From running to training

Up to this point I've called myself a runner, but not a Runner.  I'm running for recreation and out of that recreational effort I have been able to build a base that can support the effort of a half marathon distance pretty much whenever I want to just "roll out of bed" and run 13.1 miles.

Of course, that distance takes 2 1/2 hours to cover.  And I don't care what anyone tells you, running 13.1 miles at a 11:30 pace is not fun.  Not fun at all.
I'm also fairly certain, though I haven't had the opportunity to prove it, that I could knock off a full marathon as well.  Of course, THAT pace will be something south of 12:00, and as much fun as running a half marathon at 11:30 may sound, running a full at more than 12:00 per mile is even less fun.  I don't care what anyone tells you.

Sure, sure, there's the sense of accomplishment blah blah blah...  once you've accomplished one, running for 5 1/2 hours ceases to be a marvelous accomplishment and becomes a hot, sweaty, miserable plod.

SO, then, what's next?

Well, I've already set my sights on the mystical "8 minute mile" (that I already know I can run) to be logged by the end of this month.  En route to putting that little accomplishment into the books, I've decided to put myself on a 6 week training--yes, training--program to prepare to run a half marathon in under two hours.  THAT means I can set my sights on knocking out a half marathon (or half marathon distance) over Labor Day weekend.  And if I'm at the point where I can knock out a half marathon (or half marathon distance) by the end of August, then I can seriously start thinking about setting specific time goals for the full marathons I'm looking at for January.

In just my neighborhood alone, there are 3 full marathons in the calendar month of January 2011.  I'm thinking I might run all three.  I'm thinking I might run all three in under four hours, or at the very worst, between 4:00 and 4:30.  Besides, I already KNOW I can run a marathon.  Now it's time to find out if I can just run marathons.