Warm up 880 M: 4:58.14
Rest: 24.71
6 K: 30:58.25
Rest: 1:00.41
6 K: 28:35.80
Rest: 30.50
6 K: 29:05.10
Rest: 30.59
Warm down 4.13 K: 28:08.04
Total 23.01 K: 2:04:11
I ran in flip-flops. They are light. They also protect the sole from injury. But they are not comfortable compared with split-toe minimalist shoes MUTEKI and running in bare feet. The biggest drawback is lack of flexibility. I've seen two materials for flip-flops. One is spongy, but not durable. The other is durable but does not have flexibility. Both seem not good for running a race seriously. The race is coming soon. I must decide what to wear (or not to wear). I know one guy is running the race in bare feet, and he is going to go for breaking the national record for barerfoot full marathon. He is on another level. I'm an average citizen runner. I must be realistic. About a month ago I checked part of the course. The road surface was rather rough, and didn't look good for running in bare feet (at least for me!). I have three options in mind:
1) Hand-made huaraches
2) Oleno's running socks
3) Aqua shoes
1) Hand-made huaraches match my running costume most. My running costume is a tiger print one-piece. And huaraches just beautifully blend in. But I ran a race in huaraches only once, and that race was a disaster. One of the shoe laces got loose while running, and part of a foot got scraped. I learned a better way to tie them. So technical problems are supposed to have been solved. Plus the problems mentioned above occurred in a race that was ridiculously hilly. The huaraches had to endure a tremendous amount of shock. The race in December is almost flat. So damage to the shoes should be far smaller. Nonetheless, you never know what can happen in the race. A little anxiety remains...
2) Oleno's running socks are a realistic choice. They protect the sole. But protection is minimum. There is reddish brown, which kind of blends in to my tiger costume. They are open-toe, so there is a little bit of barefoot-ness. But I've never run a single race in those socks. Well, since I ran many races in bare feet already, there is nothing I should worry about. But as I said, the course presents a rather rough road condition. Will they withstand it? God only knows.
3) Aqua shoes at this point seem the best option. They have been already tested. I ran the Tateyama Wakashio Marathon 2018 in aqua shoes, and I renewed my PR. Tateyama has a rather poor road condition, and the shoes withstood the entire distance. So why not in the Shonan Kokusai Marathon as well. The colors are neon yellow and blue. They do not seem to match the tiger costume, but they do in a funny way, because their pattern is kind of tiger-ish. The only drawback is that there is no nakedness. They don't win much respect from cheering audiences. One merit of these shoes, though, is that they are so light and elastic that you can roll them up, and put them into a pouch that I will be carrying on my waist. So after running the first 10 K or half and if I feel that I can go the rest without shoes, I may just take them off and run the rest in bare feet. Just a thought. I might change my mind. There is still some time. I'll do more thinking and make my final decision.
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