DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Caught food poisoning the night of Wednesday a week back, but I never mentioned it here because I was always hoping it was on its way out :rolleyes: ... It had improved on the Friday and I was able to get my 8mile MLR in, but then worse again on the Saturday and I stayed that way for a few more days. A whole week in the end . I've never had food poisoning that lasted more than a day in the past!!

Have been a good bit better since Wednesday. Tried a 5miler that night but had to bail at 2.5miles because of a little bit of cramps/nausea. Yesterday was the first day of 3 full meals and I've done 4.3 easy miles this lunchtime. Will aim for a 12mile LSR tomorrow to ease back in.

I'm unsure now about DCM itself. 12miles was my week1 LSR so I'll re-start week2 of my own 16week schedule next week. That seems to be the sensible thing to do considering recent weeks, but it means I am 3weeks behind my plan. May still do DCM but am also wondering if aquinn is still thinking of San Sebastian in November ...

I'll wait and see. Still watching the foot as well!

OMG HSR, you're not having much luck on the injury front (not sure if this is an "injury" as such, but still).

I really hope you'll get back on the DCM track. 3 weeks down seems like an awful lot but on the other hand, there's 12 weeks left. Of all the novices, me included, you probably have the most solid foundation with all the prep you did for the Edinburgh event. And you were knocking out an easy 11+M LSR only last week? So not all is lost, I hope..

Good luck (and enjoy) the 12M LSR tomorrow.

My plan only had a 6M run scheduled for the weekend, but I wanted to up it as I'm feeling good and want to continue to build up the miles...and also DG gave me permission so it's her fault

Anyway, we're up visiting family and so planned to run 13M at a steady pace. Out in the country so lovely quiet country roads and the afternoon was lovely!!
Started off and the first 5-6k had the wind in my back and some sections downhill so I was running 5.00km averages (I said this was ok because of the favourable conditions)

Eventually got into more normal conditions (headwinds and hills), but was sustaining the 5:00 pace while listening to my classic 80's(I know, I know, I know - don't mention the pace !!!)
Roads / bothreens were narrow with lots of overgrown hedgerows etc. Came around one corner and a guy coming flying from the other way on a horse and racing cart nearly crashed into me - all three of us got an almighty fright (both humans and the horse!!)
Heart beat went up as a result but eventually got back into shape. Came around another corner and I see about 1000 (slight exaggeration) cows walking up a field to cross the road in front of me. Wondered if I sprinted the 150M would I make it before they started crossing, but decided I wouldn't ... So when I reached the crossing point they were meandering across the road and stopping to take a look at what the sweaty / red faced MAMIL was doing. Decided I had to just bull through (boom boom), and just about avoided a big lump of flying cow sh*t from a cow I frightened as I ran through them.

Must say I chuckled out loud at the two events as I had probably only seen about two cars in the previous 35 mins running.
After about 10k I came out onto a main road and head on into a charity cycle run - it was a little bit dangerous as the road wasn't so wide and the cyclists and myself were competing for territory!! I got distracted and ended up taking the wrong turn so I realised then that I had taken over 3 miles off my loop.
Decided at that stage to reduce the run to whenever I got back to the house. Still feeling fresh so said I would up the pace a little.
Despite some tough hills and further headwinds I did a good negative split.

Total running 10m - 78.20
First 5M - 40.18
Second 5M - 38.02
Was blowing a bit in the last bit as I was running at around 7min pacing but really enjoyed it.
In planes most of tomorrow, so plan to do 4M recovery tomorrow night..
Best of luck to everyone on LSR's / races this weekend. I'm up to 14M next weekend - I've never run more than 13.1 so moving into new territory over the next few weeks... Pace will have to slow!!

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Caught food poisoning the night of Wednesday a week back, but I never mentioned it here because I was always hoping it was on its way out :rolleyes: ... It had improved on the Friday and I was able to get my 8mile MLR in, but then worse again on the Saturday and I stayed that way for a few more days. A whole week in the end . I've never had food poisoning that lasted more than a day in the past!!

Have been a good bit better since Wednesday. Tried a 5miler that night but had to bail at 2.5miles because of a little bit of cramps/nausea. Yesterday was the first day of 3 full meals and I've done 4.3 easy miles this lunchtime. Will aim for a 12mile LSR tomorrow to ease back in.

I'm unsure now about DCM itself. 12miles was my week1 LSR so I'll re-start week2 of my own 16week schedule next week. That seems to be the sensible thing to do considering recent weeks, but it means I am 3weeks behind my plan. May still do DCM but am also wondering if aquinn is still thinking of San Sebastian in November ...

I'll wait and see. Still watching the foot as well!

2 things stand out to me here. First, there's still 3 months to race day - pulling out this early seems premature. Some other guys mentioned you have a decent running base - that being the case, you still have lots of time.

