In 2010 Brian and I ran a marathon.  It was the San Antonio Rock ‘n Roll marathon, and it was AMAZING!  As soon as we crossed the finish line we started talking about doing it again.  However, more than a year went by without a marathon.  We continued to run and did small events but the LONG distance was lost.

It is 2012 and we have a little fire burning in our bellies that can only be quenched by 16 weeks of training ending with one very long run and a feeling of accomplishment that I have no comparison for.

Step one – finding a race.  We had narrowed our choices down to two races and made our final decision last night, casting our vote with a registration for the Pittsburgh Marathon.  There are 117 days until the race!

Step two – a training plan.  I pulled out our previous plan designed by our good friend Greg Despres and I ran the first week last week.  I plan to do some research to find the “prefect” training plan for this race.

Step three – stay motivated.  In my mind I started training right after Christmas when I hit the pavement three times in one week (something I had not done in awhile).  So last week, while following Greg’s plan was a bit of a second week for me.  I found myself in one weak moment remembering how very long the long runs take at the end and how much time overall I had to commit.  For a split moment I was tempted to decide “I have done this once, do I need to do it again right now?”  But the answer is YES!  I reminded myself in reality all I need to do is concentrate on the running for this week and not let my mind go beyond that.  Run what I have to run this week.  Get it done, enjoy it, learn from it and let it train you!

Rick Kimbal (the Marathon Nut), a guy I just started following on twitter posted a list of to dos for running a marathon.  His step three is set your goals.  I had a general purpose for running, a gut feeling, a drive.  But I realized I needed to write it out and have a clear defined reason.  Doing so would give me more purpose and drive, it would give more meaning to the one foot in front of the other.  I will be sharing my purpose for running a marathon in a future post.

Step four – Get a new pair of running shoes.  I will be headed to a specialty store to replace my old sneakers, the ones I wore in my last marathon. I hope to share a little on that process as well.

It feels good to have this started!

Join me!

Finish the race!