DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread

Hello Novices. And here we are, at the penultimate stage. Well done each and every one of you. Individually, you have covered hundreds of miles to get here. You have nurtured niggles, meticulously planned, forsaken wild nights out (you have, haven't you?!), learned all about good pain and bad pain, collapsed in pools of sweat, doubted yourselves, despaired, shed tears of joy and tears of agony... and then ultimately surpassed your wildest expectations.

We're nearly there.

But let's not collapse in a heap of relief just yet The next three weeks remain a very significant part of your training. You still have plenty of work to do, but like you have found re your training for the marathon, it's not all about simply getting out to run. Tapering for a marathon takes a little bit of the focus off the hard slog of miles and miles. And, like you will have found along your odyssey, the mental part of marathon preparation requires just as much training. So over the next three weeks:
- you will very likely find yourselves doubting your ability to complete what's ahead
- you may start to worry that you haven't done enough
- you will definitely start to freak that you are losing too much fitness

1) DON'T
2) YOU HAVE
3) YOU MOST CERTAINLY WON'T

So here's a basic guide for the weeks ahead. Where I've taken directly from t'internet, I've included links below for acknowledgement and some further reading. That doesn't mean a complete endorsement of the whole article. For example, some of these articles suggest doing x and y workouts 10 days out. Ignore these bits :rolleyes: We're

STICKING TO THE PLAN

WHAT is a taper?
"The marathon taper is a delicate balance of maintaining fitness while promoting recovery." The boards and Hal tapers you are following have been designed to gradually decrease in mileage but will also keep the necessary systems ticking over at just the right intensity.

WHO tapers? YOU

WHEN?
In the period before your marathon - 2-3 weeks - for our purposes as novices, it's three weeks/immediately after the last lsr.

WHY?
A proper taper can mean an improvement of 3%
The next few weeks are when your bodies will maximise the adaptations made from all your hard work.
Your bodies will also recover, repair and rejuvenate in order to arrive at the start line refreshed and ready to go i.e., your muscle glycogen levels and other micro depletions will top up, damaged muscle tissue will repair and fully adapt to its new, stronger and more efficient state.
Your immune systems will top up too, leaving you less vulnerable to colds and general illness.

You don't need to make any new adaptations through training now. Your body has done all the work.

TRUST IN THE PLAN

HOW?

IN A RELAXED MANNER (remember, breathe, run tall, smile...RELAX)

- anxiety about taper time is strictly not allowed, ok?!!

You will waste a significant amount of nervous energy by worrying. You will need this energy on the 26th. You know this, I know this, so save that energy for then
I'm will recommend in weeks T-2 and T-1 that you take a boards break. Not a complete break, we'll still be posting, but maybe check in less than you do presently. Again, it's a nervous energy thing.

- Speculative weather forecasts are not allowed until five days to go. Seriously. You will drive yourselves demented.....

- All furniture making, moving and anything furniture-related except sitting, eating and sleeping on it is.....yes, you got it, not allowed

- Make a plan of non running-related things to do over the next three weeks and few days. Cinema, go out for dinner, casual evening walk (you can actually stop at that ice cream stand now )...to fill the space where you normally would have been running.

- Ease back/take a break from cross training. Yoga and pilates are ok until week T-2. Drop the lower leg work this week, any upper body work will be ok until next week.
Do, however, keep stretching and maintain your abdominal work.

- Try not to stress about weight gain. An increase of 2-4lb is normal as your body tops up its depleted glycogen stores. You don't need to drastically increase or decrease what you have been eating. Eat mindfully and keep calm.
You might give your bodies a little protein boost this week as it repairs but otherwise, for now, carry on eating healthy, unprocessed food. Just like you have been all along, right?! Drink plenty but keep an eye on that wee, especially as race day approaches. A light yellow/straw colour is optimal.

- Keep topping up that sleep bank. It is normal to lose a bit of sleep in the 2-3 days prior to the race. Plan for that by sleeping well now.

Do not take up and adrenaline sports over the next three weeks :pac:

LESS REALLY IS MORE

WEEK T-2
Next week (T-2), we'll do lots of work on nailing down your target range. We'll discuss the factors that may affect your choice on the day and work our way through the 'pieces of the marathon jigsaw puzzle'.
- We'll also talk about sleep during the week ahead and suggestions for what to eat in the 3-5 days before The Day.
- We'll be inviting novice graduates to come on board to tell us of their experiences.
- Those of you travelling/away from home for the first time for a race will likely need some practical advice re hotel breakfasts and the timing of it all so we'll nail all that down early in the week.

WEEK T-1
In week T-1 we'll discuss the 26th from start to finish. The focus will be on you ENJOYING this experience. And yes, don't worry, I'll include The Tick List for countdown from the evening of the 25th, including details of the important stuff like where to meet post-race (Mc Grattan's in case you've been asleep for the past 15 weeks Singer, you're in charge of the map for this: finish line -> McGrattans)

I'll leave you with some advice from Clearlier:

TRUST IN THE TAPER!

"It’ll probably need endless repeating but you have to trust the taper to deliver you to the start line ready to run, during the taper you'll have great days and awful days. You might even feel bad on the start line but you will be ready and ready to run well. One very good runner said that for his good races he always felt awful until about halfway through the race! We’re all individuals."



And of course, jump in with anything that has not been included here. I am so bloody proud of each and every one of you guys (and I mean everyone who started this journey, including those who won't physically be on the start line on the 26th). I would be feeling a little bursting feeling in my chest and maybe a little dampness behind my eyes. But that's not allowed


FURTHER READING

http://www.runnersworld.com/for-beginners-only/how-to-taper-correctly

http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/why-you-should-taper-before-a-marathon

http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/how-to-taper-for-a-marathon/

With useful follow-on links
http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/tapering