Of Forests and Fields: An Ode to Inspirational Trail Running Films

When someone in your household is into trail running you end up viewing many short films meant to inspire and encourage a love of the sport.  Here's the Chew Crew's take on the whole thing.  Hope you're inspired to go run a few miles!

Password: 2005ChewCrew



Of Forests and Fields from Chew Crew on Vimeo.

Snapshots: Claude's 50 Mile Race and a Brief History

Two weekends ago we were excited to help Claude celebrate a huge accomplishment - finishing a 50 mile race!

Just after Hannah was born, Claude and I trained together for our first race - a 5K.  We pushed "The Purple Chariot" - our $25 Craigslist find jogging stroller - loaded with two kiddos up and down the big hill across the street.  Each running in opposite directions we would pass off the stroller whenever we crossed paths.  Claude definitely took it more often and up more hills.  He was pretty insistent that running wasn't his favorite way to spend his time, but somewhere along the line he got hooked.

It wasn't long before he was talking about "ultras" - races that are longer than a marathon.  As if 26 miles isn't long enough!  And here he is now, two 50K's and a 50 Miler under his belt. 

Praise the Lord for enabling Claude to keep putting one foot in front of the other all the way to the finish line!

Lord willing there will be more races in the future.  We even (half) joke about getting the rest of the Crew involved when they are (much) older.  Hey, even I would like to try for one of these...well, the idea sounds nice from the comfort of our living room.  ;)
 
Here are a few photos, since we actually made it to the finish line this time.  ;)

It's a bit of a trek to get to the state park where this race was held,

so by the time we arrived the kids were begging for snacks.

Eating some oranges.

More oranges.

They had the signs ready pretty early on.

Believe it or not, Rachel and I were really there.

She spent most of the time under a nursing cover, but she is actually in this photo -

a little mint green hood behind Hannah's orange to complete the Crew. 

Jer was our lookout man.  He kept pointing and saying, "Daddy's here!"

And then he was actually "here".  :)

He did an awesome job!

 WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!!  :)

 

Run, Run Daddy!

As some of you may have noticed from some of his posts, Claude is a bit of a runner.  Early on in our marriage he insisted that he disliked running very much and then after training with me for a 5K after our second child was born, he caught the running bug and he hasn't looked back since!

Now instead of 5Ks he's covering a distance of a mere 50Ks.  (For anyone who, like me, is metric system challenged, that's 31 miles).  And yes, that is just over the distance of a marathon.  Apparently these races are considered ultra-marathons and can reach distances of 100 miles or more.

Anyway...he's fixing to run (Did I really just type that?  I must be in the South!) a 50 mile race in a couple months.  As a warm-up he ran his second 50K race last Saturday.

The temperature was pretty cold (low 30's) and we don't have heat in our van.  So, the kids and I had accepted the fact that we wouldn't be able to go and meet Claude at the finish line.  But after he rushed out the door on Saturday morning I changed my mind and we prepared for a long and cold drive.  With sign in tow, we were looking forward to cheering him on as he finished the race.

Everyone bundled up for the drive.

But, life with five kiddos is pretty hectic and getting in and out of the car is usually a big ordeal.  Upon arrival at the state park we had to get everyone unbuckled, load up the stroller, put on heavier coats, and visit the restroom.  Just as we began walking to the start/finish line my phone rang.

It was Claude.  He was done.

Yes, we missed his finish.

But the trip was not completely in vain.  He did see our van as we drove near the parking area.  I thought it might have been him that I saw running in the woods. The jacket was familiar.  The pants were familiar.  But the gloves were just wrong.  Claude does not own white gloves.  At least he didn't until he was given a pair at the start of the race.

So, we unknowingly cheered him on in his last mile.

I'm not sure if he'll have time for it, but Claude may weigh in with his own post about the race.

The kids and I have decided that we will NOT miss the finish for his next race!

The ones that got away...Or rather than I'm trying to get rid of!

So some of you know that I'm a running shoe nerd and I love to test and try out new shoes, technologies, read reviews etc.  So recently I'm paring down some of the second hand running shoes that I've scored cheap off eBay or Amazon or in 2 cases full price at the running shoe store.  This post is about 3 that I'm attempting to sell on eBay (seller: "claude_chew" in case you're interested) that I've tried and tried to get to work and just have not worked for my feet.

So the 3 pairs in the photo below are in order from left to right, Salomon Sense Mantra (US 10.5), Montrail Fairhaven (US 9.5) and Brooks Ghost 5 (US 10.5).  Praise the Lord the Brooks are already sold and I will not go back to trying out a Brooks shoe ever again!

So this post is really nothing but some whining and lamenting over the sadness of parting with these shoes with the exception of the Brooks.  

