I find these forum an excellent source of information, and I know the pacing question comes up often, but I need a different twist on the issue. I qualified for Boston and have 2 months till I start my Plan - Pfitz 18week 110k plan. I have trouble gaging what paces should I run for the plan.
Here is my background, some of it has been posted before.
Started running in early 2008, run for fun, then decided to try a marathon. I wasn’t very smart in my running and got a lot of injuries. Finally signed up for Toronto Marathon Sep 2010, trained with hamstring piriformis issues, 38K/week average for 12 weeks leading to taper week. Cramped at 20k, most painful sporting event I did in my life to finish.
Toronto 3:23:xx Sep 2010
Started Barry P plan, thank you again for the advice, build up from walking to running 70k weeks before taper. 58k/week average in 12 weeks
Toronto 3:13:xx May 2011
Continued running 7 days a week, building distance again, raced 10k on 68k/week average including 2 weeks holiday in that 12 weeks, most weeks 70-80k
10k 39:39 Oct 2011 could have gone a bit faster but cold and windy.
Did a week of 90k then tapered for a half, 38k prior to sundays race. Race was rolling with big hill at 19k with 30km/h winds right in the face, and another steep short hill 500m from finish,
1/2 marathon 1:25:15 Oct 2011 I was shooting for 1:27 at best judging from my 10k but my legs just went on the early descent and the with the wind, halfway point in 41:48.
Obviously I have a diesel engine, and no turbo at the end or at shorter distances.
Summary
3:23:xx Marathon Sep 2010
3:13:xx Marathon May 2011
39:39 10k Oct 2011
1:25:15 1/2 marathon Oct 2011
So I need help with the following
Roughly what goal should I shoot for, till today I was looking at 3:05, now I am looking at sub 3:00, what does the group think ?
This is the one I am struggling with, how do I judge and change my training paces from now till the plan begins and also do you adjust them in the 18week training period or keep them the same ? I have improved with more km’s in a short time frame and I don’t wan to leave too much time on the course.
Also Macmillan and Daniels are slightly different, I am leaning towards Macmillan
Any advice is appreciated.
Training is training. Do the plan you want and get the miles in you want. Target the pace you want and have a solid plan for the race.
BUT
While all of that is important and crucial, the thing missing is being able to run your pace AFTER having run downhill for 7 miles to start your run. That’s the essential problem wth Boston, if you can call it that. You simply cannot train for that and when the hills hit at 16, all hell breaks loose.
You’re basically running the same times as me. I’ve run Boston twice (3rd next year) and the **key with Boston (all marathon actually but especially Boston) is even pacing. ** At Boston it’s soooo easy to go out too fast, thinking you’re banking time. Like Keith and Kevin Hanson say, **for every minute you’re “banking” in the first half will cost you two minutes during the second half. ** If you’re shooting for sub 3, i’d aim for **1:29:45 for the first half. ** The newton hills are though but the crowds on heartbreak will lift you and my fastest mile split has always been between 21-22, coming down heartbreak hill. The next 4.2 miles is flat. You noted McMillan’s plan - I’m particularly fond of his “fast finish” long run plan. If you can run the last 10k at marathon pace during a 35K long run then you’re good to go.
McMillan is pretty close to my times but I’m better suited for shorter distances so I’ve never hit his marathon predictor time.
Boston is somewhat unique in its difficulty - as the others have already noted. That aside, I think that one common error people make in their marathoning is this idea of picking a target (several months out) and fitting the plan to that target. If you’re WC caliber then that’s certainly the way to go - your goals are obvious. But for the rest of us, that method can be self-limiting.
A real marathon season should start well before the marathon training plan. You have 2 months until you technically begin your plan, so until then you can afford to do some time trial efforts with extended recovery. You should have your fitness benchmarks dialed in over multiple distances so that on Day 1, there is no question as to what the training paces should be. From there on, you simply execute the workouts and move the markers when needed.
My only Boston-specific advice would be to plan for the hills. Shooting for a negative split means that you will need to run those early downhills at a very easy pace. If you find yourself passing more than a handful of people early on, then you’re probably going too fast. Save your downhill sprinting for the descent after BC (around mile 21).