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Did you PR at Boston? (Read 1050 times)

Aaron Heath


    I PRed at Boston too. I'd like to go back and try for another!

    xhristopher


      Yeah, I PR'ed at Boston... but it doesn't mean much at all. It was just my third marathon and I haven't run one since. Run a good handful of marathons then PR at Boston. That's badass.

      BeeRunB


        Didn't PR, but I did have a blast. My training was offset that year and wasn't going to be ready, so I used it as a training run for another marathon 5 weeks later. It was the first year they had waves. I was supposed to be in the 3:20--3:30ish corral in the first wave. I went to the last corral in the first wave so as not to be a nuisance at the start.   THe starting gun went off and the 1st wave jumped ot ahead of me. I ran about 22 miles with very few other runners in between the waves. It was very cool experience to run Boston for the first time with all those people cheering just a few of us, and with all that room. Finished in 3:52.

         

        --JimmyCool

          My PR is also from Boston but it would've been 90sec-2min faster on a flatter course. The Newton Hills were no walk in the park, and hills are generally not a concern for me. You will feel them. People went out unusually fast and there were a lot of walking dead in the last 10K. Super fun though, it's the one major I would go back to again and again. Best of luck to you.

          HermosaBoy


            I did PR the first time I ran Boston, but it wasn't pretty...

            And you can quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx

             

            Rob

            spinach


              When I ran Boston it was a PW for me (although my PW has gotten a lot worse since then). I wasn't intending to run hard at Boston but instead was using it as a training run for Fargo the following month.  However when I awoke on the day of the race I had a bad achilles day and I knew from the start that Boston would be a bad day.  I did end up getting a PR in Fargo a month later. 

               

              Even though I registered for it I probably won't be running Boston this year.  If I do end up going I will again be running it as a training run for a May marathon (in this case Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon).

                wow I am so glad I asked  the question, thank you!!

                 

                I am the type of person who expects a PR with every race (although I'm nearing or already past 'as good as I'm gonna get'), and I'd be really disappointed if I didn't come away with one.  I am definitely resetting my expectations, and I'll not go crazy on those first 16. 

                  Have run 4 Boston's in a row and 12 marathons. I  have PR'd in Boston in '09, '10 and '11. My PW was in '08, but that was just being out of shape after taking 3 months totally off at the beginning of '07. That PR streak will end in '12, running Houston in January as a goal race killed my legs for some reason (I also did New York as a training run).

                   

                  I think Boston is a faster course than Houston. Maybe not as fast as Chicago, but hey Boston's got the fastest time in the world...

                  DoppleBock


                    I think it takes more discipline to run smart at Boston than other races.  On average I think you are a little more amped up at the start and so many miles at the start are downhill.  Narrow streets - So many runners - It becomes harder to do your own thing.  After a 4 months off for injury I ran it with 4 weeks of training - I did not PR.  I did get sucked into running a bit too fast in the beginning (Maybe 2 minutes too fast the 1st 10 miles) - I did run within 2 minutes of what my current fitness was.

                     

                    I think if you were out front - You could more easily focus on your own thing - I did not like Boston.  At the pace I was running.  I could not run any of the right lines and I was constantly avoiding people.

                     

                    I probably should run it again sometime when I am in < 2:50 shape to see if it is a better experience.  I qualified with a 2:45 and ran 3:07 - But again I was in 3:05 ish shape. 

                     

                    My fastest two times are at Boston. Run properly, it's a fairly fast course. Plan on taking it easy until the hills, and making up the time starting at mile 21. Run improperly, Boston can easily give you a PW. 

                     

                    IMO even to slightly negative splits are best. I've negative split there the past 5 years.

                    Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                     

                     


                    No Talent Drips

                      I think it takes more discipline to run smart at Boston than other races.  

                       +1.

                      I think Boston is a PR course if you're tactical about the course. I PR'd there last year (ideal weather, duh) with a 2 min negative split; IMO--running this course with a negative split is the way to go.

                       

                      I have subsequently eclipsed that PR on a very non-tactical Wineglass course...just a "go from the start" effort. The same (non tactical) effort at Boston would have me walking by mile 21--I believe.

                       Dei Gratia

                       

                        Since I only ran it once, I guess you'd say its a PR for the Boston course, for me. 

                        It was my 4th fastest marathon, and I left a little disappointed. 

                        CMJHawk86


                          My current PR is from Boston 2010 at 3:20:41. Interestingly my #2 and #3 results are 3:21:07 (Charlotte Thunder Road 2007) and 3:21:35 (Outer Banks 2008). And #4 is not far off the pace at 3:23:51 (Philadelphia 2011). This is from a small sample size of 8 marathons but to have that many clustered so close together seems to indicate what I can expect on a good day, yet I still think the potential is there to do much better.

                           

                          Hoping Chicago this fall is where I jump off this plateau. Then maybe I can break the new PR at marathon #10, hopefully Boston next year (Philly result has already qualified me).

                            I'm glad I stumbled across the article that I did, it talked about playing around with your stride length, foot strike and arm positioning, ensuring you're in a comfortable position in preparation for 16mi of downhill.  I don't think I'm stupid enough to fall for 'this is the best run of my life, I'm so fast today', as I've already been there, but it's still good to learn how much those hills kill the quads and where people 'go wrong' in the course.  I definitely think I could get hit with the 'this is Boston, this is so cool', but it's a good reminder that it's the downhill talkin' and not the location.

                             

                            My improvements in time are lessening, so I'm definitely close to as good as I'm gonna get, given the training I'm willing to put in.


                            Feeling the growl again

                               The same (non tactical) effort at Boston would have me walking by mile 21--I believe.

                                Dang, well at least I would have had some good company then.  Wink

                              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                               

                              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                               

                              runnerclay


                              Consistently Slow

                                How do you people PR at a marathon that starts after 10:00 AM Shocked Confused By the time my wave goes I will have been up over 6 hours(4 AM). I am thinking < 4 hours. The knee will decide. BQ 3:37:28.

                                Run until the trail runs out.

                                 SCHEDULE 2016--

                                 The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff

                                unsolicited chatter

                                http://bkclay.blogspot.com/

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