Drymax Trail Running Socks Giveaway

If e-mail responses are any indication, one of the most influential reviews I’ve ever written was on Drymax socks.

I posted my first review of their trail running socks more than two years ago, and since then, I’ve written several other posts describing how completely thrilled I’ve been with not only their original trail runners, but also their Lite Trail model and, most recently, their Maximum Protection model. Along the way, a curious thing has happened: people e-mail me from time to time to say how happy they are that they switched to Drymax.

My favorite training sock - Drymax Lite Trail

The observation doesn’t necessarily reflect on that particular review, which aside from having a neat little Harry Potter analogy thrown in, isn’t any more or less spectacular than others I’ve written. Rather, I think it highlights the primary reaction that people get when they switch to Drymax socks: they just have to tell somebody about them.

I won’t waste your time with the science of how they work - but if you’re interested, click here for a long explanation – because all I really care about are the results of how they work. And from my two years of experience with them, I can say with 100% certainty that Drymax are the best trail running socks I’ve ever worn.

What’s more, I believe that they’ve made a significant contribution to my minimalist ultrarunning exploits as well. Several of the minimalist shoes I wear have lightweight uppers and low profiles that provide opportunities for dust and pebbles to infiltrate. (This is especially true with my favorite everyday shoe: Soft Star RunAmocs, which are perforated all the way around.) Fortunately, the socks act as a highly effective layer of protection to keep dirt or grit from getting between my toes, eliminating potential sources of friction or abrasion over the course of 50 miles or more. (On a related note: if Drymax ever invents a toe sock that I can wear with my Vibrams, I’ll be as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.)

Drymax trail running socks with Soft Star RunAmocs after the Quicksilver 50M this May

Obviously my feelings about Drymax are pretty clear, which is why I’m thrilled to be able to offer this contest. Winners will receive a sampling of all three varieties of Drymax trail socks:

Original Trail model: The gold standard, plain and simple. These have been put to the test by a whole roster of elite ultrarunners, and they’ve held up to every challenge.

Lite Trail model: These have become my model of choice over the past several months, nicely complementing my whole “less is more” footwear philosophy. They also feel a bit cooler than the original model, and would be ideal for hot summer days.

Maximum Protection model: The Cadillac of trail running socks. They come with a steep price tag, so I reserve these for ultras or super-epic adventure runs.

Drymax Max Pro socks with VivoBarefoot Evos after the Firetrails 50M this October

So let’s get on with the contest, which will have three winners …

1) First place receives two pairs of each of the three trail models described above (6 total pairs),

2) Second place gets one pair of each, and

3) Third place gets one pair of their choice.

This one will be a straightforward “1 comment, 1 entry” competition, with three random winners drawn and announced on Tuesday night, December 7th; leave your comment below this post to enter. Good luck to everyone, and thanks very much to Drymax for their sponsorship!

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Winter Running, La Sportiva Style: Winter Running Advice, Crossover GTX, Wildcat GTX, and Hobnail Kit Giveaways

Before we get to today’s big giveaway announcement, I should offer a disclaimer: I’m not really an expert in most of the stuff I’ll be talking about.


When I approached La Sportiva about sponsoring a giveaway this month, I received something of a good news/bad news response. The good news was, they loved the idea – in fact, they expanded it far beyond what I had initially asked for. The bad news: they wanted the contest to have a “winter running” theme that would coincide with their ongoing promotion of cold-weather running gear.

If that doesn’t sound like bad news, allow me to remind you: I’m a California beach boy. All things considered, I’m not exactly the most credible person to make winter recommendations; taking advice from me about running in ice and snow would be like taking surfing tips from an Eskimo. When I explained this to La Sportiva, their response impressed me even further: we’re doing the contest anyway, and just as big as they envisioned the first time.

