The Boston Marathon is More than Just a Race
Training for the Boston Marathon: Lessons and More from Tim
I “sat down with” Tim Henry - a dad of two - who is running the Boston Marathon in April. You are really going to like this one!
MP: The Boston Marathon is the big goal this spring, right? How did it get on your radar as something you wanted to do?
TH: Boston is my big race this spring! This will be my third marathon (but only the second one I trained for…). My qualifying race was the 2021 Philadelphia Marathon where I ran 3:04:10. I was 34 the day of that race, and assumed I needed to run under 3 hours to qualify for Boston. I thought I could run anywhere between 2:59 and 3:10 depending on the conditions. Around mile 20, I realized that sub-3 wasn’t going to happen, but I kept fighting and was very happy with my result.
A few minutes after the race, a guy who I ran some of the later miles with explained that I only needed to run under 3:05 to qualify since I would be moving up an age bracket before 2023. I could barely walk back to where my family was waiting, so the thought of running another marathon seemed terrible, if not impossible. A few days later, I confirmed that I had indeed run a qualifying time and realized I’d be missing out on an awesome opportunity if I didn’t apply.
MP: What has your progression been like? Where did you start your "adult running" journey and how did it culminate in a BQ?
TH: I ran track and cross country from 7th grade through my freshman year of college. I had a tough freshman year and left the team and considered transferring to a Division 3 school. That never happened, and I ended up in a running limbo from 2006 through 2012. In 2012, I ran some of my post-college PRs, but then entered a period of inactivity with very little running. In February of 2019, a few months after my oldest daughter was born, I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize what I had become. I had put on a ton of weight, was drinking too much, and was getting very little exercise. I cut back on drinking and started walking/running on the treadmill, 2 or 3 miles a few times a week. This slowly reignited my desire to run more, so I started running 20 to 30 miles a week and ran a few races in the fall of 2019. I was only half-committed, and my race results showed that.
In January 2020, I gave up alcohol for good and started training for a few races which all were canceled. When Covid happened, I suddenly found myself with plenty of free time, so I started running for an hour every day and basically went through a marathon cycle without a race at the end. I finally found a half-marathon in October and jumped in without much preparation and ran 1:34. I then started doing some long runs with an old high school teammate who was preparing for Grandma’s Marathon. I was hanging on for dear life through some of our runs, but he ended up running under 3 hours and I realized I could put together a good marathon with proper training.
I had an annoying injury in the summer of 2021, but once that cleared up, I was able to put together about 12 weeks of solid training leading up to the Philly marathon. Other than a few minor injuries and illnesses, I’ve been running better than I have since college. When I have a rough workout or a disappointing race, I try to remember that 4 years ago I was 70 lbs. heavier and spending too many nights in smoky dive bars.
MP: What's been one thing that you've changed in your life/running to get you ready for Boston?
TH: Recovery and consistency are my priorities this winter and spring. Those two concepts go hand in hand: if I recover properly, I can stay consistent. Getting enough sleep and knowing when to ease off on the effort are the two biggest things. We have two little kids, so there’s always a chance someone is going to wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning, throwing a wrench into my morning run. Those things I can’t control, but I can make sure I’m going to bed before 10 o’clock.
I can also control my easy run pace. Most of my runs start before 6 AM, so the first mile or two is usually 9 minutes or slower. I don’t really worry about my pace on easy runs or recovery runs, I just let my legs dictate the effort. Slowing down on easy runs has allowed me to get more out of my workouts and long runs.
MP: What workouts do you like doing that make you feel ready for a marathon?
TH: Long runs with a bit of substance to them. I’ve been running off and on for over 20 years but I’ve only ever gone over 15 miles maybe 20 times in my life, so anything over 2 hours is still a new stimulus. The two workouts from my 2021 build up that stick out to me are 1) a 16 miler that had 11 miles under control, 4 miles around goal marathon pace, and then a mile cool down and 2) a 10-mile workout that had 2 x 3 miles at tempo in the middle. Those two runs specifically gave me the confidence I needed going into race day.
MP: Are there workouts that you like doing no matter what race you're training for?
TH: Threshold, easily. Threshold workouts weren’t really on the radar when I was in high school, and in college, all the workouts were just hanging on for dear life to guys who were faster than me. I always understood what threshold pace was meant to be, I just had a hard time executing the workouts until recently. Part of it is accepting your current fitness: just because I want to run 10 miles under one hour, doesn’t mean I can do it today. I find them to be invigorating but not exhausting. They also have helped me improve my times in shorter races, especially 8k to half-marathon distances. It might be wishful thinking, but a bit of threshold work, some strides, a reasonable long run, and plenty of easy running should allow me to run and race for a few more decades!
MP: I don't want you to think too much about after the race, but after the race, what are you most looking forward to doing/enjoying?
TH: We have a vacation to Florida planned for about a week and a half after Boston, so I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve made a declaration to some of my running buddies and my wife that, if Boston goes well, I will likely give up the marathon distance, at least for the near future. I want to revisit some shorter distances, race on the track a few more times, and maybe find a cross country race in the fall. Boston is this giant spectacle and I’m looking forward to the experience, but there’s something endearing about a quality, small town race within a short drive.
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