Can I qualify for Boston?

One dark day on Usenet, "KYRunner" <[email hidden]> said
news:4WjKc.103161$a24.4408@attbi_s03:

Quoted message said:

I would really like to run Boston next year so I have been trying to
get serious about my running. I have ran two marathons in the past,
the last being WDW in 2001. I am 34 male but will be 35 this fall so
I will need a 3:15 to qualify. A friend a work convinced me to run
the Houston marathon with him (his first and he wants to go back to
his hometown to run it) in January.

My question: Is this a reasonable goal for me or am I expecting to
much and courting disastor by trying.

Here is this weeks workout:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3 miles at 7:21 pace
Wednesday- 6 miles at 7:55 pace under 70% heart rate (
(max-resting)*.70 + resting) for me 176)
Thursday - 3 miles at 6:58 pace (nice weather that day 🙂)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 12 miles at 7:59 pace under 70% (8:03 first half - 7:55
2nd half first negative long run)
Sunday - Will run 6 miles under 70% expect around 7:50 or so

Any recent racing history? Based on the various tables you would need to
be able to run these race times in order to be "in shape" for a 3:15
marathon (assuming you've trained for the distance with appropriate
mileage, long runs, etc.)

10K - 41:33
10 Mile - 1:09:37
1/2 Marathon - 1:32:28

Phil M.

--
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you. -Chuang Tzu

Haven't ran a race since 2001. I have run on and off sporadically since
then. Today's long run was my longest since I ran 18miles in San Fran in
Spring 2001 (ran over the Golden Gate a must run at least once in a
lifetime). After that I developed a stress fracture and fell of the wagon.
Few months ago I woke up with the strong desire to give it another goal,
this is my first serious running during the summer since my first marathon
was in April and the second in January. I don't really like the heat and
humidity and am always much faster with less effort on the days the weather
breaks.

I just want to know if I am just not fast enough yet to pull it off this
year and should wait or if I got a decent shot? Also would like to know
what I can do to improve my chances, assuming there is a chance.

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One dark day on Usenet, "KYRunner" <[email hidden]> said
news:4WjKc.103161$a24.4408@attbi_s03:

Quoted message said:

I would really like to run Boston next year so I have been trying to
get serious about my running. I have ran two marathons in the past,
the last being WDW in 2001. I am 34 male but will be 35 this fall so
I will need a 3:15 to qualify. A friend a work convinced me to run
the Houston marathon with him (his first and he wants to go back to
his hometown to run it) in January.

My question: Is this a reasonable goal for me or am I expecting to
much and courting disastor by trying.

Here is this weeks workout:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3 miles at 7:21 pace
Wednesday- 6 miles at 7:55 pace under 70% heart rate (
(max-resting)*.70 + resting) for me 176)
Thursday - 3 miles at 6:58 pace (nice weather that day 🙂)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 12 miles at 7:59 pace under 70% (8:03 first half - 7:55
2nd half first negative long run)
Sunday - Will run 6 miles under 70% expect around 7:50 or so

Any recent racing history? Based on the various tables you would need to
be able to run these race times in order to be "in shape" for a 3:15
marathon (assuming you've trained for the distance with appropriate
mileage, long runs, etc.)

10K - 41:33
10 Mile - 1:09:37
1/2 Marathon - 1:32:28

Phil M.

--
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you. -Chuang Tzu

Quoted message said:

I just want to know if I am just not fast enough yet to pull it off this
year and should wait or if I got a decent shot? Also would like to know
what I can do to improve my chances, assuming there is a chance.

I qualified with a 3:15 flat (gun time) on slower training runs than
the ones you listed. (My non-speedwork training pace was about 8:15.)
If running at that pace isn't wearing you out, I'd say, find a good
workout plan that includes 6-8 weeks or more at 50+ mpw and you'll be
fine.

--
Brian P. Baresch
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Professional editing and proofreading

If you're going through hell, keep going. --Winston Churchill

KYRunner said:

I would really like to run Boston next year so I have been trying to get
serious about my running. I have ran two marathons in the past, the last
being WDW in 2001. I am 34 male but will be 35 this fall so I will need a
3:15 to qualify. A friend a work convinced me to run the Houston marathon
with him (his first and he wants to go back to his hometown to run it) in
January.

My question: Is this a reasonable goal for me or am I expecting to much and
courting disastor by trying.

