How committed are you to your training schedule?

I've never been able to follow a training plan. I always check them out, but end up using them as guidelines, when it works for me and my schedule.

This is one of the reasons I don't think I could do a full marathon -- I can't commit completely to a training schedule over several months. I came across this post on Runner's World Daily about a guy who's in Marathon (in the Florida Keys), and he had a 16 mile training run to do, so he did it. In Marathon. That meant eight miles one way and eight miles back on hard, unshaded concrete, in the blazing heat. And, he's leaving tomorrow to go home.

That's some serious commitment. I think I would've put it off until I was somewhere more comfortable and less muggy. What about you? If your training plan called for a big run at the end of your vacation, would you do it? Or would you wait a couple of days and do it later? Or not at all? If you choose to follow one, there are tons of choices -- check them out in the gallery!