Solo miles

I have officially completed 4 weeks of marathon training. Crazy how time flies when you're having fun! 

Before this week, I had practically hit all my goal mileage for each week. However, due to holidays, travel, and plain laziness, I wasn't able to get all my runs in, putting me -2 miles below my target. I know it might sound like I am being a little too nit-picky about it, but those two miles mean a lot! I try to follow the rule of 'no more than 10% increase each week' to prevent injury, but it looks like I will have to bend the rules a little bit. 

Here is what the first 5 weeks looked like. The red indicates the changes I made that day.

I have already adjusted Week 5 to bring down the mileage a bit. Originally I was to run 5 miles on Tuesday, making the total milage 21, but that would be increasing my mileage by 23.75%. Yikes! Now that it is set at 20 miles, it is only a 17% increase. Not great, but much better. (You can thank my smart husband for all that math)

To look at the full 18 week marathon training schedule just click on the link below:

NOLA Marathon Training Schedule (Google Document)

So this morning I had 9 miles to tackle. My husband's legs weren't feeling up to par and all my trusty running buddies were out of town for the holidays. That left me to face the miles solo. Boo.

And on top of that, the weather didn't look so inviting either.

So I put on my happy face and mentally prepared for the worst run ever. 

(Even though I felt like this...)

But you know what? The run rocked! I blared my music, smiled at everyone I passed, and thanked the heavens that it didn't rain one drop. 

And to put a cherry on top (even though I don't like cherries) I ran an extra mile because I felt so good! Bam! 10 miles with a 10:27 average pace.

Here's the breakdown:

Mile 1-10:38

Mile 2-9:48 

Mile 3-10:29

Mile 4-10:26

Mile 5-10:01

Mile 6-9:59

Mile 7-10:23

Mile 8-10:46

Mile 9-11:17 <---continuous incline with crazy headwind

Mile 10-10:39

I am so happy that I pushed myself to not only run by myself but to do more than I had planned. Who I am?! 

Have you ever surprised yourself with your abilities, when you didn't even want to do it in the first place? Do you hate running solo as much as I do, or do you enjoy the time to yourself?