mstange22 wrote:
g_lev wrote:
stevendex wrote:
I'm 27. I didn't run in college but always played sports and came into running pretty thin. I tried for three years to run a BQ and really wanted to run Boston. I ran 3:03, 3:05, 3:07 and 3:08 off 40-60 mpw and low 37's 10k. Broke 37 minutes once. When the 3:03 wasn't good enough to get me in, I quit running marathons and am now cycling, where I'm competitive in Cat 3. I wouldn't say it's easy to go sub 3. Marathons are hard.The post you quoted didn't at all say it's "easy" to go sub-3. He said it wasn't "sub-elite".
Yup, and I still stand by this:
mstange22 wrote:
"One-sport marathoners, or even triathletes, durable enough to string together a solid block with 60-70 mpw for 6-10 weeks should be able to BQ without much of a problem. It's not easy, necessarily, but it's certainly doable."Agreed. I did my first BQ off "residual fitness" coming out of tri season. I finished that year with a 9:57 IM in October, and ran a 3:04 BQ in December (when my BQ time was 3:10). I didn't even bother with 60+mpw. I think I topped out around 50 miles, but I kept the overall volume up after the IM.
My second BQ was a 2:59, and again, same deal, it was residual fitness coming off tri season with a few weeks of 45-55mpw after posting a 9:29 IM.
I hardly consider myself "sub-elite" or anything of the sort. Just someone who works hard and consistently. I'll save the "sub elite" tag for people doing 2:40 marathons. Not my "just sub-3".
What I will say I am is "durable". I can keep at it for months on end and not get injured, or too fatigued. In that I am supremely lucky. But there are plenty of people MUCH faster than me.