Random Shots of Beauty

My son and I have to cut our weekly bike rides short nowadays because darkness sets in so quickly - but on our return trip along the beach, we're treated to views like this:


Carmel Beach in mid-November. It's nice to live in California.

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Saucony ProGrid Kinvara Shoe Review

This review began a little bit awkwardly.

When a Saucony rep contacted me to propose a review of the ProGrid Kinvara, I knew one thing right off the bat: She must not read my blog. But I was curious to see where things might lead, so I sent her the following reply:

Thanks for contacting me. In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I kind of ripped Saucony in a recent post.

And then I included the link to this post where I ridiculed Saucony’s marketing campaign for the Kinvara.

To her credit, the rep took the criticism in stride, offered an apology, and said she’d like to try changing my mind by having me test the shoes. Two other factors helped tipped the scales in her favor: 1) The Kinvara has some very noteworthy features that could signal a sea change in conventional wisdom about traditional running shoes, and 2) My primary objections to the marketing were just that – objections to the marketing.

Saucony ProGrid Kinvara

So let’s address that point right away: the Kinvara is not a minimalist shoe. Actually, let me say that once more, with caps lock this time, just so we’re all clear: THE KINVARA IS NOT A MINIMALIST SHOE. Rather, it takes many design elements of minimalism and applies them to a traditional neutral trainer, resulting in a shoe that has definite transitional appeal to runners who want to move gradually towards more natural biomechanics.

The Kinvara impressed me right out of the box with how light it is; at 7.7 oz, it’s lighter than VivoBarefoot’s Evo, slightly lighter than New Balance’s superb MT 101 trail shoe, and only 0.8 oz heavier than Brooks's revolutionary Green Silence. The lightness is attributable to design and material innovations in all quarters: the upper, midsole, and outsole.

Porous mesh upper with clear thin fabric covering

The upper is extremely well-ventilated, employing a highly porous mesh that is covered by a super-thin breathable fabric that prevents debris from entering through the large holes. Curiously, the fabric doesn’t cover the tongue area, so there is pretty good potential of dust infiltration on trails or fire roads. The upper has seamless construction for improved comfort, and synthetic underlays that help hold the foot securely against the platform. Thin cushioning and a soft sockliner in the heel collar area complete a very comfortable overall feel of the shoe against the foot, even without socks.

Stability underlays visible through fabric

To decrease weight in the midsole, Saucony uses a material called EVA+ which is lighter than traditional EVA, and also has more of a spongy feeling with impact. This provides the “maximal cushioning” that Saucony proclaims about the shoe, but the ride seems almost bouncy at times, especially on soft surfaces like a track. The cushiness seems to settle a bit after 50-60 miles, but is still awkward if you’re accustomed to either a firm platform or the hard ground directly below your feet. Midsole height is 18mm in the heel and 14mm at the toes, for a very respectable 4mm drop; by comparison, New Balance’s MT 101 has a 10 mm drop (18mm/8mm), and the Green Silence has 8 (18mm/10mm). This almost-flat platform makes it easier for transitional runners to experiment shifting from heelstriking to midfoot striking.

Sparse outsole rubber with throwback styling

Below the midsole, Saucony takes a page from ECCO’s BIOM and Vibram’s FiveFingers Bikila designs by placing durable rubber only in direct impact areas to minimize weight and improve flexibility. The pattern underfoot is total old-school Saucony, with triangles aligned like the distinctive Jazz model that was immensely popular for the better part of two decades. The traction is sufficient for fire roads and decently-groomed trails, but might have some trouble on slick irregular terrain - but since it’s primarily intended as a road trainer, that’s not surprising.

While I generally love the idea of sparse outsole reinforcement, the Kinvara may have an Achilles heel of sorts on the medial and lateral edges of the outsole through the forefoot, where the softer EVA is essentially unprotected. Neutral runners won’t find this a problem, but if you roll excessively on the inside or outside of your forefoot, I suspect you’ll wear this region down fairly quickly.

Another construction issue I found problematic was the shape of the toebox, which feels slightly narrow to me – but to be fair, my points of comparison are moccasins or pure minimalist shoes that allow full toe splay. I experienced a minor amount of chafing on the outside edges of my toes, and to a lesser extent the front tips of my second toe whenever I tried higher-mileage (>10-mile) runs or with speed work on the road or track.

Despite my objections to the way this shoe was promoted, I have to say that I’m glad to see a shoe like the Kinvara on the market. As a transitional shoe, it has a lot of features that can help traditional footwear users move towards something lighter and flatter, and its weight would even make it an attractive race shoe for some road runners. It’s also nice to have a major manufacturer embrace the “less is more” philosophy of shoe construction, and to see that effort rewarded favorably by gear reviewers (awards from Outside Magazine, Runner’s World) and the general public (evidenced by sales). If Saucony’s goal was to create a mainstream transitional shoe, the ProGrid Kinvara places them very close to the mark.

