Rolling Along

So far the week is off to a good start. Yesterday I did a 10 mile run with the middle 4 miles at tempo pace. The route I was doing the tempo portion of the run on was on the Lakefront and it was basically 2 miles out and 2 miles back. The first two miles were into a pretty decent wind, so I figured I would push those miles pretty hard, thinking the wind would offset what felt like a tough pace. I hit the turn around point in 11:20, or a 5:40 pace, so it was a little faster than what I've been doing these at. Why is it that whenever you turn and have the wind at your back you don't feel it the same as when it is in your face? I felt like I was running into a tornado when the wind was in my face, but when I turn around I don't feel a thing? Of course I know that's just perception, not reality as the wind must have aided me on the return trip as I was able to come in at 11:02 for the 2 miles back. Overall, the pace was just above 5:35 for the 4 miles. It was definitely the hardest I've run a tempo run all year and in actuality it was probably a little too fast. I was really starting to fight it during those last 800 yards or so. I guess that's OK now and then, as long as I don't beat myself up to much in the process.

Today I did 17 miles. This was the second week in a row that I've struggled a little bit with the 17 miler. I'm not sure if I'm just not giving enough respect to the distance, or if the weather is bothering me. Today was better than last week, but I've still had better runs. I think the run still had the desired effect as I was doing it on pretty tired legs from yesterday's harder than normal effort. Plus I slept like crap last night. We tried to make it through the night without turning on the air-conditioning, but after a few hours of tossing and turning, I finally broke down and turned it on. I slept like a baby after that, but unfortunately, the damage was already done.

The one thing that I have noticed since I switched shoes from the Asics Kayano to the Brooks Axiom is that my legs seem to be more sore with these new shoes, most notably after longruns. In the past, I would say that this was a tell-tale sign that the shoes aren't doing their job, but now I'm not so sure. In a twisted sort of logic, I'm thinking that maybe the less cushioned shoes are kind of helping my legs get stronger by not cushioning every footfall. But then again, what do I really gain from that? Maybe a few ounces off the shoe weight, but I'm still not convinced that is really going to equate to much in a marathon. But I don't see the Kenyans wearing big clunky shoes out there, so maybe I'm wrong. Certainly wouldn't be the first time.