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The Bits & Pieces of Winter Running

After this past weekend’s lovely little bit of freezing cold rain and bewildering snowfall, which I sadly had to run a 14-mile interval and tempo-progression workout in, it became evident that I should talk about winter running wardrobe essentials … I just can’t believe I had to start it up so early!! It’s truly fascinating to look at the various evolutionary processes that we all undergo as we become increasingly more involved in running. First, it is simply the act itself. The idea of running more than a mile on the track, a la the required annual fitness test in middle and high school, which I’m not even sure they do anymore, was daunting. Then 5km (“Eww”), 5-miles (“Gross”), 10km (“I think I’m gonna be sick”), 10-miles (“I just threw up in my mouth a little”), a half-marathon (“Yep, I definitely threw up in my mouth and may have wet myself a little too”), and then a full marathon (“Just shoot me and use my meaty carcass to sustain your families, fertilize the Earth, mount my skull over your hearth, oh yah, and these shorts probably should be burned after removing”). Recently, I had an epiphany as I received my latest order from the fine people at Brooks Running, the evolution of my winter running wardrobe!!! Oh yah, I know there are items essential to the female running wardrobe, well, this time I am going to go into an item or two from the male canon.

Over the past several cold, cold winters I have gone through a dramatic shift in running attire. In the early years it was about being comfortable with the idea of wearing tights AT ALL, which was difficult for me to even comprehend having grown up in a house with a dancer/ballerina who wore them all the time for everything. They were distinctly and singularly for the opposite sex and the furthest thing from masculine. So, in the beginning, I wore adidas track pants and oh what a terrible, awful idea that was. Heavy, cumbersome, and just terribly inefficient for running, it was like running in a sweat logged sumo suit. I then graduated to the much maligned and fashion police felony of shorts OVER tights maneuver. Little did I know that this widely accepted New England, late fall, soccer maneuver was so horribly frowned upon! My good friend Bill Risch and I caught hell for this one for like two years!! After much goading I finally took the leap and just rocked the tights, which I still don’t really like, but what can you do? Run inside on the dreadmill? I’d rather be run down from behind by an entire cycling team. It’s just a little running around like a cartoon stick figure through Central Park and they just aren’t flattering to wear.

Now that I’m comfortable with the whole tights thing, there is another gentlemanly matter that should totally be discussed openly, and that is the little, or large, matter of making sure “Heavy D and the boys” (euphemism courtesy of BroSquatch) are kept at an optimum temperature and you are not left fearing the possibility that things may shatter if accidentally grazed. Oh yah, you know what I’m talking about and for those of the female persuasion this is a very real fear! For a while now I’ve worn compression shorts under my tights simply for the additional support since I have been prone to hamstring problems in the colder months, but I also thought they helped with keeping the ole “twig and berries” (euphemism courtesy of Austin Powers) warm, but I was wrong. I tried other methods to withstand the arctic frost, including wearing my bib pinned to the front of my tights just to protect the “schwartz” (euphemism courtesy of Dark Helmet) from the wind. This methodology worked well for me for a while, but never enough to make training or racing in the winter even remotely comfortable … that is until now. Well, I finally found something that’s helped with this particular issue and it is something, much like tights, that I would never in a million years think I would EVER wear, but those days are long since over and these bad boys are amongst my winter gear essentials!

Behold, the Brooks Equilibrium Wind Brief!!! Tighty whiteys are one thing I swore I would never wear again, and I won’t, but let me tell you, these things are on a whole other level. I first bought a pair on a whim, because after doing about 30 runs at temperatures where most living organisms stay indoors and having not found any sort of solution that was either comfortable or made sense, it was time to pull a Monty Python and go for something completely different. Honestly, I dreaded the idea of wearing these things … I mean look at them! I know this is going to sound way cooler than it is, but they look like standard issue Storm Trooper briefs. The material covering the exterior is like a cloth version of the metal sheets you get wrapped in AFTER a marathon! It’s just weird, BUT fantastically effective. Climate controlled bliss for a “fireman” (euphemism courtesy of Eric Cartman) is a truly wonderful thing!! I’ve gone a couple seasons with these, and even incorporated the wind shorts into the mix as well. Seriously, gentlemen, these things are comfortable, never ride up or bunch, are remarkable in shitty, windy, cold conditions, and aren’t expensive at all. What they do require is not feeling really awkward and goofy when you pull them out of the drawer and put them on, which I have to tell you I do every single time I do. Check them out gentlemen and fall victim to the dark side of the force!!!!

