Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Minutes

Hey, hey!

     I was thinking about this whole blog launch the past few days. I mean, it's sort of like when you first start out in any relationship. You make your first impressions and if that works well you go home all giddy and plan out your next moves. You're eager to make the phone call, but too soon and you're desperate - too late and she's gone forever! ...Anyways, this is my second call to you.

I'll share with you my intentions right off the bat; I hope to squeeze out a post once a week. My life really isn't that interesting so there is a good chance I could slack off even further, but I'll try!

 Secondly, I need to come clean. Like any first date, you've been given some white lies (c'mon my wife had to have known I wasn't really Mr GQ when we first met). My truth?.. 15 minutes are unlikely to get me on the start line in Boston - that time is probably closer to 17 or 18 minutes. 15 is just the neat, round little number that gets me a Boston Qualifier (BQ).  However, because of the popularity (especially since 2013) of the race, entry numbers have skyrocketed and they've had to put a cap on the number of entries per qualifying bracket. So technically this means that running a qualifying marathon in 3:05 is too easy (the fuck?!).

What does this mean for me? Obviously I would like to run Boston and experience the rush of the crowd, the school bus to Hopkinton, the girls of Wellesley and the Citgo sign. But more than anything I just want to be able to call myself a Qualifier. To know that I have faced the challenge, fought and overcome.

So,  I hope that we can move past this early fibbage and onto better things together. Boston baby, one run at a time! That's all I have for now, as you can see from the Strava widget on the right side I had an Interval workout with my team Pace and Mind tonight, and I am exhausted and hungry. Time to recover.

Talk soon, run happy!

B.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Welcome to 15 Minutes To Boston!

Who am I, what is this all about?

My name is Brandon and I am a 30-something runner from Toronto, Canada. Like anyone who has laced up a pair of shoes to run I have always viewed the Boston Marathon as the ultimate celebration of hardwork and dedication. While my addiction to running started innocently enough, late in 2014 I got a coach, joined a team and became a full fledged junkie. Since elevating my running I have been fortunate enough to run with some of the best runners in the country. This inspiration has forced me to ask more of myself and ignited a push to achieve. The culmination of my first year training with a team led to me running my fastest marathon yet, a 3:20 at the 2015 Berlin Marathon. In short, this race was perfect and I felt for the first time everything went right during a race. While this is awesome, it made me realize just how tough running a 3:05 Boston qualifier is going to be. I have worked so hard, and I will have to work so much harder to fight for those 15 minutes.

That is what this site is all about; The fight for 15 minutes.

I'm a realistic guy, I don't expect it to happen this year. However if I work harder than ever before, set realistic training goals I believe I can make it happen in 2017  ... And if not 2017, we'll keep fighting until it does happen. I hope to use this site as a journal of my journey towards Boston and hopefully I'll be interesting enough to keep you along for the ride!