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Saucony Kinvara 3 Review “Three is a magic number” (@Bintherun believeintherun.com)

After a hard effort yesterday, it was nice to get in some easy recovery miles in my Hattoris through Bellevue on a pleasant and sunny morning. The schedule was 4-miles easy followed by 6 x 100m stride outs. 

I finished the first mile in around 9 min, before I settled into an 8:15ish pace for the remaining 3. At first my legs were really sore from P90X on Monday and the tempo run yesterday, but this quickly faded. My legs are definitely tired, but they still felt pretty good throughout the run, even during the 6 x 100m stride outs at the end which were at 6:18 pace.

I’ve got tomorrow morning off in prep for the track workout with the JSRC tomorrow night. It will be nice to sleep in a bit 🙂

Beast Mode….ON!

This morning’s schedule called for an easy 4-mile run with 4 x 100m stride outs at the end. My plan was to do this in my Saucony Hattoris since I’m trying to increase my total “barefoot” mileage. I woke up very late to meet Nathan, so I sent him a text to start without me and I would intersect him at some point on the route.

Trying to catch up with Nathan made my splits a little uneven, but all were very easy recovery miles. This felt really good after the hard track workout last night. I’m a little sore after track, but nothing that interfered with the run this morning. By the time we came to the 4 x 100m stride outs, my legs felt really, really good and I thoroughly enjoyed the short bursts of going fast.

It turned out to be a perfect morning with sunny skies and temps around 40 degrees. Tomorrow the temps are supposed to start going back up with lows only into the 50s overnight after 3 straight days in the 30s. Our group is meeting tomorrow at LP Field for a 12-14 mile run using the route for the second half of the Country Music Marathon that will be two weeks from Saturday. I’m glad to be getting this preview run since I’ll be leading the 4-hour pace group for the marathon. I’ve run the first half of the course many times, but have never run the second half after they changed it for last year’s race.

Beast Mode….ON!

Another day, another easy-paced run with Nathan in Bellevue. Today’s schedule called for 6-miles at easy pace followed by 4 x 100m stride outs. As has become somewhat routine for Wednesdays, I ran in my Hattoris which inevitably made the pace a little slower than the easy-paced runs on Monday and Tuesday.

I’ve done so much running in Bellevue recently that I suggested to Nathan that we mix it up a bit with a lap around the old, and empty, Bellevue Center Mall (it’s a bit depressing). Our first mile was just under 10-minute pace before we dropped it down to a consistent 8:40ish pace for the remaining miles. My legs still continue to improve after the race on Saturday, with no more lingering soreness.

We ended up doing the 4 x 100m stride outs in the parking lot of Bellevue Church of Christ. This is the first time I’ve ever done stride outs in my Hattoris, but it felt pretty good. I actually feel like I have the capacity for a much faster turnover when I’m up on my forefoot.

No scheduled run tomorrow morning, but tomorrow night is track practice with the JSRC.

Beast Mode…ON!

The Saucony Kinvara 3 Site is Finally Up

This morning I completed a 7-mile solo run through the streets of Bellevue in my Saucony Hattoris. Through the end of last year I was only doing four or five miles per week in my Hattoris, but I have been slowly increasing that this year to the point where I’m trying to use them for most of my recovery miles on Wednesday and Friday. I know I’ve said this several times, but it is amazing to me how much of a difference it has made adding these types of runs. I have stopped using orthotics, have moved to the Saucony Kinvara as my primary trainer and race shoe (was using the Nike Vomero), and no longer have aches and pains in my arch and metatarsals. 

Today’s run felt pretty smooth, and I didn’t notice the minor aches that I was feeling on Monday and Tuesday. I kept the pace pretty easy at around a 9min average since I put in quite a few miles yesterday (14). So far this week I’ve completed 28-miles after only getting in 25 last week while in Honduras. I’m hoping to land around 60 for the week after Saturday’s run.

Beast Mode…ON!

Saucony Kinvara 3 – I’m totally getting geeked up about the upcoming Kinvara 3 from Saucony. My initial nervousness about the changes has now turned into…CAN’T WAIT TO TAKE THESE FOR A SPIN. While the official drop is in May, they are supposed to begin showing up at specialty retailers on April 26th.

Easy 6.5-mile run this AM in my Saucony Hattoris with Nathan & Paxton from the EW Nature Center. Slightly faster pace than normal for a Hattori run, especially after the first couple of miles, but it felt pretty effortless. Legs actually felt better than they did yesterday. Really want to do more of my easy miles in these shoes since I can tell such a HUGE difference in my feet and calves since adding them to the rotation. Now will have a full 35 hours off before track tomorrow night.

Beast Mode…ON

Love this teaser for the upcoming @Saucony Kinvara 3 which will land in May. Nervously looking forward to trying out the update. As I’ve said before, the Kinvara has become my go-to shoe for most everything, so I really hope they don’t mess up a great thing.

