Running Philosophy & the Quest for a BQ

Hello Again!

As a further introduction, I wanted to talk a little about my general running "philosophy" and also my hope to eventually qualify for the Boston Marathon. I put philosophy in quotes because I don't really take running that seriously. I do think it can add a lot to a person's life, but I don't think it's any sort of path to enlightenment. I mostly think of a it as a hobby, good exercise and some time to think. I guess that in and of itself can be significant.

Runners are known for being a bit obsessive. They obsess about split times, speed workouts, training plans, PRs, etc. I do not. I guess I am very "zen" about running. I don't really care about data when it comes to running. I do own a Garmin Forerunner GPS, which I love especially for long runs on trails where it's difficult to estimate the mileage using other methods. However, for shorter runs I often run routes for which I know the approximate mileage and then generally I don't wear a watch at all. If I do, I tend to take a very brief and cursory glance over the splits. They definitely don't get logged. Hell-most of my running never gets logged anywhere.

I also do not enjoy gut busting, nausea-inducing workouts. I know they work, but that doesn't make me want to do them. I LOVE running. I love being out on a trail on a Sunday morning with the gravel and dirt crunching under my feet and the cows mooing "Hello!" as I go by. I love the feeling after a long training run. I do NOT love running repeats on a track. Actually, I do not love running on a track at all. It's pretty much the antithesis of my idea of a perfect run. I guess this is why I like marathons so much. Although it definitely helps to do these sorts of workouts, the longer the race distance, the less they seem to matter. So, I avoid them a good deal of the time. I figure, I don't get paid to run. It's a hobby. Why should I do workouts that I don't enjoy?

But....

I have the burning desire to one day qualify for and run the Boston Marathon. I have to cut 8 minutes and 5 seconds from my PR (which, if you remember, was my first marathon and was almost 4 1/2 years ago at this point). Why do I want to run Boston so badly? Well, because it's probably the best marathon is the world. How's that for reasoning? :) In April 2003, my then boyfriend and now husband, Joe, ran Boston and I spectated. It's such an exciting atmosphere and a really special event. At the time, I was a runner, but had never run a race and probably had never run over 3 miles at a crack. The Boston athletes seemed so gifted to me. Joe is "retired" from marathoning now, but he is a speedy one. His PR is 2:37:35. I definitely thought Boston was out of my realm of possibilities.

When I finally completed a marathon in October of 2005, I wasn't actually too far off from qualifying. This was much to my surprise. Although I would need to take 20 seconds per mile off of my marathon pace, a BQ somehow seemed possible now. I haven't really felt in a place to make a serious go at a BQ until now. I don't know that I will accomplish it in June, but I will be training like I can.

I'll talk more specifically about my training plan for Grandma's Marathon and the steps that I will be taking to improve my marathon time in my next post. Until then...

Happy Running!

Jen