Saturday 20 July 2013

Weekly roundup

I didn't manage my long run this week (supposed to be 7 miles), but I did do a good 6 mile tempo run, well above target pace, and a 3.5 mile run in bare feet, followed by a PB at the park run this morning of around 26.40 minutes (waiting for the official time to come in).

I'm beginning to notice that my speed is picking up again.  I knew that learning to run in minimalist footwear or bare feet would mean a significant loss of speed for a fair amount of time, and I'd sort of forgotten that I actually can run at a decent speed (decent to me, if not to anyone else!).  But it was only really today that I've hit (and possibly even improved upon) my old targets.  My form has changed significantly - it's been a long time since I've suffered with those awful shin splints I used to get on every single run, and even my joints and muscles don't seem to suffer in the same way.  In the past, I've put this down to the slower speeds, and more gentle footfall.  Now I can see that my new form (which feels completely natural to me now) is starting to reap benefits, and with the pace picking up, I'm feeling better than ever.

Happy days :)


2 comments:

  1. Everything seems to be going great Clare - are you still on for a barefoot race in September?

    I'm running around Cwmbran at the moment while on holiday. Maybe we'll run past each other on an LSR soon...

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  2. Sorry I missed your post Martyn. Things were going great - you are right, but my old stress fracture has flared up again and is giving me a bit of pain so I've had to ease right off. Very disappointing, but I *will* complete those races, even if I have to walk them. I didn't see you in Cwmbran - pity - I always look at runners' footwear so I would have undoubtedly spotted a minimalist / barefoot runner!!

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