In 2004 the temperature reached 85 degrees.

Ah, the innocence of the first timer...

First off congrats on your BQ. All your hard work paid off and your reward is the greatest race in the world!

My PR is Boston last year, and I've run the course several times. It took me awhile to figure it out - how fast can you go to take advantage of the early downhills without trashing your legs and being dead right after Heartbreak? I don't think I've ever neg. split Boston - I've really raced it only twice and I came pretty close last year (~30-40 second positive split). I wouldn't worry too much about negative splitting. My best satisfaction from my PR run was that I gauged it perfectly - had the race been .2 miles longer, I'd have walked the last.2! I think I oculd have perhaps gone a little faster in the first 15 miles and felt the same the last bit - this year I'm shooting for another PR and my goal is to go out about 1 minute faster than my target time (2:50 is the target, 1:24 for the first half). I think if you shot for a 1:28:30-1:29, that would be fast but not stupid-fast.

Read up on the course - don't worry about getting out on pace, the corral system is fantastic for that. Let the crowd slow you down the first 3-4 miles - you'll still probably be right around 7:00 pace anyway. If you're a good downhill runner, pay attention and use those when you can. Use these last several weeks to practice downhill running and have some good climbs late in your long runs.

Good luck!

If you're a good downhill runner, Boston doesn't have to be a slow course (at all). I'd definitely suggest doing out in 1:29-1:30. Miles 13-16 are very fast, and 21-26 CAN be fast, so there are definitely opportunities to make up some time there.

It really does depend where you are on the improvement curve. I PR'ed at Boston both times I've run it (and fully expect to do so again this year), but I PR 90% of the time that I race, perhaps since I've only been running since July 2004.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by PacerChris:
Let the crowd slow you down the first 3-4 miles - you'll still probably be right around 7:00 pace anyway.<HR>

In my experience, the crowds are far more likely to pull you out too fast. Because of the corral system, there aren't any slowpokes up front to slow you down, and everyone is very excited to finally get going, and the first mile is <i>really</i> downhill, and the course widens up right after the starting line, and the combination inevitably proves too much temptation for many runners who should know better.

For at least the first five or six miles, if you feel like you're going too slow, you're going too fast. And if you feel like you're going the right pace, you're really going too fast.

You should feel like you're doing everything in your power to hold back, and you'll find your mile splits are right where they should be. My first Boston was the most conservative race I've ever run, and it was an eight minute PR.

Good Luck!

You might have some fun with this:

http://www.rrca.org/resources/articles/baasplit.html[/URL" target="_blank">

quote:<HR>Originally posted by runninirish:
I really feel that I'm ready for the uphills...having been reading and researching, I'm getting a little leary about the downhills, especially the early ones...with 7 weeks to go, what kind of things can I still do to prepare for them...besides run down a hill? (and repeat).

http://www.rrca.org/resources/articles/baasplit.html[/URL" target="_blank"> (that is COOL) thanks!

<HR>

I think the downhills are not particularly hard, but they beat you up because you're running so far. There is no way to totally prepare. Try to book a hotel with an escalator or practice walking down stairs backwards!

I just want to say that this thread is a classic case of...

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS

I think that all the advice you're getting to hold back on the downhills is misguided. They are there, you darn well better take advantage of them. Because if you're not, you're probably using your quads as brakes (which is an eccentric motion). That, my friends, is what trashes them for the uphills.

In my opinion, go out fast. Unless you're absolutely ridiculous, your fitness will forgive you. Note that this is not the same advice I'd give for just any marathon. It is specific to Boston - on a flat course, by all means hold back early on.

Furthermore if you're the kind of runner that gets better as the distance gets longer (like me), then at no point during the race should it feel like a walk. Not in the first few miles, not ever. For some of us, marathon pace is very close to 10K pace. That means it's fast and should feel fast. I averaged 5:57's last year. 5:57 never feels "easy" to me.

I also found that attracting attention to myself was a good thing. I loved how people would shout out my name in particular since I had it written down my arm. It doesn't necessarily have to take away fro your focus. The adrenaline might be worth it. I sure thought it was.

And it's possible to run negative splits, even if you take the opening downhills hard: I ran slightly negative in 2005 and even in 2006.