Saturday 4 July 2020

Hitting the road

I've got a great road route that I rarely run. There is not any specific reason why I don't run it more often. Perhaps it is because I don't think about it, can't take Rusty (too long for her), I need to be dropped to collected... And every time I run it I swear that I need to do it more often.

What works well is for my mom to take the dogs to our favourite trails while I run from home to the property. By the time they are done walking, I reach the gate and she gives me a lift home. The route is about 11 - 12km from home of tar, a dash of dirt, little traffic and rolling ups and downs.

Great being out to enjoy the warmth of this winter day. 

With load rotation scheduled today from 1pm to 3pm - and the day a beautiful one, my mom came to collect Rusty and I set off on foot.

As I've mostly been on trails for the past few weeks - shorter distances of 4 to 7km - I didn't have any high hopes for this run. I was very chuffed to have had a really good, comfortable run that was 15-minutes faster than I'd estimated (including three wee walkies). 

The road ahead. 

My running has been a bit off kilter too. My trail shoes are totally trashed so I've recently been wearing a pair that I bought on an online sale some years ago (same brand, different model to the ones that I do like) but for which I have little affection. They are hard and have less flex. My old shoes are essentially like racing flats with little cushioning, almost zero drop and they primarily serve to protect my feet from thorns. This style works for me over all distances. There isn't much else to them. These other shoes have a thicker midsole and seem to restrict movement of my feet. My legs have been feeling heavy and my calves very tight. This is certainly due to how the shoes alter my biomechanics. 

My road shoes are a few years old and they too are flat as a pancake, but I like the tactile feel and freedom of movement without much restriction. My feet are used to this and they like it too. My feet felt great on today's run. 

I'm thinking of a personal challenge to give myself a kick in the butt: running this route every day for a week, starting on Monday and alternating directions (to or from town). Yeah, I think this is a great idea! 

No good reason not to.  Bomb's away! 



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