November 2, 2011 Category: Blog, Brooks, running, training 2 Comments

All I wanted was RnR & got this 10K

Over the weekend I participated in the Rock n Roll New York 10k in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the “Coolest city in the Country”. Now, my only previous experience with Rock n Roll races was the San Diego Marathon a couple of years ago as part of a relay team and that was kind of a nightmare, so I was interested to see how things went in my own back yard. This race was thrown into my schedule just to keep me racing and running under competitive conditions and because we couldn’t find a half-marathon reasonably close that fit my coaching and training schedule. Heading into it, my training with the White She-Devil was progressing quite nicely, the torture was consistent insane and, as I’ve mentioned before, I just did what I was told, but did have a little bit of a hitch in my giddy up thanks to some tightness in my right leg – a little in the hamstring and a little in the calf. Regardless, I went into Prospect Park with the intention of racing the race and seeing where I was physically.

To be honest, for the 36-hours prior to the race I really had no desire to go and race at all. I just wasn’t feeling it at all. It all started with packet pick-up on Friday night. I got there with my info in hand and had to stand in this crazy, long line at Super Runners Shop in midtown waiting to NOT get my bag or shirt, because they ran out, being squawked at by a couple of intense and totally flaky women whipping about. The only upside was that I could get my bib and timing tag so I wouldn’t have to deal with that crap in the morning. That whole experience was just unnerving and irritating in its inefficiency and psychosis, which left me wanting to do anything else but race in the morning. Sleeping, eating, and watching the EPL (English Premier League for those keeping score) was sounding so much more exciting and desirable than a 5 am wake-up call, a long ass Q train ride to the park, and a chilly morning’s gallop in short shorts.

Well, the insane air raid siren alarm goes off, I go through my routine and get my butt in gear and on the train. I spent the ride down, listening to The Haunted (so appropriate heading into the Halloween season), and reviewing the texting conversation between White She-Devil and myself about the pace plan for the race. It went something like this:

SS: Instructions for tomorrow?
WSD: Win
SS: Duh … of course?!
WSD: OK, but in all seriousness … Get a good warm-up, don’t go out too hard, race the 2nd half. Race it for real, it will give us good data.
SS: First mile split?
WSD: How do you feel about 6-6:10 range?
SS: Do I have to answer that? Fine. It shall be done.

Reading it again I couldn’t help but feel bullied into that pace, like Mouth coercing Chunk into the Truffle Shuffle in “The Goonies” … Come ON!!! Do IT! Come on. DO IT!! I changed into my PureFlow on the train and surveyed the mass of runners making the journey with me and was pretty impressed by the sheer quantity of people that paid like $75 for a 10k race and to get a really, really heavy medal!

Now, on my way to the starting area, I have to say, there was one thing that I saw that completely took me by surprise. I mean, seriously, there is nothing in the world that can prepare you for seeing two guys, seemingly boxers by the sweat suits and shadowboxing, running towards you one of which with a shake weight bouncing up and down in his two hands. Oh yah, this was something to behold, I tell you. I stopped walking, watched the two rather large gentlemen cruise by, and then just gawked at his form and technique using both hands on the shake weight while running. RIVETING!!

It took a while to shake that image from my head, but once it cleared and I dropped my bag, etc. I went through my 20-minute warm-up, as prescribed by WSD, and headed for my corral. Temps were pretty much perfect, I felt loose, but still skeptical about the race plan. At the sound of the start I eased into the race and just trying to find a nice rhythm and cadence while getting out of the thick of the pack, that lovely initial swell surging forward like an above ground pool bursting through one of its walls. First mile I just kept in check and found a runner to basically pace off of so I would have a fair measuring stick and, amazingly enough, basically did that mile to spec, 6:09. From there is just worked it rhythmically trying to stay comfortable and whenever my calf started getting pissy with me I backed it down a bit. First loop of the park was solid, then coming up the “big hill” for the second time my right leg was a little crankier about it, but the second I cleared the hill and the pitch of the road dipped I felt completely fine again and just kept my foot on the gas, which was pretty much a 5:53 pace (WSD wanted me to be sure to point that out).

