The heat's been totally brutal the last few days. You can't go by what you did in this kind of heat. I used to stress out about running more slowly when it was in the 90s, but I now figure, "get it in, but don't worry about pace. The good stuff will come when the heat calms down." Simply hanging in and doing the training when others are staying home in their air conditioned living rooms watching tv puts you ahead.

Agree w/ the others that you might want to modify your plans a little to cope with heat/humidity. Paul's advice sounds good, and also agree w/ Emma about early morning running when it's hot.

I think the idea about not dieting is more to say don't obsess about diet or go on anything radical. As Paul says, be conscious of eating healthy things--don't skip meals but think of food as fuel, and ask yourself what quality fuel will most help your "engine" to run the smoothest. I have to watch cravings, but I notice I can substitute things and stay satisfied. For instance, I would get hooked on chocolate, but found that the Yoplait chocolate yogurt satisfies my craving w/ fewer calories and some protein. (Yoplait, I'll be waiting for my check, thank you!) Also I eat more fruit and such....

Finally, there's no deadline for running marathons. If you find that your training hasn't progressed to where you want it, you can always adjust your marathon goal, look for a different one. On the one hand, I can understand having the need to do a particular one for various reasons, but also it pays to listen to your body, so you don't get injured by rushing things. Maybe aim for some half marathons at first, then work your way up to a full marathon in another six months to a year. But also, there's certainly time between now and December to work your way up to the full marathon. Just be mindful of how you feel and know when you're ready to move forward vs. when you might need to back off.

Don't knock yourself too much when heat and humidity is as high as it is right now. You may need to revert to running even slower, using more walk breaks (1/1 or 2/3 for example) and/or using treadmills until the weather calms back down.

I remember a Galloway 20 miler in Atlanta 2 or 3 years ago in which several people simply stopped and took the SAG vehicles back to their cars, one took a taxi back and those who finished looked like warmed over death. This was despite starting at 5:30 in the morning with plenty of water and aid stations along the course. No group finished its normal time. I was suffering from leg cramps from a previous run and had bailed out at around mile 4. So I got to watch everyone come in. It is the only time in the 2 years I ran with Galloway that I have ever seen an Atlanta Galloway marathon training run not have the vast majority of runners coming in smiling, even on the final 26 mile training run. It was not a pretty sight. But the group leaders did a very effective job in making sure everyone returned safely to the start whether they finished or not.

That particular training run was really tough and you have to follow the guidelines in "Marathon" concerning heat and humidity. Sometimes you simply have to change your schedule. In the case of the Atlanta groups that day the group leaders slowed down all paces to keep runners together. If you are running by yourself you need to simply be aware of how your body is feeling - if in doubt, walk more often and/or stop. There will be other days to run.