I did an eight-miler to the ocean this morning - and it wasn’t too bad. It’s funny how in just a couple weeks eight miles can go from being extremely hard to just sorta hard 
. Towards the end of…
Everyone I saw on today’s run smiled at me. I wish every run were so filled with toothy grins! I wasn’t sure if the increase in smiles was because I looked silly splashing through puddles with my face all scrunched…
Pick your power! More specifically, pick you superpower. That’s the topic of this weeks Take it and Run over at Runner’s Lounge.
Running bloggers know the motivational power of listening to others’ running experiences better than anyone. Getting motivated and staying motivated…
The Running Shoe Review Hat:
Running Shoe Contest Entrants:
And The Winner Is:
Frayed Laces officially won a free pair of running shoes for her review of Mizuno Wave Creation Running Shoes!
Congratulations! The first winner
And thanks to all other entrants! The next drawing…
October 26th is almost upon us!
At 2pm on October 26th, I’ll pick one of the following reviews from a hat and that running shoe reviewer will win free running shoes! If you want to get in on the action,…
My boyfriend is normally cool as a cucumber. The only exception is when he’s playing competitive sports - then he gets a little aggro. His aggro side reared its angry head recently when he missed a Frisbee during a game…
Big deal, big deal!
I am sooo close to signing up for my first marathon. Alisa was kind to send me links to Hal Higdon’s & Runners World training schedules, and I think I will shoot for a spring marathon.
My problem now…
Am I crazy for slicing up my old running shoes? Do sliced shoes add any value to this tangle of blogosphere we call virtual-home?
When I started slicing up running shoes, I had brilliant dreams of uncovering the secrets of “visco-elastic rebound foam”, “EVA midsoles”, “dual-density polyurethane”, “strike zones”, “medial posts” and “carbon rubber waffle outsoles”.
With my halved Adidas Tillamooks and Asics Gel 1120’s stuffed into a bag, I walked to my neighborhood running shoe store yesterday. This was my moment of truth!
The three shoe-sell’n lads working the shoe store were quite intrigued. The were impressed with the perfect cut down the center of the shoes. I asked them what they could tell me about my gait and my feet based on the insides of my running shoes.
It seemed that the world stood still for a few moments while they pondered their answers. My heart beat heavily - I was fearful that they would say “Nothing”.
And that is exactly what happened.
They told me they didn’t know much about the insides of running shoes…which I s’pose makes sense. They did tell me which part was the EVA midsole (which I already knew).
I quickly got over my heartbreak when one of the sales men told me he could tell me all kinds of things about my feet & my gait with a nifty machine in the corner. He had me walk over a pad on the floor which transmitted my footprint to a computer on the wall. It blew the “wet footprint test” out of the water in terms of graphical attractiveness. The variety of pressure my feet exerted on the mat were differentiated with a rainbow of colors. Pronation was indicated graphically with points and lines. Impressive! Though it lacked the do-it-yourself satisfaction of the wet footprint test.
It seems that I diagnosed my own feet perfectly in my quest to learn about pronation & foot shape.
I have neutral feet, with one hell of a curve .
The excitement of the foot print exploration eventually ended. And we said our “thank you’s” and “goodbyes”.
Stubbornness makes me unwilling to give up on shoe slicing just yet. What about running shoe fortunes? I think I’ll start reading the insides of running shoes like tea leaves. You want serious analysis? Not here, not no more! He he! I can’t be serious for more than five minutes anyway…so here we go!
I’ll start with the Tillamooks:
This test is based on the idea that runners put an immense amount of their own energy into their running shoes. The energy in the running shoes can be released to tell us about the runner’s strengths and weaknesses. For this test I suspended all four shoe slices at exactly three feet above the ground (three is the magic number), chanting “runner be, runner am, runner will!”, closing my eyes and breathing deeply, trying to commune with the Tillamooks. Then I dropped them, releasing their energy to fall where they may:
Tillamook Energy Dispersal Test:
The first thing to notice is that three of the four slices have their insides shown towards us. This indicates an openness and at the same time a vulnerability of the runner (me). It shows that I am still learning and wanting to improve, but that I feel worried that I may not improve.
The second thing to notice is the pattern the running shoe slices have fallen created upon falling. Three slices seem to cluster together in solidarity, excluding the fourth slice. This may speak to a past injury that I am trying to keep out of my life in the future. I may be gathering my strength and trying to forget about the past.
This test is based on the pressure and resulting forgiveness of a runners shoes. The idea is that the psychic (and physical) pressure a runner puts on his or her shoes gives a distinction to the wear of the layers. Here is a photo of the inner layers of the Tillamooks.
Tillamook Inner Layers Test:
This running shoe is still in decent condition after months and months of wear. The lack of extreme wear on the shoe shows a great deal of forgiveness of these Tillamooks. They have dealt well with the hard work I’ve given them to do. This shows that my drive to succeed and goals are well proportioned with regards to my effort. A great sign for the future!
…………………………………
Oh man! This is fun! Ok, ya’ll I really think every one of you awesome bloggers should send me your old nasty running shoes. The blogosphere needs a running shoe fortune teller, don’t ya think? It’s a smelly job, but I’m up to the challenge! If you’re in, lemme know!
Do you have ideas for other tests of running shoe fortune I could preform?
See ya’ll, I’m going out for a run!
As promised, videos of shoe slicing. Sorry if they are totally jerky…I’m new at this .
If you want me to slice up your old running shoes and analyze their insides, just send me an email and I’ll give you my address. I’ll be donating the sliced shoes to Nike’s Re-use a Shoe program, so slicing shoes won’t be wasteful!
I am heading to my local running shoe shop this afternoon to see what they think about my shoe slices. Ha ha! Can’t wait to see their faces!
Slicing Adidas Tillamook Trail:
Slicing Asics 1120:
I just ran 10 miles! Sandwiched in the middle of the 10 miles was a 10K race put on by DSE Running Club. The best thing about races put on by DSE is the price: $5! The course snaked its…
