Aiming for a Boston Finish Under 4:30

With his first marathon behind him, Mike Nixon took an eight-week break before starting the training for his second: the upcoming Boston Marathon.

Nixon, 32, a Milford resident for almost six years, is more confident heading into this race because of his experience at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington.

He finished that marathon, a traditional favorite among first-time marathoners, in a little over 5 hours. He's hoping for a finish of about 4.5 hours in Boston.

"I'm pretty confident," he said. "I've learned from the first marathon."

What has he learned? The weekly long run is important, but so is every training run in between. Proper nutrition, during the 26.2-mile race, and in the period of training, is critical. And he has learned to take it easy on the "easy days" on the schedule.

"All of the runs have equal importance," he said. "And the importance of going easy on your easy days. Going 15 miles at 10 (minute miles)" isn't the same as going 15 miles at 10:30. "Your muscles can't recover as quickly."

Nixon is running the 2012 Boston Marathon through the invitation of his running club, Tri-Valley Front Runners, which has runners from across the Blackstone Valley area.

He trains with his running group for the weekend long run, and during the week, takes lunchtime runs near his employer. The time commitment to training is one of the biggest challenges of the marathon, as compared to the half-marathon, he said.

Distance running requires a balancing act among work, family, friends and graduate school for him, he said.

"Something always has to give," he said. But for the next month, the race is his focus.

"Boston is like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of people," Nixon said. "Most people want to run Boston. I'm really excited to have the opportunity. I keep telling my wife, 'It's the last one'."