Today is about as perfect as it gets for running in my opinion. Low ’50s, slight breeze, cloudy, decent humidity, with a few raindrops here or there, and this all meant shorts/t-shirt.

Enough so, I was very tempted to wear the Razor 3s again today and go for a faster run. However, the plan and the body called for a comfortable run based on effort, not pace, or chasing any of my Strava segments today. Plus where I wore them yesterday, I really am trying to alternate shoes and not run twice in a row in them. So I ran in the ASICS GlideRides and did a lot of work on the stuff that I had re-read in Chi Running earlier this week.

Today I focused on running tall and keeping my feet straight (no duck running).

• 1.0 – 8:52 / I started off very slowly, just focusing on form and as I warmed up I picked up the pace a little. Going down the steep section of Philbrick Hill in the GlideRides I was able to just run without thinking about my heel strike like I did yesterday in the Razor 3s. I did pick it up a bit going down the hill and on the flats.
• 2.0 – 8:38 / Just steady effort along this section.
• 3.0 – 9:04 / Going up the hill on the Middle Road is always a slow-down point, but I worked on picking a spot ahead of me and allowing it to pull me forward, while I worked on running tall up the hill.
• 4.0 – 9:20 / Nice steady effort and a slow down when I got to the dirt road. Not so much that the rocks bothered me like they did in the Razor 3s yesterday. The GlideRides have a much thicker midsole which dampened the rocks nicely.
• 5.0 – 9:54 / I went completely by effort and didn’t push the pace. Then about half-way up Stevens Hill, I got this wonderful idea to run the extra mile. My feet were feeling really good and I wasn’t feeling too bad at all.
• 6.0 – 8:39 / Plus I did want to pick up the pace a little. I dislike the idea of slowing down to almost a 10:00 pace as the last mile of a run, so I really focused on Running tall, keeping my feet in, and running more relaxed. It seemed to work pretty well. Although my left shin was feeling a little sore at the end from where I wacked it off a tree branch yesterday while clearing brush.

Distance: 6.0

Time: 54:30

Pace: 9:04

Running in the GlideRides again reminded me how good a shoe they really are. I did put in my right little toe separator, to see if that made a difference and it did. I will try running with it in while using the Razor 3s tomorrow. It helped make the run a lot more comfortable.

Getting back to the GlideRides, they just have that Goldilocks feel that I really like not too soft, but not too firm either. The only thing that I have any issues with is that due to the front rocker and how it makes toe-off more difficult and yes I do toe-off and have done so for most of my life. It is more a Land, Lever, and Lift type of running shoe.

Overall, it was a nice comfortable run where I felt pretty good the entire run.