skechers gorun 2 - road review

i did a 'first feel' review of the skechers gorun 2 a while back, and while my initial impressions were that skechers had a solid pair of shoes on the market my opinion was definitely limited in scope and experience. thanks to an online sale from The Shoe Company, i decided to pick up a pair and give them a real go(run). 

am i ever glad that i did.

this second generation design from skechers intended to promote a more mid-foot (read biomechanically efficient) stride pattern has garnered just about universally positive reviews.  and even though all of the other shoes that are part of my running rotation now are zero-drop (no differential in sole height from heel to toe), i had wanted to test out this 4mm drop shoe for marathon race-day because it could potentially help with the late-stage muscle fatigue that accompanies constant running on the balls of my feet.

i've now logged three runs in the gorun 2 - two easy runs of 10k and one tempo 10k run (which produced a PB for that distance).  these shoes make me completely unaware of the work that i'm putting my feet through - which is fantastic.  check out the video review below:

they will definitely be my kicks of choice on sept. 15 at the erie marathon, where i (once again) hope to finally attain a boston qualifying time.

given my experience with the skechers performance division so far, i've got to say that these guys know first hand what its like to rewrite (their) history.  

remember this lawsuit-worthy footwear?

haters beware!  skechers has moved from the detention room to the dean's list.  the gorun 2 is definitely worth of a five (out of five) footprint rating.

skechers gorun 2 - road review

road review: skora phase

hotly anticipated, my first pair of skora shoes - the skora phase - arrived this past weekend.  there are so many things that i'm excited about in terms of these shoes that i can't begin to describe them all.

ok, well maybe i can.

and this is probably the place to do it. 

you can read up about the essential stats on the skora phase in numerous other online reviews (although i will highly recommend my friend stan's breakdown of his pair of the same), but let me tell you what appeals to me most about these kicks:

• zero-drop - this is characteristic of all of skora's shoes, since as a company they promote natural running biomechanics.  basically, the height of the heel relative to the ground is exactly the same as the height of the forefoot.
• lightweight - just over 7 oz. by my wife's kitchen scale.  this is in almost the perfect wheelhouse for me.
• low stack height - with 8mm in outsole (slash midsole - Skora's "injection blown rubber" composition means a single unit combining outsole and midsole) and 3mm of removable insole, there's a good amount of ground feel.
• wide forefoot - accommodating foot splay on impact for forefoot strikers like me.  no  crunched pinky toes here!
• flexibility - twist and turn these babies to your feet's delight!  they're nicely designed to move with your foot.
• asymmetrical lacing - no, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.  the lacing runs diagonally down your foot toward the outside edge - this is intended to alleviate pressure on the top of the foot while still creating a snug fit.
• wrap/burrito tongue - another fit element to eliminate unnecessary pressure and edges against your foot.
• groovy colours - i'm not going to lie to you ... the red/black/yellow and reflective silver aesthetics got me excited.

so how have they worked out so far?  well, besides bonus points for a very cool accompanying shoebox design and distinctive new shoe smell (i swear that one of my coworkers had almost become addicted to it when she held them in her hands), i've only managed to long one workout in them - speed intervals on the track.  i was really happy with how they performed - nice and light as anticipated, and facilitated my foot strike pattern no problemo.  

i did experience one issue though - and whether or not it will turn out to be a major one is still to be determined.  what was it?  watch and find out!

my overall score for the skora phase is 4 out of 5 stars (or footprints) - with the potential to be amended for a higher rating if this minor problem works itself out.

disclaimer:  these shoes were provided at a special discount from skora - the opinions expressed however are totally mine.

