Good Start to the Week

Sunday

I knew that Matt and Carl wouldn't be able to run the usual Sunday 10 mile loop with me on Sunday. I decided to get up and go to the Rec Center anyway because I have a standing invitation to any runner in Athens/Limestone to show up at 5:45 on any Sunday morning and join me for a 10 miler. Jeff was there so I joined him for a nice shorter run. I ended up with 8.5 total Sunday morning. The easy miles felt good on my tired legs. And I really enjoyed the company!

Monday

Today, I endured a work-week 15 miler. Of all the runs I've done in my training, I think the work-week 15 milers are the toughest. Seriously, have you tried hitting the pavement before 5:00 AM so that you can run 15 miles before getting ready for the work day? Try doing that once per week for 5-6 weeks in a row, in addition to long runs and tempo runs. It's tougher than I thought it would be!

I really dreaded this run; I started dreading it Sunday afternoon. I had no partner. I didn't want to get up before 5:00 AM. How bad would skipping this run set me back? I was looking for excuses not to do this workout. Ultimately, though, I had no good excuse not to run. So, I made up my mind before I went to sleep last night. I think that's the key. If I wait until my alarm goes off to decide if I'm going to run, I'll decide not to run almost every time. John C. Maxwell teaches making decisions early, and then executing those decisions daily. That's sage advice!

At about mile 5, I wondered why in the world I dreaded this run. I felt GREAT and enjoyed this run more than any other lonely run I've done! So, I dropped the pace and decided to finish with 5 marathon pace miles. Today was a great workout in great weather that put me in a good mood that will hopefully last the rest of the week!

15 miles in 1:56 with 5 marathon pace miles and 11 sub 8:00 miles. I wasn't even tired after the run. I feel so ready for the marathon! I hope I can stay injury free and confident for 7 more weeks!