Shaving 39 minutes off my second marathon: Is it possible?

The second marathon I will run in the Sportsfest Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach on March 18, 2006. Last year I ran the Shamrock half marathon and it was a lot of fun. I ran the Richmond Marathon in a time of 4:24:12. To qualify for the Boston Marathon I will have to run it in under 03:15:00, so I will have to shave off about 69 minutes. That's an average of about 11.5 minutes for each of my next six marathons. However, my goal for this marathon is actually 03:45:00. This is 39 minutes faster. It may sound like an impossible time, but I like to challenge myself. Also, during my training for the Richmond Marathon, I broke my little toe, so I missed out on 4 long runs. I feel if I can stay healthy and complete all my long runs, that will significantly help me meet my goal in March. And, the weather at the Richmond Marathon was very warm. If it had been in the 50's that day, I probably would have decreased my time by 15 or 20 minutes. I began my training for the Shamrock Marathon in mid November. So far, I am injury free and sticking to my training program. I ran 18 miles on December 24th. It was a good run and I felt great.

Running My First Marathon: A Post Marathon Note.

I recently ran the Suntrust Richmond Marathon on November 1, 2006. It was my first marathon. That's me in the red shirt. Although my goal was to finish in under four hours, I completed the race with a time of 04:24:12. Mid way during my training, I broke my little toe while playing volleyball barefoot on the beach while on vacation in Mexico. Needless to say, I was out of commission for five weeks. As you could imagine, this was a huge blow to me and it really set me behind on my training. I missed out on four long runs. People suggested that I forget about this marathon and wait until the next one, but I really wanted to run and finish the marathon. At that time, the most I had ever run was 18 miles. So, when my toe healed I resume my training and got back up to 18 miles again. That, it was race day. I decided to stay with the 04:00:00 pacer group that I previously singed up for, and gave it a try. At the start of the race I felt really good and kept with the pacers until mile 17. But, from then on, I began to struggle a bit and was on my own. Thanks to the crowd of race supporting spectators, I was able to press on despite the pain. At times, just when I though I was running out of gas and couldn't go on, many spectators would yell, "Keep going you can do it". The feeling I got from that cheering time and time again was so motivating and just what I needed to help me find the courage to keep running. Crossing the finish line wasn't easy, but what a great feeling I had when I did. My months of hard work and determination paid off. I can't way for the next race.