Posts Tagged ‘running shoes’

A week gone by with nary a post so this is a meaty one, starting with this: 88 miles and a breakthrough.  Like a gift from the Running Gods (or the result of 3 weeks back at high mileage) my general aerobic paces are suddenly back to my pre-injured state.  ‘Tis a thing of beauty.

In an odd coincidence, Tuesday through Thursday produced 3 runs averaging 8:06, 8:07 and 8:08, yet each run was composed differently: one had some faster miles in the middle, one included fartlek and the 3rd run was even splits.  I was especially happy with that last one since I never start quickly anymore, my first mile is usually between 9:1x – 8:3x so I was pleased when I saw 8:17 for that initial mile.

But then!  Saturday afternoon I wore my Hyper Speeds for the first time (review below) and between their magic powers plus the last day of Lady Time (hormonal magic powers) and a beautiful upper-40s day, my first mile was a completely unexpected 8:05 and then it progressed from there, ending in 8 miles@7:46 avg. pace.

Heart Rate
As much as I love data, the last time I strapped on my HR monitor was in September before my Half.  It would have been wonderful to have the comparison of HR while injured and rebuilding, but the inevitable crappy feelings it would have brought were not at all worth it.  I like to be happy when I can and knowing those numbers wouldn’t have given me anything useful.

But this week, I figured I was ready to see where I stood, so I started yesterday by checking my resting HR.  Much to my delight, I got a rock-solid 46 with a teasing of 45 (47-48 is more of a usual) so Yay!  Then today, I wore it out for my runs.

I’m glad I wore it for both runs because, while the morning run’s HR was fine, the afternoon’s was better – which is a good reminder never to put too much weight on HR data for one run, there are simply too many reasons for it to vary.  But back to the run…

I wasn’t wearing the magic shoes but the hormonal magic must be lingering because it was another feel-good zippy run averaging 7:58/mi with an average HRR of 73% and it was windy out there.  Considering this is the first week where those paces have reappeared, this is a really strong sign that everything’s in order.  I couldn’t be happier.

Running Form – Arms
As you know, I’ve given attention to different areas of my running form over the past couple years.  I’d work on one thing for a while then eventually come to peace with it, either because I’ve made an improvement (posture) or because the initial problem loses importance (foot plant).

Starting last Friday, I began focusing on something that’s been bugging me since the start: my armswing.  It’s not all bad, for instance I don’t cross the centerline of my body which is a common enough mistake, but when I see photos or watch my shadow on the bike path, there’s a certain “smallness” to my arm carriage that I know could be improved upon.

While it sounds like an aesthetic complaint, it’s much more than that.  I mean, of course I’d like to look like an Elite or, hell, even a high school XC kid, but beyond appearance, I suspect I’m missing out on a power boost because of this.  After all, your arms drive your legs: they dictate how fast you’ll go and even affect your stride length, so it really is no small thing.

I started by studying the race video from September’s Half and noticed a clearly uneven carriage: one arm doesn’t go back far enough while the other one goes back farther, but only because it’s driven by the hand (not the shoulder or elbow, as you’d want),  thus the angle increases well beyond the optimal 90-degrees.

So I’ve been reading articles and watching videos of runners I like – here’s a nice slow-mo of Shalane and Desi at the trials (Kara too, but she was all tensed up at that point).

When I work on it (and it’s very much a focus on the shoulders, not just the arms) there’s more swing to my upper trunk, less rigidity. It also seems to give me a more “tits out” posture, which is a good thing, not because I’m trying to get a job at Hooters, but because it’s optimal for breathing and efficiency.

In fact, Friday’s run was weird, it was unseasonably warm, 59 degrees, but super windy and I was feeling like crap so I almost cut it short.  The first couple miles were 9:15s and I was slugging along. After a bit, I started paying attention to my arms/shoulders and I’m not sure if it was the distraction or if it was really helping, but I picked up a good amount of energy – the last few miles averaged 8:03s.

