tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post7590211001960754043..comments2024-03-27T17:58:10.984+09:00Comments on Bob's Training Blog: The Boston MarathonTokyoRacerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10293712044402763377noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-65198831167571782812013-05-09T19:01:57.843+09:002013-05-09T19:01:57.843+09:00Honest stuff, glad you are ok Bob and be proud, yo...Honest stuff, glad you are ok Bob and be proud, you've run plenty of good races , lessons learned for sure.<br /> <br />Best wishes Keith. Keith Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15473989085156227760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-88677490666476991522013-04-24T16:49:51.035+09:002013-04-24T16:49:51.035+09:00Please be proud of yourself, you did well and remi...Please be proud of yourself, you did well and remind the fist time finished marathon very long years ago. Please keep going and challenge yourself. <br />No more joy comes from Stopping or just quit in any matters. I am waiting to run next marathon with you.<br />We always have good day and bad day that why life is fun.<br />TerryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-33637582744927274072013-04-24T14:37:33.587+09:002013-04-24T14:37:33.587+09:00Bob, looking forward to see you winning age-groups...Bob, looking forward to see you winning age-groups again! Saw you doing that twenty years ago, and missed it a lot since you switched to full marathons! Way to go!juergen wittstockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03056726650241068379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-55579673813780211872013-04-24T14:28:33.682+09:002013-04-24T14:28:33.682+09:00Bob, glad you and your friends are OK. Reading you...Bob, glad you and your friends are OK. Reading your report has cured any (weak) desire I might have had to race another marathon ;-) Must say that Scott is wrong - Luckylegs has 'retired' from marathons at 84 and now her longest event is the half.<br /><br />I think your training for that one is the reason for the failure. All your days were 'hard' so you were training your body to burn sugar as fuel (in spite of the high fat diet). I reckon you need to do a lot of running in the 'fat burning' zone as recommended by Maffetone in his Big Book of Endurance Training - http://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Endurance-Training-Racing/dp/1616080655<br />- so, yes, a lot of 'slow' running, which for you wouldn't be much fun. Training that way though, I don't think hurts speed. Mike Pigg was worried about that as he'd done no interval training or high intensity sessions before an 'Olympic Distance' tri in which he finally beat Mark Allen at his own game.<br /><br />You're running in the 18:30s range for 5k - plenty fast enough for a 3:07 marathon. In fact, my friend Rachel's fastest 5k is about 18:20 and she ran 2:49 in Boston. She did 'a lot' of aerobic running though; very little in the way of intervals and nothing specific for Boston's downhills; some occassional MP runs in the final weeks. So basically I think the training you enjoy which works well up to the half isn't suitable for marathon racing.Ewenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01093209634556111656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-87148176685562255022013-04-24T12:03:09.185+09:002013-04-24T12:03:09.185+09:00Bob - great report on your race; lots of lessons i...Bob - great report on your race; lots of lessons in there, and most importantly you were safe from the carnage. I stripped 22 minutes of my PB in Nagano last Sunday; I ran 3:47. I was very happy! I am hoping to get this time trimmed down further, as I prepare for other marathons. Regards - Nick <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-53913615481031776312013-04-24T11:35:06.666+09:002013-04-24T11:35:06.666+09:00I'm going with 4. and 2. in that order of impo...I'm going with 4. and 2. in that order of importance. In fact, with daylight between them. Nothing slows you down more than excruciating leg pain, and nothing leads to excruciating leg pain more than inadequate training mileage. The only thing that might slow you down as much as leg pain is not enough stored energy, and it sounds like you attempted to race (as opposed to train) on the low carb diet. Grellan hit the nail on the head: train low, race high. Fat releases energy more slowly than glycogen. So accessing energy from fat does not and is never meant to replace glycogen as the principle energy source on race day; better fat burning ability helps preserve the stored glycogen. But you still need a good big tank of glycogen, and it sounds like yours was only a little one and it ran out. Well, whether you run another M or not, at least you've learned something, and it was a still a gutsy and commendable effort to push on