DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread

benwed wrote: »

i have just looked up the placing stats on the tdl page and i passed 1300 people from 30k to the finish and my fastest 2 kms were my last two to finish in 3hrs 53 mins with a huge smile on my face.

How did you look this up? My fastest k's were my last two too. I started to really put the foot down (figuritively speaking) at about 5k out when I realised, "Good Jesus I'm actually going to do this thing!!"

RayCun wrote: »

oh, I think my wife knows you, she was looking out for you at mile 15

Hold on, just catching your name there... yes I know you (through your wife on facebook of course!) Your kids are maniacs! Out in that weather today. They'll be flying the marathon in a few years!

Right-o, time to put pen to paper and see if I can describe the events from yesterday. Long and rambling report warning..!

What an amazing dag, so many high points, a few lower ones, an awesome medal and whoopsa-novices-souvenir, and memories for life. The support all around, online, and afterwards was truly mind-blowing.

Up at insane o-clock, the usual routine, and last time over the checklist. Off to the LUAS, full of runners and some clearly surprised/annoyed commuters. I met my colleague Conor, one of the greyhounds I run with a lot during lunchtime, a multi-time marathon/ironman finisher. He said he'd run with me for as long as it would work out, which turned out to be most of the race. I thought it was pretty cold so I decided to wear an extra layer.

We made it to the start area, bag-drop was very congested and the queues for the loos were very long. We (once-again) took DG's advice to find an alley somewhere, along with dozens of others.. For the sake of the owners of these premises, I am glad it rained that day!

We heard the national anthem so decided to get into the queue. I saw diego_b dashing back down from the line-up, he went so fast I didn't get to say hello. I looked around for Neady's orange shirt but couldn't find her, nor any of the other Novices. The first wave went, we moved into the starting position and suddenly we were off. I was actually nice and relaxed, not overly emotional or anything at the thought of finally running the marathon (to my surprise!).

The pre-race plan was to line-up a good bit behind the 4h pacers, slowly reign them in by the time we would reach Castleknock and turn into the wind. I was hoping to find shelter in the big group until all the way to Roebuck, and then to see where it would all land!

The first 10k flew by, nice and easy. The start was slow and congested but we soon hit or stride. I saw a few funny signs ("Don't whine now, wine later" and "No Walken", with a picture of Christopher Walken and a big red cross). I deliberately stored them in memory as to not forget them

On the NCR, I got a shout from the brother-in-law, as I realized that extra layer was starting to bother me. My buddy had the same worry and we decided to see how it was in the wind in the PP, before taking action if needed. Entering the Park, Meno (one of the 4h pacers) got a cheer from the group when he veered of course to allow for a nature call.

At the Duas roundabout (I think) I saw Bungy Girl and gave her a shout. At this point, we had pulled alongside the 4h group wihtout having pushed the effort. So all was going to plan! Before Castleknock, a friend was waiting so we gave him the excess clothing. Castleknock village itself was amazing. I reached out to hi-five one of the kids and it turned out he was standing next to the parents-in-law! They got a hi-five too. First 10k: 00:56:39

Down the Tower Road I veered over towards Meno-the-pacer and said hello. We compared times and he confired that we had about 20 seconds banked against the 4h group. Felt really great and strong coming down this stretch.

My friend was again on the Upper Glen Road to hand out refreshments. I was glad we were right in the middle of the pack as it was windy and exposed at times. Conor suggested to move ahead of the 4h balloons as there was more space, but I said no, rather stay in the pack. Around this time I must have accidentally stopped the Garmin as I noticed around 10M that it was not recording. I restarted it again at the 10M marker but it wasn't as useful as it could have been, the mental-math to add the 16km to the tally was just too much.

We dug deep in this stretch and ran most of it in the company of the legendary MarthaStew - who is amazing as pacers, as were Meno and MrStew. Towards the halfway point, my buddy noticed I had gotted much quieter as I was indeed working through a lower point. But the support everywhere was amazing and I soon felt fine again.

