Marathon Training

I can't believe the last time I wrote on here was way back in January.  I have been running on and off since then but nothing too spectacular to write about I guess.  When the earthquake hit I left for the US and my running took a nose dive.  I started back up again in May after realizing I had gained almost 10 pounds since the last time I had weighed myself which is not a good thing for a short lady like me.  So, I started eating better and started building up a good foundation of 20-25 miles a week.  I knew that running without some goal in mind would not be enough for me so I started to think about a race.  Seeing as most of the races in Japan are on Sundays (and I have already made the decision to not run on Sundays) I was a little worried that I would ever find a good long race to run.  Well, it must have been fate or just the fact that I have a wonderful husband who is always looking out for me because no sooner than I started running again Mike found a marathon that is on a Thursday (Culture Day in Japan) in November.  Not only is it not on a Sunday but it is real close to our house and right along the water which means it will be more flat than hilly.  I signed both Mike and myself up for the Shonan International Marathon.  This will be Mike's first marathon and my fifth.  The last marathon I did was the Phoenix, AZ marathon back in January 2007.  It was my fastest marathon clocking in at 3:24.  Being the competitive person that I am I will try and break this record.  Who knows how it will all shake out.  I am training through hot and humid weather which is not ideal and very difficult for me to do.  Hopefully our September and October will be more mild so that I can really work on my speed.  Now the next question is what marathon training program do I follow?  As an experienced runner you would think this wouldn't be such a hard thing for me to figure out, but it is.  I guess what it all boils down to is increasing mileage over the course of my training, doing consistent tempo runs every week, hill workouts to strengthen my legs, and a long run on the weekends.  After a little more looking around at different programs I am sure to come up with something suitable for my schedule.  I will be tracking my training every week for anyone who would like to follow what I am doing.  Wish me luck!