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Boston Dreaming...is it possible?

2,600 Views | 28 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by coop-aero-06
Crazy Ag 97
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AG
So every year about this time, I watch my fast friends run Boston and dream of running it some day. Well, after years of just wishing, I think it's time to try and make that dream a reality. The question I have for the running gurus on this board, could I realistically get there? And what would it realistically take?

I've thought it out, and I think my best shot would be to target the 2021 race since I would be 45, making my BQ time around a 3:22 (3:25 BQ minus about 3 min to be safe). That timeline puts my BQ race sometime from Sept 2019 to September 2020. At first thought, that seems far out, but really it's only 2 1/2 years from now until the 2021 BQ window opens, and I think that's how long it will take for me to get there from where I'm currently at.

My history: I've done Houston 5 times, with a PR of 3:55 in 2015. 2016 was so-so, but my training was spotty at best coming off of a very light year of training and racing in 2015, and 2017 was a combo of less than ideal weather, and 6 weeks of very little give a **** post-IMAZ. In Jan 2016, I ran Houston in 4:08, and then spent 2016 training for Ironman Lake Placid and Ironman Arizona and finished AZ with a 10:50 (4:11 marathon). That's what got me thinking, "if I can run a 4:11 as part of an ironman, on a plan that was heavy swim and bike and only 3 days a week running, what could I do if I focused my effort on a dedicated marathon training plan?"

So TexAgs running gurus, what say you? Is this a crazy pipe dream that I have no shot at, or is it possible with the right plan and effort?
AggieOO
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tough to say as there are so many factors, but based on the 4:11 at the end of an IM, I'd say yes.
The Pilot
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AG
You don't know unless you try. But also can't expect to get different results doing the same thing. I'd recommend, join a training group or hiring a running coach.
wangus12
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I think its doable with the appropriate training. If you are capable of cranking out a 4:11 in an IM, then I think 3:22 is somewhere in you're locker.

I'm starting to lean towards really focusing on 26.2, running with a group/training with the groups coach to see what I can really drop down too. Not confident I'll ever break 3:05, but its technically the target for the next 14 years.
AggieOO
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you never know. When I started training somewhat seriously, I dropped from 4:19 to 3:47. Then when I started training seriously, I dropped from 3:47 to 3:15. And then to 3:05 the following year.

I'd always run and always run long distance, but I'd never focused and put in the hard work.
gd28
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My first full marathon was last year in 3:15. I've run a 1:25 half since then, so I feel confident I can get there with appropriate training. Once my tri season ends early fall/late summer I'm going all in on marathon training to BQ in either Dallas or Houston. Watching the race yesterday has me pretty excited to go for it!
Endo Ag
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Lot of words here, but TLDR is: Build base for years, watch times decrease, then bust your ass for a year or two and see what happens.

This thread is super relevant to me. I did my first marathon in 2009 on minimal training, about 18 months after I started running with any consistency. Aimed for 4hr, started on a did 2/3 on a 3:50 pace (cause it felt good), and finished around 4:11.

Did mostly half marathons for the next few years, and went through the progression in triathlon from rookie to Ironman. Half marathon times fell from 2008 running a 2hr flat to 1:35 in 2015 without changing my training consistently. I mostly ran 15 30 miles per week, but in Fall of 2013 started with a group that does speedwork on Tuesday nights, and I got to be just fast enough to hang with the fast group. This helped a lot.

I started to believe I can actually reach Boston when those times continued to fall into the low 1:33s. I set my sights on Marine Corps last fall, but dicked around with a 70.3 for too much of the summer. I got a good 6-7 week build into Marine Corps, and felt pretty good, but hot weather sank me at mile 20. That was with mostly 35-50 mile weeks, mostly closer to 35.

I took a little (too much) time to rejuvenate, and have trained consistently since new years. I built quickly from 30-50 mile weeks, and then kept going and did several blocks of 55-70 mile weeks, with a final build to 200 miles in my last 20 days of hard training. I did have a 10 day period where I backed off to ~40 miles over 2 weeks due to a tweaked achilles after racing a half marathon in the snow.

I've kept up the Tuesday speedwork, and significantly I've tried to do some tempo runs on mostly Friday, followed by a long run and a second double digit day on the weekend. Speedwork lately has been 800 and mile repeats, including doing the Yasso Workout (10*800) and another 5*1600 at the same pace. Tempo has been 20-40 seconds faster than marathon pace at distances up to 7 miles,or sometimes broken into tempo intervals.

I'm tapering now, and praying for cool weather in New Jersey on April 30. I'm a bigger guy (74". 175, so heat and I don't get along).