The half marathon split was 01:59:22 - bang on target. We turned towards Walkinstown where the wind was strong, so again I was happy to be in the pack. Being quite tall, I was a popupar wind-shield, I kept noticing some folks tugging in closely behind us. Who said chivalry was dead!

Just past the Walkinstown roundabout, my bridge-partner was waiting for me with a gel and some water. He has never ran in his life but managed 2-300 meters with us. Since he's an excellent bridge player I didn't want him to do himself harm so thanked him and told him to stop running. I need a bridge partner after all Conor and I had a good laugh at this. At this point, I started to explain Conor how to play bridge but, not surprisingly, that didn't last long.

Coming through Terenure / Bushy Park was amazing, the support was unreal. We came past NeiltheF1's house (he had pointed it out during the novices 20M run). At this point, we both felt strong and needed to keep ourselves back to not go past Mr and Mrs Stew. We said we would stick with the 4h group no matter what.

The 30k split came in 02:49:45 when MrStew said clearly: "from here on in, I won't lie, it is going to hurt like hell", he might have thrown in an f-word or two. I still felt reasonably well and we had inched ahead of the 4h balloons a little later.

Coming through Milltown was, again, amazing and I was looking forward to see Firedance's aid station but somehow I missed it. I didn't dare to admit afterwards that I no longer had the stomach for strawberries but it would have been nice to acknowledge the support.

Do you feel the twist in the narrative coming? Here it is. Just after the 21M, suddenly, my right hamstring started to complain. I tried to signal Conor that I felt trouble brewing but he was just a little ahead. And boom, the hamstring cramped so badly and I had to stop mid-step. Some folks had to swerve around me, I had to stop so unexpectedly. I hobbled to the side of the road, but how do you strech a hamstring? A spectator asked if I needed help but I didn't know what to ask for. Fare for the bus back in town? The 4-hour balloons bobbed by and I suddenly felt very lonely. But I did manage to get rid of the cramps and ever so slowly got going again.

As I could still see the balloons, and knowing I had some time on them, I was still optimistic. Other than the cramp, I had and still felt good. There were a lot of people falling off the 4-hour bus at this point and I used them to try and get back. But inevitably, the left hamstring seized up just as unexpectedly a few minutes later, and again I had to stop in the middle of the road. Curse curse curse, I tried to stretch it similar to a few minutes before and again, it seemed to help. But the red balloons were gone at this point.

Again, I had targets ahead of me to pick off and turning onto Roebuck Road, I did see the balloons in the far distance. Spirits duely lifted, I put in some effort. Somehow I knew the hammies wouldn't bother me again, don't ask me why, but I knew it was probably going to hold.

Just before Roebuck Hill, I saw Dubgal's sign and I swerved over to say hello, she was busy encouraing and hugging another runner, which, from the post above, I think was Pink1. Dubgal just saw me as I ran by, and she shouted some encouragement. However I didn't hear what you said, DG, do you remember? I'd like to know?

Roebuck Hill indeed has a far exagerrated reputation, and I got to the top in no time. I had a friend waiting again with some water, which was awesome. He gave me a good shout and I continued the pursuit of the red balloons. Down Fosters and up the N11, I still put in a decent effort. Another friend was waiting on the UCD flyover and she ran with me for a bit. Down Nutley Lane, I could still see the red balloons but my friend, who's not a runner, was struggling. She got a lot of encouragment from the spectators ("running with the handback missus!!", which I thought, with my reduced mental capacity, was unfair (on me!!)) so I encouraged her to stop. She was one of the many amazing spectators that day.

The red balloons turned left and I still had quite a way to go to Vincent's - and at that point I figured I probably wasn't going to catch them, so I more or less gave up on the 4 hour goal. Thankfully, we had done the mental prep and I was more than happy to run home slower over Merrion and Northumberland Roads, soaking up the support and hi-fiving the kids. I kept running and was not going to stop. My family was waiting at the Mount Street bridge (opposite the road from diego's wife, as it turned out!) so it was lovely seeing them, high-fiving them, as I continued the "victory lap" towards the finish. Once-in-a-lifetime, the sound, the noise, the atmosphere - shivers down spine material. Unreal.