I tend to think it’s really helping since I also paid attention to it on Saturday’s fast run as well, this time with an additional “trick” of brushing my hands lightly on the sides of my hip, which ensures they’re going back far enough while keeping a good angle.

Weight
It’s been 9 days and I’ve lost a touch over 2 pounds. I’m also happy to report that by timing my meals differently I’ve virtually eliminated the hunger spikes I used to get.

As far back as I can remember, my dinner time has been around 6:30pm.  Didn’t matter if my bedtime was 10pm in the summer or 12-12:30am in the winter, I’d always eat at 6:30.  This meant that in the winter I’d have those extra hours before bed that invariably required snacks and carrot consumption.  Carrots are fine vegetables, btw, but I don’t love needing a stomach filler to keep the growling at bay.

Now, in the last month, my eating schedule started shifting due to doubling my runs.  I usually get in from the afternoon run at around 4:30-5pm which left some time before dinner, so I’d eat some almonds or other snack to hold me over.

But this week, I decided to do away with the snack and just go for it: eat a small meal right after the run and then push dinner up to 8pm. This works beautifully because then at 10-10:30pm, I’ll have another little meal, usually the ole standby of PB/cereal (I love that shit like crazy, don’t ask me why) – far much more substantial than carrots or little snacks.

Et voila! I end up pleasantly sated until bedtime and my morning run doesn’t need fueling.  I haven’t had a carrot in over a week. It’s a miracle.

Aside from that, I did a silly motivating thing that I’ve never done before…I bought a clothing carrot.  That is to say, the other day on a whim I ordered some compression shorts (I only ever wear regular running shorts) that I’m too chicken to wear at my current weight but I think might look pretty damn hot when I lose a few.

I didn’t actually buy them with that in mind but once they arrived and I put them on I was like “I can’t wear these, too scary”.  FYI, a 4″ inseam is frumpy for me in regular shorts but in compression (with the potential of ride-up)…not so much.  Anyway, instead of returning them, it struck me that they’d make a fun treat for sticking to the plan.  We’ll see, I may feel too nekkid in them no matter what but it’s silly fun and they were on sale, so no loss.

Shoes
As mentioned, I took advantage of RunningWarehouse’s shoe sale a couple weeks ago and bought the Saucony Fastwitch 5s and the Asics Hyper Speeds.  Here’s what happened…

Saucony Fastwitch 5s
These are the first pair of shoes I’ve straight up lost money on, which is my own fault for not exchanging them immediately.  The thing is, it was a defective pair but it wasn’t till the second run that I was sure about it.  When I first put them on, there was an intermittent feeling in my right arch when stepping off, almost a pinching, but it was occasional and I thought it might be something that just needed “seating” in the shoe.  I did try to find the source but no matter how I bent or investigated the innards with my hands, I couldn’t replicate it, so I took ‘em out for a run.

First run was fine, I didn’t notice the sharp thing though it was odd to run in a stability shoe after wearing neutral shoes for ages.  They were comfortable in the upper but extremely firm in the sole and I did not love them, but as I ran faster I started liking them more.

However, the 2nd time I took them out, the pinching thing was there in full force and I ended up with a blister on my arch!  That is a pain in the ass place to get a blister – you’re doomed to feeling it for days no matter what shoes you wear.  So I was pissed at the shoes but thought I’d give them another shot once my foot was settled. (only because I’d spent 52 bucks on them)

So yesterday, a week after the blister run, I tried them on again but was instantly alerted to that same hot spot.  At this point, I knew the shoes were a loss so I took some snippers and cut the logo off the side thinking it might be the hard plastic and did some other operating but in the end, I couldn’t locate it. I think it’s the stability post or whatever keeps the shoe supported but I have enough working shoes right now that I don’t care to try another pair.  And I’ll stick to neutral shoes from now on.

Asics Hyper Speeds (aka Magic Shoes)
These shoes are wonderful.  They’re the lightest shoe I’ve ever had, 6.1 oz, compared to the Adios’ 6.5.  Talk about barely there.  I took them on that 8-mile run yesterday and you know how that went (fabulously) and they felt great!  Lots of room in the toebox and no discomfort anywhere.

