More New Shoes! New Balance Vazee Rush v2

I've been on the lookout for a pair of fast road shoes since I signed up for the Amsterdam Half Marathon and following the Saucony Stride Lab last month I know what I am looking for - neutral, light, flexible, fairly minimal.  The Kinvara 8s I tried on at Accelerate felt nice, but I wasn't sure if they were £120 nice.

Last night while browsing the Decathlon website for a few basics I need to pick up I had a browse of their sale section when I spotted they had New Balance Vazeee Rush v2 down from £65 to £50.  I've looked at the range of shoes available in Decathlon before, and everything I looked at for pure road running was high drop - 9mm or even 12mm, and felt wrong on my feet when I tried them on.  These were 6mm though which is the same as my trail shoes, and they look to be similar weight (and even the colours match!) and the Sheffield store had some stock in, so I read some reviews and decided to give them a go.

After a short period of confusion where I thought the fit was awful because I was looking at the US size and not the UK size I popped a pair on and had a quick jog up and down the aisle. They felt natural, with a good fit round the heel yet a roomy toe box, so in the basket they went. I've only managed a quick 1km loop around the block in them but it was a fast km - new PB for 1km at 4:03 and I am now 6th of 223 on my local Strava segment - this might have to be something I work on chipping away at :)

I've already got my sub 25 minute parkrun, but I shall be looking to get some decent road distance under these as part of my half marathon training plan and seeing how much they help my speed.

Running watches on a budget

Not long after I started running regularly I decided a running watch would be quite useful for pacing - prior to this I had used Endomondo on my Smartphone with headphones, which sometimes remembered to tell me my pace each KM but really wasn't that useful for on the go information which is probably why my pacing was all over the place.  Because I didn't have a lot of disposable income at the time I went hunting running watches on eBay and got myself a Soleus GPS 1.0 which had decent reviews but doesn't offer data download.  Apparently you can get the data if you buy a 4 pin cable, but I couldn't find one at a decent price.

Before I could actually use this though I bought a Garmin Forerunner 405 on a whim (on Christmas Day no less) again at a bargain price on eBay.  This came out in 2008 making it 8 years old when I got it, but it still works really well.  It took me a little bit of experimentation to get happy with the fields it displays, although it supports 3 screens I usually find myself switching between them accidentally and then getting confused so have settled on a single screen.  Instantaneous pace is too instantaneous to be useful, so I have settled on the following:

• Main field: Lap Pace. I have auto-lap set up for each KM, so this shows my average pace over the current kilometre I am running on.
• Small Left field: Overall Pace
• Small Right field: Total Distance

With this combination all I need to know before I set out on a run is the overall pace I need to achieve in order to get my target time.  I can make sure my overall pace is on target, and can also target my current pace for the KM.

Being an old watch it does not use Bluetooth but instead uses Ant+ which means using a PC and a USB dongle to get data off it and uploaded via Garmin Connect to Endomondo and  Strava. This all works, but having to get the PC out is a bit of a faff and Garmin Express seemed very hit and miss when it came to syncing.  A little bit of research later and I found the Sportablet Uploader for Garmin. Now this requires a USB2.0 ant+ dongle and the Garmin one is USB1, but thanks to eBay I picked up a Micro USB Male Host to USB Female OTG Adapter Cable and a Mini USB2.0 ant+ dongle and it works perfectly. I can now upload my runs in the cafe immediately after a run and all I need to carry is one extra cable.

Of course now I am intrigued by Heart Rate and Cadence, which the Forerunner 405 cannot do without additional accessories which seem to be rather pricey.  But that will have to be another chapter...

Trail Kit

As I mentioned in my report on the Bradfield 5.5k  I have encountered the world of the compulsory kit list now I have discovered trail running.  This actually came about when we entered the White Peak Trail Run when sat in a cafe in Stocksbridge immediately after the Langsett 10k.  As can be seen on the Event Info page the following gear is compulsory:

•  Running shoes that in the organiser’s opinion are fully suitable for the type of off-road terrain to be encountered (NB no flat soled shoes allowed).
• Waterproof jacket
• Windproof leg cover
• Other waterproof & warm body cover appropriate for the prevailing weather conditions.
• Sufficient coins for telephone calls or a mobile phone.

Event officials will disqualify anyone who in their opinion does not meet the above compulsory equipment criteria.

OK, running shoes I can do (and have even bought some new shoes since so am doubly OK).  I have a waterproof jacket,  but it isn't a running jacket, and I have no idea what they are getting out with "windproof leg cover". More importantly, I have nothing suitable to carry this in, the extend of my carrying capacity when running being a smartphone sized running belt.

I don't like wearing a waterproof jacket at the best of times, so the idea of sweating inside one while running was especially unpleasant but I thought that if I am going to have to get one I should get one designed to running so I have no excuse come the inevitable wet days.  A little bit of drizzle is fine, but for heavier rain I'll probably want something a bit better - but I didn't want to spend a fortune on it if I won't use it much.  I figured that a cheap pair of waterproof trousers will do as much as anything for windproof leg cover. It's worth bearing in mind at this point that this gear isn't necessarily for running in - when you are trail running in the hills you NEED to be able to keep warm and dry if you run off course and get injured as it could be a long time before someone finds you (on that note: make sure people know where you are going and when you expect to be back, and have a means to contact people. It can very easily become a case of life and death if you are not careful)

So off I headed to Decathlon again to give them yet more of my money, with the inevitable shopping list:

• Kalenji Men's Trail Running Windproof Jacket
• Kalenji Run Rain Men's Running Jacket
• Quechua Waterproof Over-Trousers
• Kalenji Run Wind Men's Running Jacket
• Kalenji Men's Running Trail Bag

I ended up with the trail bag, the waterproof overtrousers, the Run Rain and the Run Wind.  For the jackets I was going to buy Medium as they seemed to have the best fit, but when I started moving around in them they were a little restrictive so I got the Large instead. So far I have not had need to wear the waterproofs but have worn the windproof jacket before and after running sessions. It packs down really small which is handed, in a pinch you can carry it on your hand using the elasticated strap.

