Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Objective: endurance

Conditions: 31 F up to 36 F, varying wind speeds and directions (5-15 mph, gusts to 20), overcast/cloudy.

Another good night of sleep -- you guys have got to try this! It is heavenly.  But I guess it is making some part of my brain nervous, because just before dawn I had a nightmare that I slept all day and missed my long run entirely.  

It is always a pleasure to have a run in daylight, and I enjoyed the scenery, though I noticed people's gardens are looking bleak indeed.  Lots of evergreen broadleaf plants look burned (from frost I assume) and the pea patch down near Stellar Park looked desolate. 

The final four miles of this run were somewhat difficult and a bit painful.  Legs did not want to run 20 and put up a pretty good argument for capping the run at 16.  However, they were overrulled by the tyrannical Brain, who pretends to listen to what everyone wants, but really just does what she pleases in the end.

So, I hear there is some kind of sporting event going on today?  Oh yes! It's Super Bowl (of Steroids) Sunday!  To those of you who watch, enjoy the game, enjoy the commercials, and don't eat too much junk.  :)

Objective: easy / recovery

Conditions at 7:00 AM: ~40F, breeze, partly cloudy. Pretty morning. 

Another lovely daylight run, thanks to DH being off work to come on a fieldtrip with us to the Pacific Science Center.   On the down side,  I had to share my run with the morning commuters.  I like the quiet better.

While we're in Seattle today, I might get a chance to visit my favorite running store!   I can't believe both pairs of my shoes are in the retirement zone, though I intend to wear them for short runs a bit longer.  I am particularly interested in trying out a mid-foot strike shoe. Otherwise, I might just stick with these Triax 11's.  They have been pretty good for me.

Some people on the blog seem to have a lot of shoes.  Do you rotate through them? Use different pairs for different workouts?  I'm very interested to hear from you!

Objective: VO2 intervals, 6 x (4 min @ VO2, 4 min jog)

Conditions at 5AM:  48F (!), wind 9-16 mph, mostly clear.  

15 min. strength work after run

I actually took off my windbreaker today.  It was nice at first, while warming up, since the wind chill was around 40F, but once I got going I had to tie it around my waist.  It's been a long time since that happened.  Winter is trying to lull me into a false sense of security, lower my defenses.  hmf

So let's get right to the good part of the story,  In Which She Gets New Shoes.  I spent good long time at the greatest running store on earth, and came home with 3 pairs of shoes!  Yesterday's discussion about shoe purpose and shoe rotation was very  helpful to me, and was reiterated by Chet James, the owner of said store, whom I was very lucky to have helping me. 

I tried on a ton of shoes.  My old Triax's still felt the best.  We talked a lot about mid-foot striking, and what that means for me. (EG, most of the fancy innovations of new shoe technology show up in a part of the shoe that, basically, I don't use.)  Shoe after shoe was, as usual, comfortable to stand/walk in, but "too much shoe" for the running: too stiff, to much bulk around my foot, too much under the heel. 

This store encourages runners to go outside and run up and down a hill - quite illuminating.   After running in many "too much" shoes, Chet brought out what looked like a neon green bowling shoe.  "I wouldn't even show you this if you were not a mid foot striker."  Hm. [Insert fleeting fantasy image of Chet showing it to me from inside a big overcoat, and hot Rolex's dangling around it.]   It was completely different from anything I've ever run in, but so fun! A men's Nike Lunar Racer. So, I impetuously bought a pair, along with a new pair of my standby Triax's, and for some variety in my shoe rotation, a similar shoe, the Air Span. 

My run this morning in the Lunars was fantastic. On my 3rd interval I dipped down to 7:49 pace, which is unheard of for me.   I do have a suspicion, however, that it is not really legal for a 50 year old woman who runs as slowly as I do to wear a man's racing shoe.  When spring comes and I wear them in daylight I will probably hear someone say, "Now hold it right there, ma'am." I'll get pulled over and receive a citation of some kind, and be forced to run in those black leather granny orthopedic shoes as punishment for my hubris and to serve as a warning to other presumptious, slow-moving females.   But until that day.... woohoo!

Objective: easy/recovery

Conditions at 5:10 AM:  Low 40s F, breezy (5-10 mph) Mostly clear.

20 min strength work after run

I'm quite sore and stiff this morning, especially in the calves and hamstrings. DH says, "Congratulations! That's wonderful!" 

This shoe (the Air Span) may have to go back.  I'd like to wear them one more time when my legs feel better, but they were not as comfortable as I remember from the store.  In fact, my left forefoot still feels kind of stressed out, as if I had been sitting on it or something.  tsk tsk

And there goes my shoe-type rotation plan. :(  I would really like a third type of shoe, especially since I'll be using the Lunars somewhat sparingly. But perhaps the Triax is really the only all purpose shoe I can wear right now.  I'll try the Spans again in a few days and see. 

Objective: general aerobic, 3 mi easy + 6 mi moderate

Conditions at [groan] 4:50: Low 40's, clear, light breeze.  

20 min. strength work after run

This is probably my favorite kind of run, though I'd have liked to go up to 11 or 12 miles:  a lengthy warmup for my old body, followed by a strong but not exhausting effort.  I'm still a bit sore from Tuesday. I used the Stick before going out, which helped.

One of my Ravelry buddies was telling me about a drill where you do butt kicks with only one leg for about 100 meters, then do the other leg.  I started to give it a try this morning, but I'm still too sore and so abandoned the trial for another day.  She was also taught to do this drill at the beginning of a run  (though I waited until after my warm up to even try it).

New Shoes Update:  Back in the Triax shoes today. Ah.  These are the new 12 models, which feel exactly like the 11's.   I couldn't tell any difference.  I'll give the Air Spans one more chance, maybe tomorrow, but if they still make my feet grumpy they're going back. 

Objective: general aerobic/moderate

Conditions at 5:20 AM: 40F, light rain and patchy fog

20 minutes strength work after run

I think I ate something bad yesterday.  I missed nearly a half hour of run time this morning getting out of the house late, since I had to wait for my insides to settle down and stop auditioning for the ballet.  Once running, I felt mostly ok - except for 1 bathroom stop - and enjoyed the fog and the light rain falling. My legs are still a bit sore from Tuesday.  Guess I'm not recovering very fast.

The verdict is in: these Air Spans will have to be returned.  I've given them 2 runs now, and I think I know what's wrong.  They are great on the downhills, which is probably the only time I'm really using that heel crash pad. The rest of the run they feel clunky, like they just have too much cushion or bulk underfoot.  Or maybe it's just too much in the heel.  Anyway, the feet are not happy, so I'll have to make another trek into Seattle soon and see if Chet can come up with a better shoe for me.  I do think having a different model (ie not always running in the Triax shoes) would be beneficial.