To start off with the Salomon Sense Mantra's, now for those of your who don't know, Salomon has a phenomenal line up of trail and mountain running shoes and a phenomenal trail and ultra running team and they can be referred to the as the Formula One of trail running.  They usually steal the show at most races they are in and are always constantly testing and refining their gear and then after the custom outfits for their athletes, making some of those available to the general public for purchase.

Back to the Sense Mantras, they are based off a custom shoe for trail running champion Killian Jornet, who wanted a lightweight, all purpose shoe that he could win Western States 100 in after coming in 3rd in 2010.  Salomon went back to the drawing board, developed a super lightweight, durable shoe with a low heel toe drop and released the S-lab Sense back in 2011 I believe.  Then in 2012, they upped the heel toe drop a little to 6mm, gave the lugs a little more depth and used some more durable Contagrip outsole rubber and released the Sense Mantra, a durable, daily lightweight trainer that could take you from door to trail, a very real scenario here around Houston Texas where some of the most aggressive trails you will find are either dirt, packed dirt or gravel unless you drive way out west to Big Bend National Park.  So after finding these cheap off eBay, I was delighted to take them for a spin only to discover that they simply were too narrow for my wide, flatfooted Hobbit feet.  So alas after a few runs in them I must part with them because they don't suit my feet, although of all the shoes, I am saddest to part with them because I can say that they perform quite superbly on most surfaces I've tested them on, dirt, gravel, pavement, although not as great on pavement as some other shoes.  For most normal feet, or narrow feet I highly recommend these!

Secondly, the Montrail Fairhaven's are also a hybrid trail shoe with less aggressive tread for pavement use.  They actually work quite well, except the upper is super thick and cushy and keep my feet way too hot for Texas weather!  And they turned out to be too small, so am parting with them because they give me blisters on my little toes because the US 9.5 in these shoes keeps the toe box too close to my toes.  However they are a highly recommended shoe, very comfortable, perform well on pavement to easy trails and feature Montrail's Fluidpost stability system as a medial post for pronation control.  I highly recommend these as an all purpose day to day trainer!

As for the Brooks, the very first pair of real running shoes I ever owned were some Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11s which are a classic stability shoe.  They turned out sour over time though because they simply didn't fit my wide, flat feet and then caused a lot of pain on the outside and inside edges of my feet because the shoes were trying to force my feet into their mold and my feet weren't buying it.  So I ditched those and then tried to make a come back to Brooks because they are a high quality, very durable, sturdy shoe manufacturer with the Ghost 5.  These were a little better for longer but after a while, same thing, except since this is a neutral shoe, was a little less painful until over time the caterpillar pad turn in in the midfoot just caused too much pain and I sold those on eBay (Praise the Lord!).  Brooks work wonderfully for most people, just not for me.  On the plus side they had a generally good fit, usually too narrow for my feet although the manufacture some of their models in different widths and are generally very durable, good smooth heel toe turnover and look nice too.

Now my last sad shoe story was very recent, this week in fact, I had purchased a pair of North Face Double Track Guide shoes from Gearcoop.com (which is a great discount outdoors gear store by the way and I highly recommend it) since they had it for half price.  I had read a lot of reviews about the old Double Tracks and was looking for a shoe with a lot of cushioning for upcoming 50k in December and 50 mile in Feb 2014.  Plus there were a lot of great reviews about their Cradle Guide System that helps with impact control in whatever phase or however you strike whether it's heel, midfoot or forefoot.  In my initial runs I had experienced pain as I've now learnt and convinced myself of that stability shoes are not my thing.  These were like the Brooks on steroids in terms of stability, it was like trying to force my feet into a steel mold they simply wouldn't sit and as a result on my 19 mile long run, I was hobbling along at a 16 min/mile pace for the latter half of it.  It was quite embarrassing as here were older people out on their leisurely strolls passing me as I hobbled along all geared up in my hydration pack with dual sports bottles, running sunglasses and cap, serious amateur trail runner that I am.   So I am now returning these for a refund.  On the plus side though, if stability shoes are your thing, these I actually highly recommend because I can see that the Cradle Guide system works wonderfully in controlling the impact in each stride and they are surprisingly nimble and responsive for how burly they look.  Also the Tenacious Grip outsole transitioned the most smoothly out of any hybrid shoe I've tried on from pavement to trail and gripped dirt, mud and gravel and pavement all superbly without any fear of slipping.  

So there you have it, there's my lament on the shoes that got away... maybe next time I'll post one of the shoes that have made the cut :)

God Bless,

Claude

Fivefingers update!

For the running nerds among y'all, have been running in the Vibram Fivefingers Bikila LS, doing my 3 mile speedwork sessions in them and today ran 4 miles at a 9:30 to sub 9 min/mile pace (which is fast for a slowpoke like me) and felt great!  Looking forward to running further in them!  This barefoot/minimalist running thing may have something to it after all!

