My 1st Marathon Training Schedule

I have a confession. This is not my first marathon.
But it will be the first that I plan to finish. I actually ran in the Berlin Marathon back in September, because Marathon Man's father had an unused bib (see Running Lingo page). I decided to run the first 5 kilometers of the race and then pull out - just to get a bit of the experience of running in such a major race. And plus I wanted to spend time with Marathon Man. The run was actually tolerable and maybe even the tiniest bit enjoyable. Did I just write "run" and "enjoyable" in the same sentence? The energy and enthusiasm of the crowds and music was quite contagious, and also I was only doing a 10:40/min pace, so I had no stress on my cardio and lungs.

So even though, this is not my first marathon, this is my first time training for a marathon. For the next 4 months, I hope I have the focus and dedication it takes for 26.2 miles. My training schedule is taken from http://www.halhigdon.com/. I think Marathon Man used this for me when I trained for the 10k we ran back in June 2012. Since this is my first marathon, I am doing the "Novice 1" schedule. No need to kill myself. We'll wait until the actual race for that.

Marathon Training Schedule: Novice 1

WEEK	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
1	Rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	Rest	6	Cross
2	Rest	3 m run	3 m run	3 m run	Rest	7	Cross
3	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	Rest	5	Cross
4	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	3 m run	Rest	9	Cross
5	Rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	10	Cross
6	Rest	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	7	Cross
7	Rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	12	Cross
8	Rest	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	Rest	Half Marathon
9	Rest	3 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	10	Cross
10	Rest	3 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	15	Cross
11	Rest	4 m run	8 m run	4 m run	Rest	16	Cross
12	Rest	4 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	12	Cross
13	Rest	4 m run	9 m run	5 m run	Rest	18	Cross
14	Rest	5 m run	9 m run	5 m run	Rest	14	Cross
15	Rest	5 m run	10 m run	5 m run	Rest	20	Cross
16	Rest	5 m run	8 m run	4 m run	Rest	12	Cross
17	Rest	4 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	8	Cross
18	Rest	3 m run	4 m run	2 m run	Rest	Rest	Marathon

I'm actually supposed to start training today. Oops. I think I strained my hip flexor muscle (don't worry, I had to Google what it was too), and so I haven't been running for the past week. Not fun. Especially, since running means I get to eat more. So, I am going to the massage therapist tonight to see if she can tell if anything is horribly wrong. I have no pain right now in my hip, but I'm scared that once I start running, it will come back. I'm wondering if I will have to take a long time to heal. I hope not.

So if all goes well, tomorrow, I will give the 3 miles a shot and see how the hip feels afterward.