BR: the new BQ

Was qualifying for Boston a challenge?
Try registration! It opens this week in a wave-style registration that allows the fastest runners to register first, and allots remaining slots to the fastest of the "general qualifying" group.
The idea is to keep Boston fast, which makes sense to me.
But I have some ideas that the BAA might also consider. I mean, if they ask me. Which they won't.
It makes sense to simply make the cutoff times stricter, and not just the 5 minutes that go into effect next year. The time cutoffs have changed a lot over the years, but right now they are just too slow to keep the Boston mystique. I'm not saying BQ time is slow, it's not - it's fast, and any time I BQ I totally act like a jerk about it. But a lot of very average runners like myself is not how the BAA envisions their race, so rather than give a half-chance to people in the lower strata of BQ times (isn't it dumb that I have to use terms like BQ strata?!) they should just make it a lot harder.
And while we're making it harder let's look closer at certain groups. I've come to agree that women are kind of given a pass with qualifying times. I don't have the science to back it up, but I don't think that men on average are capable of a half-hour faster marathon than women. I think 20 or 25 minutes would be better. There is also a little bit of a problem with the age group division. Once you turn 35 you are considered old and get extra time to qualify. That means that for this year a 35 year old woman would get a full 3:45 for her race! And women tend to mature later in running, so she's probably at her peak. Then you get an extra 5 minutes for every five years!
My ideas?
1. It needs to be harder for everyone, like a 3-hr for guys and a 3:25 for girls (and yes, that means I wouldn't qualify!).
2. Let's make it a little tougher on the girls, especially in that 35-40 bracket.
3. Quit with the weird age divisions. How do you have one bracket that is 16 years, then all the rest are 5?
4. Lose the wave registration. Once times are more stringent, you won't need them. This system sounds like a great big logistical disaster that will generate a tide of anger and complaints, and since it judges entrants based on time anyway, BAA might as well simply restrict registration to those it deems fast enough to compete.

So while I'm waiting for BAA to consider my ideas (haha), the big question is - will I try to register? In the past, I have said no, since my husband's frenemy who irritates the crap out of me lives in Boston. However, we visited anyway last Spring and I loved the city so much I do want to go back. So I am going to attempt to register. I'll be in wave 2...or, as the website refers to it. "BQ-10". Silliness!

Are YOU registering for Boston?

Is "BQ" a goal for you?

What's your opinion of the new times and registering procedures?

Back from Boston!

Pretty sure I was the only marathoner visiting Boston THIS week in April!
We squeezed in a last minute trip to Boston before my new position starts (training begins tomorrow at 7:00 am) and we really had a wonderful time.
- We stayed at the historic Parker House hotel, where JFK proposed to Jackie and the great literati toasted.

Small rooms but great location.

- We walked the Freedom trail, reveling in our history and quaint old churches and graves.

- We discovered that if it was metal and it was made before 1820, Paul Revere made it (seriously, this man had a monopoly going on).
- We visited Salem, Havard, MIT, Lexington, and Concorde - mostly thanks to our friends with a car!

It was a gray day in Salem. Perfect for drowning witches.

- We threw snowballs - for the first time ever (I mean, at each other. I've thrown them at other people of course).
- We stood on the Old North Bridge.

I fired the snowball shot heard 'round the world a few minutes after this picture was taken.

- We ate our weight in Canolis and fresh breads and cheeses from the North End.
- We ran across the Charles River and around the Boston Commons.

We certainly had a range of weather, didn't we?

- We decided to come back next year so I can run this little marathon because I was getting serious running envy seeing all the preparations and excitement.

Are you running Boston? Tomorrow I will post my Boston favorites for you!

Last day!

It's my last day at my current position! Good-bye, crazy lady who punched another customer in the face (this happened yesterday)! Good-bye, homeless dude who hides in the drive-through to jump out at cars and ask for money! Good-bye, technician who is always half an hour late!
We're going on a little vacation before my new job starts, and you won't believe this, but it's to Boston. I guess I forgot to tell the hubby how I feel about Boston...and how I feel about his frenemy who lives there. Sigh.

Yesterday I ran the Eat My Crust 5k before heading into work. It benefits the NO/AIDS foundation, so I ran it even though 5k's aren't my thing. I had a bad race. I really don't know how to pace for a 5k, and I came in 4th, which might as well be last! I started out too slow and was 7th for most of the race. Then I overcompensated, sped up too much, and passed people until I was third. Then someone passed me in the last mile and I didn't have the energy to prevent it! I have decided that 4th is the worst feeling ever.
I also wasn't thrilled with my gun time of 21:29; it was only a little better than last week's race. However yesterday was extremely humid (97%) and set a record for heat, and I certainly felt it. I will be able to gauge my ability better in dry weather, since humidity slows me down.
As for the race, if you're in the area do it next year. I had to leave to go to work, but the after party was awesome and runners get an apron instead of a T-shirt!
Now that I've been royally humiliated in the 5k, does anyone have any tips and hints for me? I'd like to get faster and I'd like to know what a "good" time for me would be.
Hope you're Monday is wonderful and no one jumps out of the drive through and asks you for cash!