Staying motivated can be difficult to maintain. For some, “getting” motivated may be a difficult task. I like to set goals, and then set out on the attack. Pacing my attack is my challenge. I have to be careful not to set the hurdles too high for myself. I don’t want to set unrealistic, unachievable goals for myself.
I *have* asked the question of whether I am capable of qualifying to run in the Boston Marathon. For those of you who have attempted this task, you know that it is not easy. It is not something that everyone can easily achieve. I have run 10 marathons so far and my best is 3:55 – that is 5 minutes slow of my current BQ time. Although, I have asked the question, I still answer that I can do it.
Hence the plan:
· Hal Higdon’s Intermediate I program
· Run the sorta-long runs at Tempo pace, Yasso 800s, or Mile repeats.
· Lose weight
The final item, I have considered and have ignored for the past many marathons. My weight is within normal limits for my height. My BMI is also within the normal range. I know that when I weighed less that I felt better, and had to really work to get my heart rate up to a good range for fat burning. I was younger – why wouldn’t I feel better. It is now time to will give the weight loss thing a serious try. Since I am not too experienced with “dieting” I returned to Jenny Craig. I signed up for a lifetime membership 12 years ago when I was losing my post baby (BoBo) fat. I have concerns about being able to handle the intake restrictions when my mileage climbs but I hope to hit my goal prior to peaking in my training.
Unlike “the Blog Father”, I will NOT be posting photos of my exposed abdomen for all to comment on. I will simply tell you that when I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window after finishing my 3-mile run today. It was hot out so I was wearing my jog bra and shorts. It was the kind of jog bra that shows the abdomen. I did not like what I saw. I laughed thinking about those people, who think that I am in shape (with my clothes covering up this section of my body). They might look out the window and find out that it just isn’t so.
So for my BQ goal, I will diet. Don’t tell anyone; it’s a secret. You see, there are still those who think that I am in shape. I want to get in shape before they look out the window and notice the truth.
You are so close! 5 minutes is a very acheivable goal. I think I need to drop something like 45 minutes, assuming I make this marathon on 5 which would be a super-duper PR for me. So I will live my BQ aspirations vicariously, though you.
I’d like to lose weight, too and when I’m done training I’ll have to really focus on that. Sadly, diet is a four letter word.
Wow! 5 minutes… I can’t imagine being 5 minutes off of my BQ. I haven’t even run a marathon yet so when I say I can’t imagine… I really can’t.
Let’s see though, 5 minutes, that’s 300 seconds, divided by 26.2 miles equals roughly 11.5 seconds per mile. I’m sure you’ve already figured this out but that’s *only* 11.5 seconds faster per mile. Which seems, from my perspective anyway, to be completely possible but I’m also sure that over 26.2 miles it’s not a trivial thing to do.
10 marathons! My guess is that you’re in better shape than you think. Was your PR pretty recent and which marathon are you planning to run?
I like the comment from 21CM stating that diet is a 4 letter word. Yes, indeed. Day 1 was tough. I had to grab some of the “free foods” just to get through it. Tom & YaYa got pizza and I found myself picking the dropped tomato crumbs off of their plates before putting them in the dishwasher. I’m sure it will get easier.
I’d like to work my way up to a marathon sometime over the next two years. To do that, I need to lose alot of this 40-60 pounds of extra flubbage. I got nice legs, well muscled. Tight butt (LOL:-) and a two inch dunlap belly. I’m glad to say that since I’ve been running I’ve toned up quite a bit, but I haven’t lost a single pound. Not to worry for me though. All in good time…
5 min IS do-able! And yes, sometimes shedding extra 5 lbs is all you need – I trained with this in mind last year for 6 weeks prior San diego 100M. I lost 10 lbs and felt lighter on my feet, though the first 2 weeks long runs were tough. Body gets used to things eventually. I need to get on that plan again:)
Juls, you know it’s in you and that Boston is just one marathon away. You will do it.
With the weight loss, just be sure to eat enough of the right stuff to feed your body. Don’t starve your muscles. I’m sure you are well aware of this.
Juls, I’m sure you’ll get there! And you’ve been even closer in fitness terms. I used the pace calculator to get your equivalent marathon time from your damn-fast half (1:49) and got 3:52. On that day you were really close! It may take a bit of luck, in the sense that kids/job/life/health/etc must give you the chance, but given the chance you’ll make it for sure! If you’re able to hang around the finish line for a few minutes at the upcoming CIM, I’ll cross the line behind you (I just signed up) and congratulate you on your BQ!
I’m still reeling over 10 marathons! holy moley! If you get older, is it less than 5 minutes faster (did that make sense?) Anyway, good luck, great goal!
You look good, from the photo I’ve seen. How much weight do you want to lose? Also, once you get into higher mileage, I bet the pounds will start melting off ….