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.

71.5 minute 5-mile run using long-paces style--new personal record

Thursday March 19:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I did not put into effect recommendations I made to myself after the March 18 run. Instead I did maintenance, retaping where the taping of the pads in the shoes had come loose.

The recommendations I made to myself after the March 18 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/2009/03/75-minute-5-mile-run-using-quick-paces.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

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

Right foot: No complaints.

Could be the reason the right foot has been better than the left comfort wise, is that I always run around the block counter-clockwise.

Thursday March 19:

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 E, the style featuring an emphasis on speed combined with length of pace, along with a de-emphasis of number of paces per minute, taking breaks for the purpose of recording split-times.

Time after 5th mile: 71:35 (86:32 - 14:57 subtracted for delays = 71:35), new personal record regardless of style.

Pauses were due to: removing layers of clothing that were too warm; tying shoelaces; and, returning indoors to go to bathroom (which took 7:25 minutes:seconds & was the reason the break time was extra-long today). I stopped for the purpose of recording split-times after each mile.

Bathroom break details: solid waste disposal; occurred approx 22 minutes after start; drank sips of pure half n half & ate trail food mix immediately before start to avoid stomach problems.

For most of the 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
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I;

Maxed are our strides as we streamline the sky
Far is our distance per unit of time
Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

Note that the two stanzas are the same except that in the second stanza, the word 'long' is replaced with the word 'maxed'.

This is a chant designed to emphasize long paces and speed, while de-emphasizing number of paces per minute.

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

Mile split times recorded:

1st, run: 15:27
2nd, walked: 13:15
3rd, run: 14:59
4th, walked: 13:22
5th, run: 14:32

The 1st mile was slower than the 1st mile yesterday during which I was using shorter length paces combined with emphasis on high number of paces per minute. But yesterday, the 3rd and 5th miles run using the shorter length paces style were much slower than today.

Perhaps wisdom may consist of an emphasis on number of paces per minute in the first mile run, and then an emphasis on length of pace in the second and third miles run.

The 5th mile was by a significant measure, my best run mile so far (not counting approx 15 years ago and earlier). It was about 30 seconds faster than my top mile times recently.

Digression re my mile times as a youth:

At Brandeis 15 years ago I ran a mile in 7:44; in 6th grade when attending the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools I ran a mile in 6:34. This 6:34 minutes:seconds 6th grade time marked me as an elite commando type looking at the standards for troops and commandoes. But I never considered myself an elite miler because a significant number of boys in my grade beat me; the boy who came in first ran the mile in 5:50. I was'nt mature enough to realize that the fact that I was a top miler may have been disguised and hid, because other boys trained harder than me or ate better than me.

End of digression.

For many days I had been stuck in this frustrating pattern wherein I could do no better than around a 15 minute mile when running. Then today in the 5th mile, I suddenly dropped to 14.5 minutes--and I did not even feel like I was going fast or stressing myself physically during and after the run.

By way of contrast there have been days where I felt as if I had definitely set a new personal record when in fact I had definitely not set a new personal record.

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 44 degrees with wind at avg 1 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 6:41 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=19&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, cloudy most of the time.

A sweatshirt, long-sleeved collar-less sportshirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility-vest, gloves, sweatpants, shorts, and headband were too warm. Half way through the 1st mile, I stopped to remove the sweatshirt and the gloves.

Most of the run I wore only: a headband, long sleeved shirt made of t-shirt type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility vest, shorts, & sweatpants--which were about right for the 44 degree cloudy day environment.

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.

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 "F Double-emphasis on long-length-paces AND paces-per-minute, no pauses to note split times".

Chant to use:

'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'

This chant emphasizes: speed; long strides; 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 was surprised that Style E which I used today March 19, featuring emphasis on long strides, produced such a good result. My expectation was that style C featuring a double-emphasis on BOTH number of steps per minute and also length of strides, produces the best results.

I believe I had inadvertently used style C on March 14, when I set a personal record regardless of style of 72:44, which I beat by 69 seconds today March 19. I also used style C March 17, when the time was 73:02.

Prior to March 14 I had been using style B/E involving emphasis on length of stride, almost exclusively; I had credited the new personal record of March 14 to switching to a new emphasis on high paces per minute.

The important new personal records over 5 miles recently have been (minutes:seconds): Feb 25, 79:30; March 8, 76:15; March 14, 72:44; and, March 19 today, 71:35.

At the rate (exponential not geometric) I have been improving since March 14 five days ago, I will be down to 55.2 minutes in about 80 days, around June 7. Thus the rate of improvement from Feb 25 to March 14 was a little faster than that from March 14 to today March 19.

(relevant facts/links: 5 miles = 8047 meters; http://www.arrs.net/SA_O10K.htm )

One could say that the introduction five days ago, of rotation in terms of style of run, has not been in effect long enough to pass judgement on rotation. Or one could say, this is a type of gambit--accepting a temporary slowdown in improvement due to constantly switching between styles, in the hopes that eventually this will in the long range result in a faster rate of improvement.

Possibly, the introduction of rotation, changed my running mechanics resulting in my fastest style becoming the style featuring emphasis on long paces, whereas previous to the introduction of rotation, my fastest style involved emphasis on both long paces and also quick paces.

@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

77 minute five mile run; only 10 seconds of breaks during entire run

Thursday March 12:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I put into effect one of the recommendations I made to myself after the March 11 run. Keeping everything else the same, in the left shoe, I increased the padding in the heel area (behind and to sides of heel not under heel) from 24 to 32 layers of Mueller brand 'm-wrap', and tied the shoe-laces very loosely.

The recommendations I made to myself after the Wednesday March 11 run were:

"Left foot: increase padding in heel area from 24 to 32 m-wrap layers, continue with tube over big toe, tie shoelaces loosely. Also possible--replace toe tube over big toe with increase in padding under big toe from 20 to 28 m-wrap layers."
(http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/79-minute-five-mile-runs-couple-of.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot: During a minority of the total time of the run, certain discomforts were experienced: foot felt cramped; some insole pain; some calf pain. On the positive side: the heel was not loose despite the shoe-laces being tied very loosely; there was no numbness/tingliness in the foot; I did not have to stop to tighten the shoelaces; I did not feel sensory illusions of unevenness under the forefoot; there was no discomfort aside from what I've described.

Right foot: Almost perfect. Slight pain in line between toes and ball of foot and in ball of foot for about a mile out of the total six miles.

Thursday March 12:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked). Time after 5th mile: 76:57, 117 seconds faster than previous run (77:07 - 10 subtracted for delay = 76:57). There was only one ten second pause over the entire six miles.

One could argue that this run was superior to the run of Sunday March 8 for which the time was my current personal record of 76:15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/7615-for-5-miles-i-break-my-personal.html ), because Sunday March 8, the total amount of time spent during the run on breaks during which I did not run was six minutes compared to only ten seconds for the Thursday March 12 run.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
CVS toe tube on big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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 +
32 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: very loose

Right shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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: medium tightness

Note: on all the runs the shoes have contained the heel-to-toe lightweight soles that came with the shoes when I bought them. I wear these over the padded sole to which I attach the m-wrap and the forefoot pad.

The temp was 40 degrees with wind at 12 mph during the run (5th mile completed at 5:13 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=12&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

A sweatshirt, long-sleeved sportshirt, t-shirt, visibility-vest, sweatpants, & shorts, were slightly too warm. I wanted to get rid of the sweatshirt after the 2nd mile, but I realize the importance of doing the entire six miles with minimal breaks so I did not pause to get rid of the sweatshirt.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: leave things the same; or, remove tube over big toe & increase padding under big toe from 20 to 28 layers; or, simply remove tube over big toe; or, create new toe-tube with sides and top cut away, held in place with m-wrap. Continue to tie shoelaces very loosely.

Right foot: no change in footwear.

Running tactics

I enjoy jogging using long steps or paces; just as people enjoy dancing this or that type of dance, I enjoy, and feel relaxed and energized by, jogging using long steps. I find jogging using long steps to be graceful, majestic, like a ship sailing on the sea. Seems long-stepped jogging teaches the body how to maximize momentum, similar to a wheel's maximization of momentum.

Long-stepped jogging teaches the body how to jog using long steps, which ultimately could prove important in terms of speed. Speed is produced through a combination of length of pace and number of paces per minute.

I do not intend to completely cease from long-stepped jogging--however, I estimate that long-stepped jogging slows my speed down by about ten percent on the miles that are jogged.

I've noticed that when I have to speed up to quickly cross a street or something like that, I shorten the paces and speed up the number of paces per minute or per second or per whatever.

When I set my personal record of 76:15, I noted that the fourth mile was walked in 14:00, and the 5th mile was run in 15:20.

