Week two is done and I am pain free! Sometimes the best thing is to listen to your body rather than your training plan. This week was a little off, I had to move a few things around, but I was still able to get most of my mileage in despite having to do some tweaking.

Monday: 5.5 Miles + Core

Tuesday: 0

Wednesday: 4 Miles + Core

Thursday: 3 Miles + Core + Lifting

Friday: 0

Saturday: 8 Miles

Sunday: 3.1 Miles

Total Miles: 23.6 Miles

Monday I headed to Blue Heron with Mallory. It’s been months since we’ve ran there and even though it’s all hills, I still love it. We started on the golf course, made our way to the development, and then back through the course. It was pretty buggy and humid, but my legs felt pretty good and I had no pain! It was also the first run in my new Asics GT-2000’s. They felt magical, maybe that’s why I felt so good. We finished up our run and with less than a quarter mile to go, it started to pour. It felt refreshing, and I definitely had an “I love running!” moment. Finally!

I planned on doing my track workout on Wednesday since I had a dress fitting on Tuesday. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. First my iPad was almost dead, so any chance of watching Netflix wouldn’t last long. Then the circuit popped on one side of the basement, so the treadmill lost power. It was getting too late to get to a track to run by myself, so I set out around the neighborhood. I traveled through a few developments and felt less frustrated as my run went on. I was a bit tight from the hills on Monday, but I didn’t have pain, which was a good sign. I still managed 4 easy miles and some core for the night.

Thursday was Second Sole night, but the weather had different plans. Just as I made it to town, the sky let loose. About 10 minutes later, it stopped, so I thought we could get some miles done outside. Naturally the next round of storms showed up just as we were about to start. So we opted for the indoor track at the rec. We did three easy miles, some core and some lifting. I’m glad we had the option to run inside, but I don’t miss the indoor track one bit!

Saturday morning I met up with a small group to do my long run. We started at the square, and decided to run part of the Medina Half course to get our miles. It was also my first run in my new Asics Kayano 21’s and I was excited to break them in. Our first mile was the slowest, but we kept the pace between 9:04-9:15, also known as my race pace. We kept this up until about mile 6, where Mallory and I veered off so we could finish 8, while the rest of the group did 10. I took a Honey Stinger Chew for fuel and within the next mile brought my pace down to 8:05. Maybe it was the rain, or maybe the new fuel, but I felt great and didn’t feel burnt out by the end. Even though I pushed myself quicker than I should have for my long run, I also know I won’t get faster, unless I push myself.

Sunday’s recovery run hurt the most out of any run all week. I waited until 7pm to run where motivation was at its lowest. I tried to focus on one mile at a time, but couldn’t help to feel sluggish. I ran around the development, got chased by a dog and couldn’t keep my pace straight. Around 2.5 miles in, I started to get a side stitch that got worse with every step. It wasn’t until then that I realized I hadn’t had any water all day. I settled for three miles and a popsicle, and decided a new hydration plan was needed.

Week Two Thoughts:

It was clear that taking an extra rest day last week and getting new shoes made all the difference this week. I know not to let my shoes go over 350/375, but because I was rotating them, I completely lost track of miles. Going forward the 2000’s will be for shorter runs and track workouts and the Kayanos will be for longer runs. This worked out fairly well last time, so why change it.

Another thing I noticed is that I’m really dehydrated. I’ve been trying to drink water and Nuun throughout the day and after workouts, but I feel like it’s never enough. Part of this is because my body is getting used to summer heat, and part is from a new medication that causes dry mouth. I’m hoping to find a balance and work on hydrating myself before it gets super hot!