Several friends and Ever Patient Spouse all ran distance races last weekend, and many set PRs or competed for the first time.

Me? I was running around with the kids, attending two graduation parties, tackling Mt. Saint Laundry, and getting up five times during the night to appease our barky, semi-continent toy poodle. 

Doing much of nothing proved exhausting.

The low point was being awake from 2 to 5 A.M. on Sunday, when I failed to return to sleep after the third trip outside with the dog.

When overnight cable TV turned out to be unwatchable, I had a chance to catch up on people I know. Living vicariously through my friends’ social media posts was really inspiring. My good friend L finished her first half-marathon with an impressive time of 1:51. I was so proud of her!

It also prompted me to think about what’s next on my list. After a flurry of races in the first few months of the year, I found myself without a new goal in sight.

At roughly 4:37 AM, I signed up for a half-marathon in August.

At roughly 4:38 AM, I signed up for a marathon in October.

How am I feeling about this in the light of day? Pretty psyched.

This time I plan to use a marathon training plan developed by legendary runner Hal Higdon.

There are a variety of plans available, and I’m going to follow Novice 2. The plans are free, but there’s also an app available for $9.99, which I decided to buy. After entering my goal marathon date, it generated an 18 week training schedule.

Now it’s just time to get moving!