I’ve now completed seven weeks of my marathon training plan without missing a single run. (I’m tracking my progress using my online training plan and logging all my runs in MapMyRun.com ).

In the last 7 weeks I have run 145 total miles, with my longest run being 14 miles. That was the farthest I have ever run, and it felt great! As the long runs continue to get longer, it is requiring a little more logistical planning. I need to find long enough routes to not get bored, I need to plan loops so I can re-fill my water bottles and get enough fluids, and I need to manage my nutrition before, during, and after the runs. Getting into a routine with these things will help me as I do the even longer runs near the end of my training plan.

I am really enjoying training so far. I look forward to runs, and having a strict schedule has motivated me to go out and run on days when I felt tired or when it was raining or when I just didn’t feel like running that day. I know that I don’t want to slack on the training, because I want to finish the marathon and I want to do as well as I can. I don’t want to have any regrets like "I wish I would have done all my training, maybe I wouldn’t have struggled so much!" I enjoy the solitude of running. It relaxes me and gives me time to think. I don’t run with any music, but I have considered it for at least part of my longer runs because it can start to get boring when I’m running for more than 2 hours.

My first goal is to finish, of course, and my next goal is to finish between 4:15-4:30. I really think this is an achievable goal for me. My pace in training has all been within the range needed for finishing in this time. Technically I am supposed to be doing my long runs much slower than my actual marathon pace, but it’s hard for me to slow down to that speed. I feel like I may not be pushing myself hard enough, and I keep adjusting my pace to see if I can speed up a bit, still avoid injury, and finish with a faster time. I would love to finish under 4 hours, but I also want to stay realistic. I know a lot of things can go wrong on race day, especially after the 20 mile point. I want to be confident, but not naive. I want to finish strong, not shuffling and exhausted, ready to pass out. I’d rather enjoy the race, the people, and the experience and finish 15 minutes slower than torture myself to get a better time and have a miserable experience. Somewhere in there lies a happy medium, and I’m sure I’ll find it in my 12 weeks left of training.

I’ve been reading a lot of different thoughts of strategies and experimenting to see what works for me. I have a plan that’s working for me to get enough fluids (some water, some Gatorade) and nutrition (bananas, Gu packs, etc). I am learning more about salt tablets and might experiment with that. I have put close to 500 miles on my running shoes, so I am considering getting a new pair now for the marathon. I still have 375 miles to run in training, and I want my shoes to still feel good on race day, but also be plenty broken in. I’ve figured out what pair of socks I like the best, I have a Halo visor that works great to keep sweat out of my eyes, and I know where I need body glide to avoid chaffing on long runs (including the bottoms of my feet to avoid the friction burn after a few hours, thanks to my friends’ recommendation). I’ve found that there are a lot of little things to consider when getting to run this distance. It feels like a whole different game than a half-marathon, which I’ve done three times. Sometimes it feels like I’m getting ready for battle as I prepare everything and get ready to go out for long runs.

Since I am expecting my daughter to be born any day now, my upcoming challenge will be to get enough rest and to have enough time to work in my weekday and weekend long runs. Luckily my wife is understanding and supportive, so I think it will work out fine.

Although I have quite a few weeks to go until race day, I am really looking forward to it. I like that I will be running the longest distance of my life repeatedly over the next 12 weeks as my mileage increases. So I am continuing to set my own personal records and really seeing the results of my training. I enjoy the challenge and the good feeling that comes along with conquering a distance that seemed incomprehensible and impossible only months ago. Bring it on!

I started running a couple years ago, and after surviving three half marathons, I’m finally taking on the big challenge. I have signed up to run the Quad City Marathon in September. 26.2 miles.

I have friends who are endurance athletes (50 mile runs, Iron Man, etc) so I’m surrounded by people who have run this distance a number of times, which is a benefit for me. I have taken their advice and I’m motivated by the insane level of endurance that they can accomplish.

After talking to them and reading as much as I could, I decided to following the Novice marathon training plan by Hal Higdon. It’s one of the most popular training plans out there, and he’s one of the "experts" on the subject. If it’s worked for so many before, it can work for me!

I’ve taken the Novice I training plan and put it up as My Marathon Training Plan on Google Spreadsheets. I will update it as I go for the next 18 weeks. For the first week, I was thinking of following the Novice II plan, so I did a bit more. Then I decided to just follow the Novice I plan as-is, so I adjusted.

Hal Higdon talks about using a walking strategy to complete a first marathon. Although I hesitate to plan to walk during a "run", I have decided to take his advice and walk through each aid station. I did some simple analysis of a Marathon Walk Strategy and was surprised to see that adding in walking doesn’t really affect the final time for the pace I plan to try for, so it’s not like it’s going to add a half hour to my finish time or something. It seems to make sense, so that’s my strategy.

So hopefully 17 weeks from now I will be crossing the finish line, a proud first-time marathoner. Wish me luck!