The next day, I broke the pinky toe on my right foot. The doctor told me to take TWO MONTHS off.
Days later, I learned that the Boston Athletic Association accepted everyone who ran a qualifying time for the 2023 race!
I began running regularly again by late October. By late November, I felt confident enough to run the 2022 Alexandria Turkey Trot 5 Miler on Thanksgiving and finished in 42:58 (8:36 pace.)
In early December, it was time to start training for the 2023 Boston Marathon.
Long-term Goals
My favorite race is the New York City Marathon, and I’d like to rerun it. My time at the 2022 Erie Marathon – 3:52:29 – was too slow to qualify for the race, and the broken toe meant I couldn’t find a half marathon before the end of the year. So, my goal is to time qualify for the 2024 race.
The 2023 Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 17th. Eighteen weeks from that date is Monday, December 12th.
Arranging workouts
In the Hansons plan, there are three “something of substance” or “SOS” workouts a week.
Long Runs. I will put two 20-milers in the schedule. Hansons says long runs should be 25-30% of weekly mileage, so I’ll put these in the weeks when I hit that mark – 3 and 7 weeks out from the race.
Speed Runs. Unlike the Pfitz plan, in Hansons, the speed workouts come early in the plan. I’ll do these on Tuesdays. They will be at 5K pace.
Strength or Tempo Runs. These runs will be on Thursdays. In the early part of the plan, the strength workout, and the later part is tempo.
But I’m going to alter the schedule to fit my lifestyle better. For example, I should be downtown for work at 9am on Mondays, so I will take that day off. I’ll also work in some 20 milers even though the long runs max out at 16 in the program.
My time from the 2022 Erie Marathon was great, but the two-month lay-off left me wondering what shape I’ll be in when I return to running. And it’s three months away! Unlike my old self, I won’t set a time goal until after I run some tune-up races.
Selecting tune-up races
The Hansons plan does not include races in the schedule, but there is guidance: “Replace the midweek tempo run with an easy day that was originally prescribed for the weekend. If the race is on a Saturday, run easy on Sunday, and then pick up the regular training schedule on Monday.”
I discovered Peloton App this fall and would like to integrate some of its strength and stretch classes into my schedule. But I don’t plan on doing any other cross-training.
Winter Training
I purchased a treadmill last March (the Landis L8.) On snowy days, I will retreat indoors. I will run by heart rate and calories burned for those workouts to estimate distance
Final thoughts
Going into this training cycle, I’m not feeling the usual excitement. I hope it’s just that I put so much effort into re-qualifying for Boston that the race itself feels anti-climatic.