It's really about the Newton's

During a St Paddy’s Day 5K event one of the 5 lugs on the bottom of one of my Newton Motion III’s ripped off.  Somewhere around mile 1 I could hear this “flapping” sound, but of course since this was a race I wasn’t about to stop and investigate.  After all, I was neither in pain nor bleeding profusely, so I kept on running. I ran the rest of the race with that “flap” sound at every step until I crossed the finish line, and then realized that one of the lugs on the bottom of the shoe was hanging by a thread (the “flap” sound with every step was the sound of the lug slapping the pavement), and then within a few steps while getting some water, ripped off completely. Ok, no biggie I thought, I still had 4 lugs left…  I took a picture of it and called it good.

I love these Newton’s… really. I’ve flirted with other brands, but I always come back to Newton’s. I’m on my third pair, if that is saying anything… In a crazy way, they help me run faster, they encourage me to run stronger, and I believe, they help me run more efficiently.  I just wish that they weren’t so damn expensive… I’d try other styles of Newton’s if I could afford them…

When I get lazy during a run and my form starts to droop, somehow the feel of the Newton’s prods me to pay attention. Other shoes don’t do that for me. I’m not exactly sure how it happens, but there is a subtle feel in my midfoot whenever I start to lose my form, coupled with another odd feeling in my core-area.  And as soon as I fix it, I start running more efficiently.  Best of all, when I get into the groove I can easily out-run my intended distance for that day – which has good and bad ramifications...

But I do find that in order for me to run in the Newton’s “properly”, i.e. get the efficiency of form out them, I have had to build relatively solid core strength as well as well-conditioned hams and quads. I’m not talking about going crazy with core exercises, squats, and so on –I’ve just been doing general routines – and I can both see and feel the difference. But it turns out that this is pretty important, because the stronger my core and legs feel, the better my form, pace, and endurance are.  And better yet, the more confidence I have. And I think that running with Newton’s has had a lot to do with it.

I’ve had situations where during a run, perhaps within a mile or so from being done, I’d run into an acquaintance running the other way, and on a whim I’d spin around and join them (of course, I always ask if they want some company or a pacer… after all, sometimes we run because we want the alone-time…). My point here is that I couldn’t do it if I didn’t have the confidence that I had the endurance to extend my run. And I think that the Newton’s have done a lot to give that to me.

Oh, and by the way, I placed second in my age group on that 5K, flapping lug and all…!  I missed first by 27 seconds !  If I had paid a little more attention, maybe I could have claimed 1^st Place !  But I should also note that this was a very casual event – yes it was timed event, but it was a gun start (no starting line mat) and the start itself was somewhat very half hazard.  For all I know, the guy that beat me had lined up way in front, whereas I was way in the back with my wife and son and had to bob and weave my way up..  Once clear of most of the starting area pack, I ran pretty hard, despite the fact that it was very hot (yes, this was a Florida event!).

I narrowly missed destroying my ankle while cutting a corner though: the course ran along an asphalt trail and just before the finish had a 90 degree turn onto a sidewalk. I was in the process of passing another runner at that moment (bad timing on my part – lack of patience) and he suddenly bobbed out towards me causing me to miss the sidewalk and land on a rocky edge. It’s amazing what goes through your mind in a situation like that. I remember simultaneously thinking that this had disaster written all over it for me, while at the same time calculating where could I place my left foot to take the weight as soon as possible. As it turns out I was able to get my left foot firmly on the sidewalk right about the time I felt my right ankle complain. Fortunately nothing bad happened (I have a history of ankle injuries) and I was able to finish strong. But that little tiny event, a duration of perhaps 3 seconds,  reminds that I ought not take this stuff too seriously – this is supposed to be fun and I want to be able to run for years to come. I could so easily of destroyed my ankle in my desire to pass somebody at the worst possible time and that would have sucked big ones!

But the best news of all is that I'm getting new Newton's !!! Yea!!!

Back to the Newtons

This is like one of those "forgive me for I have sinned" moments... Thinking that my old Newton's weren't cutting it I went off the reservation and bought a pair of  Saucony Triumphs. They felt good. They felt different. And I put 150 odd miles on them. But after the first few runs I found that they just were not working for me. My gait was off, my ankles didn't feel right, my achilles got tight... nothing was right...

