Short Run Friday

Ran 3 speedy miles this morning. It was 70 degrees and beautiful out and would have been perfect weather for a long run, but today's schedule didn't allow for it. I really like having the 2 short runs, 1 sorta long run and 1 long run schedule. The two short runs are like a little extra treat as a reward for that longest run. I can run them a little quicker ( not too fast, I'm listening Hal Higdon) and enjoy the shorter route. And I think having run those at a faster pace, it will help me not to be so impatient to start too quickly on the longer run. I'm trying to remind myself every time I'm out there to keep it slow so I can get my base miles in. I'm not trying for a PB on a training run, nor do I want to be injured again and have to sit out.

I learned a hard lesson during the fall/winter about proper footwear. I ran a race in my old shoes, (Brooks) which caused a problem with my big toe. The new shoes that I replaced them (New Balance) were a half size too small and exacerbated it. I ignored the pain for a while thinking it would get better on it's on. When it didn't I went to a GP instead of a podiatrist which was another big mistake. By the time I got my footwear sorted out, and consulted the right specialist I had to have part of the toenail permanently removed, and lost out on a lot of run time. I have a great pair of shoes currently ( Saucony) and a good specialist to consult on any other foot problems I may encounter (hopefully none).

My gear is the usual stuff that most people run with. My shoes are for pronators, and I have noticed recently that my left foot pronates more profoundly than my right. I use an older Garmin forerunner 201 to measure my distance and pace, which works pretty well except in one part of my neighborhood I'll just call the black hole.It is way more accurate than the RunKeeper app I was using on the Iphone. I listen to my tunes on a second generation Ipod shuffle, which is handy because I can clip it to my shirt and way less bulky then when I ran with my Iphone. I prefer to wear sleeveless shirts because they don't chafe my arms. Not sure what I'll switch to if the weather ever gets cooler. For shorts I prefer the loosest, blousiest ones I can find. I have found that Adidas has the market cornered on blousey running shorts and these are my favorite. And of course a dry fit hat to help keep some of that sweat out of my eyes. I'm still working on finding the perfect headphones. The ear buds pop out of my small ears, and it only took two months of sweat to short out the Philips over the ear kind that sound so good.