The colony half 2021 was today. I ran it in memory of my eldest brother who passed away five years ago due to sudden heart attack. I wish he had taken better care of his health and medical system in India had not failed him.
My main goal for the colony half was to see if my knee inflammation for half marathon distance is significantly less with Vibrams barefoot shoes when compared to normal heavy cushioning shoes (Asics GT 2000v8 in my case). This will pave the road for me to later run a full marathon in Vibrams barefoot shoes or any other barefoot shoes I take fancy too.
Earlier this year in March, I ran a marathon. I was woefully unprepared. But regardless, after first half my knees were so inflamed that I ended up walking the second half. I still completed the marathon in 6 hours 20 minutes but I was not the happy camper. I had started the marathon with the goal of running it in 5 hour 30 minutes. I was with the 5 hour 30 minute pacing team for the first half and we completed it in 2 hour 45 minutes. I asked The 59 year old gentleman who was our pacer if his knees were inflamed and his answer was negative.
In the colony half marathon, about 8 out of 13.1 miles are on a gravel trail, rest are on paved road. Vibrams sole is quite thin so on gravel you get some acupressure kind of feeling, so I thought that can’t be too bad. Though I can’t be real judge of that because I do not have any experience with acupressure. However, I watched for any sharp stones on the gravel…