What happens when all the love is gone?

One develops some damn shin splints and sore feet, that’s what.

I need new shoes. Even walking, I can feel that the cushioning is gone in the toe/ball of the foot section of these, and my feet are starting to stay sore all day after my runs. They’re just cheap Saucony Grid Auras, but they’ve served me well for over three hundred miles. I need to acquire another pair, is all.

This morning, I walked 3.5 mi at a 15:17 pace on the track. I even remembered to reverse direction today so that I’m going clockwise. And I managed to keep count of laps.

I’m starting to wonder if there’s not some validity to the idea that treadmills (even set on 2% inclines) are somewhat less than adequate for running/walking because the motor does much/some of the “propelling” for you. For instance, on a treadmill, I can walk at a good 14:00-ish pace for over an hour, while my 15:17 pace today felt just as tiring. Likewise with running times/speeds, although I prefer road/track running to treadmill running because I can more easily obey what feels to be my “correct” stride length.

Now, were I doing exclusively treadmill, the difference wouldn’t matter because all of my progress would be “standardized”, if you will, to treadmill running. But for me to switch up treadmill work (hopefully only in the cooler months) with track/road work (as often as possible) will make tracking progress a little more difficult.