Ran 1:42 half. Not fast, but I'm not a quitter. How many years to train to hit BQ?

Why don't you shoot for 5K/10K goals of sub-18/sub-37:30? Once you can do both, a slight training adjustment to sub-3 Marathon.

Fair enough--so go with shorter distances for now? My 5k PR is 18:30 and my 10k is 41:45, but those are from awhile back. My other halfs are about the same (1:39, 1:45, 1:41).

Thanks for the honest input. These are my splits:

7:42

15:45 8:03

23:30 7:45

30:15 7:45

38:10 7:55

46:00 7:50

53:45 7:45

61:10 (ran 7:25 at mile 8 due to energy gel; it was the only one I had on the course).

69:00 7:50

76:55 7 :55

84:55 8:00

93:00 8:05

102:19 9:19 (1.1 miles, or 8:28 pace).

460th of 52xx runners or so, not great at all, but this was more of a time trial to see where I need to be at.

It may take years to get fast.

Positive split because I went out too fast:

50:04 for the front 6.55.

52:15 for the back 6.55 (+2:11).

Proper laddering had I done it right:

8 8:00

8 16:00

8 24:00

7:45 31:45

7:45 39:30

7:45 47:15

7:40 54:55

7:40 62:35

7:40 70:05

7:35 77:40

7:35 84:15

7:30 91:45

7:20 99:05

0:45 100:50 (1:40:50, instead of 1:42:19).

If you've run an 18:30 5K, you have enough talent to BQ. If you can run 1:42 for a HM off of the minimal training you've done so far, you can BQ. If you can ramp up mileage as fast as you did and not get inured, you may be durable enough to BQ.

Your problem right now is that you're really undertrained and underdeveloped as a runner. The suggestion above - first work on shorter races, then move up - is a very good one. If you're in a hurry, you could run a BQ in less than 2 years, but you'd be better off giving it at least 2 or more. There's no rush. However you approach it, it will involve a lot more running than you've been doing, though.

Thanks for the great responses.

I ran 1:39 last fall on 33 mpw and only 3 10-milers and 1 11-miler, plus a weekly tempo. Mainly easy distance.

After I did that I had to take time off for coding school, then jumped in and did Cap City.

Course seemed long, though (13.42 miles instead of 13.1).

I want to do a full before I settle down, get married, etc. Halfs are fun though, but a full seems a lot more challenging.

Determined to BQ wrote:

Only started training 7 weeks ago, 180 miles (27 mpw), so I know I need to get up to 55 mpw or better this summer (for fall 'thon, such as Indy Monumental or Cbus or the like). Did 3 10-milers and 1 11-miler at easy effort for this trial half.

The biggest factor for a hobby jogger, I think, is building consistent miles on the feet without getting injured and burned out. To me, that more likely means staying at shorter distances for the first year as you put miles in the bank.

The statistics on Milo & the Calf website about Boston qualifiers are interesting. You might check out

"For mileage in the year before the race, there appears to be a fair amount of consistency across the responses. Almost no runners ran under 1,000 miles, and few ran above 2,500. The average is the difficult, but not unreasonable, standard of 1,750 miles."

If you are a new runner it is completely reasonable that you might be able to get there in one year with good consistent training. From the race history you have provided here, it appears you have at least some history, so I would probably say it would take 2 years but it is certainly a reasonable goal.

You should aim for good, consistent 50 mpw each and every week year round, with higher mileage in lead up to a goal race. Based on what you provided, your endurance is really your weak point.

Determined wrote:

Thanks for the great responses.

I ran 1:39 last fall on 33 mpw and only 3 10-milers and 1 11-miler, plus a weekly tempo. Mainly easy distance.

After I did that I had to take time off for coding school, then jumped in and did Cap City.

Course seemed long, though (13.42 miles instead of 13.1).

I want to do a full before I settle down, get married, etc. Halfs are fun though, but a full seems a lot more challenging.

the full thon should wait till you get married. you ll have move time with someone else to do cleaning and cook meals.

Thanks for the honest feedback. Have been running on and off since HS (1998-2002).

