4 More Sleeps: The Race Plan

You can thank Sara at Middle Aged Runner for this little gem.

Well, here we are. Tomorrow I get on a plane to Boston & things start Happening.

It has not been the training cycle I'd hoped for--not even close. I've been so busy and stressed with the remodel, and traveling too much, and injured badly enough to lose a week of training on three separate occasions. My plantar fasciitis has come roaring back in the past few months, making running (and walking) excruciatingly painful at times, and for the last month on my runs I've felt completely, utterly exhausted, like I'm wearing lead boots all. The. Time. (We did solve that one--I am apparently badly iron deficient, and while I've started downing iron pills & red meat like it's going out of style, almost everything I've heard or read suggests that it really takes a good two months before it makes a noticeable difference.)

Which is all to say, I'm trying to be excited about the experience, but I am not betting on having a particularly fast race. In fact, I'll settle for finishing and mile 8 not feeling like mile 20. I had a massage therapist work on my foot and calf on Tuesday, which helped, and hopefully taper will have revitalized me a bit. (I keep reminding myself that for CIM 2016, I felt pretty bad and exhausted all the way up until the day before the race, so there's still hope!)

Still, in any case, I AM planning to go out there & run the best, fastest race that I can, so I think it's still worth thinking through the course & coming up with a race plan.

Like most first-time Boston runners, I've done my share of scouring the internet & interrogating veterans that I trust. At first blush there's a ton of drama & panic about OMG TEH HILLZZZZ and about how it's such a super hard course, but the more I dug past all that, those who really seem to have it together seemed to think that it just comes down to preparation, both physical and mental. There are hills, both down and up, so you have to practice running them & get the quads & booty muscles in shape. On the other hand, they're really not insane hills. As Running In The City put it,

"I didn’t think they were such a big deals as they made them up to be, but that might be because I was prepared for the course....This was not that hard and I actually had to ask around to know I had climbed Heartbreak...I really had no clue I was done with it, I barely noticed it. So, I would NOT be scared. Can I say it again? the hills are NOT BAD AT ALL if you run a smart race.

I'm a numbers person, so what the heck, have a look at the Boston Hills by the numbers:

Mile 16.5:
Length=.6 miles
Elevation Gain=60′
Grade=2.8%

Mile 18:
Length=.3 miles
Elevation Gain=60′
Grade=4.8%

Mile 19.5:
Length=.4 miles
Elevation Gain=60′
Grade=3.8%

Mile 20.75:
Length=.4 miles
Elevation Gain=80′
Grade=4.3%

So like hills in the sense that sure, there's positive grade and they go up-ish, but nothing too insane.

Overall, the course strikes me a bit like CIM--net downhill, but with a good bit of rolling. Some runners hate that & find the rollers annoying, but others enjoy the variety, and I'm definitely in the second camp.

Boston Marathon course elevation

CIM course elevation, where I PR'd & BQ'd.

So what does all this mean for the race plan? Although the course has a net elevation loss of 442 feet, there's still 783 ft elevation gain (compared to, say, 400-500 at CIM). So obviously, trying to run even splits is not going to work.

Pacing-wise, the consensus seems to be breaking the course into four sections: Miles 1-5 (downhill), miles 6-16 (rolling/flat-ish), miles 17-21 (the Newton Hills), & miles 22-26.2 (flat/slight downhill). Then, you can sort of come up with a pacing strategy for each section & just focus on each part while you're in it, rather than trying to think about what you're averaging over the course of the entire race.

I'm not confident enough in my training or my general health right now to shoot for a particular time goal, so I think things will go more by feel and effort than by the numbers on my watch. In any case, my rough plan for each of the sections above is:

Miles 1-5 (downhill) - Moderate effort--settle in & figure out what kind of day it's going to be body-wise. I've been warned that it's easy to go out too fast & overdo it on these first downhill miles, so I think mostly it will be about restraint; I do not want to feel like I'm working hard AT ALL in this first section. In good shape & good weather I'd say "Keep 8:00 pace in sight but stay a little conservative," but we'll see how the body (and the foot) is feeling. To quote Sara again, Boston Marathon Commandment #9: "Thou shall trust the pace of thy corral despite its seemingly sluggish pace....Relax home slice. You're in with your peers. Roll with it and soon the road will open up."

Miles 6-16 (rolling/flat-ish) - If I'm feeling good, I'll try to pick up the pace a bit in these 10 miles. The consensus seems to be that *this* is the place for banking time, a gorgeous stretch of nearly-flat-but-just-slightly-downhill pavement where you can let your stride open up a bit and just enjoy running fast-ish for a while.

Miles 17-21 (the Newton Hills) - I expect that whatever pace I've been averaging so far, it will likely drop 15-30 seconds per mile in this section and that is just fine. I have definitely done my share of hill work this training cycle, so although I don't think my fitness is really where I'd like it, hopefully I'll be able to run them relatively strong and smooth-ish.

Miles 22-26.2 (flat/slight downhill) - Run freaking WILD with whatever I have left. Everyone says that as long as you haven't run a stupid race, the energy of the crowd in the last few miles can really pull you along and help you stay on pace. I'd like to finish with a nice kick but we will see what happens.

Of course, there is always the weather & jet lag to contend with, so I'm very much in the camp of "you work with whatever race day brings you."

Off to pack!!!!