Week 2 - Recap

It's only Friday and Week 2 of training is already over!  But how can that be, you ask?  Well, I work this weekend, so I modified the training to accommodate my schedule.  Is that allowed in marathon training?  I have no idea, but I did it. 

Here's the Week 2 breakdown:

Monday - 3 mile run

Thursday - 5 mile run

Friday - 9 mile long run

I must admit, I omitted a 3 mile run.  I had every intention of doing it after work on Wednesday night, but a severe weather warning kept me on the couch (with a glass of wine.) 

I did the 9 mile long run early this morning.  Mind you, when I say "early," I really mean 9am.  I usually prefer to wake up at a leisurely hour, eat breakfast, drink coffee, watch Live with Kelly and Michael, see if anything is good on The View, and then mosey out the door.  But I've been finding with my long runs, it's just better to get them done and over with.  For one thing, it's much cooler in the morning than in the afternoon.  There's also fewer runners early in the day and I enjoy the solitude.  I've run many places, but nothing beats running along the Milwaukee lakefront. 

This run, I did some experimenting.  For one, I tried out Gatorade's new Cool Blue Energy Chews.  Truthfully, it was an impulse buy when I was grocery shopping, but I thought it might help keep my energy up while logging the long miles.  I've used Gu electrolyte gel in the past, but it upset my stomach and I really didn't care for the taste.  The pros of the Gatorade Energy Chews?  They are easy to store in a pocket, taste good, and don't upset my stomach.  The cons of the the Gatorade Energy Chews?  The package is hard to open while on the run, you need to eat six chews, and I really didn't feel any different after eating the chews than I did prior.  But as a bonus, it did turn my spit blue. 

The other thing I experimented with was listening to a podcast while I ran.  Normally, I listen to music, but after listening to the same songs over and over, it loses its motivation and affect.  I've listened to audio books and radio talk shows before, so I already knew I would enjoy listening to a podcast.  I selected a podcast from Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a no-nonsense radio host who I fell in love with when I bought my Rav4 and discovered satellite radio.  Listening to her talk and give advice to her callers helped distract me from my aches and pains and forget how far I still had to run.  Do you have a favorite podcast?  If so, I want to know what it is.

And in case you're dying to know, my blister popped while on my run yesterday.  I would post a picture of it, but I would hate for you to throw-up your supper. Thank goodness for Band-Aids!

...16 weeks to go!