Back in March, I struggled through my first 26.2 adventure. The experience was miserable on so many levels. Five weeks before race day, I developed severe tendonitis in my left foot that left me limping, unable to run, and spiraling in to a depressive state. I had peaked too early, run too hard in January, and pushed my body to its breaking point. I clocked an impressive 138 miles in January, but only got in 52 in February, and a mere 12 in March leading in to the March 15th race. I had clocked a 20-miler at a 9:20 pace that last week of January, only to find myself woefully out of shape and underprepared on race day, still nursing my injuries.

Top that with a freezing rain, steady winds, and the stress of starting a new job and let’s just say, the 4:24 I clocked that day was far from the ideal.

On October 17th 2015, I embark on Marathon #2 – the Baltimore Marathon and leg 3 of the King Crab Challenge! I am determined to train right, listen to my body, and enjoy the experience. The marathon is an exciting challenge that still makes me nervous thinking about. I am more than comfortable with the half marathon distance at this point in my running career, but there’s something about that 26.2 number that makes me shake a bit.

Here’s a look at the training plan I aim to follow, pulled from the great Hal Higdon’s intermediate training program:

My ultimate goal: shave a cool 25 minutes from my first race, and come in at just under 4 hours. Based on my times from other races in the past few weeks, I feel like this is achievable, especially being 18 weeks out right now. I've been averaging an 8:20 pace for my races of late, and definitely think the 9:00 or so pace is achievable.

Here's to hoping (and training hard!)