Why Am I Here?

So I'm sure you're wondering at least one of the following:

1. Who is this person writing?
2. Why is he writing?
3. Why should I be reading this?
4. How is he so good at reading my mind? 

Okay, maybe I threw in that last question for kicks, but the rest are legitimate.

I'm a 25-year-old male who lives in Portland and loves running. I've been told that I'm obsessed, but that's another story (that I'll let the wall tell).

I'm sure I made many crazy decisions in 2011, but I'd like to say that the last crazy decision I made was registering for the 2012 Eugene Marathon. (I registered on New Year's Eve so I could get in before the fee increased.) The marathon so happens to fall around the same time as my 26th birthday. What better more memorable way to celebrate 26 years than by running 26.2 miles? 

I'm here to describe my training for this race. Or rather, how I balance the training with a full-time grad school course load, a research assistantship, and all of the other tasks I pick up to try to be Superman.

Eugene won't be my first marathon, but it will be my first spring marathon. Racing in the spring means training in the winter, and in Oregon, winters are cold, dreary, and wet.

I hate the cold, and with good reason -- my fingers turn white if I'm in the cold for too long ("too long" can actually be as little as 30 minutes). But I love the sport, and want to run a spring marathon at some point in my life. For the sake of my goals, I suppose I'll have to deal with it. I'm sure this will create some anecdotes.

I gained some wisdom from my previous marathons, and I hope that someone can benefit from my experience. If you have any specific questions and/or comments, let me know!