Yes, I have been following the minimalist movement. And by this, I don’t just mean running barefoot, but the theory behind returning to our roots, running like a child with
perfect joy and form, and trying to be a more
primitive and less constantly plugged in as a high maintenance human.
Minimalist running to me evokes the whole concept of just
putting on a pair of shoes and heading out, as au’natural as possible. Yes, I
love that freedom, and that’s part of why I love 40 degree weather since I can
do a ten miler with no water breaks, and that’s what is so freeing about a trail
run where I typically don’t worry about mile measurements and run fully naked, well,
fully sans-watch naked. In fact, I’ve done whole running seasons without a
watch, and it was a nice relief.
On the other hand I tend to be a ‘running maximalist.’
No, I don't run in motion control shoes, but I do love watching a motivational movie in front of the treadmill, I run
with a carefully crafted ipod playlist, and I love running data if possible
from my GPS and having a voice telling me my pace every half mile. I like to think that there is no tough weather, just soft people, but I wimped out on a 95 degree day recently and
returned home to the treadmill where I had some cold water next to me, and a lovely
horror movie, Insidious playing in front of me. Twice last season I did a long run
while watching the move ‘Warrior’ and both times it did some
weird, wonderful things to me, head, heart, and sole. And there’s something nice about having a
HD TV with a full DVR of shows and Netflix streaming to choose from, a pile
of S-caps, 32 flavors of Gu, and glasses
of water on a table next to me. And of course my own personal pot to poop in as
needed just a few steps away.
That’s the maximalist in me. The minimalist in me read Born To run and loved it, mostly for the
running stories and the Tarahumar Indians as much as the discussion on running
technique. And yes, I have buy-in, have always felt I run the best with the
lightest shoe. (Although I have spoken with a running store owner who remarked
how many folks come in to buy one pair of vibrams, but never seem to come back
for their second pair.)
During my recent Ann Arbor marathon, I saw at least two
runners fully barefoot, and yes, every time we ran by a Home Depot, I heard
thousands of beeps from all the stud finders inside going wild.
That said, after hearing the hype around the release of
Brooks Pure Project, I rushed out to a
running store to try on a pair and I just didn’t feel it.
To me, when you put on a shoe, it doesn’t just have to feel
good, it has to give you this “Ah ha! Oh
yeah Baby, Oh yeah!!!” feeling. I have to love the feel and want to go for a
run the moment I take that first stride.
There is no waiting for a second date for me with shoes. It's not about
wanting that shoe, its about needing that shoe, like none other will do.
In Harry Potter, the wand chooses the wizard, well, I want
the shoes to choose the wearer.
So, I recently ducked into Running Fit sorta by accident,
and just asked to try on some minimalist shoes, and when I put on the Saucony it
melded my whole body together with a warm infusion. Like a shot of dope to my
soul, I wanted them. And I was pretty sure I needed them.
I have been an Asics wearer, a Brooks wearer, a Nike wearer,
but Saucony was my first running shoe in high school, and I ran my first two
marathons in Saucony, and they seem to be less about hype and more about
performance. #findyourstrong (which I
like) notwithstanding.
And Of course the Saucony Kirvana 3’s beg you to run fast. It
reminded me of that feeling I got in high school when I trained in those old
80’s high heeled heavy trainers but then switched to a racing flat for the event. My fear is
what will they be like after a ten miler and extra work on my lower legs. That’s
why the running fit salesperson said to start with wearing the shoes for just
10% of my miles (which, of course, means I’ll do 20%) to work into it.
I love running store sales staff, especially at stores such
as running fit. Unlike car salesman, who
often have me feeling gross and with the urge to run home and shower, running store folks seem to embody the
product they are selling. This staff
person was an ultra marathoner, trail runner, and it was clear talking about
running was as natural as breathing. And she was all inked up, which, if you’re
a trail-running ultra-marathoner and inked up, you probably kick ass all over
the place.
Then I noticed tattooed on her underarm parts of a Robert Frost poem:
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
If you’ve read a few of my posts,
you’ve seen me quote these last lines as well. Yes, it had to be a sign, so the purchase happened and now the
shoes have a new home. I certainly
hope my future (injured) self doesn’t’
curse my current self for making such a change, but, first, I have 10 to 20% of
miles this week to try them out.
So, I took them out for a ride. It was hot as hell, of course, so I went to
the track where it's easier to take water breaks. Like a middle-aged crisis man with a new
sports car, I had to take them out fast a bit, and after a few warm up miles, did miles at 7:15 and 2 others at
730, but all of my miles were under 8 minutes,(8 minute miles has been my base
for a good-clip medium run).
Yes, the
shoes beg to be run fast in, and miles slip by much quicker. And I swear I could feel the pavement. No
they aren’t vibrams, they do have a 4 mm drop, but I left the imprints of all
my toes on the hot, soft track. I tried
to focus on form, a /fore-foot strike, since its so easy to fall back on my
heels when I get a little tired. The shoes not only worked for me but gave me a whole new excitment, and I wanted to share with everyone I talked to that day
about my new shoes, but, alas, my filter was working, and I held back and
resisted boring the hell out of everyone with a running story.
Of course, I figured they’d feel this good, the real
question is will my legs recover as well from having less cushion for the pounding.
We’ll see. If not, I can always put the sports car in the garage and only take
it out from time to time, but ideally, I’d like my legs and my gait to adapt,
and get me a new pair of these every 350 miles or so.
I can’t wait to wear them and bust out with a full set of
intervals, can’t wait to see how they’ll work once I take them on a full 20
miler, but I just wonder if the minimalist
shoes will work on a treadmill, in air conditioning, watching a blu-ray of The
Hunger Games, (haven’t seen it yet) or a couple episodes of Game of
Thrones. (Yes, it's hard to tell but Winter is coming.)