So the contest will be spread out in a few different stages over the next three weeks, with two grand prize winners announced on Wednesday, December 22nd. Here’s one of the prizes up for grabs:


The new La Sportiva Crossover GTX, a super-winterized version of the company’s wildly popular Crosslite, which was one of my favorite trail runners for the better part of a year. (And if you’ll forgive me a minimalist tangent: Before there was such a thing as transitional footwear, the Crosslite was my transitional shoe between the trail SUVs I once depended on, and the minimalist stuff I’m addicted to now. Its sleek construction and barely-there feel opened my eyes to all kinds of possibilities, which is why I consider the Crosslite my gateway drug to minimalism.)

I’ve been testing a pair of Crossovers, and will have a formal review posted here in the next week or two. As you’d imagine, my testing involves more river crossings and sloppy mud than blizzards and frozen slush, but I’m getting a good feel for how the shoe handles harsh conditions. But that’s for another post … and I haven’t finished describing the grand prize yet. On December 22nd, the same winner of the Crossover will also receive a pair of La Sportiva’s Wildcat GTX (which I reviewed for Feed the Habit last winter), so you’ve got two rugged new shoes for your winter rotation. And to make sure you’re completely stocked for hardcore winter adventures, they’re throwing in a set of hobnails for each pair.

Men's Wildcat GTX, in new colors for winter 2010/11

We’re not quite done yet: since the Crossover is a unisex shoe but the Wildcat is gender-specific, La Sportiva is offering TWO grand prize winners – one male and one female. If you’re losing track, I'll summarize: one male reader wins the Crossover, Wildcat GTX, and two hobnail kits, and one female winner receives the same. In between now and then, I’m running three smaller contests, giving away two hobnail kits each week. To find out how to enter the small drawings and the grand prize contest, read on.

*

As I mentioned, the theme of this contest is Winter Running – and before I explained my “soft beach boy” situation to La Sportiva, one of their suggestions was for me to post a Winter Running Advice column. Fortunately for my sake, I recalled seeing several great posts written recently about that very subject – so instead of acting like an expert and making stuff up, I’m just going to refer you to some of the best resources I’ve seen lately:

1) The first one comes directly from La Sportiva, with winter training tips from Derrick Spafford, one of their sponsored athletes.

2) Blogger extraordinaire Bryon Powell just moved to Park City, Utah, where he’ll have ample opportunity to employ this list of winter running resources he put together. And finally …

3) My soul sister Gretchen – who also happens to be a Californian, but unlike me, is the tough kind - put together a great list of winter footwear options, including a cool shot of La Sportiva’s Wildcat GTX.

Of course, the secret to winter running is one part preparation, and one part motivation. Since I delegated that first part, the blog contest here will hopefully serve the second part and give you a healthy dose of motivation for heading out into the snow. It’s a photo contest; to enter, send me your best winter running picture – preferably with you in it. Maybe it’s a scene from a snow-covered trail, or a shot of someone tiptoeing across a frosty stream, or a close-up of your reddened legs or ice-riddled beard after a long run. Use your imagination, and be creative, because the judging for Part 1 is completely subjective: each week, the best two entries will be picked by me, or possibly by a reader vote if I can’t make up my mind.

(And before you point it out to me, yes - by having you send me the entries, I’m technically delegating the motivation part of the equation mentioned earlier as well. When you boil it down, my role in this whole contest is rather incidental.)


Those two weekly winners will each receive a hobnail kit from La Sportiva, and they’re still eligible to win the grand prize drawing at the end. I’ll accept multiple photo entries for the hobnail giveaways, but photos earn just one entry in the grand prize drawing no matter how many you send in. If you want additional entries, here's what you can do:

1) Include a short paragraph (3-4 sentences) describing the picture, or why you love winter running.

2) Link to this contest page from Twitter or Facebook. I'm only giving one entry for this, even if you do both, because I'm discovering it's pretty much impossible to verify when someone says "I linked you on Facebook!" So feel free to do both ... but it still only counts as one additional entry.

3) Link here from your personal blog. Blogs, I can verify. I like blogs.

