Thursday 10/15/2009

2 Days off! Really wanted to head out yesterday, but Jack came down with what we think is H1N1. So, 2 out of the three seem to have had it and Lily probably (hopefully) had it a few weeks ago. I guess we will see. Overall, Jack had a mild fever for a day with some serious lethargy for him as well as a cough and a sore throat. Today being his second real day he perked up a lot and was eventually playing outside a bit this afternoon. As long as he stays quiet I hope he is on the mend.

Finally received my second pair of MT100's yesterday in a 9.5. The 9's were just too tight at the tips of my feet and a little around my forefoot. The 9.5's have enough additional room to make them quite comfortable out of the box. Running them around the neighborhood definitely had me thinking these were the most minimal shoes I have every run in; far more minimal than the Lunaracers. In fact I spent a bit of time walking around the house in them marveling how close my feet felt to the ground. I even tried my old Precision's out just to compare; these shoes are year and a half old with about 500+ miles on them. This a lot given that my original pair were retired after just under 300 miles. Needless to say, they are played out. Well, the Precisions felt thick compared to the MT100's; heavy even. The MT100's are amazingly light, but with just enough protection from the sharp rocks to make them seem good for technical trails. I even tested this by putting one of my kid's smoothed-out rocks from the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry on the floor and then bouncing up and down on it. I knew the rock was there, but the sharp edge was mellowed and rendered an object not worthy to be gait altering. Pretty cool actually. With all of these perceptions I was still a bit apprehensive hoping that my march towards ever more minimal shoes is a good idea. The first run would tell for sure.

Well, brought the gear to work today excited for the opportunity to run out to Sterns Lake via the Imel Trail in Broomfield. Also excited for some nice weather...I do enjoy running in the cold of the winter, but I am just not prepared to give up the shorts and short shirts. Today was perfect, even with a little wind. From the first few strides I knew these shoes were going to rock. There is no faking form in these things, you have to land on the forefoot/midfoot as there is very  little heel padding and not much padding on the forefoot. These definitely feel pretty close to running barefoot as there is really not much space between the foot and the trail. Started on pavement and concrete on the way to the Rock Creek Trail. Through this section they felt nice, very comfortable with very little distracting me from the feeling of my foot landing. Whereas with the Lunaracers I am constantly noticing that they are a little narrow, with the MT100's I was just noticing my foot strikes. After making the 3/4 concrete section I arrived at the Rock Creek Path which quickly turns into the Imel Trail which continues under E470 and connects with the new trail into Broomfield under 287. Excellent new addition to my running routes by the way as I was really starting to tire of constantly running the Coal Creek Path. Back to the shoes. They felt even better on the trail as well as off trail. Just enough feel for the trail with good protection from the sharper rocks. Continued on to the lake and ran along the top of the damn which has a lot of little, sharp rocks that are a problem in the Mizunos. Not for the MT; they let me know the rocks were there, but did not impede my gait as I knew my feet were protected.

The one problem I did notice was on the way back at around mile 5; I did end up with a hot spot on the pads of two of my little toes in the exact same place I got blisters this past summer while attempting a barefoot run on a rubber track. I think that this is a minor issue as I will probably move down to some thinner socks and maybe even consider running without socks. I will also move the laces up one rung from the bottom so as to allow more room for my forefoot; will probably help the neuroma on that side as well.

So, overall a great first run. Happy with the shoes...so much so that I may even make these my everyday shoes as well. We will see what they bring on some future runs.

6.5 miles in 52:42. GPS Data here...