Bricking it!

[oakers]

So, I have the Dublin City Marathon this coming Monday (it's a bank holiday over here).

I busted my left foot in the first week of august and was out for six weeks. Since coming back (4 weeks) I've managed to get my distance up to just shy of 28km.

I know I'm going to have to walk a few times and to be honest I'm good with it. I just want to finish no matter what the final time is.

My entire plan is to keep my pace reasonable and do my own thing. Listen to my body and slow down to a walk as and when required.

Anybody got any tips?

Oh, please bear in mind that this is my first (possibly only) marathon and 15 months ago I weighed in at just shy of 20st. So please be kind LOL.

[twinnies]

Biggest piece of advice is to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy it. There will be times when you have to dig deep but just imagine yourself crossing that line............and doing a race report.
Good luck.

[MartinD]

A longest run of 28km is plenty in preparation for a marathon - yes, you would like to go a little further, but it gives you a solid base to work from. (28km is longer than I managed in training for my first two!)

The best way to give yourself as good a chance of possible of finishing strong is to keep the pace under control over the first few miles - don't worry about people going past you at the start, as you'll see them again later when you go past them!

If you know that you're going to walk at least a few times, try to have a plan for when you walk and when you run - that way, you won't be giving up on running (with all the negative thoughts that brings), but following your plan (much more positive). A couple of possible ideas - walk through each water station, or walk for 30 seconds or a minute when you pass each mile marker (or every second marker, or whatever works for you).

[waterlily]

I'd echo the above - don't go out too fast, even though the adrenaline will make you want to, and just go for the atmosphere which will be amazing!

have fun and best of luck

[mclovin]

Good luck oakers - as others have said, just enjoy the experience, don't go mad and know that you can do the distance. Looking forward to reading the race report :-)