Good luck to our 3 racers this weekend!  Fruitfly is running a New Year's Eve 5k.  FaithUpHigh is running one on New Year's day - hopefully not with a hangover.  And I'm running a half marathon Sunday.

John425 wrote:

 

Okay, I've decided.  How could I be so heartless as to withhold the beauty of my highlighter yellow/green Kinvaras from such a magnificent event as the Charleston , SC Riverfront Race Festival?

 

Wear those while standing next to Jim and his Blaze Orange Kinvaras and people will think they are hallucinating.

I ran 9 miles, yesterday.  It was my first run in nearly two weeks after being sick.  I wouldn't recommend doing that.  Although my last long run was 11 miles and only left me with tired legs, yesterday I suffered a tender left knee and aching calves.  This morning my knee is in good shape but my calves are still tight.  But, Charleston is only two weeks away and I had suffered a setback which I felt desperate to recover.  I will run one more long run next Saturday.  I will plan on 14 and should have no problem making it.  That will leave me a week for a couple easy short runs and then a rest before running my first half marathon.  After that, I'm registered for the Gasparilla half in Tampa on Feb. 27.

Surfing_Vol wrote:

 

John425 wrote:

 

Okay, I've decided.  How could I be so heartless as to withhold the beauty of my highlighter yellow/green Kinvaras from such a magnificent event as the Charleston , SC Riverfront Race Festival?

 

 

Wear those while standing next to Jim and his Blaze Orange Kinvaras and people will think they are hallucinating.

I wore my highligher-yellow Kinvaras for the half, and when I ran a little bit of the marathon with Jim (and his nuclear-powered orange Kinvaras), one of the bands by the side of the road started singing about how we had the brightest shoes they'd ever seen.

Don

rbird wrote:

 

And don't forget your matching gloves.  That was quite the ensemble.

 

Everyone had their Kinvaras on (except me)  We should post those photos with a warning about eye protection due to the glare.

I cant wait to get me a pair of shade inducing shoes!!!! lol

Ok I have results and a question. To start off with my daughter had a great race. Her farthest run before this race was 5 miles and then she got sick and hadnt run for 3 weeks before this race. Needless to say she said she would never do a marathon again without training for it!! (i have hi hopes now that she will do one again.) When we started the race i jogged with her and was hoping for a 10min/mile. that lasted all of one mile, but we hovered around 11 min for the first 4 and then dipped into the 13 mark. I also told her after the first couple of miles that i would probably leave her around mile 10 and run the rest of the way. It was interesting to note that around mile 4 my body really wanted to go and i mean go. so to placate myself when my daughter walked i ran backwards......needless to say i got stares, strange looks, and remarks. most it good natured fun. :-D Around mile 6 we meet up with some people that we talked and jogged and walked with for a couple of miles. I told bre then that at the 8 mile marker i was going to go.... and i did. I ran the last 5. around mile 12 i got a huge cramp in my right side that took forever to get rid of. I am not sure why I got it (i understand the mecahnics of why a cramp happens, just i know i did something wrong to get this one!!!). it either had to do with the adjustment in sudden speed or it had to do with my intake of fluids. my question to you all is...... when and how much do you hydrate during a marathon?  my daughter and i avg 12.15 a mile for the first 8 and then i avg 7.59 for the last 5.

I am really glad i did it. my finally time was 2.15.33 and my daughters finally time was 2.48.02. I look forward to doing a few more this year, this was a great start!! congrats to all those that pr'd at their races this weekend.

on a side note i came in 715 in my division and 8148 place overall out of 19298. if i would if ran with the group, that had my actual run time i would have been in the top 2000 and that is only a 30 min difference than the time i actually came in. How crazy is that!!!!

Taylor,

If you understand the mechanics of cramping, please share them.  My research in medical and physiological studies reveals that doctors don't really have a clue about cramping. My takeaway -- trial and error.

SV

John425 wrote:

 

I didn't do so well in the Charleston Half Marathon.  But, I had just become solid after a round of food poisoning two days before the race.  Still, I finished and that is what counts.  I'm running the Gasparilla Half Marathon in a little more than a month and I expect my performance to blow away what I did in Charleston.  Charleston took a toll on my legs, too.  I ran in my Kinvara's and I suspect that was not a wise decsion for me.  I've run 11 miles with absolutely no problems except for normally tired legs but I run my training runs in either Asics 2150's or New Balance 1064's.  I've come to prefer the New Balance for long runs so that's what I plan to wear in my next Half.

I think you did great, John, particularly losing 20 minutes to a port-a-john line early on!

The Kinvaras have much less cushion than your other trainers, which is great for shorter races, but your feet need time to adapt before doing longer races in them. It's probably a good call to go with your Asics or NBs for Gasparilla.

If you mix the Kinvaras into your training a little more at longer distances, you'll find that your feet will handle them better. Your other shoes are support shoes (or neutral leaning towards support), while the Kinvaras are straight-up neutral shoes. If you want to go full-time in the Kinvaras, you'll probably want to make a gradual transition into neutral trainers and then start moving into shoes with smaller heel-toe drops.

Don

dwm082 wrote:

 

I think you did great, John, particularly losing 20 minutes to a port-a-john line early on!

 

The Kinvaras have much less cushion than your other trainers, which is great for shorter races, but your feet need time to adapt before doing longer races in them. It's probably a good call to go with your Asics or NBs for Gasparilla.

 

If you mix the Kinvaras into your training a little more at longer distances, you'll find that your feet will handle them better. Your other shoes are support shoes (or neutral leaning towards support), while the Kinvaras are straight-up neutral shoes. If you want to go full-time in the Kinvaras, you'll probably want to make a gradual transition into neutral trainers and then start moving into shoes with smaller heel-toe drops.

 

Don

Thanks, Don.

For anyone browsing, Charleston was a great experience.  I think the entire town was runner friendly, too.  The race organizers have been made aware from a number of people that one port-a-john at each aid station is not enough and they are already looking to correct that next year.

Happy running!