THE morning after the night before and I'm really struggling - walking or even cycling to work is not going to be easy.
Yesterday's Eastbourne Half Marathon was never going to be a test of personal fitness, endurance or even speed. The goal of pacing runners around the 13.1-mile course in two hours flat at straight nine minute miles was always going to be straight forward.
The fact that I had never run the course before, including a tough, two-pronged climb towards Beachy Head at three miles was a little unsettling, but I figured that if we got a little ahead with our pacing before we reached the Meads area of Eastbourne where the hills kicked in, we would be back on track by the descent. And so it proved.
No, the test was going to be the new shoes. The furthest I'd run in my new minimalist Evos was eight miles last weekend in the New Forest when they had felt comfortable enough. Add another five miles in a race situation was a different matter.
Not the point really and I hope his initial cynicism was corrected by the end thanks to the large numbers of people who tracked us along the route and were genuinely grateful afterwards for having a target runner. Here's my article which appeared on the Eastbourne Herald's website which describes the pacing experience: http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local-news/eastbourne-half-marathon-a-day-of-1-582-individual-success-stories-1-4847167
During the race, I felt comfortable throughout. The only time I noticed the Evos were the two climbs when the shoes felt so light that I was able to push off my soles and ease gently up the hill. Without the drag of cushioned heels, these are smooth uphill runners. As for the rest of the run, the shoes didn't give me any jip and the only aches and pains were the usual muscular ones after being on your feet for two hours.
But come last night and now this morning, my body aches as if its been put through a spin cycle all night. I feel like a car which has been driven over 13 miles of speed bumps without any suspension to cushion the blows.
My feet are sore and bruised, especially around my left foot which tends to pronate and strike from the side. My heels especially feel a little raw and are pulsing. As a consequence my hips and the back of my legs are aching with the sort of pain you tend to feel after running a marathon. Usually after a half marathon I'm a little stiff, but ready for a gentle tempo run the following evening - not tonight, I fear.
It is down to the shoes and in many ways that is my fault.
I totally forgot about adjusting my style or my running form. I had tried to run as I normally do. Because I was running slower than normal, I allowed my running style to become lazy by running too much off my heels. I was ambling along the course, allowing those heels to drop and not thinking how I should be running.
Of course, running 13 miles and two hours in shoes with minimal support to your ankle or the base of your feet has its consequences, but it is going to be interesting how the shoe stands up to its final test in two weeks' time.
Then Team Evo gets together for the Mizuno Reading Half Marathon. The dozen runners who have been testing the new shoes will be running the race. It's the culmination of our six week testing where each of the runners have competed in a wide variety of events.
For me, I'll be able to run at my speed and tempo. I will have to run properly and think about rushing off the soles, leaning forward and running much more balanced. If I do, then I am sure I won't suffer that horrible Monday morning feeling afterwards.
These, by the way, are the Mizuno Evos which I have been writing about: http://ow.ly/iaKlu
And these are some of the blogs from my fellow Team Evo runners:
Fiona Bugler: http://
Jon Mac: http://www.pixelscotland.
Scott Goodwin (BOSH): http://boshrun.com/
Kate Percy (Go Faster Food): http://www.
Louise Nicholettos: http://www.
Ian Brazier: http://
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