Welcome all to the 2022 edition of the DCM Graduates thread. (Open to one and all, whether you ran DCM or not)
Due to a certain global event it’s been three years since the wonderful stewardship of @Singer saw the 2019 newly minted marathoners capitalise on their hard fought fitness and go on to build on it with excellent advice and superbly designed training plans.
The ‘DCM Graduates thread’ was first a thing in 2011 when @Younganne, unwilling to let the flame of buzz, excitement and camaraderie that had developed in her mentored novices thread go out, kept that flame going and created a prototype whattsapp group, a thread to keep in touch with all of her newfound friends, to bounce off each other and keep up with each other’s training and exploits.
It became a tradition.
In 2016 a superb contributor to this forum, a renowned running coach Myles Splitz (posting currently under the handle @E.coli ) created a set of incredibly well thought out training plans, specifically tailored to marathon graduates. It took things to the next level. I will link to them, and talk more of them below.
I’m incredibly humbled and honoured to be selected to steward this year’s Grads thread and help you all through the next phase of your running journey, to maybe help you capitalise on all of that blood sweat and sacrifice that rewarded you with one of the best days of your lives.
I mentioned just last week on your novices thread about the value of the hive mind of the boards athletics forum. With that in mind I will be joined in here by many more folks willing to and capable of giving quality guidance, more than able to answer questions that I may not be able to, about the plans, and about training in general.
A brief little bit about me.
I began doing this crazy thing we all love in January 2016. Jan 1st to be precise. The only new year’s resolution I’ve ever ever stuck to 😁. C25K and on my way. Signed up to parkrun that March and ran one around Paddy’s day in 28:30ish, needing to stop for a few seconds during it.
I began running with a neighbour early mornings twice a week (with parkrun at the weekend) and around June or so he asked me to do DCM with him. I can still remember how loud I laughed.
There was no way in my mind I was capable of running a marathon. The longest I had ran at that point was about 7km. I went to spectate at it though.
I stood at Walkinstown roundabout and watched as people of all shapes, sizes and ages ran past with smiles on their faces, at that point on the course a distance three times longer than I had ever ran. It was truly inspirational for me. I signed up for 2017 the following week. A few weeks later I searched out the boards athletics & running forum. In hindsight the single best running decision I’ve made.
Signing up to @Wubble Wubble’s 2017 mentored novice thread and absorbing the truly incredible advice over those months ensured DCM 2017 will always be one of the best days of my life.
The boards hive mind, that concentrated depth of knowledge combined with a spirit of altruism and a genuine willingness to see people progress has benefited me no end over the years since, and it will you too. For absolute sure. The thread title is the name of my favourite album, by War On Drugs, and given the goal is for you guys to all stick around, to benefit from and add to that depth of knowledge it felt pretty fitting.
The Boards Graduate Plans – Myles Splitz
Whether you’re looking to continue on with the marathon as your focus, or switch it up to chase a pb over a shorter distance, the Grads plans have exactly what you need to get you there. There are 4x 14 week training plans covering all distances from 5k up to the 26.2, with an all important six week base phase in there too.
That base phase is what we’re going to focus on though, and is what I will be recommending people just off the back of a marathon block should initially follow. Although there is absolutely no rush to begin, in fact it’s totally acceptable and no real harm to totally scale things back until you feel fully recovered.
You may wonder to yourself why you would need to begin base training after spending the whole summer building fitness. We tend to think of base training as something you’re required to do before a specific block of training, after some prolonged downtime or low volume. That’s true, it is.
In our case though, after we’ve been through tough months of intense training it’s a gentle way to maintain that fitness, and to build on it, safely. We can still shoot for the moon at parkrun occasionally, at Jingle Bells or at wherever we want to chase those endorphins (within reason obv).
The prudent thing though to do is to gently build, get ourselves to New Years with a strong solid base of fitness, pick a target and train hard for it. Rather than jumping straight into another intense specific block.
The plans may contain some terminology that’s new to you, fire the questions in here, let’s get the thread buzzing.
You’re of course totally welcome to follow your own rules, your own goals and plans, the main thing is that we get discussion going, and help each other along our way.
The very first thing you need to do is to ascertain your training paces. The most important of which is your easy pace. Easy Easy Easy, it’s all about the Easy. It’s been drummed into you for months but be warned, I’m gonna keep banging that drum 😀. Easy miles are the absolute backbone of your fitness. Heed what the Tinman calculator tells you is your easy pace.
Link to the pace calculator – https://runfastcoach.com/calc2/index.php
Link to the Boards Grads Plans – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LOkLQ_a9NHWe97yaRkfF6ArFmCHmtf9y1tU0LR7uMr8/edit#gid=144772219
So, it would be really wonderful if you guys continued your running journey with us, got involved here and shared your goals and your training with your fellow boardsies. As I’ve mentioned, doing so will strengthen you immensely as a runner, both physically and mentally.
A couple of questions for you to get things going.
Now that you’ve completed the marathon, what’s next, what are your immediate goals?
What is the pinnacle of what you aspire to achieve with running? Dream big with this one, and have huge confidence in yourself.
Out of all the things you had control over, what would you have done differently in the lead up to your marathon?
I’m incredibly excited to get this underway, and am excited too to watch and be part of your progress.
The tradition now is to sign off with an inspirational quote. The theme of this one is confidence.
The most valuable attribute you can have, and can learn, in running and in all aspects of your life is confidence. Belief. Quiet inner confidence and belief. When the pain comes on hard, one mile into a 5k pb effort, as it should, belief and inner confidence is what deals with it and powers you through.
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” –Vincent Van Gogh
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