If I somewhat reduce the length of the steps/paces during the miles that are jogged, I should be able to get my time for the three miles run down to 46 minutes total. This combined with 28 minutes for the two walked miles would give me a total time of 74 minutes, 2.25 minutes faster than my current personal best.

Another major factor slowing me down, is that I tend to be 'lazy', slower than what is average for me, during the first 3 miles. This in part because, I go outside and just start running right away without loosening up.

I do not intend to begin to devote time to stretching exercises before the start of the run--I I want to treat time like a precious commodity. As far as I am concerned the first couple of miles in and of themselves, ARE the stretch/warmup.

My approach to the lazy-first-three-miles problem will simply be to remind myself to be perky during the first three miles.


@2009 David Virgil Hobbs

79 minute five mile runs a couple of times

Monday March 9, the area was hit with cold and snow, so I skipped the run, and instead spent time finishing up the testing of the three different microphones I have for recording on the PC. But that is another topic you can read about at: http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/pc-microphones-judgement-day-for-my.html .

Tuesday March 10:

Prior to the run footwear-wise I put into effect one of the recommendations I made to myself after the March 8 run. I wore my CVS toe tube on the big toe of the left foot. Footwear-wise, everything else remained the same as the previous run of March 8. The shoelaces in the left foot were again tied very loosely.

The recommendations I made to myself after the Sunday March 8 run were:

"Left foot: increase padding in heel area from 24 to 32 m-wrap layers, or wear tube over big toe...Right foot: no change in footwear (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/7615-for-5-miles-i-break-my-personal.html )".

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot: equal to or a little better than previous run. Heel tighter (due to use of toe tube on big toe), but still a little loose. Slight pain in middle and index toes during 1st & 6th miles. Foot slightly cramped in 5th mile. All parts of foot that did not feel discomfort, felt very comfortable. No feeling of bump under big toe. No numbness or tingliness in foot.

Right foot: Almost perfect. Slight heel pain in 1st mile.

Tuesday March 10:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked). Time after 5th mile: 79:30, 3:15 minutes:seconds slower than previous run. Only 10 seconds were subtracted for delays during the run to get the time of 79:30.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
CVS toe tube on big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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 +
24 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: very loose

Right shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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: medium tightness

The temp was an average 39 degrees during the run (5th mile completed at 6:55 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=10&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).

A sweatshirt, long-sleeved sportshirt, t-shirt, visibility-vest, sweatpants, shorts, were slightly too warm.

Wednesday March 11:

Footwear-wise everything was the same as the previous run on March 10, except the shoelaces in the left foot were tied more tightly, at about average tightness as opposed to very loose tightness.

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot: some arch pain, some big toe pain, very slight numbness/tingliness a minority of the time, slight feeling of bump under big toe.

Right foot: No complaints.

Wednesday March 11:

I ran the round the block course again (1st 3rd 5th miles run, 2nd 4th 6th miles walked). Time after 5th mile: 78:54, 36 seconds faster than previous run. 165 seconds were subtracted due to various delays, result the 78:54 time.

The footwear during the run was:

Left shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
CVS toe tube on big toe +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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 +
24 layers m-wrap pad around sides and rear of heel
Adhesives: tape, not glue.
'Pretaping' type m-wrap used.
SHOELACES: medium tightness instead of very loose tightness used previous run.

Right shoe:

foam/gel heel-to-toe insole +
'toe bed' (forefoot gel pad for ball of foot and toes) +
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: medium tightness.

The temp was an average 52 degrees during the run (5th mile completed at 5:23 PM):
(http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=11&year=2009&month=3&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ). A sweatshirt, long-sleeved sportshirt, t-shirt, visibility-vest, sweatpants, shorts, were worn for the first two miles of the run. This proved to be unbearably warm; the sweatshirt was discarded after the 2nd mile--this accounted for most of the 165 seconds subtracted from the time for delays.

My guess as to why there appears to be a pattern of lagging back for a few days after setting a new personal record: setting a new personal record is tiring and result in a few days of recuperation.

Advice to myself for the next run:

Left foot: increase padding in heel area from 24 to 32 m-wrap layers, continue with tube over big toe, tie shoelaces loosely. Also possible--replace toe tube over big toe with increase in padding under big toe from 20 to 28 m-wrap layers. Has to do with how much I will feel like tinkering and tailoring.

Right foot: no change in footwear.