This is the first installment in a multi-part series documenting my path to the Houston Marathon.
A couple of weeks ago my quest to run the 2014 Boston Marathon took a detour. I was notified via e-mail from the Boston Athletic Association that despite qualifying, I would not be accepted “due to field size limitations and the large number of applications received from qualified runners.” As I wrote that post, I wasn't entirely sure what my next step was. I knew deep-down that I was going to make another attempt, I just didn't know where or when.
A couple of weeks ago my quest to run the 2014 Boston Marathon took a detour. I was notified via e-mail from the Boston Athletic Association that despite qualifying, I would not be accepted “due to field size limitations and the large number of applications received from qualified runners.” As I wrote that post, I wasn't entirely sure what my next step was. I knew deep-down that I was going to make another attempt, I just didn't know where or when.
Now I do.
Qualification for Boston does not roll forward to the
next race; you have to re-qualify. This means that if I were to qualify again,
I would be running at the 2015 Boston Marathon. A couple of days after I received
the e-mail with the bad news, I began looking at potential races and consulting
with my Coach. Lots going on in 2014, combined with marathons being ‘seasonal’
in nature, has provided for a narrow window optimal for re-qualifying. After
weighing the options and coordinating the logistics, it’s been settled…
On January 19, 2014 I’ll be running the Chevron Houston
Marathon.
The goal for this race will be to qualify for Boston, and
then some. As I just experienced, qualifying isn't good enough, which means the
goal will need to be more aggressive than simply running a sub-3:05. To avoid
this situation from ever happening again, I’m going to leave no doubts on the
table by running a sub-3hr marathon. Ambitious? Yes. Doable? Yes. Based on the statistics of this year's field and
several years past, any marathon time beginning with a “2” will all but
solidify me a slot in 2015.
The past three months have been strange.
I thought back, and since September of 2009 I've had an
athletic goal of some sort. It started with my first marathon, White Rock, in
December of 2009 and has carried through to the recent Newport Marathon in June
of 2013. That’s three and a half years of always having some target to hit,
some objective to work toward. After Newport, it was gone – as if someone had
yanked a rug out from underneath me.
The past three months I have been on a running and
training hiatus. Admittedly, some of this was necessary for physical and mental
recovery as I borderline experienced burn-out and fatigue. But the x-factor and
underlying theme that I believe drove my behavior was the lack of a goal. You see, goals
are what push me to perform. Whether in religion, at work, in relationships or
athletically – having an end target to achieve is part of who I am.
In all seriousness, this hasn't been just a journey. It’s
been a quest – an emotional and physical roller coaster spanning several years.
And it continues. It is my hope that you’ll follow along with me as I regularly
update you on my training leading up to the Houston Marathon. I’ll provide details
on different training strategies, including the workouts, recovery and
nutrition. I’ll continually update you on my progress over the next 15 weeks so
that you can hopefully take away some concepts and apply them to your life, whether or not you're training for a marathon. And at the bare minimum, perhaps you'll find my quest interesting!
Back to the Houston Marathon home page.
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