DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread

12 miles into 18...sitting on a bench in the Phoenix Park, wishing for the first time that I had someone to run with.

Combo of having been ill, bad couple of nights sleep and other factors wiping me out already.

Will finish.

Somehow.

19 miles done yesterday morning [was hoping to get the 20 done but just didn't have any buff left in me]. Headed out towards Portmarnock and back into Swords, its a 15 mile round trip. Then straight to my house for more water and a toilet break and back out for the last few miles. Everything was going well until I got to the last mile which I really struggled with, and it ended up being a half walk half run kinda effort, so there wasn't a hope of getting another mile under my belt. With that said I'm still happy as the plan called for between 18-20 miles, which is what I did. I also didn't have the return of the shine splints that I got on last weeks run.

Next weeks LSR is also 18 - 20 miles, so not sure yet what I should aim for on that one!!!!!

Pots of tea, a lot of variety of biscuits and a lot of football on the tele.
I'm super milking this rest day

32k done and dusted @PMP +30secs.....will spare people the km splits. At 2k I genuinely considered turning back, legs felt dead, niggles I hadn't felt in ages were at me....I really doubted myself for the first time. Not sure what was going on, but I kept moving and gradually I started to feel better....by 20k I was back in the saddle. Splits were all pretty consistent, fueling worked well too.....feeling it in the legs now mind you. Even though run went well is anyone else concerned about those last 10k/6m.....I just hope the body holds up
32k @5:28/km : 2:54:52
Taper sounds good right now.....

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

12 miles into 18...sitting on a bench in the Phoenix Park, wishing for the first time that I had someone to run with.

Combo of having been ill, bad couple of nights sleep and other factors wiping me out already.

Will finish.

Somehow.

Awww I'm sending you good wishes and a hug. I did all of my runs, long and short on my own when training for London and its tough - really really feckin tough - like you - my pace would be slower than most - but know that you can do it - you are strong - you have done all the hard work and the finish line for the training is almost here and you are going to run this marathon and kill it. Just look it like you have 10k to go - shure, 10K? That's only a warm up. You go girl, you are invincible!




God I wish I could be joining you all - maybe next year! I'm very jealous of all of your achievements and camaraderie - its inspiring

Mrs Mc wrote: »

LONGEST RUN EVER IN MY WHOLE LIFE !!!! Okay I'm a little excited about my achievement My plan had 22 Miles today with 12 miles at MP which for me is 10.18. Had an extra rest day yesterday which was very exciting (how easily we are excited about rest days) so up to St Anne's park run to celebrate the 100th park run mile stone and volunteered at finish tokens. Also rounded up my support network for the long run as the 12 miles MP had me a bit anxious. Up at 6.30 this morning for the usual porridge tea berroca boost and an episode of xpose ! Headed out at 8.30 and met the first of my relay team who was doing 6 miles with me. My watch started to act up and told me I had done 1.8 miles at 8 mins pace (not in my wildest dreams !) Decided to stop the watch and start it again as it would drive me mad on the run if it wasn't showing the correct pace. Headed up to Whitehall and down Griffith Ave back onto Clontarf Coast. Met the next shift of my support team at 9 miles including Mrs KennyG needed these guys for the MP miles and off we set at 10.18 pace towards Sutton/Baldoyle/Raheny. Took a gel at 1 hour and 3 hours no stomach issues. Used the Nuun tabs in my water this week and definately found them good so will use them on the day I didn't have that awful thirst I had last week. This shift ran to 17 miles with me where we said our goodbyes and exchanged hellos with the Raheny Shamrocks crew all back from their LSRs. Met the next shift at 17.5 miles for the remaining MP miles and the final cool down. Run went well, legs felt good, MP miles felt comfortable. Found this run a lot better than last weeks 20 miles which I am putting down to the company and constant chat. Passed KennyG and co on Clontarf Road looking comfortable on their LSR. My take from this run is that I have spent over 4 hours on my feet, I think this distance was good for my head and my confidence for race day. I feel I can do it so it was a positive experience for me today. Currently icing the feet and calves in iced water and have the compression socks ready. Mc Jnr as a GAA match at 3.30 so hopefully the clubhouse will be open for the rugby. Splits below.

