Running Shoe Lineup

My main feeling about running shoes and all types of outdoor shoes is that they've never been better, and innovative new models keep coming out. For all the talk about barefoot running and minimalist shoes, what is more interesting to me is the incredible variety of running shoes available now that can enhance the running experience.

Going completely barefoot is silly: we invented shoes and clothes and they make our life better.  How much shoe you want and need is a balance between the weight of the shoe and the additional performance characteristics you get for that additional weight.

For the mix of trails I normally run, the choice of shoes can mean the difference between floating down the trail, and gingerly picking my every step. For me, shoe performance can provide distinct advantages allowing me (and my body) to focus on other things, like going harder and faster, or choosing a fuzzy foot placement rather than an extremely precise one.

My current shoe lineup, left to right:

I don't run roads as often anymore, but starting with road shoes:

Nike Mayfly, (size) 12, 5.4 oz
Asics Hyperspeed 2, 12.5, ~8 oz (not shown)

These are shorter distance road racing shoes that I don't use often, but would choose to wear for 5k to 10k distance. The Mayfly almost lack enough stability for hard efforts, but are so light I end up using them for other things, like when I'm bike riding but don't want to wear biking shoes everywhere at the other end of the trip. The Hyperspeed 2 are perfectly stable and light enough to feel great when letting your power out during short races.

Saucony Kinvara, 12, 8.7 oz
Nike Skylon, 12.5, 11.5 oz

I tried the Kinvaras after hearing much about them, and I like their feel for treadmill and road training as a lighter shoe. The Skylons are my favorite shoe and always make me want to run faster, and I love them on roads and easy trails, but unfortunately they lack control for technical trails and will leave your feet and ankles beat up over longer distances on such. They are performance trainers suitable for races of any distance through marathon and 50k. For now I've sworn off distances over 50k, but if I were ever to run another 50 miler (on easier trails) I'd wear these.

Trail shoes:

New Balance MT20, 13, 8 oz

The MT20s are a minimal shoe with some heel drop, which works for me because I run in other shoes with heel drop. I think it's important to feel the ground sometimes and change up your stride with a minimal shoe. I don't believe one needs to run in minimal shoes all the time, as you would sacrifice the greater performance of other shoes by doing that, but they have a place.

Saucony Peregrine, 12.5, 11.5 oz

Very nice trail racing shoe with pretty good lateral control, but they are somewhat minimal and they don't produce the same feel of making me want to run faster every time I wear them as the road Skylons do, at the same weight. I don't love these shoes for daily runs because they're too much of a compromise between weight and control. If I get used to these enough though for longer runs, they will be a perfect compromise for trail races lasting up to about 4 hours.

Montrail Mountain Masochist, 13, 13.7 oz

I wore these in last year's Escarpment trail run because I needed more shoe than the Peregrines at the time, and might again, though in size 12.5. For daily training I need the size 13s, as the comfort of a larger shoe outweighs the slight control advantage of a better fit, which is better for racing. This is a great shoe for my most technical trails, but it still requires some element of vigilance in foot placements to avoid tweaks.

Treksta Evolution, 12, 16 oz

The Trekstas are twice as heavy as the MT20s, so they're slower, and you do feel slower in them, but they have two great advantages over all my other shoes. First, their kind of loose fit makes them the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned and I've never gotten a blister in them yet. Second, despite their seemingly loose fit, they have the most control of all my shoes, and they're the most forgiving. I don't have to be as vigilant about my foot placements with these shoes, and I can run rough trails for hours with no foot and ankle issues. I can flow much better over rough stuff in these, and the extra weight is well worth it for daily activity. The only problem with these is they don't hold up well: my first pair only lasted 5 months.

Outdoor Week Ending 3/25/12

Week     Planned          Actual          Long   Long       Hiking       Time
Ends  Hours  Long  Hours  Climb    Time  Climb  Time  Climb On Feet
  3/25    6:54    3:19    7:03    3840    3:53    3100    4:30  2780   11:33

Monday's run was on empty after a lot more time on my feet last week. Tuesday was scheduled for the long run, but I knew my legs would be better on one more day of active recovery.