JUNE 13-2013 UPDATE:  i've run another set of 1km track intervals in the skora phase, after taking kyle's advice of rubbing some vaseline into the heel collar.  it may have been that, or a second wear, or the fact that it was a post-rain morning with various puddles to splash through, but i had no irritation or blistering problems this time around.  woo hoo!

road review: skora phase

skechers gobionic - road review

after logging a couple of shorter road runs in the skechers gobionic, i thought that i would let you know what my impressions are of these shoes:

you can also read my 'unboxing' review of them in an earlier post.

gotta say that i love my gobionics at this point, and unless some other pair of shoes surprises me these will be my go-to race day kicks for the mississauga marathon.

cry havoc, and let loose the (hot pink) gobionics of war!

skechers gobionic - road review

road review - saucony kinvara vizi-glo

i've been thinking a lot (and in fact acting a lot) on the theme of quitting.  i know that it sounds all negative and stuff - but my friend (who is a great musician and olympic-level athlete) rosanna tomiuk has some insightful comments on that.  

but in terms of running, for me it's not about giving that up - but letting go of some good friends who have served me well ... the saucony kinvaras:



these shoes joined my stable in the late summer of 2011.  they were my second pair of the first generation kinvaras (i originally had a lime green pair that really stood out when i was doing training runs through rural romania), and were purchased for $39 thanks to a coupon and the sale at the running room outlet store.

at the time (and even still) the saucony kinvara was considered the crème de la crème of the new breed of performance running footwear - lightweight, low heel drop, suitable for training and racing.  i was excited to try them out - and i remember my first impression when i donned them for a road run:  it was like wearing socks that were shoes.

these kinvaras have seen me through several races and probably well over 1500km of running now.  why have i held on to them for so long?  here a few reasons:

1. fit - the kinvaras had (more on this below) a great shape for my foot.  true-to-size, there was ample forefoot room and a nice feel around the heel.  as i noted, like socks to run in.
2. lightweight - at 7.7 oz in a men's 9 (mine were a 10), they were definitely on the leading edge of minimalist shoes.
3. colour awesomeness - while they did have a variety of plainer colour combos, the vizipro orange and lime green pairs that i had in my closet rocked.
4. traction - featuring these great outsole 'pistons', the kinvaras have been in use year round, even on ice and deep snow runs.  i've never had a concern about tumbling in them.
   
5. flexible - the mesh upper/sockliner design of these shoes mean that they conform nicely to my foot as it transitions through all of the motions of the footstrike.  plus these shoes have seen me move from a midfoot-strike to a forefoot-strike pattern and have allowed me to do so without any real hindrance. 
6. drainage - connected to the comments above, i used the kinvaras in some triathlon work and the fact that they got my feet dry quick after T1 (i didn't have bike-specific shoes) was a huge bonus.

given all of these pluses, why surrender them now?  just a few thoughts:

• upper wear - yup, they've split open at the point where my forefoot flexes.  probably a good indicator that i'm either landing on my forefoot or at least springing off well, but the rip is widening as well.  don't know how long they'll last that way.
  
• fit across forefoot - what was once a positive is now not so much.  i've gone to the extent of even skipping the bottom two speedlacing eyelets to create a bit more room for splay and flex (in addition to removing the insole, as noted in a previous post).  i wonder if transitioning to forefoot running over the last 10 months or so has actually made my foot a bit wider.
• midsole compression - this may or may not be just a psychological thing on my part.  i have always had these shoes in rotation with at least two other pairs, so they've had adequate time to decompress/expand between runs - but i'm sure that the seasons of rain, snow and salt have not done much to keep the midsole in pristine form.
• not my prime shoe anymore - this is definitely a psychological thing.  if these shoes were newer, this would be a weak (and wasteful) excuse to part ways with them ... but now that i have my current favourite (merrell road glove) and new race shoe (skechers gobionic) to rotate through, it may be time to bid them adieu.

my first pair of lime green kinvaras were donated to the recycling program at my local running free store.  as these puppies aren't in quite as good a shape as the first pair were, they may just find their way into our local landfill (i don't believe in trying to pawn off trash to others).

i only wish that they were biodegradable ... that would have been a fitting tribute to bury these shoes alongside some of the roads that they have carried me down.  fare thee well, kinvaras, fare thee well.

road review - saucony kinvara vizi-glo

road review - asics gel galaxy 4

i doubt that you will find anyone else writing a serious training review on this shoe. 

