{"id":205,"date":"2009-02-05T11:15:38","date_gmt":"2009-02-05T18:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/?p=205"},"modified":"2009-02-05T11:15:38","modified_gmt":"2009-02-05T18:15:38","slug":"how-to-qualify-for-boston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/?p=205","title":{"rendered":"How to qualify for Boston"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week the Runner’s Lounge<\/a> asks us to let you in on the secret of how to qualify for Boston.\u00a0 Why on earth would I want to do THAT?\u00a0 I can put up with you stopping by my blog, but that doesn’t mean I want to rub sweaty elbows with you in Hopkinton.<\/p>\n

I kid!<\/p>\n

Frankly, even though I’ve managed to qualify for Boston twice, I can’t say I have the secret.\u00a0 So many factors come in to play — some you can control, others you can’t — there’s no guarantee what works for one person will work for another.\u00a0 While I worked hard to get my BQ, I was also blessed with a bit of luck.\u00a0 I may not have the secret, but I’m happy to share my road to a BQ.<\/p>\n

The following factors are what I consider to be the most important in my BQ quest:<\/p>\n

Age\/gender<\/strong><\/span>
\nObviously, this is one you can’t control.\u00a0 There are many folks who argue BQ standards favor older women, especially those in the 40-49 age group, and I just so happen to fall into that category.\u00a0 The standards account for bodies that get creakier and less responsive with age, yet perhaps I’m in that sweet spot where my body isn’t so decrepit I can’t pull off a 4-hour marathon.\u00a0 Compare that with the 3:15 my darling needs as a 38-year-old man.\u00a0 As many of you may know, he missed his time by a mere 18 seconds in the same race where I first BQ’d.\u00a0 But was my age\/gender the only reason?\u00a0 Maybe, maybe not.\u00a0 My training was more regimented than his, and I believe I got in a couple more long runs.<\/p>\n

The race<\/strong><\/span>
\nHere’s something you can control.\u00a0 There are hundreds of BQ course around the country from which to choose — some with a reputation for being a fast course (CIM, St. George, Tucson), others not.\u00a0 I chose the North Olympic Discovery Marathon in Port Angeles for my first BQ attempt.\u00a0 It’s a scenic, small race (about 600 marathoners) on a relatively fast course.\u00a0 Even though I missed my BQ there (you can read about it here<\/a>), I do think it’s a great course on which to BQ.<\/p>\n

Not wanting to leave things to chance, I chose the Light at the End of the Tunnel for my second attempt as it’s an all-downhill course (you can see the elevation profile in part 1 of my race report<\/a>).\u00a0 Some running Nazis may claim it’s a cheater course, but if the USATF certifies it, then it’s good enough for the BAA.\u00a0 Still, even though I was ecstatic after the Tunnel Marathon, I wanted to challenge myself on a more difficult course.\u00a0 While I wasn’t sure if I had it in me going into the race, I BQ’d again at Royal Victoria with a 4:00:26.<\/p>\n

Weather<\/strong><\/span>
\nYou know what they say — you can’t control Mother Nature.\u00a0 Chicago is known as a great course on which to BQ, but we all know about the debacle of 2007 (who would have though it would be in the 90s in October?)\u00a0 While it was cooler in 2008, the temperature still wasn’t ideal.\u00a0 Those hoping to BQ at St. George last year were met with steady rain and a strong head wind.<\/p>\n

Here’s where luck came into play for me, as I was blessed with great weather for both of my BQ races.\u00a0 Well, that’s not entirely true — it was hotter than I would have liked for the Tunnel Marathon — but at least it wasn’t in the mid-90s like it had been in the days leading up to the race.\u00a0 Because of the heat I made sure to stay hydrated not only during the race, but also throughout the week.\u00a0 In addition, the course is rather shaded, so I didn’t have to deal with the sun beating down on me.\u00a0 I ran Royal Victoria under cool, cloudy skies (perfect running weather in my view), but in 2007 runners had to deal with rain and high wind.<\/p>\n

Running history<\/strong><\/span>
\nI couldn’t control the fact I wasn’t athletic as a youth, but I certainly could control the time I would devote to running in my pursuit of a BQ.\u00a0 While you can simply finish a marathon on relatively low mileage (heck — I ran only a maximum of 80 miles\/month before my first), running a BQ requires you to step things up considerably.\u00a0 My monthly mileage topped out at 200 while training for North Olympic (some people run a lot more), plus I incorporated a lot of speed work.\u00a0 I also recommend having at least one marathon under your feet before attempting a BQ, although I know people who have done it on their first try.\u00a0 Personally, I think that’s putting a lot of pressure on yourself, but I’m pretty conservative when it comes to that.<\/p>\n

