I Started My Boston Marathon Training -- Kind of...

I decided after a couple of months of not taking running too seriously to actually start my training for the upcoming Boston Marathon. When I qualified, I wrote a post about it and you can check it out here.

Overall, I was very happy with my qualifying time at the San Francisco Marathon…2:56:23. It was my first marathon ever and the SF Marathon is not an easy one. So, looking at Boston, my goal was going to be something like 2:53. But, something happened. Two individuals who I run with here and there ran 2:55 and 2:54 at the Chicago Marathon. I am a pretty competitive person, so I was not too happy about this. That made me think 2:53 wasn’t lofty enough and I could probably do it. So, I came up with a new goal…

2:49:59. There, I wrote it down which means I have to hold myself to that. For some context, my 2:56:23 was ~6:40/mile. Now, I need to drop that pace about 11 seconds to 6:29/mile. What is the longest I have ever run at that pace? Frankly, I don’t know. Before my SF marathon, I was able to do 17 miles at 6:21 pace. I think that is a good indicator?

My training for the SF Marathon consisted of running 2, maybe 3 days a week. I would do speed work with my local Fleet Feet store on Tuesdays. Then, I would do a 8-10 mile run on Thursday. If I was up for it, I would drop a 10-13 mile run on the weekends. To say the least, I did not follow any type of marathon training plan. I can’t get away with a random training plan if I am looking to drop 11 seconds per mile, so it is time to get going.

As I write this blog, I am 2 weeks into my training, still without a trainer or a training plan. I took a week off for a vacation and decided to start the serious training. Here is what I have accomplished thus far:

• “Fun” long-run; 11mi; 6:43/mi
• Stair repeats
• Easier long run; 8mi; 6:50/mi
• Paced an all out mile and did some laps afterwards
• Long run that I wasn’t feeling; 11.5mi; 6:51/mi
• 1200m repeats at target marathon pace
• A random 5K race

Needless to say, I don’t have a ton of structure in place right now, but the idea is to start consistently running again and then find the right program. Here are some of the programs I have been reading into:

• Hal Higdon Advanced 1 Marathon Training Plan
• Nike Marathon Training Plan
• Cool Running Advanced Marathon Training Plan

Leave a comment and let me know which one you think is good or if you have any suggestions!

You can hold me accountable by tracking my progress: