Salomon Spikecross CS…an Update

I figured that it would be a little foolish to start reviewing another pair of shoes without addressing the last pair I picked up.

If you remember, I picked up the Spikecross during a particularly icy week in La Crosse.  The conditions for a few days there were a perfect recipe for cracking the skull or tail-bone whether running on the trails or the road.  They were also a perfect excuse to take a few days off…which is likely what I did.

The day the shoes showed up was also the day all of the ice melted, so it was a few days before the trails froze back up and I got to try them out.

I originally wanted to wait for a few runs to pass before writing about the shoes, but winter has been uncooperative at best.

So far I have had a couple runs on glare ice trails, a run during a snowstorm and a run on some really slushy trails.  My overall impression is that these shoes, while specialized, have all of the makings of a great trail shoe, with only a couple shortcomings.

The shoes are comfortable, light and responsive; all of which will make or break a shoe for me.  The quick lace system allows for a perfect fit all of the time…every time…with the added benefit of on the fly adjustments.  My only reservation in suggesting this shoe would be if you figure you have even just wider than average feet; it’s a little snug in there.  The snug fit, ample traction and light perceived weight of these shoes along with a pretty minimalist sole provide a very responsive feel underfoot.  Even when trudging through several inch thick powder and equally deep slush I felt very little cushioning and was able to maintain a solid mid to forefoot strike.

The Climashield membrane definitely works, and while it cuts down on some breathability I feel that it’s a fair trade for mostly dry feet and a little bit of extra warmth.  One of my frustrations with the shoes was that the ankle is not very high or very tight.  If you are running in over ankle deep snow or any kind of slush gaiters are a must.  Better yet, just wear them because they look pretty cool.

The carbide studs on the Spikecross feel as stable on glare ice as my Saucony Rides do on pavement.  They left me feeling sure-footed even on the steepest climbs in Hixon and the most out of control descents.  They felt fine running on some bare dirt and even striking the occasional rock.  They did not, however, feel normal or even remotely comfortable or safe on pavement.  It doesn’t seem like much, but the couple millimeters of rise they give, along with the minimal surface area of the point of impact left me feeling like I was on very tiny stilts.  Running from the front door to the trail is just not an option with these kicks.

If you’re even a recreational trail runner throughout the winter these guys are a must.  Not only will they improve the runs you already go on, they will give you the ability to run through the worst trail conditions of the season with grace and ease; unless you’re not graceful.

With any luck winter will be a little more, oh, wintery, next year.  Until then these guys will be sitting in the closet collecting dust.

New Shoes

As promised, I walked into my local gear shop (Three Rivers Outdoors*, check it out…great staff, cool stuff, some good deals if you know where to look), and picked up some new kicks.

Montrail Rouge Racers, in deep turquoise/voltage.  Their darn light at about 9 oz, and are billed as a neutral, aggressive, minimalist trail racer; just what I am looking for…

Light and bright.

I am really looking forward to trying these guys out and reporting back.

With the help of some Advil my ankle might even let me put a few miles down on the Superior Hiking Trail (my favorite place to run, bar none) tonight.  That said this weekend is more about tromping through the woods in some Danners in search of the elusive snowshoe hare, and hanging out with Dad.

Have a great weekend y’all.  Get outside.  Have fun, and be safe.

*For transparency I think that it’s important to say that I managed said shop and the only reason they have this shoe in stock is because I thought that it looked bitchin’…the rest of the world seemed to disagree.  70-some bucks if you want a pair!

The importance of good gear

My run tonight was mostly awesome.  Nine miles, on mostly trails, in the late evening.

It was warm enough that I wore shorts and just a Mountain Hardwear wicking long sleeve shirt over a Craft sleeveless shirt…Pro-zero, I think.

I also had a hat and lightweight gloves, although I would have probably been fine without them.

All of this gear functioned perfectly.  I was warm and dry, and able to move comfortably.

Two key prices of gear did not work so well.  My headlamp and my shoes.

The first was user error.  Me simply not checking that it had adequate light before heading out the door.  It also wasn’t a big deal.  I would have liked more light, but for the most part I was able to feel my way around with what light the lamp did give out.

The shoes on the other hand just suck.  They are too old, too heavy, and too structured for long trail runs.  By the end of the run I felt as though my feet were bound in cement.  Not only because they were so heavy but also because I couldn’t run with a midfoot strike.  Instead every single step ended with my landing on my heel and sending jolts of pain into my knees and IT bands.

Dustin is becoming a barefoot evangelist after reading Born to Run, and while in the past I have seen minimalist shoes as a great training tool, I have also not considered them any sort of magic bullet.

