Smarty Pants Running

I have this little personality flaw.  I'm working on it, but haven't made much progress.  It stresses me out, wears me out, and sometimes flat out just exhausts me.  What it boils down to is that if I am going to do something, I want to do it really, really well.  I'm kind of allergic to failure.  I'm kind of opposed to falling short.
Hi, my name is Abby, and I like to be an over-achiever.

Over Achieving one shiny over-sized wine-filled goblet at a time!

So it's no surprise that I've been pouring over first marathon testimonials, training plans, tips, tricks, course maps, and training seminars ever since registering for the Marathon last week.  But here's the thing, the Marathon is still 7+ months away.  It looks like I'll be buckling down with a real plan come the new year, but I have a lot of time until then.  (And no I don't know why I feel the need to always capitalize Marathon)

So what do I do in the next 3 months?  Work my bum off to make myself feel as ready as I can be by January.  Coincidentally, the Sunday before the Marathon also happens to be graduation day.  That's right, doctorate degree and first Marathon all in one week!  Lucky for me, my smarty-pants degree also happens to be in Physical Therapy.  Strengthening?  Stretching?  Cardiovascular conditioning?  Injury prevention?  Yes please.
Hi, this is my intimidating version of cross-training. 

I suggest steering clear of that scary looking rectus femoris.

I hope to share a lot of my workouts over the next few months here on ZestyNerd.  Sharing brings knowledge; come be an over achiever with me.  So I figured this was a good time to put a little disclosure out there.  You know, for anyone that may somehow fall under the false assumption that I know everything.  So here goes, in concise list format like any hyper-organized person would do.

1. Yes, I am a Physical Therapy Intern/Student and will have my DPT degree next Spring.
2. Yes, I have all sorts of fantastic knowledge of the musculoskeletal system as well as health, wellness, medical care and conditions, and general well-being (wanted to know just how gross that pressure ulcer is, I'm your girl!)  I love to hear questions, but you can probably bet my answers will be "Go see your physician or PT" or just very general knowledge stuffs.

....but more importantly...
3. I don't know any of my readers well to enough to, under any circumstances, be making personal fitness and exercise recommendations.  Unless you're my hubs, then I tell what to do anyways by default.
4. Always check with your personal health care provider(s) to ensure you are healthy enough to embark on any type of exercise routine, especially if you start out sedentary, overweight, or with known or suspected medical conditions.
5. Nothing stated in my posts or anywhere on ZestyNerd is every intended as medical advice.  Let's be honest, I don't even have a real license until at least next July when I take the NPTE exam.  I'm a faker til then, so don't take me too seriously.  You probably shouldn't take me seriously after I graduate either though if we're going to be real. 
6. As smart as I like to think I am, sometimes I get it wrong.  I'm not a textbook.  Heck, I'm probably not even Wikipedia quality knowledge.  Take it for what it's worth, and know it's not worth much more than some mediocre reading!