If that blows up, I'm going to try to snag a Poconos bib and pick Aggie00s brain about that race.

JDL 96
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YOU CAN DO IT FOR SURE! Before 2021 too, if you wanted. With your fitness level (all the marathons and IMs), and a 4:11 marathon coming after 110 miles on the bike and only 3 days a week running, I'd be SHOCKED if you couldn't run a BQ time in the next 6 to 12 MONTHS if you wanted (and ran 5 or 6 days a week).

That would obviously mean dialing back your swim and bike training significantly. Maybe dropping the bike training completely would be best. Dunno.

Think about it. If for the next 6 to 12 months your focus was solely on running, you ran 5 or 6 times a week, used a structured training plan with LT workouts, spadework, etc., your running running will improve SIGNIFICANTLY. If you could do 4:11 after a 110 mile bike, and with 3 days a week of running, what would your time have been for a standalone marathon? Maybe 3:40? Faster? Then double your run training, and double your focus. 3:15 DEFINITELY looks attainable. Do that downhill marathon in El Paso that has fast times. It is a winter race.

YOU CAN DO IT NOW!!

(note I've done a 1:35 half and some olympic tris, but never a marathon. But just bumping from 2 or 3 days a week running to 3 or 4 days a week running for a month or 2, I dropped 6 minutes on my half time. my thoughts above are based largely on that, and my thinking that IF I set my mind to it, I could qualify for Boston.)
JDL 96
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I'd ignore all the reservations, maybes and qualifiers in the responses so far. If you decide you can do it, and decimate yourself to it, I'm SURE you can. You're not some guy who just finished the C25K. You've done a TON of marathons, and have a freaking 4:11 at the end of an IM, after 110 miles on the bike. I bet a number of the guys that finished with run times around 4:11 in that IM have Boston qualified. You can too.
Crazy Ag 97
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Thanks for all the input. Seeing a lot of my friends running on Monday really has me motivated to give it a go. That and the fact that I'm a little bored with tri's has me wanting to true running a shot. (Not to mention that I have been threatened with death by the fianc if I even consider registering for another IM). I figure, worst case scenario is I don't ever get a BQ, but I definitely become a faster runner and stay in shape, which is really kind of the point of all of this anyway.
drewbie08
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Crazy Ag 97 said:

Thanks for all the input. Seeing a lot of my friends running on Monday really has me motivated to give it a go. That and the fact that I'm a little bored with tri's has me wanting to true running a shot. (Not to mention that I have been threatened with death by the fianc if I even consider registering for another IM). I figure, worst case scenario is I don't ever get a BQ, but I definitely become a faster runner and stay in shape, which is really kind of the point of all of this anyway.
Why don't you run a BQ time at Whistler 2018?
CrockerAg98
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Quote:

If that blows up, I'm going to try to snag a Poconos bib and pick Aggie00s brain about that race
Or, if PA isn't your thing, take a trip to the PNW and run any of the three marathons up here in North Bend. Similar profile to Poconos, with a little over 2000' drop over the length of the race. Roughly 30% of runners BQ, evidently.

Tunnel marathons
Crazy Ag 97
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AG
drewbie08 said:

Crazy Ag 97 said:

Thanks for all the input. Seeing a lot of my friends running on Monday really has me motivated to give it a go. That and the fact that I'm a little bored with tri's has me wanting to true running a shot. (Not to mention that I have been threatened with death by the fianc if I even consider registering for another IM). I figure, worst case scenario is I don't ever get a BQ, but I definitely become a faster runner and stay in shape, which is really kind of the point of all of this anyway.
Why don't you run a BQ time at Whistler 2018?
Ha, technically not a certified marathon course...but yes, if you and Ms. drewbie can convince her to actually let me train for another Ironman, and spend the $ for yet another destination ironman (probably an even bigger factor than the time), I would very much forget this pipe dream and consider doing Whistler in 2018, but for now, I am going to spend the next 10 months doing a lot more running.
drewbie08
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Crazy Ag 97 said:

drewbie08 said:

Crazy Ag 97 said:

Thanks for all the input. Seeing a lot of my friends running on Monday really has me motivated to give it a go. That and the fact that I'm a little bored with tri's has me wanting to true running a shot. (Not to mention that I have been threatened with death by the fianc if I even consider registering for another IM). I figure, worst case scenario is I don't ever get a BQ, but I definitely become a faster runner and stay in shape, which is really kind of the point of all of this anyway.
Why don't you run a BQ time at Whistler 2018?
Ha, technically not a certified marathon course...but yes, if you and Ms. drewbie can convince her to actually let me train for another Ironman, and spend the $ for yet another destination ironman (probably an even bigger factor than the time), I would very much forget this pipe dream and consider doing Whistler in 2018, but for now, I am going to spend the next 10 months doing a lot more running.
Yeah, I realize you can't BQ in an Ironman. But I'm sure Mrs. drewbie could convince your fiance to allow you to do another one...
Crazy Ag 97
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drewbie08 said:

Quote:

Yeah, I realize you can't BQ in an Ironman. But I'm sure Mrs. drewbie could convince your fiance to allow you to do another one...

