Training harder/faster than the time I need to Boston Qualify.

This post is sort of a piggyback on my post last week in which I detailed why I run fast/hard on runs of 10 to 14 miles.

Tuesday morning, Team Rogue had a 6 mile warm-up, some hill repeats in which we used an exaggerated knee lift, 2x800 at tempo pace, and then 4 miles back to the finish line. The total run wound being around 12 miles.

During the "warm-up" I felt great. I always feel great on Tuesdays. (I think it was Sadie who said this morning that the further away your legs get from Saturday's 20-miler, the better they feel). It's normally on Tuesday's that I try to keep up with the Elite Team Rogue runners (who, by the way, were not running anywhere near the paces that have allowed most of them to run at or under 3 hour marathons).

Anyway, by the end of the warm-up, I found myself running around 7:30 pace. As I'm stopping to get water and prepare for the hill part of the run, I comment on our coach's haircut and he gives me this glare and says nothing to me. Now you know what, maybe he didn't even see me, but it seemed like he wasn't too happy that my piss-poor-ass was running at the front of the pack. (He has said to me in the past that I run too fast for my own good.) What I'll say is this: Coach, the only reason I was near the front of the pack is because the elites were running so slow. 7:30s is like a day at the park for some of those guys, but it's not like it is a pace I can't handle either. 7:30s is slower than the paces I hold for every race I've run recently except for the marathon. 7:30 is well-within my aerobic range, though not a pace I'd want to run on every 12-mile training run.)

Before I make my point, let me continue with the rest of the workout. I did the hill repeats, fine. No problem. I did the 800-meter intervals in like 6:15 pace - I know, crazy crazy crazy. Shoulda slowed down. But it was only 800 meters and before anything started hurting, it was over. On the four-mile run back to the finish, I coasted most of the way, understanding that drills were done. No need to push anything. Near the end, the elites start to take off and I decide, "what the heck" - let's see if I can stick with them. I wound up doing 6:49 for the last mile.

I'm saying all this to say three things: 1) I want to qualify for Boston - I need to run 3:20 which is 7:40 min/mile, 2) I want to have fun qualifying for Boston - during training and during the Boston Qualifying marathon itself, and 3) I want to know when I toe the line at my next marathon that running a 3:20 marathon is soooo in the bag that I don't have any worries or frayed nerves.

I didnt run with Team Rogue just to finish a marathon, or even eek out a marathon PR. I get my ass up three times a week at 4:30 a.m. and run in 80-degree heat because I wanted to blow my PR out of the water. I'm hitting 7:30s and 7:20s during mid-week long runs but I'm never out of breath, am able to join in on the conversations going around me, and don't feel like I've blown my energy for the rest of the day.

I've not missed one workout, NOT ONE, because of an injury. And without a job, I'm getting plenty of recovery time. I think I'm probably one of the only guys who can take two- and three-hour naps during the day. I also make sure to take it easy on the days I don't run with Team Rogue. On Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, I run anywhere from 4 to 7 miles and my average pace is usually in the high 8s or low 9s.

I could readjust my marathon goal to say 3:16 (7:30 pace) or even faster. But I don't want to get greedy. I wanna work real hard in training - without getting hurt, or running anaerobically - that on marathon day, running 7:40 mile after mile will be a piece of cake - relatively speaking. I mean, at Mile 23 is anything ever easy? And trust me, I plan on being disciplined enough to not let myself go too much faster than goal pace until I'm well into the 20s. (I've run enough marathons to know what happens when you run too fast in the beginning.)

So, coach, if you were mad at me don't be. You've done your job, dude. Your training program for me (60 miles/week with a cutback to 50 miles every third week) is having its desired effect. I'm stronger today than when I first began this maniacal marathon training program in May. My legs have gotten used to the pounding and the speed I had when I was running 35 to 40 miles a week on fresh legs last Spring and Winter is slowly coming back.