3 Weeks down, 13 more to go!

I had intended to do weekly updates, but since week 2 I was gone and had no internet access, you get them all at once.

Week 1
3, 4, 3, 5.
None of the runs seemed too bad. I did the 5 mile run on Friday night instead of Saturday morning and I'm glad I did so that my legs had the over night to rest instead of going straight from running to driving all day.

Week 2
3, 4, 3, 6.
I was camping and very active during this week which threw my running way off. I did 3, 2.5, 0, 6 (though the 6 was technically on the Monday of week 3). The 6 miles kicked my butt in the energy department. The times I've run 5 miles have either been in a supported race where they have water stops & lots of food/drink at the end, or its been cooler. So when I was doing the 6 miles I was starting to run out of energy and need something to drink. Thankfully I knew that the UVA track had a water fountain that I could adjust my route to take advantage of.

Week 3
3, 4, 3, 7.
This week also got adjusted a bit due to returning from vacation and doing the long run of the previous week at the beginning of this week. I did 3, 4, 0, 7. The short & medium runs are starting to get difficult in the mental/motivational department. I have done so many that are that distance over the last few years that I know all the routes and combos near my place really well. Which means I know that from a certain light it is 0.85 miles back to my apartment and for some reason that makes me just really want to be done running. I think its time to start running through more neighborhoods so that I vary the sights and distances.

The 7 mile run went much better than the 6 mile run. Knowing that I have energy issues, a few months ago I picked up a 4-container fuel belt. The front two 8-oz containers I filled with gatoraid and the back two I just filled with water to get used to the weight. The first half mile or so did feel very odd with the liquids splashing up and down, however, I eventually got used to it. I haven't trained a whole lot with drinking liquids while exercising so this time I did 4-oz drinks approximately every 1.5 miles starting at mile 2.5 (so that my last one was at mile 7). I didn't feel nearly as drained this run and mentally I was better able to handle it since my body wasn't fighting my brain for the previous little energy. I was also happy that drinking it in 4oz portions spread out over ~15 minute intervals didn't upset my stomach. Drinking too much all at once can make the liquid slosh in the stomach instead of in the bottles.

Next Week
3, 5, 3, 8.
Unfortunately I still won't be back to a normal week next week. On Sunday 8/23 I'm doing the Iron Girl Triathlon which means I really shouldn't do 8 miles the day before. I'm not going for a great speed in the triathlon, but I do want to be able to finish it without my muscles giving out. I will probably just skip the 8 mile run since in terms of cardio I'll actually be getting a longer work out during the triathlon.