I competed in the Seahawk 12k, which offered runners quite a unique experience. The Seahawks are a professional football team here in Washington State and the course circled into their local training facility and around the entire complex. Along the way runners were given a bit of entertainment from the Seahawk band/ drum squad. The race went out kinda fast for me, or at least felt fast due to the wet, windy, and cold conditions. I asked a partner of mine also racing what our pace was and he said about 5min per mile pace. I thought to myself "before I was injured this was easy". Of course the race course was pretty hilly to top it all off so 5 minute per mile pace is actually pretty quick. Many people look at times and do not realize that times are pointless because they are relative to weather and course elevation drops and gains.
I was eventually able to get a slight lead as the hills started to unravel along the course. I had intended to use the race as a tempo effort since it was my first race of the season. The hills made it very difficult to feel as if it were a tempo. By the time I reached the Seahawk training facility the drum squads' beats gave me a much needed energy boost and I was able to hang on for the win.
At the end of the race I got a little interview with Kiro 7 (Local News Channel).
I broke out the new Inov-8 shoes for the race as I prepare for the Washington State Road Running Championship coming soon. I figured I need to break them in and see how they perform. Inov-8 has a new line of Road Shoes out this year check them out here. I tried out the yellow Road X 155's. I was concerned they'd be slick as the shoe looks quite flat on the bottom lacking much tread. I was given the best conditions in my opinion in trying out a new shoe. Wet and hilly conditions set the stage and the 155's performed better than I imagined. Not only did I have perfect traction on tight wet turns, but also the shoe was super light weight and offered a snug sock like feel for the upper giving the foot and ankle the support that many minimalist shoes lack. In addition to the light feel, the flexibility of the 155 allows the foot to really plant and aids your ability to use your toe off power to the best of your ability. I was impressed with this shoe, and after finding out that Inov-8 plans to develop a few more shoes even lighter gives me something to look forward to as I prepare for a very competitive summer of racing!
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