Marathon--13 weeks out

Today marks exactly 13 weeks until I run my first marathon.

My first run was either on Tuesday, July 5th or Wednesday, July 6th.  I ran about seven-tenths of a mile over the duration of 3 Katy Perry songs.  I repeated that three days per week for 2 weeks in the hot and humid summer air.  I was proud of myself.

On the hot and sticky evening of August 3rd, I ran a 5K.  Right around 2 miles, a few women near me started to walk.  I thought I wanted, nay, needed to walk, too, but I didn't.  Then just before the 3-mile mark, my phone cued up a OneRepublic song.  BUZZ KILL!  I unsuccessfully fought with my phone to get some Tool going, then gave up on the music and pulled out the headphones.  I finished, my face as red as a beat but smiling, in 28:05 at a pace of 9:04.

It was a relaxing evening in September.  I had drank a half of a bottle of wine, which lowered my inhibitions, and I decided to register for a half marathon on November 20th.  On race day, I let my brain get the best of me.  I needed a potty break at 4 miles.  After mile 8, I took a few breaks to walk up to and through water stops.  Right before mile 13, I got a kick-ass high five and ended up crossing the finish line in 1:53.  Even with all of my wussing out, I finished with an 8:41 pace.

And now it's January and I'm all kinds of pumped up for the Glass City Marathon.  I feel good saying I've come a long way since July.  Since January 1st, I've run over 102 miles.  I ran 12.18 miles yesterday morning, just hours after Snowmageddon ended.  My long runs are getting longer and I'm rarely sore after a run anymore.  Yesterday was an exception; running in deep snow definitely forces your body to use a lot more muscles to stabilize you with every time your foot strikes the ground.  Beyond making my long runs longer, though, I really don't know what I'm doing.  I just hope that making my long runs longer and longer will get me to where I need to be in 13 weeks.  I've Googled marathon training schedules, but I'd be lying if I said I'm following any of it.

So, I'm looking for advice.  I know I need to get in some speed work.  But as far as distance, I try to make things as simple as possible and therefore have a pretty basic plan of extending my long runs by two miles every two weeks.  That has me maxing out at 22 miles at two weeks and one day before race day.  Excluding the long runs, I am trying to get 25-30 miles each week.  For what it's worth, I do have an ambitious goal in mind.  Can you tell me if my plan is a good one?  Looking for thoughts and advice from veterans, so please share!