I've always had goals. And one of them happen to be running in a marathon. I'll be doing that this Sunday, December 14th. It's going to be my first marathon. And I won't be alone. Zen Habit's Leo Babauta is also running the same exact marathon, as is Boston Red Sox Pitcher Hideki Okajima. As the title says, we'll be doing the 36th Annual Honolulu Marathon.

You can track our progress online at the Sportstats website. I am runner #9061, Leo is runner #8482, and Okajima is #37. The race starts at 5:00AM Hawaii Time. There will be just shy of 27,000 participants.

I have been following a Runner's World training routine as I needed to train on my own time. Others have been following the Honolulu Marathon Clinic. A free clinic that gets together on Sunday mornings. Highly recommended if you're interesting in pursuing running the Honolulu Marathon.

I have 2 goals for this weekend's marathon.

1. Have fun
2. Finish

I'm very excited for it and I'm feeling very good. I believe I will be able to accomplish both of those goals. I have set aside all of my running items (ipod, shirt, shorts, shoes, socks, gels, powerbars, water bottle, etc.) I have no completion time goal and that should make it easier to take it easy if I need to.

I am also planning on stopping at every water aid station (every 2-3 miles) to drink water/gatorade slowly and walk a little bit after taking the water before running again.

While Leo won't be carrying a cell phone during the race, I will be. Would there be any interest in getting Twitter updates as I get past checkpoints? I had wanted to carry a small camera to take pictures as I went along, but that doesn't seem like a good idea anymore. Although, I will write a follow-up post with my experience running the race.

Have you run a marathon? Got any last minute advice? Good luck wishes?