Dublin Marathon 2006

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Comments

  • Jo -

    Thought about doing your speedwork on grass or sand? Would probably necessitate lunchtime and/or weekend sessions now that it's getting dark so early but would do a lot to mitigate your injury worries.

    By the way, you have mail.

    SJ
  • Help

    Please can anyone tell me how to see my photos of Dublin. Can't seem to get anywhere on the website.

    Also, has anyone printed off a certificate yet? What is the point of using Champion Chip if you are not given the chip time as the official result. My certificate shows 4-54-40 but my chip time was 4-52-24!
  • I agree about the chip time Pam...it took my 10 minutes to cross the line!

    There was a link in the Dublin 2005 thread...I'll try to find it for you.
  • Pam -- I agree. Chips chips, spam and chips!!!
  • Dublin Photos

    hope my link works this time - just enter bib number
  • Nuts - too late again!! Just made the fatal error of not saving work regularly, and a crash has just lost my afternoon's work.....
    ho hum!
  • <lifts cup of coffee off Gillers desk and replaces it with a pint>
  • Jo/Ginger thanks. Pint is gratefully received Jo. Think the dinner making will be accompanied by a large G&T tonight! I have autosave on everything except word....damn - off to rectify that now.
  • sshhh, don't mention MS products around here. I come out in a funny rash
  • For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

    At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated,

    " If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon".

    In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):


    1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

    2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car

    3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and! reopen the windows before you could continue.

    4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine

    5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

    6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

    7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

    8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

    9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

    10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

  • Oh Giller, feel for you - I've done the same myself...make that a double G and T

    How are everyone's legs? Feeling recovered? I went for an interesting 'recovery swim' last Friday which went something like this...Cycle to pool in pouring rain. Put wet coat in locker (but don't lock it) and duck into cubicle to strip off. Come out 2 mins later to find coat gone. Realise house and bike keys are in pocket, along with letter with my address on. Oh, b***er, someone could be breaking into my house. Put clothes back on. Report apparent theft to manager, who insists on going through all lockers to check - no luck. Getting nervy about my house now, but bike is locked to bike rack. Run home in rain wearing boots. Realise spare key hidden in back garden but gate is bolted. Climb garden wall and find key. Open front door, relieved to find everything OK. Phone locksmith to change lock. Phone rings - it's the pool, someone has handed your coat in - and the keys and letter are still in the pocket...no idea who's had it in the meantime or why, but no harm done... Cancel locksmith. Run back to pool. Decide to go for swim since I've paid for it. Cycle home. Lie on sofa, completely cream-crackered. Recovery? Think I'll give it a miss next time!
  • Is it ok to join in, feel i might be intruding as ye all seem to know each other very well.
    Ran Dublin this year in a PB of 03:59.
    Found it very tough going for the last 6 miles, thought i was going to die, but keep going to get sub 4 hours.
    Hope to do it again next year.
    Any advice as regards speedwork as i have'nt really used it, could it improve my time do you think ?
  • welcome in Gardener. The important stuff first, tea, coffee, Guinness?

    I'm sure SJ or Mr Happy will be along in the morning with nuggets of speed advice for you. I'm only good for passing the choc biscuits around (was hob-nobs yesterday, I haven't checked today).

    Congrats on your sub 4 btw. What is your next goal?
  • Thanks jo for the welcome and since you're buying make fine a nice slow warm pint of the black stuff.
    I hope to do the Connemara marathon in March.
    Done the 1/2 this year and very impressed with the organisation and the stunning scenery, very very hilly though so will have to do more hill repeats.
    I have a long way to go to reach your standards.
    10k on Sunday,got a pb in the same race last year so we'll see how it goes.
    Better just have the one Guinness if i want a good race
  • Dear Gardener,

    I used some 6 mile sessions on the treadmill (no cheating) including some 8 x 6-or-7-minute miles with one or two minute recoveries) set with a 3.0 hill. And some hill "sprints" outdoors (40 seconds up, jog down, 10 times) That coupled with sufficient long run prep; 1x 18 mile, 1x 20, 1x22

    (Does my bum look big in this ANORAK? What have I become??)

    Result: Also a sub 4, (just!) but only felt I was going to die for about the last 2 miles!!


    Welcome to the Guinness Gang.
  • Thanks for the advice LF will try some of your suggestions.
    I think i have another pint of porter before retiring to bed.
    Cheers...hic...hic...up...
  • Morning all - coffee and croissants at the ready. Hello Gardener... Am in work early to recover from yesterdays disaster - good joke SJ thanks - had forgotton that one!

    I'm am sore all over today - worse than any marathon - the cause?? A squash game (a humiliating one at that).

    All this talk of speedwork - stooopppp....I know I have to start sometime....and the hills too...
  • Sluggie - poor you - what a trauma! Some well meaning person minding your coat!!
  • My self opinionated ramblings on speed - This needs editing by SJ as I am getting a bit doddery now and my memory of some of the things I've read isn't what it used to be.

    I have done a lot of plodding and have asked the question many times how do I improve. Some of the obvious ones - lose excess weight (It is highly likely that Skinny Jim is under weight compared to the average lean man of his size and shape (Seb Coe was about 15% underweight) -No fat - a bit like a greyhound - Am I right SJ?

    A lot of people have told me that the best way to improve is to spend time on your feet at 70% of HRM - gradually as you increase your aerobic capacity you should get a bit faster. (Not sure if I have used the correct terminology) This is the explanation as to why older people are more suited to long distance running because aerobic capacity can improve all your life up to a theoretical maximum -

    Ah and speed training. Apart from the physiological effects I think some of it is mental. I mainly plodded at around 5.7mph for many months. It was only when I started to follow a schedule that I gradually saw some results. My Plodding pace became 6mph then 6.2....6.5. I ran a half in 1:57 = 6.8mph Mentally it felt faster as well.

