Today was a tough one. I think my double session yesterday was overkill for my fitness level at this point. I would love to be one of those hard-asses that can do doubles but I need to get my volume up first. I only did 17+ miles last week, which is pathetic. So here I am Sunday, new week and a new start. We'll see if I can get somewhere closer to 40 miles in this week. At any rate. I think this run was more difficult not only because I killed myself yesterday, but because it was on a trail, which is different terrain, and because there was 950+ feet of elevation gain. I usually only get somewhere between 300 and 500 so that extra 400-600 feet was difficult. Add to that the fact that it was on loose dirt and voila, the run is more difficult. the trail was close to my house so I think I need to run it more often, get my legs in the kind of shape they need to be in. I am also not so sure about these shoes. I have Brooks Cascadias which I have worn for a while on trail runs and up to this point have liked. But I have been doing a lot of my training in my zero drop Altras and have grown accustomed to my foot being able to do what it is meant to do. I could really feel the 4mm drop in these Cascadias today, and the cramped toe box was more noticeable as well. (not that the toe box is any more cramped than any other running shoe I've ever worn, it's just not as open as the Altra toe box). It might be time for me to invest in the Altra trial shoe. | 