No-one can say for sure at this stage -- it's months away, and you haven't
posted any race times, and marathons are unpredictable anyway.

Having said that, your training runs appear to be in the right ballpark, and
you've got some time to prepare. So if you're asking whether you should just
give up in desperation today or not, I'd say you shouldn't.

Enter a half marathon further down the track (after it cools down a bit) and
you'll have a better idea where you stand.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Phil is right. To know if you are in the ballpark, program some races into
your training.

I'd stick with an occasional 10k, since you can recover from them in a few
days.
They are also an excellent lactate threshold workout.

A half marathon will wreck the next training week because of the recovery
time.

If you can run low 41's, and you've got a good base (50+ mpw), and you get
your long runs in, I'd say you have an excellent chance.

Based on your typical paces, I'd say you have the talent to break 3 if you
got serious.

-- Dan

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One dark day on Usenet, "KYRunner" <[email hidden]> said
news:4WjKc.103161$a24.4408@attbi_s03:

Quoted message said:

I would really like to run Boston next year so I have been trying to
get serious about my running. I have ran two marathons in the past,
the last being WDW in 2001. I am 34 male but will be 35 this fall so
I will need a 3:15 to qualify. A friend a work convinced me to run
the Houston marathon with him (his first and he wants to go back to
his hometown to run it) in January.

My question: Is this a reasonable goal for me or am I expecting to
much and courting disastor by trying.

Here is this weeks workout:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3 miles at 7:21 pace
Wednesday- 6 miles at 7:55 pace under 70% heart rate (
(max-resting)*.70 + resting) for me 176)
Thursday - 3 miles at 6:58 pace (nice weather that day 🙂)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 12 miles at 7:59 pace under 70% (8:03 first half - 7:55
2nd half first negative long run)
Sunday - Will run 6 miles under 70% expect around 7:50 or so

Any recent racing history? Based on the various tables you would need to
be able to run these race times in order to be "in shape" for a 3:15
marathon (assuming you've trained for the distance with appropriate
mileage, long runs, etc.)

10K - 41:33
10 Mile - 1:09:37
1/2 Marathon - 1:32:28

Phil M.

--
If you can empty your own boat
Crossing the river of the world,
No one will oppose you,
No one will seek to harm you. -Chuang Tzu

Quoted message said:

I ran my first marathon in SF this week. My time was slow . The course was
tough! I want very badly to qualify for Boston. I ra SF in 4:21:06, I
need 3:55 for Boston. Can anyone advise.

Take a cab, it worked for me for years and years.
The Bill Rodgers

This is a very weak schedule for marathoning. You should be doing
at least 40 miles per week, perferrably 60. This inlcude long runs
of every other week, in the 15-20 mile range.

This is just where I am now.....

I intend to ramp up to:
M -rest
T - 5 miles
W - 10 miles
R - 5 miles
F - rest
S - 20 miles
U - 10 miles

"rick++" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This is a very weak schedule for marathoning. You should be doing
at least 40 miles per week, perferrably 60. This inlcude long runs
of every other week, in the 15-20 mile range.

"KYRunner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<OPYKc.122927$IQ4.21980@attbi_s02>...

Quoted message said:

This is just where I am now.....

I intend to ramp up to:
M -rest
T - 5 miles
W - 10 miles
R - 5 miles
F - rest
S - 20 miles
U - 10 miles

Here's where you should be now....

G -rest
O -3 miles
F -7 miles
U -5 miles
C -9 miles
K -3 miles
U -5 miles
R -3 miles
S -6 miles
E -6 miles
L -9 miles
F - Rest

X-No-Archive: yes
[email hidden] (Dan Glyn) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"KYRunner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<OPYKc.122927$IQ4.21980@attbi_s02>...

Quoted message said:

This is just where I am now.....

I intend to ramp up to:
M -rest
T - 5 miles
W - 10 miles
R - 5 miles
F - rest
S - 20 miles
U - 10 miles

Here's where you should be now....

G -rest
O -3 miles
F -7 miles
U -5 miles
C -9 miles
K -3 miles
U -5 miles
R -3 miles
S -6 miles
E -6 miles
L -9 miles
F - Rest

Dude, you are in trouble. You are using the patented words of the
honorable VicePresident (who promised to bring back honor to the
office) without his permission. This is not fair and balanced. You are
in trouble.

MWL
-------