Just to clarify: the ONLY way to get your name in the in the drawing for the grand prize is to submit a picture – but once you’re in the hat, you can multiply your chances by writing a few sentences or linking here a couple of times. Some other ground rules before we open this baby up:

* Send your photos to me at info@runningandrambling.com, with the subject line “La Sportiva contest”.

* Indicate either in your e-mail or the comments section below this post the total number of grand prize entries you have – and please make sure I can somehow match your e-mail address to your profile name.

* If it’s not obvious from your name (for example: girls named Alex, guys named Stacy, or anyone named Pat) which gender you are, please specify so I can separate the grand prize drawing entrants into male and female.

* By sending pictures to me, you’re also giving me permission to reproduce them on this website – so think twice about sending those naked New Year’s Eve 5K shots in.

Whew … that’s a lot of rules, huh? But the prizes are definitely worth it, and I think it will be a lot of fun to see some crazy pictures and get a nice dose of winter mojo courtesy of my readers. And with that, I turn the contest over to you: send me your photos, and check back each week (or, you know … subscribe) to see if you’ve won!

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VivoBarefoot Evo II Review and Giveaway; VivoBarefoot Evo Coupon Code

Sometimes I feel like I know how a review is going to go, almost before I take the shoes out of the box.

Case in point is VivoBarefoot’s Evo II, which I was given the opportunity to test in conjunction with this week’s giveaway, the first of several VivoBarefoot prize contests in December. Before receiving them, one of the first things I asked the rep was, “Are there a lot of significant differences compared to the first Evo?” – and after she described the relatively minor updates, I knew the shoe was one I could take out of the box and put straight to work.

VivoBarefoot Evo II

So that’s exactly what I did: my Evo IIs arrived in time for only a couple of short trail runs before I headed off for my awesome traverse of Zion National Park. And when I packed my bags, I carried only one pair of shoes with me – that’s how confident I was that they were up to the task.

No worries on the trail at Zion

Considering that I get to try a lot of minimalist shoes, I’ve spent some time thinking about what exactly distinguishes the Evo (see my original review here) from the rest of the pack. There are other minimalist styles that I enjoy wearing for everyday training, and another that I prefer for pure road or track running, but when it comes to wanting something super versatile and dependable for epic off-road adventures, with increasing frequency I choose the Evo. I’ve come to think of them as high-performance minimalist shoes – and the new Evo II comes from that exact same mold.

Rear view: no difference aside from the colors

I mean that almost literally, because to be quite honest, there aren’t a lot of modifications from the Evo to the Evo II. A slightly different mesh, a little more interior lining, and a couple of different colors to choose from … other than that, it’s the same shoe I know and loved from the summer.

Dense water-resistant mesh with TPU overlays

As part of the fall/winter collection, you can think of the Evo II as a more winterized version of its predecessor, with features to make it more suitable for harsher climates. The nylon mesh that sits below the hexagonal TPU of the upper is denser and water resistant, and the microfiber lining from the Evo’s sockliner area is extended throughout the entire shoe on the Evo II to provide increased warmth.

Super flexibility: one shoe curled inside the other

Aside from that, the entire design and all of the performance features are the same on the Evo II as they are on the Evo. A 4mm puncture-resistant and completely flexible outsole provides reliable traction on the most challenging trails (if you need convincing, go back and look at that Zion report again). Removable insoles allow you to customize ground feel versus comfort to a slight degree. Overall weight is 8oz per shoe, and the materials are 100% vegan.

Sockliner fabric extended throughout shoe interior

I did notice a difference in the warmth of the Evo II compared to the Evo, and with the right pair of socks, this would definitely be one of your best options for minimalist running in extreme cold climates. Water resistance was decent in the rain – they’re not 100% impermeable like Gore-Tex, but they also shed water a lot more quickly after river crossings than GTX-lined uppers typically do.

Puncture-resistant 4mm performance outsole

The only area that’s lacking to make this a true winter shoe is the outsole traction on wet, hard surfaces. The Evo II uses the same performance sole as the Evo, which does experience minor slipping on slick rocks, and may have a similar issue on ice (although to be fair, I never tested these in ice). A more aggressive outsole is rumored to be in the works at VivoBarefoot, and as a trail runner I’d love to see this applied to the Evo.