I finished in 4:02:37 and the first person I saw over the finishline was Sonia O'Sullivan, who congratulated me and shook my hand! I was a bit overwhelmed at this stage and had to take some time to compose myself as I felt about to hyperventilate. My friend Conor was also waiting, he didn't know what had happened to me, but had kicked home strongly in a 3h56. We collected goodies, met the family, and then met all the Novices for a well earned pint in McG's. My phone was going mental with all the messages from friends here and back home in Holland. Turned out my entire family had been glued to the tracker. Awesome stuff.

I wouldn't be entirely honest if I didn't have a twinge of what-if. Looking at the Strava numbers, I lost a good bit of time during the slow run-in - which was entirely fine and I don't regret it. But I do think I was closer to the 4 hour group than I thought I was. In hindsight, had my friend told me on Nutley Lane to "don't whine now, wine later" and to put the hurt on, I could have probably still made it. But, as my running friends joked, I have cunningly left me a good reason to run again next year, so there are no regrets!

Finish: 04:02:37. I am a marathon runner, and so are you all!

Will I say it again? Yes: you are all amazing. A special shout out to whoopsa, who spend a lot of effort in organizing the thoughtful presents for DG and all of us.

Hello all, first time poster, long time lurker. On the couch now,kids are napping, indo begrudgingly bought and supplement read. Have followed the thread since July and never wanted to tempt fate by posting until it was all completed. Now it's done, just wanted to say thanks to you all, especially the mentors but to every one of you for sharing your thoughts, experiences, lsr reports and dreams. I've learned a lot, ran a reasonable amount and now done a marathon. I've taken bits from all of your posts and cobbled them together into a great bank holiday Monday. Had a good day out, in appropriate levels of soreness today and did something I never thought I could, and a lot of credit is due here. So thanks to everyone and esp Dubgal for her time, efforts and especially enthusiasm.

26.2 - Done

In work today, so will post run report tomorrow, late enough night only got home at 10.30 as had pop into
Raheny meet up on way home from McGrattans, little tender today, probably should have went home a lot earlier
but few pints and good chat and time fly's. Sleep non existent last night, still waiting for Crash to happen.

well done everyone yesterday. Thanks to all mentors for advice really made the job a lot easier.

Race Report:

Legs are feeling it today. I always had a target aim of anything under 4 hrs for yesterday. I did the half marathon in 1hr 49 so I felt good about my target time being achievable. I picked up a knee injury though towards the end of the half and it never cleared up fully. I didn’t get out for many runs after the half and I missed the important 20mile lsr. I decided to give it a go yesterday and see if my knee would hold up. I lined up with the 3hr 50 pacers and my friend lined up with the 3hr 40 pacers.

Started off well….enjoyed the run down into the park and taking in the atmosphere. I kept with the pacers until after we left phoneix park. I just kept plodding along and got to 21k in 1hr 55 which I was happy with. I could feel my niggle from about 10k onwards but it wasn’t paining me too much. I met Denis along the way at about 25/26k and it was good to have a chat as I was finding it tough going mentally at that stage. All I could think was the distance that was left and how my knee was getting worse. My groin was acting up also. Got to 30k in 2hr 50 but was finding it very difficult at this stage. I just kept telling myself to move forward no matter how slow. I know my pace had slowed right down and the 4hr pacers crept up on me. I gave a little burst for a km or two with them but I just couldn’t keep up.

I kept struggling along slowly and got a surprise when my friend who started with the 3hr 40min pacers rocked up behind me. We were both in bits. At that stage I just started laughing. We both started walking and my legs started to cramp up loads. Both my groins and my knee were killing me. I still couldn’t stop smiling at the two of us hobbling around like we had got hip replacements or something.:pac: I knew the walking wasn’t doing my any favours and tried to get going again.