although produced by asics, a great athletic company (their name is an acronym for anima sana in corpore sano after all), they are like many other businesses in their industry that produce some mass-market 'lifestyle' type of footwear.  i'd venture to say that the gel galaxy 4 falls into this category.

previously i'd posted that i bought these shoes at the local value village which is a favourite haunt of mine [note:  i am an avowed thrift-store junkie] - and therefore i have no idea what kind of life they lived prior to settling into my running closet.  what i wanted to purchase was a pair of shoes that would (a) have a little more material to them to protect my feet during the heaviest winter weather (we can often see 15-25 cm snowfall accumulation on any given day, and down to -30°C windchill temperatures); and (b) have decent enough traction to cover the tundra-like terrain without the use of additional gripping devices.  and it just so happened that on the day that i dropped into the store, these were on the men's footwear shelf:

they aren't the prettiest things ... so what made me add them to the rotation?  here's just a quick rundown of key features for me:

1. upper construction - this was definitely top criteria in selecting another shoe, especially from the second hand store.  the overlays, the toe bumper, padded tongue/ankle/heel sections - lots of added protection against the elements.  remember, i was looking for something to help me specifically with winter running.
2. outsole design -  it's kinda funky, don't you think?
   
   looks a bit like a fossilized ancient squid or something ... but its precisely that off-kilter pattern and texturing, combined with the transverse forefoot flexlines that made me think that this would work in terms of providing decent traction while allowing a forefoot striker like me to still work the shoe as i needed to.
3. weight - the shoes are essentially clodhoppers for me.  at a little more than 11oz. in size 10.5, they're almost twice the shoe that my merrell road gloves are.  it's almost like having these on your feet:
   
   so why does this work for me?  well, i knew that i would be selecting heavier shoes based on the kind of protection that i wanted ... but i also intended to use this particular pair of shoes for recovery runs (right now mondays and fridays for no more than 12km each outing) - and so it's in part helping me to stick with the discipline of not pushing too much on my easy days while still providing a good workout for my legs.  keeping the turnover rate high while feeling like i've strapped weights to my feet makes me at least believe that i could be running faster.
4. visibility - while i'm not entirely sure that the asics logo design on the side of the shoes is reflective, it does provide sufficient enough contrast over a large enough area that makes the shoes noticeable while running in the early pre-dawn darkness.
5. sizing - beggars can't be choosers, especially when it comes to second-hand shopping.  but these shoes i found in a 10.5 which provided ample enough length and surprisingly decent toebox width - no scrunched pinky toes here.  the fit set these shoes apart from a couple of other pairs of runners i was able to find at the same store.
6. pricepoint - now this isn't fair to be sure, as i purchased them used ... but for asics footwear, i think that these shoes would have be regular retail for about $59.  i managed to pick them up for $12, and they were still in fantastic shape.  their durability has held up for me (through ice, slush and salt), and so i feel like i've gotten excellent value for money.

bottom line?  would i recommend these shoes to another runner in training?  actually, yes.  with the proviso that they should be used in rotation with other shoes.  given that these gel galaxy 4 are probably something like a 12-14mm heel drop shoe, they're obviously not helping me reinforce my barefoot-running style - but they are keeping me alert to my footstrike pattern and working well to keep me safe on the winter roads of south-central ontario.  overall i give them a 3.5 out of 5.

road review - asics gel galaxy 4

road review - the merrell road glove

tonight i'm headed with a friend to a 'natural running clinic' at the local mountain equipment co-op, so i thought that i'd take a few moments to jot down my reflections on my favourite shoes currently in training/racing rotation:  the merrell road gloves.

these are sleek, light, fantastic shoes.  i purchased them late last summer in advance of the road2hope marathon, knowing that i wanted to fully transition into a zero-drop, minimalist shoe.  i also liked the fact that being produced by merrell, i wasn't simply buying into the 'standard' running footwear industry ... not that there's anything particularly wrong with that, but i do like to march to the beat of a different drum. 