The Saucony ProGrid Kinvara retails for $90 from Endless.com and other online vendors.


*Product provided by Saucony
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com

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CLIF SHOT Gel Winners (and Questions Answered)

It’s time to announce the CLIF giveaway winners! Before doing so, I figured this was the best way to answer some questions that came into the comments section or e-mail over the past couple of days, so …

1) Yes, the new SHOT gels are available now in most stores, but flavor selection may vary by location.

2) I’ve tried GU’s chomps (their equivalent of CLIF BLOKs) a few times, and have to say that I like CLIF’s better. I find them easier to chew and better-tasting, with a larger variety of flavors. If you missed it previously, see my full BLOK review here.

3) I honestly can’t say how CLIF’s double expresso (yes, that's how it's spelled) flavor compares to GU’s espresso love (who comes up with these names?), because I really dislike the taste of coffee. The only time I’ve ever had an espresso gel was at 2AM during my first 100-miler, and it worked like a charm to keep me awake – but I distinctly remember having to choke it down because I couldn’t stand the flavor.

4) For the oddballs out there who preferred the old CLIF SHOT formulation, it’s still available from various online vendors (such as here at Amazon.com), presumably until supplies run out – so this would probably be an opportune time to stock up.

But that’s enough rambling for now; I know you mainly just want to know who won. So let’s do it: Mannie, Joe Maller, and Rather Be Swimming (really?), e-mail me with your address – you’ve won the drawing! Thanks very much to everyone who participated, and be sure to subscribe to get in on more upcoming giveaways.

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The Running Life: What's It All About?

A few administrative notes before today’s post …

1) You’ve got a little more time left – until 5PM PST on Wednesday, precisely – to sign up for the CLIF SHOT gel contest, so leave a comment here if you haven’t already done so.

2) Without revealing too much too soon, let me say that this giveaway stuff is going to continue in upcoming weeks, and it would be a great idea for you to stay tuned by subscribing to my website so you don’t miss anything. I’ll just leave it at that for now. And speaking of subscribers …

3) It recently came to my attention that my mother now subscribes to the blog. So, you know … best behavior, everyone. And clean up after yourselves – I don’t want to get in trouble for this mess.

**
“What's it all about? They scream and then they shout -
Don't ask me, ‘cause I don't know.”
- Public Image Limited, “Don’t Ask Me” (video after post)


Sitting inside a race expo all day gives a guy some time to think – and one of the questions I pondered most frequently last weekend also happened to be the one that Mike and I were most commonly asked: So what’s this book about?

You’d think that after six years of writing columns, and endless hours of revision and editing that took place in order to bring our Running Life book to life, I should have a pretty quick answer to that one. If so, you’d be wrong. In fact, it was this very question that practically paralyzed me throughout the process of pulling everything together.

Mike and me at our book signing booth at the Big Sur Half Marathon expo. Not pictured: the huge throngs of people lined up eagerly awaiting our signatures and words of wisdom. Or maybe I just imagined that part.

While we sat at the Big Sur Half Marathon expo on Saturday, a handful of people asked pointed questions about the book. Is it a training guide? Well, kind of. Is it a biography? Not really … but we talk about ourselves a lot. Is it one of those inspirational stories? Um … parts of it are. Does it use running as a metaphor for something? In some cases, perhaps. Is it funny? I guess that depends on your sense of humor.

The truth is, there’s really no unifying theme to the book; it’s simply a compilation of the best stuff we’ve written over the past six years. It’s very similar to the writing style I employ here – and if you’re familiar with this website, you know that virtually any topic is fair game. And if anyone out there can discern some kind of common thread through all that I’ve written, please fill me in, because I’d love to know.

Ultimately, the book’s basically a reflection of the people who wrote it: two lifetime runners who have found more reward and joy and adventure from this activity than we ever imagined. It’s a glimpse of the world from the perspective of a runner, and demonstrates how nearly anything – family life, social issues, popular culture – can have a connection to running if you’re passionate enough about it.

Yes, it’s also packed with training advice we’ve learned through the years, but I wouldn’t say that our primary goal is to coach someone through running a marathon, or an ultra, or anything else. Rather, we encourage people to have the mindset of a runner, whether it’s to finish a 100-miler, set a marathon PR, get out of bed for a training run when it’s dark and cold outside, or simply to drag your butt off the couch and begin an exercise program. That mindset – optimism combined with determination – is common to every one of those runners; the level of accomplishment from that point forward is merely a matter of scale.