Mile 1 going to ignore this one cause the watch acting up
Mile 2 10.52
Mile 3 11.01
Mile 4 10.58
Mile 4 11.10
Mile 6 11.04
Mile 7 11.11
Mile 8 11.11
Mile 9 11.09
Mile 10 MP 10.16
Mile 11 MP 10.18
Mile 12 MP 10.10
Mile 13 MP 10.21
Mile 14 MP 10.17
Mile 15 MP 10.25
Mile 16 MP 10.24
Mile 17 MP 10.24
Mile 18 MP 10.21
Mile 19 MP 10.08
Mile 20 MP 10.30
Mile 21 MP 10.31
Mile 22 10.54

Avg Pace 10.39

Enjoy rest of weekend everyone.

Well done A on 22 miles, great splits all easy from here
In😊

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

12 miles into 18...sitting on a bench in the Phoenix Park, wishing for the first time that I had someone to run with.

Combo of having been ill, bad couple of nights sleep and other factors wiping me out already.

Will finish.

Somehow.

I am also sending virtual hugs I know how hard it can be running alone but hey that's our last lsr"s done dcm will be a breeze with all the activity on the day. Well done on getting through today.

Mrs Mc wrote: »

LONGEST RUN EVER IN MY WHOLE LIFE !!!! Okay I'm a little excited about my achievement My plan had 22 Miles today with 12 miles at MP which for me is 10.18. Had an extra rest day yesterday which was very exciting (how easily we are excited about rest days) so up to St Anne's park run to celebrate the 100th park run mile stone and volunteered at finish tokens. Also rounded up my support network for the long run as the 12 miles MP had me a bit anxious. Up at 6.30 this morning for the usual porridge tea berroca boost and an episode of xpose ! Headed out at 8.30 and met the first of my relay team who was doing 6 miles with me. My watch started to act up and told me I had done 1.8 miles at 8 mins pace (not in my wildest dreams !) Decided to stop the watch and start it again as it would drive me mad on the run if it wasn't showing the correct pace. Headed up to Whitehall and down Griffith Ave back onto Clontarf Coast. Met the next shift of my support team at 9 miles including Mrs KennyG needed these guys for the MP miles and off we set at 10.18 pace towards Sutton/Baldoyle/Raheny. Took a gel at 1 hour and 3 hours no stomach issues. Used the Nuun tabs in my water this week and definately found them good so will use them on the day I didn't have that awful thirst I had last week. This shift ran to 17 miles with me where we said our goodbyes and exchanged hellos with the Raheny Shamrocks crew all back from their LSRs. Met the next shift at 17.5 miles for the remaining MP miles and the final cool down. Run went well, legs felt good, MP miles felt comfortable. Found this run a lot better than last weeks 20 miles which I am putting down to the company and constant chat. Passed KennyG and co on Clontarf Road looking comfortable on their LSR. My take from this run is that I have spent over 4 hours on my feet, I think this distance was good for my head and my confidence for race day. I feel I can do it so it was a positive experience for me today. Currently icing the feet and calves in iced water and have the compression socks ready. Mc Jnr as a GAA match at 3.30 so hopefully the clubhouse will be open for the rugby. Splits below.

Mile 1 going to ignore this one cause the watch acting up
Mile 2 10.52
Mile 3 11.01
Mile 4 10.58
Mile 4 11.10
Mile 6 11.04
Mile 7 11.11
Mile 8 11.11
Mile 9 11.09
Mile 10 MP 10.16
Mile 11 MP 10.18
Mile 12 MP 10.10
Mile 13 MP 10.21
Mile 14 MP 10.17
Mile 15 MP 10.25
Mile 16 MP 10.24
Mile 17 MP 10.24
Mile 18 MP 10.21
Mile 19 MP 10.08
Mile 20 MP 10.30
Mile 21 MP 10.31
Mile 22 10.54

Avg Pace 10.39

Enjoy rest of weekend everyone.

Very impressive A. Well done.
Splits are excellent.
An enjoyable debut awaits you in three weeks once you don't do anything silly in the meantime. The hard work is done now.

Straight from my log. Well done everyone on your LSRs this weekend, great running from everyone. We're on the home straight whoop whoop

Athlone ¾: 19.7 miles @ 9:30/mi, 622ft elevation gain

We hit for Athlone nice and early after I’d shovelled a bowl of porridge into me. As per usual, I downed 750ml of water mixed with electrolytes in the car on the drive to Athlone. We parked up in a field about a ten minute walk from registration so I took all I needed for the run with me so we wouldn’t have to come back after registration.

I picked up my number, queued for the loo and before long it was time for the race briefing and the walk to the start line. I stuffed a gel into the pocket of my shorts and hit for the start line tucking in behind the 4 hour pacers.

……. And we were off. I stuck to the pacers like glue for the first two miles, chatting to those around me. I did find though that having the pacing taken care of, I was more aware of the distance and checking myself for niggles. Around the 2.5 mile mark, I pulled away slightly so there was more room around me and I could concentrate on pacing myself. I remember in the Beast (an adventure race in Aug) asking John (team mate & chief navigator) how he was able to map read and keep going without experiencing the lows that I was and he said that reading the maps was distracting him from the pain and distance and I understand better now what he meant by that. By concentrating on my pacing, the miles were flying by. Before long we were at the 4 mile mark and grabbing a bottle of water. Not being in the large group behind the pacers made the transition through the water station a lot easier. I still had them within earshot though. I took a gel at mile 5.

There were plenty of hills along the way but they were rolling so weren’t knocking too much out of me. The second water station was at mile 8 and I was beginning to feel like I needed the loo so I hit up the hill to the water stop and portaloos but there were two ladies queuing so I decided to hold off until the next stop at mile 12. I grabbed another 250ml bottle here and ran with it to the next water station, taking a drink here and there. I find running with the bottle useful in a way because when I’m under pressure or running too hard, I start to squish the bottle and it reminds me to loosen up and straighten up.

At mile 12 I grabbed another bottle and a squishy pink dolphin from the massive table of sweet things available, it did the trick and I didn’t feel the next mile. There was a queue for the loo again so I figured I’d head on and if I saw a suitable hedge, I’d use it (a suitable one didn’t come along). Mile 14 was carnage, there were people stopping all over the road to walk and sit down. I offered my water to some people but they all kindly refused, I didn’t know what else to say but to offer some words of encouragement. It reminded again to respect these distances.

Because of the way the water stations were placed, I’d broken the race down into 4 mile segments so I was focusing on hitting the last water station at mile 16 at this stage and no further than that. Thankfully there was no queue for the loo so I took my chance and bolted for it. It was the quickest pee ever. I’m not sure I stopped running while I was in there , I came out of it running ☺ I grabbed a handful of jelly beans, another bottle of water and was on my merry way.

Mile 17 had a whopper of a hill that took it’s toll but I was able to keep my pace steady (just about). There was a young guy lying by the side of the road on this mile, there were some people with him so he was being looked after. I later saw St. John ambulance coming against us so I’m guessing that it was from him. I hope he was ok.

Mile 18 had nothing short of a mountain on it. Every time you thought you were at the top, there was a turn in the road and it kept on climbing. I think it took out another few people. It slowed my pace a bit so I guess that’s something I’ll have to take into account on the big day, towards the end I’ll have to give up some time to the hills. Before we knew it, we were on the home straight and thankfully it was down hill. There was a great crowd on the way back into Glassan Hotel. Our names were on our bibs so everyone was shouting out our names. It’s only a small thing but all along the course having people call out your name puts a bit of a pep in your step

We got a really nice sleeveless fleece for finishing along with a nice medal. I couldn’t recommend this race highly enough. I was really well organised, has brilliant pacers, fantastic support along the route, a great memento that will keep me warm during the Winter months and all at a not too shabby price of €29.

There was great comradely all along the course with everyone chatting about Dublin and passing on little gems of advice. I couldn’t have asked for a better last long run.

Let the taper begin

yaboya1 wrote: »

Very impressive A. Well done.
Splits are excellent.
An enjoyable debut awaits you in three weeks once you don't do anything silly in the meantime. The hard work is done now.

Cheers P must have been all that sound advice I heard in Berlin to "never underestimate a marathon " I wonder who said that again !!! Hope the pacing went well in Athlone today.

Goram it!! I had my LSR report nearly finished when my computer crashed on me! Bit like my run today! Ok, starting over

First, thanks everyone for your support today!

