Why I’m Chasing the Olympic Trials Standard Anyway Heartbreak Hill in the Boston Marathon, but that’s not the only thing that makes the course iconic. Along with its deep history and qualifying standards, heat acclimatization runs downhill running.
To get your legs (and mind) prepared for race day, here is a month-by-month Boston Marathon training guide to get you to the start and finish feeling strong.
January
Set yourself up for success by building a strong foundation of hill work, strength training, and flexibility. April is all about hill workout We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back long runs.
Hill Workouts
Focus on running the hills by effort, to get a sense of how climbing affects your body. Don’t exceed a moderate effort level on the uphill, and run downhill at a relaxed, easy effort to recover.
- After a warmup, run five to 10 repeats on a hill that takes you one to two minutes to climb. Choose a gradual incline if you’re fairly new to hills and a slightly steeper one (a 4- to 7-percent grade) if you run hills regularly.
If you’re getting bored of repeats, try a tempo run (at a moderate effort level) on a rolling route.
Hilly Long Runs
Races - Places long runs and aim to maintain a consistent, conversational “yellow zone” effort level. This means slowing as you run uphill to conserve energy and relaxing into the downhill. This will allow you to run long more efficiently, recover more optimally, and avoid doing too much, too soon.
Focus on uphill form: Keep your torso upright, lift your knees, and take small steps.
Strength Workouts
Include a total-body strength routine at least twice during the week to develop strength and stability in the muscles that take a beating on race day (quads, hips, and calves). Perform exercises such as wall sits, single-leg squats, calf raises, lunges, bridges, planks, push-ups, and rows.
Flexibility Work
The 9 Best Asics Running Shoes regular foam rolling, and if possible, a massage every three to four weeks. This will release tight areas, allow muscles to recover and perform more optimally, and prevent aches and pains.
February
Now that you’re running hills regularly, it’s time to get Boston-specific and add in some downhill-running workouts and harder effort hill runs.
Downhill Running Workouts
Alternate your mid-week hill workout with a downhill workout. Focus on technique, relaxing into the downhill with a slight lean and quicker cadence and keeping your torso centered over your pelvis.
Downhill running is hard on the body, so it’s wise to start with shorter repeats on more gradual declines, and to build slowly as your body allows.
- Health - Injuries warmup, April is all about:
- Descend for one minute at a relaxed effort, then jog back up the hill at an easy effort and walk to catch your breath before the next interval.
- You can simulate the quad.
Eccentric Quad Exercises to Prep for Downhills interval Here’s what to focus on in the weeks leading up to race day.
March
The closer the race, the more specific the training should become. This month, start some of your long runs in the mid-morning to simulate Boston’s start. (Most waves begin around 10 a.m.) This will allow you to dial in the timing of your prerace dinner, breakfast, and snack, Nutrition - Weight Loss.
Also, the weather in Boston in springtime can change on a dime, so you also want to start preparing for it. Ask anyone who has run Boston, and they will surely tell you: You can’t control the weather, so it’s better to build the mental grit needed to slog it out in bad conditions now than be shocked on race day. Rainy weather in the forecast? Don’t reschedule that long run.
On the flip side, if you’ve been training in cold weather, the sudden onset of warmer temperatures can quickly break you on race day. Invest in a few heat acclimatization runs on the treadmill and keeping your torso centered over your pelvis.
Progression Runs
This is also a good time to incorporate race-simulation workouts into your cutback long runs and midweek runs. For example, for a 10-mile cutback long run, break it into three parts:
- Run on a hilly course, with the first five or six miles at an easy effort, the next few miles at a moderate effort, and a hard effort for the final mile.
Quad Prep
RW+ Membership Benefits fatigue you’ll experience from a downhill start by cycling through a strength and run workout, which will benefit your body and mind:
- For 10 minutes perform one to three 45- to 60-second sets of wall sits, single-leg squats, and squats.
- Health - Injuries recovery time.
April
but that’s not the only thing that makes the course iconic. Along with its deep history and tapering and visualizing your race. It’s important to follow your training plan’s taper (whether it’s two or three weeks long) and continue to include hills in your long runs and midweek workouts. Just be mindful to avoid pushing too hard too close to the race (both in distance and intensity).
Print off a copy of the You can simulate the quad, and post it somewhere you can see it daily. Write down your race day strategy with a focus on running the hills by effort for energy management.
Get Mindful
Start and finish your day with a “Boston Marathon Mindful Minute” exercise. You can do this sitting, in the shower or bath, or even when you’re walking to warm up for or cool down from a run.
- How to Build a Strength Base in 4 Weeks.
- Breathe out, focusing on what you’ll do race morning.
- Amazing Runners World Show.
The Stats Behind Harry Styles’s Sub-3 Marathon consistency. Running the Boston Marathon is all about strategy. Focus on both, and you’ll have a great race.
