Dec. 1st, tempo trail run

I had a nice hard trial tempo run this morning. I started with a 15 min. warm-up barefoot on the treadmill, then laced up the Evo's and headed for the trails. After a 20 min. warm-up, I moved into 3x1 mile intervals (first and last at 5k pace, middle at 10k pace) with 2 min. recovery in-between each.

I completed the 1st mile @ 6:05 pace, 2nd mile @ 6:31 pace, and 3rd mile @ 6:22 pace. I had a slightly quicker/shorter cadence than I would like during the first mile but the 2nd mile was nice & smooth, and for 3rd mile, the first 800 meters was smooth but struggled the 2nd 800 meters.

This was a stride issue battle with myself but as I warmed down at a 8:15 pace, my natural slightly longer stride started to take over and it felt very smooth and easy and reminded me of my form during my 5k PR race last month.

This is directly related to the balance, joint alignment and cushioned shoe issues. My stride is slightly different in racing shoes as compared to the Evo's as compared to barefoot. I have a smoother stride in the Evo's or barefoot and I believe it is related to balance. While we are probably talking about small degrees of difference, it must have a material impact on me.

As I mentioned, we are optimally balanced when barefoot so as we add more under the foot, especially EVA cushion and heel differentials, our balance is thrown a bit off and we have to further engage muscles and adapt to maintain good balance. This is no issue for some but it appears to be a major issue for me as it must slightly alter my joint alignment from the ankle up to the knee and that causes other issues for me.

HHH