If I were to get a pair of shoes...
Newton Distancia
If you have never heard about Newtons before, they are designed for the midfoot runner. The idea is the lugs seen above are built to return more energy then a conventional running shoe does. Or you could say they are built not to absorb and not return (waste) as much as the conventional shoe. These are very expensive as they usually come in at 150 dollars. I would do most of my training in Vibrams still, and use these for races. However as I do have a few events on trails this summer I will probably not be purchasing these as I do not see the lugs being of much use on the trail. If I was a pure road runner I would consider them more. These are obviously not minimalist shoes, however they do have less of a heel-toe height difference then many shoes, and I would probably make it zero with a knife. You can find more information on these at www.NewtonRunning.com
Mizuno Wave Universe 3
This shoe is super light, weighing in at even less then my Vibrams. They do have 4mm heel-toe height difference so I would probably take a steak knife to the heel and chop some height off, and even more weight :) I believe you are most likely to find these for a bit over 100 dollars.
Puma Street Kosmos
These are lightweight, quite minimalist, and very flexible. I cannot find any information on the heel to toe drop but I believe it is very minimal. My current pair of Pumas are looking pretty bad, maybe it's time for a new pair anyway! They are only $45 at 6pm.com but generally run about 64 dollars, maybe after the snow and slush is all gone here I'll get a pair for casual ware :)
The reason I have been looking for a pair of shoes is I may need something more then my Vibram Fivefinger Classics for my 50 mile race this summer, as it's a heavy trail run. I am going to go and scout the course sometime, but I am just thinking ahead.
I just thought this was interesting. A comparison of the theoretical paleolithic diet of man and the modern Standard American Diet.
Training
Monday March 14
AM 10.5 miles
This was a re-do of the Max Aerobic Function test that I did a couple weeks ago, except this one was done on a treadmill. I was very surprised to find that the results were exactly the same! My pace at 155 beats per minute was actually a few seconds faster per mile than up on the track, but this can be attributed to my much faster mile 1, where I really had to ramp up the speed compared to the rest of the run to get my HR to even avg 153 beats per minute. Taking this mile into account, the results were basically exactly the same. The difference however, was perceived exertion, which was much higher on the treadmill than the track. This is likely due to the lack of wind for cooling and thus more sweat accumulation on my body instead of evaporating.
Tuesday March 15
AM 5 miles
This morning I did an easy 5 miles with 700 feet of climbing on the treadmill. I knew I would have time to get back to the gym later in the afternoon so I decided to just keep it simple the first time around. I find two a days are much more beneficial than one run. You have a greater EPOC period (aka more time with a raised metabolism) and they do not tire the body as much, so I'm in a better position to run more later!
PM 5 Miles
Wednesday March 16
AM 10 miles in 1:07:45
This was a great run! I was planning on fitting my long downhill run in today but someone was on the only treadmill that goes at a decline so I decided to run up on the track until he finished. Well he ran for an hour and I ran for just over. I decided to simply keep it at 10 today.
It was very promising as this was a slightly faster pace then I hope to do at the marathon and it felt just fine. I was also coming off an overnight fast and did not fuel or hydrate myself during this 10, and there was no problem.
Thursday March 17
PM 7 miles cycled in 25 minutes
PM 17 in 3:00:00 at -3 decline
My calves were still a bit sore from yesterday, as fast track runs seem to do that, but I felt pretty good none the less. I want to try to get in one longer downhill run each week. Plus it's a way to do a faster speedwork run that is easier on my body.
Friday March 18
AM 4 miles with 1100' vertical
I was still fairly sore from Wed when I ran Thursday. I did not terribly feel like running a lot today, so I just did 4 with a great deal of climbing. After the first mile I started to feel pretty good and it went ok.
Saturday March 19
PM 7 miles cycling
This was just an easy spin on a indoor bike for a half hour during my lunch break at work.
Totals Week / Year
Bike 14 / 381
Run 51.5 / 671.8
This was a good week, I was very happy with it. For the future I should try to do that long downhill run on Friday instead of Thursday as I was a bit fatigued going into that last run.
The 10 miler on Wednesday makes me feel really good about how any future half marathons and full marathons may go. It was a higher pace and still felt very comfortable.
