Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Accidental Qualifier 4/09/2014

Kurt, "Hey did you qualify for Boston last weekend?"
Me, "I was too slow for Boston.  Might try again in 2015"
"I turn 45 in August so if I can squeeze out another 3:23 at Dallas this year I could do it lol"
"For 45-yr-old male, you need 3:20:00....  qualifying time is 3:20:00"
"Check the BAA website, it has 3:25"
"Holy crap, I qualified!"

I was surprised, happy, embarrassed, relieved, and a little lost.  Mostly I felt like a dumb ass.

Hiring a running coach could’ve avoided this dumb mistake.

I was more interested in qualifying than going to Boston before 2013 bombing.  I found out most of my friends belong to 2 buckets:
“Are you stupid?  You want to get blown to pieces?” vs “That’s cool.  Hope you make it.”

Now I get to plan on running Boston on Monday, April 20, 2015.  Apparently I’m only qualified to apply, not guaranteed a race spot.

Had I known I only need 3:25:00 12 months ago, I could be racing Boston in 2 weeks.  If I had the correct qualifying time in December 2013, I would’ve missed out on a memorable experience at Texas Whiner Marathon.

I invested heavily to achieve qualifying time at 2011 and 2013 Dallas Marathons.  I failed for non-fitness reasons.  無心插柳柳成蔭.  I signed up for 2014 Irving mainly to support a local event.  Before yoga injury, I plotted to do a Karnazes by including the race as part of 79-mile spring run. 

Sometimes the side of the mountain is more interesting than the peak, but you can’t have the sides without the top.

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