Getting Faster From The Inside Out
Using shorter distances to accomplish big-time marathon goals
With no races left on my calendar, I am coming to the end of my racing season for 2023. It was a great year for me, taking ten minutes off my marathon time, and setting a new personal best. It also was an emotional boost — I ran the entire race without stopping and executed my race strategy as planned. It helped me see what can happen when training and a good racing strategy come together. Achieving my PR also helped me see that even though I am continuing to get older, my times can get younger.
I want to run a major marathon, and in order to do so, you have to qualify. These qualifying times are broken into gender and age groups, setting the bar for prospective entrants. Some people train for years to achieve a qualifying time for major races like Boston, and it can be the biggest running accomplishment in their athletic careers. When I look at qualifying times, I have a long way to go to earn a spot in these major races.
Thinking about taking 43 minutes off my marathon time in order to qualify for Chicago or 50 minutes for Boston makes my head spin. And when broken down further to a per-mile pace, the task seems even more daunting. But I’ve learned the best way to accomplish big goals is to start small.
Let’s Talk About Splits
A helpful strategy for my marathon breakthrough this year was the attention I paid to various distances within the race. By focusing on the 5k, 10k, and half marathon time needed to accomplish my goal, I was able to break a longer race into smaller, more manageable races.
Want to break four hours in the marathon? Make sure to hit the 5k mark at 28 minutes and 26 seconds. Hit the halfway point by 2 hours, and you are on your way. If you have planned accordingly and can successfully hit these splits, you will be positioned to hit your goal.
Using the times listed above as an example, I need to run a sub-45 minute 10k, 1:30 at the half marathon distance, and hit the finish line at 3 hours and 10 minutes in order to qualify for Chicago, the (easiest) of the US major marathons.
Training For A Breakthrough
My 5k PR is 21:49, set a few weeks ago from the time of this writing, during a local race. I averaged a 7-minute-per-mile pace and was completely gassed at the finish. That pace would hit the 5k split necessary to hit my qualifier, but sustaining that pace for 26.2 miles would be unmanageable.
The good news is that speed and endurance can be trained. In order to engineer a time qualifier, my plan is to build from the ground up.
As I structure my training, it is all geared toward getting me to the qualifier. I have a good foundation for training, incorporating easy runs, long runs, and a speed workout during the week. But I am missing specific training to hit the splits necessary. I also am missing tune-up races to get used to racing at goal pace.
It will take some time, and won’t be easy but nothing worth doing is. I am excited to build a time qualifier, one split at a time.
