What I'm insisting on calling a tempo run this morning. Insisting!

EDIT: I must have done two sets of 5 minutes as warm up and cool down, not ten. I know I only ran 30 minutes and 3.85km in 40 minutes would be snail-like even for me!

10 5 minute warm up at 7.2 km/hr, followed by a tough but doable 20 minutes at 8 km/hr, followed by an alleged cooldown (during which my HR didn't drop below 182) for ten ten minutes. I ran 3.85km over the 30 minutes, averaging 7.7km/hr, which I'm really pleased with. Also good work with the HR - average 152, max 187, which I think is an improvement for 20 solid minutes at 8 km/hr.

I found the 20 minutes of the proper tempo run tough-ish. My right calf still creaked a bit, but thankfully numbed up when I was warm. Although I had a bit more zone-time and a few more endorphins than on Saturday's long run, it still wasn't at euphoric levels. I did do a bit of a minute countdown in the last five minutes of the 20 minutes at 8 km/hr, and was puffed, but I tried to judge my exertion level on moderately hard - able to say a few words but not hold a conversation. I think I got that down pat - anything more than "Screw you stop chatting you manky cow!" would have been impossible! Still, I got into the groove a bit and concentrated on trying to move with a smooth gait and I even tried to move more to a forefoot strike. 

I've read Born to Run - incredible. I'll give some thoughts soon-ish, but for the moment I'm lusting after some Nike 3.0s. 

On my long run I wore my Nike Marathoners, which I bought last year for a lightweight running shoe after I felt that my faithful Mizuno Creation 10s were too heavy and clunky for the tready.  For a long time I ran exclusively in the Marathoners (listen to me sound like I was clocking 100 ks a week!), and in fact even a couple of latest 'achievements' have been doing runs in the Mizunos - I counted this as an obstacle. 

Cute litte Marathoners

But on Saturday, I really noticed that my low arches were rolling in a lot in the Marathoners,  even being rolled in extra, and I wonder if this is part of the reason that my lower legs have felt sore, like they've been pounded, since then. Even my knees have felt compressed, and I often congratulate myself smugly on my excellent knees sitting in between my torn ankles and floppy hips. 

Today I ran in the Mizunos and tried to notice how they felt. And it was great! They really rolled my ankles out, to the point that I couldn't really even roll my feet in. 

 I love the heavy plastic plates on the Mizuno Wave Creations (apparently these shoes are great for Clydesdales and Athenas. Bugger).

So I'm left with this conundrum: my lightweight, low support Marathoners aren't feeling so flash, and my heavy, clunkariffic Mizunos are feeling corrective. But ... I want Nike Free 3.0s. I believe that running more au naturale will help me strengthen my feet and prevent injuries. I want to get my feet working and stop being such a thumping heel striker. I have also been a pronator and very duck-footed my whole life, from high arches to low, but have never developed the typical pronation injuries of bad knees (they're wonky, but healthy!). I had thought for a while that perhaps my duck feet had made my glutes roll out and atrophy, perhaps causing some weakness and contraction, but James the Physio has suggested that it's more likely that my glutes have worked overtime to compensate.

So has pronation really messed me up? Not really. Should I strengthen my feet and work on my gait? Yes. Should I buy Frees? I love shopping.

 

Yes I want them, yes I do. The closest you can get to barefoot running without tempting a squishy foot full of puppy poopy.