In my original Evo review, I described them as the best all-purpose minimalist shoe available, suitable for a wide variety of conditions – and the Evo II now further expands those conditions to include the cold and snowy extremes of winter. I also commented about how their retail price of $160 was somewhat cost-prohibitive, and at that time, the company wasn’t offering any discounts on the Evo at all.

But now, just in time for the holidays, that situation has changed. For ONE WEEK ONLY, today through December 6th, VivoBarefoot is offering 20% off both the Evo and Evo II. The men's Evo II is available here, and this link will take you to the men’s Evo. (And since I’m an equal-opportunity linker, the women’s Evo II is here, and the women’s Evo is here.) When you’re ready to check out, enter coupon code RREVO and the discount will be applied.

Of course, if you’re really lucky, you’ll win a pair of Evo IIs for free – because that’s the first prize of my December giveaway spree. I’m picking one winner from the comments section below who will then be allowed to select the Evo II gender and size (and maybe even the color) of their choosing directly from VivoBarefoot. And if you’re willing to spread the word about this contest with return linking, I’ll even give you a few extra entry chances.

Here’s how it will work: you get one entry for leaving a comment below this post. You’ll get additional entries for linking to this contest page from your Twitter feed or Facebook page (one entry for each). Finally, since I’m partial to bloggers, if you have a blog in addition to Facebook/Twitter and link here in a current blog post, I’ll give you a fourth entry. When you’re entering below, tell me how many entries you've earned, and I’ll keep a running tally. If you tell me you’ve linked here, I’ll pretty much take your word for it, but I might make random, periodic checks just to keep things honest.

I’ll announce the winner on Saturday morning, December 4th, so that if you’re waiting to redeem the coupon code in hopes of winning the contest, you’ll still have a couple of days to shop if you don’t win (which – sorry – will be most of you). There's a new banner ad above the Running and Rambling homepage that clicks to a landing page for the Evo II, so you can jump directly over there at any time this week. Be sure to tune in Saturday - or better yet, subscribe to the blog - to see if you won, and good luck to everyone!


*Product provided by VivoBarefoot.
**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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Contest Notes; Random Shots of Beauty

A few odds and ends before this weekend's regularly scheduled programming ...

1) There's still time to enter the Strength Running contest for a copy of my Running Life book. Leave a comment here, and good luck!

2) The Running and Rambling giveaway madness starts in earnest on Monday with a trifecta from VivoBarefoot: product review, giveaway contest, and coupon code. Trust me - it's gonna be awesome. And I may as well go ahead and keep bugging you with this: if you haven't subscribed to the blog yet, this would be an excellent time to do so. Also, speaking of the contests ...

3) On more than one occasion this year, I've had contest winners disappear into cyberspace without collecting their prizes, mainly because they either commented without a profile e-mail, or didn't leave any contact information for me to track them down. So if you enter one of the contests next month and really want to win, please do us both a favor and make sure there's some sort of contact info attached to your entry.

Thanks for everyone's cooperation - this is going to be fun! In fact, I'm in such a good mood that you're getting three random shots of beauty this weekend.

**

Majestic landscapes to the east of us:




A breathtaking seascape to the west:



All just part of the scenery during a pre-Thanksgiving "calorie deficit" 20-miler on the Old Coast Road along the Big Sur coastline. Have I mentioned before that I'm thankful to live in California?

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Giving Thanks, and Giving Back

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
- John Wesley, 1703-1791

It’s no exaggeration to say that a lot of good has come my way because of this blog.

There have been countless times over the past six years when I had no idea what direction this website was going: just as my athletic interests and areas of athletic focus have developed in a meandering fashion, the subject matter of my writing has been absolutely all over the map. At various points in my tenure here I’ve been a pop culture fiend (with a borderline disturbing fixation on musical starlets), hardcore triathlete, muckraking journalist, neurotically befuddled family man, wide-eyed adventurer and ultrarunner, extemporaneous music critic, amateur gear reviewer, and two-bit storyteller. And that’s just off the top of my head.