The other thing is that 12 miles seems a lot coming back from sickness. A golden rule is that you should never chase missed sessions - you don't want to get run down and risk losing more time.

nop98 wrote: »

I really hope you'll get back on the DCM track. 3 weeks down seems like an awful lot but on the other hand, there's 12 weeks left. Of all the novices, me included, you probably have the most solid foundation with all the prep you did for the Edinburgh event. And you were knocking out an easy 11+M LSR only last week? So not all is lost, I hope..

Thanks nop, yeah I had a lovely foundation up to 6weeks ago, before ribs, foot, poisoning :rolleyes: ... now I'm not sure how much of it is left. But fingers crossed I have held onto some of the fitness with the scrappy running since then. Thanks for the LSR good wishes.

macinalli wrote: »

2 things stand out to me here. First, there's still 3 months to race day - pulling out this early seems premature. Some other guys mentioned you have a decent running base - that being the case, you still have lots of time.

The other thing is that 12 miles seems a lot coming back from sickness. A golden rule is that you should never chase missed sessions - you don't want to get run down and risk losing more time.

Thanks macinalli, the thing is that, well, this is the *third* thing to happen. And up to mid-June (ie, before I started marathon training) it had mostly been going beautifully with a bunch of 30+mile weeks.

I'm not chasing missed sessions at all tbh (the plan for this Sunday was 17miles ), but I take your point about 12miles not being all that light. I'll head out and I will play it by ear ... it's going to lash rain most of tomorrow so I might well be looking for an excuse to cut it short anyway.

Went for my 16 mile LSR on Friday but ended up in A&E for 6 hours.

The day after my 15 mile LSR last week I felt some tightness in my chest. Nothing painful but noticeable. I ran the following Monday and Wednesday with a little chest niggle. Had some slight discomfort during the week but nothing I was worried about.

Started my LSR on Friday, after 3 miles the "niggle" moved down my chest. I stopped and walked a little and ran again. Same problem so I called time on the LSR. Back to my car with a mixture of walking and slow jog.

I got an appointment with my GP. He told me everything was ok heart wise but to go to A&E just in case. In my 6 hours there I had an ECG, chest Xray and blood tests. Everything came back fine. The doctor thinks I had some muscle pain and that running and training for a marathon was perfectly ok.

No LSR this week but back on track on Monday. I'm jealous of all the 16 mile reports!!

eyeball kid wrote: »

Jesus, sounds a bit scary. Glad everything is ok, peace of mind to get all those tests done I'd imagine.

Thanks. To be honest it never felt scary. Just thought it was better to check everything out than take the risk. When the nurse in A&E tried to recruit me to join her running club I figured I was fine.

Omeceron, glad to hear that all is ok.

Neil, sorry to hear that the 16m didnt go to plan bur sure isnt that what the training is for, to learn hiw our bodies will react and how to manage it! So really you probably had the best training run!

Just up having my granola before the RnR half (that I am most definitely not racing). 9min/mile should bring me in at 1.57 so will be very disciplined and see if I'm set for a career in pacing :-)

Not sure whether to put something under singlet with it raining? If i was racing i wouldnt but because im not, im thinking i should?

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Hi Incognita and welcome. Novel too late and the more the merrier!
Looks like you have a lovely solid base behind you and well done on your PBs. I suspect you well and truly have the running bug
Which IR plan are you following? It would help if you could link to it, the more info we have the better placed we'll be able to help you (if you need it!).

Your PBs suggest your target times are within your grasp although both personal and anecdotal experience suggest that it it's best to stay on the conservative side. And then of course, the only way is up

I've linked to some posts you might find useful re pacing etc, hope that saves you some time as there is a marathon amount of reading to get through here

Firstly, links to the weekly posts in week -17, -16, -15 and -14.

Then some posts about the importance of pacing the lsr's here, here and here.

Clearlier's post is an excellent summary of why it's smarter to slow down when marathon training. If you can read the longer Hadd post linked to within the post, you'll find that it really repays the reading and time.

And finally the importance of listening to your body and here's some general info re 'running by feel' and focusing on form here here and here. If you're not used to running by feel, I'd always advise an approach similar to running: start with small distances and build slowly.

Best of luck and hope the lsr went well this morning.

Ps would advise some core work, the 30 Day Challenge is a good place to start

Oh thanks a million for all that info, better get the kettle on and get started reading. The plan I'm following is from the magazine, I have it copied in an email so bare with me and I'll post a link. I have adapted it slightly to fit it in different days etc..

Long run went well, considering I hadn't been feeling great all week. I had some kind of virus picked up from my son and energy had been through the floor. I struggled through Friday's run (1mile slow, 2fast, 1 slow) so was actually terrified at the thought of an additional 10.
14 miles 2:17:40 9:50/mi
I didn't pause the Garmin at all, so that average includes a couple of stops for a gel/drink/flicking an insect off my leg!

