As long as you're far enough into your training for the half...which I believe would only be a couple of weeks from now? You will have plenty of time to continue for the full. It's your first, so take it easy and have fun!

Hi everyone! I'm a complete newbie to marathoning, I am currently training for a local marathon on March 4th, and I've been training since the end of November, and unfortunately I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm sort of just making it up. But it's fun, so I've decided to stick with it. I'm currently a senior in high school, and I've been running for about 2.5 years, and in those 2.5 years I've had more running injuries than most people have in their entire running careers. Haha. I started running XC my sophomore year and immediately fell in love with it, but had a horrible case of patellar tendonitis that pretty much put me out until March of the next year. Then, I came back for XC my junior year, and was the star runner on the team, which was pretty cool. But once again, I got injured, only this time I suffered a nagging hip injury that just never really went away. I took off for indoor track, and came back sort of in outdoor track, and then started training hard that summer to break every girl's XC record my school had in my senior year of XC. But unfortunately, that didn't happen, because somehow I became severely anemic, and my hip problem got even worse, so I took off until the end of the season and my coach told me maybe I should consider training for a marathon, because I loved running so much that I would find it enjoyable no matter the amount of effort, and it didn't require anywhere near the amount of intensity that was giving me all those crazy injuries. So I thought that was a great idea, and after a particularly awesome ten-mile run, I decided that I was meant to be a marathoner, and not a 5Ker or a track star, so that's the direction I've been going since. So here I am. I've been training for about a month and a half on a training plan that I've essentially made up on my own with my main goal of just not getting injured again, as I have demonstrated a great propensity to do so, and I've improved an incredible amount. At first I just wanted to run a 4:40, but now I've shaved that down to just getting under 4:00, possibly 3:40 or a Boston qualification. The only wrench in the plan is that I've gotten so fast training for my marathon that coach found out and wants me to run the two-mile in track, and so now I'm torn between training for 26.2 miles and training for 2, which are two plans that don't really mix all that well. So that's me, and that's my story, and I think you guys are all awesome, and I'm really pumped to be training for my first marathon, and I wish you all the best of luck because RUNNERS RULE!!!!

OK I am in. I am planning my first marathon this year and I am not sure which it will be. I am leaning towards the Vancouver marathon or maybe the Seattle marathon or...the Big Sur Marathon (all coastal). First I have to get my knee back up to speed and then get my mileage back up. Then once the snow clears out of here I am in training mode. Look forward to learning a lot from all of you.

Hello everyone, Slow and Steady here. Currently trying to keep my mileage up for a Spring marathon. Somewhere, someplace. I have run 2 marathons before but have yet to break 4 hours. (4:03 and 4:15) I am planning to run one in the spring and the MCM in the fall. My wish for this year is to remain injury free and try to break 4 hours. Good luck to everyone and keep us posted on your progress to your goal.

The only wrench in the plan is that I've gotten so fast training for my marathon that coach found out and wants me to run the two-mile in track, and so now I'm torn between training for 26.2 miles and training for 2, which are two plans that don't really mix all that well.

Hi Tina. That's a heck of a stride you've got in that picture! Here are a couple of things to think about that may help you to decide between the 2 mile and the marathon at this point. Out of curiosity, are you planning to run competitively at the college level? If not, you may want to enjoy the opportunity that you currently have to be a part of your high school team with a coach to help you to achieve some of your goals. If, on the other hand, you are planning to run at the college level, I'm not so sure that your coach would embrace your desire to run a marathon while competing on the team. My college coach probably would have chewed me out if I told him that I wanted to train for a marathon while still competing on the team. On the other side of the coin, you also have to consider the lingering possibility of an injury if you train for a much faster race. From your training log, it certainly looks like you've got some distance runner's speed. But if you enjoy running further rather than faster and think you have a better chance of staying injury-free doing so, that might be the safer bet. Whichever you choose, I wish you the best of luck! Stay healthy! And runners do, in fact, rule!

wELCOME HERE mISHKA...Great PR times all around! Getting back into running, do you hope to beat your big M PR of 2:50?

Well, with 20 weeks away, my weekly mileage is right on. I will need to work hard and get my pace up. Right now I would bet I will break 4 hours easily but I would hope to do 3:45. I know my goal for my first Marathon should be just to finish but I am confident I can work towards a decent first time.

Ran my M the 2nd of June. Still enjoying just running for fun. I am sure at some point I will find another one that peaks my interest. Until then, I'll just keep keeping on. DB