So....
We're gonna keep it simple this year.
1) Qualify for Boston
I need 12 minutes. A mile and a half. Heck, I've dropped an hour from my first to my third 26.2 mile efforts, and just need a little bit more. My last marathon was good, considering a cold before the race, a hideous last two months, and a stoopid taper. This time around, I'm on basically the same training plan, with a few more long runs. If I can stay consistent and avoid injury/illness, I'll have about 150 more miles in my legs.
Everything I've read lately tells me that marathon success is proportional to mileage. To me, that means a couple of things:
- the obvious. No shortcuts. Gotta get the long runs done
- less speedwork. I always overdo the hard stuff, and then I get injured and lose mileage. Besides, all I need to do is string a bunch of 7:49 miles together. That's not exactly sprinting.
Well, not really...
2) Swim under 3:00 for 200m
If you're a lifelong swimmer reading this, you're laughing. Three minutes is not exactly Phelps-like. But if you're a person who never swam for exercise (much less speed) until age 45, it's something. Masters swim workout are the key, and getting wet at least 3x per week makes a big difference.
My original plan was to do my swim by late March. In rethinking the schedule, I'm wondering if this is smart, since my marathon is only a month later. I'll probably cut down the pooltime to twice per week, and spend the extra time on plyo work or Nordic skiing. Then I can target a summertime swim effort.
