DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread

The Slow One wrote: »

I'm afraid I'm out.

2 weeks ago I collapsed (not running related) and ended up in hospital. Not a new thing for me as I have collapsed before but this was the first time in 7 years. Hyperactive thyroid gland has returned which for most people isn't a big deal for me it seems to trigger something (possibly in the rhythm of the heart) and so they are going to operate on me to try and fix it once and for all. Won't be able to run again until the new year.

To be honest I've known for over a week but logging on this thread and reading the excitement and progress of everyone on the road to the marathon is tough when you're out of it. I've absolutely loved this thread for the support it gives. No one in the family has any interest in running so its tough to explain what its like to be annoyed that you are struggling to get the pace right on a 5 mile easy run and so on, so its lovely to log on and see someone experiencing the same difficulties and know its not just you.

I wish everyone of you all the best on the journey over the next 10+ weeks and especially on the day itself. A big thank you to you DG for all your help. Please god I'll make it back for 2016.

I am so sorry to read this. Good luck with the operation. I hope ur back running soon.

Toulouse wrote: »

Thanks Yoda. I totally get what you're saying about the LSRs and I'm getting pretty good at running them at a slow pace and I understand all about them allowing us to recruit the right kind of muscle fibres etc.

It's the other runs, the shorter ones during the week although I do throw in some strides every week now. They just feel the same as an LSR. Don't get me wrong, I am loving the training, I look forward to it. I suppose I am gaining a respect for the task at hand and now that there's doubts creeping in I just want to be sure that I'm doing everything that I can. Does that make sense? Should I be doing another day?

I dunno about doing another day, I'm really not in a position to comment. I'm a novice too!

I just find it was better for me to mix up HHN1 a little bit by varying the pace on the shorter runs & trying as many different routes as possible.

Firedance wrote: »

Google says hold mode & lap/reset together for 10 seconds - give that a try, hopefully it'll sort it

Thanks but still doing nothing.

Edit - Its alive again! Maybe that worked Firedance. Left it alone for a few minutes and just tried it there and it turned on. Not sure what was wrong. Glad I don't have to buy a new one.

I've been finding this week really tough.Work has been busy life has been busy didn't get home till 7.45 tonight and I'd 8 miles to do. Feeling very sorry for myself and dragged myself out the door giving out about work all the way around. Definately good for the mind !Job done 11.16 avg pace but feeling the effects of not stretching enough this week or getting enough sleep this week. Lesson learned there is always time for stretching and sleep is important ...rest day tomorrow.!

1m w/u 6m pace 1m c/d completed this evening, made a mistake with the route I picked as there was a few too many hills in the 4th and 5th mile. I also had to stop twice for a second due to heavy traffic on the roads. The route was very scenic though along the Wild Atlantic Way with views of the mouth of the Shannon and Loop head but not suitable for the training I had in mind....ideal for LSR though.

Avg pace overall: 9:31min/mi
Avg heart rate: 154

Splits:
10:58 (seriously uphill so took it handy and once it leveled after half a mile I stopped to do some stretching before picking up the pace, had a wonderful encounter with a dog as well just before the end of my warm up mile....little so and so. Had a mexican stand off with him till he eventually held his ground and then I backed off backwards to a safe distance before getting going again)

MP section
8:54
9:11
9:29 (including a nice down and up section, thought it was going to be flatter)
9:26 (same section as above but in reverse)
9:00
8:50 (last half a mile was downhill so was holding back to keep the pace even as I could)

Cooldown
10:17

Felt strong throughout for the most part so happy with how the mp training went as I was a bit concerned starting off as it was quite warm. Brought some water with me...couldn't touch it till mile 3 as won't be getting water on the day till then. Generally don't bring water on shorter runs like this but with the effort I think it might be needed and muscles felt grand throughout.

Dubgal72 wrote: »

You're doing four days per week Toulouse? You could add a fifth day, more miles etc, but assess sleep, work, general fatigue etc along the way. And of course keep the fifth day as a recovery style run if you think you can mange an extra day.

Glad to hear you hot it sorted, thanks too to Firedance There is a garmin megathread in the forum but not needed now....

Excellent, and yeah, which ones are working??!

Well done Mrs That's the kind of mental discipline will get you round those 26 miles

Here's hoping !!

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Reciting nursery rhymes G that's a new one .... Which ones u finding good ?

Hickory dickery dock, has good rythem.
Glad to have day off tomorrow as well,
Busy week in work myself, few working
Lunches And feeling tired leaving, find
Morning runs better. Have nice glass of
Wine tomorrow evening, Feet up & enjoy
Your rest day.

Kennyg71 wrote: »

Hickory dickery dock, has good rythem.
Glad to have day off tomorrow as well,
Busy week in work myself, few working
Lunches And feeling tired leaving, find
Morning runs better. Have nice glass of
Wine tomorrow evening, Feet up & enjoy
Your rest day.

I always expect these short sentences of yours to read like a rude Limerick but they never do & I'm disappointed every time.

eyeball kid wrote: »

And it died again but then came back to life again
I've posted in the Garmin Megathread, hopefully I get a response there.

Maybe its a known issue I just need to keep doing a soft reset every once in a while.

But if its in terminal decline I may need to look at a new one. I like the 305, its a bit old at this stage, a bit big and kinda clunky (a bit like myself :pac:) but I like the features in it. What watches are people using here and would they recommend them?

2 people in my office broke their Garmins. They got in touch and Garmin sent them out new ones. Their customer service is supposed to be excellent, worth a shot.

Thinking about getting the Forerunner 220 myself. One of the features I particularly like is that people can track you running in real time. Will be really handy for my fans on the big day

paulers06 wrote: »

Thinking about getting the Forerunner 220 myself. One of the features I particularly like is that people can track you running in real time. Will be really handy for my fans on the big day

You need to bring a smartphone with you with Bluetooth connectivity for this to work.

frash wrote: »

You need to bring a smartphone with you with Bluetooth connectivity for this to work.

paulers06 wrote: »

Don't tell Dubgal but...there is a chance i'll have my iphone with me on the day.

Also, have heard it's not great with old Androids.

Won't matter she will be giving all the novices a "pat" down on the day to ensure you are not carrying any concealed weapons i.e headphones, music players, phones, etc. You, my friend, have just upgraded yourself to strip search status :eek:

So I went for a run last night, first time in 10 days! Was harder than I thought and my legs definitely need help. My calves and achilles especially are very tense, even just sitting at my desk I'm feeling it.

Anyway, I went for 4 miles last night with about a mile and a half for warm up/cool down (Edit, that was on top of the 4 miles). Very slow due to the legs but felt good to get out at least.

Will keep stretching and foam rolling but really looking forward to the sports massage next week.

eyeball kid wrote: »

And it died again but then came back to life again
I've posted in the Garmin Megathread, hopefully I get a response there.

Maybe its a known issue I just need to keep doing a soft reset every once in a while.

But if its in terminal decline I may need to look at a new one. I like the 305, its a bit old at this stage, a bit big and kinda clunky (a bit like myself :pac:) but I like the features in it. What watches are people using here and would they recommend them?

I have the older Garmin 100. It's basic, but does the job. Small & light. Battery life is supposed to be 5hrs. I def noticed the battery level dropping during the HM last year. Great incentive to make sure I get round DCM in 4hrs this year!