Everything was pretty good to start with. Usual breakfast, usual routine, usual time. With the sun shining and having been sick all week, I decided to try for a slower easy pace than usual and walk any hills I had to. Being very familiar with the planned route helped so I knew what was ahead and when I might have to walk. I held up well at the start, but in hindsight there were things I should've known and things I should've done differently from the start. More on that later.

First 10 miles were great. Met Firedance at 8.5 miles and had a quick chat. That was a nice little break. I was feeling good at the time and had no idea of what was ahead.

Mile 1: 15:07 warm up
Mile 2: 14:38
Mile 3: 14:24
Mile 4: 14:42
Mile 5: 14:41 (gel at 5.6m)
Mile 6: 15:14 (hill)
Mile 7: 14:38
Mile 8: 14:49
Mile 9: 14:57

Mile 10: 15:13 (hill)
Mile 11: 15:09
Mile 12: 17:14

Mile 10 involved a hill, on Wellington Road, which I walked. When I got to the top of the hill I started to feel tired, and lightheaded/dizzy. I wasn't sure why so I kept going. Managed to get across Chesterfield Avenue and onto the North Road. Around and behind the zoo I knew something was going wrong. At mile 11 I decided to walk and see if I could shake it off. By the end of the mile I was feeling queasy, still lightheaded and just needed to sit down. So I found a bench, sat there for a bit and thought about what I should do. Keep going or go home?



I remembered how you guys all said it was great to have company when running as it was a good distraction from tiredness/pain. I wished I had that. But I didn't so when I finally got up and running again I just daydreamed that one or two of you would find me in the park and start running with me (Caveat, of course I know this would never happen, I never expected it to, it was just something to distract myself with).

Mile 13: 14:53
Mile 14: 15:11

I managed another two miles before I knew I was done for. I had taken another gel (can't remember which mile) but it wasn't helping and I felt sick, lightheaded and very tired.

From mile 14 I walked home, I had no choice because I was on Furze Road so no buses, no taxis and I really don't have anyone I can call for a lift. (Yeah sometimes being an ex-pat sucks (no family around), so does being single (no SO to call on), so does having all your friends live abroad - when I say I have no one, I literally have no one. My cat can't drive)

Anyway, I walked home from Furze Road which is another 3 miles. Three, torturous miles that I told myself would do me good in the end. Good to know what it feels like to keep moving on tired legs, right? My mantra became 'this is good for me, this is good for me'.

Mile 15: 17:59
Mile 16: 19:07
Mile 17: 17:48

I was never so happy to see my front door, and once I climbed the steps to my apartment I got inside, sat down on the couch and cried tears of tiredness and frustration. I would've fought the tears but I remember MrsMc posting that 'there will be tears' so I just let them fall.

I stretched, had a protein shake and then a shower followed by lunch which I choked down as I was still feeling queasy. I managed a little bit of housework before I really crashed and went to bed. Slept for an hour and a half but woke still feeling lightheaded, queasy and lethargic. Took another two hours before I got up to make dinner, which I only had because I knew not eating would make things worse.

I'm not entirely sure I know what went wrong today but I have my suspicions. I think I wasn't as well as I thought, my habit of ignoring illness because I hate being ill probably did me no good here. (Just a scratch! Merely a flesh wound! Yeah, that's me.) I was more tired than I thought also, having had a bad couple of nights sleep previously.

And I might have been overhydrated as well. I only suspect that because there's no way to know for sure but I do know that before I went for my run I used the loo twice and my wee was clear both times. I did not do this on purpose! I had my usual 2L on Saturday and not even 300mL with breakfast. I noticed how clear it was but didn't think anything of it because it's never been a problem for me before. But I went running and by the time I hit mile 12 I had downed nearly 500mL of water and one gel. That might not have caused the problems but it certainly didn't help. When I got home I found I luckily had an electrolyte drink in my running stash from a previous goody bag. So I made that and sipped on it after lunch and before I went to sleep. Couldn't finish it but had more after I got up to have dinner.

Anyway, that's the story of my run today and all things considered I think I did ok under the circumstances. I did get about 7 good miles out of it and learned more valuable lessons that will stand me in good stead on marathon day. Very glad this happened today and not on marathon day!

I'm still feeling crap, feeling queasy (nearly lost dinner when my roomie made a mushroom stirfry - smell of mushrooms cooking make me sick!) and as soon as I post this I'm turning the lights off and going back to bed. My head doesn't feel right.