My New Year's Resolution: Preparing in 2009 for a Marathon in 2010

In 2008 I ran/walked my first half marathon and learned a lot about distance running. In High School, over twenty years ago I had been a sprinter and early on in my training for this half marathon I became aware of the many differences between short and long distance running. I now have a settled in kind of feeling when I run rather than the burst of energy that I felt while sprinting. I have much to learn, especially in the area of pacing while I run. I hope one day to improve my speed, but mainly my goal is to finish a marathon in 2010. Five things that will help me reach the goal of completing a Marathon.

1. Pray and ask God for health and strength to accomplish this big goal.

2. Pick a half marathon in 2009 and a training plan that will work with my schedule.

3. Pick a marathon in 2010 which gives me a date to work towards.

4. Identify a training plan to begin after the half marathon to prepare for the longer 26.2 miles.

5. Find an accountability partner that will encourage me to stay on track or get back on track if I fall off.

Other things I will do that will help me is to read a book on running marathons for beginners, talk with runners, and try to arrange to run with a couple of my friends who are also runners.