My Plan to Qualify for the Boston Marathon

Since I came back from my disastrous Paris Marathon, I was wondering if I still have a shot at qualifying for Boston before September 2014 to run on the 2015 edition. My current PB still stands at 3:55 recorded in Dubai last January. That is 45 minutes too slow. I need to run faster than 3:10. To allow myself to have the taste to run in THE mother of all marathons. A more realistic goal is for me to aim for 2016 edition and qualify before September 2015.

Here is my plan:

1. May - Jul 2013: Focus on the training to run 10k in 45 minutes
2. May - Jul 2013: Strength training. Focus on core and quads
3. Adequate sleep and rest
4. Eat healthy 
5. Yoga once a week 
6. Following FIRST marathon training plan as detailed in Run Less Run Faster book.
7. Start swimming lesson in July 2013. Then swim once a week (as described in FIRST)
8. Cycling once a week from July (as described in FIRST)

Target Time in BLUE is Optimistic (Running Boston in 2015)
Target Time in RED is Pessimistic (Running Boston in 2016)

Oct 2013    Melbourne, Australia  Munich, Germany      Sub 3:30   Sub 3:45

Nov 2013   New York, USA Istanbul, Turkey                Sub 3:45   Sub 3:45

Feb 2014   Tokyo, Japan                                                  Sub 3:20   Sub 3:30

Apr 2014   London, UK                                                   Sub 3:15   Sub 3:25

Jul   2014   Gold Coast, Australia                                     Sub 3:10   Sub 3:20

Sep 2014   Berlin, Germany (Tentative)                           Sub 3.05   Sub 3:15

Jan 2015    Dubai, UAE                                                    Sub 3.00   Sub 3:10

Apr 2015   BOSTON, USA                                             Sub 3.00   Sub 3:05