Just home from Rock n Roll Dublin. What an amazing event. Really well organised and a lot of fun. Particularly liked that there were cyclists cycling past the runners handing out gels. Couple of tough hills - winetavern St, climb up to IMMA and a couple of long drags in Phoenix Park.

Came in at chip 1:43:33. Really happy with it. New PB and definitely the coolest medal so far.

The finish line was a lot of fun. There was a concert starting when I was leaving and loads of tents and stalls. Ate my fill of Keoghs crisps and Erdinger.

Couldn't say enough good things about the event. Will definitely travel to one of the other European stops next year

paulers06 wrote: »

Just home from Rock n Roll Dublin. What an amazing event. Really well organised and a lot of fun. Particularly liked that there were cyclists cycling past the runners handing out gels. Couple of tough hills - winetavern St, climb up to IMMA and a couple of long drags in Phoenix Park.

Came in at chip 1:43:33. Really happy with it. New PB and definitely the coolest medal so far.

The finish line was a lot of fun. There was a concert starting when I was leaving and loads of tents and stalls. Ate my fill of Keoghs crisps and Erdinger.

Couldn't say enough good things about the event. Will definitely travel to one of the other European stops next year

Well done. That's a brilliant time. Think I came in about 2:12. Was a great event. Apart from the hills lol. Finish line was great. Plenty of supporters. Got some crisps and the free beer after :-)

Got to the start line about 8am. Stopped raining about 8.20 which was great!! Plenty of water stations along the route. Thought it was well organised and would definitely do it again.

TFGR - I saw you while I was in the queue for the loos and didn't want to lose my place so didn't say hello. Had a quick look for you after but didn't see you. Hope you got on ok.

13 miles LSR done avg pace 11.20 per mile as required. Everything felt good today so feeling the benefits of sports massage, foam rolling and stretching. I also had company today Mrs Kennyg did the full 13 miles with me so didn't feel the miles pass at all. Passed PJD and KennyG en route all looking strong and Aquinn belting along the Howth Road too. Off to Croker now to support the boys in blue.

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

But I am HAPPY! I finished a half marathon! A goal I've been aiming for since the beginning of the year.

I'll have a race report done up later but wanted to post to let you know how I did and also say well done everyone! We rock!

Brilliant. Well done. Looking forward to reading the report later.

So today I took part in my clubs annual 5K/10K event in Banna, Ardert, County Kerry...here follows my race report

Prep
Yesterday did a 3 mile easy run having had a rest day on Friday...possibly should have ran that on Friday instead and took a rest day yesterday.
That run felt fine at the time, pace was 10:02 avg.

Got all my gear ready last night and packed a bag to bring with me in the car as I was planning to do a two mile warm up jog before the race I was wary that if the changeable conditions down here did for me and soaked me. No need to worry as it turned out but even still worth having in the car when I could.
Didn't look like it was going to be sunny so no need to sunglasses or sun cream. Decided to go with the t-shirt version of my club top over the singlet, no particular reason! Also decided to race in the shorts I'm planning on using for DCM, Nike Distance shorts I think they are called and have been training with them a good bit. Quite like shorts with side pockets and a zip pocket too. Decided I would not use the arm band for my phone and stash it in the back pocket for the race as this is what I'm thinking to do for DCM. The arm band thinks are normally fine but thinking it could start to annoy me late on in DCM and whilst I will carry my phone with me it could be stashed better than my arm I'm thinking.
Packed a full change of clothes as well for after the race in case of getting a soaking!

This morning
Up a bit earlier than planned at 7am thanks my lovely little daughter having an overnight/early morning accident. That damn late cup of Ribena!!
Anyways that was sorted, showering, in my gear by 7:45.
Experimenting with some foot anti-perspirant at the moment as I think keeping my feet as dry as I can helps prevent further callusing which can cause me problems on race days. Also used body glide on top on it too, might be wasting my time but wanted to try it in a race scenario. Experiments with continue on my LSR.
Had a small breakfast plus a berocca boost and heading over to the race venue in my car. Arrived about 8:45 and then started off on my two mile warm up run, that went grand but I did note the serious head wind that we would be racing into so that concerned me to be honest with the goals I was thinking of. On the return mile back to the starting area I did some dynamic stretches and a few little sprints. Avg pace over for those two miles was 10:57.
When I got back to my car I changed into the t-shirt I was gonna race in with my number already attached...said I might as well be a dry as I can be starting off with the extra t-shirt. Reapplied some body glide to my right foot just in case, it was about 9:10 at this point and I met some club mates...photos etc ensued. Quick pitstop at the jacks and starting walking back to the starting area (it's about 500m from where the cars park).
The conditions seemed to be much the same as earlier from my warm up but least no rain.

