This time Scott and proposed a few minor adjustments to help maximize my ability to perform as race day gets closer. One area I have been focusing on a great deal more are the elevation changes of my runs. Last time I did a lot of more or less flat running without much hill work. This time around I have incorporated it quite a bit more, utilizing Beaverton’s famous Weir Road which is a mile from top to bottom and includes some serious up hill running. I am confident it will be the longer runs with more challenging inclines that will help me overcome “Heart-break Hill” in Boston. I have heard a lot about that hill and the physical as well as the mental strain it puts on even the most experienced runners.

The other main two components I feel are going to be key to my success at Boston are the speed workouts I have been doing, as well as the specifically designed supplement routines. Every Thursday has been designated my speed work day, and I can honestly say that sometimes my speed days feel more challenging than my long runs. This may be hard to believe, but any true distance runner can tell you that sprinting isn’t exactly our forte. For the last few weeks I have been on a progression where I run 12x400m at about 90sec per lap with about two-three minutes recovery in between, including neutralizers. The next week I moved up and did 12x600m at the same pace proportional to the distance.

Each week I will add 200m to the distance, and I will also be going back through each workout and drop the time I have to do them in to push my body even faster. The whole idea behind these workouts is to be able to run at a pace that’s faster than my goal pace for Boston, so that I can have that extra gear I know I am capable of. Since I want to be able to run a 6:30 mile pace I have been doing my speed workouts at a 6:00 mile pace. Eventually I will work my way up to doing 12x1200m at a 6:00 mile pace or faster. It sounds hard now but I know I’ll be ready.

Today I went back down to the 12x400m workout and had to run them all in 75sec or faster. It was a pretty big step up from the last time I did it but, surprisingly I was able to run them all in about 73sec. It was encouraging to be able to run at that pace and it has really helped me pick up the pace for my longer runs. The last and probably most important new component, which I referenced earlier, is the specific supplement routines that Scott has built for me. Each of them was built to illicit the necessary responses from my muscular system so that I can maintain good skeletal posture and muscular efficiency. These supplements have played an essential part in keeping me healthy as I push my body to meet its potential. Without them my speed, strength, power, endurance, flexibility, durability and overall efficiency of movement would be very limited.

The key to finishing strong in the end won’t have to do as much with the amount of endurance I have, but rather how efficiently my muscular system can work together, allowing it to maximize its ability to support the skeletal system, holding it in the correct alignment, which will minimize the negative side affects of the long hard pounding, and give me the best chance of meeting my goals.

Only 81 days until the Boston Marathon!!

- Josh

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As the mileage increased I continued to find success and stayed healthy as well, thanks to the many endurance circuits and supplement routines in addition to my runs.  The closer race day came and the more I thought about it, the better I felt about my chances for achieving my hard-fought goal.

The morning of Sunday October fourth brought an experience like nothing I had ever been a part of before.  Thousands of runners and cheering spectators made for an electric atmosphere.  The adrenaline coarsed through my body like rushing rapids, making me eager to start the race.  Once the race was on it was a combination muscular endurance, muscular efficiency, and sheer mental toughness that allowed me to will myself to the finish line.  As I crossed utter exhaustion consumed me, but it didn’t matter because being able to see my time as I finished made it all worth it.  My final time was 3hours 9minutes and 18 seconds! I had qualified for the Boston Marathon!!  The past couple of weeks I have started training again, this time with a new goal, to run under Three hours in the Boston Marathon…

Here is link if you want to read about my journey up to the Portland Marathon on our Train2move Site.

I look forward to sharing my quest to reach my next goal with all of you!

Josh Platt

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