New Kicks

Last week my fabulous new running shoes arrived!

I still plan to wear my older, current pair of shoes (with ~230 miles on them), but I will begin to wear the new pair for longer runs.

I returned to the 2100s after a summer with the 1100s.  The 1160s were ok but on longer runs I feel like I over-pronated more, especially with my left foot.  I say this because the insides of the balls of my feet (near the big toe joint, to be super technical) got a little more callused. So I guess that means I do still need more of a stability shoe after all.

L to R: 2150 (muddied from Trail half), 1160, 2160

The new running shoes also look fabulous with a skirt.  Not really, but I was too eager to try them on after work that I couldn't be bothered with changing.

I'm happy to report that I wore them for my 5 mile mid-tempo run on Friday and my 10.5 mile long run yesterday with no rubbing or discomfort.

Speaking of my 10.5 mile run.  It was supposed to be longer, but it turns out the sun is setting earlier these days than I realized.  I was still operating on the assumption it was getting dark at 6:30.  I don't think that has happened in a few weeks though. 

At about 4:20 on Sunday I headed out for what would have been a ~2 hour and 15 minute run along the canal.

Goal pace was about 10:35.  I ran the first four miles at 9:55, 10:14, 10:40, and 10:45.  I made a conscious effort to slow down for the second mile.  Miles 3-4 involved some tricky parts, however, like navigating past this giant mound of clay-like dirt and construction equipment rebuilding the washed-away towpath (twice).

Step 1: Climb over dirt pile.

Drop off to the left. I walked immediately next to the construction equipment belt-thingy.

The right side was less of an option.

After navigating that obstacle, I got to see another section damaged from flooding.

There used to be trees between the path and the road up and to the right, now there are just big rocks and the path is really bumpy.

I ran a couple more miles: 10:09 and 10:54 while navigating around several families with children running around/riding their bikes diagonally across the path near my turn around point.  After turning around I ran two miles in 10:05 and 9:57, motivated by the quickly setting sun, before I needed to navigate the big scary construction equipment again.  That mile was 10:49.

I ran another mile in 10:11...this is quite impressive as I averaged this pace despite attempting to jog/walk while calling my husband to let him know I was still 2 miles from home and on the towpath.  Note: it is very difficult to maintain a running pace and speak on the phone intelligibly.  He decided to come pick me up where the trail meets the road so I didn't need to run on a not-well-lit road as it got dark.

Here it was about 6:04pm, and I still had 2.5 miles to go.

Overall: 10.41 miles, 10:27 average pace,
(10:18 average moving pace if you want to account for some traffic crossings).

Moral of the story: 1. New running shoes are fun.
2. Check sunset times as daylight gets shorter so you don't get stuck running in unsafe conditions.