Even though I’m pretty much a Saucony guy all the way, I’ll have to admit the upcoming Nike Flyknit line looks extremely intriguing. Having a material that will provide a “sock-like” fit without the need for overlays sounds pretty cool. Remains to be seen how this will effect things like durability, breathability, etc. The weight of the trainer version is going to be extremely close to the Saucony Kinvara at 7.7 oz for a men’s size 9. The racer version will be over 2 oz less at 5.6 oz. This shoe was worn by several individuals competing in the US Olympic Marathon trials in January. Might be a possible alternative to the Kinvara for me if Saucony ever ruins the design.

Click here for today’s preview of the Nike Flyknit Racer & Trainer from Running Warehouse. 

Nike’s Flyknit website…

What do you think?

Saucony Kinvara 3 Sneak Peek

RunningWarehouse.com has posted a fairly detailed preview of the upcoming Saucony Kinvara 3 on their running blog. I expected more details to finally start coming out after the bi-annual Outdoor Retailer show last weekend.

As I’ve said before, I have been concerned about the changes since the Kinvara 2 is pretty close to perfect shoe for me. However, after reading this and other reviews, my concern is slowly turning into excitement. I also LOVE the colors that are going to be available in this revision. Quite outside the box for Saucony. What do you think?

Saucony Kinvara TR

I finally found a picture of the upcoming Saucony Kinvara TR (Trail), which had its coming out party at last weekend’s bi-annual Outdoor Retailer show and is supposed to drop in the middle of the year. I have been using the Saucony Peregrine as my trail shoe since last spring, but am excited about the possibility of an even lighter-weight trail shoe made on the same Kinvara last. According to a blog post from someone at the event, the Kinvara TR weights 8.5 oz, which is almost 1.5 oz less than the Peregrine. (also…the same blog post has additional details on the upcoming Kinvara 3)

Update Was forwarded some additional information from a fellow runner in Nashville. A friend of his at the Outdoor Retail show was able to try on a pair of the Kinvara TR. His exact quote was… “Just tried on a pair….if you like the Kinvara….sweeeeeeet!” 

Check out the sick new colors which will be available in the upcoming Saucony Kinvara 3s!! I’m nervous about the changes they are making to the shoe, but the styles are awesome. Picture was tweeted out earlier today by @clindyrun – Saucony CMO

Update: Looks like these babies are going to hit in July 2012 – at the same time as the Kinvara TR.

Update 2: There will be six colors total for each gender (picture looks like eight, but this comes directly from Saucony). Four colors will be released on May 1, 2012. The other two will be released on July 1, 2012.

I think I may have found my new racing flat for track workouts and shorter distance races. About a year and a half ago I started using the Saucony Kinvara for track days because I wanted a lighter weight shoe than my Nike Vomero trainers. Now that the Kinvara has become my primary training shoe, and now that I’m also running 4 to 5 miles every week in Saucony Hattoris, I’ve been seriously thinking about moving to a lighter weight racing flat for track workouts.

I had previously looked at the Saucony Grid Type A4, but just found out today that the Grid Type A5 is coming out in February, and the weight has been reduced from 6.3 to 5.6 oz! That is only 1.2 oz heavier than my Hattoris.

Add to this the fact that Saucony tends to fit me extremely well, and that these babies look really SWEET, and I think I might just have to add the A5 to my arsenal. What do you think?

Yesterday, Competitor.com posted preview pictures of the Saucony Kinvara 3 which is set to launch sometime in 2012. Over the past 2 years, the Saucony Kinvara has become my go-to shoe for races of all distances, speedwork, tempo runs, and some normal training runs. I was very pleased that there was very little change between the Kinvara 1 and Kinvara 2, and that nothing was altered in the sole or midsole.

Well, it looks like that is not going to be the case with the Kinvara 3. From the pictures below It appears the support structure of the upper has been extensively modified:

It is also obvious that the sole design has been altered, especially in the heel and midfoot areas. It is interesting that the rubber is now only on the outside of the heel, with EVA foam everywhere else. Looks like the forefoot is relatively similar to the previous models.

Here’s hoping that these changes are an actual improvement, and do not negatively affect the fit, weight, or ride of the earlier models.

What do you think of the new design?

Thursday (Oct 27)

Running: (7.5-Mile Track Workout) Tonight I finally felt some jump come back into my legs, and felt good throughout the workout. After a 1.5-mile warmup and 6 x 100m stride-outs, we did:

• 3 x 200m f (100) [400]
• 600m f+ (300)
• 3 x 200m f (100) [400]
• 800m Straights & Curves (300)
• 600m f+ (300)
• 800m Straights & Curves (300)
• 1000m f (400)

With an additional .75 mile warmdown, the total mileage came out to 7.5-miles. Paxton looked especially strong tonight, and even though I felt good he clearly had an extra gear. I’m really pleased with the workout, and am getting my confidence back.