My long run Wednesday started at 1:20pm, and took me across and north in the park, doing a longer section of the Suffern-Bear Mountain trail, then turning sharply back south, over Break-Neck Mountain, and then partway on a dirt road back to Pine Meadow lake. I ran some and hiked some down the valley to finish.

This run was exciting because I ran several trail sections I've never run before, and I got farther out into more remote areas of the park. I felt really good into my 3rd hour, but into the 4th hour I had some cramping in my left hamstring, and also in my left calf. Unlike my last long run where I felt like I could have gone longer, this time I got quite tired and sore, but I think that had more to do with being on my feet nearly 15 hours last week (between running and hiking) and less to do with my current condition, which overall is improving significantly.

Thursday the weather was summer-like and it was really humid, but I only did a short session with more hiking than running in order to recover from the long run. Friday was slightly cooler but it felt bloody hot and humid -- turbid was the word that came to mind. Even after I got warmed up I couldn't pick up my feet well on the rocky trail and it felt awkward to run, so clearly I wasn't recovered enough from the long run and last week's greater time on feet.

So this week I reached some limits, over-reached slightly, and had to rest. After Friday's run I had several sore areas, including the right hip, a couple of spots around my left ankle, and before Friday's run my right knee was a little sore (but not so after). I probably should have completely rested Thursday, but instead I tried to make up for it by completely resting on Saturday, and only did a very short hike Sunday. Still I met my volume and long run goals for the week so it's all good if the rest pays off this coming week.

Training Week Ending 3/18/12: More time on feet

Week     Planned          Actual         Long   Long       Hiking       Time
Ends  Hours  Long  Hours  Climb   Time  Climb  Time  Climb On Feet
 3/18    5:24    1:26    5:34    2520    1:53    1200    9:18  5220   14:52

The story this week was time on feet moving. My running time was right on schedule at about 5.5 hours for the week, but my hiking time skyrocketed to almost 10 hours. Most of the additional hiking time came on run-hike outings, which are lots of fun and make total sense as additional training, but because they're a hybrid of two sports with somewhat different approaches, most people don't think of doing these, or just don't have time.

The difference between my average running effort and average hiking effort is probably about 20 heart beats per minute, with my hiking ranging about 115-125 HR, and running ranging 135-145. The lower effort range of hiking also should build base endurance and strength and stamina up hills, which is similar whether hiking or running. This week hiking I got in an extra mile of vertical climb and 10 hours of low range aerobic exercise.

12-Mar  hike    1:08    560    2        stony brook
              run    0:33    60    2.5        stony brook

This was a recovery day after a 2:17 run/1:12 hike, so I wanted to start out easy, and hiked up to pine meadow lake via red-white-black trails. Doing more hiking really just adds to the endurance base and allows for less stress on the legs, providing active recovery from the pounding of running and the muscle damage from the harder efforts. I enjoyed the run down from the lake and felt really warmed up from 68 minutes of easy hiking. I wore the minimalist New Balance MT20s on this one, because I would be easy hiking most of the time.

13-Mar  run    1:31    300    3.5        stony brook
              hike    0:47    500    2.5        stony brook

I explored the south side of the lake and had a nice run on the unmarked connector trail there. After exploring the old homestead there a little and checking out some camping spots along the lake, my strand of trail dead-ended in a dense patch of mountain laurel, and I didn't feel like going all the way back around to find the real thread of the connector trail. It really reminded me of my orienteering days as I headed for the corner where the trail would pass right next to the crest in the lake. I scoped the laurel for the best way through, finding strands of deer trails and generally heading higher up on the slope to the lake where there was more ledge. Followed the ledge back south until it ran smack into the connector trail, passing along a swamp on the other side. From there I pretty much ran all the way back, feeling good. I was back to the Montrail mountain masochists for this run, my feet and ankles needing a little rest after a lot of time on my feet.

14-Mar  hike    1:25    1400    3.5        overlook

We hiked up Overlook mountain in Woodstock NY. This is where I come sometimes to do big hill repeats. The most repeats up and down I've ever done is 4, but once also with a side trip over to the base of Indian Head Mountain. When we do laps for training, for me it's usually about 36 minutes if power hiking up, or 30-33 if running up, not much difference because of the steep grade. But this time we went really slow and I enjoyed doing it that way also. Probably will be back up here for some repeats later in the spring.