So I went back to my old Newtons and immediately felt the difference. It was like finding an old friend. They felt great. Well used, but my run felt so much better than my runs with the Saucony's.

But I don't think that this necessarily has anything to do with Saucony shoes from a quality perspective - they are good shoes - they just weren't working for my gait and physical characteristics.

One of the things that I noticed while running with the Saucony's was that my left foot was toe'ing in. A friend suggested that it was because of a weak or tired muscle - but I was somewhat skeptical about that. I did sort of notice was that when I ran in my old Newton's that it did not happen, but that little fact did not totally register with me until later.

Then, on a whim, I went into a local running store to re-visit Newton's and the woman who took care of me suggested that perhaps I needed more of a stability shoe.

I said "nah.... I'm good, I want to try the Gravity's that I've got now"... I did, and as I ran around the store she noted that my right foot was caving in from time to time.  Hmmmm.  I mentioned my issue with my left foot toe'ing in, and she said yeah, that makes sense. That the left foot was basically compensating.  More hmmmmm.  I'm not totally sure about all of it, but ok, I'll take it at face value. Then she had me try the Newton Motion Stability model - and I absolutely noticed that both of my feet were on track, no toe'ing in. They felt great. I want to be back in Newton's!

And I would have pulled the trigger on buying them if they didn't cost $175.  Folks, that's a ton of money for me, and so I didn't buy them, much to that woman's disappointment. I also had a little issue with the woman, but I won't go into that - it was just a little off-putting, and that was another factor in my not being that anxious to give her my money. But still, $175 is a lot of money.

But guess what?  I was able to get a 20% discount directly from Newton. I feel bad for not being able to support my local running store, but 20% turns $175 into $140. And now we're talking.  I'm hoping to get them before I leave for my Reach the Beach relay run in New Hampshire next week. Hopefully, I'll be able to have a great run with them!

It's all about the shoes

Newtons, Saucony, and Cloudtec

I have fallen out of love for my Newton running shoes (Gravity)…  After running 560 miles in my first pair and 515 in my second, I just wasn’t feeling the love anymore for the Newton's. Perhaps my gait has changed, but something is different. At 500 miles it is obviously time to consider new running shoes, and as I readied myself to do so, I have to admit that the cost of the Newton’s was also a consideration in my choice of a new pair.

And so, after trying a myriad of different running shoes, I opted for Saucony Triumphs – and so far they feel good. They are a little bit heavier than the Newton Gravity’s (306g vs 252g) with an 8mm heel-toe offset. To be honest, I can’t really feel the difference between the weights of the shoes. The important part, of course, is that they just feel right when running. The odd thing that I've noticed while running with the Saucony's though, is that I’m not as focused as I was with the Newtons with regards to landing on my midfoot/forefoot, although I know that I am still doing it. I do notice that my steps are quieter. For some reason I was unable to land as softly as I would have liked with the Newtons and I tended to hear a “plop” sound with every step. Odd. It may have been my gait.

When I took up running with the Newton Gravity shoes I noticed that I was a tad faster, probably because I became more focused on my form and doing the midfoot/forefoot thing, and so I have been curious what the effect, if any, would be with the new Saucony’s. The answer is still TBD… It has been so hot and humid, that any real evaluation or analysis is going to have to wait until the weather gets a little more cooperative. I’m still running in this humidity, but not with a tremendous amount of gusto. My running mojo is sucking…

But then entered a wild card…  I fell into a pair of CloudTec Cloudracers (230g, 5mm heel/toe offset) (website: www.on-running.com) the night of a 5K. I immediately felt the lightness of these shoes. Wow, so this is what lightweight shoes feel like! But they are a little weird in that the soles of the shoe have these rubber “eyelets”, or bumps (see the picture...) that are kind of little bouncy, spongy things… My initial reaction when I saw the shoe was “yeah, right… forget about it”, but then I tried them on and ran the 5K race with them.  And I PR’ed it… on an incredibly hot and humid night (it was

a midnight 4^th of July run…) I ran the fastest 5K I have ever run. It must have been the shoes...! (uh-huh...) But yes, they really, really felt good. I felt a little extra spring that was very dynamic. Maybe that is what those rubber eyelets thingy's do.