Occasionally I think such variety might be a good thing – something for everybody, and all that – but more often I sense that it could be a challenge for any particular reader to follow on a long-term basis. Conventional wisdom regarding web development says your readers should know exactly what they’re going to get when clicking to your page … which sounds like a good strategy, if only I had some idea of what was going to come out of my head when I sit down to type.

Through it all, the overriding motivation for me to keep this site rolling has been the rewards I get from doing so. I truly enjoy the writing process, and I love getting feedback from readers who have benefitted from any part of it in some small way. And of course, with increasing frequency, I’ve been the beneficiary of partnerships with some great outdoor gear companies who have been generous supporters of Running and Rambling.

I’m extremely thankful to all of them, and I’m especially grateful for all the readers who have come along for the ride (and in some cases, contributed to the cause). And since this is Thanksgiving week and the holiday season is upon us, I’m expressing my thanks by sharing my good fortune with as many other people as possible over the next few weeks. Best of all, I’ve recruited several of those aforementioned companies to help me out.

Starting Monday, November 29th, and continuing through the end of the year, nearly every post around here is going to feature some sort of giveaway. And without revealing too many details yet, I can say that some of the prizes are going to be big. As in La Sportiva big (very big). Soft Star big. New Balance big. VivoBarefoot big. Check that – VivoBarefoot is stepping up HUGE, the details of which will be announced next Monday. There will be some others as well, mostly involving products that I’ve used and loved over the past year. Think of it as the Running and Rambling equivalent of Oprah’s Favorite Things, only with about 0.0005% of the budget.

Once we get rolling, it might become difficult (both for the reader and the author) to keep track of which contests are ending when, so you’ll want to check back often – or better yet, just subscribe to Running and Rambling so you have announcements and updates as soon as they’re posted. There may be more than one post per day, or posts on weekends or at odd hours – I’m not really sure exactly how it’s going to look yet. But that shouldn’t surprise you.

The only thing that’s certain is how extremely indebted I am to all of the companies for helping me spread some holiday cheer, and how much I appreciate all of the people who’ve been following this blog, whether for the past few weeks or the past few years. It’s been a great ride for me, and I’m looking forward to sharing that goodwill by all the means, all the ways, and in all the places I can.

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Newton Terra Momentus Trail Running Shoe Review

One administrative note before today's review: Jason over at Strength Running has been kind enough to host a giveaway contest for one of my Running Life books. Head over to this post to enter the contest. Thanks very much to Jason, and good luck to everyone who enters!

**
“If I have done the public any service, it is due to my patient thought.”
- Sir Isaac Newton, 1643-1727

There was brief deliberation in my house regarding which opening quote to use for this review; I liked the one that ultimately prevailed, but I must confess that I was very tempted to use my 7-year-old daughter’s first remark after I opened Newton’s Terra Momentus trail runners: Hey – they’re Elphaba shoes!

Newton Terra Momentus

Yes, they’re green … very green, in fact. However, coming from Newton, the company who uses neon yellows and fire engine reds like other brands use grays and creams, that shouldn’t really surprise anyone. And I’ve learned to not be such a stickler when it comes to the way a shoe looks – after all, I’m the same guy who runs in gorilla feet or elf shoes most of the time, so wearing gear that makes me look like a cast member from Wicked isn’t that big of a deal.

Which brings us back to the intro quote: Isaac Newton used it to distill how the foundation of scientific innovation is the long periods of observation and consideration that must be done beforehand in order to accurately understand a situation or environment. In the case of Newton shoes, it reflects how surprisingly patient the company was in introducing a pure trail-running model – especially when you consider that one of the founders is a hardcore ultrarunner. They clearly took their time getting into this market; presumably, the resulting product would be revolutionary.