here are my top observations about these shoes, having put on a good 350-400 km on them:

1. light - as in 6.9 oz (men's size 9) light.  putting these on really feel like slippers to me, and getting out on the pavement it takes very little time to forget that they're on my feet (even over 42.195k) - except that they're nicely protecting the bottom of my feet.
2. outsole - the vibram outsole is outstanding - grippy (even in snow/slush/ice conditions, i've discovered!) and durable without significantly deadening the feel of the surface beneath you.  this is a fabulous marriage of technology with technology.
3. flexible - as a forefoot runner, these shoes have contoured just the way that i've needed them to, and now they have a pretty groovy curve up front:
   
   
   
4. zero-drop - as mentioned already, this was a non-negotiable for me ... and these shoes definitely work well to promote a mid-foot/forefoot strike as the 11mm stack height will offer some pretty immediate feedback if you decide to drop that heel first.
5. sizing - this is both an observation and a plus.  first, most of the messageboards that i'd read in advance of purchasing these shoes indicated that they ran a 1/2 size large, so i did try out both a 9.5 and 10 at the store before settling on the 9.5s.  the wonderful breadth across the forefoot meant that my foot would not be scrunched as the toes splayed out, so the smaller size worked perfectly for me.
6. machine-washable - yep!  i just toss these babies into a mesh garment bag and run 'em through the regular cycle after putting them through their paces on brine-saturated roads.  air dry and they are ready to rock again.
7. quality, quality, quality - merrell has a reputation (at least with me) of building hardcore equipment, and this has proven to extend to its road running shoes.  i bet that i could get another 400 km out of this pair - they are still in that great shape.

well, i've gushed enough.  i love these shoes, and they fit my foot really well - unlike the fit that my friend stan (9run.ca) experienced, as there were issues with the apparent arch support on the footbed, but it's not something that i've noticed in a negative way.   the one change that i did make was to swap out the original laces for flat laces - personal preference.

based on my experience, i highly recommend the road glove for anything from speedwork to the marathon distance training and racing ... and would not hesitate in the least to endorse pretty much anything from merrell.  happy running!

road review - the merrell road glove

in-store review - skechers gorun 2

last night i was chaperoning my daughter and her friend at the mall, so i decided to make a quick trip into our local sportchek to ogle their footwear wall.  to my surprise, in and amongst the nike, asics, under armour and k-swiss running shoes was the skechers gorun 2!

eager to fistbump my own gazelle one day, i asked the salesperson if i could try out a pair ... so here are my initial in-store impressions:

1. light - that was to be expected.  they weigh in at 6.6 oz for men's size 9s.  built for speed yes indeedy!
2. non-noticeable m-strike area - in the gorun (i tried those on about a month ago) that rockered middle area was definitely noticeable while walking, standing and during the in-store jog.  not so in the gorun 2 - i can see how these would still promote a mid-foot strike without providing discomforting feedback.
3. 4mm drop - i like that.  it feels pretty flat, and the scooped heel helps too.
4. width - not so bad.  i've read some concerns/complaints about the fact that these are a bit narrower than other models in the skechers performance line, but these seemed decent enough - but i did pull out the insoles and ran a circuit that way, and felt roomy enough for good toe splay in them.
5. extra laces!

at $109 CDN i was tempted ... but refrained.  i've got some gobionics to tackle first (on order from amazon.com), and i think that from there i would really like to try the gorun speed when they become available.  but i did tell the salesperson that they were an excellent feeling shoe, and that he should definitely try a pair (having told me that he's a pronounced heel striker ... hopefully i managed to convert him from the dark side).

in-store review - skechers gorun 2

road review - the nike flex 2012 run

i thought that i'd start my shoe reviews (hopefully the first of many) by looking at the nike flex 2012 run - for a couple of reasons.  first, it's the shoe that i just finished running in this morning, so the impressions are still fresh in my mind.  second, i used to work for nike canada (many moons ago) and so out of respect i'd like to put them at the head of the line.

