Tuesday 10 March 2009

SPIRA ROAD TEST, PART TWO, FARTLECK AND PROGRESSION RUN!


With a 20 mile race next Sunday I decided to cut the mileage down this week.
I set off to meet the club for the usual Tuesday fartleck run, The spira shoes felt good once again cruising along at a easy 8.5 mph as I ran down to meet the club. Brian set the task of 10 x hill sprints, one of my most disliked sessions! Some how the hill didn't feel as bad as normal despite reaching a top speed of 12.8 mph uphill. I then headed for home taking it steady at first then running the last 2 miles as a progression run, quickly up to 9- 9.5 , holding a steady 10 mph after half a mile, 10.5 mph and on to a half mile loop, I put the hammer down reaching 11,11.5 then 12 mph down the home straight,I WAS NOW RUNNING AT THE SORT OF SPEED I NORMALLY REACH IN A HALF MILE INTERVAL SESSION! yet this was in the closing stages of a 13 mile run! The faster you go the better the shoes feel, like a highly tuned car!
At the end my legs felt like I'd been on a leisurely bike ride and not a 13.5 mph road run.
Last summer I thought the Nike Lunar was an outstanding shoe [ it still is] but the Spira stinger competition puts the Lunar onto the dark side of the moon, the stinger out performs it in every way!
Test comparison, if I get time I hope to get down to the Gym later in the week and do some testing on the treadmill to find out how it compares to the Nike Mayfly [ super light weight racer and Nike's Explosions [ which have Nike's own rebound pad in the forefoot]. WATCH THIS SPACE!
You can not really lose with the Spira, after all you get the lightness of a 10k racing shoe with more shock absorbing than any other running shoe I have ever come across!

Tue 10th
hill sprints and progression run, max speed 12.8 mph, 13.5 miles

Mon 9th
Easy run to college and back = 20 mins
Sun 8th

Run with Jon sandhill 6 = 56 mins

4 comments:

Grellan said...

Those Spiras certainly look the business. Looking forward to a great performance in London.

RICK'S RUNNING said...

I hope so!

gmc said...

I thought that on tempo runs the pace
is supposed to be "comfortably hard" -
something like a 10 mile pace.

If you are "hammering it" then aren't
you doing something more like 5/10k pace?

Which is kind of missing the point of
training whatever system that
tempo runs are supposed to train?

Anyhow keep up the shoe reports
as I need a new pair (of flats) soon.

gmc said...

I thought that on tempo runs the pace
is supposed to be "comfortably hard" -
something like a 10 mile pace.

If you are "hammering it" then aren't
you doing something more like 5/10k pace?

Which is kind of missing the point of
training whatever system that
tempo runs are supposed to train?

Anyhow keep up the shoe reports
as I need a new pair (of flats) soon.