The last 2-miles were spent chasing down the same two people, a really nice Kiwi (New Zealander for those requiring an explanation) and a dude in a long sleeved black shirt. The three of us basically took turns pushing the group, rotating from lead to back of the pack, all the way until the last 800-meters when I decided that I’d had enough of that. I went from the back of our little pack to the front and just closed the damn race out. After crossing the finish line I immediately turned around and slapped five and shook the hands of the other two and thanked them for keeping me honest for the last couple of miles. When I looked down at my watch and was kind of disappointed, solely due to the fact that I had run a 37:07 PR at the Cow Harbor 10k not long ago and I had just done a 37:09. Oh well, they won’t ALL be PRs and this was NOT my goal race, so I moved on.

I got my bag, then the shirt that they didn’t have for me the night before and went to watch some of my friends finish up and see how they did. Unlike the majority of people at the race, I had no real issue with gear check, I also refused to use the RnR back pack bag that they gave out, because I wanted something much more recognizable and different so I could retrieve it easily. But, once my friends finished up and they went to get their gear, HOLY CRAP was it a complete cluster f*ck!!! Lines for each truck were really long, there was only one person or maybe two staffers on the truck retrieving them and absolutely NO discernible system for their storage. All the bags were just in heaps to be tossed and sorted through, just awful! OY!!! RnR, ya might want to get it together with the organizing and logistics, this is not the first time I’ve experienced this with you guys!

All in all it was a successful race day where I finished better than I have in a New York race ever and actually won my age group for the first time since I did a random 5-miler in MA when I was 15 years old. Final stats were as follows: Finished in 37:09, 25/4305, 20th male, 1st in division.

October 25, 2011 Category: 10k, Blog, Brooks, Flow, running, sasquatch, training 1 Comment

Brooks Brought My Feet PureBliss!!

It only took three weeks, eighteen runs, and two months of waiting for them on pre-order, but I can now safely say with utmost certainty that I am smitten with the Brooks PureProject. Sure, it may be a little excessive to be in love with a line of running shoes, but come on, seriously, if women can obsess and swoon over every possible variation of footwear and roadies can jones over bike porn, then a mythical creature with a running addiction can be smitten with his new kicks!

The Brooks PureProject has a few different options out there to sample, the Connect, Grit, Cadence, and the Flow. Aesthetically speaking, the whole line is just slick. The design is sleek, the accents, colors and construction are well thought out, and you really can’t find much, if any, fault with any of the offerings. The color palettes are outstanding. Personally, I hate the use of white in running shoes and the ONLY shoe in the whole line that features any white is the women’s Connect, which is fine by me. Save that one model, the women’s line is solidly done in variations of blue, black, grey, and a brownish color for the grit. The men’s side is a sweet potpourri of green, grey, and black … straight up BALLER! Love it!

Now, as for my personal testing of the line, I am only covering two of the four. I’m a bit apprehensive about testing out the PureConnect due to my gnarly busted up toes (thank you soccer and basketball for breaking them a few times and making things difficult). The Connect is a featherweight, minimal shoe with as little material as is necessary, which just may be a bit less than I can handle at the moment. The PureGrit is the trail running shoe and is one that I definitely will be sampling at a later date, don’t you worry. That leaves the PureCadence and the PureFlow, which I’ve been pounding on and putting through the intense rigors of my White She-Devil prescribed workouts. Seriously, the variety of paces, terrain, and weather conditions I’ve put these two pairs of shoes through are more grueling than the field testing Michelin puts their tires through.

First, maybe not the first to arrive but for review, are the PureCadence. I’ve progressively been working my way down to more minimalist shoes over the last two years, spending most of the last year rocking the Ravenna and this one is a nice full step even further down. They are insanely light, flexible, breathable, and have a more traditional-style sole compared to the rest of the line. The new Internal PDRB ramp (for smooth transition and midfoot running) and Nav Band at the midsole are a great step forward, although the Nav Band is so loose around my slender feet that it doesn’t really do anything at all.

