Running Longer

On friday morning I completed my first "barefoot" run in over a month over 8.6 miles of road (longest barefoot run todate) and am glad to report no issues at all. I had stopped using the "barefoot" shoes as I had picked up some tenderness in both feet following the last run in them - probably coincidental.

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Yesterday morning I headed out before 0800hrs on my long run (20 miles planned). I mixed up a carbohydrate drink I had picked up in a goodie bag after one of last years marathons and ate a cereal bar before I headed out (to alleviate the hunger pangs experienced during last weeks long run). While the first 3 miles were a bit stressful as I sweated the cereal bar out through my pores (legs and HR fine) the run overall was much less tiresome than last week (carb drink certainly did it's job) so I decided to lengthen it a bit (need to build up a bit of endurance) by adding a mile on the way back (2 miles from home) and then a further 2.1 mile loop from the house after ditching my running belt, MP3 etc - giving me 23.1 miles with more or less the same pace as last weeks run (and none of the pain).

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Saturday afternoon was a family day in town (annual trip to McDonalds - also took in an expo from the college of art and design with some hands on painting projects for the kids). I took the opportunity to get a free gait analysis and buy a new pair of runners at the other specialist running shop in town (well tri shop really). I'm a neutral runner with a slight overpronation on my right foot (explains the recent tenderness in my right arch I felt when running in my high mileage shoes - time to chuck them out). I tried on a few pairs of cushioning shoes (New Balance, Muzino and Saucony as alternatives to my usual Asics Nimbus) - it was a toss up between the Muzino "Waverider" and Saucony "pro-grid triumph 5" - I settled for the Saucony as the extra €15 for the Muzino wasn't worth it.

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I tried out my new shoes this morning on an 8.6 mile recovery run. Funnily enough I still felt the slight tenderness on my right arch - nothing to be concerned about though. The run was at an easy pace and my legs felt fine after yesterdays long run.

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After my run it was time to serve as volunteer at the annual Eagle AC 5 mile road race in Carrigaline. My job was at the finish line taking down the finishing numbers of competitors in the order in which they finished with pen and clipboard in hand. 229 runners in total finished the run in what turned out to be a fine sunny morning. The winning time was 27:33 or thereabouts (quite a hilly course). It's great to see the business side of a race - There as a strong battle for 2nd place with less than a foot separating the runners.

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Fri 23rd Feb

8.6 Miles in 01:10:10 (08:10 pace @ 124 HR) - Barefoot.

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Sat 23rd Feb

23.1 Miles in 03:06:44 (08:05 pace @ 131 HR)

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Sun 24th Feb

8.6 Miles in 01:13:40 (08:34 pace @ 116 HR)

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Week 10/24 - 73.4 Miles