And now it's Serious - DCM to Boston...

In my last post I explained what I had been up to in the last four months, and the fact that it was all building up to a serious effort to come. I ran my first Marathon thirty years ago, in Windermere, the Lake District of England, clocking 3:23:59, and fifteen years ago, I was privileged to run the Boston Marathon, and always said I would come back one day. As most readers would know, Boston has some pretty high qualifying standards, and sadly, over the last fifteen years, those standards have been too hard for me to attain. The standards are worked on age, and you are able to qualify for your age group on the day of the race, in advance.

Let me explain.

In March 2018 I will turn the ripe old age of 60, and on April 16th 2018, the Boston Marathon takes place, just over a month after my birthday. However, the qualifying window for 2018 will start in September of this year, and if I set a 2018 Age 60 standard from that date, I can make it in... So, we move on to the Dublin City Marathon on October 30th 2016, this year. I will be 58 and seven months or so, and if I can run the standard this year, I will be able to run in 2018 in that age category. The actual standards haven't been published for 2018 yet, but the ones for 2017 are likely to stand, and that means a sub 3:55 is needed, although that in itself doesn't guarantee you entry, as the more under the standard you are the higher chance you have of making it - They can only accommodate so many.... Still with me?? Not sure I am, but, having looked at recent years, I am going to aim for a 3:45 run on October 30th.

The Perspective:

I need to put this into perspective as to where I am now, and what I can expect to achieve. I haven't run a Marathon since 2008, and certainly haven't put in anything like the mileage required for a sub 4 Marathon in recent years, so already a tough task. As an older runner, I have been using age graded tables for many years, it enables me to compare my performances of today, with those of past years, when I was younger, and obviously more able to run faster times. If I was to run a 3:45 Marathon in Dublin, it would be an age grade of 67.17%, again, the perspective, my all-time marathon best of 3:13 only gave me an age grade of 65.64%, the task gets tougher..... Final threat is my weight. I'm starting off at 87 kilos, and this is well above what an ideal Marathon weight should be, so I need to lose at least 7 Kilos over the coming months. Hence the reason I am going dry for 6 Months - The task seems impossible...

Think - Believe - Achieve...

My running group at the Runners Support Page uses the catchphrase of Think, Believe, Achieve to inspire... Well, above, you can see the way I am thinking... I truly believe that if I can get everything to line up, get the training done, stay injury free, lose the weight, then I WILL Achieve...

The Plan:

I devised a training plan for a 3:30 to 4:00 Marathon many moons ago. It worked well for me over the years, with 12 of my Marathon finishes being under the 4 hours, and 9 of those under 3:45, so I do have some experience, and know what it takes. Obviously I am older, maybe wiser too, and my body will not enjoy being put through the strains of an intensive programme, but with no pain, no gain. This is my best opportunity to achieve my dream of getting back to Boston, and I am prepared to put the effort in.

The Journey To Be Travelled:

Hopefully you can join me on the journey. I plan to update the Blog every week. Giving insights as to where I am at in preparation, reports on races I take part in over the summer, all with the one goal of lining up at the start line for DCM on October 30th with the capacity to run 3:45 on that day. By all means comment on my progress, kick me up the butt if I start to slide off the plan, and share my journey.

This Week:

Just so you can kick me or cheer me along, here is this weeks workouts. This first phase is all about Base Building, and all runs will be easy, at slower than 9 minute mile pace, or around 5:40 per km, with the exception of races, where I will be looking for a faster run, just to keep that little element of speed in the legs in this phase of the training. I will introduce speed and hill work into the plan around Week 9....

Week 1/26

Monday: 5 Km EASY - Tuesday 6 Km EASY - Wednesday 5 Km EASY - You get the picture about EASY....
Thursday 6 Km EASY - Friday 5 Km EASY - Saturday 8 Km The RTE 5M Race in the BHAA series - Sunday 5 KM Pearse 1916 Race.

I'll report back next Sunday with the weeks progress and next weeks plan....... Wish me luck....