Monday, December 9, 2013

You sure are fast! - Yeah it's because I'm four

I went to surprise my nephew and mom 2 years ago for their birthdays (they share the same birthday) and while visiting with Braden we were walking to our rental house and he was doing these little sprint bursts down the road. I told him "wow Brado, you're really fast" and his response "Yeah, that's because I'm four". So in the spirit of speed I'm deterring from my recent philosophic ramblings and I'm going to talk about my new fast trail shoes I just got.

I don't know if my new shoes are really the "speed demon makers" that I think they are, but if you consider them under the realm of my total "quiver" of trail shoes they make me feel fast.

My first pair of trail shoes were Mizunos. I just did a quick check and I couldn't find the exact shoe anymore, but my guess is they are similar to the Wave Ascend 8. My road shoes are the Mizuno Wave Alchemy and I've had good luck with them on pavement. They've been good at alleviating knee pain on longer runs and hold up pretty well. I apparently turn my knees in so these shoes correct it. It made sense that I would then get a similar pair of shoes for my first pair of trail shoes. I really liked them, they are sturdy and strong and I felt good running in them. However, as I progressed in my running I found them to feel clunky and slightly unstable running downhill. The instability is probably from the more structured base of the shoe. I felt pretty separated from the trail and not in a good way in a "I'm not sure what's under me" way. However, I am very pleased with this shoe as my initial trail shoe and it's proven to be a great hiking shoe in its second life.

PROS: good intro to trail shoe, sturdy
CONS: heavy, felt less connection to unstable terrain

My second pair of trail shoes are (because they are still pretty new) the La Sportiva Helios. I initially wanted a shoe that was a little less focused on over correcting my weird running style and also lighter than my current shoes. I tired on a pair of Altras, but they did not have the correct size for my freakishly small feet. They did have the correct size in the Helios and I immediately fell in love with how light they felt. I've been running on them for about a year and am overall pleased with their lightness underfoot and the closer I feel to the trail and the ground. Unfortunately...they started to wear immediately. There is a piece that comes over the toe and after one day on the trail it was already peeling off of one of my shoes. Now  I know that trail running is going to result in stuff getting dirty and ruined. But I was disappointed that it happened so quickly. It was like buying a new car and then someone door dinging it the first day you park it at the grocery store. I am pleased with the weight and the swiftness I felt running, but not pleased with the overall construction of the shoe.

PROS: light weight, responsive to the trail
CONS: started falling apart after the first run. <---I will note that it hasn't fallen apart any more so I guess it is good construction after it sort of fails...

My current and newest pair of shoes are the Pearl Izumi EM Trail N1. This is probably a way premature post on this shoe because I've only run on them twice (and one time was on the road), but I really really liked the shoe right off the bat. It is light weight but still has a sturdy sole. It responds really well to whatever your foot lands on. And it is freaking FAST down hill. I'm serious! I didn't believe the guy at the running store (Denver Run House on Tennyson shop local!!!) that I would notice a difference but I did. I flew downhill in these shoes to the point that I felt like the shoe was just running downhill and I was along for the ride. Beyond that I also felt really strong on the uphill. It's true that I'm better at running uphill, but I do believe the way the shoe is constructed it allowed me to strike the ground at mid foot which allowed me to use my butt and quads more on the uphill and rely less on my calves. I'm really excited to to see how they handle for the long haul and will get my chance in March at the Salida Marathon!

PROS: light weight, responsive to the trail, good foot striking
CONS: I didn't get them for free :(

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