I am running the Paris Marathon this April. It will be my first Marathon in over a year. This March I pulled off the Reston Marathon in horrible conditions and sub par training, finishing in 3:09:51. Then, I learned a whole bunch of new stuff.

Reston Marathon finish in the snow, soaking wet. Boston Qualifier by NINE seconds. Yikes… hence my goofy smile.

2014 was a great year mainly because I wasn’t injured (as I was in 2013) and could openly race anything. It was fantastic! I did, however, tell myself I would take 2014 lightly, enjoying racing and training as I had in my early days (2009) of the sport. I was (and still am) coaching a number of people very seriously and really enjoyed all aspects of it. I learned even more regarding training.

Then, the Fall hit. Abbe and I took the Fall off due to our wedding and honeymoon. It was tough, but sitting out on the deck of our bungalow tracking friends in various marathons was satisfying enough. I also had a lot of time to reflect on my upcoming Paris Marathon and Louisville Ironman.

I want to nail this marathon to the wall. The Ironman, well those nail you to the wall so I am just training to do well for that puppy. But PARIS! I haven’t officially ‘trained’ for a marathon since Boston 2012. I needed to get an action plan in place.

In the past, my triathlon self cross trains during marathon training. It’s just always what I have done and been comfortable with. Not this Spring. I am officially 100% back to my original runner self. My training plan calls for me to run 6 days a week. Every marathon I have ever run, I have only run 3 days a week with a max mileage of maybe 35 miles. This will be a big change. This is a change I am excited for.

Not to worry my triathlete friends… as soon as May hist I am back on the bike for Ironman training!

I haven’t been this amped about training in quite some time. My plan has some peaks and valleys, very intense Saturday and Sunday long runs and of course a side serving of speed work.

I also want to held accountable. My goal is to break 2:50, a tall order, but I am going for it.

If anyone needs a running pal for weekend long runs, you know where to find me. Game on.