Kinvara

Brooks PureConnects product review

March 12, 2012 by Michelle 20 Comments

I was so excited when these shoes arrived. I loved their look and so wanted to love them on the run.

Source: Brooks website

The minute I put them on the first thing I was struck by was the feel of the high arch support. I’m not really sure why Brooks thought that design element was necessary. While it didn’t hurt, I didn’t like that it was so noticeable just putting the shoes on and walking around my kitchen.

The Connects are definitely a narrow shoe. I didn’t find them tight, but they are a much closer fit after wearing both the Saucony Mirage and Kinvara 2s. The sole is narrow so I felt like my foot was spilling over a bit. I did like the snug heel fit and the fact that they are feather light!

I tried the Connects on the road, track and treadmill – but the only time I really enjoyed running in them was when I was on the track.Why the track? Perhaps the surface…I’m not really sure. I was on the fence about them after each run, but then on my final try I started to feel serious foot discomfort. Back in the box they went and off I went to the Brooks website for a chat with one of their reps. The recommendation this time? The PureFlows. Since I had originally ordered these shoes from Road Runner Sports, my next call was to them…again the recommendation was the Flows. So the Connects are on their way back and the Flows should be here tomorrow.

I plan to wait until after Saturday’s half before I try the Flows out – the Kinvaras will be my “go to” shoe once again. I’ll be curious to see if the PureFlows are a better match for me.

Do you try new shoes? Or are you loyal to one brand/model?

*(I purchased the Brooks PureConnects and all opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Filed Under: Kinvara, Mirage, product reviews, PureConnect, Saucony

Friday Five

September 23, 2011 by Michelle 5 Comments

I’m wondering what happened to the lovely fall-like temps we had here in New England just a week ago. Oppressive humidity has returned and it is sucking the life out of my “speedwork.”
I’m in the final days of trying to get ready for the family’s first trip to Disney World – my head is spinning from the daily emails from the lovely Disney folks reminding us of all the activities/shows/etc. we have to choose from, advice from friends on the “must dos,” and thinking of all that needs to get done before we get on the plane!
My last two long runs have been 10-milers and I’ve got 11 on tap for Sunday. I’ve really been enjoying my long runs and lovin’ how I’m feeling when I’m done. A turning point?
I’ve started using my Kinvaras for more than just track work and am amazed at how different the foot feel is vs. the Mirages. I think this slow and steady transition to a minimalist shoe has been the best approach for me – eventually I’d like to be running in the Kinvaras for long runs as well, but I think I’m going to wait until after Philly’s done.
Looking forward to a fairly quiet weekend – just the usual kids sports and family running around. After another crazy busy week, I’m craving some down time.

Have a Great Weekend!

Filed Under: Disney, general musings, Kinvara, Minimalism, Saucony

Trackwork and Shoe Questions

July 27, 2011 by Michelle 7 Comments

It was pouring rain when I woke up yesterday so I decided to switch up my workouts and do an easy 3 and strength training yesterday and save the track work for this morning. (It’s funny I don’t mind running on the road in the rain, but I find the track gets a little too slick).

Well it was absolutely beautiful this morning and I couldn’t wait to get to the track. I was surprised at just how many people were already there when I pulled into the parking lot! I’m very lucky that our local high school has a high quality track, and people were definitely taking advantage of it this morning. This was my first run in the Saucony Kinvaras I won from SUAR‘s giveaway a couple of weeks ago – I wasn’t sure how my legs were going to hold up so I also brought along the Mirages I’ve been running in regularly, just in case.

On tap today, 3 x 1600s with 800 jogs with a target pace of 10:15. After warming up, I hit the first interval right on target at 10:14. I felt really good so I decided to see if I could do each of the next two a little faster. I did the 2nd interval in 10:04 and the 3rd in 9:54 – mission accomplished!

I liked running in the Kinvara, though I think for now I will use them only for speedwork. My calves and feet still need to get stronger before I start putting more miles in them – perhaps sometime in the fall I’ll try them on some easy, recovery runs. For now I’m happy to continue to use the Mirage for most of my runs. I had been alternating between the Brooks Adrenalines and the Mirages, using the Adrenalines for my longer runs. But of late I was feeling a little discomfort in my left knee towards in the latter half of my runs, so just out of curiosity I started using the Mirage for all my runs and have had no problems. I’m now running exclusively in the Mirage and plan on using them for the race.

So I’m wondering if the difference in the heal-to-toe ratio between the two shoes was causing the discomfort? What do you think? Do you use different shoes depending on the workout?

Filed Under: Brooks Adrenaline, Kinvara, rotating shoes, Saucony, track work

Fun in the mail

June 20, 2011 by Michelle 5 Comments

I love getting new stuff in the mail!

So first the UPS man showed up with ….more new shoes! I know I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion how much I’m loving my Saucony Mirage. I started rotating these shoes into my runs in March and have steadily increased my miles in them – I even ran the half in them! I’d been thinking that once I put a fair amount of miles on them I’d look to add the Saucony Kinvara into the mix – one more step on the minimalism path.

Well, lucky me, Beth at Shut Up and Run recently hosted a giveaway with Online Shoes.com for a pair of Saucony Running Shoes – and I won! So yeah it’s not hard to see where this is going…I selected the Kinvara! To say I’m excited to have these shoes to add to the mix is an understatement! Big thanks to Beth for the giveaway and to Online Shoes for getting them to me so quickly!

Then, the folks at McDavid USA sent me a pair of their new True Compression Leg Sleeves to try out! I’ve already used them for recovery after my 8-miler yesterday and will try running in them this week. Stay tuned for a full review and giveaway!
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It was a pretty good training week last week, but I did end up missing one of my easy runs. On tap for this week:

Monday — Rest day. I’ll be spending part of the day at my oldest’s school picnic and then my youngest is having a friend over so I’m not sure how much rest will actually take place!

Tuesday — Tempo run (5)

Wednesday — Easy run (2) and strength training

Thursday — Yoga

Friday — Long run (8)

Saturday — weekly Pilates class

Sunday — Easy (3 or 4). If I make my schedule work, I might try a group run. I always run solo, so running with a group might be a nice change.

Filed Under: giveaways, Kinvara, McDavid USA, Saucony, training