Week 2 Reflections/Week 3 of 6 Plan!

This, dear friends, is a photo from my first 5K ever -- April 20th, 2008. I had only been running for 4 months, and I was REALLY proud of myself for coming in at 32:32!

I PRed at 30:22 in September of last year -- seriously hoping to break into sub-30 land, but didn't QUITE get there! I'm determined as ever to get it in 2009, though!

I did some research today on runner's diets. Many sites recommend that 65% of my daily intake should be carbohydrates and low-GI foods. Lots of recommendations say 65% carbs, 25% protein, 10% fat. Keeping the 10% fat is going to be a little hard for me -- I often find that my fat is a higher percentage than my protein. I am going to have to look around for food that I enjoy that will fall into these categories as my training becomes more intense.

I should probably be focusing a little more on NOT losing weight -- I don't really NEED to lose weight, but upping my caloric intake a little. I'm going to experiment eating more on Tuesdays and Fridays to prepare for those longer and harder runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays and see how productive that is. I've discovered I'm more of a distance runner than a speed runner -- pounding out 6+mi is like cake (and really, just trying not to get bored) but ask me to run at a fast pace and I can't keep up for long. Let's see how that changes as I do this more and more.

Week-wise, I was a little upset I couldn't make it to the gym as much as I had wanted to. But with below zero temperatures with deadly windchills plus too much snow did NOT bode well for heading off to the gym. It was really in the danger zone, and I'd rather NOT stress on it. However, I still performed well when I DID work out, so I don't feel I really lost any momentum. I will just have to be sure there will be no excuses this week! It already predicts 20s-30s*F with no snow, and I never thought I'd be happy to see those temperatures, haha.

I'm going to go one more week with the only goal of trying to up my calories, carbs, and protein, and then I'm going to start experimenting with goals and such.

This week's schedule:

Week 3 of 6 of GET PUMPED AND READY FOR HALFIE! Plan!

Day 15, Monday 01.19
Easy Run 2mi

Day 16, Tuesday 01.20
Elliptical 30min
Strength Training

Day 17, Wednesday 01.21
Tempo Run 3mi@10:27, 5mi total
Strength Training

Day 18, Thursday 01.22
Rest!

Day 19, Friday 01.23
Cycling 30min
Strength Training

Day 20, Saturday 01.24
Long Run 7mi

Day 21, Sunday 01.25
Yoga Class 60min