OK, so I managed to get into Boston next April…not ideal being only 6 weeks after IMNZ…but I had a shot at it so figured I had to go for it. Any advice on the race and ideas about what to do for those 6 weeks would be much appreciated.
hills. Specifically long, quad busting Downhills. The biggest problem with Boston is that you have a dozen miles of steady decline before you hit heartbreak hill. You end up going out too fast, burning out your legs and then blowing up when you hit mile 16.
Congrats on Boston. It is one of my life goals to qualify at some point.
-S-Man
Congrats on the BQ, it’s a great race and one that you will definitely remember. I agree with the previous post about getting some hillwork in and also being careful not to go out too hard in the first half through all the downhills. I was in a similar position this fall where I did IMWI and then did the Cape Cod Marathon 7 weeks later (hilly course, though not as hilly as Boston) and focused on running hills in between both races. I wound up having a good day on race day and qualified for Boston as a result.
“hills. Specifically long, quad busting Downhills.”
We have hills here, but no long hills. I’m hoping that I can prepare adequately by doing a long series of hill repeats, in some of which I plan to take the downhills pretty fast. Also, the 1.1mi greenway loop where I usually do my long runs includes a major hill (up and down).
Fortunately, hill repeats are one of my favorite workouts!
bpq has it right. I’ve done Boston 4 times, and still haven’t learned how to manage the quad-pounding downhill early miles. My advice is to enjoy your accomplishment, the fellowship, and the wonderful crowds. It may or may not be a pr course for you, but it should be a celebration.
I would go easy and enjoy the day. If you’re coming off of IMNZ, you should be able to maintain your marathon legs with minimal training. You won’t PR, and you may not even get another qualifier, but you’ll still have a good time. It’s a great race and the spectator support is like nothing else you’ll ever do. The hills in Newton are killers, and the last 6 miles will be a death march if you’ve gone out too aggressively. So, if I were you I’d just go out for a run and have fun meeting the 500,000 people who came to watch.
Totally agree with a lot of the comments already posted. In short…
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Relax, enjoy, and savor the experience of running Boston (my favorite: the deafening roar of the Wellesley College girls at the halfway point!)
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Take it really easy the first 16 miles, which are mostly downhill; whether you take the steeper downhills fast or slow, make sure you shorten your stride! Practice that with downhill repeats in training
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Like any marathon, try not to get caught up in the early race excitement and get pulled out too fast; patience will definitely be rewarded; those people who zoom by in the early miles will be regretting it long before the Newton hills, when you come trotting by with a smile on your face
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HAVE FUN!!!
I also agree with the general sentiments to go see it for the spectacle and don’t worry too much about your performance. The past couple of years have been diabolically hot and our oddball spasms of winter seem to suggest that again this year. Six weeks out from an IM you should have plenty of base. Take a week completely off from running, then get back to regular base miles and toss in some cruise intervals for sharpness. Six weeks is pushing it in terms of maintaining an absolute fitness peak, especially after the brutality of an IM. Get yourself a bed & breakfast in Beacon Hill, take your sweetie and enjoy the tremendous restaurants and all the energy that surrounds the event.
Congratulations on qualifying!
What bpq said is correct. I would add that, besides the training for downhills, on race day you need to rein yourself in during the first half of the race. The descent is deceptive in that it often appears relatively flat. Combine this “illusion” with that nervous energy during the first miles of a marathon when you feel like letting the dogs out as well as the high energy created by fans cheering along the course, and you can be easily misled into going out way too fast.
Know exactly where your pace should be through the first half and hold to it no matter how great you feel. Do not go through the first-half fast (or half-assed). This will be a benefit as you go up Heartbreak, then the payoff comes after mile 20.5 - downhill finish! - Let Loose the Hounds! *
- it should be noted (to Dev Paul’s consternation) that I am one of those old-school runners who advocates negative splits.
A whole nights sleep and day at work later I get around to checking the replies. I’ll certainly take all your comments on board and write up my plan accordingly. It will definitely be about the occasion, but part of the enjoyment is doing the best you can with what you’ve got on the day and forward planning factors in there as well. I’m pretty new to the ‘slowtwitch thing’ so I’m not sure if I should reply to everyone or just say a very BIG THANKS for sharing your knowledge.Much appreciated.
Just be careful after you get over the top of Heartbreak…there’s still a long way to go from there so don’t hammer down the other side because if you do you’ll be dead by the time you reach the cemetary.
The final few miles of Boston are actually pretty fast but you rarely see anyone running them fast…they leave it all on the downhills.
“…dead by the time you reach the cemetary.” I like it
Yeah,it sounds like the kind of course it pays to know if you’re going to do well.Whats the road surface concrete or good old kiwi course chip? Also would you recommend the bus ride the day before to check out the route?
I have Pfitzinger’s book “Advanced Marathoning”, and he covers multiple marathoning. Here is what he has to say about marathons 6 weeks apart (I would imagine much of the philosophy would carry over to IM/marathon):
"The 6-week schedule was difficult to put together because 6 weeks is just enough time to start to lose fitness if you don’t train enough, but it is also just barely enough time to recover from marathon number 1 before you need taper for marathon number 2. The most important training weeks are those that end 3 weeks and 2 weeks before marathon number 2. Those weeks provide a small window during which you can train fairly hard without wearing yourself out for the second marathon.
The key workouts during those weeks are the tune-up race with 15 days to go, and the medium-long runs with 18 and 21 days until the marathon. This brief training stimulus will keep you in peak marathon fitness so that after tapering, you should be close to your best."
It’s really early, but we should have an ST meet-n-greet here in Boston I live on the course for anyone who’d want to camp out and watch for the day. Food for thought…
I was reading about “Advanced Marathoning” the other day,I’ll have to check it out. I think the key will be not to try to hurry back into training and really utilise that ‘window’ he’s talking about.
Any idea how long the medium-long run is ?
I’ll remember that, we’ll have to get a plan going a bit closer to the day.
Cool! I’m sure I’ll throw it out there again, closer to the date - but PM me anyway.
On his schedule, they are 11 and 15 miles. There is an 18 miler 2 weeks before the race also.
I would imagine you would adjust the distances to your level of fitness/recovery from IM, switch cycling in for some of the days to alleviate pounding on the legs, etc, but I think the schedule of the rest days, tempo type runs and long runs would be helpful.
I used to live near the course also and ran on “Heartbreak Hills” daily. If it wasn’t for them being 16.5 miles into the race they aren’t that bad…
Great. Thanks for that.