Brooklyn Half Marathon: It Must Have Been The Shoes

This morning I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon.  I didn't expect much. I've been nursing a sore quad since running the NYC Half in March, and my goal was to finish under 1:50.  It was a perfect day.  The temperature was in the mid to high 50s at the start, and rose into the 60s. It was sunny and clear, but there was plenty of shade on the course.   The course was super crowded for the first few miles, and both my shoes came untied in miles 1-2, leading to much cursing and swearing at Spencer (see below).  Then things settled down, and the splits started to get faster.  The Brooklyn Half is front loaded with two trips up a pretty big hill in Prospect Park, and then a long flat run out to Coney Island. After a disastrous 9 minute first mile, I settled into a just sub 8 minute pace, and held it the whole way.  The big surprise was that when I started to slow a bit in the last couple of miles, I just picked up the clock speed without too much trouble.   The final result was 1:45.31.  This isn't a PR, but it's definitely on the good side of my Half Marathon times, 90 seconds faster than the NYC Half, and my best since 2009.  Best of all, I ran steady but slightly negative 5K splits.  That's very unusual for me.

Credit goes, I think, in the end, to Spencer (see above).  Here, and elsewhere, he has been singing the praises of the Saucony Kinvaras.  After picking up my race number yesterday, I happened to walk right by the Super Runner's Store.  What could I do but buy a new pair of shoes? I took Spencer (and the sales clerk)'s suggestion, and bought the Kinvaras.  I don't usually race on a brand new pair of shoes, but all of my other shoes are way past their prime, so I figured it was worth a try.  Aside from the lacing issues (see above), I love those shoes.  I've always stayed away from "performance" shoes because, I'm a "large frame" runner, and I was afraid I'd need more cushioning, but the balance of low heel displacement, wide forefoot, and dense but not too stiff cushioning was just perfect.  Thanks Spencer!!