Plans for the Spring

This week I will embark on preparations for the spring. I am
planning to run the Ocean Drive Marathon in NJ on 3/27/07.

http://www.odmarathon.org/

It's a point-to-point course that begins in historic Cape May, NJ
and travels up the coast to conclude in Sea Isle City, NJ. The race
travels through most of the NJ shore point destinations many of us
grew up visiting including Wildwood, Stone Harbor, and Avalon (where
Joe Paterno has a summer home).

It sounds like an interesting race. Crowd support is sporadic, but
I will have my iPod to keep me going. My only concern is the wind
(it's the beach in March), but from what I've read on
marathonguide.com, the last few years haven't been too bad. It will
give me my 6th state toward my very long-term (probably lifelong)
goal of running all 50 states.

The positive aspects of the marathon timing are that it's early in
the spring marathon season so unseasonably warm weather isn't much
of a concern. It might be really cold, but after training in the
Northeast all winter, I can handle that better than the warm and
humid conditions which have hurt me a few times. It will also give
me a chance to run a second spring marathon if I feel recovered
enough and am so inclined.

I am going to use the FIRST training program again where I will run
three times a week (for 16 weeks) performing a speed session, a
tempo run, and of course the omnipresent long run each week. This
program worked really well for me in the Fall of 2005 when I ran two
consecutive marathon PRs two weeks apart + a half-marathon PR. The
runs are varied and challenging, while the three days a week
schedule allows me the recovery time that I need. I already have
time goals in mind which I am using to set my training paces, but I
want to see how training progresses before making them public.
After being barely active for the last several months and gaining 10
pounds, I might not even make it to the starting line healthy enough
to run. I hope that this is not the case, but a great deal can
happen to your body when you put it through 16 weeks of intense
training. This is especially true when you have been slacking for
an extended period of time.

I am looking forward to the start of training. Well, I'm anxious,
maybe looking forward isn't the right way to phrase it. I'm a
little nervous about the demands of training with the way that work
has been for the past several months. The hours have been long and
the stress levels high. Running in the winter is also not my
favorite. Does anyone like it all that much? But I know that the
winter training is a necessary evil as it will harden me and
condition me well for the task I will face in March.