I’m debating whether to stock up on them, putting ‘em in regular shoe rotation since they’re so inexpensive right now (new version’s coming out) or whether to save them for races, in which case one pair will last me a long time.  Either way, I resisted wearing them today, the better to harness their mystical magical powers for good rather than evil.  Not really, I just wore the pair closest to the bed.

And that’s it for today’s self-involved novella.  Have a great start to your week folks, run well and enjoy yourselves.  Later!

Back to pre-injury volume this week with 90 miles.  It also marks my first week incorporating doubles as a regular thing, which I loved, so 10-11 runs/week will be the norm until summer.

Even though the mileage is the same, twice-a-days are decidedly different from singles.  Despite the luxury of shorter runs, your day is actually more about running since you have a standing afternoon appointment with the pavement.  This might be a novelty factor that wears off eventually but it does feel like a larger commitment to the sport.  It’s as if me and Running had been dating but now we’re engaged.

It’s great though, I’m getting to bed at a more reasonable hour, the scale is dropping and I feel more adaptable.  For example, I’ve always run when the weather sucks the least, so in winter that meant afternoons exclusively.  But a pre-breakfast run on a frosty morning turns out to be a fine way to start the day, especially when countered by a warmer afternoon run.  You get to see the park changing outfits and personalities as the day progresses.

Anyway, the extra effort of getting dressed and out there twice doesn’t bug me as I thought it would.  My two other preconceived complaints also ended up being moot – mostly because it turns out I’ve no compunction about being a dirty pig.

That is to say, I always thought running twice/day meant you had to take 2 showers and do twice the laundry.  But unless I have somewhere I need to be between runs, I just dry off and sit in my filth (which isn’t real filth, maybe a tad salty but I don’t smell).  And since most of my runs are half the distance they used to be, I’m cool with wearing most of my stuff twice before washing.  Rule: As long as it doesn’t stink, it can have another run.

So here begins a new running experiment (doubles) and a continuation of the one I began last summer (mileage).  Needless to say, I’m excited to see what comes of it.  I expect good things ahead.

A Doubly Good Week In Review
All easy stuff, though a couple runs had some fartlek or a few faster miles.  It’s a relief to find my paces returning to normal, I figure a couple more weeks should do it.

More shoes and a PureFlow coda
Running Warehouse has a great sale on racing flats (20% off) that ends today so check out the offerings. The prices are so good I ordered a couple models I’ve been curious about: the Asics Hyper Speeds and the Saucony Fastwitch 5s.  I plan on using them both as regular training shoes since the Adios’ worked so well in that regard.

Speaking of, I really do still love my Adidas Adios’ so despite my dissing the awful new color scheme and major design revamp I’ll probably order a pair of the new version, but only after the price goes down.

A final word on the PureFlows: I mentioned how they’d been said to be slippery in wet/snowy conditions so I took them out on a rainy run this week.  I had great traction on the asphalt bike path so I thought people might have been overreacting…until I ran under a couple bridges and felt some serious slippage.  I’m not sure why, it was the same bike path asphalt on a warm day (so nothing was frozen and I avoided the tar repair spots) but it happened twice.  So I’ll wear them in the rain, being careful under bridges, but if it snows, forgetaboutit, I’ll use another shoe.

I’ve switched between two shoe models for a while now: Saucony Kinvaras and Adidas Adios.  They’re different on a couple levels – Kinvara is a low-heel drop shoe, the Adios is a racing shoe I wear as a trainer and it has a standard heel-drop, but both are lightweight. This used to be more of a rarity, but lightweight shoes have been popping up like daisies in the past year, several featuring a low heel-drop so it seemed a good time to try something new, particularly since the newest Adios’ are so freakin’ ugly, I’m on strike till further colors become available.

