My Current Shoes

I have three different pairs of running shoes that I wear at the moment, depending on what type of workout I am doing and I feel that they are a great combination for me at the moment.

For trail running, I have a pair of New Balance Minimus Trail (MT10) shoes. I bought these shoes a year ago and it took my legs (calves) a while to get used to the 4mm heel-toe drop and very minimal design. I have been running once a week (6-7 miles) on the trails since the start of the year and I feel like it has improved my form and leg strength.

New Balance MT10

For track running, I have a pair of Nike Free 3.0 v3 shoes. These are a more minimal, lower to the ground with less support version of the Nike Free Run that I have been running in since 2010. I had a different pair of the 3.0's in 2011, but they were a half size too small and I found them uncomfortable to run in.

Nike Free 3.0 v3

For tempo, easy and long runs, I have a pair of Brooks Pure Flow shows. The "Pure" line is Brooks' most minimal line of running shoes and I decided to give them a try after reading lots of good things about them on other blogs. So far I have put 64 miles on them including long runs of 12 and 14 miles and can safely say that I can't imagine running these workouts in any other shoe now as they are comfortable and while I can still feel the road, my calves feel great at the end of a long run.

Brooks Pure Flow

New 5K PR

I took a decent sized step towards my goal of running a sub 20 minute 5K yesterday by completing the Run for the Roses 5K in 20:27 (a PR by 15 seconds).

Although my Garmin data only reports 91 feet of elevation gain, the up hill portions of the final mile certainly felt larger than that yesterday! It was a bitterly cold day (41F, 3C) with gusting winds of around 15 miles per hour so I warmed up wearing lots of layers and stripped down to my shorts, short sleeved shirt and gloves just before the start of the race.

I banked 30 seconds or so in the first mile (6:07) when the course was mostly flat or downhill and we were protected from the wind and there was actually a point when I wondered whether I needed my gloves on or not. At the half way point the course took a turn and the up hill portions of the race began just as the wind appeared - I was glad I hadn't taken off my gloves now!

Mile 2 was steady (6:39) as I tried to maintain some speed but reserve some energy for the final mile. The final mile has a section that looks like a "S" where we turned left, right, right, left and then left in less than 0.4 of a mile which is then followed by a up hill section. I tried to keep my cadence high through this section knowing that I could easily lose 10-15 seconds if I backed off at this point. I passed a few runners in mile 3 (and didn't get passed by anyone) and didn't even notice a 6:57 split beep on my watch as we rounded the final corner and headed for the finish line.

I could see finish line clock ticking up as I made my way through the final 0.1 of a mile and I knew I'd PR. NCRC volunteers cheered for me by name as I ran towards the finish line. The clock read 20:28 as I crossed the timing mats and I hit stop on my watch. I'd later find out that my chip time was 20:27!

I didn't run the Run for the Roses last year, but the year before I had run a 22:28 and wondered if I'd ever get under 22 minutes - I think I've come a long way in 2 years! Now I just need to find another 28 second improvement from somewhere.

Joining the 1000 Mile Club

At the first quarter NCRC club meeting, the club members that had set themselves a target of running at least 1000 miles in 2011 (and succeeded) got a chance to celebrate their success and received a cool shirt from Capital RunWalk as a reward. I ran 1200 miles in 2011, so for the first time I was included! It was a fun evening and we all got together for a group photo.

The 2011 NCRC 1000 mile club

I have set myself a goal of 1200 miles (100 miles per month) again for 2012 and started out with 124 in January.