And I'm Back

I'm stubborn. I really want to add the marathon charm to my running bracelet. I really want to know what it feels like to cross the finish line after 26.2 miles.

So I will now be chronicling my journey toward the Oakland Running Festival Marathon on March 24, 2013. I hope I make it.

I'm not going to strictly follow a plan this time. I will be following some amalgamation of the TNT training plan (as I'm in season) and the Runner's World Smart Coach that includes goal paces for each run. I was not super strict about following the plan last time, but I was pretty good with the runs at least. Perhaps not following a strict plan will allow me more mental flexibility to listen better to my body. As it's my first marathon, I shouldn't be worried about time. (Although I am. I desperately want to beat the 4 hour barrier, which is reasonable according to pace prediction from my 5K, 10K, and half marathon times.) Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

I'm going to chronicle 16 weeks of training, that started last Monday. In the last two months (October and November, before which I had pretty much only been cycling due to an ankle sprain) I have been running fairly seriously including one road half marathon, one trail half marathon, a 5k, a 10K, hilly neighborhood runs, and trail runs of the following distances: 8 (Redwood), 9 (China Camp), and 10.5 (Usery). I also did one spin workout, one bike ride, and one duathlon. That's pretty much it.

And so it begins.