Follow up to Vibram Fivefingers Review

Just a follow up to yesterday's Fivefingers review, took them out for a 3 mile run outdoors in a combination of pavement and light gravel trail and it was one of the best runs ever!  The ground feel was exhilarating and the power of the toe off and ability to maintain a high cadence were simply awesome, I can agree with all those who have tried them and enjoyed them and continue to use them that they make running a joy!  Was expecting some pain in my calves and shins but praise the Lord Jesus, nothing of the sort, just a little more stiffness in my quads since I'm maintaining more of a forefoot/midfoot strike rather than allow the heel strike to come in that you can do with cushioned shoes.

So thumbs up, or rather, big toes up for the Fivefingers thus far! :)

Running Gear Impressions - Vibram Fivefingers Bikila LS

So some of you know that I'm a bit of a running nerd, so Becca has given me permission to put some running gear posts!  So here we go with the first one!

As you can tell from the title of the post this has to do with one of the Vibram Fivefingers barefoot running shoe models called the Bikila LS.  This is the model that they tout as designed specifically for road running, with a little bit of extra padding in the inside.  As is quoted on the website, the insole features a, "Dri-Lex covered 3mm polyurethane insole (thickest under the ball) and a 4mm anatomical pod outsole design."  All this is designed to help disperse a little more of the impact you would experience on concrete/asphalt whilst still maintaining a very good ground feel.  Compare with your traditional running shoe which has something like 20mm of EVA foam in the midsole and some 5-10mm extra of rubber on the outsole too depending on the shoe, and you've got excellent ground feel.  In fact, I wore these around work and I was simply delighted with how much they felt almost like I was walking around at home barefoot!

For more info from the company, check out their website on the Bikila LS

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-BikilaLS-Mens.htm?activity=running

Here are my attempts at glamor shots:

Upper

The upper on the LS model (simply means the model with laces versus the original velcro strap) consists of some breathable material called "Coconut Active Carbon".  I have no idea what that is, but whatever that is it is comfortable!  The quick-pull laces make this an easy shoe to lace up although it takes some practice to splay out your toes just right when putting them on and pulling them off.  All that plus some reflective patches and some minimal TPU (toe protection unit) and you have a comfortable, flexible upper that holds your foot right in there snugly.

Another glamor shot :)

Outsole

The pod design that they mention is very visible on the outsole.  It really doesn't look or feel like much when you pick them up and put them on but those 3mm of Vibram rubber is durable.  So far I've walked around all day at work, run 3 miles on a treadmill and not even the slightest sign of a scuff mark has happened on the outsole.  I''m hoping that these will last at least 500-1000 miles before they break down.  Traction has been excellent on dry surfaces although the rubber is not as sticky as some traditional shoes that I've tried on so if you're trying to do any kind of resistance training with a weight machine like I was doing with them on, I ended up having to lower the amount of weight I was pulling on because I wasn't able to get a good firm grip on the gym floor and ended up sliding whilst trying to use the weight machine.  It definitely seems like they're going for durability rather than stickiness.

Comparison of stack heights with traditional running shoes:

Pictured here from left to right: Vibram Fivefingers Bikila LS, Altra The Instinct, Brooks Ghost 5.   This and the next 2 photos are to show the difference in stack height of outsole and midsole compared to more traditional running shoes.

Compared to the Brooks Ghost 5 which has a traditional 20mm or so of EVA midsole and 12mm heel to toe drop.

Compared to the Altra The Instinct which is a fully cushioned 0mm heel to toe drop shoe.  

So you can see that there is not really much cushioning which means that running form needs to adapt and transition to running in these.  Basically that means quicker cadence (i.e. Number of steps per minute), shorter strides and a forefoot strike rather than a heel strike.  Transitioning to that running form will help you run in these.  The other alternative to learn to run in these is just to run barefoot little by little!

So my personal impressions after taking them out so far on the treadmill for 3 miles are that I can completely understand why people have made the switch.  I gave myself some big blisters earlier this week from longer runs in my traditional running shoes but I was able to and have been able to wear these around and run in these without any pain or discomfort from those blisters at all, whereas I'd be forced to hobble around in traditional shoes with any kind of blister.  They are incredibly comfortable to run in on the treadmill at least, really allows my toes to splay out and toe off and to move lightly and nimbly too rather than relying on crashing down on the cushioning to help spring off for the next step.  They are of course super light and after a while I forgot to an extent that I had them on, especially at work, I found myself looking down and wiggling my toes to make sure they were still covered!  Didn't experience any pain elsewhere from running in these on the treadmill, a little bit of soreness in my calves but other than that nothing else and am excited to take these out on the concrete to test them out in the real world!  Hopefully will update on my impressions of running in them outside!

Thanks for listening!

God Bless,

Claude for the running nerd side of the Chew family.