It’s been 6 months since I have written anything about my marathon goals. For a while, I thought I would hang up my running shoes. Lack of motivation and a hectic schedule plagued me… but then I thought to myself how important it is that I complete this goal. It was a test of my perseverance. Did I have what it took to see to this goal through to the end?

I did not have a particular race that I wanted participate in when I set my goal for running a marathon. So I started training knowing that there would be races coming up during the year. I just had to be ready for them. So, when I attended the IWe Expo in April I learned about the Silver Comet Trail Half Marathon and it was a perfect fit. The timing was right and the race will be held close enough to me. On Oct. 27th, I will be participating in the Silver Comet Trail Half Marathon 2012!

And what exactly have I been up to in the mean time, you ask? For starters, I trashed my old running schedule. My old schedule (click here to view) was too intense for me. The frequency of running, and my desire to meet a certain speed was doing more harm than good to my knees, in particular. Remember, after my last assessment I am a rookie when it comes to long distance running. Thus, out with that schedule and on to a new and “much better suited for rookie” schedule. This is the break down of my current 10 week Half marathon training schedule.

I’ve been able to stick to this schedule a lot easier than my previous one. And I am so happy I made the switch. It is now Week 10 of my running schedule and honestly, I am proud of myself. I see so much improvement in my abilities and I have added respect for professional athletes. The mental focus required to stay on a schedule is no joke!

Next thing I did, was I switched back to my old running shoes. My new shoes were just wrong for me, they gave way too much support and felt heavy. I went back to my lighter shoe and those felt a lot better. However, there was still a lot of wear and tear on that shoe so I still had to find another replacement. I’d heard about a running store that provided custom fit shoes called “Phidippides”. I paid them a visit and after a quick consultation with the salespeople, I picked up a new pair of Brooks running shoes. During my fitting session, the attendant recommended I get a pair of running shoes that are 1 size larger than my regular shoes. I will explain why in a later post, but generally this is for the health of your toes and feet.

Finally, I trashed my earlier desire to run a 7 minute mile. Yeah…. some people are built for speed and others are built for distance. My body tells me that I am the latter. Right now, I am a comfortable 10min/mile runner and I won’t fight it anymore. Besides, push to hard and I will be risking serious injury.

I’m looking forward to the race! Though it is not my original goal of a full marathon this has been many months in the making and it will be the longest race I’ve ever been in. Thanks for reading, please leave a note to cheer me on