The delay in marketing Newtons to trail runners seemed especially strange to me, since I’ve already been using their shoes on the trails for well over a year now. Their outstanding Sir Isaac wasn’t designed as a dedicated trail runner, but I’ve worn them in all manner of off-road conditions, and they’ve performed wonderfully while proving to be very durable. (I also reviewed them for FeedTheHabit if you want to check it out.) So I was interested to test the Terra Momentus, not because I had trail withdrawal with Newtons, but mainly out of curiosity to see what distinguished this model from the one that I’ve already been very satisfied with. On that note, I feel like I should throw in a disclaimer: if I sound a bit lukewarm about the Terra Momentus, it’s only because the bar was set so high by the Sir Isaac.

Truthfully, it’s been difficult for me to find a major distinction between the Terra Momentus and the Sir Isaac from a performance standpoint. They’re slightly heavier (11.2 oz compared to 10.9), slightly stiffer (due to a new metatarsal plate), and as mentioned previously, a whole lot greener. Other than that, even if you look closely it might be tough to spot any differences.

Closed mesh, debris-resistant upper with toebox reinforcement

The most obvious changes are to the upper, which has a more tightly-closed mesh to keep out debris, a 360-degree protective synthetic overlay, and a reinforced toe cap for added protection from stubbing your toes on rocks or roots. These features work quite well, and the upper remains fairly breathable despite the closed mesh, but I never really felt any debris or impact limitations with the Sir Isaac, either.

Other specs of the Terra Momentus upper include a more stable, stretch-resistant webbing to improve foot stability, and features such as slip-proof laces and a gusseted tongue that stays nicely in place - but again, these aren’t hugely noticeable improvements from the Sir Isaac. In fact, I found the fit of the Terra Momentus upper to be somewhat tighter through the toebox, with a slightly constricting feel by comparison.

Midsole actuator lugs

The midsole of the Terra Momentus is generally identical to the Sir Isaac, and this is where most of Newton’s remarkable technology features are packed. I’ll assume that you’re familiar with the tech aspects – and if you’re not, check out my original Gravity review – and they’re all here on the Terra Momentus: high-rebound EVA, midfoot and rearfoot support chassis, and half-inch actuator lugs that extend beyond the outsole and create the action/reaction biomechanics that Newton users have come to love.

My trail-running experience with the Sir Isaac has been that the actuator lugs are highly effective at reproducing barefoot biomechanics on fire-roads or well-groomed trails, but their protrusion can be a potential liability on highly technical trails. The Terra Momentus has a similar feel, although I’d say there’s a bit less flexibility, likely due to a protective metatarsal plate that was added to the midsole. As a result, the actuators sometimes have a tough time conforming to irregularities in the trail, which can be tricky if you’re not paying attention to foot placement.

Midsole heights for the Terra Momentus are quite similar to the Sir Isaac, with a 28mm heel and 23mm forefoot, leaving a 5mm heel-to-toe drop. Perhaps it’s my minimalist bias at play here, but I was hopeful that Newton could somehow figure out a way to make the entire midsole and actuator lugs ride closer to the ground for improved ground feel and stability with its dedicated trail shoe. I know that’s asking a lot, but I feel like I give up a bit of agility when switching to the Terra Momentus from my VivoBarefoot Evos or similar flat, flexible shoes.

High-durability runner outsole with traction grip

The underside of the Terra Momentus is – are you sensing a theme here? – very similar to the Sir Isaac as well. It features a super durable, high traction rubber that grips the trail very nicely in all conditions. The overall durability issue may be the primary improvement in this model over the Sir Isaac, because from top to bottom, the Terra Momentus seems like a shoe that can take a beating for hundreds of miles and still keep you running comfortably.

I suppose that’s probably my best recommendation for who should buy these shoes. If you’re a Newton user who enjoys the Gravity or Sir Isaac, and are looking for a highly durable version to beat up on the trails, the Terra Momentus is your shoe. If you’re just starting with Newtons, or looking for a good transitional shoe from traditional trail runners to minimalist footwear, you’ll do just as well with the Sir Isaac.

(Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm missing something major here. If there are Newton users out there who note more significant differences between the Terra Momentus and Sir Isaac, please drop me a comment below.)

(**UPDATE: See comment section for insight from Ian Adamson, Director of Research and Education at Newton, regarding some of the structural differences between the shoes.)

Newton’s Terra Momentus retails for $139 from the company website as well as other online vendors.


*Product provided by Newton Running
**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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The Minimalist Speed Project

More than a year and a half into this process, it’s fair to say that I love minimalist running. I love the biomechanical advantages it offers. I love how it strengthens my feet and allows them to function naturally. I love how it makes me feel more connected to the ground beneath my feet. Best of all, I love the spirit of freedom and simplicity it gives me every time I run.

I just wish I could do it a little bit faster.

One of the major criticisms of barefoot and minimalist running is that it prohibits you from running at top speed without the protection and cushioning of traditional shoes. The question has been debated and discussed in several running circles, and conventional wisdom seems to say that shod running is for racing, while minimalist running is merely for enjoyment.

But what if you want to be a fast minimalist runner? What if you’d like the ability to run casually on some days, and speedy on others? Those are questions I’ve been addressing with myself over the past couple of months.


There was a time in my life – a period of several years, in fact – where the only aspect of training that mattered to me on a daily basis was how fast I could run. I recorded lap splits during track workouts, mile splits during tempo runs, and 5K splits during long runs. A tempo run that took 5 seconds longer than the previous week was cause for concern, and workout times that were faster than the year before reassured me that I was race ready. From day to day, I lived and died by the numbers that showed up on my watch each morning.

However, for the past several years the tide has turned, to the point where I very seldom care about how fast I run anymore. The primary driver of this is my immersion in the world of ultrarunning, where mile splits aren’t nearly as important as the long-term resiliency to continually put one foot in front of the other. The second factor was my transition to barefoot running, where you have to quite literally start one step at a time, and slow down to practically a snail’s pace to get the technique correct.

Consequently, the twice-weekly speed workouts I did during marathon training have gradually declined – first to once per week, then once or twice per month, and ultimately to an every-now-and-then occurrence just to keep things interesting. In a related story, I’m a much slower runner than I used to be.

Now that I’m doing nearly 100% of my mileage in minimal footwear, I’m curious as to whether I can start building some of that speed back. For the past couple of months, I’ve done brief track workouts and short-distance tempo runs, trying to get my legs used to moving quickly again when there’s nothing underfoot to support them. The answers I’ve found have been kind of depressing.


Compared to my marathon racing days, I’m pretty much a turtle nowadays. The tricky part is that I’m not sure exactly how much of this is attributable to my current choice of footwear. I find running fast in minimalist shoes to be quite difficult: I’ve always derived my speed from having a long, powerful stride, but in Vibrams or Evos I have to remind myself to keep my steps short and my cadence quick. Even when I’m focused on it, my form tends to fall apart as I get fatigued, and I start to fall back into my old habits. The result is that I have a hard time just opening the throttle and running like a maniac, which used to be my hallmark during tough track workouts.

On the other hand, even if I had perfect form, I’d have a hard time matching workout times I did a few years ago anymore. After attributing a few consecutive slow tempo run times to my footwear, the following week I did the same course in Newton Gravitys, which I’ve called my traditional footwear of choice for running fast. To my dismay, my time on a 4-mile course was only about 30 seconds faster. So clearly I can’t blame it all on the shoes.

Every now and then I long for the times when I could lower the hammer and outrun my training partners to the car in the last 2 miles of a 90-minute run, or burn a workout of 8 x 1600m at 5:30 pace in the midst of a long training week. I honestly have no idea (but truthfully, I’m somewhat skeptical) that I can ever match those days, but without any ultras on the calendar until next spring, I’m making it a point during this winter to try and build some of my old speed back – only this time, I’m doing it with minimalist shoes.

I’m not looking to jump back into road racing or set a marathon PR anytime soon - I just figure that as long as I’m committed to this minimalist thing, it would be nice if someday I could do it a little more impressively.

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