Note on the right shoe, my trademarked snip at the base of the shoelace trim piece. Also of note, I do not have cankles though the photo makes it look like the left one is. It isn't. Really.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Brooks Pure line, so I thought it worth a shot.  The PureConnects would have been my first choice, they’re the lightest, but too many reviews mentioned a narrow fit so I didn’t even bother. The PureFlows, however, according to Shoeftr on Running Warehouse and the reviews I’ve read, pointed to a wider fit and roomier toebox, so I ordered a pair. Here are my thoughts:

Weight: I’m currently wearing men’s models in both the Kinvara (size 7, 7.1 oz) and Adios (size 7½, 6.8 oz). For the PureFlow, I bought women’s size 8.5.  At 7.5 oz, they’re slightly more shoe, but not noticeable to me.

Heel drop: Since I’ve been wearing Kinvaras for ages, it feels normal.

Fit: Feels great.  The toe is rounder than the Kinvaras so there’s more room for the tootsies.  There’s also a thick elastic band that crosses the instep which turns out to be pretty cool, keeping your arch snug to the shoe.  The trim frame around the laces is hard plastic and I had to snip it for my right foot (sensitive big toe knuckle), but I do that on all my running shoes now, so no biggie.

Sole: It’s got a harder sole than the Kinvaras which makes it much more comfortable over gravel, you don’t feel each rock.  I like this a lot.  However, it’s also said to be slick in wet conditions (as discussed on the last few pages of this) so I’ll switch out on rainy/snowy days.  I could do without the split sole design since the resulting space will surely grab an occasional rock and it doesn’t seem to do anything perceptible, but this is just a minor “eh”. (Edit: I took them out on a rainy day and for the most part, traction was good, though under a couple bridges I definitely noticed some slippage.  So I won’t be using them for snow or racing/workouts on a rainy day but rainy training runs are fine)

Comfort: Super comfortable!  Well padded and an enjoyable ride.  My first run in them was Friday, a planned 8, but they felt so good, I took it to 14mi.

Conclusion: I really like these shoes and think we’ll be buddies for a long time.

A Cutback Week In Review
My paces improved significantly this week.  I’m still not back to September fitness but getting there.  In the meantime, today I start posting my paces again.

It’s probably not apparent but the shape of the week was purposeful: lower mileage at the start for faster recovery, higher in the middle and lower today since next week will be high again.  Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be so anal about it but after that accelerated mileage bump, it seemed sensible to treat it like an ocean wave chaining the weeks together (calm, crest, calm).

As far as effort, it was all easy runs aside from today, when I did my first bit of faster running in a long time.  Boy did I need it, mentally as well as physically – the nag of workouts has been on my mind and while I said I was going to add strides, I hadn’t yet.  It was fun without any pressure for distance or pace, just “go to that curve” or “where those people are standing” and as a result, I got a couple 7:3x miles in, which I haven’t had in ages.

Mon: 6@8:53
Tues: 6@8:28
Wed: 8@8:17
Thurs: 10@8:44
Friday: 14@8:24
Sat: 9@8:23
Sun:8@8:11 (fartlek)
Total: 61 mi

This week saw some slow, sweaty recovery jogs but also included the fastest training run I’ve ever had >9 miles.  It was a 12-mile tempo on Friday that was supposed to be 8@MP but I liked the way it was going so much, I extended the fast bit an extra mile (and I wasn’t drunk or on drugs, either).  MP portion was 9@7:22, average pace for the full 12mi was 7:38.

The promising thing about this run – besides a vastly improved Marathon Pace – is that it was 73° with dewpoint 65.  Knowing that cooler weather will bring an even better result is just so fun!

Fyi, In case anyone is wondering why I’m doing Marathon Pace miles at all, Coach Adam/A Muse gave me a variety of tempo runs for the next few weeks and two of them include 1-hour at MP which I translated to distance (8@MP).  They allow you to fit in more volume due to the slower pace, a la Daniels.  While it’s not the standard 20-40min Lactate Threshold run, it is as Adam says, “solid aerobic resistance training”.  It’s also, incidentally, what Tinman calls the “Tinman Tempo“: a 60-80 minute tempo @ 1 minute slower than 3k-5k pace.

Cut Back Week in Review
Less mileage but more quality. Not exactly a restful week but definitely a productive one.