Saw Dubgal at the bottom of that hill (is that the heartbreak hill one?) Don’t think I looked in great shape. Went through the next few km of walking/shuffling. Stopped again to try and strech just off the slip road on the Stillorgan road. Started cramping pretty badly and luckily there was two paramedic (or St.Johns ambulance) people nearby. They carried me up to the physio tent at the top of the slip road where I got an extreamly painful session on my groins. No pain no gain as he kept saying.:)

Only had 4km left at this stage but it felt like an eternity. My groins felt a bit of an improvement after the rub down and I shuffled my way probably another 1/1.5km. I couldn’t bend my knee at this stage and was sliding my left foot along the floor as I 'ran'. I am pretty sure I looked ridiculous. When I got to the home stretch I gave one last push. Saw some friends in the crowd which helped and of course the general support there too was amazing. Scraped over the line in 4hr 35min which although I am a but dissapointed with, I am delighted to have finished at all.

Only got into Mcgrattens for a few mins as I was in a bit of rush. Pity I couldn’t stay longer sounds like it was good craic. I did manage to get some pints back home though.
So what are peoples plans now? Will you keep up the running and attempt more marathons in the future or is it too soon to say?

Pre-race: Got to sleep around 11pm and woke up involuntarily at 5am. Hung around bed until 6 or so, threw a bottle into the 2 year old to keep him quiet and started to get ready. Ate a large bowl of porridge with raspberries and honey, a cup of coffee and glass of water. I treated myself to a taxi into town. When I stepped outside I was pretty concerned by the wind, but things weren't as blustery in town.

Got in to town pointlessly early, around 7.35. I don't recommend this, but I always show up for races, flights etc. stupidly early. Sat around for a bit nervously checking my phone, got my runners on and dropped the bag in, strolling over to Wave 1 around 8:10 and sipped on a bottle of High-5 Xtreme.

I didn't plan on doing a warmup, so I just strolled up and down the wave 1 area to keep warm. I met murph_d and exchanged well wishes. I started to realise that I needed to pee again, but by now it was a little late to do anything about it. Met jake when he was making his way up past me and exchanged more nervous well wishes. I realised around now that I'd forgotten to apply some nipple protection cream and the paceband I got printed at the expo :rolleyes:

I've mentioned before that my left shoulder has been getting sore during long runs. When I went to the physio a few weeks ago he reckoned it was related to lack of mobility in my neck. In the short runs I was doing in the last few days, my shoulder was getting sore immediately and was starting to ache during the day, which was new. On Saturday I got some ibuprofen and it immediately got rid of the ache. Same on Sunday. I decided I'd take some before the race. This was obviously a risk - taking painkillers isn't recommended when racing, and I certainly hadn't been taking any in previous runs, but I felt I had something inflamed and not taking something would potentially mean suffering disruptive amounts of pain.

At around 8:50 I took the ibuprofen and dumped my sacrificial hoodie and now empty bottle of High-5. I was worried that I'd be overwhelmed with emotion near the start of the race, but it didn't happen. I was pretty relaxed and looking forward to starting.

The race!
Mile splits are from my Nike+ app on my iPhone. They're on the optimistic side, the app reckoned I completed the marathon distance 5 minutes before I finished the race.

Miles 1-3(8'17, 7'47, 8'03): Lined up a bit back from the 3:30 pacers and went over the line with 01:30 on the clock exactly. I just enjoyed the first few miles. CALM was my mantra at this stage Pretty much zero ducking and diving, though there was the odd slow-coach to route around. Getting used to the support was pretty nice and was enjoying reading the signs. Plunging down to the river wasn't so great, though I was pleasantly surprised about the lack of wind when on the quays. Heading up Manor St. at this pace felt no longer trivial but I was totally in control. Got surprised by the location of the first water station and needed to get out of its way quickly.

Miles 4-6 (7'44, 7'54, 7'40): Took my first gel on the NCR. Things got a bit tight when heading into the park and bumped off somebody. I really had to pee at this stage, so diverted off the course to the side of the zoo. Top tip - don't go near the edge of the African Plains in the zoo any time soon As expected, the course was tight enough around the back of the zoo, and it opened up nicely on Chesterfield. It was nice to have a bit of wind at my back, but again it wasn't as strong as I was expecting. Was a little worried I'd be coming in too fast over the 10k tracker, checked my phone when I ran over it then immediately saw a proper race timer :rolleyes: The support in Castleknock was fantastic, naturally sped up a little and smiled a lot going through here.