I wore my new Pair of Treksta evolutions for this hike. My last pair of these lasted less than 6 months getting beaten up on tough trails, but they were so comfortable and gave excellent feel and control on the technical trails that I didn't hesitate to buy another pair. This is the shoe I would wear on any really long hike or really long trail run right now.

15-Mar  run    0:56    660    8        ram park, hard effort

Apparent good recovery and improving fitness and no running the day before put a spark in my legs. When you feel like you really want to run, that's the perfect time to go fast. Sure if you're training that's also when you should do your harder efforts, but a training mentality can also make you do harder efforts when you shouldn't, and I've been guilty of that in the past also.

But now I'm trying to optimize my recovery from long runs, and only do the next one when I've recovered and improved my fitness from the last long run. I want to do the long run right on the apex of the wave of super-compensation, and with that run, do some more damage and stress to bodily systems that will create the next wave of super-compensation, at least that's the over-simplified idea.

This day it had nothing to do long run endurance, it was about feeling good and running faster. I wore the Nike skylons out on the trail for the first time in a while, and those shoes are a part of why I wanted to run fast. Skylons are lightweight trainers/racers for up to marathon distance, and they have a great feel and response for faster running. But for trail running they lack feel and control on technical terrain, and that stresses your achillies, ankles and feet more than shoes designed for trails. Ben Nephew did at least once wear skylons to a win on the Escarpment trail, so their tradeoff of being slower on technical stuff is largely made up for by their speed on easier stuff, if they don't injure you.

16-Mar  hike    0:20    200    2.5        stony brook
              run    1:53    1200    3   135     stony brook

I got out later in the day than usual, and started out by hiking to warm up. After I got going it turned out to be a great late afternoon run, with misty slightly raw air at 50 degrees, but much less raw than it would be at 40 degrees or under. I did a really simple route that I may start to run regularly: out southeast on the blue trail, onto orange and up Ramapo Torne and all the way to black up over the so-named russian bear rock formation. Then take the black trail up the escarpment, then around to the lake. Running from the lake down on the red trail is relaxing and has some good little technical sections to run, and as the red trail crossed the creek again, I could see the sun through the trees starting to set in the valley. I got back just after sunset, having seen nobody out on any of the trails for over two hours.

17-Mar  run    0:41    300    1        ram park
             hike    0:35    260    2        ram park

Easy day, low effort run/hike.

18-Mar  hike    5:03    2300    3.5        harriman

The same route we hiked today, I ran last month in 2:53.  We hiked decently hard up the hills today, though otherwise didn't push the pace very hard. The main difference between a moderately hard hike and a long trail run is mostly in running the flats and downhills. Interesting comparison doing the same route.

Training Week Ending 3/11/12

Week     Planned          Actual         Long   Long       Hiking       Time
Ends  Hours  Long  Hours  Climb  Time  Climb  Time  Climb On Feet
3/11    5:44    2:09    6:42    3480    2:17    1800    2:48  1650    9:30

5-Mar  run  1:05  400  2  ram park
            hike  0:45  500  2  ram park
6-Mar  run  0:37  3   gym trd
7-Mar  run  0:59  500  3.5   ram park
            hike  0:28  300  2   ram park
8-Mar  run  1:07  580  4.5   stony brook, 1st run in NB MT20
9-Mar  run  0:37  200  1   ram park
            hike  0:23  250  1   ram park
10-Mar  off                   
11-Mar  run  2:17  1800  4  145  stony brook
              hike  1:12   600  2.5   stony brook

I wrote about these run-hikes last week, but I did four of them this week, so there must be something to them, at least for me. To some it may be a distinction without a difference, whether one is hiking or trail running, especially going uphill when one might be walking anyway.

Today I did another run-hike. I started out at an easy hiking pace for 20 minutes before switching to a run. Then I ran for 30 minutes, stopped for water and a snack at the first big view, and then ran for another hour. Knowing the last section would take me about 50 minutes to run, I was able then to switch back to hiking for almost a half hour. The last section running back to the trail-head took 47 mins, but after that I decided to hike back up to some scenic spots so I did another 20+ mins of hiking. I got a chance to be out there a lot longer today and really enjoyed the change of pace switching back and forth from running to hiking.

Some photos from today's 3 1/2 hours:

 At the first view:

Ramapo Torne from the north:

Grandpa Rock on Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail:

My brand new size 13 Montrail Mountain Masochists:

Lunch Spot facing east:

My current favorite pack is a few years old, a Golite Impulse. It can hold 3 liters or a few bottles of water with room for a bunch of food, a jacket and some other gear, but it's stable enough to keep things from bouncing when you run. In winter especially it's wise to have an extra hat and an extra top layer in the pack, and use the pack to shed other layers into.

 Pine Meadow Lake -- it does look inviting:

Trail Flow: Changing Terrain

There are different levels of awareness and concentration depending on many factors when trail running (or any activity for that matter) but it mostly depends on the kind of terrain, the weather, and what the weather does to the terrain. Some of the kinds of trail terrain that come to mind are:

- Carriage road
- Dirt road
- Uncleared dirt road
- Snowmobile/ATV trail
- dirt base single-track
- dirt base single-track with rocks and roots
- technical

Of those, technical is the most vague. What I mean by a technical trail is a trail that has so many rocks, roots, or cliffs, or whatever -- that footing is a significant challenge. Choosing your line over the terrain and deciding where you'll place each foot is an important part of flowing over the trail, and that's what makes trail running such fun. Why would that make it fun is hard to explain, but trail runners either know what I'm talking about or they prefer easier trails, where accurate footing is not as important.

The last few runs I've thought about the difference between running primarily on the tops of the rocks in very technical sections, and running primarily on the dirt between the rocks. Switching between the those two distinct methods made me realize they are optimizing different things. When there are fewer rocks, you run on the trail and avoid the rocks, moving and lifting your feet out of the way of passing rocks. When there are too many rocks, you come to a point when you realize that you can run on the tops of the rocks much more efficiently, even if it temporarily expends more energy. Because small movements affect your balance easily when you're moving faster, you can easily adjust your foot placements in the most time-efficient way. So it often makes sense to speed up somewhat for technical sections, instead of slowing significantly to pick your way through or over the obstacles. If you slow, your balance becomes more heavily invested in foot placements, making it harder ironically.

Now that I'm running on pretty technical trails most of the time, I find that I now have 3 distinct trail running modes. First is the low awareness smoother trail mode, where I'm a little more aware than when running on roads and watch my footing a little. Second, there is the higher awareness rough trail mode, where I'm still trying to optimize my flow and footing for controlled speed and efficiency. After many years of running in this mode, I can instinctively catch a bad foot placement to avoid a turned ankle. Last is the focused awareness challenge mode, where I'm scouting my line ahead and placing my feet as precisely as within one inch in order to step on certain rocks or ledges without slowing down. This is the mode where you expend more energy to make progress in a more time efficient way, for example taking much longer and out-of-line strides at times to best cover the ground. If the rocks are right it can be a lot of fun, kind of like dancing on rocks.

Switching the mode of running for a new terrain context is something I never thought about until I ran these trails with extremely technical sections more frequently. Rough trail mode is so automatic for me that it took a while to just really focus on rocks and only rocks sometimes, which takes me into that next challenge mode. The stakes are much higher in challenge mode, and I've been lucky in the past. If you trip at the wrong time when you're running a little faster over very technical stuff, you can fall pretty hard: I once tripped and flew about 10 feet forward and 3 feet down chest-planted onto some rocks while running up at Giant Ledge in the Catskills. I lay there for probably 10 minutes before I was sure nothing was broken. Considering all my years of orienteering and trail running, that remains my worst fall.

When I switch from smooth-trail mode to rough-trail mode, where I flip on my reflexes for counteracting ankle-threatening foot-plants, it's like I shift into a different and more focused state of mind. It keeps parts of both the conscious and unconscious minds busy, and can become a kind of meditation, but one with action that can be entertaining at the same time. When you up the notch and flip the switch to challenge mode, it takes even more focus, and can be even more fun. I get so carried away with running on the rocks sometimes that instead of running on the trail again after it smooths out a little, I just run alongside the trail on any rocks I can find. But for racing I will have to optimize switching back and forth between those modes of focus.