The PureCadence performs fantastically. I loved it during my speed work and shorter tempo runs, but it has taken some getting used to for my longer miles. It is extremely comfortable and it has just enough structure to make this pronator happy. Now, with them adequately broken in, I definitely am enjoying them a lot more. The Cadence has officially found its place in the rotation, but is not the creme de la creme of this line, in my opinion, that honor belongs to the PureFlow.

BEHOLD!!!! The PureFlow! Seriously, when I first popped open the box and the bright green was almost glowing through the brown paper they were wrapped in all I could think was, “This looks like it could be gravy!” No, not THAT “gravy” … you know who you are for thinking it! As soon as I pulled these out of the box I could hear choirs of angels and cherubs singing in full chorus … oh yah, it was a moment of epic proportion, like Arthur pulling the sword from the stone epic. The PureFlow has the same Nav Band seen throughout the line, which I once again didn’t notice, but has what feels like a wider toe box, less lacing, and perhaps the best cushioning I’ve felt in a running shoe. The wider toe box I’ve gotten used to a bit, but I do wish that the lacing went a little further down the shoe, as my dainty, narrow feet really like to be hugged a little bit more and not have so much room at the forefoot that I’m slipping around in them. Regardless of those minor issues, they look and feel badass and, as we all know, it is REALLY important to have badass looking shoes out on the course.

On the road, the Flow performed far beyond my expectations. They are extremely light, responsive, and did I happen to mention that they may have the most exceptional cushioning of any shoe I’ve sampled. I’ve done numerous speed workouts (800s, fartleks, tempo runs) in them and have loved every one of them. I even did my 18-mile “Dress Rehearsal” pacing run in Chicago in them and just crushed it feeling absolutely amazing, like running on marshmallows and enjoying the sweet, sugary deliciousness with my feet!!! Only minus that I noticed with this particular model is that, much like the Green Silence, they don’t like getting wet at all. The material used is so light and stretchy (almost spongy) that once they start taking on water the material expands and loosens up and no matter how I tighten them they still have a lot of play.

With two down and two more to go in Brooks’ PureProject, thus far I have to give them high praise for the advances they’ve made not only stylistically, but on the technical side as well. The Cadence and Flow are absolutely fantastic and have lived up to all the hype leading up to the line’s release. Stay tuned for my review of the Connect and Grit in the coming weeks!!

October 21, 2011 Category: Blog, Brooks, PureProject, running, shoes, testing, training 5 Comments

Speedy Sasquatch & The Last Crusade

In the beginning, the running shoe was the simplest piece of athletic footwear, you just slipped it on without thinking about anything at all, went out the door and ran. Well, those days are long since gone and what we are seeing now is that running shoes are now one of the most technically distinct, diverse, and talked about. Seriously, runners are starting to be as bad as friggin’ Roadies and their bike porn! Everyone checking out each other’s feet, seeing what brand, model and color scheme they’re rockin’ and giving their two-cents. I mean it’s like going to buy a car, something I haven’t done in over a decade, but the analogy still works!

First you have your traditional Gas Guzzlers – solid, traditional construction and design – from all the big names: Nike, Adidas, Asics, Brooks, Mizuno, Saucony, and New Balance. If you’re looking for something a little more modern in terms of design, technology and efficiency you’ve got your alternative fuel/clean diesel edition with the Newtons. Then there are those that have gotten so fed up with the shoe market and all the choices that are out there that they won’t even waste their money shoes! These proud purists have gone back to their hunter gatherer roots and are running barefoot like our centuries old ancestors! Don’t worry though, if you’re not quite ready to give up your gas guzzlers and let your bare skin meet the icky road or trail, but are intrigued by the current barefoot movement there is an intermediary step that can be taken with a hybrid model … the Vibram FiveFingers.

Now that being said, I have nothing against any of these shoe manufacturers or their products. Each of us is built completely differently and as such there are merits and shortcomings that exist with any shoe, or lack thereof, that we choose to run in.

But what is one to do when you walk into your local running store and see all the choices that exist? This is not something that solely strikes the newbie, but one that even experienced runners are facing with greater frequency, because, just as with computers, the technology is advancing at an uncanny rate and the number of new brands and products that are hitting the market is remarkable. So, here we stand gazing at the wall, the questions are endless, the options ever expanding, and our confusion exponentially increasing. The quest to find the best running shoe for you now rivals that of the Holy Grail … the Last Crusade!

