Need/Want New Shoes
As I try to get back into running two things have been dominating my thoughts. 1. How long will it take until I feel like I can go for a hard effort run and NOT feel like my body's going to explode?, and 2. I really should get some proper shoes for the trails that I've come to enjoy.
The first is not a question that will be easily answered. The second, however, may have been nailed down last night. I went out for a run after work in not the best of conditions, weather wise. It had been raining off and on for a day or two in Toronto, and it was somewhat chilly out. On my bike ride to work one of the past two mornings I got pelted with ice pellets and that's not so usual for this time of year in the Big Smoke.
Anyway, I ran on pavement to the trails at the bottom Pottery Road and then hit the single track with enthusiasm. Quickly, my enthusiasm was curbed by the fact that the trails were nothing but mud and the ice pellets came back with a vengeance! My shoes immediately got caked with mud as I slipped this way and that trying to maintain balance while trying to see through the crap falling out of the sky and blowing into my face. Nevertheless, I managed to have a decent run on the trails and by the time I came back out onto the pavement, without any falling I might add, my shoes were a muddy mess. I ran across some grass and tried to get as much mud off of the bottom as I could, but this was largely in vain. I made it up Pottery Road and all the way home for the longest run yet in my return (41:50) and I seem to have carried a decent amount of the trail muck back with me.
So, in short: I don't know it trail running shoes would have prevented the muck sticking to the bottom (doubt it), but I think the slipping and sliding would have been minimized. I have no idea what to look for in a trail running shoe and think I'll start with the hybrid type (good for road and trail, best for neither) and see where that gets me, because...
I signed up for a trail race! On June 9th I'll be running the "enduro" course at Hardwood Hills (I think it's 12.2km long, but listed at 15km for some reason) and I might as well prepare with the right gear, no?
The first is not a question that will be easily answered. The second, however, may have been nailed down last night. I went out for a run after work in not the best of conditions, weather wise. It had been raining off and on for a day or two in Toronto, and it was somewhat chilly out. On my bike ride to work one of the past two mornings I got pelted with ice pellets and that's not so usual for this time of year in the Big Smoke.
Anyway, I ran on pavement to the trails at the bottom Pottery Road and then hit the single track with enthusiasm. Quickly, my enthusiasm was curbed by the fact that the trails were nothing but mud and the ice pellets came back with a vengeance! My shoes immediately got caked with mud as I slipped this way and that trying to maintain balance while trying to see through the crap falling out of the sky and blowing into my face. Nevertheless, I managed to have a decent run on the trails and by the time I came back out onto the pavement, without any falling I might add, my shoes were a muddy mess. I ran across some grass and tried to get as much mud off of the bottom as I could, but this was largely in vain. I made it up Pottery Road and all the way home for the longest run yet in my return (41:50) and I seem to have carried a decent amount of the trail muck back with me.
So, in short: I don't know it trail running shoes would have prevented the muck sticking to the bottom (doubt it), but I think the slipping and sliding would have been minimized. I have no idea what to look for in a trail running shoe and think I'll start with the hybrid type (good for road and trail, best for neither) and see where that gets me, because...
I signed up for a trail race! On June 9th I'll be running the "enduro" course at Hardwood Hills (I think it's 12.2km long, but listed at 15km for some reason) and I might as well prepare with the right gear, no?
Labels: running, trail running
posted by Vava at
10:49 AM
2 Comments:
Trail race! Awesome! Sounds like you had a fun trail run as well. I haven't found a trail shoe that is made that will keep off mud in some of those situations. For technical trails I do like Brooks Cascadias, though I've most been running in Hoka One Ones lately for the maximum cushioning (they are not great on technical trails though...too high up).
Ace: Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely try on the Brooks Cascadias on for size. This will be a bit of an experiment to see what works I suspect...
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