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?
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?