What happened to me at the Boston Marathon?

All these posts make me feel better. I trained harder than my 2:48 BQ race and I ran like crap. Downhills were quad killers and was not heat trained. Classic case of being in marathon shape but not Boston shape

I would advise anyone who is running Boston for the first time and does not train on hills...

DO NOT go out at goal pace.

Everyone tells you not to go out too fast but even if you go out at goal pace for an even split, you will crash and burn by the 10K mark.

troubled wrote:

I would advise anyone who is running Boston for the first time and does not train on hills...

DO NOT go out at goal pace.

Everyone tells you not to go out too fast but even if you go out at goal pace for an even split, you will crash and burn by the 10K mark.

Sometimes it's a combo of factors. I don't think you can point to any particular thing. It's hilly, it was hot, etc. So many different issues. See my post on page 5 of the weekly Letsrun training thread:

I qualified with a 2:58 on a flat course, ran consistent 50-60 mpw, train extensively in hills, and recently ran 1:19 for a somewhat hilly HM and had a day just like yours. Started running at a slower pace than goal pace, drank aggressively, and hit a wall at mile 8-9.

It's hard to explain, right? You train and can't imagine that scenario under any conditions. Convention is that going a bit too aggressively may cause you to bonk in the second half, but not the first.

Sometimes folks just have off days. Maybe you (we) effed up your taper. Could be you were getting sick and didn't know it. Hard to come to terms with it and it's super humbling, but it is what it is. Take some time off. Make a new plan, and go from there.

Rhabdo

troubled wrote:

I felt deceived after running this race. Everything I read and heard from other runners indicated that the first half of this race was pretty much flat and DOWNHILL. All I kept hearing was that if you go out too fast, you will pay the price later. And that the last five miles into Boston would be mostly downhill.

Bullshit. There are hills everywhere. Even during the first 5K, you constantly go over rollers. Heck, the right onto Hereford and leading up to Boylston is a slight incline.

The Newton "hills" just last longer. I think what most people call a hill is any incline lasting longer than 400 meters because that's what I started to realize along the way.

Sounds like you have no understanding of what running up or down hills even does tot eh body. Probably one of those who thinks running downhill is easy. And faster. And it would make up for your obvious lack of preparation.

Where did you qualify? On an airfield somewhere?

Canada Girl wrote:

I was there on Monday and that heat sucked the life-blood out of me. When I ran in 2011 I barely even noticed the hills; this year however, all I could think about was how hot I was and how lousy I felt, and even after weekly hill training for 4 months, I SUCKED on the hills. I'm sure that what happened to you is a combination of things, but don't underestimate that weather.

I did hear a story that Blake Russell (elite women) had trained well and expected to be in the top-10 of women, but she dropped out at 15k; she's my FB friend so I looked on her home page to see what happened and she said she just didn't do enough hill training and wasn't prepared for the course.

I mean you just never know. The marathon is a damn fickle beast.

My experience this year was similar. I ran it in 2015 - I'd qualified with a 3:08 and ran the course in 3:13, feeling a little annoyed that I hadn't trained with enough downhills for the course, but didn't find the uphills to be any issue. This year, I'd qualified with a 3:03, and while I was a bit undertrained this year I felt like I knew the course well enough not to make stupid mistakes. I held back at the start but the heat just destroyed me. Having trained in the north, I was completely unprepared for 74 and sunny conditions. I was overheating by mile 5, and started backing off progressively to keep my heart rate under control. I never walked, but it was my worst finish in my last 12 marathons, by a substantial margin. I eventually crossed the finish in 3:39, with a massive 13 minute positive split. I was going so slowly that the hills didn't even seem that hard - all my mental energy was going in to managing heat, and ice in my hat could only do so much.

The only good part (besides Wellesley) is that I was running so slowly that my muscles aren't very sore, so I should be training again in just a few days.

troubled wrote:

I'm honestly very confused. I trained hard, felt like I could hold 6:40s at least until mile 16 but around mile 4 or 5 I began to really struggle with my pace.

Others have probably been more helpful, but I'm wondering...why did you try to run a pace that you thought you could hold for 16 miles in a 26 mile race? On a warm day?

How did you prepare for the downhill running? Was it at your intended race pace or training pace?

I struggled in Boston as well. I've run the course 10 times and know it very well and always train on hills with a lot downhill running. I felt like I had a legit shot at a PR (2:58) but ended up running a 3:10. I even started conservatively the first 5k before trying to run goal pace but started to slow on the uphill around mile 8 coming out of Framingham and knew it was going to be a long day. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one and it was just too warm (75+) for me to expect to run well. Good news is that the legs aren't as sore as usual, probably because I didn't run as fast as I trained, so I should recover more quickly for spring races.

Overtraining?

Did you do any hard workouts in the last 10 days before the race? If so, how well did you recover? How did you feel during race week?

I recently fell apart very early in a 10-miler, and I attributed it to an ill-advised workout 9 days before the race from which I never seemed to recover, and then going out too fast in the race.

It wasn't just that it was a hard workout, it was a workout very much out of the norm of what I usually do.

