Happy St. Patrick’s Day friends!! Hope you’re having a great week so far. Are you doing anything to celebrate the holiday? I’m going to hold off until the weekend to observe the splendor of my heritage. :)
Speaking of celebrations, I am so excited that Boston marathon is just over one month away (one month and one day to be exact!). On that Patriot’s Day weekend, Boston will be swarming with excited and eager runners and their patient family members and friends. It’s always such a special time to be in the city, bustle and all! Stay tuned for an upcoming post on must-see’s and do’s in Boston over marathon weekend (or any other time!).
Given that we are four weeks from race day, this also means that we are approaching the taper period, which I am happy about. For non-runners, tapering is a period of time before a marathon (or half marathon) roughly three weeks out, in which you cut your mileage to start saving your energy for race day. There is a lot of guidance out there regarding appropriate tapering for a marathon, but I often refer to Runners Connect (and my coaches of course!) for their advice.
Flashback to two weeks ago: as soon as I crossed the finish line at the Phoenix marathon, the following thoughts filled my head: 1) THANK GOSH IT’S OVER, 2) I AM SO HOT, THIRSTY, AND SORE, and 3) WHEN CAN I DO THIS AGAIN?!?! Ohh right, BOSTON MARATHON!!! Following Phoenix, I allowed myself a period of physical and mental rest and recovery before diving back into marathon training. At the same time, the excitement of Boston Marathon has now crept in, and as I start to prepare, I have turned to some Boston marathon “experts” for advice. One of these experts is Hal Higdon, a Boston marathon veteran (he’s run the race roughly 18 times), and has totaled 111 marathons to date. Hal has assisted thousands (half a million and counting) in their marathon training through his online training plans (can be found here), and is a large contributor to the Runners World publication. Hal also has a Boston-Bound marathon training program for runners who have qualified for the race, which can be found here.
I reached out to Hal for some first-timer advice. Here is his answer:
The biggest challenge is the excitement. Flying into what Oliver Wendell Holmes identified as, “The Hub of the Solar System,” your excitement level will rise even before your plane touches the runway. Even those living in Boston and its environment are not immune to this stress-inducing disease. You will be surrounded, like in no other city, by fellow runners, many of them wearing the classic blue-and-yellow Boston Marathon jackets. About this, all I can say is, “Gulp!” Try to arrive in town early enough not only so you can enjoy the expo, do some tourist stuff, then calm down at least by your last carbo-load Sunday evening.
Boston’s bumpy point-to-point course also presents its own set of challenges. First is the weather. Don’t listen to predictions more than a few hours out. Boston’s weather can change drastically and without warning. In fact, it can change in the middle of the race. When you crest Heartbreak Hill, you suddenly may be hit in the face by cold winds off the ocean. What had been a warm tailwind suddenly becomes a skin-chilling headwind, not fun in the last half dozen miles.
Because of those winds and being a point-to-point course, Boston can either be lightning fast or very slow depending on which way the wind is blowing. That, plus a hilly profile can confound all pace predictions, although the Pacing Project from TrainingPeaks has a pace calculator that recognizes the profile of many marathons, including Boston.
Next, let’s consider the course profile. The starting line of the Boston Marathon is at 490 feet with a particularly steep descent in the first mile that ruins be best laid pacing plans of many runners. By the sixth mile in Framingham, you will have dropped 190 feet after which the course levels off somewhat, eventually descending to a low point of 60 feet at Newton Lower Falls, 16 miles into the race.
Then the fun begins. There are the four Newton Hills, climaxing with the infamous Heartbreak Hill. This section takes runners up and down cresting at 230 feet by 21 miles. It is not so much that the Newton Hills are high as much as it is that they are relentless, not allowing runners much time to relax.
One would think the last five miles would come as a relief, given a sliding descent to 10 feet above sea level as you turn off Hereford Street onto Boylston Street. However, this is where the leg damage occurs, particularly if you failed to train for downhill running.
Boston is not an easy course to run the first time. It often takes several visits to the Boston to master the course and take advantage of any tailwind that fills your sails. Boston owes its fame to being the oldest marathon, run continuously since 1897. But another reason for its fame is the uniqueness of its course that challenges runners more than do most marathons throughout the world.
Thanks for sticking with me as I approach the final month of marathon training! I am excited to hear how your running has been going. What is next on your race calendar?
Are you doing anything for St. Patty’s day? What else are you up to this weekend?