The bag however was my biggest concern as I had never run with a bag before.  I can get the waterproofs and the windproof jacket in the back without having to expand it, even with the water bladder full.  So first chance I got then I loaded it up and went for a run.  With 2 litres of water in it despite having been careful to get the air out it was still quite sloshy and there was a lot of weight to it but drinking from it on the move was not a problem.  The little pockets in the bottom of the shoulder straps are really handy for putting keys and money in, and there is also a nifty phone pocket inside so you don't lose it amongst all the other gear. There are also two very simple but effective chest straps to minimise movement.

Next time I took it out I left the bladder at home and instead ran with 2 drinks bottles in the holsters on the shoulder straps.  This was a lot more comfortable than the full bladder, but was rather noisy.  This was a nice long 12k run incorporating some decent hills to make sure it was a decent test. Come the Bradfield 5.5k and it was time for my first run with a mandatory kit list and I decided to run with 1 litre of water in the bladder to see how that went.  As it happens they relaxed the requirements due to fine weather, but I ran with the bag as planned anyway.  With a half filled drinks bladder I barely noticed the bag was there and even though I only took about 4 mouthfuls I was grateful to have the drink with me.

All in all it seems that yet again Decathlon have managed to come up trumps again with really well priced affordable goods to make trail running accessible to more people.  You can spend a lot on what I don't doubt is quality gear, but certainly for the level I'm running at this is superb kit for the money.

New Shoes! Kalenji Elio Feel Trail

I decided that after payday I would treat myself to some new shoes as since taking up running I have worn a pair of cheap trainers I got for going to the gym over 10 years ago, and a pair of Magnum Uniform Service Trainers I picked up off eBay originally to use as approach shoes when climbing. I don't really think about my feet at all when I am running on hard services so I probably keep the Magnums for now when I am running on the roads, but I have noticed a bit of slipping and sliding in the mud so thought I would look at dedicated trail shoes (trails are more fun anyway).

I popped to Decathlon after work as it is convenient and their budget own brand gear is rather quite good for what you pay, with a shortlist of four:

1. Kalenji Elio Feel Trail
2. Kalenji Kiprun Trail XT6
3. Asics Gel Kanaku 2
4. Kalenji Kiprace Trail 3

I was focusing on 2 and 3 on the list as I was after an aggressive tread pattern, the Elio Feel wasn't as extreme and the Trail 3 was very similar to the XT6.  When I got there I couldn't find the Kiprace Trail 3 so that was quickly ruled out, and the Asics Gel wasn't doing it for me - there was not as much to the sole as I expected.  I tried the Elio Feel Trail on and was surprised by how comfortable and light it was, and I really liked the way the sole flexed. I then tried the XT6 on and it just felt wrong, which I figured out to be the 9mm drop rather than the 6mm drop.  If they had the Trail 3 in at this point I would have been looking at that as it also has a 6mm drop, but it wasn't there so I couldn't.  After a little mental back and forth I decided to get the Feel Trails as they were cheap and even if they do not tick every box for me on trail running I can always upgrade later safe in the knowledge I will get plenty of life out of these.

Yes, that is my cat's leg. She wanted to be in the picture.

First impressions: As I said they are light, 270g in size 8.5.  The soles are very flexible but seem to have good grip, and a feature I found odd at first but seems to work is the fact the tongue is built in to the shoe on one side, and the other side held captive on elastic.  This seems to help with positioining and stop it slipping to one side.

Of course I couldn't wait to get them on my feet and get them muddy.  I actually spent all morning wearing them and they are super comfy.  Anyway, the opportunity arose and I decided to go and noodle around on Loxley Common as it has a good variety of terrain and I know of some slippery muddy banks in there...

Out on a run then and I start off on tarmac. They feel grippy and fast, and I can already see that if those don't work for me off road I will use them on road.  They have a bit of cushioning in the heel in case you do heel strike, but I found myself naturally landing on my midfoot. When I hit a hill I could really feel the flex helping, allowing me to dig in and drive up the hill on my toes with high turnover. Hills turn out to be something I'm ok with which came as quite a surprise.

After about 1km I turned off up what was a very muddy path last time I took it.  It appears to have dried out quickly in the recent fine weather, but I was still able to feel great grip on loose dry mud and on dry stone, very useful for those technical trails on top of the peaks.. Done as teep bank and then straight up the other side I felt no slipping and was very sure footed, and then hit an undulating section with plenty of mud - not ankle deep peat on top of the moors, but certainly thick gloopy brown stuff.  Again no hint of slipping.

It was then on to a section of uphill loose fine gravel which was no challenge before a great fast downhill section on hard dry soil and gravelly paths.  Still feeling sure footed I had the confidence to lean in to the hills and take them at speed even on the steep twisty sections, being rewarded with a best ever mile (7:37) and kilometre (4:37) on what was supposed to be a gentle run. Back on to the roads, and a final push for home trying to keep my pace under 5:00/km (don't forget that sub 25:00 Parkrun target...)

Am I happy with my purchase? Yes, yes I am.  They shall be getting a thorough workout at the White Peak Trail Run and if needs be there will be updates over time but for now I recommend them to people looking for an entry in to trail running on a budget.