Beginning The Chase

My fastest marathon time to date is 3:38.  To qualify for Boston and catch the elusive unicorn, I need to run a 26.2 mile certified course in 3:10 (3 hours, 10 minutes).  But, as with most lofty goals, good enough isn't quite good enough.  Because Boston is such a desired marathon (and more so after the Boston Bombing), so many people have been entering to run the race and the course can only accept a certain number of participants.  So even those who run a qualifying time may not get to run the actual Boston Marathon because entrants are accepted based on fastest qualifying times.  On average, runners need to be about 2-3 minutes faster than the qualifying standard if they hope to get into Boston.  I'd like to make it with some time to spare, so my target time is 3:05.

So to run a 3:05 marathon, I need to average about 7 minutes per mile (for 26.2 miles).

Here's the tricky part--how do I do that?

I can run a 7 minute mile...but 26 in row is a totally different race.  So my main goal in this training program is to build speed and endurance.  But that is easier typed than done.  While learning to run fast and teaching my lungs, heart and muscles to hold that 7 minute mile for 26 miles straight, I also need to avoid my nemesis--injury.  Distance running puts great strain on various systems in the body (cardio, muscle, skeletal) but at the same time, it creates endorphins (happy chemicals) in the brain.  The result of which is that distance runners often over exert themselves and don't even realize they have a major injury until it is too late.  It can take weeks--sometimes even months to recover from these injuries, during which time the runner can't run.  And no run time means you're not getting faster.  The only way to catch the unicorn is to stay healthy and consistently train.

So that's my plan...and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm nervous about the whole thing.  Laying it all on the line like this somehow makes the concept of defeat much heavier.  I know that an effort like this will take all I have at my very best.  Any one of an infinite number of factors could ruin the day...wind, rain, injury, illness, heat, blisters, untied shoe lace...the list goes on but you get the idea.  There is no room for error here.  My very best pace on my very best day is 7:00 minute per mile (I can go about 6:30 for one mile...7:00 is my best sustained pace) and that will barely cut it.  A couple 2 minute bathroom breaks, and I just pooped out of my qualifier.

But at the same time, I hope that laying it all on the line will keep me honest in my training.  Consistency is a big part of getting there.  I know I'm not in shape to qualify today...but I think (and hope) that by training consistently and intelligently over the next several months, my body will condition itself to hold the 7:00 minute pace for over 3 hours.  And if that happens, the unicorn will be mine.