Your body<\/strong><\/span>
\nAgain, there are things you can control and things you can’t.\u00a0 Although I had already lost a lot of weight before running my first marathon, I knew I’d benefit by losing even just another five pounds before trying to BQ.\u00a0 Trying to lose weight during marathon can be tricky; after all, you’re starving All. The. Time.\u00a0 But I focused on eating healthier and reducing my alcohol consumption and eventually I was able to get down to 155 pounds by race day.<\/p>\n

But then there’s the issue of flexibility, or lack thereof.\u00a0 I’ve been plagued with typical runner’s issues — bad knees, weak hips — but I’ve been fairly diligent about incorporating exercises to help strengthen my weak spots.\u00a0 I perform various core work at my gym 3-5 days per week, which includes such exercises as lunges, squats, planks and a slew of abdominal exercises.\u00a0 I also try to get in 10-15 minutes of stretching, particularly for my hamstrings and calves.<\/p>\n

Training plan<\/strong><\/span>
\nThere are so many plans available, and I encourage you to research which one best fits your schedule and your style.\u00a0 As I’ve written before<\/a>, I tried the FIRST plan for a while, but determined it wasn’t for me.\u00a0 When I was dealing with knee issues my physical therapist recommended Jeff Galloway’s run\/walk program; while it prepared me for my first two marathons, I wasn’t confident it would get me to my BQ.\u00a0 I then turned to Pete Pfitzinger’s “Advanced Marathoning” program<\/a> and have been very pleased with the results.\u00a0 Yes, it’s hard core, but you ain’t gonna get to Boston on an easy plan.\u00a0 You can read about my experience by clicking on the “Pfitzinger 18\/55” category, but to summarize, I believe the key to my increase in speed was the mid-week runs of 10-14 miles.\u00a0 With the other plans my mid-week runs were limited to 6- to 8-milers.\u00a0 I obviously needed more time on my feet.<\/p>\n

Pre-race & race day fueling strategy<\/strong><\/span>
\nThis obviously factors in to ANY marathon, but it’s particularly important when racing.\u00a0 I was so concerned about losing even just a few seconds during water stops that I neglected to hydrate enough during North Olympic (I was also afraid I’d have to take a potty break).\u00a0 So while I was running strong for the first 16-17 miles, things fell apart after that and I was forced to walk to shake off the dizziness.\u00a0 In the week leading up to the race our dinners were a good mix of lean protein, vegetables and whole grain carbs.\u00a0 I also gave up my beloved wine for two weeks.\u00a0 I was less stringent in the days leading up to Royal Victoria, but I still ate healthier.\u00a0 During both races I took in gels and ShotBlocks, and also downed a couple of salt tabs during the Tunnel Marathon (be sure to stick to the things you’ve trained with.\u00a0 Nothing new on race day!)<\/p>\n

Pacing strategy<\/strong><\/span>
\nYou’ll find a lot of opinions on this, but most people agree you need to force yourself to go out slow or else you’ll blow up in the later miles.\u00a0 With North Olympic, I tried to keep my pace about 10-15 seconds slower than MRP for the first few miles.\u00a0 However, I now wonder if I should have kept my pace closer to MRP given the hills between miles 16-20.\u00a0 (I’m sure it wouldn’t have mattered; I still would have been dehydrated).\u00a0 Knowing I’d benefit from the downhill grade at the Tunnel Marathon, I started out several seconds faster than MRP.\u00a0 In fact, I was able to run the entire race faster, resulting in a 3:54:34.\u00a0 I was much more conservative with Royal Victoria and ended up running a slight negative split.<\/p>\n

Goals<\/strong><\/span>
\nSure, I know what you’re saying: your goal is to BQ dammit!\u00a0 But I highly recommend having at least one secondary goal should your BQ not materialize.\u00a0 Perhaps it’s a PR, or even a course PR.\u00a0 Or you could pick a specific time and shoot for that.\u00a0 BQing was my be-all and end-all at North Olympic, and I wish I had come up with some secondary goals.\u00a0 I knew I’d PR (I ran my first two marathons in over 5 hours), but if I had come up with a couple of other times to shoot for perhaps I could have pushed myself a bit more when the going got tough.\u00a0 By having several goals, you’re less likely to think of your race as a failure if you didn’t BQ.<\/p>\n

I hope I’ve provided some tips and motivation for you in your quest to BQ.\u00a0 Assuming we can swing it financially, I’ll be returning to Hopkinton in 2010.\u00a0 I hope to see you there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week the Runner’s Lounge asks us to let you in on the secret of how to qualify for Boston.\u00a0 Why on earth would I want to do THAT?\u00a0 I can put up with you stopping by my blog, but that doesn’t mean I want to rub sweaty elbows with you in Hopkinton. I kid! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,5],"tags":[82,86,83],"class_list":["post-205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beantown","category-training","tag-boston-marathon","tag-how-to-qualify-for-boston","tag-pete-pfitzinger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions\/207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}