Sugar Peas and Lettuce

I am currently getting myself motivated to go on a long run.............Yup, so I've actually been able to log some good miles this summer, sometimes motivated by the fact that if I stop, blood-sucking insects will try to kill me. That being said, 12 weeks really is not "cramming" per say, for a marathon. It's not exactly like you've been sitting around on a couch eating potato chips and just watching people on TV with 50 pounds of padding and gear get physical activity in your stead. You'll be fine! Glad the new shoes are working out for you.
I'm a huge fan of my New Balance 730s, another minimalist shoe, which apparently is not designed for the sharp rock edges and malicious branches and thorns encountered during orienteering races, but are otherwise quite hardy. They're basically just a thin flexible rubber sole, with a thin layer of cloth that wraps around the dorsum of the foot. (Unfortunately, the sparing use of material in these shoes was not reflected in the price.) I've been using them since May and don't see myself ever going back to regular thick-soled running shoes. Wearing them feels like running in bare feet, only with protection. In other words, I don't think about my shoes when I run anymore; it's great!
I've started recording my training on an online running log called running2win, which I've never done before, but has helped me be more consistent in writing down what I'm doing. It's worth checking out if pen and paper just aren't cutting it for you. There are some other more basic online logs out there as well.
In addition to logging steady run miles and the all-important weekly long run, I've been doing a long interval work-out once a week, hill workouts, and a weekly tempo run. Yessir, my marathon training is off and running!
GB, where is my half-eaten lollipop?