Training log - Week ending 5/18/2025

This week was 54 miles of running and 8 "miles" of pool-running.

I ran my first team interval workout in about a month on Tuesday. It went OK.  I was very stiff and my paces were significantly slower than before my post-marathon break (not terribly surprising). I'm sure some of it was a lack of fitness, and some was the rainy and windy weather. 

I wore the New Balance Pvlse for Tuesday's workout, and it felt awkward. I had planned to race Sunday's 3000 and the 1500 in the Pvlse, but Tuesday left me doubting that strategy.

I happened to have an old (from 2018-19-ish) pair of Reebok Floatride Runfast Pros (yes that is the full name) that never found a new home on eBay, and they were/are also legal on the track.  So I gave them a try on Friday and was pleasantly surprised by how much better they felt after a quick adjustment period. (The Reeboks are very thin soled - they feel like slightly stiff socks in comparison to current racing shoes. It's literally a bit jarring until you acclimate.) 

So, figuring that I had nothing to lose except the health of my plantar fascia, I used them for Sunday's races (race report coming).  And was pleasantly surprised with my performances.  This has me thinking that I should consider running more in minimalist shoes, to the extent I can find any. When I'm in thin-soled flexible shoes, I can feel the ground. That sensation makes me much more confident of where my body is in space, and so I'm able to push off more forcefully from the ground.

[It's worth noting here that I spent many years pre-supershoe doing all of my easy runs in Nike Frees - and could go up to 16 miles in the Free with no discomfort.  I probably could have gone longer, but never tried.  So I think I can handle plenty of miles in minimal shoes again, as long as I transition carefully.]

The other change I made for Sunday's race was running more miles than I normally do the day before a race of any distance.  I didn't feel like the extra miles took anything from me at all; if anything, my gait felt smoother for it.  So that's another thing to consider for future pre-race prep.

Dailies:

Monday: 8 miles very easy (9:50) and streaming yoga. Foam rolling in the evening.

Tuesday: 8 miles with a track workout of 1600, 4x800 in 8:12, 4:00, 3:54, 3:51, 3:51 (recoveries of about 2 minutes after each), followed by leg strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday: 9 miles very easy on trails (10:58) and streaming yoga.

Thursday:  8 "miles" of pool-running in the morning.  Streaming pilates and foam rolling in afternoon.

Friday: 8 miles, including a 1600 uptempo in 7:34, followed by some upperbody strengthwork and core. Foam rolling in the evening.

Saturday: 7 miles very easy (10:03). Foam rolling in afternoon.

Sunday: 6 miles, including a 3000 in 13:39 and a 1500 in 7:04.