75 minute 5-mile run using long-quick-paces style, 20 secs break-time

Friday March 20:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I did not put into effect optional recommendations I made to myself after the March 19 run.

The recommendations I made to myself after the March 19 run were:

"Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers...Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe. (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/715-minute-5-mile-run-using-long-paces.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot: Some numbness/tingliness in foot; some pain in: middle and/or index toes, ball of foot, and big toe, during minority fractions of the 3rd & 5th miles

Right foot: No complaints.

Friday March 20:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked), using for the 1st 5 miles, style F, the style featuring an emphasis on speed, length of pace, & a high of number paces per minute, & NOT taking breaks for the purpose of recording split-times.

Time after 5th mile: 74:55 (75:15 - 00:20 subtracted for delays = 74:55). Did a good job of avoiding breaks as I am supposed to when applying style F.

Pause was due to: a little wretching after approx 1.5 miles.

For the first 5 miles, I used the following chant (chanted in my mind not with my mouth/tongue):

'Long are our strides as we streamline the sky
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I;

For the 3rd day in a row, I applied a new practice of walking half a mile around the block before starting the run.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
8 layers m-wrap pad under big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12 layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes & ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel+
40 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelace, loose on other shoelaces

Right shoe:
SAME AS PREVIOUS RUN

Lightweight removable sole that came with shoe +
foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
8 layers m-wrap under ball of foot +
12-layers m-wrap pad under ball-of-foot & line between toes and ball of foot +
20 layers m-wrap pad attached to toe area of gel forefoot pad beneath big, index and middle toes +
16 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
'Multipurpose' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: tight on top shoelaces, loose on others

The temp was on average 34 degrees with wind at avg 2 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 6:49 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=20&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

'Twas a daytime run, mixed clouds and sunshine.

The lightweight gray hoodless sweatshirt, 'heavy' fruit-of-the-loom t-shirt, visibility-vest, gloves, sweat-pants, shorts, and headband were almost right. After the first mile I stopped wearing the gloves.

Most of the run I wore only: a headband, t-shirt, visibility vest, gray lightweight hoodless sweatshirt, shorts, & sweatpants--which were about right for the 34 degree clouds & sunshine environment, even if such felt a little cool at first.

However this clothing was too cold for walking the 6th mile after taking the time after the 5th mile; by the time of walking the final 6th mile, the temp was down to 30 degrees, consistently cloudy; I walk the 6th mile slowly so the body does not get as heated up.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: possibly increase padding to rear of lower heel by 8 m-wrap layers again, making sure the padding is vertically low enough to have heel-tightening effect; possibly increase padding under middle and index toes by 8 m-wrap layers; possibly increase padding under big toe by 8 m-wrap layers; possibly increase padding under ball of foot by 8 m-wrap layers.

Right foot: possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad behind heel at base of heel; possibly add 8 m-wrap layer pad under big toe.

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run using style "A Medium-length-paced, emphasis on paces per minute, pauses to note split-times".

Chant to use:

'Great is our speed as we streamline the sky,
Many are our steps per unit of time
Lord of roads of magnificence am I
Lord of roads of painlessness am I'

This chant emphasizes: speed and a high number of steps per minute.

Running tactics/strategy

Running styles review:

Emphasis on Quick Paces = Style A (pauses to note split times) & Style D (no pauses to note split times)

Emphasis on Long Paces = Style B (no pauses to note split times) & Style E (pauses to note split times)

Emphasis on Quick Long Paces = Style C (pauses to note split times) & Style F (no pauses to note split times)

I did not feel thrilled re the 74:55 time of today March 20, coming after the 71:35 time of yesterday; in fact I felt ashamed. This feeling of shame grew out of a superficial view of events and was unwarranted.

Since March 8, 12 days ago, the runs in which there were the least delays/breaks were: March 20 today, 74:55, 20 seconds break-time; March 12, time 77:07, 10 seconds break-time; March 11, 78:54, 2:45 break-time; March 10, time 79:30, 10 seconds break-time.

The time today March 20 was a new personal record for runs involving less than 30 seconds in break-time, 2:12 faster than my previous personal record for such runs, which was the March 12 run.

On March 8, just 12 days ago, I set a new personal record (regardless of style or break-time) of 76:15 using 365 seconds in break-time, which was 80 seconds slower than my time today of 74:55 which involved only 20 seconds of break-time.

This break-time was hardly relaxing, in that it involved wretching. The run today was disadvantaged in that it came the day after a run that set a new personal record.

I wonder how much people impair their own performance by foolishly failing to take pleasure in, and under-estimating, their accomplishments due to a shallow perspective.

I am improving not just in terms of my ability to go fast when taking a short break after every mile, but also in terms of my ability to go fast when not taking breaks between miles.

The time today March 20, divided by the time March 12 = 0.971. Continuing at this rate of time-decline (exponential rate change, current time X 0.971 every 8 days), in 3 months, approx June 20, I should be at my goal of 55.2 minutes for the five miles.