I have been reviewing my stats over the past several days. I can definitely see a change in fitness level. However, I do not think this explains all of it. This started happening when I bagan to use my new running shoes. They are *very* responsive, meaning that much of the energy that goes into stepping onto the ground while running is yielded back when the foot leaves the ground. Given this and they are new shoes, compared to my beaten up shoes that I have been using, I think this has made a noticeable difference.

Today I broke another personal record. I knocked myself out with my heart rate going up to 176 (not smart at all), averaging about 160. This is where it is interesting. My average pace was 12:20 for a mile. Holy moly! That is twelve and a half minute mile! I improved over one whole minute “overnight”. I still find this difficult to believe. I looked at the stats with my old shoes, and the best I was able to do was 13:45 minutes a mile.

I am finding that I need to change the way I run and how I pace myself with these shoes. They are responding that differently to me. Maybe this is a bit too much for me? It does not have the shock absorption that other running shoes have. I have not decided on keeping them. If I run very slowly, kind of like jogging, my body bobs up and down more which I think increases the shock on my knees. When I start running, this becomes better. I think I can feel the difference in my knees. I may get a pair that are less responsive but has more cushioning. Another thought is using these shoes for trail running.

Any thoughts about this? These running shoes are costing me only $60. These shoes have very good ratings for training shoes. An average pair of running shoes costs over $100. Not bad at all.

Come to think of it, this is sounding to me like the old time Keds commercial where if you were to wear their sneakers, as a kid you can leap tall buildings. But in this case, my running stats appear to support my observation. Time will tell going between the two pairs of shoes. Maybe it is just that they are new shoes?