Miles 7-9 (7'51, 7'28, 7'45): Had the 3'30 pacers in sight going down Tower Road, and decided to catch up with them a bit - they were maybe about a minute ahead. Met my old boss in the park, and proceeded to catch up with him and chat away for the next few miles. Got hit by some gusts of wind from the side on the Upper Glen Road and proceeded to tuck in. However these miles passed really quickly due to chatting away!

Miles 10-12 (7'42, 8'00, 7'57): Crawl up the hills into Inchicore were pretty tough, though going under the bridges was good fun. Still chatting away and still got the 3:30 pacers in sight. The crowds around Kilmainham and Dolphins Barn were great and provided a good lift.

Miles 13-15 (7'57, 8'08, 7'41): Eased off a little after passing the half. Left my old boss in around Mile 15 and started to catch up to the 3'30 pacers. Effort definitely increasing, bit of a drag and windy here. Mantra here was SMASHINER (thanks denis_b and smashiner ) - get behind other runners and avoid the stupid wind! Was passing a lot of people out here.

Miles 16-18 (7'40, 7'44, 7'43): Caught up to the pacers at mile 17 :cool: It was a lot warmer being surrounded by so many people. More great atmosphere around Terenure and Rathgar, and the pacers were great at egging on the crowd. Something around my left hamstring popped up and said hello here, it was aching for the rest of the run but wasn't getting worse, so didn't really bother me. My middle toe on my right foot started being a little sore here too, again a new pain but not getting worse so not a problem. Started to do some counting to 100 here - 1,2,3,4... Glad to be back on familiar territory from Rathgar.

Miles 19-21 (8'00, 7'52, 7'55): Mantra became "this is it" at mile 20. Tough enough up to Milltown, but reminding myself I'm exactly where I want to be. I was starting to get tired right on cue. My tummy went briefly wonky, did a fart and it calmed down I think I remember doing a small mouth-vomit, but it wasn't bad. At the bottom of the Clonskeagh Road my right foot ended getting soaked, I was taking the corner tightly and there was a load of water pouring down the hill. More counting to 100 and keeping with the pacers, though they started to pull away once approaching the summit of Mount Roebuck.

Miles 22-24 (8'02, 7'55, 8'06): Ouch. Did my now-routine falling apart after waving to dubgal during a race Had to stop for a breather after turning on to Fosters Avenue, energy was very low. Stopped again and stepped off the road after turning on to the Stillorgan Road, and a steward on a bike popped up immediately and started giving me very clear instructions on what to do - slow down, relax, get back into the rhythm. It was great advice, delivered brilliantly even though I could barely acknowledge it at the time. Took out my phone at the UCD flyover to read a text to confirm where my wife and 5 year old were, but really dragging myself along here.

Miles 25 - 26.2 (8'46, 8'47, ?): I stopped 3 or 4 times along here. The pattern was stop for 20-30 seconds, then resume at a reasonable pace (probably 8'20 or so). I grabbed my first bit of free grub coming up to Stillorgan Road, a nice jaffa cake. Passing the RDS I took out my phone again to see was 3:30 in play, as the 3:30 pacer balloon (I think one had popped) had been out of sight for quite some time now - it wasn't really in play, unless I could pull out two very fast kilometres. Still felt quite wrecked going through Ballsbridge and didn't perk up much until over the canal bridge - seeing the finishing line didn't give me a much of a boost, just relief that it this was ending soon. Waved to wife and child outside Howl At the Moon, and tried to empty the tank for the last few hundred metres. Raised arms going over the line with 3:33:33 on the clock, which gave me a big smile.

