Running A Marathon

This year I'm planning to run a marathon. Yeah.. you've heard this before. It's true, I have finished five marathons & an ultra marathon. But the thing is... I tend to run the first 30km's of a marathon at my goal pace and then... well... I struggle/ hit the wall/ fade/ choke. I'm not proud of this fact but in four out of the five marathons this pattern repeats itself. Anyway, I still get the finishers medal. And I know that most people couldn't care less how many minutes and seconds it takes the average Joe to mash out 26.6 miles. But there's something in me that wants learn to run 42.2km as fast as I can.

I've avoided the marathon for a full twelve months. I haven't even trained for a half marathon in long time either. I've raced 21.1km events (and set a new PB last year) but I haven't trained for them! One reason is that I do better on a 'long mileage' 10km program. So I'll do 14-16km runs every week with weekly speed work and lots of fun runs with my friends just to keep in shape for a 10km race. It's not too hard to stretch from a 16km training run to racing a half marathon. You set out fast and by the time you're getting tired you're ahead of the pack and the excitement of the race is enough to hold the pace for the final 5km (and usually enough find a little kick for the last 400m too).

The marathon is different. It demands more. In 2012 I want to have another crack at it. Therefore, I'm making it public that tomorrow is Day 1, Week 1 of a 16 Week program to prep for the Phuket marathon on June 10. I want to run strong for the whole race...no grandma shuffle! I want to be so well trained that I look forward to the 'second half of the race' that begins at the 30km marker. I want to beat my previous best by 15 minutes! And if I can do these things I expect to place in the top 3 in my age group. Wish me luck?