Posts Tagged ‘boston qualifier’

Training for NYC with a Spring Marathon

20, Jun 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve given much thought to the idea of running 26.2 miles. So far this year, I’ve been wrapped up in racing 5ks/10ks and now, training for a half marathon. Even the 13.1 seems daunting right now, since I’ve been slacking a little in the workout department and stuffing my face with foods a runner shouldn’t touch with a 10ft pole.

Let me remind everyone that I’m not attempting my 3hr 10min NY Marathon this year. I’m attempting to Boston qualify in NYC 2010, which means that I still have plenty of time to get on the ball. And despite a recent plateau I’m in much better shape than I’ve ever been before.

Now before I dive back into the NY Marathon with an anticipated improvement of 30 minutes, I’ve decided that I first need to dip my proverbial toe back in the pond. So I’d like to split the difference by running about 3:25 in an early-spring marathon. Now… when and where to do it?

I’ve run the Miami Half before (www.ingmiamimarathon.com), so I considered running the full race distance early next year. But Miami is on January 31st and I get back from my honeymoon the second week in September. That leaves me enough time to train, but barely. I also considered the Disney Marathon (http://tr.im/Disney26) which is on January 10th, but the other factor I’m up against is the cost of hotel and travel.

So I need an early spring marathon that’s in a snowbird state and won’t cost me more than the price of entry and an airline ticket. Pretty strict criteria, where am I going to find that? Easy. Crash with my parents in sunny St. Petersburg, FL and run the Gasparilla Marathon in Tampa on February 28th (www.tampabayrun.com).

Not only is this a perfect race for me in terms of timing and expenses, but Gasparilla is an exciting time in Tampa, complete with…

I’d Rather Be At the Start of Boston, Than the Finish of Any Other Marathon

3, Apr 2009

Here’s a couple of Boston Marathon promo videos sponsored by Adidas. If you’re ever looking for reasons to keep training, watching these videos can’t hurt. I’m aware that this probably makes zero sense to non-marathoners…

J

Welcome to NYC in 310

25, Mar 2009

My name is Jason and I am a runner. In fact, over the last few years, I’ve become a half decent runner. With two NY Marathon’s under my belt, I’ve been toying with the idea of running a Boston Qualifier for some time now. I am ready.
In the past, my enthusiasm for running has been plagued by poor bio-mechanics and taking on too much, too quickly. This time will be different. This time, I will give myself 18 months to get into marathon shape. For the first 12 months, I will focus on the fundamentals: 5k’s, 10k’s and half-marathons. Then, in Spring of 2010 I will begin full-fledged marathon training. In Novemeber ‘10, I will run the NY Marathon in less than 3hrs 10min. I will qualify for Boston.

NYCin310.com will chronicle the peaks and valleys of my training program. In addition to serving as a personal runner’s log, I hope that my unique experiences as a long distance runner living in New York City will be useful to other runner’s who are currently trying to step their game up to the next level.

“He was always willing to go down in flames to beat the guy in front of him and that’s what makes a competitor.”


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