New Shoes

Thursday I drove to Stockton to visit the Fleet Feet store. The staff assisted me in trying out and selecting a pair of Brooks Trance (10) running shoes, with Spenco Polysorb Total Support add-in insoles. I have tall arches and these insoles definitely provide better arch support than the included sock liner that comes with most sport shoes. My run today:

DC Bike path: Walk/Jog: Total distance: (5.45) miles. Jog/Walk: (2.56) miles; walked the return path. Burned: (659) Calories. B-) Used my new running shoes: Brooks Trance (10). Pace: (16:30) min./mile.

This follows the training plan just fine. Although Friday I am supposed to try jogging 5-7 min. between walk phases. We'll see if that works, if not I will repeat the plan for Week #1. I have six (6) weeks, starting Sunday, April 3rd, to train for the Bay to Breakers so even if I repeat, I should be okay on the training schedule. As I mentioned before, I have not done any jogging, or running, in at least ten (10) years, and this seems a prudent course of action.

As you can see from the snapshot of my Garmin Training Center, my heart rate got pretty high. And it's obvious that the two (2) humps in the HR graphs, and the Speed graph at the top, are when I was jogging. I didn't expect my HR to get that high, but after using the treadmill at the gym on Wednesday, I really should have expected that. I'll keep track of my workout data just as I have been and if I see performance gains I will probably post a comparison graph in a couple of weeks. I hope to improve on the "Slow Jog" speed level.

In addition to the shoes, I purchased two (2) pair of Wright Sock Friction-Free running socks. My first run with them today was terrific; no hint of blisters anywhere. And I bought a couple of energy gel packs: three (3) of the GU Roctane (different flavors), and two (2) PowerBar Strawberry-Banana (w/ caffeine). I tried one of the PowerBar gels before Thursdays run: I liked the flavor, and I felt I had enough energy to jog/walk out then walk all the way back. Usually, before I go to the gym or ride my bike, I mix up a tall glass of Gatorade and take water with me. I will try that the next time I run and see if I can tell the difference between the Gatorade and the energy gels. If the gels seem to work better then I will invest in more of those as my training progresses, and make sure I have some on race day.


I better get to bed since I have my physical later today, and I want to get some exercise time in beforehand.


-Lancer!!