I'm a Planner

My dad wants to run the National Marathon in March of 2013. I just found out that it is now the Rock n' Roll USA Marathon- perhaps that will make it bigger and better?  This year's race was fun, but after the half-marathoners finished, it felt tiny.

Anyway, I have said I will run this race, too.  My deep desire to make training calculators is now kicking in, times two: one for me, one for dad.  The trick?  Well, the race is 18 months away.  And, oh yeah, I'm pregnant, so I can't train anyway.

I still run- I ran 3 miles and change today, and I'll run tomorrow as well.  It's slow but rewarding.  Fast forward to April or May, and I'll have a newborn and will not run for at least 2 months.  (Last time I started running at two weeks, and that seemed a little early.  I even ran a 5k when the bambino was 6 weeks old.)  So that puts me around July 1, 2012, as tentatively building back a base.  If a marathon training plan usually lasts about 4 months, and the race is (on or around) March 15, I would need to start my plan by November 15.  So that gives me 4.5 months to build a base of 25 miles per week, building up to bi-weekly long runs of 10-12 miles.

If I begin training on or around November 15, I could do a December half marathon as a checkpoint race, like the Mistletoe Half in Winston-Salem.  The problem is that it is December 3- a little early, right?    There's the Ocean Isle Beach Half Marathon at the beginning of January, but I'm probably too cheap to go all the way to the beach when it's too cold to play in the water.  Or I could do the Cannonball Half Marathon again, which is in October, so technically before I start training...  You see how I ramble when I start thinking about running races.

Long story short, I have a long time to plan my next race.  I hope to convince my dad to do the National Half Marathon (or whatever it's called now) this March so that I can spectate and offer unsolicited training plans via mail, text, and facebook.