as i'd noted in an earlier post, these shoes came to me courtesy of the local Goodwill thrift store - so they were not new, and not complimentary either.  i got them in order to have an extra pair of shoes in the rotation for winter running - plus they happened to be about my size (US10 - although Nike footwear has traditionally fit a half size small ... trust me, I know) and flexible enough for a forefoot runner like me.  they're reasonably light (at 8.4 oz. for a men's size 9 i believe) so that was a sell point as well.

let's start with what i like about these shoes:  they're well named.  as you can see by the outsole pattern they are designed to flex.  that permits the runner's foot to work the ground with a closer-to-natural footstrike motion rather than being worked over by the shoe's form iteself.  having become a convert to minimalist/barefoot-style running about 8 mos. ago, shoe flexibility is definitely something that i appreciate.

the weight factor is also a plus, as i like to try to maximize my stride turnover so wearing anchors on the ends of my legs is not appealing to me.  these shoes do feel light, and i've reserved them mostly for use on my speedwork and hill training runs.

and so far grip is good - i do live in the snow belt of south-central ontario, so winter running is not just about a few degrees below zero (celsius).  it's -20 something windchills and usually anywhere from 5-35 cm of snow on the ground.  i've no idea how much wear the shoes saw prior to arriving in my closet, except to say that the carbon rubber outsole pads still look in good shape.

on the less-than-desirable side is the cushy phylite/phylon mid and outsole material.  it gives me a kind of 'dead' feel when out on the pavement, and i feel just that bit detached from good feedback about my footstrike.  also, the delta or heel-to-toe drop is probably about 7mm (that's what the nike free measures out to i believe) which is definitely higher than i would like it.

the sizing has become a bit of an issue as well - although i can't complain too heartily since i bought them second hand, and knew full well what size the shoes were.  i've gone to removing the insole to create a bit of extra space in length ... but i should note that as far as width goes, these shoes feel quite nice.  lots of toe splay room.

finally, reflectivity?!?  mine are the same colourway as pictured above so there's a little contrast between the swoosh, outsole and the rest of the shoe - but for us pre-dawn runners that's just not enough.  i had to add some snazzy laces just to help make them a bit more noticeable in headlight beams.

that's a quick rundown on the flex 2012 run - overall i give them 3 out of 5 stars, and for the time being they'll stay in the stable, but i hope to displace them as soon as i can get my pair of skechers gobionics.

road review - the nike flex 2012 run

shameless for shoes

i admit to having a bit of a shoe fetish.  at one time you could have confused me with imelda marcos, but i've managed to rein that in (a bit).  

having formerly worked several years with sports & fitness powerhouse Nike, i managed to accumulate all sorts of footwear over time ... all branded with the same swoosh, mind you, but tons all the same.

i've since tried very intentionally to become less of a consumer, and less of a materialist - purging a number of pairs of shoes (mostly donated to charities and shoe distribution programs) and not replacing them with others.  however, with my introduction to the world of competitive running and marathon training, i've found a way to reawaken my fascination with what goes on my feet.  the fact that rotating shoes during training is recommended doesn't help to quell the appetite.

so having spent time scouring the blogosphere and being helped incredibly by numerous experienced runners, physiologists, evolutionary biologists, and endurance coaches, i've discovered that various running shoe companies are willing to comp out pairs of footwear to individuals for testing and review purposes.

thus i throw my hat into the same ring.

i don't pretend to be superanalytical, or more than a burgeoning student of the running science, but i do know that i put plenty of road miles on my shoes and can give very specific feedback on the ones that i do run in.  being a convert to minimalism and the barefoot running style, i tend to pay a whole lot less attention to bling and a put a whole lot more focus on how well shoes serve their biomechanical purpose.

merrell, saucony, asics, skechers, mizuno, skora, nike ... are you listening? :)

so while it may not interest you a whole lot, i think that i will begin by reviewing the shoes that i do wear in rotation, even though they're older and likely not what you're wearing to run. but it'll be good practice for me - and who knows, it may be the beginning of a trend ...

shameless for shoes