Showing posts with label running shoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running shoes. Show all posts

Mizuno Wave Prophecy - Cool Looking Shoes

As runners we all love our shoes, unless of course you are from the barefoot running crowd.  Barefoot running and minimalist shoes interest me, but I am still in the hmmmmm phase.  Today Mizuno launched the new Wave Prophecy in one of their biggest shoe launches to date.

I personally have not run in any Mizuno shoes, but my daughter's have, and have been very happy with their shoes.  The Wave Prophecy is a very cool looking shoe and will be sure to turn some heads and prompt some questions.  With the new infinity wave plates the shoe has a unique look, and one that will at first make you question what kind of support or cushion the shoe has.

Run for your life

This past Wednesday morning was like any other morning.  I was running up and down the same roads I have run hundreds of times in the past.  It was about 5:50 when I was coming around the same corner I have come around many times before.  The road was dark and I was wearing my reflective vest and flashing red light for visibility.  This morning was going to be a little bit different, and serves as a reminder why we run into traffic and not with it.

Pearl Izumi SyncroFuel XC - A Great Shoe!

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.

Strands Review - The Winners!

The time has come and the winners have been chosen for the Strands Review Giveaway.  Winners were selected using www.random.org and the results can be found below.

Thank you everyone for giving Strands a try and for stopping by my blog, I hope to see you back soon!

Below you will find the listing of all the entries, the order random.org chose them, and what they won.

Strands Review - Win A Pair Of Shoes!

When I first heard about Strands.com a year ago and signed up I didn't have much time to give it much of a chance.  One of the things Strands has going for it is that they offer almost anything you could think of with a running log.  I have tried many running logs over the past 3 years and they all seem to be missing some key things that I would like to have.  Strands has a few of those which I will mention later, but none of which I would consider to be core needs.


I have resurrected my Strands account and have given it another go at their request.  This time I have spent much more time just getting to know the interface and checking out what it has to offer.


They have thought about almost everything.  All the basics are there, the profile, the gear, the routes, and the ability to log your workouts and races.  One of the pleasant surprises was how well the mapping utility works.  I have tried this same feature on many sites and they are either clunky or just not very accurate.



One Of My Best Miles Ever

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.

Extremely good run with my daughter.... and new shoes!

I just got back from an extremely good run.... with my daughter.

I am not sure where to start. My daughter has been running off and on for a while, but finally got serious just about a month ago as she was leading up to Cross Country training starting. She is going to be a Freshman and will be running Cross Country her first year. When she first got serious about running she almost cried when we went 2 miles because she had never been that far before.

When she ran with me before she was always right around the 9:30 mark for the mile, and that is about what she started with at the two mile distance as well. We have since built to 4 mile runs and she is doing those pretty easily with the team and her coaches now, although in my opinion she is not running them as fast as she should or could :)

Her fastest two mile run (without me trying to kill her) was a couple weeks ago when she ran one of the miles in 8:19. I was so very proud of her to say the least. Her best two mile run was at a 8:33 pace. Both of those runs she was completely spent at the end.

Well, today brings a new smile to my face. She did not run with her team today so when I got home we went for a two mile run. It was just starting to sprinkle a bit when we walked out the door, but we hit the road anyway. We took off at an easy but brisk pace. She was doing really good, but she did comment it was faster than she runs with the rest of the team. By the time we hit the first mile it was raining pretty good on us, but we still hit that first mile in 8:31. We made the turn and kept on moving. The rain kept up and we sped up. I tried to speed up a little, but keep it where I could see she was managing it well. Well, the punch line to this story is....... she finished that second mile in 7:45!!!!! That is right, 7:45!!! I told her we would stop at two miles no questions asked so that is what we did. She was acting as if she could keep going, it was easy to tell she had been putting the miles in. I then talked her in to running easy to get home since it was another .4 miles and it still was raining quite good. The last .4 slowed the pace for the overall run, but the overall pace still turned out to be 8:15! I am so very proud of her. Here is the log from this run >> link

Now..... on to the shoes

I just got my new shoes in today. A big thank you goes out to one of my new Twitter Buddies @RaceSpeed who runs the online store www.telarun.com and who helped me by answering many questions about shoes and suggested I buy the shoes I ultimatly bought from him.

I wanted to replace my shoes with the same New Balance MR768ST shoes since I really liked them and they were exactly what I needed. I ended up finding out that they were discontinued and no matter where I looked I could not find my size in the shoe I currently ran in. The shoes were replaced by the New Balance MR769SB, but I was nervous that they would be enough different and would cause me problems.

The shoes I bought were in fact the New Balance MR769SB, and they came in the mail today. This same run became my trial run with my new shoes. If all is based on the first run, I am sold! I forgot what it was like to have the feet and legs feel so good. I guess that is because I had way too many miles on my old shoes (don't ask how many)

Bottom line, the day started out horrible, but it ended on running cloud 9!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow

To Run or not To Run

Since seeing the Doctor last week I have not yet got up the nerve to get out for a test run. The pain I had last week when I woke up still seems to be lingering around a bit. It is not as bad as it was that first day, but I have had enough pain to not yet go out for my trial run.

The latest development in my collar bone injury has been the pain around where the pin was put in. I will avoid most of the details, but I have a pin in my collar bone and it protrudes a little on the top of my shoulder. For the most part this has not been too painful.... until this past Sunday. This past Sunday it started giving me sharp pains, some so bad that I had to actually check to make sure it had not poked through the skin. It felt like someone had stabbed my shoulder with a knife.

I am beyond getting anxious, I really want to get back out and run. Running has been on my mind, and I get frustrated when I cannot run. I have been thinking so much about running in this running hiatus that I even ordered me a new pair of running shoes. I didn't order my favorite shoes this time because the place I ordered them from didn't have my size, instead I ordered the New Balance 1123. We will see how these go. If they don't feel OK it looks like I may have to see them on eBay or maybe I should give them away here on my blog..... hmmm, we will see.

I am hopeful I will be able to start running again in the next couple weeks, wish me luck!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Shoes - Not always an easy choice

The one benefit, if you can call it that, to being injured is that your shoes last longer. As great as that sounds I would much rather be putting more miles on my running shoes.

My current pair of running shoes, the New Balance MR768ST has been getting a rest lately, however it won't be long before the mileage will start to tick again. This made me wonder the other day.... how long will it be till my next pair of shoes will need to meet the current budget cuts? I took a look at my running log and found that my current pair is nearing 300 miles. For the miles that I had been running it won't take long once I get back to running before I will be in the market again.

I have tried a couple different brands of shoes, but every time I have come back to New Balance. I have been a one trick pony when it comes to shoes that meet my needs and the others that I have tried never seem to even come close.

My current running shoes, as mentioned above are the New Balance MR768ST, and by far are my favorite. These shoes even are a step above my previous pair of New Balance, even though my previous pair, the M767SB was the predecessor to this model. This series gives me the support that I need and has been the only shoe that I have been able to run in completely pain free. The shoe is stable and yet doesn't feel too stiff. I also think it is one of the lightest pair of shoes I have ever owned.

Now I just need to get running again.... I am fully expecting the Doctor to give me the go ahead in the next couple weeks. Now..... to pick the marathon.... :)

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com