Number 4... officially on the clock...

Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon November 8, 2008

You're probably expecting a super excited, super amped up post from me about the official kickoff of my 18 weeks of training for the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon, right? In the past, that's what you've gotten from me, complete with goal finish times. Plus, I mean, I am Miss Positive, Miss Optimism, Miss Overachiever, etc... I shouldn't let a couple of bad marathons in the past get me down, right?

And, they haven't gotten me down... they've just made me realize that finishing a marathon is one thing (one hella hard thing), but making improvements in future marathons is about 1000x times harder (at least in my experience). So, pardon me, if I'm a little more reserved this time around. This is just me... Miss Overachiever taking a step back and realizing that I've got a long way to go before I can hope to make a set goal time in a marathon.

This time around is going to be a little different. I've been examining my previous training schedules and have found two big issues with both:

Memphis Marathon : I didn't run enough long runs.

Eugene Marathon: I did my long runs, but I didn't run enough weekly mileage.

So, for the Chickamauga Marathon, my focus will be on both long runs AND high weekly mileage. It's a hard mindset for me to get used to. It's hard for me to realize that 10 miler before a 20 miler is just as important as the 20 miler, itself. But, I need that strong, high weekly mileage base to power through mile 17/18 where that damn wall keeps appearing and smacking me upside the head.

My plan of attack to kick that wall's ass in Chickamauga? I've decided to stick with ole Coach: Hal Higdon Advanced I plan, except, I'm going to tweak it a bit. I'm using it as a general guide.... instead of an exact day-by-day schedule. I like his approach, I just want a little more flexibility and mileage.

So, here I go. No distractions. No excuses. Just running... and lots of it.