Marathon training

Now that the Nathan's hot dog season is just around the corner I am thinking of going back to a full-time running regimen to burn off those extra calories. Actually the real reason I am going back to running full-time is a friend of mine wants me to train him and run with him for his first marathon. So, no this does not mean that now I am running full-time that I am not going to be eating any more. I will just be doing both simultaneously. In fact running is how I got into competitive eating.
Back in college I decided that I had a lot of free time. I made a list of things I wanted to do at some point in my life and running a marathon was one of them. I had never done any 10ks or any other races, but I always thought anyone who can run a marathon has some real grit and determination. So with this free time I started running. Along with the hours of running everyday came a huge appetite. Everyday after a run of 10, 15, or more miles I would go back to my dorm and cook enough pasta to fill up several salad bowls with pasta. I would eat and watch a movie until I fell asleep. It was heaven! Anyhow, this may be how I developed such a large appetite and eventually competitive eating. It is also the story of how I started running marathons.
In 2004 I ran my first marathon. Then another in 2005 and 2006. After this I started working full-time and eating competitively on a regular basis. My running from here on kind of fizzled out. This year I am going back to running and I am very excited. I want to run a marathon in July shortly after the Nathan's Hot Dog Contest. I have not decided which one yet, but I am open to suggestions. I am looking for something very challenging. Preferably one I can drive to as well.
In the meantime I am planning on running other shorter races to get in shape. I will be posting the results here on the website. My first race is the Navy Run 10k this weekend April 5th. I just hope I can do OK. I have not run very much since 2006. Actually now that I think about it I am most likely going to get really embarrassed by all of the Navy guys/girls there that run all the time. Wow. Oh well. This will be a humble start. No pain, no gain. Wish me luck.