Day 18 is the mid-week run, and it grows for the first time: 30 minutes, with a target of 4 miles or 6 kilometers. That is the long run you did on Day 7, moved to a Thursday. This is how the program works - the long run pulls the mid-week run up behind it, a week or two later.
Repeating a distance you have already run once is a quiet confidence builder. You know what 30 minutes feels like; now it has to fit into the middle of the week, between a leg session and an abs day, with the long run two days away. That is the real lesson of mid-week running: doing honest distance on ordinary legs, not fresh ones. Race day will not arrive with perfectly rested legs either.
Ease into the first 5 minutes, then settle at an effort you could hold for an hour. Think tall - head up, eyes on the horizon rather than the feet, hips forward. If the legs are still tight from the side-to-side lunges, shorten the stride and lift the cadence. Hydrate before and after.
Thirty minutes on a Thursday was Sunday's run two weeks ago - the middle of the week is catching up.
Make it Harder: Run the middle 10 minutes at a steady, slightly uncomfortable pace and the rest easy.
Make it Easier: Run 6 minutes, walk 1, and repeat until the half hour is done.
