Boston Qualify

I have run 4 marathons so far. My first in Alaska 4 years ago where I vowed I'd never do another, the following year was Marine Corps where I accepted my medal from a cute Marine, and for the last 2 years I ran through the 5 boroughs of my home city–NYC. For the last couple of them, I had decided that to qualify for Boston could be achievable, but it has eluded me. I do blame the awesome spectators in Brooklyn that got me to run slightly faster than I should have because I was so excited, and that damn beloved Queensboro Bridge. So for my 30th, I'm going to attempt yet again. But make it slightly (hopefully) easier to accomplish than crossing over 5 bridges.

Which marathon do I run?? Decisions, decisions, decisions. I, of course, looked for a flat marathon. Especially now that the BAA has taken the liberty to make this a bit more difficult for me. Instead of trying to break 3:40:59, I now have to break 3:35:00. Thanks Boston.

I considered Chicago, Berlin, Amsterdam, Philly and a number of other flatter, slightly easier courses to attempt, including the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, not far from where I grew up. Since I will be living in London for a good portion of my training, I figured an international race is the way to go. I've already been to Berlin a couple of times, so I decided on Amsterdam! It’s cheaper (only 55 euros!), I’ve never visited the city, and I’m sure I could find some ways to celebrate when I finish.

I signed up about 1 ½ months ago and it’s official. I will be running the Amsterdam Marathon on October 16^th to attempt to cross off #3!

Now let’s take a look at the time that I need to qualify quickly. I like numbers, so I’m going to ramble on about paces, times, ect. Due to the new qualifying standards for Boston, as a 29-year old, I need a get 3:35:00 to qualify for Boston. This means that I have to run an average of an 8:12 minute mile for 26.2 miles! They have also gotten rid of the 59 second leeway they have given in the past. So essentially I need to break 3:35:00. I don’t trust myself to get exactly 3:35.00, so I need to aim for a slightly faster time. So maybe 8:11 per mile?

I went onto the Runner’s World training calculator to see what my chances are based on previous race times. First, I plugged in my fastest (and only recently timed) mile from last September, which was 6:20. I’m sure this won’t be my fastest ever mile time, but it would work for this exercise. And we are in luck! My predicted marathon time would be 3:21:51. Totally BQ'ing.

EXCEPT, is this really a realistic approach? When I put this mile time in, it says my best ½ marathon time should be 1:36:49. Which I have gotten nowhere near. And I have run a lot more ½ marathons than any other race. My best ½ marathon time is 1:43:20. So I put this time into the calculator and it predicts a 3:35:27 marathon. 27 seconds too slow! Argh.

I feel somewhat (only a bit) confident I can at least realistically attempt to qualify, but it will be hard work. I have to get my butt in gear and train properly over the next few months. I will appreciate any words of encouragement that comes my way. I will need it. That and a personal trainer.