Tag Archives: Footwear

Getting Traction on Ice and Snow

What do you wear to gain traction while running in icy or snowy conditions? I personally wear YakTrax when I want extra traction and sure footing. I know of people who drill small sheet metal screws into their shoes, and I’m sure people use other brand traction devices. What is your preferred device?

There are a few factors I consider before adding my YakTrax to my shoes.

1) Where am I going?

We live by a hospital so if I run that direction I’m guaranteed that a large part of my run will be on plowed the majority of my run. Running the Lakes? They will be plowed, but not to the ground. Downtown – plowed to the sidewalk.

2) What are the conditions of the trail/sidewalk?

This depends on where you go. Most actual off-road trails won’t have been plowed and I often will wear the YakTrax on them just to be safe.

3) Is there fresh snow/ice?

If the snow/ice is fresh or falling then I’d probably wear them just to be safe.

I’ve worn my YakTrax a few times this year for runs. A lot of my runs from home end up having a fair amount of the run being on sidewalks that are well taken-care of (hospital or downtown) so I don’t wear them a lot.

The YakTrax basically use a coil of wire to form an X on the ball and heel of your shoe. They pull over the sole of your shoe and have a strap that helps hold them on. They make a very distinctive mark in the snow! When running on clear pavement these coils add a little bit of spring to your step and if worn for long stretches can mess up your shins. For shorter periods of clear pavement you can survive or run in a snow bank to prevent the shin pain.

In the past when I’ve known I’ll want them for running around a park I’ve crossed the street or even run in the street instead of running on the hospital’s clear sidewalk.

I’ve been wearing YakTrax since we moved to Minnesota 6 years ago. I wore my first pair out mid-winter last year and bought a new pair of YakTrax Pro. I did receive a free pair of YakTrax Pro to review this winter (and some hand warmers).

My YakTrax wore out similar to how the heel of my shoe wore down. The rubber and coils on the back of the heel eventually broke due to my running form. I didn’t keep track of how many miles it took for this to occur, but having them for almost 5 years seems like a pretty good amount of time for them to last.

Another benefit of YakTrax over sheet metal screws is that you can wear them on virtually any shoe (mine won’t fit onto my winter boots, but do on my every day winter shoes). This also allows you to rotate through your running shoes instead of only wearing (and ruining) one pair of shoes!

Have you enjoyed your YakTrax or other traction method? What works for you?

A First Run: Kinvara

13 Replies

Image via Wikipedia

Wow, the Saucony Kinvara feels amazing. It feels almost like a slipper when you put it on. The mesh upper is quite comfortable, felt snug, but also felt like there was still support. I think the sole is solid – firm but not overly stiff or with too much extra padding.

On my 3 mile run, I was able to experience a few different surfaces – concrete, asphalt, dirt, and gravel. I didn’t feel any rocks poke through the soles, like you might expect from a minimalist shoe. The neutral shoe felt really good through most of the run. I say most, because at around 2.5 miles my right leg started hurting a little bit. Now on any given run a random pain could show up, so I’m not gonna blame the Kinvara’s for that on this run (but I’ve not had any pain on my right leg before or since). Other than that it was like going for a run in my older shoes.

I really liked the fit and feel of the Kinvara. I was focused more on how the shoe felt than on my footstrike. I ran a new route but my time was several minutes faster than a 3 mile run in the past week and one of my faster runs in the past month. Again, I don’t want to give too much credit to the shoes specifically for that, because a lot of factors could play into running faster on any given day. But several minutes is fairly substantial without any noticeable difference in effort.

Overall my first run in the Kinvara actually went better than my first run in a new pair of ASICS – GT 2150 which is a stability shoe of the same ilk as I’d been wearing. My feet didn’t hurt, the didn’t seem to mind the lack of support found in the stability shoe.

The biggest problem, which I expected, was later in the day and the next day my ankles hurt on the sides of the achilles tendon. I’ve had this problem before with Saucony. I ran in Saucony a lot and bought a trail shoe to use for running and hiking for a summer in Yellowstone. Part way through the summer I strained my achilles and I’ve never been able to run in Saucony since. I actually traded my Saucony’s that summer with my roommate. Oddly, I was able to race in a Saucony flat, but never a trainer. Needless to say, this made me a little nervous about trying the Kinvara’s out and I wasn’t surprised when the sides of my achilles hurt. Fortunately, the pain went away by the end of the 2nd day.

Final Thoughts: I plan to give the Kinvara at least one more shot. I know to truly have an opinion about a shoe I need to give them a few tries, but that will all depend on the achilles. I will test them out on another short run and see how things go. I’m not sure if the achilles pain is something that will get strengthened over time or not. But I think that if I just add the Kinvara into my shoe rotation that I might be fine.

Just a reminder that I received my Kinvara’s free for the purposes of reviewing.

First Thoughts: Saucony Kinvara (teamcrossworld.com)

Got IT Pain?

5 Replies

A tight IT Band is not a good sign. It needs to be stretched out and loosened up or it could turn into the dreaded IT Band Syndrome.

I was told my a massuse last year that my IT Band was extremely tight. So I started stretching it on a regular basis. I did some research and found this excellent information sheet about the IT Band. By a trained physical therapist it lists some of the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of the IT Band.

I think most of us are most concerned about not having problems with it and could care less about some of the anatomy that surrounds it. She lists five keys to preventing ITBS – but they are actually almost identical steps to preventing any injury!

The list is:

– Changing running shoes every 300-400 miles and alternating between shoes with every run. I’ve occasionally talked about my shoes and shoe preferences.

– Slowly increasing mileage (no more than 10% a week or on any run), including adding hill workouts gradually. Downhills can add a lot of strain to the ITB.

– Avoid uneven surfaces. More likely always running on the same side of a cambered or cantered surface like a road. One leg can become predisposed to ITB because of the extra pressure placed on it.

– Keep the knees warm. Seems like if you are predisposed this might be helpful. She said below 60 – but above 40 I’m wanting to wear shorts.

– Cool down and stretch after a run. Ice if needed.

The article continues on and offers some stretches and strength training ideas specific to the ITB. For now you’ll just have to go read up on it.

[tags] IT Band, ITBS, iliotibial band [/tags]

Thoughts on Running Shoes

9 Replies

I have really enjoyed my Mizuno Wave Inspire running shoes. I started with the 3 and am now on my third pair of the 4’s. They came out with a 5, but the 4 is cheaper so that’s what I went for. Oddly, I first picked up the 3 because it was on the clearance rack at a running shoe store.

I know, that is dangerous. But I did due diligence and talked with the staff to make sure that the Wave Inspire was the correct shoe for me based on my wearing of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7. Later I found this great chart that shows all of the different major brands and which shoe you should wear based on your current one.

I’m not sure that last sentance makes sense so based on the fact that I wore the Adrenaline GTS it recommends Mizuno’s Wave Inspire and Asics GT-2140, etc… I wish there was a good chart that could help you pick out trail running shoes based on your road shoe, without making a trip to the store.

It is a fun little chart and I recommend looking at it. A lot of people say that you should never change shoes after you find one that you like, but there is a lot of anecdotal information out there that every now and then it is good to switch brands – each one is a little different and that will help your foot and body. Obviously, I have changed brands a few times. I wore Adidas in college, Asics for a few years, then Brooks, and now Mizuno. I can attest that they are all a little different and my feet have enjoyed pretty much all of them.

INSTRUCTIONS

I started writing this post to highlight some of the “care instructions” and a “Caution” that came with my most recent Mizuno purchase. I find them a little humorous.

– None of the Mizuno range shoes are suitable for machine washing. This may destroy or damage the technical fibers used on the shoes. We had a freshman one year in college who washed his shoes occasionally (in the washing machine). One time he washed them and then the next day we ran on some muddy trails. He complained the whole time about getting his clean shoes muddy.

-Your shoes should be regularly cleaned and maintained. Generally this can be done by hand washing in soapy water, however you should not use chemically enhanced powders or detergents. Does running through puddles count? I’ve never washed my shoes with soap. Does it add extra mileage to them?

– Do not force or artificially dry your shoes. This may damage or destroy the materials or substances used in production. Well talk about confusing – don’t wash, then wash them but you can’t dry them. Actually the best way to dry your shoes is to stuff them with old newspapers and lean them up against a wall so the toes are pointing down. They’ll usually be dry overnight.

– You should regularly check your shoes to ensure that the necessary components are still suitable for performance as deteriorated midsoles or outsoles may cause injuries. Components? Are the shoes little widgets? Shoes only last for about 300 – 500 miles depending on your build and gait. The soles will start to break down and show wear. Even if they don’t it is a good idea to purchase new ones.

Cautions

– This product has been designed and manufactured for the sport running. Use of this product for other activities limits the warranty for this product. I didn’t realize shoes had a warranty, except for Nike which would replace any shoe whose air pocket burst. So if I walk around in my shoes does that void the warranty? That doesn’t bode well for all of the Jeff Galloway fans out there. Not to mention the grammatical error!

[tags] Running Shoes, Nike, Asics, Mizuno, Brooks, Adidas, Shoe Care [/tags]

You can wash shoes (johnaugust.com)
Under Armour Takes Chance On Shoe Market (cbsnews.com)

Time to Change the Shoes

4 Replies

After a good 440 miles it is time to lay my old shoes to rest. The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 were a great shoe, it is sad to put these old friends to rest. But not to worry I am wearing a new pair of the same shoe, so you could say they are relatives. I look forward to many more good miles with this new pair, they have done me well so far! I’m not shedding any tears and neither should you. The old pair will still be around for awhile as work/regular shoes. We spend too much money on running shoes for them to just be thrown away with still so much use in them.

Shoes should be changed around 300 – 400 miles or when you begin to see excessive wear and tear on the shoe. I ran mine a little long, but I’m a tight wad and don’t like spending money on new shoes. The long term benefits are huge and the short term ones aren’t too shabby either. My legs feel better with the new shoes. It is also smart to alternate your old and new shoes for a couple of days to help your feet adjust to them.

Some stats on my old running shoes:

Racing miles – 78.47

Easy miles – 287.5

Intervals – 57.31

Other (tempo and hill) – 16.5

Total Running Time – 23:41:47

I started wearing them June 1 and stopped at the beginning on September.

Stats from my Running Log powered by
Technorati tags: shoes, running information, Brooks, Running Ahead

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