Today was a perfect day to run, well when I started it was any way 
.
When I started my long run it was high 60’s, running into a light breeze and very low humidity.
Overall I was very happy with the run and my splits were:
- Shepard Road – 8:12 – close to 1.0
- Middle Road – 13:29 (5:17) – around 1.5
- Civic Center Drive – 51:22 (37:53) – close to 6.0
- Leighton Road – 59:16 (7:53) – around 7.0
- Bond Brook Road – 1:09:28 (10:11) – over 8.0
- Mt. Vernon Ave – 1:19:46 (10:18) – over 9.0
- College Carryout – 1:24:24 (4:37) – just under 10.0
- Rail Trail Mile Marker .25 – 1:35:25 (11:00) – around 11.1
- Rail Trail Mile Marker 1.25 – 1:43:57 (8:32) – pretty close to 12.1
- Finish back at Mile Marker .25 – 1:52:05 (8:07) – 13.1
I was a little slow coming off Middle Road, but traffic was pretty tough there and on Bond Brook Rod and I spend a lot of time on the shoulders or in the ditch, which slowed me down quite a bit.Although I was very happy with my final mile of 8:07 for the last mile.
I hate the blind curves on Bond Brook during that last 1/2 mile.
By the time I finished, it had gotten a lot hotter, the car thermometer read 84 when the wife picked me up, so it got pretty hot in a hurry, but still I am 4-5 minutes slower than I was a couple of months ago and I haven’t figured out why yet.
I have a couple of theories though:
- My Sonics running shoes are a little heavier with a higher drop, than the Nike Free 4.0 v2 were. Maybe I was just a little more efficient in those shoes?
- The times that I ran in the high 1:40’s earlier this year, the wind was at my back most of the way?
- Maybe my legs are tired – they have been injured a little during the past month and that might have taken some of the snap out of them.?
Who knows maybe on my next long run I will try my old Nike Free’s and see if they do make a difference in my times. If they do, it will give me some answers and make me think about what I am doing shoe-wise.
Although my current Sonics provide more cushioning and I don’t feel as beat up after a run, they just don’t seem as fast as other shoes that I have run in this year. I guess I have to make a choice between running faster or running with less pain. I think I will go with the less pain and save the hurting for races, not training runs.
2 comments
1 ping
Aaron Smith
August 27, 2012 at 9:48 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I may not have been paying close enough attention to you speeds to know a difference. Although I recall one shoe you used that you seemed really fast in, the Kayano? I don’t know the spelling, but that seems correct. I’d be stoked with your times myself, but I’m happy with my 9s and 10s. Last Monday (a week ago) I ran my fastest 5k, not on rested legs either, so perhaps I am getting faster, just not where I want to be, which I suspect may be your thing too? With the heat, you’ve acclimated, but, it does slow us down a little, yes? Maybe that is it too, or a combination thereof? Anyhow, you don’t seem to be hampered by any ailments either, so there’s that too.
Harold L. Shaw
August 27, 2012 at 10:17 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Smiddy – I have a feeling it is a combination of things – along with tired legs. Yep I am a lot like you and just want to get faster, not slower, but running improvements are made in cycles, not straight-line improvements. I am just in a down cycle for a little while
. It sounds like your training is going great and you are really going to be ready for the MCM 
Week In Review–9/2/12 | A Veteran Runnah
September 2, 2012 at 10:32 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
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