Running Diary: Week 3

This week @laizey_bones got new running shoes. Her old ones were definitely dead. After asking around, most people seemed to recommend the Flyknit LunarEpics. I run in the LunarEpic highs (more on that later) and I love them. After a quick trip to Foot Locker over the weekend we came away with the grey multi-colours. She was so excited to run in them! Immediately after putting the LunarEpics on she gave her verdict, “I feel good already”. I told her we had to run for at least a bit before the review would really count.

Started the week out strong with the new sneakers on Tuesday with more running + basketball + running. I feel like my shooting form is actually getting better… or at least @laizey_bones is kind enough to pretend it is! The run felt good too – despite terrible split and average 1K times I feel like my running is stronger, my breathing is better and overall everything is improving. I didn’t skip the stretching this time and that also was a good thing.

Thursday was extremely hot and humid but we were determined to get a run in (who am I??). We waited till late in the evening to go out and ate dinner first. I made a big mistake – I know I can’t eat too much before I work out, but dinner was really good. I had to take way too many breaks during this run and paid for that dinner. Never doing that again! On the way home we dodged early Caribana crowds – time to find a less congested route for the rest of the weekend.

Friday I decided to really go for it with a 4.5k, my longest run to date. I waited till the rain stopped and headed out. Thankfully it was nice and cool and I felt great. I took a new route to beat the crowds and was running in weird time of the evening when Toronto felt empty despite all the tourists in the city. I did walk a little but I finished it! And my average pace was significantly better that any run since last week. Felt so good but my shoes are definitely trashed now. I have been using them for a year and its time for new ones. Also @laizey_bones got new running shoes and I couldn’t resist getting myself a pair. Can’t wait for them to arrive next week!

Next run! I decided to try for another PB this time – pushing myself to run faster. I chose a short distance and just went for it. I’m not going to lie, it felt terrible. My lungs were burning almost immediately. I think I needed to pace myself just a little bit. The results were mixed; got a new PB for 1 mile but still can’t break my PB at 1k. I have NO idea how I ran that fast before… maybe I am forgetting some large hill I ran down? It’s so strange! I guess I just need to think of it as a good and challenging target.

I rounded out the week with some light training via NTC. I should also mention that in addition to the running and training, I walk a fair bit every day. Usually between 6 and 10k, sometimes more. I think its good to prevent muscle soreness. Good thing I wear sneakers virtually every day!

Goals for next week: a 5k, run continuously for 2k without walking.