For the sheer awesomeness of it, I’ll be drawing a parallel to the last REAL Indiana Jones movie … you know, the one with Sean Connery! Anyway, at the end of the film Indy enters the cave of the knight and is surrounded by countless cups, goblets and chalices ranging from gaudily ornate to the most basic receptacle, and a choice has to be made. The strongest and bravest of the knights that had set across the desert to protect the grail reminds Indy to “Choose. But choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you.” And, like Indy, we are left with the same difficult choice as we stare inquisitively at the brands, models, styles and colors so seductively displayed before us at our local running store. We must choose, but choose wisely, for the true shoe will keep us healthy, happy and strong and a false one will strip it from us.

So how DO we know? Can we know with any sort of certainty whilst in the store? The honest answer is, No. But, there are ways to reduce the variables and make things a little easier during the selection process.

1. Location, Location, Location: Go to a store that is dedicated to the sport, rather than to a sporting goods store. You want to go somewhere where the staff is experienced, knowledgeable and, this is a big plus, can do a gait analysis on the spot so they have a clear picture of how you run. Another good thing to clue you into a good store is if they have their own running team or organize their own training runs and clinics.

2. Be Prepared: This sounds a little silly and ridiculous, but this is something that helps me with my runners, bring your current/last pair of running shoes with you to the store. Why? In addition to giving salesperson the make and model of what you have been wearing, which people can tend to forget, they can also examine the compression and wear pattern on the soles to see how you run and how old/how many miles you are putting on them. This is particularly helpful in cases where stores do not do on-site gait analysis.

3. Function Before Fabulous: If you are like me at all, and I know that there are a ton of us out there, color is a HUGE attractor in running shoes. Over the years I have gotten more and more jaded due to the fact that the models I wear traditional have come in a base white with red or blue accents, which have alternated each model season. Boring!! I’ve tried other prettier shoes that have more fun color schemes and have had horrible results, because they simply are NOT the correct shoes for me to be wearing. Shoe manufacturers are becoming more aware of this and are making strides; so just hang on if your shoe hasn’t quite caught up with the color schemes yet.

4. Learn to Crawl Before You Run: Before I say anything on this topic, I just want to be clear that I have nothing against either Newton or Vibram FiveFingers at all. In fact, I have enjoyed seeing the amazing results that people have achieved in their footwear and have nothing bad to say about either of them. When it comes to some of these newer brands and technologies, such as Newton and Vibram FiveFingers, understand that these are not shoes to just slip on and run in everyday right away. Both types of shoes require you to integrate them into your running regiment slowly, alternating them with a traditional pair of shoes until your muscles are ready, then you get to incrementally add on the miles.

All of that being said, I have one final point to make regarding all of this and it is quite simply this: FORM TRUMPS ALL. When I started training, like really training, my running form was fair at best. I went through every brand of shoe trying to find one that could handle the miles and didn’t kill my feet and legs, but basically just winged it from the get go. Then working with my coach I focused less on what I was wearing on my feet and more on improving my form, shifting my foot strike, and finding my true stride. As I worked on my form more and more I needed less and less shoe, starting with near corrective footwear in the Brooks Beast, working into the Asics Kayano, the Under Armour Revenant, Asics DS Trainers, and now onto the Brooks Ravenna.

Is Form the be-all end-all answer to the question? No, it isn’t, because there are certainly situations where people have issues with their feet and need very specific shoes and/or insoles. Furthermore, I don’t claim to be the foremost authority on the subject, but from my experience and extensive observation of all of my own runners this is where the most gains are made. Really focusing on form and technique before every run (via plyometric drills as a warm-up) and during your maintenance/recovery runs you will start to see and feel improvement. As you gain greater efficiency you’ll feel lighter on your feet, be able to go farther without feeling as worn, and your pace will naturally become quicker. This is something that is pretty easy to implement and maintain once you start doing it and the second the results come it’s even easier!

So runners, next time you go to your local running store be prepared and choose wisely! The roads and trails are out there waiting for you!

September 3, 2010 Category: Blog, Brooks, Cadence, form, ravenna, running, shoes, training 2 Comments