Training log - week ending 2/7/16

This week was 52.5 miles of running, 7.5 "miles" of pool-running and 3000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

I am very busy at work, and the most interesting stuff has been covered in the race report, so this won't be too long an entry.

One thing of note from this week is that I decided that my beloved racing flats - the Adidas Takumi Sen Boost - are no longer working for me.  When I ran in them last spring, they felt wonderful and effortless and springy.  But when I wore them for a 10K last fall, they felt awkward.  I wore them again on Friday morning, pre-race, and confirmed - they just don't feel right anymore.  And you want things to feel right when you race.

Instead, I now like the Adidas Adios Boost 2 - the shoe I previously rejected for the Takumi Sen - and I wore those on Sunday for the 5K.

The shoes are actually very similar in weight - the main difference is that the Takumi Sen has more "boost" material in the forefoot and a lower heel-toe drop.  And my beloved pair of Takumi Sens are also black.

I'm guessing that my change in preference is a reflection of all the work I've done in the past year on improving my gait - near daily drills and strides, and regular work in the gym focusing on single leg deadlifts and step-ups to get my glutes firing.  My gait has improved, with a more powerful stride and a slightly different foot strike, and so my shoe preference has also changed.  So this is a positive thing.

It's also good because the Takumi Sens are darn hard to find - in the US, they're only sold in men's sizes, and it's very hard to find a men's size 5.5.  And they're very expensive when I do find them.  In contrast, the Adios comes in women's sizes, is easy to find, and is substantially cheaper.  So woo.

If only the women's Adios came in black.

Dailies

Monday:   Yoga and 7.5 "miles" of pool-running.  Foam rolled in the evening.

Tuesday: 10 miles, including a Whitehurst Freeway workout of 8x.55 mile intevals, with ~2-3 min recovery.  Splits were 3:39, 3:41, 3:21, 3:26, 3:16, 3:22, 3:21, 3:23.  Followed with injury prevention work and 1250 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 4.5 miles very easy (9:35 pace) to yoga, and then a yoga class.  Followed with 5.5 miles very easy (9:23).  Sports massage at night.

Thursday:   6 miles very easy (9:15 pace) to yoga, and then a yoga class plus upper body weights and core.  Followed with 2 miles very easy (9:00) plus drills+strides.  Foam rolling at night.  

Friday:  7 miles, mostly very easy but with a 1 mile pick-up in 6:24.  Followed with injury prevention work and foam rolling.

Saturday:  5 miles easy (8:34) followed by drills.  Foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday:  3 mile warm-up, 5K race in 19:48, and then another 6.5 miles after (went on what I thought would be a 4 mile loop - oops).   Followed with yoga.   1750 yards recovery swimming in the afternoon.  Got caught up in work and race report writing and football and forgot to foam roll.  Oops.