What have I done?

I've been toying around with running a marathon again for sometime.  My running partner, Carrie, has been not been sold on the idea. I was waiting to see how I felt after the Flying Pig Half marathon (which was last Sunday).  I had a great run, it was hot, and hilly and even with those conditions I ran 1:51.  It's 2 mins slower than my PR but considering the tough course, I am completely satisfied.

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Imagine my surprise when Carrie tells me a few days ago that she's up for doing a full marathon but wants the summer to train for it.  The only one that is at the end of summer around here is the Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patterson AFB.  I'd already signed up for the half.  She went and signed up for the full, so of course, now I had to as well!  So, I'm 18 weeks out from my first full marathon in 11 years!  I must be crazy!

I'm actually curious to see how this goes.  The last time I trained for a marathon, I was doing a charity training group in Washington DC.  I had to fund raise and I had Sunday morning runs with the 12min/mile pace group from beginning of May until end of October.  I completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 5hrs 56 mins.  It was slow, but I finished. 

Now, If I finish this, is I'm going to have to the Army 10 miler and is there a Navy road race that's big?  I might as well try for all the branches.

But now.... what could I do a marathon in?  According to  the McMillan Calculator I could finish in 3:50 with a 8:47 pace.  That pace seems kind of slow, but then better to go out too slow than too fast and fading.  This is definitely going to be a challenge. I've tended to go on feel during races, and my natural pace seems to be around 8:20 for longer distances.  I have a feeling that I'm going to be learning a lot during my training this summer. 


Any marathoners out there who can give advice on marathon pacing to a newbie? 


So here is what my Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Marathon training plan for week 1 looks like:

Monday- Rest Spinning 20 miles√
Tuesday- Run 3√
Wednesday- Run 5 at marathon pace (ummm- I did it in 8:30 pace- a bit quick but we'll see)√
Thursday- Run 3
Friday- Rest
Saturday- XTrain (Spinning)
Sunday- Run 8