New Balance MT20 Shoe Review

I recently ordered 3 pairs of shoes:  Trekstas, Mountain masochists, and NB minimus MT20s, which were the first to arrive, so I didn't wait to try them out and took them out for a spin today. I figured that since I've been running in light shoes fairly often: Nike skylons, Saucony Kinvaras, and Saucony Peregrines, I would be able to adjust fairly easily to the New Balance MT20s, which was true.

The MT20s felt great, though my right knee felt a little weird at first. After I got warmed up and got more feel for the shoes, my knee was fine, and my form was starting to adjust. You definitely want to land mostly forefoot when running in shoes like this with no cushion, and it helped that I'd run in the Saucony peregrines enough times; the MT20s are just less shoe and more responsive.

Running 67 minutes in them the first time out probably wasn't necessary, especially when I decided the fit was perfect without socks, and I've always worn socks. But a couple of tiny blisters later, my feet and legs held up fine.

The MT20s have a 0.4 mm drop from heel to forefoot, which is why these are cheaper now: Everyone is drawn to minimalist shoes that are completely flat now. The newer MT00 has zero drop, but cost 109 instead of 70. But the .04 drop is fine for me because I run in other shoes with the same or a little more drop. I don't see myself entirely switching to something like the MT20s or MT00s anytime soon, but it was really fun running in them, and the feel is fantastic. The grip is really pretty good on rocks, maybe a little better than the mountain masochists, but not nearly as good as my Trekstas or my old la Sportivas were. You can feel every rock in the trail, but there's enough protection (if you place your feet precisely) to run on very rocky stuff, which I did today.

From rec.running: A good article about minimalist running

(Oh that's my current favorite after run snack: 3oz rice chips).

Training Week Ending 3/4/12: Hiker or Runner?

Week     Planned          Actual        Long   Long       Hiking       Time
Ends  Hours  Long  Hours Climb   Time  Climb  Time  Climb On Feet
  3/4    6:34    3:03    6:36    3380    3:30    2300    3:22    850    9:58

27-Feb run 0:37 380 2.5 ram park
28-Feb run 3:30 2300 4 142 southern harriman
29-Feb run 0:27 1 gym trd
1-Mar  run 0:49 400 1.5 ram park
1-Mar  hike 0:37 150 2 ram park
2-Mar  run 0:43 300 2.5 mohonk
2-Mar  hike 0:35 200 3 mohonk
3-Mar  run 0:30 4 gym HR lower ladder test
4-Mar  hike 2:10 500 3 stony brook

I wrote up Tuesday's long run on the blog as "Stony Brook to Pomona". I will only add here that I seemed to recover pretty well from that run, though I was very sluggish the next day and did the very minimum to get my legs moving. The only time I will do complete rest the day after a long run is when something is injured and not just a little sore. I recover better with some light activity, though usually no more than 30 minutes.

This week had me thinking more about hiking vs running. How does it change my approach to outdoor recreation that I consider myself primarily a runner? What if I considered myself more of a hiker who runs sometimes? It will probably be a natural transition to more hiking and less running as I get older anyway, but there is something more relaxed in the hiker's approach and attitude that I like and want to bring more to my running.

Both Thursday and Friday I did mixture run-hikes. I was still recovering my run endurance from the long run earlier in the week, so I wanted to limit my run durations, but I also wanted to be out there longer. By combining the two activities, I could do longer more interesting routes. I've done lots of these types of combined efforts before -- in fact most trail runs include some hiking up hills.

To time these run-hikes I use the stopwatch to log running time, stop it when I'm hiking, start it again when I'm running. Subtract the running time and any stoppage time from the overall elapsed time, and you get hiking time. Seems somewhat unnatural to log different times, but it makes sense to me right now.

When doing short trail runs, the experience is different than a hiking experience. Long trail runs can be much more like hikes in that I bring more food and stuff and take longer breaks at various spots, just like when hiking. I really enjoyed those run-hikes I did this week and will definitely do more of them, even for long runs where I might run for 4 hours and hike for 3.

I can see myself doing these in the future and not caring what I'm doing, just randomly running or hiking, but for now I'm still caught up in this concept of training for running, logging exercise time and all that, really for no other reason than it motivates me to do more and to get into better shape, and I enjoy running more when I'm in shape. The goal races are just there as somewhat arbitrary goals, but when the time comes around for them I still like to test myself, as most runners do in races.