My good friend and virtual running coach Bill Baker sent me a surprise package from Amazon, after hearing that I committed to the NY Marathon. He bought me a boxload of his favorite running books, including Four Months to a Four Hour Marathon. (THANK YOU, BILL!)

This book is a great reference so far, and it's helped me to put together what I believe will be a fantastic training schedule.

Here's what I plan on running over the next 22 weeks:

 Week         Run 1      Run 2         Run 3    Run 4
June 6       40min      REPEATS    30min    7miles
June 13     40min      REPEATS    30min    8miles
June 20     40min      REPEATS    30min    9miles
June 27     40min      REPEATS    30min    10miles
July 4        40min      REPEATS    30min    12miles
July 11     40min       REPEATS    40min    13miles
July 18     TOUR (I'll run what I can, but will slack a bit)
July 25     TOUR (I'll run what I can, but will slack a bit)
Aug 1       40min        30min          30min    8miles (recovering from a fatty, fried tour.)
Aug 8       40min        30min          30min    9miles
Aug 15     40min       REPEATS    30min    15miles
Aug 22     40min       REPEATS    30min    17miles
Aug 29     40min       REPEATS    30min    10miles
Sept 5      40min        30min          30min    19miles
Sept 12    40min       6miles          30min    10miles
Sept 19    30min       3miles          30min    21miles
Sept 26    40min       30min          30min    10miles
Oct 3       30min        8miles         30min    14miles
Oct 10     40min        8miles         30min    23 miles
Oct 17     30min        30min         30min    10miles
Oct 24     40min        5miles         30min    8miles
Oct 31     30min        4miles         20min    rest

When you look at it over time, 26.2 miles doesn't seem so daunting, does it? It's awesome to see the power of a plan, and how the right plan can make almost any goal seem achievable. 

The "repeats" are new to me. I've heard about them from friends, and the Four Hour training book highly recommends them. From what I understand, they'll help me keep up my overall pace while it generally slows from all of the longer, slower paced runs. We'll see. I'm also only running four days a week. Most books suggest more - but I know my limits - both on my body and work/life schedule. I'll try and get additional days in, but building them into a plan where I doubt they will happen would be a bad idea.

As always, you can help me get to the starting line by supporting my run with the American Heart Association. Give lots, tell your friends. ;)

There are a couple of ways into the NY Marathon.
You can enter a lottery, and if you're lucky you'll be one of the thousands chosen to run the 26.2 mile race. I didn't win in this lottery.
You can also run with a charity, and they'll get you entry into the race if you can guarantee to raise a specified donation for the non-profit.

I've chosen to run for the American Heart Association. This isn't a random choice. It's an organization that's directly connected to the reason that I run.

My family is filled with heart attacks. My dad died from a heart attack at 58. His dad died of the same, at an even younger age. And his dad, and his dad...pretty much every male within my traceable lineage has died from heart disease at an early age.

And then not long ago, my mom had a heart attack. I snapped the pic above after a triple bypass, as she was about to be wheeled from ICU into a last ditch surgery in an attempt to save her life from a complication with the bypass. They didn't think she was going to make it, and I took this photo believing that it might be the last photo of my mom on this side of the fence.

She survived. I keep this photo to remind me of how quickly things can go bad, and when things seem to be beyond bad, how things can always get better. Anything is possible.

I'm committed to breaking the chain of heart death held by my ancestors. I've become a runner. When I started, I couldn't even run a mile. I've spent the last couple of years running longer, running in races, and even finishing my first ever half marathon. Running has put me in the best shape that I've ever been in my life. Running has saved my life.

Now it's time to to go the distance. In November of this year, I'm going to run my first ever marathon in New York City. And here's where you come in.

I need to raise at least $3000 to cover my entry into the race. The entire $3000 goes to the American Heart Association - and in exchange, they'll give me a place on their team in the race of my lifetime.

So please give anything that you can. Five dollars. Five hundred dollars. Or whatever you can afford. You'll be helping future generations of moms and dads to live longer, healthier lives.

Oh yeah - and hug your mom, if she's still around. :)