Normally, I’m pretty loyal to my local running store.  With one pair of trainers approaching 500 miles, I was waiting for the end of the quarter to make use of one of their progressive coupons.  While waiting, I found the Adidas Supernova Sequence on sale for $65 through Amazon, with free shipping.  Since I have 2 identical pairs already, I didn’t feel the need to try them on and that deal was too good to pass up.  The shoes arrived last week and I put in the first three miles the day they arrived.   Today, however, I really felt the difference in my 400 m intervals.  It may just be psychological, but I think there’s a certain bit of “springiness” to a new pair of shoes.  They seem to return more energy from the ground than an older pair would.  My legs turn over faster and life seems easier.

The plan for today was 9×400m at R pace (6:00 min/mile or 90 s per 400 m) with 400 m jogging intervals.  Here’s how it went:

400 m in 85 s

400 m in 86 s

400 m in 87 s

400 m in 90 s

400 m in 87 s

400 m in 88 s

400 m in 88 s

400 m in 89 s

400 m in 89 s

With the help of my new springy shoes, the workout went quite well.  I took a 90 s walk break after the last interval, then ran the last mile home at my easy pace.