First Time Marathon Running

Since this is my first time running a full, the gear was a bit of an investment. They say running is the cheapest sport, but when you up your miles like this, it can really add up! However, I consider it to be worth it. I train in very hot, very humid weather, so having fluids on me at all times is essential. While I was packing up to go home for a quick visit (can we just take a minute to acknowledge that running in Fall weather was so. much. better.) I took a photo of most of my gear. I did not snap photos of my clothing or shoes. I mostly have been wearing compression running pants from Under Armor, and I have been loving my Saucony Freedom ISO. I just got the Saucony Liberty ISO for the longest runs and the actual marathon, because the Freedom is neutral, and the Liberty is almost exactly the same but with stability built in, which I hope will help my body tackle the miles with slightly less pain. Now, on to the accessories I have been using! I love my GPS watch (the Polar M200) ...

Okay, I know I promised I'd discuss cross training  activities soon, and I will go into more detail on those next post. This post I want to detail my personalized training plan  and discuss some of the choices I've made. Again, to be clear, I am in no way certified to make up training plans, but  I did do a lot of research into different plans before smoothing this one out. As previously stated, I started from ground zero. My plan picks up after those initial two months of getting back into starting running shape (e.g., comfortable 5k). The  race I'm training for is on December 9th, and I started my "official" training on July 1st (well, June 25th because I  couldn't start mid week). Because my long runs are on Sunday, and I like to think of  it as the end cap of my training week (plus the actual race is on a Sunday) my plan is structured Monday-Sunday.  As previously stated, I have three runs per week. I have the Staple of Marathon Training  ...