3.5 Mile Tempo Run

by Blue Tapp Scheffer

Running with my husband, Craig, is great for my training. He’s faster than me and so I have to really step up my speed in order to keep up with him. Yesterday we ran 3.5 miles, just a little more than the 5K distance – from our house on Florissant Rd north to Calverton, over to Elizabeth, south to Chambers and back to our house. It’s a nice run with a long slight downhill on Elizabeth (sweeeet!) and two moderately steep uphills on Chambers and Florissant back to our house.

We wanted to keep our run short because Craig just bought new running shoes on Sunday at Fleet Feet. Breaking in new running shoes can be painful and cause blistering and injuries so it should be done carefully and slowly. Shoes are the most important part of the runner’s wardrobe. Bad shoes can cause terrible pain and damage and even shorten your running career. One of the great things about running is that it doesn’t require a lot of expensive gear like most other sports. But shoes are the one thing where you canNOT skimp!

I’m not going to recommend any certain brand of running shoes. There are many good ones out there. Most importantly, you must have the right shoe for YOUR foot and running style. Fleet Feet is the best running shoe store I’ve found in St. Louis because they measure your foot dimensions (not just length) and actually watch you run to determine your running style and how your foot lands on the ground. They plug all this info into some sort of complicated running shoe algorithm to determine the best shoe and orthotic insert (if needed) for each runner. I’ve always been happy with the results.

I learned the importance of this the hard way (as usual). Last year when Nike came out with the iPod runners chip that fits into the bottom of their running shoes, I just HAD to have one! So I ran out and bought some shiny new Nikes and the chip. It’s a neat little system. The chip collects data as you run and measures your speed and time. It syncs with your iPod and tells you how you’re doing. Famous runners like Paula Radcliff and Ryan Hall offer recorded encouraging statements along the way. Paula actually congratulated me when I made a new personal record for my 6 mile run. WOW! You can upload your running data to the Nike website, chart your progress, and compare it to other Nike chip runners all over the world. Runners can join challenge groups and motivate each other to run more. Just too nifty for a gear geek like me to pass up.

But the problem was that I hadn’t been properly fitted for my Nikes. I bought them at a big name store all by myself and just got the ones that felt right. Over the next two seasons I struggled with all kinds of new pains in my ankles and legs that I had never experienced before. I finally realized the connection and got some better shoes at Fleet Feet. There’s nothing wrong with Nikes, they are great shoes. But I’ve learned that they are made for thinner feet than mine. I can’t wear them for running. The iPod chip is certainly very cool but it’s much cooler to run without pain! (There are now pouches for the iPod chip that can be used with any shoe.)

So back to our run yesterday. Craig’s shoes performed fantastically and we ran a fast (for me) tempo run of around 9 minute miles. I was also trying out my new toe socks with all the toes separated like gloves. They are pretty funny looking but keep your toes from rubbing together and causing blisters. I was happy with them although I wish they had a bit more padding on the bottom like my other running socks.

Today we’re planning to do a 6 miler so I’ll have another report for you soon!