Monday: 8@8:50
Tuesday: 10@8:25 (drills & strides)
Wednesday: 9@7:46 (9x3min on\1min off)
Thursday: 10@9:10
Friday: 12@7:38 (9@7:22)
Saturday: 12@8:32 (found a dollar on the ground, woohoo!)
Sunday: 11@8:32 (drills & strides.  Added a new one: carioca)
Total: 72 mi

Weekly average pace, which I’ve been including for a useless “fun fact”, is especially irrelevant now that the dips between quality days and recovery runs are increasing, so I’m not going to include it anymore.

Brunch With Those Kooky Kids
One of my favorite forum pals, Amy (aka Agile) and her hubby Bryan, were in town for the weekend so we met up for brunch today.  Chatter, laughs, life plans and a little bit of running talk were the specials of the day. Behold the requisite iPhone proof of our fabulously fine fête:

Me, Bryan and Amy. Good times, good times...

Period Talk
You already know I have no shame talking about female issues, just as poop or pee are general subjects to a runner, LadyTime should be as well, though there’s less written about it and most women don’t seem to keep that type of info in their logs.

The other day, there was an article in the NYT about periods and athletic performance which talked about a couple studies on rowers and um, hoppers (I kid you not…people were told to hop) and in the former, they found no performance loss due to women’s cycles.  Since that has not been my experience at all, I posted this on Facebook and had a fun discussion with a few of my runner gal-pals.  More ladies said they had a performance hit than not so I determined that the article was bullshit.  Because I’m sciency like that.

A couple days ago, my friend Rebecca led me to this great Running Times article on running and menstruation that matched my experiences and those of the women I know whose running is affected by their periods.  A very informative piece, I highly recommend all you gals give it a read.

I had never even heard of a sodium connection but in the article they advise pre-loading in the luteal phase (the day after ovulation until the day of your next period).  And this “Low blood sugar during the luteal phase may result in decreased lactate thresholds” is kinda major!

Also, the article reminded me of an important fact I’d forgotten: we lose iron through sweat.  I’ve not been strict about taking my iron supplement but considering how many sloshy shoe runs we’ve had, that’s something I need to amend.

Shoe Wear
There’s a Kinvara Wear thread over on the RWOL Shoe Forum where a few people had posted photos of their Kinvaras to illustrate how they’re holding up, so I took a photo of my retired green ones.  I stopped wearing them at 514 miles, for no real reason except it seemed like a lot.

From the comments I received, “I get more wear if I drive 500 miles in my shoes – remarkable!” , “Tinkerbell. Yes, incredible” and “The lack of wear is amazing!” I’ve started thinking twice about my shoe-dumping parameters.  So I resurrected this pair for Saturday’s 12 and will keep them in rotation till, I dunno…maybe 750?  I still have 3 more Kinvaras  in rotation w/45-393 miles on them, plus 2 new in the box.  Guess I’ll be rotating with the Adios just a wee bit longer.

Kinvaras @ 514 miles

Ah recovery!  I really needed it, no question.  I thought Monday was the nadir with 8@8:50 but nope, today I whipped out a 10-miler @9:10 on the coolest morning we’ve had in ages, 70 degrees.  I guess yesterday’s fartlek combined with LadyTime was enough to put me in the sludge.  I was planning on doing my hour-at-MP tempo tomorrow, but might wait an extra day.

More drill talk

Tuesday’s 10-miler had a slow start but ended with a few 8:00s for 8:25/mi.  At the end I did a drill/stride session which I’m really getting into for several reasons:

First off, in order to do the butt kicks, high knees and skipping, you’re automatically forced to keep your hips under you; when I run, I often have to remind myself to tuck my hips in so this is valuable.  Also, the exaggerated arm movements relax the shoulders and even affect my hand shape in the following stride.  Then there’s the powering off for your legs (most important) plus forced forefoot landings – it’s like a mini strength workout.

I think I’ll do the drill/stride combo twice a week from here on in.  It takes so little time (2 reps of 3 drills with 6 strides takes about 6½ minutes) and if I’m going to do strides anyway, may as do both.

