The Goal

It's good to have a goal.

It was a pretty easy decision, actually - given the magnitude of the effort that will be required and the preparation that will be needed. Yet, in the end, it seemed so simple. Qualify for Boston.

In order to qualify for the Boston Marathon as a 40-year old - which I will be for the next one in 2011 - I need a time equal to or better than 3:20:59. No exceptions. I have two marathons left to do this year: the San Diego Marathon in June and the New York City Marathon in November. Even if Boston 2011 is not sold out by November (and it probably will be), qualifying for Boston in New York would be challenging.

That leaves San Diego...in June...less than two months from now. If I don't qualify for Boston there, then I have to look to a marathon or two in 2011 that give me the best chance to qualify for the 2012 Boston Marathon. While I am certainly okay with that, if that is the road that I have to take, I want it this year. I want the streak of improvement to continue - and I want to get to Boston while my body seems to be holding together for the most part.

So that is the goal. I have about 5 weeks of hard training left for San Diego, and I am going to make the most of it. I have had a harder time sticking to my grid this time around because of work - albeit a much harder grid than my first - and I have not maintained what I would refer to as a "champion's diet plan." However, a couple weekends ago, I blew the doors off the Platte River Trail Half Marathon with 1:34:48 (7:15 pace), which was an ENORMOUS shot in the arm. Yes - it was downhill - but I smoked that course. I had negative splits the last 6 miles, 7:00 pace for miles 10-12, and a 6:49 pace for the 13th mile before a sprint to the finish. If I can back that off to a 7:35 and sustain it for 26.2 miles, I will qualify for Boston with room to spare.

It won't be easy. I may have come as close as I am going to in my first marathon. I might not qualify...
...but I sure feel like I've got it in me.

Halfway to San Diego

Today is the end of Week 7, which is the halfway point of "hard running" (training time not including the taper). The first part of this training grid - a very aggressive schedule I set for myself - has been a struggle to say the least.

There are a few reasons I set a high bar:

1. To ensure that if I slipped a little bit, I wouldn't fall right off the edge.
2. To build more miles for greater strength and stamina in June.
3. To try to set myself up for a shot to beat 3:20:59, the maximum time to qualify for Boston as a 40-year old (which i would be for the 2011 Boston Marathon)

I may be a victim of my own success. If I had finished PF Chang's Arizona in 3:45:00, I wouldn't have even thought about Boston. However, 3:28:16 - while far from the 3:15:59 I would need to qualify until I am 40 - is not too far away from 3:20:59 I need once I am 40. That is the equivalent of running 17 seconds per mile faster than I did in my first ever marathon, and any marathon I run in 2010 can be used to qualify for Boston in 2011. Given the sea level San Diego course in June, with only one significant climb, it may be my best chance. If I get into New York in November, which I'll find out in a couple of days, I doubt I can run that fast there. If I don't get into New York, I might have a shot to qualify if I ran the Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio in mid-November.

All of this is well and good, but it dawned on me this morning that I may be trying to do too much too fast. I looked back at the training program that led me to finishing Arizona about 15 minutes faster than I though was achievable, and realized that at this point in my grid I hadn't even run 12 miles yet for my longest run! The mileage ramp up that led me to 3:28:16 took place in weeks 11-13. Combined with the frustration of missing runs (or just being out of gas) because of work demands, it feels like I am slacking when I am actually doing as much now as I was in that training plan.

Today, I am sitting down with the old grid and the current one, and I'll design my own plan for weeks 9-16 that will balance my time on-hand with realistic expectations and increases in mileage that aren't so aggressive that I risk injury. Just getting to that point made me feel a lot better about things. I was also 7 pounds heavier in week 8 last year than I am right now. My training diet could be better, but I am definitely starting from better place.

Do I really think I might want to try for Boston???