Shuffled woefully through the medal/bag/t-shirt area. I was semi-delirious and exhausted. Started chatting to a randomer half way around the square and was getting somewhat back to normal. Got out of the marathon zone, found the wife, babbled semi-coherently for a bit and started knacker drinking Metalman on Fitzwilliam Place

Official timer data:
Distance|Time|Pace|Position
0-10k|50:22|8'07/mile|3085
10k-13.1 miles|54:37|7'56/mile|2806
13.1 miles - 30k|43:30|7'52/mile|2273
30k - finish|1:03:36|8'24/mile|2243


Gun time: 3:33:33
Chip time: 3:32:04 (8'06/mile, 2212 position)

Positive split of 2 minutes and 8 seconds - 1:44:58/1:46:06

My second and fourth best half-marathon times respectively - well, I ran a 1:45 13.1 miles in a training run a month or so ago, but that was measured with the ever optimistic Nike+ app so likely my second and third fastest HM distance times!

Retrospective: Perfect race until mile 21 or so. Delighted with my time, even though I did fall apart a bit, but to be honest I'm not that surprised or disappointed. I don't think I could have gona much slower and actually made 3:30. Maybe I pushed on too early to catch up to the 3:30 pacers? I could have done that a bit later, but I wanted to be with them by Milltown and try to hang on with them until the end. I had probably banked up to a minute from starting behind them so would have gone over the line around 3:29 had I stuck with them, maybe catching up all the way to them was energy wasted. The hills were really tough. In retrospect, most of my training runs were not on hilly routes, and the hills also got to me badly during the 10mile and half-marathon races. I'll need to do a lot more hill and strength work in future cycles.

I used my phone pretty minimally during the marathon - I use the Nike+ app exclusively to track time, distance and pace, but I only pulled it out of my Flipbelt 4 times in total - twice to check the official time after going over the 10k and half-way points (which I didn't need to as there were clocks there), at UCD to check a text from the wife with her location and then at the RDS to see was 3:30 in play. Otherwise I just used the pacers to judge pace and how I was doing.

Fuel wise I got through about 4 or 5 gels and took some Lucozade Sport whenever it was being given out. I wasn't fuelling as much near the end, maybe I should have, but the brief tummy scare at Milltown meant I didn't feel like eating. I drank water at most stations.

The gamble paid off with the ibuprofen - my shoulder was a little sore during the race but not very sore. It also wasn't aching afterwards, which was usually the case after 20 mile runs.

Post-race: Had a great time in McGrattan's despite fainting (WTF!). It appears I lost around 3kg in weight. Today I'm very fatigued, discovering all sorts of new ways for my legs to be sore, but not in as much pain as I thought I'd be.

Race Report Dublin City Marathon 2015 – Mrs Mc (Marathon Runner woh woh !!!) Official time 4.31.23:D:D:D

Well I can’t believe that I am sitting here reflecting on one of the most epic days of my life that is up there with the birth of my two daughters and my wedding day. I can’t believe how accomplished I feel having completed this huge milestone in my life. If you had said to me a year ago I would have run a marathon I would have laughed at you and to be honest I probably did ! It has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, but the training and race day are one of the most challenging things both physically and mentally that I have ever encountered.. I now understand what everyone says when they say it’s the last 6 miles that will kill you, having gone through it, I can see how it’s a run of 20 miles and then it’s those last 6 miles that will break you and will test your level of training and sheer determination to get to the finish.

So Race Day….. thought it would never come. Sunday was such an endless non-event day really missed my LSR. Slept really well on Sunday night and was up at 5.45 for the usual routine. Found it hard to eat my breakfast with a mixture of emotions and nerves. My two sisters arrived at 7.15 and the bikes were loaded up onto the back of the car. I got a bit teary before we left and was glad I got rid of the emotion before we left the house. Picked up Smiley70 at 7.30 and off we went. We left FBOT and my two sisters, headed for the start area. The atmosphere was already building in town it was electric. Seeing the length of the toilet queues we decided to try the toilets in the Merrion Hotel, where we walked into non queue, clean, warm luxurious toilets, which was a great start to the day. Dropped off our bags and headed to wave 3. PJD was there with his red balloon and DCM clappers so we spotted him straight away and headed for the 4.30 group with MurphD pacer extraordinare there to lead the way, met Toulouse, Emsy, Leanne, and I think chops123 was the other girl there we exchanged hellos but used real names not boardies name !
Then we were off. I still couldn’t believe we were running the Dublin City Marathon. I was on a high.:eek:

