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DCM 2019 Graduates: the rest of your life that happens after the marathon
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06-11-2019 11:47pm#1Hello all, and welcome to this year’s edition of the graduates thread!
As many of you will know, the yearly Dublin Marathon Novices thread is one of the best things on boards.ie (and in life in general), where all of the agony, joy, heartbreak, worry and satisfaction of doing your first marathon somehow gets a community of runners together on the internet to try and help make it work out more enjoyable than it might have been otherwise, both as a member of a community and also as a runner. The graduates thread traditionally happens soon after the marathon and attempts to keep you all together in a kind of post-club 3AM “all back to my gaff” sort of way. We might lose some people along the way, and it might get messy at times but it’s where the best stuff really happens... wait, what were we talking about again?
Unfortunately for this year’s set of graduates there were no good or available candidates to run the thread and so after much angst and desperation the wise elders of Athletics & Running asked me to look after this year’s graduates :pac:
Who am I? I’m a proud 2015 Mentored Novices Graduate and somehow I’ve kept running and posting to boards since then. My own background wasn’t sporty at all, I’m a classic midlife crisis hobby jogger
I have benefitted hugely in my life from both running and the boards.ie Athletics / Running community and am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead you astray help you grow as runners.
So what do we all want to get out of a graduate thread? Really it’s about keeping the community together and helping each other grow. After your first marathon, you’re probably as fit as you’ve ever been and slightly bitten by the running bug. There are many however many directions you can go: more marathons, ultra-marathon runner, track speedster, mountain goat, cross-country mud lover, speedy sprinter and possibly even a triathlon… person. The race announcer from the Dublin Marathon and Race Series regularly uses this quote from Dr. Seuss before most races which is a little bit corny but also totally true:
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
Ok, there’s the inspirational quote bit done! Now, what are we going to do on this thread?
Just like Mr. Guappa so expertly did on the Novices thread, I’ll ask weekly questions of you all. I’ll also set a weekly challenge, which will be running orientated. This is a new part of the graduates thread, and hopefully it’ll work out The purpose of the challenge is to maybe try one or two new things out or explore areas related to running. The challenges won’t be anything too difficult and are not mandatory at all, but it should add a little bit of fun, variety and comradery to the thread. Finally, we should all be following some sort of structured plan and telling each other how it’s going. I will be recommending KSU’s 2016 graduates plan which is designed exactly for this purpose. I think it’s a great plan as it’s time based, rather than orientated around distance. The plan has an initial base building which is ideal for building back up after a marathon. There is some solid progression in it and will bring most runners along, and there are also race distance specific plans to follow after the base building phase. If it’s not for you or you have some other ideas of a plan to follow, then by all means do you want to do but do let us know what you’re up to and how it’s going. Whatever you do, it is important to retain structure and consistency, as these are the fundamentals of improving as a runner.
The graduates thread is also a good opportunity to ask questions. I won’t have all the answers, but will help out where I can. Other graduates are also very much encouraged to give their own answers and I’m sure that other folks from the boards running community will drop in with their wisdom too. I recommend taking advantage of the thread and community at large, as it’s an amazing opportunity to learn and grow as a runner, as well as contributing back to the community. There’s no such thing as a bad question, or answer, here.
Finally to kick things off, here are a couple of questions for you all to answer in the thread.
1. Do you have any goals over the next few months? What are they and why?
2. What would you like to get out of this thread?
p.s. it’s totally ok to participate in the thread if you aren’t a Dublin City Marathon 2019 graduate. No matter what your background, do feel free to participate fully. It might be a bit weird if Eliud Kipchoge showed up and started asking some questions and posting his weekly updates, but if you’re not him then it’s all good.
p.p.s congrats to skyblue46 on correctly guessing the next mentor. Who's gonna be next year's Novices mentor? 49
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Nice one B, great to see you taking this on against your will for the new graduates!
To the new graduates, as Singer mentioned, you will be undoubtedly shopping around to see which plan suits you best, once you've decided what the next 12 months has in store for you.
Personally, I'd say you can't go wrong with the graduates plan. I benefitted hugely from it throughout this year as it saw me though some very satisfying PB's at 5 mile, 10 mile, half marathon (x2) and marathon distances.
Looking forward to seeing how you progress and best of luck to you all as you spread your wings, you have a superb mentor in Singer!! 0 -
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Thanks Singer for taking us under ur wing
I had a great DCM and count myself very lucky. I came in at 4:32, probably 13min under my 'wish list' time, after niggling injuries and the usual life crises leading up to a big day. Going forward, i would love to break PBs upto HM distances.
To date my pbs (all in last few months) are
5k 24:xx
10k 54:xx
HM: 2:04
Im def a mid life crises runner only started last year. It has changed my life. Looking forward to following the grads plan ! 0 -
Thanks Singer for taking us under ur wing
I had a great DCM and count myself very lucky. I came in at 4:32, probably 13min under my 'wish list' time, after niggling injuries and the usual life crises leading up to a big day. Going forward, i would love to break PBs upto HM distances.