That's not entirely true....Kona is a certified marathon courses and can be used for a BQ, and in 2016, 232 people (10.5% of finishers) did BQ at Kona, but since I'm never going to race Kona...
AggieOO
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there's another course that is certified too, but i can't remember which one. Maybe Louisville?
Crazy Ag 97
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AggieOO said:

there's another course that is certified too, but i can't remember which one. Maybe Louisville?
Correct. It lost certification from 2009 thru 2016, but is certified again for 2017.
drewbie08
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AG
Wow, I had no idea you could do that. Cool.
Sooner Born
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Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're probably right.

But I would tell you to find a running coach and don't try and go it alone. I took at 1:45 half marathon to 1:29 thanks to hiring a coach.
P.U.T.U
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IM except for Kona lost the BQ since they just started making up courses.

Sooner is right (never thought I would say sooner and right in the same sentence), you can do it if you think you can.

Honestly the 4:11 after an IM does not mean much to me, do a year of focused running with a group and coach and see how you improve. One of my friends did tris and was about a 12 hour guy, started focusing on running and I think his last half was sub 1:25 and he is 40. Has a good coach and stepped up his speed work
crowag
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This is a good thread. I'm fairly new to distance running. I've run two halfs in the last year - the most recent was a 1:37 at cowtown. Have wondered if I could qualify for Boston with a few years of hard work. Sounds like a lot of folks are recommending a coach. Any suggestions on where/how to find a good one? I'm in the northern DFW area.
The Pilot
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Send me an email at pilot (at) gmail (dot) com.
crowag
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I sent you an email but it didn't work - bounced back to me. I sent it to pilot at gmail dot com. Is that correct or do you have a different one I should try? Thanks!
The Pilot
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Sorry. Pilot (at) Aggienetwork.com
Endo Ag
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So I ran the New Jersey Marathon. Weather was good...overcast 60 at the start decreasing to ~56 at the finish. A little windy, including a quarter-on headwind in the final miles, but pretty manageable. I would have preferred 46.

The race was great. I started by hanging just behind the 3:10 pace group. I needed to give up about 4 seconds per mile to them, but that was harder than I thought. I just couldn't let them go. A 20 second potty stop at mile 7 or so was enough to break contact and let me run the race I intended. I kept my heartrate in the mid 160s and it never really climbed until I hit the headwind at mile 20. The 13.1 point clicked off and I was about 45 seconds ahead of my goal, which was a great place to be. It was actually my 3rd best half marathon to date. I was paranoid at miles 18, 20, and 22, because those had been memorable in my marathon explosions. At each point, my legs were still pumping and I felt good, and I was passing lots of folks.

At my 24, I finally felt confident there would be no explosion. I wanted to pick up the pace, but tried to keep in mind that the goal was to qualify for Boston, not to run my fastest race. I kept on chugging along. My second 13.1 was 17 seconds off my first and I crossed the finish line in 3:10:55. That is 3:15 - 4 minutes and gets me a pretty sure Boston bib as a 40 year old in 2018.

My training was detailed above. It boiled down to a long run, a longish run, preferably back to back, a speed work, and a tempo run each week. I did 6 weeks in the final 10 over 60 miles per week, and I made running a focus and didn't let life get in the way too often. Several runs finished after midnight on weeknights, but they got done. Not enough started before light in the mornings, but that is a weakness of mine I can work on.

For those with self doubts, I was a 3rd string tight end on a mediocre football team, was a always questionable to pass an army pt test through college, but over the past 8 years, I've gone from being a 4:11 marathoner to an above average triathlete, to a Boston qualifier, all through persistence and consistency.

You can too.

GPS track from Strava.
The Pilot
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Awesome!! See ya in Boston!
wcb
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Congrats man. Awesome race.
wangus12
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Congrats!!

Glad lots of folks on here started around the 4:10ish mark. Gives me a lot of hope.
AggieOO
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coop-aero-06
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Congrats!

I have a very similar story to the one that you posted above, except for the triathlon diversion. My race is May 28th. If everything goes well, I'll see you in Boston next year.

Well done!
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