning of the race I was feeling okay. Had breakfast, although it was tough to get it into me. Porridge and coffee, then a banana and a half before starting the race. A lot of hanging around at the beginning but I'd loads of layers on so I was warm enough. A couple of selfies with Fraggle and met up with DBB and Kemcloughlin. We were ready to #runthistown. :D

The rough plan was to get to half way in 2.5hrs and avail of the natural negative split that is the Dublin course :rolleyes:

miles 1 - 7 (11:31, 11:28, 11:52, 11:37, 11:55, 11:40, 11:40)
I felt so excited as we passed under the start line. I was concentrating really hard on keeping the pace 11:30min/m or more here because I had remembered the advice given to me so many times: "Don't start off too fast". I wasn't going to do that - I wasn't going to be the casualty at mile 20 who tore off at the start and was like the walking dead later on. Kept checking the pace. All good. Kept checking in with how I was feeling. All good. I was also concentrating hard on remembering to fuel every 3miles - I had learned from Longwood a few weeks ago how the excitement can result in you forgetting to take a gel at the right time. All gels taken at exactly the right time. Coming off the North Circular road and into the park was lovely. I had some supporters planning to be at mile 5 so looking out for them took my mind of the Chesterfield Ave drag. Spotted them and gave them a huge wave Felt the smallest amount of discomfort in my glutes here. The smallest amount. More supporters were lining the Castleknock gate and they got some great photos of me. Castleknock was incredible. I felt like a superstar!

miles 8 - 12 (11:02, 11:00, 10:57, 11:37, 11:16)
Miles 8 and 9 through the park flew by. My watch was beeping for 9miles before the 9 mile marker was in sight :eek: But again, I had remembered not to worry - we were going to be running more than the 26.2 today and the mile markers aren't positioned exactly accurate to the mile. Decided to gently up the pace as we were past the 7mile mark. Felt good. In all the reading I did about the course, and after all the warnings I received about Roebuck Hill - St Laurence Road never once got an honourable mention. A hill which - in my view - is far far worse than Roebuck. Maybe because it is so early in the race? It doesn't help that it is followed by Sarsfield Rd which felt like a bit of a drag to me. Mental note to self: Maybe the flat canal wasn't the best place to be doing most of my LSRs.
Heading down the Inchicore Rd I was approaching unknown terriroty. In my head, miles 12 to 20 were going to be somewhat of a no-man's land until I reached Clonskeagh, so I planned to just zone in, focus and get there. Somewhere on that South Circular Rd I felt a sensation around my knee that I had never felt, in all my training. Not a pain. Discomfort. I checked my watch.
Pace was fine. I was feeling fine. It can't be that. I'll ease up a little bit anyway, just in case. I was later to learn that this was most likely posture related. More on this in a while.

miles 13 - 20 (11:43, 12:29, 12:12, 12:05, 12:22, 12:36, 13:05, 12:46)
This block was excruciating. The discomfort in my knee area had simultaneously traveled down to my calf and up to my quad and hip flexor. What the HELL is going on? I'm getting really annoyed now and even a bit upset. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It isn't fair. I trained so hard for Dublin 2019. I really did. I gave it my life for 5months. I didn't just follow the training plan religiously but I cut out alcohol and improved my nutrition, I upped my hydration and slept more. I took up Yoga. I stretched and foam rolled. I got regular sports massages every 6-8 weeks. I gave it 5months of my life and more and it betrays me in the most spectacular fashion. And at MILE 12! I know they say to expect the unexpected, but I never expected this. I was so confident that I wouldn't blow up - I was almost smug about it. It wasn't pace related. I kept saying this to myself over and over. Sort of like assuring myself that this wasn't my fault. I was so mad, but there was no time to be mad. This marathon was giving me shít and it needed to be put back in its box! But how? I passed through half way in 2:31 but I knew already that a negative split was not on the cards for me. Plan A was to be sub 5 - I knew that was off the table. Plan B was to enjoy the day - I knew this was most likely not going to happen either. So, it became simply about survival. I wasn't experienced enough to know if I should have stopped for a stretch or not at this point. It was so early on in my race that I knew if I stopped and it got worse, I was done for. A DNF? I've never DNF'd. I'm not starting today. What now? A and B goals are gone. I didn't have a C goal in mind. What can I hope for at this stage? To not stop running and finish. Strong if I can. So that was what I did. I didn't stop. I pulled back the pace. It genuinely took spades of grit and dogged determination. I knew I was strong-willed, but I even amazed myself yesterday. I saw ReeReeG and Huzzah! at Milltown and ladies - if I thought you'd let me, I would have collapsed at yer feet, cried my eyes out and quit. And ... I'm crying now as I type this. The first emotional release since crossing the finish line yesterday