To date my pbs (all in last few months) are
5k 24:xx
10k 54:xx
HM: 2:04
Im def a mid life crises runner only started last year. It has changed my life. Looking forward to following the grads plan !
Great stuff kulekat, and well done on coming in well under your target at DCM! It sounds like you'll really enjoy the graduates plan. Have you any races in mind?0 -
Swashbuckler wrote: »Great choice. Congrats Singer.
In fairness to skyblue he had so many candidates on the guess list he was bound to be right with one.
1/8.... Odds on favourite! I'll say no more 0 -
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Delighted to see this thread startup and the choice of graduate mentor. Whilst I probably won't follow the graduates plan, I do want to participate and get advice from other fellow runners in the thread. Having ran DCM19 in 3.26 I'm hoping to continue on improving my times over the various distances and eventually build up to next years DCM (already entered!)
1. Do you have any goals over the next few months? What are they and why?
I'm going to follow a plan that my OH did 2 years ago, which will average about 40 miles a week. It involves a lot of varied runs (including a lot of easy running) which seems interesting to me. Having followed the P&D 55 mile plan for the DCM19, I should be ok for it. Next target race is Dungarvan 10 in Feb which I hope to go under 70mins. Might also do the Togher 5k around Xmas too. I still think endurance is the main weakness I need to work on so will try to average 40 plus weekly miles for 2020.
2. What would you like to get out of this thread?
Well obviously to run a sub 3 hour marathon, let me know how to do that mr mentor (congrats btw):D:D 0 -
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Thanks so much for taking us on, Singer
DCM 2019 was not my first marathon but I hadn’t raced one since 2002 so it was like beginning again. I have been running off and on and participating in races just for fun since college (I’m 43 now) but really want to focus on it this year and be more consistent. I really enjoy the gym/cardio classes and other sports but this is where my passion is and I want to be more organized in my approach. I will continue to participate in other activities (body combat, body pump, and maybe yoga if I can) but running will be my priority.
My goal this year is to improve my recent times in 5k, 10k, 10 miles, 1/2 and the full 26.2. I feel like my endurance is pretty good, I just need to work on speeding up
2019 PBs were 1:01:07 for 10k, 1:44:49 for 10 miles, 2:16:54 for 1/2, and 5:05:17 for the full. I haven’t done a 5k in recent memory. Parkruns unfortunately don’t suit as my kids are involved in sports on Saturday mornings all over the place.
I know I’m capable of quicker times, particularly for the marathon so looking to work on that.
So far, I’ve signed up for the Jingle Bells 5k, the Trim 10 mile, and DCM 2020. I’ll likely also do the Killary Gaelforce Bray Cliff 10k in April, Women’s Mini Marathon in May, the Bay 10k and definitely the three KBC race series races.
Right now I am following Hal Higdons post marathon recovery program, which is 5 weeks long, ending with a race which for me will be the JB 5k. After that I’ll switch to the grads plan.
Thanks again for the thread and guidance. The novices thread was invaluable to me and helped me stick to a plan instead of my usual haphazard approach to running and races. Looking forward to the year ahead and participating in this 0 -
Hello all, and welcome to this year’s edition of the graduates thread!
As many of you will know, the yearly Dublin Marathon Novices thread is one of the best things on boards.ie (and in life in general), where all of the agony, joy, heartbreak, worry and satisfaction of doing your first marathon somehow gets a community of runners together on the internet to try and help make it work out more enjoyable than it might have been otherwise, both as a member of a community and also as a runner. The graduates thread traditionally happens soon after the marathon and attempts to keep you all together in a kind of post-club 3AM “all back to my gaff” sort of way. We might lose some people along the way, and it might get messy at times but it’s where the best stuff really happens... wait, what were we talking about again?
Unfortunately for this year’s set of graduates there were no good or available candidates to run the thread and so after much angst and desperation the wise elders of Athletics & Running asked me to look after this year’s graduates :pac:
Who am I? I’m a proud 2015 Mentored Novices Graduate and somehow I’ve kept running and posting to boards since then. My own background wasn’t sporty at all, I’m a classic midlife crisis hobby jogger I have benefitted hugely in my life from both running and the boards.ie Athletics / Running community and am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead you astray help you grow as runners.
So what do we all want to get out of a graduate thread? Really it’s about keeping the community together and helping each other grow. After your first marathon, you’re probably as fit as you’ve ever been and slightly bitten by the running bug. There are many however many directions you can go: more marathons, ultra-marathon runner, track speedster, mountain goat, cross-country mud lover, speedy sprinter and possibly even a triathlon… person. The race announcer from the Dublin Marathon and Race Series regularly uses this quote from Dr. Seuss before most races which is a little bit corny but also totally true:
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
Ok, there’s the inspirational quote bit done! Now, what are we going to do on this thread?