Decided to run a bit back from the pacers at the start due to the congestion, broke the race down into 4 bits 6 miles, 13 miles, 20 miles and the finish. I would work through each of the 4 pieces of the race as a stepping stone to the next.
First 10km Average pace 10.17

I can’t describe the atmosphere, the crowds were unreal. FBOT and the rest of the support crew were going to be at James Joyce bridge so was dying to see them. Was warned by FBOT not to be throwing my arms in the air and roaring, to conserve my energy but I couldn’t help it I was on a high – I was doing my first marathon WOHHHH and the arms went up the air. Got a shout out from FBOT “get your arms down” passed over the bridge to another support crew from St Anne’s Park Run, FBOT wasn’t looking so threw the arms in the air again. That was it, would conserve my energy from now on!! We had Mr Blobby running with us for a while much to the amusement of the runners when he decided he needed a loo break in the trees and the full costume had to come off to the roar of the runners! These were the things that made the miles slip away. Took a while to get into a steady pace although the splits are consistent each mile but felt I didn’t settle into a pace until I hit Chesterfield Ave. Love running in the park and support was great here. Wind wasn’t too bad either. Had caught up with MurphD at this stage and pretty much ran on his shoulder till 21 miles. Felt comfortable the pace felt steady and a runner from Ballina called Orla ran by my side and chattered away which was great. Took a gel here. Felt good.

Half Average pace 10.15

Again the support was unreal passing Myos pub in Castleknock was like a wall of shouting and roaring. As we approached Capelizod Gate FBOT was up a pole roaring support and my two sisters were jumping around with clappers in their hand they were just brilliant I got a great kick out of them. Was slowly starting to get used people calling my name as it was printed on my tshirt. Was still running with MurphD and my new running buddy from Ballina who thought I knew everyone in Dublin seeing as they were calling my name, she was suitably impressed when a guard shouted “come on Anne”, and then wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. MurphD continued to tell us where in Dublin we were as I hadn’t a clue and how we were doing on pace, still felt very comfortable. Ballina girl chatted away which I was glad of as I was just conserving energy. At this stage I wasn’t even looking at time or miles or pace was leaving that all to MurphD and just concentrated on keeping with his pace. The miles just clocked away. Still felt good. Another support gang at Dolphins Barn, FBOT told me I was doing great and keep with MurphD, there was no way I was letting him out of my sight. Had another gel here.

30 km Average pace 10.23

Crumlin had a bit of a drag here, but still managed to stick to pace and as we went through some of the Terenure 5 mile course I started to recognise Bushy Park and KCR. Still felt comfortable and was feeding off the support of the crowd. PJD came back to keep me company and one stage and he was wired roaring at the crowd and clattering his DCM clappers at everyone including dogs. I just couldn’t keep up the conversation I could feel myself starting to get tired but appreciated his company for a number of miles here. Needed a top up of Nunn as I had finished both my water bottles. Saw FBOT in the distance and signalled to him for supplies. Got a shout out from my support gang here again who really seemed to be having a great day out. FBOT ran with me and very skilfully filled my water bottle from a beaker gave me another gel and told me to stick with MurphD I was doing great.

