run #25 5th 6 mile run at 6.6 miles

Having learnt from the previous two runs I decided to implement my finding from my longer runs.
I decided to do a gentle pace for the first 45 minutes of my run. This was to treat it as a warm up. I've found recently that my whole running set of muscles, ligaments and tendons really prefer a nice slow warm up.
I wasn't too sure about my pads seeing as run #24 had some serious sprints in it. They did feel a bit tender on the concrete paths. These paths are sometimes set like mini cobble stones. I think they are actually harder to run on than the tarmac.  So after 45 minutes I gently eased into a quicker pace. As I'm not timing each mile its difficult to give an estimate of pace. It was comfortable and enjoyable. This to me is very important.
Today on the run I noticed that one can have a mindset while running. Mine was set at default. This default setting only looks at progress. That's to say its always looking in the future or looking for moments to keep going faster.  I then decided to see if I could change that mindset to one of enjoyment. To take out the competitve element of the run and just enjoy the feeling of running. At the right pace running feels amazing. Its very uplifting and seems to drive itself.
On my previous run I really pushed to a very fast pace barefoot on the tarmac. This left my pads feeling quite tender towards the end. That run was on Monday. So my pads only had 2 days of recovery.
Today I decided to put on the aqua shoes at around 5 miles in. However, while running on the tarmac I felt pretty comfortable so decided to run for 7 minutes and then put the shoes on. I did this. I then decided I would only run 7 mins with the shoes on. I did this as well. I then managed to finish my run barefoot.  My pads were surprisingly in good condition at the end. So this bodes well for the future.
What I will do is strip off a minute in the shoes on each run until I'm down to 4 minutes. I'll then stop using the shoes altogether for this particular run.  At the point of not using my shoes I'll start considering running a further .8 miles which takes the run to 7.4 miles. Its a particular landmarked route so its easier for me to bed that in.  So I'll do a further 3 runs with the shoes shaving a minute off each run. I'll then go completely barefoot for the run for about another 3-5 runs and then extend it.