Movement is medicine, attempting to qualify for the Boston marathon

I heard this from a Peloton instructor but not sure who coined it first. A very accurate statement as it has been found that exercise in a similar way many drugs do, it has a dose response effect. The more you do, the greater benefits, to a point. Professor Daniel Lieberman explains this in his book “Exercised.” After reading many books, listened to podcasts and own experiences, it seems a relatively simple process and measurable outcomes. I ran the Baystate half marathon in October 2023 with the purpose of starting training on an attempt to qualify for Boston. It has been a very exciting journey learning about methods to improve my time running avoiding injury. Over the last 12 months gather information and in as much data I could collect. I got a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to track my blood glucose at every mile and determine with that nutrition plan for training and for race simulations. I learned about zone 2 hear rate and started tracking my VO2Max using a watch and measured twice in a DexaFit lab. It has been a lot of fun to track on my logbooks every mile and see the responses to small changes and the improvements in general.

The first time I completed a marathon was in San Diego in 2011 with a time of 4:11, the second marathon outside an Ironman was in Boston in 2021 with a time of 5:11, and training for Boston motivated me to continue running. In 2022 I completed the Baystate marathon with a time of 3:56. The Boston qualifying time for the age group of 60-64 is 3:50, which looks within reach. In 2026 I will turn 60 and to qualify I need to run a marathon before September 2025 of 3:50 or even better 3:45 as every year there are “cutoff” times that exclude runners with an official time but given the competition may be left out.

Training over the last year has been fun! I have incorporated and followed few self-imposed guidelines:

• Make exercising part of the daily agenda and program, as important as work meetings, or any other appointments.

• Varying the type to include weight, aerobic, anaerobic routines, cycling a Peloton bike

• Do home chores such as mowing the lawn and clearing the driveway from snow.

• Give time to rest and listen to my body.

• Run no more than 2 times per week.

• Set goals and track progress with all possible metrics.

• Focus on improving VO2Max.

• Have fun.

On October 13, 2024, I will attempt to qualify for Boston at the Mohawk-Hudson River marathon starting on Schenectady and finishing in Albany NY. I have scoped the course and while it is mostly flat and big downhills, it has been hard to keep the target pace training during the spring and summer. I expect to enjoy the run and if all goes well to improve my time from my last race. If not, well, there will be other races that I can attempt before September next year. In the meantime, I have improved my VO2Max measured on my Garmin from 44 to 52 over 12 months. I like that since this metric has been associated with longevity given the important systemic health benefit it provides to be in good respiratory capacity. Most miles running were fun, some challenging, and some outright hard but keeping the log allowed me to revisit them and to adjust.

I will report at the end of the race.

This is one of the free pictures you get running the Baystate marathon, without doubt one of my favorite races.