19 miles to the Finish pace 10.30

And here’s where the training comes to test you. This section was the hardest. We had reached 20 miles at this stage the end was in sight. It was only another 6 miles I could do this. Ballina was still with me and we matched pace. We passed Laura_AC somewhere along here and gratefully took jelly beans from her as she shouted out support running along with us. Firedance was all excited at Milltown when she saw MurphD but then nearly broke ear drums around her when she saw me running alongside him, it was so funny and very much appreciated girls thanks so much. MurphD then turned to us and told us that we would have to dig deep for the next mile. The legs heard this and suddenly started to feel heavy. This must be Heartbreak Hill coming I thought to myself and I suddenly felt my pace drop. Not sure what happened me but I started to feel overcome with emotion as the yellow pacer balloons moved slightly away from me. We came across a few hills around here and I still wasn’t sure which was Heartbreak Hill. Started to talk to myself a bit and the plan B came into my head which was 4.40. Suddenly I gave myself a kick in the arse “ you are not going to let 18 weeks of training make you give up just like that”, heartbreak hill was in the distance, is that it I said to myself, sure Watermill Road in Raheny is worse than that and suddenly I started to pick up pace again. 22 miles saw my pace drop to 10.43. Let’s move on I told myself. FBOT was on the UCD flyover and so was my cousin this picked me up. I could still see the yellow balloons in the distance. I reminded myself that I had started behind the pacers and they usually bring you in 30 seconds under pace so all was not lost. Dug deep and bagged 10.15 here back on pace. My kids and mam were at Merrion Centre, more friends along here, in laws further up, FBOT and support crew at Bewleys this wall of support got me through these last few miles. LauraAc and Firedance appeared again Laura running with me to tell me to keep going. Determined not to stop I kept running, Everyone was shouting my name telling me I was nearly there. I could see Mount Street ahead. Mrs KennyG gave a roar here. Looked at my watch and saw that I might hit 4.31 I was so chuffed with myself. The finish was in sight. Crossed the Finish, was allowed to throw the arms in the air here as I had no energy to keep now. 4.31.23 woh who, was chuffed. What a day, what an achievement, was so proud of myself.:D:D:D

Great to catch up with all the gang in McGrattans after. Big shout out to DG and all the mentors for their time and support. Particular shout out to my hubby FBOT who has been my personal mentor for the past 18 weeks and a huge support to me through out and on the day too. Thanks for all the support around the course everyone it was an epic day I will never forget. MurphD you’re a legend, thanks for the pacing duties and the support around the course.

Apologies for the long post guys but I am still on a bit of a high

Fantastic Mrs Mc, really brilliant. Well done, a super report and experience and delighted for you. FBOT up a tree

aquinn wrote: »

Fantastic Mrs Mc, really brilliant. Well done, a super report and experience and delighted for you. FBOT up a tree

FBOT up a tree and blowing on some horn he got at a dubs match. I can't bring him anywhere but I appreciated it so much yesterday !

Well done Anne.
You should be very proud of yourself. Only dropping 15 seconds or so per mile when you got into the unknown latter stages is a great effort on your first go. I dropped about a minute per mile on my debut from 17 miles in.

Loved this bit :

Mrs Mc wrote: »

she was suitably impressed when a guard shouted “come on Anne”, and then wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

p.s. I can't believe that not only did I not spot you, or many of the other runners I was looking for yesterday, but I didn't see FBOT either and I was on James Joyce Bridge for 40+ minutes. I prefer running these marathons to spectating. Much easier :P

yaboya1 wrote: »

Well done Anne.
You should be very proud of yourself. Only dropping 15 seconds or so per mile when you got into the unknown latter stages is a great effort on your first go. I dropped about a minute per mile on my debut from 17 miles in.

Loved this bit :



p.s. I can't believe that not only did I not spot you, or many of the other runners I was looking for yesterday, but I didn't see FBOT either and I was on James Joyce Bridge for 40+ minutes. I prefer running these marathons to spectating. Much easier :P

Don't know how you missed me P I was on MurphD shoulder from 6 to 21 and he had a big yellow balloon !!! There must have been some hot chick near me that was distracting you .... Maybe it was Ballina Orla !!!

In the midst of all these awesome race reports, I just want to thank DG again and congratulate all my fellow novices! I also want to broach something that may resonate more with some of us more than others. The post marathon blues.....

There is a strange finality to yesterday's events. We have come so far together and now its over. You may feel sad. You may feel a type of loss. Acknowledge it and name it.

Personally, I have a long overdue date with my cycling club (sorry DG! :-)) But im not done with running! I will be running slowly this saturday at St Annes Parkrun. I may even wear fancy dress. I am thinking of shorter distance events and maybe a few off road gigs. So im not done yet! As for marathons.... the legs are too sore to give you a sensible answer and it may have been the beer talking in McGrattans; but I think I have a date with Mrs Mac and Mrs KennyG for the Paris marathon next year!! Who knows.... we are all awesome after all!!