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DCM 2014: Mentored Novices Thread
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Yes that's me at 3.00 in the video.
Can I just say that the agony I described was that the clock seemed to be going further away every step of the long finishing straight and I was hanging for the line to make sub 3.30. And the legs were in bits but feel great today.
Thank God they left out the bit where i kept repeating my name like a mad fool.
Note to self - don't do finishing line interviews in future:D0 -
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Hi everyone - warning, this is long....struggling through a marathon is nothing compared to sticking this out. This is what happens when I have the day off work
I'm still not entirely sure how I feel after yesterday (obvious aches and pains aside!).
Dream goal time was 4h50 but anything between or up to 5h was Goal B that I would have been very happy with. Actual time - 5.11.01.
Got to the start area in plenty of time, did some stretching, got my last minute bits organised and dropped the bag in. Needed one last toilet pit stop but the lady in the baggage area on the mike was saying don't congregate here at these toilets, plenty of toilets in the start zones. So I headed up there where the queues were insane - we all listened to the lady but it definitely didn't work out! Oh well. Wasted so much time here that I didn't get to line up with my original pace group as intended. To be honest I wasn't too concerned. I had my band and I remembered advice from a few people here saying don't worry about sprinting to catch up if you fall behind for any reason. So I kept an eye on my band, watch and markers and enjoyed the relative space I had around me. The first 3 miles were bang on time.
I remembered the course preview from tunguska so let the pace drop a bit heading towards and through the park. Saw my dad near the entrance and a friend from football handing out water at the station. Wind was noticeable as was the fact I was sweating alot already. As others have said the crowds around castleknock were amazing. Enjoyed this part alot and the parts outside and back through the park. Couple of the miles here were a bit faster, due to the terrain, crowds etc.
Saw another of the girls from football leaving the park which was great and then headed towards chapelizod. More great support and I purposefully slowed a good bit on the hill here. The calf which had been at me during the week was making its presence felt by now. No pain, just a lingering ache/fatigue? Saw the OH in kilmainham and threw some deep heat onto the calf which helped and off I went. Through half way, time was in or around what I was hoping.
Then, crumlin road. Bam...wheels fell off, car broke down and engine fell out. The wind here...it was a killer. Along with the fact I was still finding it too warm. I had already intended to slow the pace here but it really dropped. Decided to walk for a minute or two for some relief. I saw the 5h pace group weren't far behind so I waited for them to come along and I nipped in behind to grab some shelter. That was fine for a few minutes until somewhere around walkinstown road (?) my heart rate felt like it jumped from nowhere, felt like it was banging around right under my t shirt. Then I felt really light headed and dizzy, legs like jelly. Stopped at the side of the road to let it pass. One of the pacers kindly stopped to ask if I was ok, think he thought I hurt my knee. Decided there to do a bit more walk/run and see how it went knowing if I kept the 5h pacers in sight I'd be ok. To be honest it kind of unnerved me, I think the heat got to me even though I was drinking water and having seen others receiving medical attention (all hopefully ok) I didn't want to be one of them - even if it meant not having the best running.
I think once I start walking in a race I'm half done for. I reverted to this run /walk strategy a good bit from here on in. Dizziness didn't come back at all but I wasn't sure how much to push. Just felt zapped. Had more support at miles 16, 18 and 20 from work colleagues, friends and family which was great. Calf still at me so grabbed more deep heat at Milltown from himself. I had lost the 5h pacers by now. Somewhere along clonskeagh one of my football refs jumped in beside me with support. He ran alot of marathons in his day and he offered great encouragement and support. Told me to save the legs, walking up the hills here and keep it handy for the downhills. He walked with me chatting just past roebuck. It was the longest stretch I walked but the company was great. From there I kept the run/walk strategy going. Saw another friend from football in ballsbridge (they were all out - teammates and refs !) which was great motivation.
Struggled on home, the final stretch up to the finish never seemed to end but I tried to enjoy it as much as possible and take it in and make sure I kept running!