The feeling in my arches and my knees have me rethinking that.  The plan is to buy a new pair of trail shoes tomorrow and hopefully say goodbye to an old pair of kicks.

On race day you won’t be able to control whether it is raining, snowing, or sunny.  You can hope for a light breeze and sixty five degrees all you want, but you might as well not worry about that.  There are only two things you can control come raceday; the quality of your training and the quality of your gear.

Don’t be a dummy…get some good gear and put in lots of miles on it.  Your body will thank you after each training session and years down the road.

Perley Wilder teases us.

I am still reeling from the amazing scenery on the Perley course.  Folks competing in this foot race will be running by grade A trout streams, grade C farmland, and grade B dogs.

I’ve been intending to get on with writing about the Perley course review, and yet here I am, struggling to express how great that run was which Sven and I ran more than two weeks ago.  I’ve edited some photos which I trust will be able to say more than my blabbering sentences, so here it is:

My wife, Lisa, jumped into the mix to get a run in.  She doesn’t do much trail running yet, but she said she would love to run out here every chance she had….less the dogs.  She loved the course simply because it is quiet (lack of motor vehicles), the scenery is amazing (even when your legs and lungs are burning), and your mind will escape your body .  These “romantic” photos do not indulge  some of the challenges you will encounter during your race, but they do provide a glimpse of the unique attributes of Southeast Minnesota, which will continue to draw you back time after time again.

Next up; James.

Meeting+Scouting

I headed down to Spring Valley today to attend a meeting with the Almanzo Crew and the Spring Valley Tourism Committee, as well as do some scouting.  The meeting cued me in on some great things that will be going on at Wilder Fest, of which I will elaborate upon as specifics become, well, more specific.  The most important item discussed today regarded the starting point of all the races.  In years past, the start and finish of the Almanzo 100 and Royal 162, and the projected start and finish of this year’s Wilder Foot Races, has been located at Kingsland High School. However, due to a school event, the start location has been moved just West of the high school to an undeveloped patch of land with an undeveloped patch of road.

OLD location

NEW Start/Finish location

I believe this location will be beneficial to the Wilder Fest events and will help create a better sense of temporary community or…gypsy athlete hangout.  As discussion with Spring Valley/Almanzo continues to progress, we will let you know exactly what and where things will be happening come May 18th, 19th, & 20th.

One thing is for sure, I plan on spending the entire weekend-plus down in Spring Valley and I hope you plan on doing the same.  The more time we get to spend together down there, the better life will be, period.

-Scouting-

I really enjoyed exploring more gravel roads in the vicinity and encountered some interesting spots, but the sights that excite me the most are signs like these:

and places like these:

You may or may not see any or all of these things during your race, but I will say that the further you go, the more you see!

Snow training

Monday brought the most snow we’ve seen yet this winter, and while it was only a mere 2-3 inches, it made for a seductively challenging run.  Out on the gravel roads the snow was whipping into my eyes, causing me to run backwards for stretches of time just to give my face a break from the wind.  Running into the wind for half of the 2.5hour trek was a good workout in itself, but as the snow clogged my Saucony Peregrines I began to slide around, exhausting my legs by the time I hit the trails towards the end of the route.

My route took me out of Cottage Grove onto snow covered blacktop, then gravel, and eventually hilly trails.  I usually hit up the hills towards the beginning of my run, but chose to challenge myself at the end of the trek to see how my legs would handle the change.  I brought along my wife’s running hand-held water flask and a granola bar, both of which I consumed right before I hit the hills.  They were definitely helpful and although I normally don’t drink water on my runs, I realized how thirsty I was every time I sipped the 10oz. water-flask.

All-in-all it was a good 18 mile (2.5hr) run, but I was definitely exhausted from running, at some points, THROUGH the snow rather than on the snow.  As I made my way back near home, I meandered onto a bike path that was clear and realized how much energy I had been using to trek through the snow.  Snow running is a good way to get your legs in shape, and it probably helps strengthen your muscles in your feet and ankles a bit more.  Props to the Arrowhead runners (& ALL participants), who I hope at some point in the future I will be joining.

.UNTITLED.

This was a good precursor to the “Untitled” coming up next Sunday Jan. 29th.  Most of the folks will be riding bicycle from Rochester out onto gravel roads for 70ish miles, but Sven and I will be running the Perley course out in Spring Valley.  As we check out the course and mileage we will update you with some teaser images and horror stories:)

Maps

I have a little fascination with maps.  Mostly topographical maps, but I see something special in every map; the opportunity for an adventure.

