What's Next?

It has been two weeks since finishing the Boston Marathon. I am trying to figure out what I really want to train for right now. The problem is that I have the Reach the Beach Relay in September. I don’t really need to do any type of special training for that race. I feel a little bit lost.

I have been thinking about running another marathon in the fall. You may ask why you would do that. The last time I ran two marathons in one year, my time got progressively worse. I also ended up with a bad case of plantar fasciitis. Those reasons alone should make me think twice about trying another marathon so soon. I just can’t seem to get the thought out of my head.

You see, I ran Boston in under four hours. Now I have the nagging desire to see how I would do in an easier or flatter marathon course. Plus, as those who read my race report know, I stopped several times in the race to take pictures. I don’t regret that at all. I just know that it added time to my run. How much time is hard to determine. So, the question is out there…can I run even faster. Could I possibly get close to a Boston Qualifying (BQ) time?

You may wonder what the BQ time is for a 47 year old male runner. It is currently 3:30:00. In addition to that requirement, you have to run the BQ in a certified qualifying marathon. Some of the most frequently used are Philadelphia, Chicago, Rock ‘N’ Roll in Phoenix and San Diego, New York and many others. The BAA website states that “An additional 59 seconds will be accepted for each age group time standard. For example, a net time of 3:50:59 will be accepted for a 42-year-old woman.” My only complaint is that women’s times are a full 30 minutes slower than the men. Also, their times increase in increments of 10 minutes versus the 5 minute increments for men. Oh well, it is a goal that I can try and work towards.

Here are my training totals for this week. :

Apr. 26 – 6.20 miles (51:48, 8:21 pace)
Apr. 27 – 6.10 miles (50:32, 8:16 pace)
Apr. 28 – 3.10 miles (23:37, 7:37 pace) – Speedwork
Apr. 30 – 6.10 miles (49:23, 8:06 pace)
May 1 – 7.00 miles (56:05, 8:00 pace)
May 2 – 6.20 miles (49:36, 8:00 pace)

Total Miles: 34.70 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 801.10 miles