Downhill repeats
Okay, now that I have Boston on the horizon for my spring marathon. It is time to put some thought into my training plan.
Having never run Boston, I am relying on others for details about the course. This being said, there are two things that are commonly known about the Boston course - lots of downhill running in the early part of the race which is followed a heart stopping series of hills that can totally obliterate the quads to the point where even walking hurts.
Adapting to the course will be key to running a successful race.
Thus, there are two specific types' workouts which I will include in my marathon: downhill mile repeats and hilly marathon paced runs.
Everyone is familiar with uphill repeats but downhill repeats have their purpose as well. They help harden the quads to the extra pounding that comes with downhill running.
Therefore, in my training plan, there will be downhill repeats every 3rd week. And, I know the exact hill for them. In the Huntersville business park, the back side of the main loop has roughly 1 mile of downhill. Then, it will be an easy jog back to the top. Probably 4 to 5 miles of these downhill runs during each session will help build in the resistance that I need.
Then there is the marathon paced run. Most likely, I will be doing 3 runs just like this fall: 8, 10, and 12 miles. Each run will be preceded by a 10 mile warm up. I'm not sure of the location yet, but I will be looking for something that parallels the middle section of the Boston course.
If anyone is interested in syncing up on training plans, let me know.
The workouts definitely go faster if there is a group.
Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner
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A. Mayes