    But then there is another little nugget - "the only way to run faster is to run faster"

    So Jo's idea of starting from a faster base I think also has a sound basis.

    Most of use when we had our first run were probably out of breath? But I settled into comfortable plodding very quickly. I didn't push - I just loved plodding, listening to MP3s and getting my head sorted on all my runs If I had pushed myself once a week to go at a faster pace then perhaps my average pace would have improved. (Note its fine to plod on the long run but not so much on the others) And you have to get the balance right and train your heart within a structure otherwise you won't see the benefits.

    I also think my stride length has improved slightly - but I never try that hard to stride - it doesn't feel too comfortable - so again perhaps starting almost from scratch with a better stride, faster pace - using heart zones as a guide and I might be able to get there?

    Oh and Dai Lactic took the Mickie - but I did notice that in all my race photo's my feet are always close to the ground but SJ, Left foot etc - foot are often airborn! So picking my feet up may not be a daft as it sounds. (Saw some stuff that said step exercises could help me)

    So after Dublin 2005 I have a good base. A great resting heart rate (around 45 in the morning) but rather than doing a lot of plodding miles I am planning to do less runs - 4 days per week but planning to build up the miles at a faster pace. More quality miles and less plodding.

    If only I could do 2/3 of SJ's speed! - I need to run nearly 10% faster than my half marathon PB.

    I think Jo and SJ also said the slight irony is that some of the slower runners have to make a lot more effort. I'm over 15 stone and calculated that I burned 4,200 calories running Dublin 2005 yet that speeding gazelle SJ who is more efficient (Bl**dy twice my speed!) probably burnt a lot less than this - Comments SJ?


  • Mr H
    Sorry if it seemed I was taking the mick about the feet. I didn't mean to honest. I'm an old plodder just like you, though I think you are a bit quicker than me and I identify a great deal with your postings. All the best with the speedwork

  • Morning all.

    Now then, speed work. (apologies to Amadeus as I was going to say something on this acouple of days ago and didn't get round to it)

    The key to this (as with many things in life, including brackets) is moderation. In addition, you don't need a degree in Sports Science to see good results quickly.

    Firstly, I am assuming that people have the ability to change pace should they desire. A good test for this would be to compare your best half marathon time with your full marathon time. If it is exactly half, you might need some extra help.

    There is a large variety of session types to select from but if I had to choose one for someone starting out it would be this:

    Let's say you going for a one hour run (time references mean that relative speeds are unimportant). Use the first 15 minutes to warm up fully. For the next 10 minutes, increase your pace to your half marathon race pace. The next 15 minutes (the filling in the sandwich) feature a further increase to your 10k race pace and this is followed by a second 10 minutes at half marathon pace. If my mathematics are correct (and they should be!) that leaves 10 minutes to warm down.

    So, in summary:

    15m = Warm up
    10m = Half Marathon pace
    15m = 10k pace
    10m = Half Marathon pace
    10m = Warm down

    Doing this once a week for 4-6 weeks will see a marked increase in your performance. It did for me, but be warned - the third phase is tough as hell but perservere because that is where the value lies.

    A few other useful tips include:

    1. Run with people who are faster than you.
    2. Enter more races.
    3. Increase stride length*

    Speed work is about increasing anaerobic capacity (i.e. the thresholds at which you body can't get Oxygen to muscles quickly enough to stop lactic acid build up) so Mr H is absolutely right - the only way to run faster is to practise running faster.

    More on this soon but I'm mindful of overloading people with information.

    SJ

    P.S. Mr H - to your point on getting airborne, there is a fantastic shot in the FLM magazine of the leading three runners in last years race. All six fet are off the ground at once. Awesome.

    * Left Foot - as our resident yoga expert could you lend any advice on how to achieve this?
  • Great speedwork advice from all. Mr Happy, you could be describing me too - particularly the "lifting the feet off the ground" bit!

    There was a good RW article a couple of months back - 21 days to speed or something like that and it was a schedule with all sorts of different exercises/runs to do. Sounded great but I never stuck at it.

    On the stide length - there seems to be a couple of "camps" on this one - the other side recommend more stides rather than longer....( i think - search through the articles)....
  • Morning all just get this in before 2 mins silence at 11am.

    The speedwork and hill sessions etc-best thing i did was to join a runninclub.They do all sorts of sessions and you can run in different groups and do any session you want.I always run in a group thats a little faster than me,just so i can push myself that little bit harder and they give you loads of encouragement.Ive found that ive slowly started to improve in fitness,stamina and endurance.
  • Morning...can I just say something completely off topic!!

    Proud mummy here...last night the Tri club had a time trial to sort out the swimming lanes...my boy (all of 14) came in the top ten of all the men...400 meters in 6mins and 50 seconds!

    That is all!!
  • Wow Ginger - that's great. Mine are still at the armbands stage....
  • Great stuff GFB. Is he going to have a go at tri?
  • SJ -I feel good - even though

    Read you Microsoft Joke thing and was about to shoot to the defence of modern computers I was about to say that my system has been completely stable....then....
    My mouse stopped working on my works Laptop
    My Wireless network stopped working - requiring a visit to the loft to reset!
    Windows started downloading all kinds of critical updates but seemed to slow everything up. So SJ you must be a Jinx.

    I might try that 1 hour schedule today - Its not too soon after the Marathon for a Plodder like me is it?
  • Mr H -

    I'm doing my first session tomorrow so I'd say crack on.

    GFB -

    A Mark Spitz/Ian Thorpe in the making there by the sounds of things!

    SJ
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