This was made very clear to me tonight while glancing at a McKenzie Maps map of the Boundary Waters.  On Tuesday I leave for a short winter camping trip, over a route I’ve travelled several times, and being that it’s pretty well ingrained into memory I wasn’t putting too much thought into the map and what was just off of the route we will be following.  Tons of wilderness.  Lakes and trees and rocks I am not certain anyone has set eyes on in years.  Places I can’t even imagine, spare a bit of topography and rough scale.

I’m driving eight hours north and then skiing a long ways to experience this, but in all reality the opportunity for adventure is right out the front door.

While planning to plan this race DH and I sat down and tried to make sense of the lines on a road map from a MN gazetteer, and once again what I saw was one heck of an adventure.  There’s something intimidating about seeing your 100k challenge in the scale of a few inches.  To know that you can see it all right there on the paper but you have no clue about what might actually be out there.  How long and steep the hills might be (and trust me, they are), how lonely the long straight aways might be, how impressive the views might be, and when you might cramp up, the point at which you’ll doubt whether you’ve got it in you, or when you’re sure this is the coolest thing you’ve ever done.  None of that can be shown to you on the map of our course.  It’s only a jumping off point for your own adventure.

-SH

Dear Mallory…& James

Dear Mallory…and James,

Running is the most natural form of movement, not only historically in relation to our own kind, but in relation to our own lifetime. Running originally was used to hunt, to travel, to cover incredible distance, and to cover amazingly difficult terrain.

In reality, your sport of climbing developed from running.  One must run to the mountain in order to climb it.

Children do love to run.  They have not experienced the stagnant influence of adults which overwhelms pre-adults, preventing them from recalling their love of running.  Remember when you were a kid and you ran everywhere?  You wanted to get to your destination in the fastest possible way.

Here are words from a fellow runner and writer, Mr. McDougall, in his book, “Born to Run.”

“That was the real secret of the Tarahumara tribe: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running.  They rememberd that running was mankind’s first fine art, our original act of inspired creation.  Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain.  And when our ancestors finally did make their first cave paintings, what were the first designs?  A downward slash, lightning bolts through the bottom and middle-behold, the Running Man.

Distance running was revered because it was indispensable; it was the way we survived and thrived and spread across the planet.  You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together.  You had to love running, or you wouldn’t live to love anything else.  And like everything else we love-everything we sentimentally call our “passions” and “desires”-it’s really an encoded ancestral necessity.  We were born to run; we were born because we run.  We’re all Running People, as the Tarahumara have always known.”

The contemporary runner has an approach that is rotten to the core.  Running to look better, get skinnier, or richer; running became a business.  It wasn’t always like that, look at all the recessions, ultra trail running exploded in popularity in the 70′s.  Runners were outcasts, considered crazy, and they didn’t follow no stinkin’ training plans; they just ran and ran and ran.  They competed in every training and they were damn fast.

“So what happened?  How did we go from leader of the pack to lost and left behind?  It’s hard to determine a single cause for any event in this complex world, of course, but forced to choose, the answer is best summed up as follows:

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This is where the Wilder Foot Races comes into play.  Forget the promotions, the loud advertising, the concrete-laden path restrained by cones, the qualifying times.  This is about running at its core; running because you love to, running because you can, running because you want to see things, and running simply to explore new lands.

Sure, we’re a strange breed, but we’re a community, similar to that cycling community you speak so fondly of.  Unlike all of those cyclists though, we simply need some protection for our feet, a bit of food and water, and some weather appropriate clothing and we’re on our way.

Carbon fiber?  Nope.

Gears?  What’s so manly about that?

Someone to draft off of?  More like someone to slow us down.

Roads or a trail of some sort?  Nah, just the gnarliest terrain we can find.

Think that running is still for children and women-folk?  We’d like to see you lined up at the start of one of our races.  They’re sure to test both your endurance and mental fortitude.

-The Wilder Crew

Bring on the hurt…

There are a lot of reasons one might step out the front door and go for a run.  A lot of folks talk about the therapeutic values of running, and the health benefits of regular moderate exercise.

Training for an endurance event, such as the Wilder, is NOT moderate exercise…and after years of doing this to myself I can also say that there are probably not as many health benefits in doing this day after day.

But it sure is fun!

Lately one of my most nagging motivations to take that first step out the door or to crank up the tunes for some lifting is simply that it hurts so much not to.  Not that it hurts in a psychological way, but that it physically hurts me not to. 
Aching muscles.  Stiff back.  And a foggy mind.  Just because I was to lazy to change into my running gear, or because it’s a little colder than I would like?  Yeah, not worth it.

Some days, running is just plain easier than not running.

-SH

Thumpin

Check out these guys to help keep you cruisin’: Chris Thile & Michael Daves