Preparing for the Boston Marathon: Karen Barlow at Carlsbad. Training Peaks Diary

Preparing for the Boston Marathon: Karen Barlow at Carlsbad

13 April 2010

The Boston Marathon is less than a week away, and Australian runner Karen Barlow is well prepared and excited to race after her final tune up at the Carlsbad 5K last weekend.

“I had my last hit out on Sunday at the Carlsbad 5000 before the Boston Marathon next weekend. It has a reputation for being ‘The Fastest 5km Road Race in the World!’ 16 world records have been set over 5km on the road at Carlsbad. Unfortunately on Sunday the temperature was perfect but the ocean breeze was pretty stiff so no records were set.”

“I led out with 2 other girls for the first mile which was slightly downhill and into the headwind. I held my own over the second mile being only slightly behind going up the hill so was pretty happy with myself. I then made a break for it on the next downhill before the last turn.”

“I came out of the turn ahead and thought I had it in the bag…except I did not count on the two girls I had just dropped having other thoughts! Ha ha! Up the last hill one girl blew past me…and then to rub salt in the wound the other one got me on the downhill in a sprint finish to the line by 2 seconds! So I had to settle for third place in a time of 17.20.”

The Garmin splits showed that Karen ran a very even race, and you can view her file here:
Mile 1 =5.30
Mile 2 =5.29
Mile 3 =5.32
Final 0.15mile =5.21/mile ave pace.

Commenting on the differences between a 5K and a marathon, Karen remarked that although she may not have been the fastest to the line on Sunday, she felt well-prepared for Boston. “All my marathon training was not conducive to a fast finishing kick! No matter how much I willed my legs to go faster in the last 200 yards of the race they could not do it. The 5.21/mile pace I averaged over the closing stage was a lot faster than the marathon tempo runs I have been logging in practice. But I know that those 10mile tempo runs in training will get me over the line at the Boston Marathon next week!”

Karen qualified for Boston at the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon in New Orleans, which she won and really enjoyed. “It was a wonderful feeling winning in New Orleans! The city is a fantastic city to visit & I would highly recommend the New Orleans Rock ‘N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon as a great event for marathoners to participate in…especially as the course is completely flat! The bands along the course were great, the event was extremely well organized, and the people at New Orleans were so friendly! Visiting Bourbon Street after the race was definitely a highlight for me too!”

Get a training plan for a Rock ‘N Roll Marathon of your own here.

Her win in New Orleans was her second marathon win after her debut marathon in Melbourne in 2006. Right after racing in New Orleans, she started using TrainingPeaks to keep better track of her progress. “I started using Training Peaks after New Orleans to help me with my training and racing records. I am notoriously bad at keeping records of my training, but I am very good at writing my resting pulse on little sticky notes beside the bed…I am also often writing my sessions on scraps of paper & backs of envelopes…you get the picture -ha ha! So I really needed one place to log all my data that would help me keep an accurate record of what I do.”

“There are so many features of TrainingPeaks that I love that I don’t know where to start. I love that TrainingPeaks calculates how many miles I have logged for the week (simple but important). I love that TrainingPeaks tells me how many miles each pair of my shoes have done too! I can upload my Garmin files & TrainingPeaks automatically puts all the data into my diary for me. Using TrainingPeaks I am able to record my pre-run meal and it spits out all the nutrition data without me needing to look it up. All in all it is the coolest training diary I have ever had!”

For Boston, Karen is very focused on staying strong while running up the course’s notorious hills. “My goal for Boston is to get myself up and over the infamous Newton Hills…especially ‘Heartbreak Hill.’ I am definitely scared of the hills in Boston -ha ha! I will be really happy with myself if I can run a strong smart race. I feel like I am in good shape at the moment so Boston will be a great test for me.”

Looking past Boston, Karen is focused on qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics. “London is still a few years away and there are a lot of really super fast girls in Australia ranked ahead of me in the marathon. So my goal is to work hard over the next two years and see how much I can lower my marathon time. The qualifying time for London is sub 2.32min and my current best is 2.45. That is one very big challenge!”

Best of luck and happy training, Karen!