Glad there's serious responses here.

PRs:

400m-64

800m-2:27.6

1600m-5:15

3200m-11:30

5000m-18:30

10000m-41 or so

13.1-1:39 last fall

Oh I definitely know I need to up the mileage. I'm encouraged that I went sub-8 pace on very little mileage. 55 mpw should be the baseline. I don't know if I will ever run 80 mpw but I may not need to.

I didn't do that well at all, and came in 460th of 5272 runners. The winning time was 68:02. Yikes. #longwaytogo

frisco bound ; wrote:

Determined wrote:

Thanks for the great responses.

I ran 1:39 last fall on 33 mpw and only 3 10-milers and 1 11-miler, plus a weekly tempo. Mainly easy distance.

After I did that I had to take time off for coding school, then jumped in and did Cap City.

Course seemed long, though (13.42 miles instead of 13.1).

I want to do a full before I settle down, get married, etc. Halfs are fun though, but a full seems a lot more challenging.

the full thon should wait till you get married. you ll have move time with someone else to do cleaning and cook meals.

Oh man I'm dying. Good one.

Determined wrote:

Thanks for the honest feedback. Have been running on and off since HS (1998-2002).

Glad there's serious responses here.

PRs:

400m-64

800m-2:27.6

1600m-5:15

3200m-11:30

5000m-18:30

10000m-41 or so

13.1-1:39 last fall

Oh I definitely know I need to up the mileage. I'm encouraged that I went sub-8 pace on very little mileage. 55 mpw should be the baseline. I don't know if I will ever run 80 mpw but I may not need to.

I didn't do that well at all, and came in 460th of 5272 runners. The winning time was 68:02. Yikes. #longwaytogo

You have some natural speed and a bit of talent so you may be able to do it faster - you simply need MORE MILES and more time on your feet, as others have said. I was in a very similar situation to you recently - ran a 1:47 Half at age 35, but then 10 months later ran my debut Full in 3:01 to BQ by 9 minutes (3:10 standard then). Basically I just slowly built up the miles from 30 mpw to 60 mpw (peaking at 72 during training) over the months and then implemented track workouts (intervals) and tempo runs (starting at 4 miles building to 12-13 at marathon pace or slightly faster) over the last couple months of training.

Now I'm definitely more slow twitch then you, but if you do something similar and respond well you could have a shot to BQ in a spring 2020 marathon. Just my two cents.

Thank you!

My coach has me taking 1-2 days off after Cap City, then back at it.

Appx. 40-45 mpw for 6-8 weeks, then he built me an 18-week program that has me going 51-55 mpw, including a bunch of long runs, up to 21 miles. He said though in my 6-8 week base building program if it felt easy he'd crank my 18-week he planned for me further based on how I feel. He ran Boston as well.

If I can easily handle 40-45 mpw (w/o doubles) I'll probably be able to handle 50-60.

Last thing--do you think McMillan's calculator in prediction is accurate when searching for related paces? I know you had said you did MP training.

Determined wrote:

Last thing--do you think McMillan's calculator in prediction is accurate when searching for related paces? I know you had said you did MP training.

I have found it to be pretty good.

You can certainly do it

ran my first half in 2014 on minimal training in 1:39

Ran 500 miles in 2015

Ran 875 miles in 2016

Ran 1,200 miles in 2017 / 2018

Got the PR down to 1:25 in 2017...hoping to run sub 1:21 this weekend and BQ later this year.

I was much slower in my ramp as I am primarily (or was before kids 6 months ago) a triathlete - but slow and steady!

Determined wrote:

Last thing--do you think McMillan's calculator in prediction is accurate when searching for related paces? I know you had said you did MP training.

Yes, McMillan's calculator is a good resource for pacing. One thing to note tho, it is a bit aggressive for longer distance races - he is assuming you are optimally trained for the distance. For example, he correlates a 1:24 Half to a 2:56 Full; this is in the ball park but definitely assumes the runner is well trained for the marathon - not everyone 1:24 Half runner can even break 3.