There’s really a lot to be said for the running life … and hopefully many of those benefits come across in The Running Life. That’s not the most specific answer I’ve ever given, but I suspect that’s probably the best I’ll come up with.

**

As for the song: this one reaches way back into the cognitive archives. I was a little too young to fully appreciate Johnny Rotten when the Sex Pistols were in their prime, but his follow-up band was second only to The Clash when it came to post-punk bands that fueled my rebellious teenage spirit. By the time this song was written, P.I.L. had mellowed out a bit, but it’s a tune that somehow managed to stick in my brain on the long strange trip to adulthood.

Public Image Limited, “Don’t Ask Me” (click to play):

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CLIF SHOT Energy Gel Review and Giveaway

The back story for this review takes place in April, during the product tasting session my friends and I had with Chris Randall, Brand Manager of CLIF SHOT products. He’s the one who gave us samples of upcoming products, and discussed plans that were in the works for new releases later in the year. That conversation included the following exchange:

Chris: We’re also reformulating our SHOT energy gel.

Me: Oh, good, because … um, nevermind.

Chris: No, it’s OK – go ahead and say it.

Me: That stuff was terrible.

Chris: Yeah … you’re not the only one who thinks that.

Needless to say, CLIF had dug itself a bit of a hole in having its gel product embraced by endurance athletes, but Chris welcomed the challenge. I was reminded of this when I visited the new headquarters last month, and received a handful of the new gels in my goody bag. I also happened to see Chris again there, and he was excited for me to test them out. He impressed me quite a bit with his response to one final caveat I offered:

Me: I should tell you that I’m a huge GU fan.

Him: That’s actually good to hear – we want feedback from loyal GU users. That’s what we’re aiming for.

Reformulated CLIF SHOT gel flavors and packages

And that’s how I ended up with a whole bag of the new CLIF SHOT gel flavors, which I’ve been using for the past few weeks now. I brought the bag to Utah with me this month, and unbeknownst to me, Stacy from Wilderness Running Company had also bought two boxes for us to use – so between our two stashes, CLIF SHOT ended up being the official on-course support for our epic Zion National Park run. The feedback was generally pretty positive – but first, it’s worth mentioning what’s so different about these new gels.

The main ingredient of the new formula is organic maltodextrin, which replaces the brown rice syrup that gave previous CLIF SHOTs a fairly harsh aftertaste. The resulting gel has a mildly sweet taste and a thinner consistency than the previous version, and it's also noticeably thinner and sweeter than GU. All of the new flavors contain at least 85% organic ingredients, and are packed with 50% more electrolytes than the previous formulation.

You’ll need to pay attention to the ingredient list, however, because the amounts of sodium, potassium, and caffeine vary with each of the eight flavors. For example, two flavors - chocolate cherry and double espresso - have 100mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of two shots of coffee, while the vanilla and fruit flavors have less caffeine, but 50% more sodium than the chocolate or mocha flavors. To be fair, GU has variability in its electrolyte and caffeine amounts as well, and in some cases, the potassium levels of CLIF SHOT are even higher than GU’s high-endurance Roctane flavors.

CLIF even thought to improve the packaging of their new gels. The innovative litter-leash opening that was introduced with the first version is maintained, and seemed to us to be slightly shorter and thicker to improve its attachment to the main package (the old ones used to tear off the package quite easily). It has a narrower opening for cleaner consumption, and rounded corners for more comfortable transport in a thin pocket.

All of those things are secondary to the primary question, however: how do they taste? During our lab testing at Zion, our group of ultrarunners was pleasantly surprised. The vanilla and fruit flavors scored very high with a taste that was sweet but not too strong or tart, and we all thought the new citrus flavor was amazing.

From the testing I’ve done so far, I’d say that CLIF has made a remarkable improvement with its SHOT gel, and while they’re not quite the equivalent of GU, they’ve narrowed the gap considerably. I’d still prefer GU during an ultra, because I like the fact that they have ginger to calm my stomach (sure, it might be a placebo effect, but don’t tell me that - it’s working well for me), which CLIF lacks. And even with the electrolyte boost, they don’t have a similar offering to the amino acid blend of GU’s Roctane, which is supposed to help slow the rate of muscle damage during activity (same placebo disclaimer here).

What I’ve settled on for now is to stick with GU as my first choice for runs of 50K or more, mainly because they’ve worked great for me and there really isn’t any reason for me to change. However, during long training days I’ll definitely combine my favorite SHOT flavors (vanilla and citrus) with my favorite GU flavors (vanilla, jet blackberry, and vanilla orange Roctane) for a wider variety of options to keep me fueled with steady energy throughout the workout.

