Average pace: 5:18/km
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Ran optional Piper Mill, Spruce Loop and Conifer trails
Distance: 11.05 km
Weather: Cloudy, light sprinkles
Temp: 22ºC
Wind: nil
Calories burned: 798
Total distance to date: 2235 km
With my left foot still being stupid and my new Merrell shoes feeling more barefoot than my other pairs of minimalist shoes, I decided it might be better to run for awhile using more traditional trail runners and so yesterday I picked up a pair of Nike LunaryFly +3’s. Image:
I tried my usual size 8.5 first but they felt a little snug for my liking. The size 9’s seemed better while not feeling at all loose. As a bonus my toes had a little more wiggle room, something that was an issue with the MT 1010s.
Unfortunately my test of the new shoes was somewhat invalidated by my left foot being sore before I headed out, mainly due to doing a lot of household chores in the morning. Nonetheless, the more cushiony feel was apparent immediately and the walk and first 3 km or so of the run were not bad.
The right tendon was rusty and it and the left foot fought for attention for awhile but as always the right tendon settled down once I was warmed up and was a non-factor for most of the run.
Speaking of warmed up, it was 22ºC, which is not that hot, but it was also very humid and there was no real breeze at all. The muggy conditions had their usual energy-draining effect, most obviously seen in the second half of the run where I settled into a very steady but slower pace. That was also aided by the left foot, of course.
Some hours after the foot doesn’t hurt to walk on but I can still feel it. It’s starting to bug me that it’s not getting any better, though I have to admit running regularly is probably not helping a whole lot. I’m quietly hoping the doctor says it’s okay to run and am toying with the idea of splitting one of the weekly runs into a pair of shorter 5K runs to minimize the impact (ho ho) on my feet.
Given the weather and the foot, I can’t say I’m surprised or disappointed by the 5:18/km pace. I do wonder if/when I’ll break the 5:00 minute mark on a longer run again. Thumbs up for the Nike shoes, however. They probably helped, even if only a little, on the walk back with the extra support over a minimalist shoe.
