Throughout this odyssey I will collect links and information to the various books, articles, apps, and tools that I rely on. Perhaps others can derive some benefit from these in the way that I have.

Apps:

• Ease Into 5K (iOS)
  I might have made it through those early days, but this app certainly made it easier and provided the right direction to take me from the sofa to my first 5K run. The app lays out a plan over the course of 8 weeks that gradually increases the distance and run times to help build speed and stamina.

Books:

• An Accidental Athlete – John Bingham
  I absolutely loved this book, and credit it with cementing my desire to complete my first marathon. It tells the story of someone not too much older than myself, the transition he went through and the trials and tribulations encountered along the way.

Resources:

• Hal Higdon
  Author and runner, Higdon has designed a series of training programs for a variety of skill levels and distances. I have used his programs as the basis for my own, with some modifications to suit my personal needs and abilities.
• Jog FM
  Apparently, listening to music while running can boost performance for many runners. Until recently I ran without music, but there are times when I like to don the earphones and get amped up by playing something loud. I cam across this site when I was trying to find music that matched my run pace. You simply enter your typical per mile pace and the site will return a list of songs with a bpm in the approximate range. I’ve tried it, and in general it works, although you may have to play around with some of the lists depending on your personal cadence and stride length.
• McMillan Training Calculator
  After a while, running at the same level and intensity starts to produce diminishing returns for the athlete. Knowing how much effort to put in to take my times to the next level was something of a mystery until I found McMillan’s calculator. I just plug in my goal time and the app gives me back the time ranges I should be hitting for various distances and types of runs.