Week 2: Getting harder

I successfully completed week 2 of the Pfitz 18/55 program. Now when I say successfully, I mean injury-free. It definitely is getting harder and these weeks are by far the easiest as I am only running 4 days a week. This week I start running 5 days a week and I am definitely getting sorer each day. I am wondering how my body will respond this week when I run a total of 22 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. For now, I am just hoping for the best and hoping that my body will adjust accordingly, having never put my body through this kind of mileage.

For the week here are the numbers for the runs:

Tuesday 8 miles/1:15:00/9:23 pace + 10/100m strideouts
Thursday 10 miles/1:33:45/9:23 pace
Saturday 4 miles/38:06/9:32 pace
Sunday 13.1 miles/2:02:53/9:23 pace

Tuesday and Thursday were run on a treadmill in the early morning. On Tuesday I had a banana before I ran, and it went through my body in about 3.3 miles as my run continued off the treadmill and into the men's locker room. 2 minutes later and 1/2 pound lighter, I finished the run without any further issues. THAT is why I like to run indoors early in the morning. On Thursday, I skipped the banana and was able to run unincumbered.

Wednesday night, I went to RoadRunner Sports to spend my $125 gift certificate from my 5th grade class. Since I already bought a pair of shoes from Amazon.com, I spent it on accessories. Some of the things I purchased was an energy belt, gloves, gels, and a pull-over.

On Sunday I ran with the energy belt and it was somewhat freeing not having to hold a water bottle while running. It felt tight around the waist, however. I tried loosening it a little, but that just caused the water containers to bounce up and down more. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to use it properly.

Well, it's off to bed now as I'll be up again at 4:45 a.m. to do my 8 mile run. I'm excited because it's a lactate threshold run, so I'll have a chance to run at a faster pace. The plan will be to run 2 miles at an easy pace, the next 4 at a much faster pace (8:00 - 8:20/mile) and then finishing with 2 more miles at an easy pace.

Have a great week everyone!