DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread

paulers06 wrote: »

I went mad when i signed up back in April and got the photo back and the video. That's money well spent!

I'm pretty sure that nobody looks good in race pics (at least I hope it's not just me!) so there's little to no chance of me hanging one up in my house. It is also highly likely that I won't watch the video...ever

Did the same thing as well, the whole shebang!

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Me too... I think that's a great idea.

Does anybody know the route well enough to lead the way? The map is on the Race Series website (here) but my sense of direction is shockingly bad. I'd end up getting lost. (Even though I ran it last year!)

Am familiar with the park and have run there over the last three years. I wont get lost and am happy to take responsibility for "route finding" for one group (14 mile 10m/ml). Not sure if there are any protocols to be observed so please shout if there is.

Would be worth trying to ensure that everybody has some company so will approach on that basis.

menoscemo wrote: »

Why not do your long run on Monday when you get back?
Remember DCM is on a Monday not a Sunday.
Just readjust your following weeks plan by a little but since you run 3 times a week you could be back on plan by the following Sunday no?

I thought about it as I do have Monday off work and I'm not cross training that day.

It would mean running two LSR's in one week though (I run my LSR's on Sundays as it's the only day where I have enough time to) but if there's nothing wrong in doing that, I can certainly work it in. Would it leave me more open to injury though?

[Definitely keep your head up, looking forward. A lowered head means gravity is pulling you down, not forward. :eek: are you doing the 30 day challenge? That will help you all round.
Love the high giving! Especially love point #7, totally completely endorse this!
"ENJOY THE DAY!" Yup, don't forget there will be pacers there too who will do all the hard work for you...(but not the running hard work, sorry )

No, am doing Pilates but that's just once a week. Will check this out. Thanks.

Dubgal72 wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=96493673&postcount=2570
For you chrislad, keep it long and easy. I definitely wouldn't recommend 10 at MP at this stage for a training run. You could do a progression style run over 12 miles. Meno or FBOT any thoughts? Chrislad has had a few niggles so I'd be inclined to play it safe.

Thankfully the niggles are pretty much non-existent at the moment. I used to feel them at the start of each run, but not for the last number, so fingers crossed!

I completed a 10k today, with the emphasis of trying to judge my effort of holding the pace I intend to run in the 8km race on Saturday.

The first 6km of the run were close to my PMP ( 5.40/km) or slightly slower, then I ran sub 5min/km for the next 3k which was tough and just about sustainable at the end of the 3k, then backed off and completely the last km at an easy pace. I enjoyed running at pace and am really looking forward to Saturday now. My plan on the night is to follow the 35 min pacer for as long as possible!!!

A gentle 10km (<1hr) is on the cards for tomorrow night!

Splits:
KM 1: 6.01
KM 2: 5.37
KM 3: 5.59
KM 4: 6.03
KM 5: 6.10
KM 6: 5.40
KM 7: 5.00
KM 8: 4.28
KM 9: 4.20
KM10: 6.13

donglen wrote: »

Unsure what the temperature is in Sweden at the moment but right nowI'm in Majorca, I'm poolside, life is good.
Running in the heat is tough! I don't know how those Kenyan's do it!!
Did 5 miles this morning, left the apartment at 7am,one of those street clocks advised it was 27 degrees. Gulp!
Took it handy, first 4 miles were enjoyable,last mile though felt as if I had the energy sucked out of me and reverted to a little bit of walking to just finish the route.
Unsure if anyone here can offer advice on this one: I have noticed before that when I get extremely hot I tend to get a pins and needles type sensation in my face, it can occasionally even happen if I'm in a Sauna/steam-room and it'll usually ease off in 5 minutes once I remove myself from that particular cause. Anyway it happened again towards the end of the run this morning, I'm thinking it's down to the body over-heating, anyone any experience of this?
The 12 miler scheduled on Saturday in the heat has me a little worried because of this, at the moment I'm thinking I'll probably scale it back a bit to be safe. Either way I think I'll have to set the alarm for a 5am start and try to locate some water vending machines on route. Also, I think I'll need to seriously up my water intake each day. I'll do another slow 4/5 miler before the LSR to see how that one goes.
It's one for me to ponder further over a cool San Miguel.

