DCM 2018 - Mentored Novice Thread

Hello there, you're all very welcome to the DCM 2018 Mentored Novices Thread!

This is the 10th year that Boards has offered support and advice to DCM Novices. In 2009, -amadeus-- composed the opening symphony. Rainbow kirby took over in 2010, Raycun in 2011, followed by Younganne in 2012. career_move kept the show on the road in 2013, succeeded by Ososlo for the 2014 stanza. Dubgal72 with her expert coaching managed to get her crew through in 2015, while the 2016 edition was hosted by the notorious (not really!) nop98, in 2017 Wubble Wubble did a sterling job to bring Wubble's Wonders to the start line and me along with them which brings us to 2018...

About the Novices thread
This thread is aimed at anyone considering doing the Dublin City Marathon for the first time this year, on October 28th. It isn't limited to those who haven't run a marathon before, maybe you ran one but it's a few years ago and you're getting back into it or maybe you ran it but it didn't go well and now you're looking for a different approach...

The Training
Training for any marathon is tough, especially if it's your first! It helps if you can spare a lot of time to devote to it, it can involve a fair amount of running at stupid o'clock as your runs get longer.

Our training plans commence on Monday, June 25th, that is 8 weeks from today. I recommend that you have been running quite regularly for a year. Come June 25th, you want to be running comfortably 3-4 times a week, every week, covering at least 20 miles per week. If you want some advise on how to build your mileage up to 20 mpw over the next 8 weeks then we're here for that too

Have a look at the two training plans on offer and see if you can find a way to fit one of them into your life for 18 weeks. Can you fit this in your daily routine, your holiday plans, your family life? If you're unsure, just try it out for a couple of weeks and see how you get on. The mileage in the programs will go up, so be realistic in your self-assessment. If you have doubts post here and we'll give you our honest opinions.

Training Plans
The Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan is a widely used novice marathon plan. It's a simple, and straightforward plan, which slowly increases the weekly mileage to eventually include a 20 mile training run, and has step-back weeks built in to help the body adapt. It uses 3 mid-week runs, which will slowly increase in length, and a longer weekend run. Ideally, you mix in one day of cross-training, too.

The Boards plan for 2018 is for slightly more experienced runners. It includes more variety in paces (either "easy" pace, or PMP ("planned marathon pace")), it includes strides on some of the easy runs, and generally covers more miles - e.g. 2 * 20 milers.

Both plans include all the Race Series build-up races (the South Dublin 10k in Swords on July 22nd, the Frank Duffy 10-miler on Sept 2nd in Fingal, and the Race Series Half Marathon, on September 22 in the Phoenix Park). You don't have to run these races, but it's a good idea to try one or more of them or other races of similar distances during the program to give yourself a feel for running at race pace and to see how much you've progressed. If the dates of your choosen races don't tie in exactly with the plan then don't worry - we can advise you on how to restructure the plan as we go on.

There are many more plans out there of course, but we recommend that you choose one of the above and trust the plan you choose! Both of these plans have got countless runners across the line over the past 9 years and they can get you across the line in 2018!

General Guidelines
The longest runs are the most important. You can of course switch runs around within a week if you need to. If you have to skip a run, try make it one of the short runs. When it's gone, it's gone. Do not go chasing lost mileage in subsequent weeks.

Run slow. Once you think you run slow enough, run even slower. You will hear this on repeat for the next 26 weeks and for a reason, you will not be able to complete all the training miles if you don't run the majority of them slow (slower than you will run on the day itself and possibly slower than you have ever run).

Once the program is about to start, we'll talk about how to determine your training paces.

Be realistic. A marathon is no mean physical or mental challenge - hopefully you will have raced at some of the shorter distances already. Don't set your heart on hitting a particular time. You won't have a pace car in front of you to block out the wind, or have water bottles handed to you, a la Kipchoge and co. If you do want to set a target time, be conservative. The marathon has so many variables that can impact on your time.

Listen to your body. If something doesn't feel right, stop your run. If it continues, seek professional guidance. As per general Boards guidelines, we cannot offer medical advice.

You'll have to make sure your wife/husband/partner is on your side. Believe you and me, it does make a difference when he/she is ready and willing to support what you're doing.

And Here Is Your Host...
I jumped on the 2017 Novices bus for my first and to date only marathon. I joined a fantastic group of fellow novices, DCM was only the beginning of the journey for most of us... The support, encouragement, advice along the way was incredible as was the day itself which surpassed my expectations in every way possible. I trained for a faster time than i achieved but i had no idea of how much MORE i would achieve than a finishing time which in the end was irrelevant because i had the most amazing experience running my 1st marathon and made friendships that it seems are for life (for better or worse i can't seem to shake them off :P). You may go on to run many more marathons in the future, but as the saying goes "You never forget your first".

Let me tell you this time last year i had many doubts; 3 young kids, a full time job, my OH had a full time job, a commute to his job, a part-time job and a hobby or two (how dare he )... so seriously fitting in the training was my biggest worry but i discovered that if you want something badly enough you will find or make the time for it... a good time for a cliche? Here it is - "where there is a will there really is a way"!

And just to let you know it's not just me you will be behind you, skyblue46 (the elder statesman of the 2017 bunch :P) and KellyGirl who is about to embark on her 4th marathon in a few weeks time will also be around to share their knowledge and experiences. As will many more of the 2017 novices and other experienced runners from these parts

If i can do it, anyone can, anyone including you!

Over to you now
To finish, I'd really appreciate if you could tell us a little bit about yourself, and answer the following questions.

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? (No problem if you do)
How much training do you currently do ? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant to your current fitness level.
What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Or just complete it in no specified time?
How many days a week can you train? And what plan do you intend to follow?
What is your biggest worry/fear/doubt (if you have any!) in signing up?
Why are you running this marathon?

Thanks for reading. Once again, welcome to the thread, should you choose to accept the challenge i guarantee you will not regret it!