Training Starts Now!

Actually, it started about 4 days ago. I finished the 1/2 now almost two weeks ago and originally planned to calm the running down and focus on lifting for a few months. My plan was to sort of periodize my training. Alternate cycles between lifting and running, and just try to maintain a minimum "maintenance" level for whichever cycle I wasn't focused on.
But then I gave myself a week off to allow my body some rest after the 1/2. I like to do that if I can after every event or training cycle.
Well, I spent that week reflecting on my most recent victory. No, I didn't win the race. I didn't place in my age group, or even the Clydesdale division. In fact, I finished with my worst results (both time and pace) of any race I had previously run.
My victory was finishing another freaking 1/2 marathon. It was doing so while training in the middle of one of the worst New England winters of my life. I ran 13.1 miles in February! Bi-Winning.
So, I figured, screw it. Running feels good and I'm already halfway there. Why not just start marathon training now.
I already knew where to go. I had loosely followed both the beginner and intermediate Hal Higdon 1/2 training for previous races and seen great results. Before that, my wife Jessica inspired me with her dedication to Hal's training when she ran her first 1/2, the Lowell Sun 1/2 in October 2009.
I'm sold. His shit works.
With that said, my goals are just slightly different from the cookie-cutter runner Hal has in mind. I have a little bit of muscle mass on my body and I'd like to keep it that way. I believe having an all around athletic, muscular physique is beneficial to one's health in more ways than one. Muscle looks good. It keeps you safe and prevents injuries. And, you burn more calories with every step you take. Yes, it will make me a slower runner. But thats a trade off I'm willing to work with at this point. My buddy Steve has a higher BMI than I and will likely qualify for Boston this summer.
Hal's marathon training also starts with long runs of 10, 11, 8, and then 13. I'm so ready to do more than that right now.
So, I modified his training just a bit. I basically just skipped the entire first 4 weeks of the Advanced Marathon-1 plan and tacked on the first 5 weeks of his Advanced Spring Training program with extended long runs in its place.
Check it out here.