I’m a little skeptical with regards to how many miles I can get out of the Cloudtec shoes, because I am sure that the rubber eyelets will either fatigue and collapse, or will rip out. We’ll see. I may just use them for events. But they do feel real good!

Next up: I'm hoping to run in one of the Ragnar series relays, the New Hampshire Reach the Bay (or is it Beach?) in September.  Never done one, hope to see what it's like!

After that its a Half Marathon on Honeymoon Island in November.

568 miles on a pair of Newtons

After putting 568 miles on a pair of Newton Motion running shoes, it was time to replace them.  I almost feel like I could get another 100 miles or so out of them, but my feet were starting to feel a little weird and I am sure that it was due to the shoes wearing out.

From the pictures you can probably see that I pretty much wore the nubs off the mid-foot area and the area just in front of (towards the toes) is completely slick (when new there were some grooves and a bit of a raised area – all gone now).  And in the event you can’t tell….  the new shoe is on the left…

I switched from the “Motion” model that provided something that they called “medial posting” to offset pronation, to the “Gravity” model, which is supposed to be a neutral shoe.  I really don’t know that I have a pronation problem, so if I go back to “neutral” perhaps I might learn something.  When I made my original purchase, the helpful store clerk recommended the Motion model because it provided a bit more “support”, something that might be helpful to me since at the time I was complaining about dealing with Plantar Fasciitis – I’m not sure where that support is provided, but it’s supposed to be there somewhere.

With the recent arrival of my new shoes and a 20K event this weekend (Leesburg 20K – Virginia), I have spent some walking time in them, then a short 2 miler, and today a hillier 6 miler. The new shoes feel great! And after this last run, I can definitely feel the different shoe symmetry in my calves. This may also be due to the fact that the new shoes are “new and unused” vs the “old and worn out” ones that I’ve been in for a while.  I’ll do more walking and run at least another 6 to 10 miles in the new shoes over the next 4-5 days before the event.

I’m looking forward to seeing how I do in the event itself – I didn’t have a chance to run any events in my previous Newtons so I’m looking forward to see how I feel after 20K and what kind of time I can post.

4 days to the Leesburg 20K  [UPDATE:  here is a link to the Leesburg event:  http://runningthrutime.blogspot.com/2013/08/leesburg-20k-great-run-great-event.html  ]

74 days to the MCM

Mid-foot running - yeah, right..

About 270 miles ago I purchased some Newton running shoes with the idea that they would help me become a more natural mid-foot runner, which of course is supposed to be more efficient that any other kind of stride...  But as all runners know, everyone runs a little bit different simply because no two people are built exactly the same.

The net-net here is that after 270 miles, I'm realizing that I'm not a mid-foot runner; I'm more of a "flat foot" runner, trending towards fore-foot, but definitely not a true mid-foot runner. In other words, I'm not landing on the balls of my feet, but rather further back. Ok - so does that really matter?  Not really.  At least I don't think so.

I've probably spent a large portion of those 270 miles trying to run on my forefoot, i.e. land on the nubs on the bottom of the Newton shoes.  But it just never felt right, I could not get into a good cadence, and I definitely could not keep it up for miles on end.  For short distances, I was definitely running faster, but my stride could never quite get into it.

I finally sort of just let myself "run" and tried to pay attention to how I was running. I naturally lean ever so slightly into my run, but I also consciously think about making sure that my hips are forward. This keeps me from slouching and getting sloppy in my posture. I try to imagine that I'm driving my hips forward, almost like I have a wire attached to to the mid point of my hips and it is pulling me up the road or trail.  The net result is that my feet follow and by conscienciously making sure that my feet are always landing under my hips, I don't heel-strike.  But it's also not a forefoot stride - it's really more of "forward-flat-foot" stride.