I also found a wonderful set of drill videos from NYRR.  They’re meant for coaching kids and have the most concisely detailed instructions I’ve seen on the subject.  Excellent production values as well. (Edit: just saw the buttkicks one and the demonstration kid is actually not doing them the best way – she’s kicking too far behind which other buttkick videos, Lauren Fleshman’s for example, warn against, feet should aim directly under the ass, knees go high. Oh well, the rest is good)

Fartleks

Wednesday’s 9-miler contained a satisfying fartlek/interval session.  In last Sunday’s post, I wrote I’d be doing 10x(3min-ons/1 min-offs) but when I did the math (10×3 = 30min with 9min’s recovery), it struck me that this was too much since it was a 10-minute increase of hard running over last week’s intervals with less recovery.  So I changed it to 9 reps (27 minutes total work with 8min. recovery), still a solid work increase but a little more manageable.

I didn’t do any strides or drills preceding since, in keeping with fartlek, I wanted to keep it relaxed and laid-back so the first two were on the slow end, but after that, I got in the groove.  Thanks to the short recoveries, my average heart rate – while still low for a 10k workout (175, 84%HRR) – was closer to where it should be.  7:46/mi for the whole thing.

Heat Heat Heat!
I’ve been saying weather isn’t affecting me so badly this year and I am faring way better, but now that I’m doing more quality work of course I’d love to run the paces as written, not with any heat-deducted approximation.  But as acclimated as you can be, it’s silly to expect to run at top shape when it’s humid and high 70s-80s at 6am.  I know this, but I still chide myself some, just can’t help it.  But here’s what I was thinking about this week:

Most people’s optimal running environment is between 45 and 55 degrees, my fave is 50.  78 degrees is 28 degrees over 50.  Consider the opposite: subtract 28 from 50 and what do you get? 22 degrees.  Remember what that’s like?  All the crap you had to wear?  Did you expect to run your best at 22 degrees?  Nevermind that you’re not losing body fluids all over your shoes.

Even a 20 degree difference (70 sounds so innocuous, doesn’t it?) taken the opposite way, is 30 degrees…still below friggin’ freezing.  So let’s consider this before we blame ourselves for taking a hit on humid 70+ degree mornings (Peggy, are you listening? ). It’s not personal wimpyness, it’s bona fide physiology.

Meat Meat Meat!
I’ve been on a huge meat kick to an embarrassing extent.  In the last couple weeks, I’ve consumed two 2.25 lb pork loins, 5.5 lbs of chicken and 2 or 3 hamburgers, not to mention a handful of eggs (egg salad sandwiches).  It cracks me up that I’ve lived in the Blue Hovel for 2 years and only recently began cooking like a regular person.  Until a few months ago, I hadn’t bought a single package of chicken and had purchased one lone package of beef patties.  Nowadays, my shopping trips look like I’m feeding a family of bears.

I’m big on the crockpot lately and I made this Thai Chicken recipe the week before, liked it so much that I made it again a few days later (first time with breasts, second time w/thighs…both were delicious).  In the meantime, I shared it on FB to rave reviews so if you’re a crockpot owner, give it a shot.

I also make a pork loin in the crockpot that uses a can of whole cranberries and since I’m into shredded meat lately, I shred the shit out of it, then make burritos or eat it with mashed ‘taters and brussels sprouts.  Last week’s version was a little weird though since Whole Foods finds it beneath them to stock cranberries in the summer, but they had canned blackberries so I tried that, which was actually tasty except for the millions of tiny seeds.  Live and learn.

Aside from meat (which I’m one day away from ODing on), my usual diet these days is a bowl of hot 5-grain cereal with PB and Sweet ‘n Low before my run, then when I get back, usually the same thing.  Then around noonish, an egg-salad or tuna sandwich (or as of late…meat!), a small snack around 3pm, dinner around 6 with a huge bowl of fruit for dessert, then before hitting the hay, maybe some crackers with a wedge of low-fat Laughing Cow or some carrots.

