My goals for the 2014 LA Marathon

So, per my previous post, I'm racing the LA Marathon with the ASICS blogger challenge team!

And I have goals...

My marathon PR is 3:48:13 at Kansas City last fall.  That was on the heels of Ironman Lake Tahoe.  I was looking to just finish and not be in pain or hurt myself by the end.  Mission accomplished.

Now, for LA, I'm actually on a training plan and I have the past endurance to go for the advanced plan.  I'm expecting a PR by a large margin, and dare I say I think I can Boston Qualify.  There, I said it.

Now, I know there are cutoffs and this popped in my mind without really looking what they were.  What can I say, great plan to set a goal without knowing what the goal is, right?  Well, I checked the Boston Marathon site and here's what they have:

For the 2015 Boston Marathon, qualifying times must be run on or after September 14, 2013

• The acceptance of official race entrants will be based on qualifying time, with the fastest qualifiers (in relation to their age and gender) being accepted first until the race is full
• All qualifying times are subject to review and verification
• Minimum age requirement for the Boston Marathon is 18 years of age on race day
• All standards below are based on official submitted net time
• The qualifying times below are based upon each athlete's age on the date of the Boston Marathon in which they are participating
• The Boston Marathon does not designate which races are official Boston Qualifying events. You must contact the race directly to see if they are certified

Qualifying times:

Age Group - Men - Women
18-34 - 3hrs 05min 00sec - 3hrs 35min 00sec
35-39 - 3hrs 10min 00sec - 3hrs 40min 00sec
40-44 - 3hrs 15min 00sec - 3hrs 45min 00sec
45-49 - 3hrs 25min 00sec - 3hrs 55min 00sec
50-54 - 3hrs 30min 00sec - 4hrs 00min 00sec
55-59 - 3hrs 40min 00sec - 4hrs 10min 00sec
60-64 - 3hrs 55min 00sec - 4hrs 25min 00sec
65-69 - 4hrs 10min 00sec - 4hrs 40min 00sec
70-74 - 4hrs 25min 00sec - 4hrs 55min 00sec
75-79 - 4hrs 40min 00sec - 5hrs 10min 00sec
80 n over - 4hrs 55min 00sec - 5hrs 25min 00sec

So, in summary I need to run AT LEAST a 3:10 marathon down from a 3:48.  Shave 38 minutes from 26.2 miles and even more to get a better shot of getting in by registering earlier in my age group...  So, I can technically qualify without being able to get in, so I guess I can meet my goal and not worry about getting in.  Oh you have to love technicalities.  :)

What's a 7:15 minute per mile pace compared to my best of 8:42ish minutes per mile?  Peanuts, right?

Knowing this, I had better stop writing and get running!