My knees, hips, and ankles seem to be ok with it - I can do this for many miles, although I do mix up my stride a bit on on long runs just to ease my leg muscles.  I'm also finding that I'm a tad faster.  It may be an illusion right now (I haven't run any events, like a 5 or 10K to confirm it), but my splits seem to be better.

So what's the point of this?  Simple: I like the Newtons and I think that they are helping me run better.  But I also believe that I'm running better because I letting myself run naturally and not how someone is suggesting that I run.

166 days to the MCM!

Newton shoes - a skoosh faster

I can now reasonably and reliably attest that my new Newton Motion running shoes have made me a tad faster. 

At first I was skeptical of whether my times were a bit better because of the shoes or not, but after running a series of 6 and 7 mile runs, I am definitely posting faster splits.  I have a total of 60 miles on them now.  I had earlier thought that perhaps my better times were just attributed to the fact that the weather was cooler, making it more fun to run.  But I think that the combination of the shoes causing me to change my form ever so slightly (hips forward - land, lever, lift) and the concept of the shoes themselves has played a factor.

For my first time ever I ran the last 3 miles of a 7 mile run at a sub 8min/mile pace (avg 7:44).  That is big for me, since I'm usually holding any attempt at a sub 8min/m pace until the last mile.  And usually after running 6 miles, I'm actually pushing to even do anything in the 8min/m space.  During that particular run, mile 4 was a quick (for me) 8:14, and then to my surprise mile 5 was an incredible 7:34.  I remember that I felt good, felt smooth, and I was concentrating on my form.  I was not necessarily trying for speed - I was just trying to stay in the flow.  Admittedly I started to feel the fatigue setting in during mile 7 - I was definitely at my end.

But the Newton running shoes have also affected my feet in both a positive and negative way:  when running with them, my Plantar Fasciitis seems to abate, but I also developed Archelles Tendonitis in my right ankle.  When I first started running with the shoes, I immediately noticed the stretch in my upper ankle area, thus the short runs to get used to them.  But after multiple longer runs (6 & 7 miles) that right ankle area is not happy.  So I had to back off on mileage and do some running with my older "regular" shoes.  But this has aggravated my Plantar Fasciitis... I'm swapping back and forth with the shoes now, but I want my archelles tendon to heal, so I'm doing fewer miles with the Newtons for a bit.

For all intents, the Newtons are a success for me, although I do need to get my legs accustomed to them.  I love it when I find that sweet spot and am cruising.  It is the best feeling in the world.

Train hard to run hard

I read last week that if you are going to train, train hard.  Don’t just train moderately. Train like you mean it.  The article mentioned that most of us will think that we are going out for a “hard” run, but when we start to get fatigued, we back off – I know that I’ve been there.  Ok, we’re still getting our exercise in, and yes, we are probably doing more than the majority of the population, but if you are training, make it count.  And when it’s “hard” is when its beginning to count.

So I did yesterday’s 4M run with the intent of running hard, but smart, and with the goal of doing the last mile as consistently fast as I could.  What would I experience, what line would I cross – if any…

it was an interesting experience for me – so much so that I’m going to try to articulate it here.

At a minimum, I was curious as to what would happen and how I would feel.  My goal was to start as I always do, slow and steady to get loosened up and in a groove, then move it up to a nice cruising pace, and then finish the last mile as hard as I could, with the emphasis on not giving up during that last mile.  I was thinking that I would do my first mile at a 10m/m pace, miles 2 & 3 at around a 9m/m pace, and then my last mile would be somewhere around 8-something.   I wound up doing 9:58, 9:12, 8:05, 7:11.

The temperature and weather were perfect for having a good run – mid 50’s, slight breeze, and sunny.  A beautiful morning.  For fuel prior to the run I had some peanut butter on toast with a coffee chaser.  I took the time to stretch and loosen up.   Music queued up.

The first mile was nice and easy.  The first half mile was at something like an 11m/m pace, pretty typical for me, and by the next half I was up to a 9m/m pace – averages out nicely to a 10m/m pace.  I know that my first half mile will always be slow – it just is; my body is just not ready to flow and it takes 5 minutes or so to get my juices going.