You’d think I get to eat like a pig with all the running I do but alas, no.  I haven’t had cookies, candy, cake or even low-fat ice cream for a few months.  But what’s changed is that if I make a quesadilla, for instance, I don’t measure out a little portion of shredded cheese, I pull a few handfuls out of the bag…just like a normal person would.  Instead of being miserly with the peanut butter in my hot cereal, I have a generous-sized dollop.  It’s those little things that are different.  But if I want to lose weight for better racing, I’ll have to pay more attention.

Somewhat related, I was thinking about meal times the other day and realized that the reason I get so much hungrier in the winter, besides the usual winter chill/food connection, is that I go to bed at 12:30am in the winter but eat dinner around 6:30.  That leaves 6 hours between dinner and sleep, whereas in the summer, I eat at 6pm but go to bed at 9:30, so that’s only 3.5 hours between.  That’d be like eating dinner at 9pm for a 12:30 bedtime – a little too Continental for my tastes, but I think a 7:30 or 8pm dinnertime sounds like a reasonable idea for the Fall/Winter so I’m going to try that out when the season changes.

No Sunscreen? A-OK!
My friend Todd shared a really cool page yesterday that gives you a UV Index forecast for your location – just change the zipcode in the URL to reflect your own.

Every summer, I have a constant, low-level buzz of guilt for never wearing sunscreen on my early morning runs; I hate dealing with it and feel it compromises my sweatability.  But even though I leave the house at dawn and return before 9am, I have a pretty good tan, so I still manage to get a fair amount of sun.

But according to the UV Index page, I’m not in danger without sunscreen since the UV risk remains low here until 10am (and I imagine that’ll get pushed farther out now that sunrise is getting later).  Low risk means “Unless you are especially sensitive to UV radiation generally no protection is needed.”  Yay! One less thing to feel guilty about.  That just leaves 1,352,034 more.

My, What Excellent Shoes You’re Wearing
Geoffrey Mutai, currently the best runner in the world, just set a course record in the Half at Bogota last weekend with a 1:02:20 beating out 2nd place by 2 minutes and 27 seconds…huge!  Recognize his shoes?  Adidas Adios, baby!  The kicks of champions.

Afternoon Edit…An Online Interview
The nice people at Digital Running did a little interview with me, which might not tell you anything you don’t already know, but what the hay (hey?), check it out.  Thanks Brian and Raffi, I’m flattered to be a part of your website.

Had a solid workout yesterday, my first tempo in almost a month thanks to the injury interruption.  Coach Adam/ A muse, while not coaching me this time since I’m in laid-back mode indefinitely (though he’s still letting me tug on his shirt tails when I get the urge) suggested 3 x 10min starting at MP progressing to HP which sounded fun, though I did it by distance so I’d have absolute time & pace values.  And because I’m still clueless about my current marathon and half pace, I used my last tempos as guides.  Happily, it was the nicest morning in weeks: 71 degrees and 50 dewpoint.

It was a 15-miler starting with 3.25mi easy, then the tempo portion which looked like this: 1.5mi@7:21, 1.5mi@7:02 and 1.75mi@6:54 (this one was a bit longer, just because) w/ 2min recoveries between each.  I finished with a brisk pace for the remaining 6.5 miles home.  Avg pace for the 15 miles was 7:55 and the heart rate data looks really good.

Today’s run was funny, thanks to a tiny older Asian woman on a bike who rode by me and yelled the word “HOT!” looking kinda mad, which confused me, it wasn’t that hot and she was wearing long sleeves, I figured I misunderstood her or that she was a crazy person.  I caught up to her a few miles later while she was adjusting her bike and she said “You take a break, you need break, too hot”.  Which totally cracked me up, it wasn’t like my shorts were soaked but my skin was pretty sweaty, I guess, but she was so cute.  About 20 minutes later, she passes me again and says “How far you go?  10 miles?  You go 10 miles?”  I replied with a laugh “13″ to which she replied “10 miles?  You go 10 miles?” so I said again “13!” and I think she got it, as she shook her head like I was a lost cause and rode on.  I love my park.

