A well balanced run

My usual routine involves two longer weekend runs and then either an easy run or light elliptical workout on Monday morning. Since Friday was the start of my running weekend I should have made today's exercise more like a rest day. I mentioned yesterday that I bought a pair of NB 460s and I wanted to see how they performed. I thought about heading over to Stillwell Woods Preserve to test them on the trails but I was constrained for time and I really wanted to get a feel for the shoes on the street.

I dressed light and it was cool but not too cold when I started out. I chose an uphill road as my first leg to help with my warm up and to take advantage of the energy that comes at the beginning of a run. I was very pleased with the feel of the 460s. They are roomier than the Kutus with a higher toe box and, with the exception of some slight slipping at the heel of my right foot, they felt great. I was moving very well as I crisscrossed through the neighborhood streets but then I came upon some stiff headwinds coming from the west. I remember thinking how nice those winds would feel later in the run after I'd heated up a bit. Although I'd planned a relatively short run I was feeling good and decided to run four miles since I'm just 13 days away from my 4 mile race.

I felt as though the Garmin was over-calculating a little and a mapping on Gmaps confirmed that. I ended up running about 4.2 miles with an overall pace of 9:07, which I thought was good considering that I was completing over 11 miles within three days. I learned on my Stillwell run and confirmed on Friday that softer surfaces and hills are still a challenge for me. This signals an opportunity to build up those muscles. I think next Sunday I will run some trails as a conditioning exercise one week before my race.

Emerging Runner News: I am happy to report that the Emerging Runner was the number one blog on the Runner's World Loop in March.