looks pretty good. I personally would try to get my long run up to about 20miles 3-4 weeks out then taper so you are pretty close but you are much quicker than me.

I had the best marathon of my Ironman attempts and never did a training run longer than 2:45 so I think there's definitey somethng to staying on the lighter side.

No doubt - good luck - make sure you have your nutrition down at that point as well - don't want any electrolyte deficiencies to hit you at that point.

Ok I have to say it... anytime people talk about "catching up" in a training plan it scares me... most of those don't need you adding any extra runs beyond what is scheduled. Sometimes you have to adjust for life, but pushing too hard too soon can lead to injury. So be sure you are listening to your body!

bdriven -- It's not a lot of time, so it would depend on your goal. If you want to finish, yeah, you could. You are already in pretty good shape. However, do you want your first marathon to be something you rushed into, and that hurts a lot, and that you leave feeling "I could have done so much better!"? Or do you want to really prepare for it, have a good taper, and go in knowing you put the miles in the bank?

My thoughts echo Kylie, as well. Playing "catch up" most often results in getting injured and/or sets you up for a disappointing race. You stated that you had "recently" finished a 1/2. How recent was that? Keep in mind that if it was within the last couple of weeks, your body is still recovering from the race and is even more vulnerable to injury. I can understand that you are probably riding on cloud nine from your recent accomplishment and now want to tackle a full marathon...just don't become too overzealous. If it were me, I would stick to running the 1/2...with now having a particular time goal, instead of just finishing. Hopefully, that race will be successful and motivate you even more to run a full. Then you can carefully choose a spring marathon in 2008 and take the proper time to train.

Good job on your training everyone! I hope you all accomplish your goals. I am thiniking about signing up for the colombus half marathon as my first half marathon. I'll see how the training goes! Has anybody here ever ran Colombus before and know what the race is like?

I would say, go for it. Sure. You've got the speed, you've got the base, it sounds like you have the legs.

I did my first one on a lot less preparation than you have. I didn't too well, but finishing was still one of the best moments of my life. And, most importantly, it gave me the confidence to know that I can do it, and with proper training do pretty well.

Subsequently, I trained harder and smarter the next year and took 43 minutes off my previous time.

That's my 2cents.

Ok that makes sense, but keep in mind also that RECOVERY TIME is when your body processes the work you've done. So if you are doing all your runs harder, you might not be getting the same benefits as your body might be too beat up to actually use it.

I agree with pushing limits -- but if you can't get to the starting line I see that as even worse than missing the goal by a few minutes.

Anton, on a site for type A triathletes, a better question, might be, who HASN'T suffered from too much too fast ;)

But having settled the issue that I need to be careful and listen to my body (agreed!), what do you all think about my training schedule?? :confused:

Good enough. I'll pick the one I have and trust it, and let you know how it goes.