Dallas Marathon 12/8/2013 (3rd failed attempt to BQ)

I decided on this Boston qualifying event at mile 25 of Irving Marathon.  The timing wasn't perfect: 2014 Boston Marathon spots were unlikely to be available by December, and the Danube trip would impede my normal 14-week preparation.  There were only so many such "A" events left in these legs--"seize the opportunity while you can."

_goal
3:19:59

_training
I went to the high school track after Danube trip for MAF test and was dismayed by amount of fitness lost in 15 days.  I thought my nearly daily skate/run was sufficient to stay in shape.  A2A restored some confidence in my fitness.

I acquired 9-week program from Runners' World and followed the weekly mileage but not the pace.  6.5 years after the first marathon, I learned 8:30 was not a good recovery pace for this body.  The peak weekly mileage approached 50.

_technique
I acquired a metronome and confirmed my running cadence was closer to 92 than 96.  Yeah, off-by-4 is natural given I counted strides in 15 seconds, not a full minutes.

Plantar fasciitis reared its head from time to time but no longer impeded my training.  The shoe collection continued to be dominated by light and flexible flats.

I watched "Gliders vs Gazelles" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJWPwVF30yo) and was mesmerized by Carfrae's running form.  The video convinced me the need to settle on the ugly glide, but I was unable to shake the image of gazelles' hind leg angles.  Carfrae's strides at 2013 Ironman championship was a beautiful sight.  The experience felt like double push.

After months of obsession, I participated in Newton's analysis at Trishop and was pleasantly surprised I ran more like Rinny than the gliders.

[snipped off video]

_diet
My body went into withdraw after September vacation where I ingested large quantity of dairy, alcohol, and processed food.  I gained 4 pounds in 15 days.  The first week home I was unable to run an hour without GI issues.

I resumed my normal diet and achieved race weight by A2A.  I was so in tune by November, I could feel my body weight with half-pound precision each morning.  Family meals threw a few curve balls, but race week weight control was near perfect.

_final week
I often struggled with the last long run 7 days before the race.  Not this time.  This was the first winter training block I didn't crash due to drop foot.

The left knee healed.

My preparation wasn't as aggressive as 2011, but I felt confident about my 3rd attempt at Boston qualifying time.  I just needed reasonable weather and clothing.  I became obsessed about my food source; it's one of the few remaining controllable things that could derailed the race.

I unwrapped my final pair of Green Silence for the 2x1600.  The new shoes felt unbelievable.  It was so difficult to observe the speed limit, I cut the session short by 300 meters--"Just do the minimum.  Save it for the race day."

I missed coffee.  I visualized the weight gain sessions after the race.

_race
Cancelled due to weather.