The second mile has a few small hills, nothing significant, but enough to throw me off a steady pace, but I tried to remain consistent.  Netting out a 9:12m/m pace was very satisfactory to me.  I had been thinking that I would do something more along the lines of 9:30.  Around mile 1.5 I noticed that I was feeling a sugar low, so I sucked down a goo, knowing that it would not hit until after mile 2-2.5.

Mile 3 is ever so slightly downhill.  There is probably, maybe, a 10 foot drop in the entire mile, but the net result is that it makes for easier running.  I even lucked out at a major crossroads and barely had to break my pace to get across the intersection.   I had a good pace going and I knew it.  My half mile split was indicating that I was running an 8-something pace.  By now the goo was kicking in and I was concentrating on my form and posture.  As soon as I crossed the street and was back on the trail I know that I subconsciously was turning on the juice – it’s that “we’ve turned the corner and I can see home from here” thing…  I was pretty amped when I saw that my mile 3 split was an 8:05 !

As soon as I got to the start of mile 4 I was in full stride.  I was trying not to over stride, hips forward, making my mid foot land below my hips, pushing forward with my quads, and breathing – always breathing.  I knew that I was moving faster than I usually did, but even so, I felt under control.  As I passed someone walking the other way I was able to say “good morning” easily and without wheezing and gasping the words out – I thought that was a good sign.

I also started thinking about where my mile 4 end point was going to be – clearly it was not going to end at my house; I would have to overshoot the house by maybe half a mile.  That’s not a problem in of itself -  it’s more the psychological aspect of “where is the finish line?”  I was not going to be able to “see” it.  I would be done when my GPS said that I got to Mile 4.  It is an interesting way to push oneself.  Very abstract.

I got lucky again in crossing the road, easily avoiding traffic and powered into my neighborhood.  As I pushed my way down the boulevard I started to dwell on “where is the finish line going to be???”  At the half mile split my watch noted 3:40, or the equivalent of a 7:20m/m pace.  Cool – and all I’m thinking at this point is if I could run at this pace for another 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

I tried counting in seconds but found that I was way off – I was counting too fast.  I concentrated on pushing my quads to power me forward, using my arms to help my momentum.  I was trying so hard to land mid foot and spring off.  And keep moving, keep moving.

But I was getting tired – particularly since  I had no idea where the finish line was.  I had stopped looking at my watch.  I was definitely in an anaerobic state and my calculations were not making sense to me, so I just tried to focus on running hard and NOT SLOWING DOWN for anything.

I got to a point where I know that I was reaching a breaking point – a point where I normally would have said “ok – that’s enough - time to throttle back”, but I kept thinking about the whole thing of “training hard to run hard”.  It’s not like I was seeing spots before my eyes, but I know that I was definitely crossing a new line.  I think I lost a little speed while all of this was going on, but the important part is that I kept going as hard as I could – again just wishing that I knew where the finish line was…. I kept saying “how far, how far….”

And then suddenly it was there in my ears:   “Distance - four point zero zero miles”.  Heaven.  I touched the split button on my watch and pulled off to the side of the road to walk and breathe. And then I looked at my split:  7:11.   I read it, but I didn’t comprehend it.  I don’t run a 7:11 mile.

I then checked my GPS thing on my phone – it confirmed 7:11.  Whoa, this is huge.

Even better, as I walked back to my house, my breathing was good, my heart rate was normal (fully recovered), and my legs felt great (nice to be walking).  “Wow” I thought.

According to my logs, it was my fastest 4th mile, but not my fastest 4 miles.  In February of this year I somehow managed to do a 4 mile run about a minute faster.  Notwithstanding, I met my goal of finishing hard and running the last mile consistently hard.  And yes, I was wearing my new Newton running shoes, now with a grand total of 34 miles on them.

I crossed a line, both mentally and physically.  I understand the concept better now. I’ve crossed lines during an event, particularly towards the end of the race.  But the fact is that I was always unprepared for it – I never knew what would happen.  I’ve heard the saying “training day stud, race day dud”, so I’ve almost always eased back when things got hard.  But the reality of the fact is that if I want to run fast, if I want to run hard, I have to train fast, and I have to train hard. Theoretically, the line keeps moving, meaning that I should have the opportunity to get better and better.

