Training log - week ending 12/24/17

This week was 58 miles of running, 17 "miles" of pool-running, and 3000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.

With about 3 weeks to go until the Houston half-marathon, I'm starting to feel fairly good.  I wish I had more like 4-5 weeks - when I had registered for Houston, I had hoped to run 85 minutes and change there, but I'm not quite in that shape yet.  But I'm not in bad shape, so I should hopefully be able to run something decent there.

***

In other news, I splurged a few weeks ago on a pair of Vaporfly 4% shoes - yes, those $250 shoes.  (but not really a $250 risk, as I'm sure I can unload them on Ebay, even gently used).

I took them for an easy run on Saturday, and was deflated to realize that I didn't like them very much.  They don't feel like magical rocket shoes; rather they remind me of the boots I used to wear in my clubbing days (before I got smart and realized I was destroying my

Club boot on left; Vaporfly 4% on right

ankles).  Heavy and clunky.  And it was challenging to stop or turn with them - these are not shoes for running on crowded city sidewalks.

I did run slightly faster on Saturday than my norm, but that's not due to energy return from the shoes.  Rather, the shoes felt so awkward at my normal easy pace that I had to pick things up slightly to stay comfortable.   Even then, I still felt unstable in them, and afterwards noted the ankle pain that always pops up when I wear shoes that are too heavy or run on soft surfaces.

After my run, I decided to weigh the shoes on our very sensitive kitchen scale.  I grabbed my other shoes as well, to do a comparison.

Here's how I would rank my shoes, from lightest to heaviest, based on how they feel when I run:

From left to right:
Takumi Sen; Adios 2; Free 4.0; Adios 3; Vaporfly

1) Takumi Sen Boost
(for 5K races and shorter)
2) Adios Boost 2
(for track work and races longer than 5K, including marathon)
2) Flyknit Free 4.0
(tied with Adios 2) (for easy runs)
4) Adios Boost 3
(for long runs)
5) Vaporfly 4%  

And here's how much they actually weigh:

1) Takumi Sen Boost - 5.15 oz (men's 5.5)
2) Flyknit Free 4.0 - 5.7 oz (women's 7)
3) Vaporfly 4% - 5.85 oz (unisex 6)
4) Adios Boost 3 - 6.6 oz (women's 7.5)
5) Adios Boost 2 - 7.3 oz (women's 7.5)

So, my favorite shoe - the one that feels lightest on my feet, is actually significantly heavier than all the other shoes  Very interesting.  Evidence that it's not just about the shoe, but how the shoe works with the runner.   

My hunch is that the Adios Boost 2 and the Takumi Sen are very stiff shoes that work well with my gait (mid foot strike, fast cadence, very little power), while softer shoes like the Adios Boost 3 and the Vaporfly 4% work better for runners who generate more force and pound the ground harder.  (The Flyknit Free 4.0, though soft, is also very thin, which is likely why the softness of it doesn't bother me too much.)

I'm going to give the Vaporfly one more chance with some faster running to see if it feels different at that speed.  If I still don't like it after that, it goes up on ebay.


Dailies

Monday: Yoga and 7 "miles" pool-running; foam rolling at night..

Tuesday: 11 miles, including 6x800 in 3:00, 2:58, 2:55, 2:54, 2:55, 2:46.  Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards of recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 8 miles very easy (9:02) to yoga, yoga, and then 4 miles easy (8:57), followed by drills and strides.  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:  Upper body weights and core plus 10 "miles" pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Friday: 10 miles, including a 4 mile tempo in 25:32 (6:33/6:25/6:24/6:10).  Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards of recovery swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday: 10 miles easy (8:30), followed by drills and strides, and then upper body weights and core. Foam rolling in evening.

Sunday:  15 miles total. The first 14 miles were progressive, split as first 4 miles averaging 9:00 pace, next 4 averaging 7:37; next 6 averaging 6:47; followed by a 1 mile cooldown.  Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards recovery swimming.  Foam rolling in afternoon.