If you’re one of the winners of the giveaway, you can figure out your own balance between the two. Leave a comment below this post by 5PM PST on Wednesday, November 17, and I’ll pick three winners to receive a sampler pack of the new CLIF SHOT gels. Good luck to everyone, and big thanks to CLIF for sponsoring this contest.

*Product provided by CLIF Bar and Company
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

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Random Shots of Beauty

A pretty easy choice this week ...


Sunset at Zion National Park, from last weekend.

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GoLite Micro Lite Women's Running Shoe Review

A quick announcement before today’s post: you’ve got two more days to pick up my Running Life book at a 20% discount. Of course, you’re still more than welcome to buy it after November 14th – it will just cost you a few bucks more. Visit the book website here and click the PayPal button at top right to grab your copy.

**
As a product tester, one of the things I appreciate about GoLite Footwear is that they’re an equal opportunity supplier. More specifically, as I researched their BareTech shoe line earlier this fall on behalf of my wife, and discovered that the Amp Lite shoes I reviewed were mainly geared toward men, they were happy to provide the women’s equivalent for my wife to test.

GoLite Micro Lite

That shoe is the Micro Lite, a fairly lightweight (9.0 oz) trail runner with all the technology features of the Amp Lite, as well as some inherent design modifications that are more suitable for female runners. In other words, the Micro is just as well-built as the Amp, but a little more svelte and eloquently designed – which, come to think of it, is a fair metaphor for the comparison of women to men in general, right?

Like the Amp, the Micro is geared towards runners in one of two categories: 1) those who are transitioning from traditional running shoes towards minimalist footwear, or 2) those who like to combine some benefits of natural running with the comfort and/or security of a traditional shoe. Its most distinguishing performance features are in the midsole: a zero-drop design that provides a flat platform to promote midfoot striking, and Soft Against the Ground technology that puts the firmer EVA close to the foot and the softer stuff underneath (see more details in my Amp review). Midsole height of the Micro is 16mm, compared to 20mm for the Amp.

Leather and mesh upper with easy, stable lacing system

Other technologies are carried over from the Amp, such as the PreciseFit footbed system that allows users to customize the roominess of the toebox, a synthetic leather and closed-mesh upper with abrasion-resistant toe and heel reinforcement, and an internal lacing system with a TPE cage that surrounds your midfoot area to keep the foot secure on all types of terrain. The lacing system is actually an improvement over the Amp, which uses a strange crossover pattern that is somewhat cumbersome at times; by comparison, the Micro’s traditional lace pattern is a breeze to secure.

Paw Pad outsole with GripStick rubber

Although my wife has used them as a hybrid for both on- or off-road running, the Micro is designed as a trail shoe, with outsole technologies like “Paw Pad” wedge-shaped construction for enhanced traction, and GripStick rubber for increased overall durability and improved stability on slick surfaces.

Most of the gender-specific distinctions of the Micro are built into in the last, which is contoured with a narrower heel and a slightly tighter instep than the Amp. Many footwear companies just downsize their men’s last to build the women’s model upon, but GoLite uses an entirely different shape to ensure optimum fit. The last is also posted 3mm on the medial side, which is 1mm greater than the Amp, and allows for improved alignment of the hips, knees, and ankles. (Biomechanically speaking, the angles between pelvis, knees, and feet are different for women than for men – but that’s a whole different discussion.)

My wife has logged well over 100 miles on her Micros, and has generally been very pleased with them on both roads and trails. She confirms that the ankle fit is noticeably more snug than other running shoes she’s used, but is very comfortable and keeps debris out quite effectively. She says the uppers and lacing system keep her feet securely in place on all but the steepest downhills. One drawback of the upper is that the ratio of leather to mesh is very high, which is helpful to keep trail dust and debris out, but doesn’t ventilate nearly as well as her traditional road trainers.

Most critically, considering the category of this shoe, is that she reports it’s very easy to run flat-footed in the Micro, and that it’s been a great transitional shoe as she's moving towards more minimal footwear. Perhaps by the time GoLite’s purely minimal Tara Lite (see preview here) comes out in the spring, she’ll be ready for it.

I concluded my Amp Lite review by saying it was a compelling shoe for the particular population niche it serves – and considering that the gender specific modifications of the Micro are all improvements, this female version is an even more attractive option for women venturing towards natural running. It's also 10 dollars cheaper: GoLite’s Micro Lite retails for $100 with free overnight shipping from Endless.com as well as other online vendors.


*Product provided by GoLite Footwear
** See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.

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