So, thoughts. Firstly I'm disappointed I had to walk/run as much as I did. Who knows, maybe if I hadn't the last few miles or time would have been worse if I hadn't. Or maybe I could have dug deeper than I did, I don't know. My dizzy spell definitely unsettled me and I think the extra water I was drinking because of the heat wasn't the best for the stomach, I didn't take my last gel as I thought I wouldn't handle it ok. I don't think I coped well with the combination of the heat, wind and tough course. In hindsight I think I should have reigned in my target time earlier than I did. It wasn't all mistakes - I knew not to chase my intended pace group, I didn't go out way too fast at the start (stuck with my planned time) and I eased off on some parts of the course. But if I had changed my target to 5h sooner I might have stuck that out. But my negative experiences and struggles seem to be mirrored amongst many others. In fact the second last water station had run out of water which probably reflects the tough day with the heat. My biggest fear was that I wouldn't finish or I'd come away with a major injury that would rule me out of running, football etc for a while and thankfully neither of those happened. As Ososlo said, whilst important it is only one race - amongst many hopefully (not necessarily marathons maybe!). I made it to the end in one piece, was still running towards the end and on a day when many others also struggled I wasn't a million miles from my goal A and B times. So a part of me is disappointed and another part isn't, a definite learning experience with positives and negatives to take away.
Was nice to met a few people in the pub after and put faces to user names (and get real names!). The crowd and support were incredible and credit to all the volunteers and first aiders too. To the pacers I piggybacked with for a while thank you and for the concern when I had my wobble.
Well done to all here and thanks for making the last few months more enjoyable than if I was doing this completely on my own.0 -
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I wish I had found this thread back in June, it looks very helpful.
I don't mean to ruin the good spirit but here is my story (not that special admittedly, but it is my story
- Lead Up:
I had kept good hydration for many days, ate plenty of carbs (pasta, ..), did some foam roller, stretching, went for a massage 2 days before the race at the expo, had gels to consume during the race.
Never got rid of my ongoing legs stiffness but I always managed to run through the mild discomfort. Admittedly, sleeping was not very good for days for various reasons.
I kind of knew my training was not sufficient for a Marathon: 3 runs / week + 1 swim / week, with a weekly mileage of 20-25 is no good, don't do that. But given the time constraints and that I was very regular in my training I had to give it a go.
I'm normally very excited when I go to a race, but this time was an exception. I was kind of dreading it a little and not feeling the best.
- The race:
I followed the 4:40 pacers up until Inchicore (nearly HM distance if I am not mistaken). I was happy I could run up the Steeples (uphill in Chapelizod). Although not a goal, I was slightly ahead of the pacers then.
The hills were killers, and the steeples was the easy one.
Atmosphere was phenomenal with people cheering and also some encouraging you saying your name.
I did 16 miles running and then went in some sort of a free fall from then on.
- The collapse:
From mile 16 I started to struggle a lot. As in, both my legs would not move. 4:40 pacers passed me, and in a matter of mn they were not in sight any longer.
Slowing down and stretching was not going to help nor did the gels I had wrapped around my hips nor the jelly babies handed over by the crowd.
Also, I felt a state of extreme fatigue. Running was keeping my body warm, but when I started to slow down (understatement) I started to feel cold as well.
It is advised to not drink too much during the race, but at that point I needed to drink 2 of the small bottles they were handing over at the water stations.
Finally reaching mile 21-22, I see a St John first Aid. I felt so bad I thought it could be unsafe to keep going like that. I went to ask the physio for a massage. She doesn't say much about my calves which felt like wood, and then she points out: "you have lots of knots in your hamstrings" (she didn't know my hip flexors were not functional either, as I don't ask masseurs/physio to go near that part).
Then I started to shiver a bit and she brings me 1 blanket, and then another 1...
After the massage, I went into the tent, with other guys (2 of which were regular marathoners). Although I knew the disappointment would be big, I felt at that point it would have been unsafe to go again. One of the St John chap touches my hand and notice I was freezing. Not only I felt like s... but they had to help me walk outside the tent later on which kind of confirmed to me that calling it a day was sensible.
(on a brighter note, I had no injuries this year!)
- Takeaway:
Good learning experience.
I will not run a Marathon again on such low weekly mileage. That might not explain everything though.
- Will I do a Marathon again:
Now might not be the best time to answer this.
I don't like too much having to prepare for so long, carry a belt with gels, etc. But I wanted to tick the box and the box is not ticked...
- Next:
Recovery. I can't wait to go for a nice easy jog on my own with no pressure. Not today though!0 -
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