Just like Mr. Guappa so expertly did on the Novices thread, I’ll ask weekly questions of you all. I’ll also set a weekly challenge, which will be running orientated. This is a new part of the graduates thread, and hopefully it’ll work out The purpose of the challenge is to maybe try one or two new things out or explore areas related to running. The challenges won’t be anything too difficult and are not mandatory at all, but it should add a little bit of fun, variety and comradery to the thread. Finally, we should all be following some sort of structured plan and telling each other how it’s going. I will be recommending KSU’s 2016 graduates plan which is designed exactly for this purpose. I think it’s a great plan as it’s time based, rather than orientated around distance. The plan has an initial base building which is ideal for building back up after a marathon. There is some solid progression in it and will bring most runners along, and there are also race distance specific plans to follow after the base building phase. If it’s not for you or you have some other ideas of a plan to follow, then by all means do you want to do but do let us know what you’re up to and how it’s going. Whatever you do, it is important to retain structure and consistency, as these are the fundamentals of improving as a runner.
The graduates thread is also a good opportunity to ask questions. I won’t have all the answers, but will help out where I can. Other graduates are also very much encouraged to give their own answers and I’m sure that other folks from the boards running community will drop in with their wisdom too. I recommend taking advantage of the thread and community at large, as it’s an amazing opportunity to learn and grow as a runner, as well as contributing back to the community. There’s no such thing as a bad question, or answer, here.
Finally to kick things off, here are a couple of questions for you all to answer in the thread.
1. Do you have any goals over the next few months? What are they and why?
2. What would you like to get out of this thread?
p.s. it’s totally ok to participate in the thread if you aren’t a Dublin City Marathon 2019 graduate. No matter what your background, do feel free to participate fully. It might be a bit weird if Eliud Kipchoge showed up and started asking some questions and posting his weekly updates, but if you’re not him then it’s all good.
p.p.s congrats to skyblue46 on correctly guessing the next mentor. Who's gonna be next year's Novices mentor?
Singer really appreciate you taking us on. The boards plan and mentor support were invaluable for my DCM training.
My goals over the next few months are to work on my times from 5k to half marathon. I'm not doing a marathon next year - if I do it again I'd like to do it as a faster runner with a decent hope of getting in under my 2019 time. I have signed up for Jingle Bells (and have promised to bring flap jacks for after!) and the Trim 10 mile. I'll likely also do the Mullingar Half on Paddys Day a and maybe the Great Ireland Run for my 10k.
I run with my local club but I stepped back from it during my training for DCM and opted for the boards plan instead. I'm hoping to mix and match between the grads plan and some club sessions to keep up with the gang. I loved all the easy miles of the boards plan but my clubmates just think I've lost it running so slowly! Since DCM I've done three easy runs and a short fartlek session at the track. I'm running 10k with clubmates Sat morning which will be their version of easy rather than mine. I had a quick look at the base plan - what's a progression run?0 -
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1. Do you have any goals over the next few months? What are they and why?
Two initial goals:- Improve my physical durability through S&C 2-3 times a week, this has begun already - DCM broke me physically so I need to get stronger.
- Complete Donadea 50K within the 5 hour cutoff in February.
2. What would you like to get out of this thread?
I'm not sure yet.
Comic Book Guy wrote: »should be a spike in work runmutes too
I'd be interested to get some info surrounding runmutes, it was something I wanted to do towards end of the Novice program but didn't want to change my routine prior to DCM.
Do people do it both ways or go one way and then public transport the other? I'm leaning towards running in to Dublin City but I'm not sure the decline all the way there is going to be of benefit versus the slight incline the opposite way. I do prefer morning runs though.
How should they be run due to the added weight of a backpack? Should pace be slower due to elevated HR? (I'm assuming elevated HR due to extra weight) I'm required by work to bring my laptop home with me so that's 1.5Kg already before adding phone/clothes/lunch etc.0 -
Best of luck with the thread Singer
I'm delighted that the graduates are in such great hands.
You guys will have lots of fun with the grads plans - they are very enjoyable, interesting and effective. In the past year I have followed the base plan, 5k/10k plan and intermediate marathon plan and thoroughly enjoyed all the training, as well as seeing progress in my times across all distances.
Best of luck with your future running guys. I'll follow with interest!0 -
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Brilliant, great to see this get started already. I loved being part of this thread last year, it's such an exciting stage getting stuck into what's next and seeing what everyone else does too. Good luck graduates!
Ah you wouldn't turn Kipchoge away though would you? Thought you and him go way backp.s. it’s totally ok to participate in the thread if you aren’t a Dublin City Marathon 2019 graduate. No matter what your background, do feel free to participate fully. It might be a bit weird if Eliud Kipchoge showed up and started asking some questions and posting his weekly updates, but if you’re not him then it’s all good.
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The Black Oil wrote: »2016 grad here. I used the grads intermediate plan for DCM 2017, Connemara 2018 and the 5-10k part too, with the base before each. Youse are in great hands now.
Thanks whats connemara half like? Def planning it next year! Not the full though 0 -
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