I did post a bit about hot weather running earlier in the thread but it's a big thread now and I've had a few more thoughts about it since. I'm assuming that you're on holiday for up to two weeks in a location that is significantly hotter than what you're used to. I'm also taking a relatively cautious approach.

Ignore your pace - you will be slower.
Run for time rather than distance i.e. if your plan says 12 miles at 10mm pace then run for 2 hours at the same effort which is likely to be less than 12 miles.

Run when it's coolest.
Run in the shade if possible
Wear white clothing (reflects the sun)
Wear a hat
Drink water on the run - bring a bottle if you have to or do loops.

One last point to note is that different people respond differently to heat. Body mass may have a role to play in this. One guy I know ran his half marathon PB wearing a beanie and ran a significant marathon PB in Paris when all around him was carnage. I personally enjoy running in the heat but if I want a PB I need cold conditions (body mass may have a role to play in this!).

An out-there idea i've only recently become aware of is that there are some companies out there claiming to manufacture clothing that keeps you cool in hot weather. I've never tried it so have no idea if they work although technical tops are definitely better than cotton ones! Has anyone here tried any of this clothing?

FeenaM wrote: »

The route itself was great, a few hills but no really long drags and lot's to look at and keep my mind busy. I tried to use the run as an opportunity to work on my form and fell into what I thought was a nice relaxed gait but having now seen photos, I am heel striking in nearly all of them (which I don't usually do). This brings me back to not being as good at maintaining good form when I am at a slower pace and definitely something I am going to have to work on.

Hi Feena, there's no doubt that it's easier to maintain good form when running quickly than slowly - if you want to see someone's technical flaws having them jog slowly will be far more revealing than faster running. That said heel striking isn't a great indicator of good or bad form.

What's important is not which part of your shoe hits the ground first but how you load your bodyweight onto your legs. Think of a pole linking the ankle, hips and shoulders together - you need that pole to be as straight as possible.

Then think about your glutes pushing your body

• if the pole is leaning backwards then you're effectively braking with every step which isn't an efficient use of energy.
• if the pole is straight up in the air you're no longer braking but there is a loss of energy to unnecessary up and down motion.
• A slight lean forwards is what you're looking for but (and I can't stress this enough) the lean comes from your ankles. If you lean forward from the hips as so many do you will get injured

If you can find a track to practice on it's often helpful to try switching between the 'wrong' and the 'right' ways to do it - it really helps you understand and learn the differences and teaches you how to get into the 'right' position far more effectively than just practicing the 'right' position. I've used quotation marks here because 'right' is at least slightly different for everyone.


All of the above said this is no time to be making significant changes to your running style. Every change that you make causes subtle differences in the demands that you make of your body. Almost everyone here is hitting new heights in training loads - if you suddenly start asking an untrained part of your body to do a lot of work then you risk getting injured.

Nice one PJD - I am gutted to miss it, enjoy everybody!

Hopefully we can slot in another one in September.

chrislad wrote: »

We have the half marathon in Sept. I'm probably just going to stick to a 2:20:00 pace for that race, same as Killarney so any company is welcome!

Why not race it so you'll know your pace for the marathon?

frash wrote: »

Why not race it so you'll know your pace for the marathon?

It's not far off my marathon pace - 2:15 or so would be my marathon pace.

nop98 wrote: »

Won't be able to make that one either, off to Cardiff to see Ireland vs Canada!

The week after is the somewhat daunting 20M LSR, I'd be very happy to have company for that one! 2x the Frank Duffy loop, anyone? :eek:

If I'm in Dublin for that I was gonna suggest the last 20miles of the DCM route if a group was meeting up!