Shoes!
Yesterday brought a shoe extravaganza from Runningwarehouse.  I’ve said before that I’m not a smart shoe reviewer and never will be, I can’t tell crap about nuances or what makes one shoe better than another.  My reviews have to do with my picky feet that hate most shoes.  In fact, when I go to one of those shoe superstores for regular shoes, like DSW, I always leave feeling like a failure as a woman for having tried on a bazillion shoes and not feeling right in any.

So when you read my non-scientific, non-runnerly reviewettes (not true reviews, two of the pairs didn’t even leave the Blue Hovel), definitely don’t take my word for it, everybody’s feet are different and you might love what I can’t deal with. I’ve listed the size and weight of the shoes and for comparison’s sake, I wear 7.5 in Men’s Kinvara and they weigh 7.2oz.

Brooks Green Silence

These had the lowest heel-drop of any of the shoes I ordered.  The weird thing with the heel-drop is that it’s 7mm as opposed to the 4mm of Kinvaras but I felt like I was wearing Earth Shoes, with a negative heel.  Really strange.  But what bothered me more was the firmness of the upper.  They call it a mesh upper but it’s solid fabric with perforations in it.  It also has a rubber overlay on the toe (or whatever “green” material it is), which is also used as trim for the lace attachments.  I was too aware of the stiffness it caused, though I think in the winter it wouldn’t bug me, but with Summer humidity that leaves my shoes sloshing and my feet spreading, I want a more “transparent” shoe. So no.  (Women’s size 9, 6.6oz)

Pearl Izumi Streak II

I thought this was the cutest of the bunch and wanted it to work but it didn’t.  Again, I was too aware of the hard plastic overlay at the toe though a bigger size would probably fix that.  Still, I could feel some strange bumpy action below my foot at the sole, they just didn’t feel right, so I said no to these, too. (Mens size 8, 7.3oz)

Adidas AdiZero Adios
These were juuuuust right!  They were actually the first ones I tried on but I couldn’t start the review with a success story, that’d be boring.  Anyway, they’re uglier than sin (though the green was the lesser evil than the salmony/orangey/pukey color)  and whenever I pass anyone in the park wearing a bright solid color, I can’t help but stare at their feet so now it’s my turn, but when I put these on it was like putting on slippers.

Touted as a great marathon racing shoe (Haile Gebrselassie got his 2:03 WR in them) I’ve read a few reviews saying people use them as daily trainers which is my aim, though it’s cool that I can race with them, as well.

What makes them so comfortable is that the only firm trim on the entire shoe are the supportive stripes on the side and the band supporting the heel (the heel cup is rigid, as well).  The upper is a forgiving mesh while the toe and lace trim are suede-like fabric, extremely soft.  But the best part for me, notorious shoe surgeon, is that the toe overlay doesn’t extend around the edges, leaving mesh on either side so your toes can fan out to their heart’s content.  This is a beautiful thing!

I wore them on my 13-miler this morning and loved the way they felt: light, fast and really comfy.  It was strange wearing a different shoe after wearing Kinvaras every day for over a year.  I was aware of being closer to the ground with none of that sponginess of the Kinvara but I didn’t really notice the heel being built up, it’s always my forefoot that gets my attention more than anything.  Didn’t have any hotspots, smooth run first time out.  Bonus: the shoe laces have sparkles in them (and these are Mens, lol) and thanks to the color, I’ll be able to find them under the bed really easily. (Mens size 8, 6.7oz.  Actually, the left one is 6.6oz and the right is 6.8oz…left foot wins the race!)

A Blogger Brunch
This Sunday, I’m driving up to NYC for a couple hours to break bread with some blogger friends I’ve been “talking to” for a couple years but have never met.  Ewen is here on a long holiday from Australia, which precipitated the powwow, then Julie and Joe will be there, along with a couple additional NY-based running bloggers.  I’ll also enjoy a fun blast from the past, because a gal I used to work with at TR Technologies in NYC (maybe 17 years ago?), also a runner, will be joining us.  Should be a great time.