Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson)

Nov 20, 17 18:57

Post #1 of 16 (2122 views)

I ran a flat full marathon on October 29th in an attempt to BQ. My legs felt great, but my GI had other plans for me that day. So, while I PR'd I missed my BQ by several minutes. After regrouping with my coach, we decided to ride my fitness and try again at the Tucson marathon on December 9th.
It's apparently a tricky course because of the intense downhill with few pretty steep climbs. Despite it being advertised as a good BQ course, I actually picked it more for the timing and location. I'd love to hear any tips from those of you who may have raced this before. And, if anyone feels like they need to tell me I've made a mistake by picking this race for my second attempt, please refrain. I've already committed and my mental game needs to stay strong. So please constructive tips or and insight only!

Thank you!

http://www.tri-ingtokeepwarm.com

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [akbreezo] [ In reply to ]

Nov 20, 17 19:25

Post #2 of 16 (2104 views)

so you are admitting your cheating yourself by doing an easier course... my advice is, dont cheat :)

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Nov 20, 17 19:29

Post #3 of 16 (2100 views)

synthetic wrote:

so you are admitting your cheating yourself by doing an easier course... my advice is, dont cheat :)

Haha! That's not it at all actually! I think downhill courses can be pretty brutal!

http://www.tri-ingtokeepwarm.com

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [akbreezo] [ In reply to ]

Nov 20, 17 21:28

Post #4 of 16 (2058 views)

Sure. Boston is a net downhill. Seriously, if a course is advertised as a sure BQ, it is probably easy enough.

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [akbreezo] [ In reply to ]

Nov 20, 17 23:40

Post #5 of 16 (2034 views)

If you are going to run a course with lots of downhill then you need to train doing lots of downhill. I ran the st. George marathon and Boston and both of those spaces left me with quads of Rock. You need to condition your legs to take the beating especially your quads. Just be careful don't do too much at once.

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [synthetic] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 1:51

Post #6 of 16 (2006 views)

Tucson Marathon

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [Brushman] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 3:34

Post #7 of 16 (1986 views)

Brushman wrote:

Tucson Marathon

Where are the climbs?

https://markmcdermott.substack.com

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [akbreezo] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 5:46

Post #8 of 16 (1921 views)

Get ready for some pounding on those legs... Run a lot of downhill in practice and practice your forward lean.

Terrible Tuesday’s Triathlon

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [alex_korr] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 6:03

Post #9 of 16 (1909 views)

I honestly need help in the downhill area as well. I excel on the uphill and do just fine on the flats...but that downhill destroys me every single time.

Are there basic fundamentals to running a downhill?

When listening to Kona they announcers were talking about having to make your marathon gains on the downhill. For me I seem to run slower on the downhills.

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [akbreezo] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 6:05

Post #10 of 16 (1904 views)

I haven't raced that marathon but I have ridden Oracle quite a bit. Just be prepared for those uphills (I do not remember anything being steep, but I am sure they feel that way when you've been running consistently downhill) to feel pretty awful. I would say that it's not an "intense" downhill but rather a steady decline.

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [LifeTri] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 6:09

Post #11 of 16 (1901 views)

Do your hill repeats so that you alternate between running uphill hard and downhill easy and the next time uphill easy and downhill hard.

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [marklemcd] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 9:47

Post #12 of 16 (1826 views)

marklemcd wrote:

Brushman wrote:

Tucson Marathon

Where are the climbs?

http://www.tri-ingtokeepwarm.com

Post deleted by ryla [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 10:43

Post #13 of 16 (1790 views)

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [ryla] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 10:48

Post #14 of 16 (1781 views)

ryla wrote:

Realistically you're too late to do much training for the downhill at this point. Try to do any remaining long runs on a steady downhill course. For the race, I would suggest running the downhill miles (especially the first few) barely faster than your goal average pace. Maybe 10-20 seconds per mile. Going out too fast on this race will punish you more than most marathons. findmymarathon.com has a pretty good tool to calculate splits adjusted to elevation profile. The uphills are really not that bad, just keep your effort consistent.

Thanks ryla. That's been my thought process as well.

http://www.tri-ingtokeepwarm.com

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [akbreezo] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 11:30

Post #15 of 16 (1753 views)

akbreezo wrote:

synthetic wrote:

so you are admitting your cheating yourself by doing an easier course... my advice is, dont cheat :)

Haha! That's not it at all actually! I think downhill courses can be pretty brutal!

It is a timed race isn't it? Not a who's quads hurt the most day after contest?

Re: Advice for downhill marathon (Tucson) [akbreezo] [ In reply to ]

Nov 21, 17 13:07

Post #16 of 16 (1710 views)

akbreezo wrote:

marklemcd wrote:

Brushman wrote:

Tucson Marathon

Where are the climbs?

Having only run the half, I can't speak to the first half of the course, but I can tell you that one at 23 is short, but nasty.

And just looking at this profile, the 3rd mile doesn't look like much fun... look at the scale on that chart.

That being said, it's too late to modify your training. Just take the downhills easy enough that you stay in control without "braking." Your quads will appreciate it if they are NOT what you're using to slow yourself down.

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