Boston Marathon (Page 2)

Hey Everybody.  Wow I just found this link on my page and there was a lot to read! I am on the same training track as a few of you doing Boston in April and my first HIM (Timberman) in August.  My training has had to take a slightly different track as I had a knee scope in October which put me on crutches for a while.  I am back to running though. As far as training for both events - I have been getting in some swimming and lot's of running.  I will increase my biking after the marathon.  (I was spinning twice a week but it began to aggrivate the knee). 

Just be careful with focusing too much on the swimming and biking if you are training for Boston.  I am on my 3rd Boston and making sure you get in at least some long runs is very important.  (how long depends on your body...for me my longest will be hopefully 16mi).  It's important to get your body used to being on your feet that long.

Good luck with the training everybody!!

Welcome to the forum! Since I'm training for the same two "A" races (both for the first time), I'm really curious about your training. I'm particularly interested in how you're resolving the issue that there isn't necessarily time for a "Full" cycle of Build/Base training between Boston and Timberman, but there's almost time for it all. What phases are you shortening? Anyone else working with this kind of scheduling adaptation?

Also, are you working with a Tri training plan? If so, how are you adapting it to fit your Boston needs? 

Maz(and others doing Boston, then Timberman)

It looks like you are going to use a 20-week plan for your HIM.  Is this correct?   If so, then by my calculations you would start on March 31 with your A race on August 17.  If this is accurate, then your marathon plan will overlap with the HIM plan 3 weeks, with Boston on the 21st as the first day of your fourth week.  If your plan follows a common 3week build, followed by one week of decreased intensity and duration, then the week following Boston will be a light week for you anyway.

It seems to me(speaking strictly as a novice) that you could start your 20 week HIM plan on the 31st. Substitute your marathon run plan for the running outlined in the HIM plan, maybe cut an hour here and there of bike and/or swim work for the first three weeks, run Boston, take the off-load week, and pick up the HIM plan on the 28th as is.  Does this make sense?  Again, I am strictly a novice here, but I really think you can get the marathon plan to HIM plan to transition nicely if I have my dates correct, that is. 

True: my HIM training plan is 20 weeks in duration, with the fourth as a rest week. Being so psyched up when I first registered for the Timberman, I decided to start following a training plan that week. So, I've been following the plan more or less since December -- but about two weeks ago I freaked out 'cause I realized how much time training for all three sports was costing me. The last two weeks I've been testing myself nearly only on runs -- and pumped my mileage up there big time.

I think I will shelve the HIM plan in favor of the Boston plan for the next eight weeks; however, I'm going to keep two swim and two bike in there just to maintain some base level of fitness so that when May comes I'm not starting from ground zero.

Thanks for the dose of sanity; a simple solution, but one I hadn't considered.

If anyone else feels like weighing in too, I'd love to hear it . . .  

Myself along with a few teammates have found we are running into the same problem.  For the most I have been following a Boston training schedule and using my cross-training days as days to get in some swimming or spinning. 

To answer the question about when you finish Boston how do you fit in enough training for Timberman...when you are done Boston you should be in pretty good running shape.  AFter taking at least a little bit to get in some recovery concentrate on your biking and swimming to begin with.  Your legs won't be ready to run yet!

Assuming you are taking the bus from downtown to Hopkinton, you will need to be in line for the buses around 6-ish.  It is about a 45 minute to an hour ride or so to the start.  They will drop you off at the high school where they have this big azz circus tent set up with some food and coffee and such.  Last year since it was so damn cold and rainy almost everyone was camped out like sardines under the tent.

The first wave will be asked to start making their way to the start (about 3/4 of a mile or so from the high school) in the 9 o'clock range.  Once you make it to the start area you will get into your corral based on your bib number (1 - 10 being the first part of your number ........ for example if you are 747 then you are in the 7th corral).  They start the pro women a 1/2 hour or so before everyone else.  Then at 10 they start wave 1.

I can only assume that at around 9:30-ish they asked the 2nd wave people to make their way to the start and then started lining them up in their corrals after the 1st wave took off (since I was 1st wave last year I didn't see what happened after I started).

There were plenty of port a pots at the high school bu there were still huge lines for them.  Quite a few of us relieved ourselves on the walk over in some local tree patches - they highly discourage this of course ........

As far as the time between the first and second wave.  Last year it was a cluster and well the second wave was disorganzied and did what they wanted.  To be honest they will hopefully have a better idea of how to corral the 2nd wave to the start but last year we all just sort of wandered over.

The time does go by quickly though so make sure you are there early!

There also wasn't a lot of attention being paid to being in the correct corral either.  So I wouldn't fuss too much over it, especially if you're in the 2nd wave.  The start is going to be slow no matter what and until you start down the steep part of the hill (after the first few yards), it's just your typical crowded race start.

I'm planning to be there as a spectator.  Hopefully I'll try to bring something like a balloon so any of the BT-ers there will have a shot at finding me.  I'll let the board know of my choice of identifier in advance so you can watch for it.  Flag me down so I can get some pictures of as many of you as possible!

Ok let's all cross our fingers that we have better weather than we did today!  Damn New England and mother nature I had no idea that it could get that much colder during a run. 

I hope everyone's training is going well.

I have a 3:12 as well and last year I was in the 5th corral.  So you can expect to be somewhat nearer the middle/front (5th or 6th corral).  You could theoretically "warm up" from the school over to the start, but then you would be sitting around getting cold again for about 30 minutes or so before the start.  where my corral was there was a side street right there, so if it is similar you could run the side street until your happy and then line up??

I was trying for a sub 3 race, so I felt a little hemmed in.

Basically you can go at the pace of the crowd, and that's pretty much it.  For my part of the field that was right in the 7 flat range for the first 2 miles or so and then it started to thin out some and you got running room.

There isn't a lot of room to maneuver and many were zipping off into gutters and yards to try and get some breathing room in the first mile or so.

FYI - Number assignments are now available on the BAA's website.
http://www.baa.org/2008/cf/Public/EntryLists.cfm

Woohoo!!

#6091 ..... Puts me in the 6th corral this year.

#8205 for me. 

Does that mean I will be in the 8th corral?