Johnson might be tapering for Boston Marathon, but there’s no slowing down at Texas

Jimmie Johnson knows how to pace himself through the NASCAR season. His effort has paid off with seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series titles and 83 career wins. While many of his fellow competitors will head for the beach for spring break in two weeks, Johnson will compete in the 2019 Boston Marathon. After spending the last four months training for his first full marathon, the 43-year-old racer feels he’s up for the task. RELATED: Johnson wins Busch Pole for Texas | Johnson tops 10-lap averages “It is probably an hour most days, and maybe two days where it is an hour and a half or two hours for a run just to get the mileage in,” Johnson said. “It is a lot less than I have done in years past training for triathlons and some cycling events I have done. Running is much more efficient. You can get a lot done in a shorter period of time. “I am thankful that the bulk of my mileage is behind me and I am starting a process called tapering. This week mileage cuts back, next week even more and then the following week we are at the marathon. We’ve tore the body down, now it is time to rebuild it and get ready and heal up to run my 26.2 on April 15th.” This year’s NASCAR schedule was ideal for Johnson to knock the Boston Marathon off of his bucket list. With Richmond being a Saturday night race, Johnson has a full day to recover before undertaking the challenge. “I do feel good,” Johnson said. “I lost a month due to an injury and a cold. I know that is going affect my goal in a sense, but to go run such a major event on Patriots' Day and what I hear about the experience, I’m just excited to have that chance. It’s going to be a fun day.” There's no slowing down for Johnson this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, though. On Friday, Johnson earned the Busch Pole for Sunday's O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He also topped 10-lap averages in Saturday's final practice session. Contributing: Staff Report