Sunday Long Run

I have begun my 22 week quest for a Boston Qualifying Time at the 2013 Bay State Marathon. It is a challenging goal and one that I will not achieve easily or without sacrifice.

I know that qualifying in October of this year will not get me into the 2014 Boston Marathon, but that’s okay. This is a personal goal that I have thought about pursuing for the past few years. This year feels like the right time.

Focus and Determination

I am determined to reach my goal and have decided to work a plan. My goal is to hit 40 miles in weeks nineteen and twenty and then taper to 30 in week twenty-one and 20 miles in week twenty-two. My total training miles should be 685.5 if I stick to the plan.

I have a good training base of about 20 miles per week to start from. I’m dealing with a few aches and pains such as my piriformis and my Achilles that started acting up after the Twin Lights Half Marathon. So, I’ve decided to start below my weekly number and work up slowly.

Last week (week 1) my goal was a cushy 7 miles, I ended up doing 8. It’s hard to go from 20 to 7 miles! For this Sunday my long run goal was 6 miles so I did not run with my club. Instead I ran a route here in Medford that I’ve run several times and ran 9 miles. My goal for the week is 14 miles, which I will easily hit Tuesday night.

I’m hoping that by backing off on my miles for the first few weeks my body will be able to heal and be ready when the mileage starts to go over 20 miles per week.

I obviously need to reel back a little more on my miles over these next few weeks, or this plan will not work. I need to give my body a few easy weeks to heal.

I have Hal Higdon‘s “Marathons for Mortals” and will be modifying my plan to include some of his advice. I’ve found that I’m not very good at following Active.com’s training plans. So I’ve decided to focus on miles per week and not get too wound up about how long I ran on a particular day. Miles and consistency are the hall marks of my plan.

I’ve never worked a plan as aggressive as this one. I’ve never wanted to achieve a running goal as much as this one. I’m hoping I wont fall apart.

It’s All In for Boston. Because this time, it’s about more than just running.

© 2013 anagelin