NFIM Training - Week 4

There's not a whole lot to say about last week's training. I did what I was supposed to -- 41 miles with no workouts and a 16-mile long run -- and I ran six days and hit the gym twice. But for consistency's sake, here goes:

Monday:
5.25-mile trail run with Aaron at Sand Run Metro Park. I led us on my usual loop that starts with a quarter-mile or so on the Towpath and hits both Dogwood and Mingo trails. It's nice, it wasn't speedy (1:05 for a 12:22 pace).

Tuesday: 
I ran to and from the gym before work, which is 4 miles, and it took me about 38:30. I did some strength-training at the gym (duh). Later on, I did 1.5 miles with the 5k group.

Wednesday: 
The half-marathon group had 5 miles, but I wanted to do 6. I ran out 2.5 with the group and then continued on so I was solo for 3.5 miles. I caught the tail of the group, so that made me happy. It was quick for me -- 54:25 -- and I was happy that I held the 9ish pace throughout.

Thursday: 
off

Friday: 
My long run day! I had 16 on the schedule, and I managed to find some company.

• Miles 1-3 with K at a 10:35ish pace
• Miles 4-7 solo at a 10ish pace
• Miles 8-10.5 with A at a mid-9 pace
• Miles 11-16 solo at mostly a mid to high 9s pace (last mile at 9:10)

I ended up just barely coming in with a 10-minute pace. I'm pretty happy with that. I wore my Adidas Glides, which may have been a mistake. Or maybe not. Still testing those babies out. I ate an English muffin with butter and cinnamon sugar for breakfast; I also took a gel at miles 4, 8 and 12. I don't know if it was too often, but I felt okay -- I may stick with every 4 miles for a while.

Saturday: 
I started with 2 miles with the 5k training group and finished up with 5.25 miles for the day.

Sunday:
To get to 41, I had to do 3 miles. I ended up doing them at the gym; I followed that with a strength session.

Overall, I hit my training for Week 4, and I am happy with that. I'm feeling okay, although I'm starting to feel tired. I'm trying to stretch and foam-roll and use my Addaday more regularly. I've also had some plantar faschiitis twinges, but I think they might be related to my New Balance 890s breaking down. I wear those with the 5k training group, and I think I need to start bringing shoes to swap for my Saturday post-5k group runs. Or get some new ones. In any case, I have iced a little (the frozen water bottle for the left foot and also a little on my left knee).

I keep track of my shoes' mileage on my spreadsheet, but I wonder if I should do so here as well (with more details) in case I ever come back to this...