The trick now is to extend this concept into my training routine.  Woof

Running with Newton's - continued

I've done 3 successive 6 mile runs in my Newtons, and I think that I really like the shoes.  My legs feel good, I feel the development of different muscles, and in my last 6M run, I was comfortable enough to sprint the last mile.  And yeah, I think my times are a skoosh better.

But the shoes do take getting used to - my last 6 mile run was a little hilly - not a lot, but some - and I felt the effects of the run in my right achilles tendon area that afternoon and the next day.  I was walking pretty stiffly for a bit, but it worked itself out.

The other good news is that the plantar fasciitis in my left foot seems to be diminished.  I can't determine if it has been because of the Newtons or all the stretching and massaging that I've been doing, or both, but the bottom line is that it feels better (today anyway).

So with that in mind, I'm trying to get into a half marathon later this month (in two weeks), even though registration for the event is closed.  That will be a good test!

Running with Newtons

After running unhappily for 6 months in shoes that had bad karma, I decided to explore the world of Newton running shoes – and so far I’m glad that I did.  I wound up selecting what Newton calls a “Motion Performance Trainer” (the blue one’s with the yellow sole), for the princely sum of $175.  These are by far the most expensive shoes (of any kind) that I have ever bought (I’m not a big “shoe” kind of a guy).   Newton will allow you to return any shoe within 60 days for a full refund, no matter how many miles you’ve put on them… That little option is what finally convinced me to give them a try.   I’m also not sure why Newton designates all of their shoes as “Trainers”…  what’s up with that?

So far I have a grand total of 12 miles on them and I really like them.  Per the advice of a customer at the store that I bought them at (MyTriGuys on 5 Mile in Livonia, MI, www.mytriguys.com), I have been “easing” into them starting with short runs and adding distance slowly, and I could immediately understand why that was important.  In my case, I could feel the shoes stretching and manipulating the muscles in my calves and hamstrings, along with the ligaments and tendons to my ankles.  The design of the shoes has a way of changing my running form just a tad, with two (hopefully positive) effects: 1) I believe that I’m making better use of my muscles, and 2) I think that I’m a little bit faster!  The latter point will be made more evident for fact or fantasy as I put on more miles.

During my first 1.5 mile run I could feel muscles in my hamstring (specifically the muscle area closer to my knee) working differently and after the run I felt the result of new stretching in the ligaments and tendons towards the back of my ankle (in the area of my Achilles tendon).  Subsequent runs, each one a bit further, have resulted in the same feeling in both areas.  It’s not a bad feeling, just different.

While running I can’t help but be conscious of the “knobs” on the bottom of the shoe – it’s not that I feel them so much as I know that they are there and I should be using them to my advantage.  Which forces me to focus on my form: keep my hips forward, lean into the run just a tad, land (lightly) on my midfoot, and release without pushing off with my toes.  When I concentrate on that form, I have been able to post better times per mile that I have in the last 6 months.  For three runs in a row, I have averaged a 7:20 min/mile pace in my last mile (I like to finish harder than I started…  it’s just my thing – I know that most coaches won’t approve, but I’m 55 and it’s what I do…).  That is compared to a mid to low 8 min/mile average with other shoes.  For all I know I’m subconsciously pushing myself, but like I said, fact and fantasy will be borne out as I put more miles on.

This of course is causing me to develop and exercise slightly new muscle groups, so I am now slowly building up mileage with the result of pretty much putting my attempt at the Grand Rapids Marathon out of the picture.  I'm still fighting and dealing with the Plantar Fasciitis thing and I have 5 weeks to go to the event. I can't see any realistic way that I’m going to be ready.  I am very bummed about it, but I don’t want to run it just to run it – I want to have a good time doing it.  I think that if I pushed myself I could actually finish the event, but I don’t want to just finish it – I want to do reasonably well, and I want to have a fun time doing it. (Which takes me to my next thought – someone asked me how could anyone possibly “have fun” running 26 miles?  I didn’t have an answer for the guy – there is just no way to explain it in a way that he would get it…)

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