Cheaper than Therapy

Hello to all reading this! I've decided to try to keep up with a blog to document my experience training for a marathon. I think the major reason I want to do this is so I can look back and see how far I've come. As I've gotten more and more into running, I really enjoy talking about it and I know I've started to annoy people around me, so I can talk to you instead!
So for those of you who want to listen to my rants, keep reading! I'll do my best to update periodically, but can't promise I will keep up with it (because I never have before).
I was inspired both to run and to blog by my Dad. He is an avid cyclist who showed me that "normal" people can do some of these extrodinary athletic feats. You can follow his blog here: http://craigsragbrai.blogspot.com as he trains for RAGBRAI next month.
So that brings me to my running. My first "major" race was several years ago when I completed a rainy Chicago Spring Half Marathon. It was miserable and I didn't really do real well. However, recently I have started running seriously again. I ran the Country Music Half Marathon last April and it was wonderful! I finished in 2:58 (my goal was under 3 hours). I have been running a bunch of shorter races. I've even gotten my husband involved in a couple. My next big race is the Music City 10k on July 4. I'm running the Women's Running Series Half Marathon in Nashville in September. I also have just recently signed up for the Rock N' Roll Washington DC Half Marathon next March. That brings me to the reason for this blog. I will be running the Country Music Marathon again this April. However, this time I'm  doing all 26.2 miles of it!
I have been roughly following Hal Hidgon's half marathon training programs. For the Country Music Half, I used his Novice 1 training. I am currently going through the Intermediate training. I will probably end up using his marathon training as well, just becuase I'm used to it. I will begin doing the actual marathon training around Christmas this year.
I tend to have a love/hate relationship with running which I'm sure will show as I talk more and more about running. However, the whole racing experience is addicting! I'm excited to share my thoughts with you!