Plan of Attack

Okay, so to be at a real "beginner" stage for training for any kind of marathon you have to have been running for 4-6 weeks and be able to run for at least 30 minutes. I am neither of those and not even close..haha. I have been researching and searching for training programs for true beginners and found one that I really like. I play basketball from time to time but for the most part I just shoot around for an hour or so, so my ability to run for long periods of time is still pretty low. So I think this one will be perfect for me.

Run/Walk program By Christine Luff
http://running.about.com/od/getstartedwithrunning/ht/getstarted.htm

1. Week one: Walk for 6 minutes, then jog at an easy pace for 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Aim for three sessions with that same sequence for week one
2. Week two: Walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Aim to do three sessions in week two.

3. Week three: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 4 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Aim for four sessions in week three.

4. Week four: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 5 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Shoot for four of those sessions in week four.
5. Week five: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 8 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four of those sessions in week five.
6. Week six: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 9 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Try to do four sessions for week six.

7. Week seven: Walk for 1 minute, then jog for 11 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four sessions this week.
8. Week eight: Congratulations on making it to week eight! For your first run this week, try walking for 5 minutes to begin and end the workout, and run for 20 minutes in between. By the end of the week, try to run for 30 minutes without stopping.

   Aim to run for 30 minutes four times a week, and you'll notice that your stamina and fitness will continue to improve. Soon you'll be ready to run your first 5K!

Even though I'm not running a 5K I'll be able to at this point. The next training schedule I found is a 12 week program to getting ready for a half marathon.

Half Marathon Training-By Hal Higdon, http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	Stretch & Strengthen	3 m run	2 m run or cross	3 m run + strength	Rest	30 min cross	4 m run
2	Stretch & Strengthen	3 m run	2 m run or cross	3 m run + strength	Rest	30 min cross	4 m run
3	Stretch & Strengthen	3.5 m run	2 m run or cross	3.5 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	5 m run
4	Stretch & Strengthen	3.5 m run	2 m run or cross	3.5 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	5 m run
5	Stretch & Strengthen	4 m run	2 m run or cross	4 m run + strength	Rest	40 min cross	6 m run
6	Stretch & Strengthen	4 m run	2 m run or cross	4 m run + strength	Rest or easy run	Rest	5-K Race
7	Stretch & Strengthen	4.5 m run	3 m run or cross	4.5 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	7 m run
8	Stretch & Strengthen	4.5 m run	3 m run or cross	4.5 m run + strength	Rest	50 min cross	8 m run
9	Stretch & Strengthen	5 m run	3 m run or cross	5 m run + strength	Rest or easy run	Rest	10-K Race
10	Stretch & Strengthen	5 m run	3 m run or cross	5 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	9 m run
11	Stretch & Strengthen	5 m run	3 m run or cross	5 m run + strength	Rest	60 min cross	10 m run
12	Stretch & Strengthen	4 m run	3 m run or cross	2 m run	Rest	Rest	Half Marathon

I'm not sure when I'm going to run the marathon. I'd like to be able to do it this coming spring around May when I graduate or whenever the next possible ones are after the spring. I'm not sure how ready I'll be to run which is my biggest fear. I plan on doing the work to get to where I would need to be but I'm not sure how ready I'll feel so I don't want to set a date just yet because I don't want it to be a disappointment or more pressure on myself than need be. I am not doing this marathon to see how fast or how many people I can beat or anything like that, I'm doing it to get myself back in shape and to accomplish something very challenging. As long as I can finish I will be unbelievably happy! I also wanted to say thanks to those people like Christine Luff and Hal Higdon who post training plans for people like me who need the help, Thank You!

I don't plan on starting the run/walk til after finals in two weeks. I don't even feel like I'm up to those standards. So for right now I'm trying to get out and walk for at least 30 mins or 2 miles around the park everyday. Today sucks because it decided to sleet/snow and its way too cold. Today I'll probably just resort to my Slim N Six workout dvd to get some exercise in.