Boston Marathon

Training is going well!  I'm hungry all the time though

How many Boston's has everyone run?  This will be my first, and I can't wait!

First timer as well.

I'm actually gaining weight now that I've added back in tri training.  Kind of sucks.

But I've also cut back the running compared to the Fall when I was just running to qualify.  I'm training on average 8 - 9 hours a week and have gone up from 170 to 175-ish.  My body fat is still staying in the 6 - 7% range though, so it must be muscle. :shrugs:

Part of the hunger thing is that it is cold and your body is trying to heat itself up since you're low on body fat (except for all of you Southern Cali. peeps ).

What is everyone's ultimate goal?  I want to break 3:10, but based on my training there's an outside shot I could break 3 ........ that would frickin' rock!

We need to get a dinner or something going on Sunday night.  I'm flying into Manchester on Sunday morning and will be staying with immyfish (Dave) in NH, so I'm at the mercy of what he and his family are available to do.  I think he is still shooting to break 3 as well.  Oh, and Sunday is my B-Day (whopping 36) so we should do SOMETHING!

I went to the start last year, and there's a good chance I may do it again this year.  I'd try to hook up with the BT gang so I could take some pictures of you guys, but it's madly insane to try and find anyone before the start.  If someone comes up with any sort of plan about where to meet, how to contact, etc., then let me know and I'll do my best to find you all.  When race time gets close, I can give you my cell phone number and you could always give me a call sometime before the start.  I won't get to the finish in Boston, but I live only about 35 minutes from the Hopkinton start area, so my plan is to just drive down there and hang out for the morning.

Dunno for sure.  Im kinda planning on a 3:03 (7:00 m/m pace) but I think I really might have a chance at breaking 3.  I was talking with some other guys that I run with and said their first year out there they didnt do too well (had goals same as what I was talking about). The course kicked their a$$es.  These guys are pretty good too, always place pretty high around here, so it has me kinda thinking a lot about the course and best way to dodge the crowd at the start. 

I really don't know what my goal is yet.  Originally, it was just going to be to beat my qualifying time of 3:38, but after my race this past weekend, I seriously need to set higher goals.  At the same time, I've heard a lot of the same thing that yams mentioned- boston is a hard course to PR on.  Maybe I'll shoot for low 3:30s?

Nice!  It looks like everybody has some great goals.  I'm shooting for sub 3hours myself. 

What corral is everyone startin in?  (first wave or second?)  I'm considering moving to the second wave...I've heard the streets are much more clear, and there's not as many people to wade through!

Hello everyone,

Just wondering if anyone would like to get together either pre race for a carbo dinner at any of the many Italian places around or for a post mary bash at my place. (my apartment is literally 3 blocks away from the finish line) 2 years ago when I ran the BM I had a post race bash at my place pretty simple with beer and pizza which at that time tasted like heaven   Although I know some of you might be kind of beat up after the race and rather take it easy and spend time with your family.

Let me know and in case you want to do the carbo dinner I can make reservations a few weeks before the race as that night everything is usually packed. You guys are going to have a blast and I’ll be looking for you guys near heartbreak hill!

They won't announce the wave cut-offs until later in March, but based on what the website says, we can expect the cutoff to be somewhere in the 3:25 - 3:30 range for your BQ time.

I'm totally up for some sort of dinner the night before as long as my host can do it as well.  I suppose I can rent a car which would then make it easier for everyone, but we haven't gotten that far in the planning yet.

What does everyone else say to a dinner the night of my birthday (Sunday the 15th)??  As I said, I'm not flying into NH until that morning and need to get to the expo. to get my race packet stuff.

Something like a carbo dinner before or after the mary sounds good.  We dont have a rental car either and just plan on taking the T where ever we need to go.  We went out there a few years ago and took our car and tried to take it down town. What a joke.  No places to park, let a lone we could barely drive anywhere so we ended up parking it for the day (8 hrs) at a parking ramp for a lovely fee of almost $30.

Our hotel is about a block or two from the finish.  Itd be kinda nice to stick around that area, like a meeting at Jorge's place or whatever. I have a bunch of local friends going out there too so I have to kinda balance something out with everyone.  BTW, pizza sounds good, but it doesnt sit very well after a mary   Too much greasy goodness.

7 weeks out as of today folks!

Had my second 20 miler yesterday ...... in the sleet and snow ........ still had a decent average of 7:19 pace.

Guess all my long runs are at or near my goal pace now.  At least this way on race day I should feel real comfortable in being able to achieve my initial goal of a 3:10 or better.

I can totally understand that.  But the pace yesterday was not that "hard" at all and my HR stayed below 160 most of the time, unlike when I ripped off the 7:06 average on the last 20 miler where ther avreage was higher.  I've also been upping the pace the last mile or two of all my long runs and have typically been in the 6:30 - 6:50 range for those (which would be the goal pace if I can sneak under 3 hours).

I think the real measure of where my fitness stands will be the 1/2 I'm running on Sunday.  It works out perfectly when this race is (I know a lot of people who use it as their benchmark since it falls nicely 6 weeks out from Boston).  I'll be running it on slightly tired legs from the training that's been going on, but it will still give me a good sense of what I can do.

Regardless, I'm totally confident that I can sustain a 3:10 pace even on a course I've never run before as long as I stay on top of my nutrition.  The real question is ..... just what AM I capable of.  This is going to probably be my last stand-alone marathon, so if I leave everything on the course and need a few weeks to recover, that's fine with me!