Base Training Week 2

Another week has flown by and I gotta say, I am happy with my overall training this past week. Last Monday I posted my primary hurdle for this week, working full time, and I seem to have overcome that just fine by and ended up tacking on a couple more miles. What makes it even more impressive in my mind is that more of my runs were slower, which means I did them at home and it took more time. This can be a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it. I like it because I got my run done even if it took more time. I may worry about it since I was running more time at a slower pace. How will this impact my race performance in the future?
Here is what I did in comparison to my plan:

How am I feeling?
Surprisingly good. That doesn't mean I don't feel tired legs from time to time. I do. And dear hubby has been kind enough to give me a few good massages. But all in all, I am feeling great! I was pondering that this morning and I think having these weeks of increasing mileage and not doing any speed work or intervals is a nice "break" on my body even though I am still steadily increasing time on my feet. There is a reason for each and every run and I am beginning to cherish the purpose of base training. Amazing what happens when you do things right! Or at least better than before.
What did I learn?
I learned my body is quite adaptable. That heavy transition I felt last week between 40-45 minutes was non-existant this week. My body can make that switch without me feeling it anymore. This doesn't mean each run was a breeze. I still had tough moments, such as first run on Friday. I felt like a slug but still managed the same overall pace as the run the day before. Go figure! And my second run on Friday, I felt much better. And my run on Saturday? I kicked butt and had a blast! It started out sluggish but within 20-30 minutes or so (sorry, don't remember the exact time) a great song came on that lifted my spirits. Oh yeah, and that news video of the little boy with cancer running with a football making a touchdown...that got me tearing up on the treadmill and put everything into perspective. And I did something crazy - I ran my long run in my new Saucony Kinvara4. I don't often jump up in mileage that quickly in new shoes. Stay tuned for a product review.
How did I fuel?
Once again, I run most of my runs without any in-run nutrition just due to their length. There is no real need. And I drink a protein shake after most runs. Yep, most. I am not 100% on that yet and am not sure if I ever really need to be. And I don't drink a second protein shake on my dual run days. On Saturday I did my long run with Gatorade (made from a mix so it may be less concentrated) and one vanilla GU gel that I took at about the 5 mile mark. But I am happy to announce, I bit the bullet and bought some new product that I have been dying to do a training cycle with. Introducing Vega Sport! I am eager to see if going plant based in my in-run nutrition will make a difference but I kinda forget to pick up their sports drink version. That may have to wait a bit longer.....

I just want to add that I don't have negative feelings for Gatorade or GU gel as both have served me well in all of my past training and tons of PR's. I am just at a point where I have been focused on cleaning up my diet in all other realms that it seemed hypocritical to me to not do the same for my sports nutrition. I know eating better has made me feel better and I have to answer my own question, will I feel a difference by fueling my runs with a different product? Now is the time to test it out as my A races are way off in the distance.
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful I got to share gardening time with darling daughter this weekend.
Daily Affirmation: I am on the path to continued growth.