Olympic Trials Qualifying

If I were you, I'd just focus on building mileage back to 100 with a long run weekly (a real long run) and aiming for sub 30 shape. You have the talent

The lack of mileage has just me being soft and not really running and especially not doubling because of work. I would rather sleep in than double. It wasn't ever an injury issue. I am focusing on the marathon not 10k or anything like that.

based on your half marathon time i feel like your marathon time should be much lower. i have nothing else to contribute, good luck!

I qualified for the first time in 2022 by upping my weekly mileage from 80 to 100-120 with two quality sessions per week. Your college times are on track with having the talent to OTQ based on conversion calculators. I recommend bumping up your mileage to 80 off singles, holding that for a month or two, then do another bump to 100 by adding doubles.

You definitely have the potential OP. The strength types can OTQ off of 14:40s-14:50s & ~31:00. I agree that your half is a good bit stronger than your marathon. And I agree that I would bump up the mileage gradually. Get used to 80mpw on singles. Then add in the doubles. 2 quality sessions/week: something like 12k-15k @ T (broken up into 1k-3k reps) & a long run with quality in it. If you can put down consistent weeks like that with good mileage, there's no reason why you can't hit the standard on the right day. I would aim for a road 10k this summer & try to get under 31:00. Then hit a fall half (aim for 1:06-1:07 or better). Then go to CIM or Houston and sit in the pack for as long as you can. Figure out your fueling too. Maybe that was a limiter in your marathon idk.

Just an FYI that Houston is outside the qualifying window. CIM is the last race that is eligible. I know there is going to be a New York race in mid October designed for people to OTQ. The Indianapolis Marathon in the last week of October is another one worth looking into.

Lower mileage means you won't convert to the longer distance as well as the performance tables would suggest. A 60 mile week isn't ideal for a fast marathon in the 2:20's. But in college off of 100 miles per week I feel like your 10k wasn't as good as it should have been either based on 8:16 and 14:17. So you might be more of a speed guy than a strength guy. I think you'll really want to focus on quality long runs and get used to running decent paces for long periods of time

It’s also possible he ran the 10K only once in a non competitive meet.

What’s more recent the Half or the Full? And when did you run them

Yes. Sign up for CIM now. Work your way up to some fast long runs and get the mileage in and you’ll qualify assuming nothing goes wrong (cramp, poop, injury)

You can "qualify" for the marathon trials. But, unless you're running under 2:12, by then...

You'll just be in the trials. Something to put on your resume.

Weak. Too slow even by LetsRun standards. Run 200 mpw. Until then, cry about being too slow.

Get yourself in 2:25-2:26 shape, then get the newest super shoe and go to CIM. You'll have no problem running 2:17

Didn't realize Houston falls outside of the window (December 5th the last day to qualify). I would build the mileage this spring & get in a good 10k & half over the summer. Then maybe line up 2 fast marathons to give yourself a shot to qualify. Chicago & CIM. I agree that Indy is really good. If I was going to pick one race I'd do CIM just because it's the race everyone flocks to. They have an elite field you would be in where you can have your own fluids & line up with everyone else chasing the standard. Weather can sometimes be dicey in the fall so I wouldn't waste the effort if Chicago was gonna be super hot or something. Indy/CIM usually have good weather.

Twin Cities is a tougher course if you're on the line. Usually good weather but McKirdy NY race (miles of trials if they're doing it again) or Berlin in September would give you a good crack at it early, before CIM. Something like that.

Does anybody have more info on this NY race? Date, location, link?

Having trouble finding it so maybe it's not happening this year. It was at Rockland State Park during the pandemic. Trials of Miles just did an OTQ-focused half marathon there in March. Maybe the two have merged? Don't see a marathon listed for the fall tho. Would keep an eye out or reach out directly.

Email address below. This snippet is from the Fast Women newsletter, but I've seen it mentioned other places, as well.

Good luck!