My legs felt heavy for the entire 9 days after that workout, then felt fine on race day after a couple days rest. I decided to go out very aggressively, and was completely spent by mile 4.

Two weeks before the race I felt like I was running better than I ever have, then that workout just seemed to destroy everything.

Minnesota_Master wrote:

I ran it in 2015 - I'd qualified with a 3:08 and ran the course in 3:13, feeling a little annoyed that I hadn't trained with enough downhills for the course, but didn't find the uphills to be any issue. .

2017 was my first Boston, and that was my experience too. Qualified with a 3:08, but was in much better shape now. Trained for a 3:00, adjusted my goal to 3:05 when I saw the forecast, and ended up at a 3:12. I didn't find the weather too bad (adjusting my goal, and being militant about hydrating, really helped I think), and I had no issue with the uphills, even through Newton - it was the downhills that really took a toll on me. I underestimated that factor for sure.

I'm in the same boat as plenty of people posting here, having bonked way earlier than I'd expected (despite the fact I came in in much better shape than when I ran 2:51 in Philadelphia in November).

I train on lots of rolling hills, did some tempos on rolling hills, did some long runs that involved lots of uphills and downhills and made sure to go out merely at goal pace through the first half on Monday (very even 5k splits through that point) rather than faster than goal pace.

Still, I was left with the sense that the downhills ripped up my calves and quads, leading to lots of cramps, etc. How, exactly, DOES one "train for the downhills" -- or "properly run on downhills," as people keep saying -- beyond what I've described? Am I missing something obvious?

Should I have taken the first 5k (which is net downhill) significantly SLOWER than my goal pace? I figured that just by running EVEN splits through the downhill, that I was holding myself back.

IMO, Boston requires more than just running down some hills or a hilly loop during training. This year I made it a point to find some routes with a decent elevation drop the first 3-7 miles and hammered them a few times a month in addition to normal prep. I gave a few minutes back but it was due to getting out slow because of the crowd and taking it a little easier through the hills in the heat. My legs survived without issue and I ran a pretty solid race for me.

Hitting the wall is when your energy systems switch to burning fat - which is different from legs tying up etc

I've actually hit the was in a half though.. ad it was flat!

Was reasonably fit but had only entered in last couple of wks to go along with some friends so was lacking in long runs. Was in shape to do about 1:25-7 - 10 mins + slower than pb but was still training most days

My mistake was feeling good at mile 7 or 8 then upping the pace. Was ok until 10 the started to struggle with the pace. a familiar feeling. Then around mile 11 I just went completely. I'd had the feeling before in a marathon at around mile 18 + but had never felt like that in any long training run

Anyway went from about 6:30 pace to about 9 or 10 mins. Finished in around 1:34!

Worst thing you can do is try to hold a pace you are struggling with - look at that guy in the world xc. You can go beyond just dropping pace to totally hitting the wall.

If race is warm you have to adjust your pace - look at the times of the Kenyans winning medals in the Olympics - way down - same for a hilly course - you run out of fuel and bamm- game over

I trained at 6:45 pace. Lots of MP pace runs during my buildup, leading to the simulator 16 miler which I nailed 4 weeks out. I didn't do any downhill or uphill running. I knew that was risky but I never imagined it could lead to a crash by mile 6.

troubled wrote:

I trained at 6:45 pace. Lots of MP pace runs during my buildup, leading to the simulator 16 miler which I nailed 4 weeks out. I didn't do any downhill or uphill running. I knew that was risky but I never imagined it could lead to a crash by mile 6.

I crashed at mile 3 of a marathon one time. It was actually my BQ race. I ended up BARELY qualifying. My case was due to coming down with a sinus infection about a week before the race and going on antibiotics a few days before the marathon. I felt OK at the start but by mile 3 I seriously thought I would have to mark my first DNF.

I went on to run Boston and PRd but at the time I lived in a hilly area. All of my long runs had multiple rolling hills and a few decent size climbs. On race day, I went out conservative first 8 miles and then got to pace. The Hills didn't phase me one bit. In fact, they were a bit disappointing.

troubled wrote:

I trained at 6:45 pace. Lots of MP pace runs during my buildup, leading to the simulator 16 miler which I nailed 4 weeks out. I didn't do any downhill or uphill running. I knew that was risky but I never imagined it could lead to a crash by mile 6.

Again...why did you go out faster than you trained for or thought you could hold for a whole race, on a hot day?

I think what he is getting at is that he thought that this was his marathon pace, and based on past training efforts, he knew that he could hold that pace for a full 16 miles; so the inability to hold it for only 6 was surprising. Or maybe he didn't expect to hold it after 16 because of the changes in the course that happen at that point, with the fist of the hills coming.

This happened to me at Grandmas several years ago. I had done an OK marathon the previous winter and had a good training cycle. It was a bit humid that day and I probably went out a tad too fast. But I was ready to quit at 10k and walked a lot in the second half. A guy dressed like a viking passed me at one point.

I never had any explanation except humidity. Nothing quite like that has happened since. I ran a decent race in the fall, and then my best effort the next spring.