didnt i just do this?

so today (well, technically yesterday) starts yet another 18 week journey to the 26.2 finish line. october 3rd will mark my third marathon, running the maine marathon in portland, me. i was hoping to also run another marathon within 16 days of that race, but unfortunately this may not be achieved this year (which makes me sad). i have already registered for the mount desert island marathon which will be held 14 days later, but i will be attending a wedding in new hampshire the night before and havent quite set my priorities straight just yet. so we'll see :)

as i am slightly new to this whole marathon training thing, im certain of only a few things. one is that im not good at following the 18 week programs from start to finish (accurately at least). another is that even if i dont follow the program exactly as written, ive still finished both my marathons (running across the finish line with a smile). three weeks ago i got a marathon PR by over 27 minutes. so i must be doing something right, yes?

what i dont know is the following: do i really need to start back at the beginning? an 18 week training program is designed to slowly build mileage to get you to the long runs of 20-22 miles, preparing you for what is to come. lets be honest, i dont care if youve run 100 marathons or 1 marathon, you dont forget what its like. and with having just run 26.2 three weeks ago, do i really need to start back at running a 3 mile tempo run, with my long runs being under 10 miles for the next four weeks?

ive been looking at a few programs and have yet to decide on one (which is probably an issue, since training begins this week...). its tough for me to follow one exactly as written because of my work schedule, but i figure as long as im pounding pavement for x miles/week (and making sure i dont skimp on my long runs) i should be ok.

my main goal for this marathon is to PR (again). this can (and will) happen if i keep myself healthy. i personally think sugarloaf was a more difficult course than maine, and with less hills i might be able to add a little more speed. im also used to running the streets of portland, and can train on the hills this summer. my knees were shot after mile 20 and my quads were screaming from the 16 miles of downhill slope at sugarloaf.

one of the training plans that im looking at has me doing track workouts/sprints which i think will help me get faster. i did one today (8x400) and decided i hate track workouts lol (awesome, since its the first day). although my times stayed consistent throughout (the first was the fastest at 1:28, the rest were around the same times- 1:32, 1:33, 1:36, 1:37, 1:36, 1:37, 1:35), i felt like dying. i wanted to quit after four, but i pushed two more out. i wanted to quit again but again decided i was better and stronger than that. its too easy to give up when youre training by yourself. if im going to get faster i have to push myself. no ones going to do it but me. and no one ever said this was easy. (i will now remind myself of my previous blog entry, i think easy is boring).

so this is it. here we go again... sit back and enjoy the ride. i know from experience, its totally worth it.