" Marius, first of all let me tell u that this has been an exceptional training that I completely enjoyed...since I noticed my PR's improved on test runs.
My final workout, pre Marathon which is on Sunday, was today. A 40 min. easy jog. This will be my first marathon and feel confident. I trained using your 3:15 plan but was wondering if I should run the marathon conservatively. My ultimate goal is to Qualify for the Boston Marathon. My best time on the 1/2 marathon has been a 1:39. I did feel that my start was too conservative though. I plan to run a second marathon on Feb 14, next year. Should I use Sundays Marathon as a test run and pursue a better time on Feb, or should I go all out on both? My concern has always been running out of gas and hitting the wall. Considering my 1/2 marathon time I am right over what is needed to Qualify for Boston, which is 3:20 for my age of 43.
Marius how do you think I should go about my training to qualify for Boston in Feb. after this Sundays marathon?
Thank you Coach, your guidance throughout is greatly appreciated. Ruben"
Hi Ruben : This is how you can solve this : use your half marathon time (1:39 - or say 1:35 if you ran it conservatively). Then put it into the formula I provide in the 100 day plan. IF you hit the wall then you'll know for your February marathon where you should start pace-wise. There is no need to be afraid - since you have another marathon coming up. Therefore I suggest you go full speed on both and use the first as a "semi-experiement" - meaning use a calculated half marathon passing time that is about right but try to keep up the last part with full effort.
To run back-to-back marathons, simply take 2-3 weeks easy after the first (see the recovery weeks) and then start the 100 day plan again (if you are then 8 weeks away from the marathon, do week 8-9-10-11-12-13-14 and 15) This will work you well as the tapering before the first marathon gives you variation before another short marathon cycle.
I'm often asked what shoes I personally recommend to help stay injury free while running (on the 100 day plan) so I'll add a little bit about it at the end of these Q and A's.
Good shoes are crucial if you want to stay injury free during your marathon journey. In general, the best is to find a shoe that fits your feet according to your foot type.
However, these three shoes will do an excellent job with their mild correction - and will work for most runners :
1. Asics Gel Kayano (click for zappos reviews for other runners views)
The legandary shoe from Asics. You cannot go wrong with this one.
The most sold running shoes ever - and by every model seems to get better and better. About the same weight as the Kayano but the fit is a little bit different.
The 2150 is a great alternative for the faster work you'll be doing in the 100 day plan. It is one of the few shoes that "feels" like a lightweight one but at the same time has more than enough stabilty to prevent injuries with the marathon type length of some of the interval sessions.
A tips for international (non-US) runners : check out roadrunnerssports.com :
Example : Asics Kayano (RoadRunnerssports) they ship worldwide and it can really save you some money on your shoes.
I'm often asked what shoes I personally recommend to help stay injury free while running (on the 100 day plan) so I'll add a little bit about it at the end of these Q and A's. 
