I thought about doing the Cox marathon this Spring instead of just the half. I say, "just" the half like it is bad - and it's not! Last year at this time I never even conjectured I would be ready for a 5K for Spring, so I know that when I wonder why the bar is so high, I need to look within! In any case, I flipped a coin. Coin said, do the half. So, I am doing a half in Spring and using it as training toward my goal of doing the full in the Fall at Newport. That gives me a year, and it gives me a year full of wonderful things to do and events to train for including (and not neglecting) the two centuries I do every year.

I think you can do long and slow training in the same way you do long and slow runs. Quality, not quantity, is key. That is not half-assed, that is smart. That is acknowledging that it takes time to get great. And I want my first marathon to be GREAT.

So tweak away, and make yours great!