Author: devonpass

Tonight, I:

• did Jillian Michaels’ 40-minute No More Trouble Zones strength DVD — sweating bullets!
• ate a healthy dinner — roasted carrots (so yummy), two eggs, slice of whole-wheat bread w/almond butter
• paid all the bills — I manage this for my two roommates; always makes me feel like a grown-up
• created a Facebook event for the wine-and-dessert potluck I’m gonna host for my birthdayyy!

I’ll be ready to eat, drink and be merry after running my birthday 15K on May 21!

Speedwork at the track with the DetermiNation team tomorrow night. Hope it doesn’t rain!

I’m simultaneously flattered that you think I’m qualified to give this advice and embarrassed to admit that I don’t think I am! If you’re running 8 miles at a 9:00 pace, you’re wayyy faster than me right now… but you asked, so I’ll give it a shot.

I ran my fastest race at an 8:32 pace (to achieve my 5K PR of 26:25 – recap), and I still can’t believe I ran 3.1 miles that fast. I had a tough time getting below a 9-minute mile before that. I got there by following a Hal Higdon 5K training plan that included tempo runs and speed intervals, and I think the speed intervals worked wonders.

I did them on the treadmill so I could easily keep track of my pace. I would do an easy 0.5 mile warmup run, then run “fast” for 0.25 miles, recover at an easy pace for 0.25 miles, and go back and forth for however many intervals the training plan called for. (The distances on a track would be an 800m warmup, then 400m fast/400m easy.)

“Fast” was whatever felt a little uncomfortable to me. I’d go a little faster during each interval and try to do my last one at a speed at which I thought I might throw up (rock ‘n’ roll!). As the weeks went on, I noticed that my “easy warmup” pace had gotten faster, as did my “fast” interval paces. I became fitter and faster without really noticing it. I think I started here:

Easy pace: 10:30
Fast pace: 9:00
Vomit pace: 8:30

And ended up around here:

Easy pace: 10:00
Fast pace: 8:30
Vomit pace: 8:00

(I have no idea where I am right now. I’m doing speedwork at the track tomorrow, so I will dutifully find my vomit pace and report it afterward.)

I also think rest days and easy runs are important. Don’t try to run fast every day or your body will be worn out and only want to go more slowly. I find that I run fastest after taking two complete days off from running. My body gets antsy and just wants to go, go, go after that! But listen to your own body and all that; everyone’s different.

For some great advice from someone who is actually fast, check out this post about improving speed by roadto26pointtwo. She just killed her FIRST MARATHON in 3:44 after losing 80 pounds. So, yeah. You can direct further questions to her : )

The weather could not be more perfect to kick off my birthday month!

Aaron and I did somewhere between 4 and 5 miles along the Burke-Gilman trail. I didn’t feel like transferring my Nike+ chip over to my new shoes, so we ran un-timed, which was nice for a change. The Ghost 3s and custom inserts kick ass!

I also heart my new black running top and PINK sports bra!

Aaron likes his new New Balance shoes, too.

He made us yummy strawberry, soymilk and Greek yogurt smoothies to cool down.

And I’m icing my shins like a good girl as I read all about the Fitpocalypse domination going on today.

Yayyy for everyone who has killed a race or is just plain being awesome today!

I got new running shoes yesterday – Brooks Ghost 3 – after doing the free Shoe Dog running analysis at Road Runner Sports.

I stood on a sensor pad that read how much pressure I put on each foot (almost equal!) and showed me that I have really high arches (did not know that!). Then I ran barefoot on a treadmill and a camera recorded my lower legs and feet from behind. We watched the playback and the employee determined that I needed neutral shoes with arch support inserts.

The inserts I put in my other new shoes are complete crap. I went to a non-running shoe store (for some reason) to get them, and that was a mistake. Maybe that’s why I’ve been having all that shin pain?

The employee made custom inserts for me by molding them to my feet on these squishy pad thingies (technical term).

They felt amazing when I tried them in my shoes. Amazing!! They’re a bit pricy, but I came in prepared to spend a little money.

I also came in wanting to try a lighter pair of Brooks because my Defyance 4s have felt heavy on my feet lately. The employee brought out the Ghost 3, and I tried ‘em out with the custom inserts.

I was running too fast for Aaron to get a clear shot. Obviously.

I love these shoes. They feel so light and completely natural. I’ll still wear the Defyance 4, but I’ll go back and forth between the two and make them both last longer.

BONUS: The employee said he screwed up the first set of custom inserts he made (something about denting the toe area a bit), so he insisted on making another set. Aaron asked if we could also keep the first set if they were just going to throw them away. He was cool and said OK – so now I have custom inserts in each pair of running shoes and only paid for one set. I can’t even feel a difference in the area where he said he dented them. Score!

Off to go test out my new shoes!