and finish, giving the event the respect it deserves despite knowing it had gone all pear-shaped and was a "failure" by the high standards you set for yourself. That is why so many of us respect, admire and take inspiration from you! おめでとう!Stephen Laceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10985763302279648129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-40740127969144461162013-04-24T08:49:11.835+09:002013-04-24T08:49:11.835+09:00I would guess 3. and 4. were the main causes. Hard...I would guess 3. and 4. were the main causes. Hard to target 3:07 on 80k a week, even with your natural talent. And carbo loading doesn't just give you glycogen, it provides liquid that helps hydration. That and what Joachim says. <br />Are you sure about no more marathons? Haven't we all said that?Garethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-60965437203337438932013-04-24T06:43:08.535+09:002013-04-24T06:43:08.535+09:00First and foremost Bob glad to hear that you and y...First and foremost Bob glad to hear that you and your friends escaped the bombings and ensuing chaos.<br /><br />Sounds like a very tough and demotivating experience. Certainly I have heard that Boston is a marathon of two havles, with a relatively fast and comfortable first half which sets you up nicely for an uncomfortably slow second half. Perhaps if both halves were reversed it would be a great course. The low carb diet, which I am currently on, may have had an impact - so I will learn from your experience. Although I would have anticipated a "train low, race high" philosophy.<br /><br />All the best with your recovery and I can fully understand your desire to concentrate on speed and the "shorter" races, which certainly are more "fun" and don't require a huge investment in training time.Grellanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07132757537248747078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-22744766246915526052013-04-24T04:53:23.640+09:002013-04-24T04:53:23.640+09:00Thanks for the report, Bob. Very clear description...Thanks for the report, Bob. Very clear description of what happened during the race. I ran Boston in 2006. On a flat course I would have done a 2:54 or a little faster on that day. I came in 3:10, totally worn out. The Wellesley girls were great seven years ago too :-) but shorthly after things felt apart. My take away was: the course is difficult and the down hills killed my legs, not the uphills. Even a proper Carb taper (which you might not have done this time) is only one step stone to prepare Boston correctly. The training has to contain a lot of down hill running and I think to get close to 3hrs I would need well >100km/week (did only 80km/week at this time). My main take away from that race: I was prepared for a flat course but not for Boston. Boston needs a lot of different training that any other standard Marathon. I think you did well in Boston since you finished the race and gave everything. Rest well and please rethink your decision when the time is right ... Joachimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04249103275615829778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-50364070658723608032013-04-23T23:54:10.516+09:002013-04-23T23:54:10.516+09:00tough race Bob, but nice report, and glad you lear...tough race Bob, but nice report, and glad you learned from the experience. Run fast and have fun. I like that!motozohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14276373366432938726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-9540289182193323022013-04-23T22:07:18.463+09:002013-04-23T22:07:18.463+09:00Glad to hear that you missed the worst of the dram...Glad to hear that you missed the worst of the drama with the bombings Bob.<br /><br />I think you know better than anyone what the problem/s with your marathon were and yes it would seem that you would have to go back to scratch and build a big base with a lot of long slow running before tasting more success at the marathon. <br /><br />I agree that doesn't sound like much fun but I wonder if you can stop yourself from running another few marathons? I think Ewen's friend Norma "Lucky Legs" said she was not going to run any more marathons, several times, but she is past 80 now and still doing them!Samurai Runninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12295160713705142193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70800156175560272.post-2216626558427906322013-04-23T20:29:48.167+09:002013-04-23T20:29:48.167+09:00nightmare. re the lack of sleep and the diet, they...nightmare. re the lack of sleep and the diet, they could be significant in both performance and fainting. i wouldn't rule out dehydration either, but the main thing is that you came home safe. recover well bob and get yourself checked-out, just to be on safe side. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com