Sunday, January 25, 2009

Good Week, Recap, Amateur Podiatry

I ran Tuesday and Thursday this week, 3.0 and 3.25 miles. These were easy treadmill runs at 6.4 mph, with 2x0.25 at 7 to 8 mph. Nothing serious, just good, easy miles in the bank. I slacked on the upper/core stuff, but I did 3x15 push-ups twice and I can feel some response already.

Yesterday, I wanted to do a race pace run on the treadmill since I didn't make the 10K in the morning. The plan was to run 5 miles at 50:00 10K pace or average 8:03/mile (7.45 mph, rounded up to 7.5 mph). I thought I'd run from 6.5 mph to 7.5 mph over the first 10:00, then cruise for 15-20 minutes, then accelerate to 8 mph or more, if possible. It went pretty well, and I was able to keep my stride rate around 180. I broke down around 33:00 and needed a minute break but got back into pace and overall I did the 5 miles in 40:52 or an average 8:10/7.34 mph pace. With warm-up and cool-down, total miles for the day was 6.3. I also got my HR up to 185, which by some calculations is my theoretical maximum - so was it a tempo run, or something else?

The amateur podiatry involved some modification to my old NB 858's. I know the midsole is mostly gone because they must have over 300 miles on them, but the old insoles are totally unused. The heel wedge on my orthotics would make the heel too high, which is not only uncomfortable, but encourages heel striking. So I cut the heel off the insoles and layered them in - perfect! They felt great to run in, helped me use a mid-foot strike, and provided some pronation support. So I don't have any posterior tibial pain today - it's great to have large-muscle soreness, the good kind that lets you know you did some good work.

I'm planning to do an easy 2-mile walk/jog today, but might not have time since it's already 3:00 and there's grocery shopping to do.

No comments: