Name

Gary Jakobcic

Sex:

Male

Age (at the time of first BQ):

56

Height:

5′ 9″

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

160 lbs

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Detroit Marathon

Tell us a little about the race.

Cool/cold day mid 30s F
BQ standard 3:40, 8:24min/mi, Goal 3:38 or better
Started out running by feel, staying between the 3:40 and 3:30 pace groups
Started out well averaged 8:13min/mi first five miles
Next five speed up too much, averaged 7:52 min/mi for miles 6-10 passed 3:30 pace group between miles 7 and 8.
13.1 miles in 1:45:29
Miles 11 -15 ave 8:05min/mi.starting to slow
Miles 16 – 20 ave 8:12 min/mi slowing more
Miles 21 – 25 ave 8:27 min/mi passed by 3:30 pace group at mile 22, legs feel like lead, focused in keeping my legs moving.
Mile 26 to finish ave 8:17 min/mile
Finish time: 3:35:13
How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ?

7 years

Did you run in college or high school?

Yes

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ?

6000 miles

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ?

1379

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

5

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was?

Yes, Runners World Smart Coach based on my half marathon time a month before I started training

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach?

No

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how?

Strength training twice a week.

Did speed work play a role or specific workouts play a role in your training? If so, how?

Yes a tempo or interval workout once a week for 3 weeks with no speed work the 4th week, repeated for a 20 wk program.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ?

I was able run mostly half marathons (my BQ marathon was my 4th marathon but the first where I was trying for a goal time) to get me to a predicted BQ marathon time. This took several years, loosing 25lbs, improving my diet, devising a fuel strategy, reading everything I could get my hands on and pushing myself hard. It required an extreme amount of discipline, dedication and planning on my part to complete my training plan for my BQ marathon. The biggest physical and psychological effort I have ever completed.