DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread

chrislad wrote: »

Is a tennis ball just as good as the proper tension balls? I tend to get a bit of pain in my shins since the injury, though the physio said I would feel some muscle strain for the first few runs after getting the new shoes/insoles. I can use my thumbs to massage the area, and it normally feels fine after that. The foam roller is too big to get into the sore area, so I may need to look into alternatives to my thumbs!

Would a monthly/fortnightly sports massage be a recommended thing also, especially once the big runs kick it?

Notwork Error wrote: »

Tennis ball definitely does the job in my experience. Anything that can get in there and release it is perfect. I always found the tennis ball great for getting into my glutes where the foam roller couldn't.

On the sports massage, I usually get one twice a month during marathon training and once a week in the last 6-7 weeks but it all comes down to your willingness to fork out the cash, it gets expensive. They will definitely help with injury prevention as the therapist will be able to spot any injuries before they crop up and will help with recovery. I've never got injured during marathon training, not even a niggle* so I think it's worth it to get a massage every now and then.


*Sprained my ankle 3 weeks before the DCM last year but that was down to my own stupidity! Fell in a pothole trying to get a run in at 11 o clock at night. Still made the startline though!:)

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Thanks - I'm taking all of this advice onboard. So far, I've just been running the same 6k loop with no real thought to times / pace, so it's good to have a structure.

I've been reading through the thread and have looked at some training plans. I think the Hal Higdon Novice 1 is the one for me. I like the simplicity and it fits in with my family / work life too. The other plans (with strides / intervals / hills) would require a lot more planning, so I'd rather keep it simple for my first time out.

A few questions:
1. What should I do between now & June 22 - just keep tipping away at the 4 x 6k weekly sessions (but ease back to say 5:30) and then try for a PB on the Irish Runner 5 mile?
2. How long should my Sunday cross session last? Is an hour enough?.. I'll most likely head out for a leisurely cycle.
3 At what stage do I need to think about food / hydration on my long runs? Last year, I ran up to 18k in prep for the HM. I never brought snacks or fluids on those training runs and I think I was hitting the limit of what I could do without re-fuelling.

Thanks for any advice!

Also, just to add, I've been looking through my run times - my average is closer to 5:22 (not 5:15)

Clearlier wrote: »

Rearrange the structure of your week so that it fits in with the plan that you'll be following for the marathon. You don't want the first week of a plan to be a huge shock to your body!

Consuming gels/jelly babies/food is something that you should practice as part of your training. You're looking to find out two things:

1. How does your body tolerate whatever you're eating. Some things will be great for you - others will make you feel ill
2. What's the most efficient and practical way of accessing the food and consuming it

Ideally you'll work out the above in training, practice it in one race and then use it in DCM. You absolutely do not want to be eating on every long run. You want to train your body to use fat as a fuel source. It doesn't make that adaptation as well if it has carbs thrown at it all the time.
It's a good idea to always carry something with you so that if you do bonk/hit the wall you can take something to recover but don't use it unless you have to. You'll know that you're hitting the wall when your pace slows dramatically, you get tunnel vision and you feel awful.

With respect to hydration drinking to thirst is best but a healthy dose of common sense never goes amiss so if you're on holiday, it's 30 degrees celsius, you're sweating buckets and you've another 2 hours to run you can probably start sipping fairly early on.

Anecdotally I've heard of someone taking a handful of peanuts along with them and doing well. They were a well trained runner though with many years of experience so different physiology. Training is a time to experiment and find out what works for you.

diego_b wrote: »

I started taking gels last year when training for my first half marathon, like the approach mentioned earlier I take one around 45mins and then every 45mins or so. I use the High 5 ISOGELs as I find them very easy to essentially drink, some of the other gels are very tacky altogether. The isogels are not to dense but even with that I take a few mins to take it as don't want to get a stitch horsing one in.
I've actually taken a gel during what I know are going to be hard 10K races as well.....typically around 40min mark to give me a boost over the last 10mins and to add recovery after finishing.
For snacks, I use jelly babies...specifically red, orange and yellow ones (small bit of OCD kicking in there).....that is a pure taste preference as nothing worse than a poxy black one!