Week 19 Summary

Another good week. 70 miles, 8 sessions, 6 days. Felt good. Solid quality workouts, feeling healthy, legs feel good. All in all ,things are rolling along. Bought some new shoes and am wearing something other than Mizunos for the first time in three years. Bought two pairs of Adidas Adizeros: the Mana and the RC (a discontinued model from 08 maybe). The Mana is what I would describe as a lightweight trainer and the RC is a flat. When I asked the helpful clerk at the general sports store to which I had a gift card I received as a Christmas gift what the difference between the two shoes was he replied the RC was for shorter distances. I responded oh, 10Ks and such. He was shocked! Oh no, short sprints. That's all. I bought both pairs with the intention of running in them on the tready and retuning one pair. At home a little internet research yielded some additional info on the RC (which I'm guessing stands for Road Course) and confirmed my suspicion that contrary to what the helpful acne faced lanky teen told me could be used for more than sprints.
The Manas are nice, they fit well ,they're very light compared to the Mizunos and are likely the shoe I'll run in Boston.



The RCs though, sweet baby, are they something special.



I have never owned a flat so that might be part of the juice but they feel really, really fast. Light and bendy and grippy. Super comfy with or without socks. Love em. Just love em. I'll run a few sessions between now and race day and try and gauge whether or not they'll hold up over 26. Website says optimal performance up to the half distance and I tend to believe that's accurate but they're so much fun to run in I might not be able to resist.

On a related note: I just tossed the Mizunos Iève been running in since I qualified for Boston back in December 2008. They were well beyond the recommended 500 mile replacement lifespan. I am sure that running those shoes into oblivion is what enabled me to successfully transition from a shoe that weighs 11oz to one that weighs 7. For those of you out there who might be thinking of going smaller, lighter, less as a result of the newly ignited debated about footwear, mechanics, efficiency, etc. take note: The difference between the two shoes is significant and if you switch without prep you will get injured. For me FOR ME, the progressive breakdown of the cushioning in my old shoes provided a gradual injury free transition.

Anyhoo, couple charts: weekly summary, first Q workout of this week. Felt good, ran well. Still trying to figure out pacing for Boston. I'm thinking sat 7:30- ish for the first half and then start cutting it down. Suggestions are welcome.