Where I am starting from...

So here it is... my first blog! I decided that now was as good of a time as any, to begin my "road to performing better" running blog. Here goes!

I've been fairly athletic most of my life. I never competed above the intramural level in any sport, but I've managed to stay in decent shape throughout my 32 years of existence. For the past 6-7 years, my cardiovascular activity of choice has been running, and although I have finished many events including five half-marathons; I have never been satisfied with my perfomance.

Today...

One of my best friends recently completed two marathons (exactly two weeks apart! Yes, she is crazy but awesome!). She is one of the people I have ran with at a couple different half-marathons, and we perform pretty close to the same level. Well, if she can do it... the dreaded FULL MARATHON... well, so can I right? We have both committed to run the 2013 Chicago Marathon and now I have one year to prepare. I don't just want to prepare though, I want to do WELL.

My goal for the Chicago Marathon is to 1) complete the full-marathon in under 4:00:00. I would really like to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but that requires completing Chicago in 3:35:00 or under, and that is a very lofty goal for a first-time marathoner. Stay tuned - as I progress, maybe my goal with change too!

How I am going to do it...

• Begin a low-carb diet. (I need to go from about 155 lbs. to 125 lbs.).
• Hydrate very well, 24/7.
• Stick to a training schedule, and push myself harder than I ever have.
• Inteval training.
• Continue training with the group I have been training with for the past two seasons (USA Fit Rio).

Stay tuned for updates, menu's, and my progress!