Andy Richardson is a blogger at Start Running for Beginners. He is training for his first marathon using Angie’s Official Guide Ebook.

With just a few days to go until my first marathon, I have a few thoughts I wanted to share with the MTA community. I think this title “6 More Miles” summarizes where I am right now in more than one way.

Six More Miles is Not So Hard . . . (I Think)
Just a few weeks ago, for the first time I was able to reach the 20 mile mark in my long run. It was actually the first time of running one of these really long runs that I thought I might actually be able to finish a 26.2 mile marathon. Usually when I would get back from the long run, I was absolutely spent, but the last two long runs were a little different. I know that I will have to run 6 more miles than I ever did during my training, but I really feel like I can run those 6 miles, and finish my first marathon. (more…)

Andy Richardson is a blogger at Start Running for Beginners. He is training for his first marathon using Angie’s Official Guide Ebook.

In training for my first marathon, I understand the importance of the long run. Some days my long run is great, and some days the long run is not so great. You could say that I have a love hate relationship with the long run.

Let me share with you some ways that I love (or hate) the long run.

I Love Long Runs Because…. (more…)

Guest post from Andy Richardson author of Start Running For Beginners

One of the cool things about running a marathon is that it gives you something to talk about with other people. There is just something about the ‘M’ word that gets people’s attention. Even non-runners typically respect the idea of running a marathon whether or not they encourage you.

But I especially enjoy meeting and talking with other marathoners, new or experienced. The topic can often give you something to build a friendship on.

Not too long ago, I was talking with a neighbor of mine about my upcoming marathon (Rock and Roll Savanah Marathon), and it turns out that he is running the same race. We spoke for some time in my front yard about marathon training, and being an experienced marathoner, he gave me some thoughts on what to expect.

Here are a few pointers I thought I would share with you. (more…)

From Guest Blogger, Andy Richardson – This is the third post in a series where Andy discusses his personal journey of training for his first marathon.

Juggling a Busy Life with Marathon Training
As a slightly off-topic point, I wanted to share that my wife and I will be having a baby this December! This will be our fifth child, but we do not know whether it is a boy or girl.

I have a busy life to juggle while training for this marathon. The MTA Official Guide talks about making choices in life, and deciding what I need to cut out and what I cannot cut out in order to make time to train.

I personally decided that I am not going to miss out on family time in order to train. That means getting up a little earlier, adjusting my work schedule, and cutting out things like television and the computer. I am also going to start turning off the iPhone when I get home at night because I look at that thing way too much!

The biggest challenge, of course, is working long runs into my schedule. (more…)

From Guest Blogger, Andy Richardson – This is the second post in an ongoing series with the Marathon Training Academy where Andy discusses his personal journey of training for his first marathon.

Ready to Rock!
Well, it is official! I just signed up for my first marathon. I am going to be doing the Rock and Roll marathon in Savannah, Georgia – which happens to be close to my home in Beaufort, SC.

So, now that I have signed up there is no turning back! And, I am certainly not going to let the readers here or my family down either! I will be running the marathon on November 5, 2011. They will have bands set up throughout the 26.2 mile journey, which will be pretty cool. Who knows, maybe a power song at mile 18 will be just the thing I need to keep going. (more…)

The first thing you are probably wondering is ‘who is this guy, and why should I read what he has to say about running a marathon’?

Well, I am a friend of Trevor’s (hopefully that counts for something!) as well as a blogger. Recently, he and I were talking about running.

I mentioned to him that I am planning to run my first marathon in November of this year, and we thought it might be cool to track my progress using the MTA Official Guide and provide regular updates of my progress while using their system. (more…)