Sometimes Slow is as Fast as it Gets

5 Miles. 52:57 minutes. I felt sluggish and ungainly. I willed myself to finish the 5. For some reason, I am not enjoying the increase from 4 miles to 5 miles on the weekday runs. I know my body is feeling the effects of 7 days with no rest. Yesterday's workout, even without running, was pretty brutal. I've decided to take Thursday off from running (I'll still go to the gym and lift) and Friday will be a rest day. I'm having my hair colored on Thursday anyway, so it's good timing. Hate to waste a good haircut/color with sweat right away.


Here's some intersting news: I am a shoe tester. I have worn Pearl Izumi Floats for about two years now. In fact, I think I'm on like my 7th pair or something. Anyway, I recently went into Fleet Feet to buy a new pair (and get my free Brooks Flying Pig/Fleet Feet shirt) and they didn't have my size. Not only that, they told me they were going to stop carrying them. This bummed me out, because I like this shoe. But, I told them I'd just buy it online then. When I talked to the owner, he suggested that I test one of the new Pearl Izumi styles. Well, I like the Float, but I'm willing to test something else if it doesn't cost me anything! Actually, I thought I would be testing the new Float, but when I went in the store today to buy some gels, they said... "oh, you're Natalie W --- hang on a minute." And they came out with some shoes for me!! They are not Floats, but they are Shines. How exciting! New FREE running shoes! I put them on right away and ran my 5 miles in them. See, now I really have to diligently keep track. I now have two pair of running shoes with 5 miles on them, so I can do a good comparison. These are supposed to be lighter, but they look even funkier than the Floats as you can see. My feet also felt hot today and heavy, but it was pretty warm by the time I finally got out to run. I usually get it done in the morning, but today I didn't finish until 4:30 and it must have been close to 70 degrees by then.

Here is a photo of the "Shines" that I am testing:


And here is a picture of the "Floats" that I currently wear:



I'm wondering when I should lay off the strength/plyo training in preparation for my Marathon? Is 4 weeks out too soon? How about 2 weeks?


Thanks for reading and word to the wise: If you are going to have a wax (ladies), make sure you run BEFORE and not AFTER. Ouch!