Pearl Izumi SyncroFuel XC - A Great Shoe!

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It was nearly two months ago when Pearl Izumi contacted me and wanted me to review a pair of the SyncroFuel XC's.  At first I was a bit apprehensive because I have tried Pearl Izumi one other time about a year ago and didn't get past 7 total miles in the shoes before retiring them to the closet.  It turns out the reason I didn't get past 7 miles was because the shoes were too narrow and just plain hurt, not an indication on how good the shoes were.

I received the shoe and was anxious to give it a go.  This shoe is more of a neutral shoe than I have ever run in so I was cautious as I first laced them up.  When I received the shoes I had never ran off-road or on trails and this shoe is designed for trail runners.  I planned on taking it on the road first to see how it compared to what I was running in and then taking it to the trails to give that a go as well.

S.W.A.T. Trot 5k - How did it go?

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The S.W.A.T. Trot 5k has just added another "fond" to my memories of running.  You are aware, unless this is your first time here, that all my memories of the S.W.A.T. Trot have not been fond.  Last years race was a fond memory as it was my daughter Payton's first 5k, but the year before was not quite as fond.  I won't bore you with all the details here as I feel like I have said more than enough about it over the last couple years.

If you read my kinda blah post on Saturday before the 8:00 pm start time of this race you will know that I didn't have big plans for this race.  I had pretty much decided that I would just run it for fun and not try to set any PR or even come close.  I had told my neighbors that I would probably run with them.... if they weren't going to fast.  My left thigh was not hurting, but was not 100% either and I didn't want to end up pulling it.

My First Trail Run - A Tweetup

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Today was a day for firsts.  My first trail run, and my first Tweetup.  As I mentioned yesterday, @Bamarunner contacted me some time ago saying that he was going to be in the Gwinnett area around Memorial day and was wondering if I would want to get together for a run. Next thing I knew a few other local Tweeting Runners were joining us as well.

This morning at 7:00 am @Bamarunner, @SamanthaUF, @LostTrailRunner, and @virtual4now (thats me) were lead through some trails at Stone Mountain Park by @aReyoUiN. Like I said this morning was my first ever trail run and I absolutely loved it.  I know what you are saying, if you didn't go down and eat some dirt it was not officially a trail run, but what I reply with is that 2 of the 5 did go down so I am still counting it :)  You can even see the proof that Samantha posted of the trail rash that occurred while the trail also tried to take out her Garmin.

We arrived just before 7:00 am and the others were shortly behind.  One of the runners tweeted us that she was they were running a few minutes late because she they left the house in flip flops and needed to head back to get her their shoes :)  This didn't put us behind at all so it was no problem.... just kinda funny.

One Of My Best Miles Ever

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I have run the past six days and was thinking about taking today off.  I have been feeling really good lately and the running has been almost completely positive.  Since I ran 6 miles yesterday morning before work, I decided that if I did run today I would only do a couple miles.

I woke up at 4:55 this morning (yea, I slept in for an extra 10 minutes!) and rolled out of bed.  I took my time getting ready and prepared because I would only need < 20 minutes to run since I was only going 2 miles.  During this time I tried talking myself out of running telling myself it was only 2 miles and why bother..... but I knew better.... it was 2 miles and I did need to bother because 2 miles is 2 miles, and I need to be happy that I can call it "only 2 miles" since the majority of people cannot run even 1 mile.  I did end up running.

This is one of the down sides to not having a goal or a specific race that I am training for.  Yes, I have some races on the horizon but nothing like a marathon or half marathon that actually has me on a training plan.  I do not have a training plan that I am following right now and sometimes it can be difficult to stay focused.

More New Shoes

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Two to choose from....... I now have two pair of shoes to choose from when I head out each morning for my run. I got a second pair of running shoes this past Friday so I can check them out. This will give me a second pair of shoes to alternate with my current shoes.

The first leg of my running journey was in a pair of New Balance M767SB. These were my first running shoe and carried me through many a mile of training, and my first 5k, 10k, and Half Marathon. These shoes were tired and I retired them to be casual everyday shoes just a day or two following my Half Marathon. I had racked up over 450 miles on those shoes and they were starting to hurt me.

When retiring those shoes I went back to the running store and purchased myself another pair of New Balance, but this time went with the newer model MR768ST even though they had a pair of the same ones that I had just run so many miles in..... the new model just felt better. I went ahead and purchased a new pair of insoles as well to go with the new shoes.

Now, on to the newest addition. My new Pearl Izumi Syncro Infinity pair of shoes. At first the looks didn't do anything for me, in fact I thought they were pretty ugly, but so far as I have had them sitting around the house and have taken them for a walk and their first run this morning, they are really starting to grow on me. I may even have to say that I may be even starting to like the way they look. :)

I got these shoes this past Friday. They are a bit narrower than all my other running shoes so at first I was a bit worried since I have a wide foot. Saturday I went out for a 10k training run but opted for my current running shoes because of the distance. I didn't want to run that far in a new pair of shoes.

Sunday, I put them on for the first time to go for a walk with my wife. They felt great as far as a pair of shoes fitting, and I was looking forward to see how they felt walking and then running. We didn't walk far because of my wife's feet starting to hurt, but I was happy that my feet weren't hurting. My knee did start to hurt a little bit, but I am not sure if that was the shoe or not.

This morning I took them for their first test run. I went out for only 2 miles to get a good feel for how they felt without getting too committed in case they started to hurt me. The first mile they felt absolutely great, and the second mile my feet felt great but my right knee started to hurt a bit. I, again, am not sure if it is the shoes, it may be because I am used to running with insoles and I do not have insoles for these shoes. I may try to move my insoles from my other shoes and see if they will fit in these shoes. That will give me a good indication on how these shoes are going. I will keep you posted!

Looking forward to more miles in my new Pearl Izumi's. A cool place to find out more about the company (a Nautilus company) and their shoes is www.runlikeananimal.com