Have you followed a Hal Higdon half marathon or marathon training plan? What plan are you currently following?
Jane Runs Wild 
Love this post I can’t wait to hear how it goes! I love Hal Higdon’s half training plan!
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Great to hear that you like the plan!
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I love this post. I even can feel the excitement from half globe away…
My next marathon will be the Bali Marathon on the 2nd semester of the year. Now I’m enjoying my running-whatever-you-like. Please update your post on your trainings. I really enjoy them
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Thanks for your note, amazing that you’ll be running the Bali marathon! Looking forward to hearing more about that.
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Great post! I can’t wait for Boston either! It was fun to get our bib numbers announced yesterday and find out when we start. Your course description was great. The one thing that really stuck out to me last year when I ran it for the first time was the lull after Wellesley. You could hear the roar from almost a mile away and then it was quiet for about a mile after it. You have to be careful not to get too caught up in it because it’s almost like an early finish line.
As for St. Patrick’s Day, I was in green for my 11-mile run this morning. :)
Also, I followed Hal Higdon’s plan for my first half and full marathon. He offers great advice to help you cross the finish line.
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Great to hear that you’re running Boston! Nice job on the run this morning too! And yes it was fun to get our bibs/corrals yesterday. Thanks for the advice re- the lull after Wellesley. I’ll take any tips I can get!
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So exciting! I actually followed Hal Higdon’s intermediate half marathon training plan for my race this Sunday and liked it. I’ve also heard good thing about Hanson’s method too. I’m not a big St. Patty’s Day person–I can’t handle huge crowds of drunk people, but I used to be all about it in college, ha!
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Ha, I tend to agree! And both plans are good, but they are different. Hanson’s marathon method has runners focused on cumulative fatigue rather than lengthy runs (their longest training run is 16 miles or so). Pros and cons to both, you should try them both out!
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This event is huge! The part about excitement being the biggest challenge from Hal Higdon rings true to me. I’ve not run this race, but I can see there’s enormous pressure to blow it out. Have a fun time, and of course, injury free on that last leg!
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Thank you!!
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good luck with the rest of your training — can’t wait to see how this race goes for you! i love that you reached out to him. i’ve used his plans for both half and full marathons and am a big fan!
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Good luck! My sister’s boyfriend is doing Boston for the first time. I am training for a 10 mile race at the end of April
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Hey there! That’s amazing:) It’s very inspiring when people do marathons because that takes a lot of perseverance, dedication, and skill! Good luck:)
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awesome – go out and crush Boston!
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Thank you for your support!! 😄
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Wow when Hal describes it, I am kind of frightened!! I hope you have great weather and tons of fun! How early are you getting there?
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It’s great that you posted Hal’s advice. I’ve used his plans before and liked them. How exciting that the time to run the Boston Marathon is nearly here!
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Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Just reading this amped up my excitement another notch or two. Thanks for the great course overview. One of the first things I did when I began training for my first marathon seven years ago was to find Hal Higdon’s book and borrow it from the library. A few weeks later, I decided I wanted to keep it so I just went out and bought a copy. I still refer to his pointers today.
No big St. Patrick’s Day celebrations for me. Instead of beer on tap, I’ve got 20 miles on tap for tomorrow morning. It’s almost here!
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The excitement is TOTALLY going to get me. At least I’ll have BU, my alma mater, to look forward to after the Newton Hills! I’m still trying to figure out a way to work something BU related into my race outfit, because I think I’ll need the extra cheers at that point.
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What great advice from Hal Higdon! You are going to have a great Boston! I followed Hal Higdon’s Novice marathon plan when I was returning to running after having my youngest. It was great – enough to make me feel prepared for my marathon and not so much to feel overwhelming.
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Excellent post and thank you for sharing it! Great advice there and enough genuine love for Boston that it inspires it in others as well.
Someday perhaps.
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I think you have it in you to BQ! Hope the summer running has been going well! :)
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Slow and steady. I’m still trying to listen to my Garmin. It hates my face most days.
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Summer is always tough– it’s getting sweaty up here in Boston!!
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I bet it is. Keep on keepin’ on! You getting those runs in?
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Yes, trying to! :)
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I’m excited for you and wish I was going with; how many time have you run Boston?
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Only once, but looking forward to running Boston 2017!! Hope your running has been going well this summer so far!
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Been having fun! running a 50K trail June 10 :)
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