qualifying for Boston
If anyone out there has run in the Boston marathon (via a qualifying time, not a charity, etc), I am very curious to hear about how you trained to attain your qualifying time. Mainly I am interested in:
1. How many marathons did you run prior to qualifying, also, what was your running background like?
2. What type of training program did you follow? I've followed Hal Higdon's programs in the past and think I may try one of his advanced one's in my attempt to qualify. Any thoughts on this?
3. Did you do a lot of speedwork? If yes, what types, how often.
4. any other info you can provide. It is motivating to hear about others, I know I can do this, I just need to folow the right steps.
Thank you in advance for any replys!
hey i'm running it this year!!!! i run an 8.05 minute mile for a full marathon....the last marathon i ran was just over 3hours and 20 minutes.
here's motivation for you - i started running 2 years ago and could barely run for a MINUTE without stopping -
when training i try to get around 7.40 minute mile for an hour of running.
to increase endurance i sprint two times a week on days that i lift weights.
depending on the type of sprints - i will sometimes do 30 seconds as fast as i can with a 2 minute walking break or 1 minute as fast as i can with a 2 minute walking breaking --- x12-18
4 times a week i run --- twice a week i do 30-45 minutes at my max speed so i run about 8.2-8.5mph for this time
once a week i do a 1 hour run where i start at about 7.4mph and increase up to 8.0mph by the last mile.......
and depending on if it's marathon season i do my long run once a week.....with my rest day the next day
i actually never even thought about running the boston marathon until i joined a gym and one of the trainers mentioned that my speed could qualify!
every few weeks for the last 2 years whenever id run on the treadmill id start my run at .1 faster......i built myself from 5.0mph up to 8.5mph!!!
as well i went from 140 pounds to 105 pounds.....my starting motivation was to lose weight but now i just love running!
by the way the best advice i can give is don't over exert yourself focusing on distance......
i used to run everyday an hour or more....i didn't see the results with my endurance until i incorporated sprinting!
do you run outside or on a treadmill? if you run on the treadmill i would recommend throughout your run increasing the speed by .1mph every half mile to mile.....if you run outside try getting a metronome to keep you pace and speed it up as you run using the same technique
good luck!!! you totally can do it!!! it is mind over matter!
if you want any other info cause i kind of just swept over it feel free to msg me!
WOW Runner_88, this is AWESOME advice! I am so impressed with your accomplishments in such a short period of time, good on you! Its funny you mention not to overly focus on distance, as this is an observation I've made recently. I just finished a 1/2 marathon (in boston!) two weeks ago in 2:51:24. I definitely could have gone faster but I started really conservatively b/c I had not been doing much distance running at all lately. I mean, since January I've probably ran 10+ miles 2-3 times max. Prior to that race my best time for a 1/2 was 2:02:13, which was a race I did in the midst of training for the New York marathon last fall. I completed that in 4:07:13, finishing strong enough that I know I could have gone faster (and my 1/2 marathon split was at 1:57:00).
Anyhow, I am going to try your exact workout, but my times are definitely not as fast as yours right now. They are getting quite a bit faster though. I have a garmin watch and that definitely helps.
Do you do many hill workouts? If so, where do they fit into your training? Best of Luck in Boston- if I don't run I will cheer you on as I live there!
To toughen your legs for the pavement, you should do at least 30 miles per week on the road during the last 10 weeks before the marathon. Depending on your weekly mileage, this may represent as little as 25 percent or as much as 75 percent of your total running. That should be enough to prepare your legs for the marathon. Ideally, you would do most of your other training on softer surfaces to reduce your likelihood of injury.
I also recommend that you do a minimum of five long runs primarily on the road during the last 10 weeks of training to ensure your body is primed to handle the repetitive stress of the marathon. At least two of those runs should be over 20 miles. If you are an off-road fanatic, you could do the first hour of your long runs on softer surfaces, and then hit the road for the last hour or so. The objective is for your muscles and tendons to get used to the pounding of the road when they are becoming fatigued.
While running uphill may slow you down a bit it is the downhills in courses like the Boston Marathon that can destroy you. When running downhill, your muscles work eccentrically to resist the force of gravity, which causes microscopic muscle damage, inflammation and our old friend delayed-onset muscle soreness. The good news is that training on downhills has a protective effect that reduces subsequent damage and muscle soreness.
Rather than doing hill repeats in which the downhills will make you incredibly sore and could leave you injured, practice hill running by training over rolling terrain. The best simulation for a hilly marathon course is to incorporate a similar sequence of hills into your long runs.
Finally, if you plan on wearing racing shoes in the marathon, make sure you know in advance whether they will provide the support you need over 26.2 miles. To try out your shoes for both sustained speed and long distance, you should wear them in a half-marathon and a long run before the marathon. One factor to consider is that racing shoes almost always have a substantially lower heel lift than training shoes. If your calf muscles are not used to the lower heel lift you can be pretty sure they will rebel when you ask them to work over an increased range of motion for 26.2 miles. Generally, a more supportive, but still reasonably lightweight shoe will be well worth the extra couple of ounces during the second half of your marathon.
My best time in the Boston - I've run it 3x's - was 2:48.50.
hey so the only hills i do are outdoors....on my once a week "marathon" run ....these range from 12-21 miles depending on time in the schedule....generally i just pick different areas of the city.
I'm not sure if I can add much to what's been said. But I started running in 2006, qualified in 2007 and ran Boston in 2008. I used a five day a week training program. I ran three days and cross trained two. I did speed work once a week. Usually yazzo 800's. That where you identify your marathon time and run 10 800 based on that time with short breaks between. For example if I want to run a 3:30:00 marathon I would try to run 10 800's in 3:30. That's three minutes and thirty seconds. Nothing scientific about it but it seems to work. It's also really hard so you will need to work up to 10. Don't try and do 10 the first day. It better to run fewer but maintain your goal pace as you work up to 10. Here was my schedule.
Day 1 - Tempo run (5 to 10 miles)
Day 2 - Cross train (usually swim or bike)
Day 3 - Yazzo's
Day 4 - Cross Train
Day 5 - Off
Day 6 - Long run (10 to 20 miles)
Day 7 - Off
Some people run a short run on one of the off days but it worked better for me to have 2 off days.
I hope this helps. Good luck, Boston's a great experience.
Have you considered the FIRST training method? Very specific workouts for achieving a specific race pace, and available on the internet. I can only dream of Boston, but hey, I prefer 140.6 miles :-)
haha, I also enjoy 140.6, but have hopes of qualifying for Boston. I used to run 1+ hour a day, but like the above poster have been seeing results with speed work :)
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