miles 21 - 23 (12:43, 13:17, 13:25)
One day during the training block, all those weeks ago, I headed out to Roebuck Hill. I ran it and remember thinking that it was "easy". I thought it might be slightly different though, after 20miles. It wasn't. It was still relatively easy. Foster Ave - the part of the course I had visualised since back at mile 1 - the lovely downhill I had been looking forward to - was agony on my leg. This was bizzare! I had reached Foster Ave and I was asking for more hills :eek: I was holding a banana and a bottle of water at this stage and I had the life squeezed out of both as I battled through the pain. Every so often I could feel the leg wanting to give way. If I changed my running pattern at all I would surely hit the ground. I recall telling myself - as I came up the UCD flyover - "You're probably in big trouble when you stop after the finish line". I was going to be well over the 5hr mark. I wasn't disappointed with myself. There was nothing more I could have asked of my body that day. It didn't let me down. The problem was that in all my preparation to keep the pace right and the nutrition appropriate, I never once checked my posture. My inexperience got the better of me.

miles 24 & 25 (12:12, 12:15)
As I passed St Vincent's Hospital I thought that if I walked in there and got them to chop my leg off, It'd have been less painful. It was awful. Resentment rose in me again. I didn't deserve this. It wasn't fair. I was now running in a sea of walkers. I felt a bit pathetic. I was trying my hardest, struggling so much, yet I was just about keeping pace with walkers. I quickened as much as I could. I met a friend at Merrion Square who was thrilled to catch me (I think she thought she had missed me as I was quite behind my schedule) I poured my heart out to her as I ran up Embassy Road and she ran alongside me on the path. She remarked that she couldn't keep up with me and here I was heading into mile 26, running and talking! She told me to go for it and I did. Feck the pain. One mile left. Lets go. Get your strong finish at least.

mile 26.2 (11:34 for mile 26)
I passed so many people out on that last mile. I went for it. I had actually made it home, having spent over half the time in agony. So many would have had similar setbacks. Not all would finish. I am finishing. Of that I can be proud. The blue carpet took forever to appear, but when it did I bolted for the finish. I must have looked amazing coming in. Bittersweet. I didn't feel amazing. I felt robbed. I can't keep saying it wasn't my fault. Ultimately, it was. I was being sensible and I was focused and paying attention, but I took my eye off the ball with the posture and I paid for it. When I crossed the finish line and I stopped, I was able to keep myself upright. Success. It was a very slow and painful walk to meet my other half at Nassau St and by the time I got there, I just didn't have the strength to head back to McGrattans. There was also the matter of a very lonely doggy to head back home to

One thing though, when I think back to how awfully wrong it went for me, a 5:16 finish is not too shabby at all. It's less than 20mins shy of my sub 5hr target. And, as we agreed in the weeks before DCM, what's 20mins in the scheme of things when you're talking about a marathon? I have no doubt that had it not been for the sensible advice I was plied with from Mr Guappa, ReeReeG and Huzzah! I wouldn't have kicked into survival mode as quick. Take a bow, mentors. You are amazing!

Like I said previously, later that evening, in the pub, (I went to the pub for a pint :eek: ) doing the post mortem with my club mates, one of the coaches remarked that it sounded like a posture issue. He believes that it sounds like I could have been leaning forward, thus stacking and putting too much weight on the legs and that it took its toll by mile 12. I would be inclined to agree with this. On my training runs, I would check in with my posture every so often, and when I did, it always needed correcting. The fact that I never checked once during DCM says it all really.

I'm currently sitting in bed, drinking coffee and looking at my finishers top hanging up on the wardrobe handle. I did #runthistown and I am a proud finisher, but Dublin and I now have unfinished business :cool:

As someone once said: "I'll be back"