Thursday, February 17, 2011

In these shoes? I doubt you'd survive

Ah I love the smell of new shoes in the morning! Finding the right shoes however...
For years I was running in Asics 21XX series. Until they did something to the 2150s that, well, I just could not forgive them for. Why do shoe companies do that? Such a huge change. I went through 1 pair and they sucked. To add insult to injury, my marathon shoe of choice was the Asics DS trainer. The up dated version also had changes, so I never even when there with the 15. Luckily, right before Boston last year, I found a pair of 14s and have been carefully NOT running too much in them incase I want to run Boston in them this year as well (they have less than 200 miles on them).
Since the new Asics sucked, I moved to Brooks Adrenalines which I've been totally happy with as a trainer, though I want something a bit lighter to race in. With my problems with PF and some flattish feet, I need a bit of support in my shoes. I've had super feet insoles and they've worked great. Adding more strength training to my routine I believe has also helped my issues. I've heard rave reviews about the Kinvara but just didn't want to risk going to a neutral shoe. I've also heard they're good up until mile 20 of a marathon. I want something good up until mile 26.2 of a marathon. So now Saucony has introduced the Mirage, in the same family but with a little bit of support. I just got a pair of these and I'm itching to take them out. They'll go on a recovery run today and hopefully I will race the Cherry Tree 10 miler in them on Sunday. I will report back.

Speaking of 10 miler, since I'm racing this weekend, I've rearranged my running a bit. On Sat, I did my long run on 16 then yesterday I did 17 so I'd have time to recover and be able to race on Sunday and not have to worry about getting the long run in.
While that's a little closer than I'd normally want my long runs to be, I felt pretty good. The pace was about the same for both and I've had minimal pain.
So yes, I'm doing a 10 miler on Sun. I really like this distance and it's too bad there are so few 10 mile races. This course is 3 loops of Prospect Park in Brooklyn which is fairly rolling with a big up hill and a big down hill. It will be my first race as a master and I am hoping to PR.

In other news, anyone even slightly interested in running has by now heard of the Boston Marathon changing it's registration process and qualifying times. While slightly confusing for 2012-13, I think it's pretty much the best they could do. What does this mean for me? (since this is all about ME!) well, nothing really, since I don't think I'm going to run Boston again (for a while anyway) but hypothetically, it means for next year, I would need to run a 3:50, but if I ran my goal time of sub 3:40, I'd be able to sign up earlier. For 2013, my qualifying time goes back to 3:45 which is what it was when I first qualified. But like I said, I don't have any plans on going it after this year.

And lastly, last week I posted about raising money for The Trevor Project. The response so far has been GREAT. In one week, we've raised over $2200! We also got a shout out on The Trevor Project's Facebook. Thanks to all of you who donated and the donation site will be up until Boston.

4 comments:

Ron Abramson said...

Not sure that calling a shoe the "Mirage" is the best marketing tool, but I hope they work for you. Nice job on the fundraising, and best of luck this weekend.

Elizabeth said...

Everyone seems to be jumping on the Kinvara bandwagon, but just running across an expo hall in them and everything hurt. Smart move to find the shoe that's right for you. I love the adrenaline. I like racing in lighter shoes, but I have done speedwork in the Adrenaline and never though my performance was weakened.

Unknown said...

The 2140/2150 debacle is also where Asics & I parted company. I've had success moving to more neutral shoes, but it does take some time for one's body to adapt; not unlike heel strikers who buy a pair of Vibrams, run 10 miles in them on their first try, then declare them a disaster:-)

Girl In Motion said...

Can't wait to hear all about the new shoes, but more importantly, have a GREAT RACE!! I sense a PR on the horizon - it smells like pretty flowers mixed with sweat. Go get it!