How Badly Do You Want It?

Goal: Qualify for the Boston Marathon (3:15:59 - 7:28 pace)

Sticking to the Plan
Ever since I got back into running, I wanted to qualify for the Boston marathon. But things have not gone the way that I had hope. My first marathon nearly took 7 hrs to complete. Sure I was injured, but that was way beyond slow. Then after that, I managed to put in 3 marathons that were worse... all of them 7 plus hours. I shouldn't have been out there, but I just couldn't stay away. I'm glad to have been able to walk those marathons, because I got to mingle with the back-of-the-packers. But being the stubborn person that I am, I never really gave up on the idea of qualifying for Boston. Sure I only need to shave off 4 hours. I had to do a few things to make some improvements. Slowly the marathon times have dropped with IT band issues to slow me down along the way.

Changes
Nothing has ever come easy for me. I have a decent sprint, but I lacked endurance and mental toughness. Once it gets tough, I usually just shut things down. Also I played too much tennis on hard courts which were starting to wear out my knees. So I gave up tennis, a sport that I really loved. I've made changes to my eating habits. I've changed my workout routine. I've abandoned heavy weights and started focusing more on the core muscles. Let me tell you, I really hate working out the core! But, man it has made running much easier!

Refocus
One day, I'll get there. This year is just another setback. But I've just changed my focus. I really should be running 3:30 marathons by now, but instead I'm running them in 4:30 and trying to see if I can run 19 of them before the year is over. If you were to ask me a couple year ago if I can run 1 marathon in 4:30, I would've said no because I was still completing them in about 5:30 plagued by injuries. I have made improvements, but they are not happening as fast as I would like. My hip flexor has been bothering me as well as my lower back from time to time. But that hasn't stopped me from making adjustments and getting back on the horse.

The Future
I plan to run the Seattle marathon this coming weekend in about 4:30. My lower back has been bothering me lately, so I'm not sure what my body can handle at this point. It'll be my 8th marathon this year. If I feel good, I might push for a sub 4 (9:09 pace). I think it's about time that I give the hip flexor a little stress test. Anyways I'm looking forward to 2010, where I'm going to scale back on the racing and start focusing on running faster and longer. I'm attempting to run my next half marathon in under 1:50 (8:23 pace). I still can remember when for the life of me I could not run one under 2. I just have to keep in mind that if I want it badly enough, I'll need to put in the necessary work.