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!