Cross-Training: Tonight Olivia and I did P90X: Ab-Ripper X, and I followed that with a couple of sets of chest exercises.

Friday (Oct 28)

Running: (4-Mile “Barefoot” Recovery Run) Paxton, Nathan and I did an easy recovery run through Bellevue this AM in the pouring rain. Even though it was cold and rainy, the run was still a lot of fun, and it was good to have the Bellevue Trio together on a Friday morning. While the Hattoris offer no protection from water, they do drain extremely well which was good today.

Log for September 28 & 29 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Wednesday

• 4-Mile Barefoot Run – Since I’m not running on Friday (tapering), I moved my normal 4-mile Saucony Hattori run to Wednesday night after Bible Study. I kept the pace very easy, and it ended up being a very enjoyable run (even though it was solo).

  On a side-note there doesn’t seem to be any ill-effects from my fall on Tuesday. Even though I was pretty sure I only injured my hands, I was afraid that when I woke up this morning something else would hurt.

Thursday

• 7.25-Mile Easy Run – Normally I do track with the JSRC on Thursday, but tonight is Olivia’s birthday, so I decided to meet Nathan for an early morning easy-run through Bellevue. I also didn’t feel the need for a speed workout since I have a tune-up 15K race on Saturday.

  Even through the temps were fairly cool, there was a thick fog which made it slightly uncomfortable. Our first mile was 9:30, but we steadily increased our pace as the run progressed for an overall average of 8:32. Even with the fog, the run was very enjoyable due to the easy pace and good company.

  It is hard to believe that the Chicago Marathon is now just a little over a week away!

Log for September 21 to 23 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Wednesday

• 4.5-Mile Recovery Run – After several days of running at odd times due to business travel, I finally got back on schedule this morning. Paxton and I did a very easy recovery run on the Harpeth River Greenway and in Edwin Warner Park.  We normally run 6 to 7 miles on Wednesday, but cut back a bit today to 4 1/2 since we are in our taper for Chicago. My legs could definitely feel the effects of my hard 10-mile tempo run last night, but they slowly loosened up as we progressed through the run.

Thursday

• 6.6-Mile Track Workout – I missed the last 2 track workouts with the JSRC due to business travel, so it was good to be back tonight. The weather was awesome at 6pm with temps in the low 70s, overcast skies, and a slight breeze. After a 1.25-mile warmup + 6 x 100m strides, we did a workout that was a variation of one of my favorites. It was three sets consisting of 3 x 400m, 5 x 250m, and 3 x 400m. While I felt absolutely fantastic during the workout, I did a really poor job of running consistently between intervals. I’m not very happy about being inconsistent, but am pleased with how good my legs felt, especially in the last set.

Friday

• 3-Mile “Barefoot” Run – Today was the first day of fall, and the weather made a big change in response. At 6:30am, the temps were around 50 degrees with a slight drizzle after very early morning rains. Paxton and I ran a modified version of our normal Friday loop through Bellevue, and it felt fantastic. I wish that I could bottle up the weather this morning and take it with me to Chicago. We kept the pace very easy, and it was an extremely enjoyable (but short) run. Just as we finished, the rain started coming down hard again. Crossed the 50-mile mark in my Saucony Hattoris, and I’m very glad that I added these “barefoot” type runs to my training for Chicago this year.

• Cross Training – Tonight I did P90X: Ab Ripper-X with Olivia, followed by P90X: Chest and Back.

Log for September 20 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th.  Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time. 

Tuesday

• 10-Mile Tempo Run – I really hate running at night, but my training schedule has been disorganized this week due to early morning work commitments. Since I didn’t get to run this morning, I hit the streets of Bellevue tonight after getting Sara to bed for a 10-mile tempo run. At 7:30pm the temps were a little higher than last night (mid 70s), and the humidity was still crazy.

  My goal tonight was to at least average goal marathon pace (7:26), but I felt really, really good from the very beginning. I finished the first mile in 7:23 and never looked back. My route consisted of many of the same streets that I ran on for the 22-miler on Sunday, and I felt very strong throughout the run. As I ticked off the miles, my pace continued to get faster and faster with 5 of the 10 miles under 7:10 pace. At the end of the run I was completely soaked, but still felt really good. My overall average was just under 7:11 per mile.

  I’m extremely pleased with the run, because my pace was 15 seconds faster than marathon pace, and (1) I’m only 2 days removed from a 22-mile training run, and (2) It was very humid tonight. This run is a BIG confidence boost heading into Chicago.

  I also used tonight’s run to tryout the hat (Nike), shirt (Pearl Izumi), shorts (Pearl Izumi), and shoes (Saucony Kinvara 2) I’m planning to wear in Chicago. Everything worked great, including my new Kinvara 2s which feel awesome. This is my second run in them, and I’ve decided to stick with the factory sock-liner instead of using my replacement insoles. If the temps are cool/cold in Chicago (as I hope they are), I will most likely add arm warmers, gloves, and a beanie hat to the ensemble.