The race
So I set a goal of hopefully equally my time in last years race of 49:32, it was a PB at the time and I thought all going well I could try get that. Secondary goal was sub 50mins and third goal (please note this third goal may have been set have way through today's race ;-)) was to beat my last 10K race time back in June....that time was 52:19. My PB for the 10K is 47:16 set back in Ballybunnion in April this year so thought I'm not being unreasonable....I did a 23:40 5K race a week and a half ago and despite that feeling terrible I thought I still have sub 5min/Ks in me. Feel I've lost a bit of pace with the marathon training to be honest.

So at 9:30am we started, it was a quick start for me and everyone around me to be honest. A good chunk of this people were going to be turning 2.5K into the course and heading back the way we started. Took me a min or so running to slot my phone into my back pocket (was timing using my phone and my watch as I normally do) so that was a small annoyance....forgot to take the case off the phone before hand and those few mms plus running race pace meant it was tough. All in all the first 5K was done in 4:44.

Second K, was really starting to feel the wind at this point and thought I'd love to be running the 5K today and turning with that wind at my back! Felt I was running the same effort but the time was starting to slow 5:07. Even still I was thinking okay it's the wind, we're be turning after 5K ourselves in Ardfert and should have the wind at our backs on the drag back up towards Banna Cross.

Third, Fourth, Fifth K was much the same (each one slower than the last), plenty of wind and had a good few people passing me as well. We had a few bends to go around and a few small climbs too but nothing to write home about. It was kind of starting to annoy me that I could see a corral of runners a few hundred meters ahead of me and that would have been the group that I would normally have been in but kept going. Starting to try think about what I could pull out of the race at this point. Got water around the 5K point and kept that with for the next few Ks.

Sixth, Seventh, Eight K we had gone through Ardfert now and had turned back towards Ballyheigue. This is quite a busy road but it was safe at all time with some good stewarding and garda work to keep everyone happy. Around the seventh K I had decided that I should be able to beat 52mins if I pick up the pace a small bit and it would give me a goal to go for. I wasn't sure about my previous 10K time but knew it was over 52mins so said look beat that today and it's something. Seventh and Eight K have a nice drag all the way up to the Banna cross. Once we got to the cross we then turned towards the beach and the last two K or so to go.

Ninth K and to Finish
As we turned towards the beach I remembered my previous run there last year when I hit a head wind and I was sub 40 back then at the 8K mark and gave it my lot to get home under 50mins (49:32) but this year that time and goal was gone so I said just run it good and steady and focus on your form. There was a one runner ahead of me at that point by about 50 meters so I focused on him and said I'd see could I reel him in a bit. Picked off a bit of his lead in the 9th K and got it down to 10 meters then held it for a while. When I saw the finish area with 300 meters to go I said right I'm going to go for this for a sprint finish to see what I have left my legs. I pulled out to his right and blasted home, I kinda feel funny doing such thing but he wouldn't have had time to react even if he heard me coming I think. I ran right through the finish line at full speed so that felt pretty nice. Got my medal and chatting with some clubmates who generally all felt it was a tough enough race,

To be honest I was a bit disappointed with myself in that I thought I could have pushed it more earlier but I really didn't feel I could at the time, I got chatting with my club coach and also to a friend of my wife's (this lady is an outstanding runner who won the Tralee marathon in a sub 3 time this year) and both confirmed to me that the marathon training can impact your speed if you're not doing speed work which in truth I'm not. In hindsight I have to be happy enough with how it went, I possibly set unrealistic goals at the start but I was glad I was able to set a third goal and pushed myself to achieve it.

One thing I have noted when chatting with my wife (congrats to her on doing a fine 5K) is that she thinks I may have put on a small bit of weight and I think I have too....I am concerned that has cost me a bit of time on the shorter distance races.
I'm not sure if I can drop the extra 3 kgs or so I appear to be carrying between now and DCM but I have to be mindful not to put any more on and possibly start keeping a food diary again. I might read up on some stuff online as to how to address weight gain during training....one thing surely is stop eating as much as you think you can.
It took my a lot of work two years ago to lose 7.5 stone and it's annoying me now that I think I've put about half a stone and a little more on.
I have started to think post DCM now as well that I will try to lose possibly 5kg or so over the winter if I can to get down to lighter than I was when I stopped my diet and work on my 5Ks before starting another marathon plan.

Post the run I did another two miles in 9:43 avg min/mi with a club mate to warm down and keep up my weekly mileage. Back to the normal training plan now for the next month ahead of my next and final race before DCM when I do the Dingle Half Marathon on the 6th of Sept.

Splits from today as follows:

1st K...4:44
2nd K..5:07
3rd K...5:19
4th K...5:21
5th K...5:26
6th K...5:21
7th K...5:07
8th K...5:09
9th K...5:10
10th K (race measured 9.95 for me)...4:40
Total...51:24