Today is the 2nd part of the Boston Marathon course preview/review with John Zupanc. It is the 3rd part of the ThunderDome Running Boston Marathon series with Zupanc.
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The first of my Boston gauges comes at mile 15. From 15 to 16 miles is a rather long steep downhill that I monitor to see if I can respond to a downhill with a faster mile split. I do not try to attack the downhill but see if I can actually move down it faster. If I cannot respond with a faster mile I know the last 10 miles will be a struggle. A sad thought but realistic. I am constantly digesting feedback from my body through out the race. I always keep up positive thoughts, even in tough spots. In any marathon I have always gone through bad stretches and good stretches, I expect it and am ready for it.
The next gauge is immediately after this downhill. From mile 16 to mile 17 is an equal uphill over the interstate and up to the Newton Fire Station. If I can keep close to my 13 to 15 mile pace, essentially within 10 seconds or so, through that uphill I know it can be a great day. In the old days when I was racing under 2:30, I knew there was less than an hour at this point and I would begin the long push to the finish at mile 17. But now as a 3-hour guy I wait until 18 or 19 miles to begin that push.
Basically from mile 16 through mile 21 are a series of hills, about one per mile, which culminates with Heart Break Hill. I never found that any one particular hill was a killer but that the combination of more uphill over these five miles is what grinds on me. My goal is to make it through this stretch within 10 seconds of my goal pace. Here is where you can really start to see racers coming back to you and that can be a huge motivation. The distinctive wear from the early miles comes back and the mental game of reeling in the masses is a lot of fun. During this five mile stretch I am pushing it for the first time in the race. And in reality it becomes a push to the finish.
The crest of Heart Break Hill is 21 miles and a steeper downhill looms ahead. This is my last Boston gauge. If I can respond favorably to this downhill with an increased pace and maintain this momentum through 22 miles I am on my way home. The course makes it way around a reservoir lined with, weather permitting, party happy Boston College students. Just past 22 miles the course takes a left turn onto Beacon Street. It is a long straight stretch with a gradual downhill throughout for the next 2 plus miles. The famous Citgo sign seems a tiny spec in the distance that marks the 24.6 mark for the course. I have rolled through this section with the confidence of a great finish and it is awesome. But this long two-mile stretch has also been a death march that seems to never end. A marathoner’s fate has been sealed prior to this point but the ramifications are felt here. I always get a kick out of runners that say “I was on pace through 20 miles and then I just died home”. Anyone can “get through” 20 miles but the fact is that the marathon is a 26.2-mile race. This runners was not on pace through 20 miles, instead they were not patient and therefore out too hard. And they felt the ramifications of those too fast early miles in the last 10k. It is not possible to put time in the bank in a marathon as a reserve for later. The withdrawal rate over the last 10k far exceeds anything you may have put in the bank in the previous 20 miles.
The last two miles continue along Beacon Street to mile 25 that includes a small but annoying little up down. The course turns right on Hereford Street, a gradual uphill, then a left to the finishing gradual downhill straight of Boylston Street. It is a long last stretch packed with screaming spectators. The number pickup and expo is at Hynes Convention Center that is on the corner of Hereford and Boylston. So you get a chance to see the finishing straight on Boylston when you get your number.
I always grind out the last four miles of the marathon with the same thoughts. Basically I am talking to myself through each mile: “ok you have the bridge loop left, you can do this”. The bridge loop is a four miler in Oshkosh that I have probably done hundreds of times. At three miles I am telling myself “you are at the first bridge, you will make it” or “twenty minutes, you can push for 20 minutes”. At two miles it is simply 8 laps on the track: “two miles left in a hard tempo run, one lap at a time”. And finally at one mile to go: “seven minutes, you got it, keep grinding, you do this all the time”. Even on the best of marathon days the last four miles is very tough. Racing is never easy, expect to suffer and therefore you will be prepared for it when it happens.
I hope this helps you to not only a successful Boston, but to any successful marathon. Be patient, stay positive, and grind it home!
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