Kinvara 5s with a side of sausage

Thinking out of the box

Today's run (street): 3.8 miles

We had early plans this morning so I had to get out early to meet our schedule. Like yesterday, I was tight on time and that caused me to cut my targeted distance short. I didn't cover five miles as planned, but I ran an interesting route. The run seemed to go by fast. After checking the data, I saw that I'd averaged 20 seconds a mile slower than yesterday.

Today's route

When we got home I saw that my new Kinvaras had arrived. Over the years I've received shoes from manufacturers for review (most recently the Saucony Triumph ISOs) and that's always fun. However, test models are not necessarily the shoes that I'd buy for myself. The Kinvara 5 definitely seems to meet my needs. In fact, it's the third version of the Kinvara that I've owned, and I was happy to pay for them.

My Kinvara collection

I immediately replaced the K5's original laces with a pair of "sausage" style. These laces never untie and I use them with most of my running shoes. The Kinvara 5s have a feature called "Pro-Lock" that provides a more secure mid-foot fit and I wondered how that would work with new laces. After trying them on and taking some steps around the living room, I determined that the combination worked.

I plan to use them for the first time tomorrow. I have no expectation that these new shoes will give me more speed or provide a noticeably better running experience than the Triumphs. But from the first time I put put on a Kinvara in 2010, I knew it was the shoe for me. I hope it still is.