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.
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