I bought a pair of New balance MT800s. They were cheap left overs and looked pretty grippy with large lugs so I thought why not get them as they would come in handy for greasy trails.
Not that I really needed more trail running shoes, but more like impulse buying as I was looking for the MT101s (which they didn't have) Perhaps I just had to justify the drive.
Anyway they were sitting on a clearance rack and at $30.00 who could resist? They were my size (or so I thought, they felt good at the store) and I figured it was a stroke of luck.
I was anxious to get in a run and wanted to try these new shoes out, so I left work early Wednesday and headed over to Libbey Hill to check out the trails there (no hunting) I am not sure why I never ran there as it is not far from me.
I didn't enjoy the x-country trail that much, but the single track part was a lot of fun. Not much different than most of the single track around. I ran 6 miles and though a bit cold because of the wind, I was glad to get a run in before heading south for Thanksgiving.
Problem was that the MT800s felt small on my feet while running trails and I think they caused me to run different. By the time I was done, I felt some heavy pain in my upper right leg.....lower hip area.
At first I wasn't sure if it was the shoes or the fact that I haven't run much on the trails lately and was possibly overdoing the pace. So, I didn't fully blame the shoes at first.
Yesterday I returned from our Thanksgiving trip and my son and I went out for a run at Bradbury East side. I wore the MT800s again. This time it was easier to pin point the problem as I was very familiar with these trails and knew how they should feel.
I could tell my toes were under abnormal pressure as if they were curling to help push off or something. I think the toe box is too small for me in the MT800s. Not sure why I didn't notice this at the store.
The longer I ran, the more I noticed this problem. I am sure now that it is the shoes and suspect I will not run in them again, but will re-assess when I run next in my 572s, the 621s or the Cascadias.
Besides the shoe issue, the run at Bradbury was great, it felt so good to be running there again and not worry about hunters. I was so excited, I bought my 2011 pass. I did notice it is about time to get the screw shoes ready as there was a fair amount of frozen area with slippery roots, rocks and bridges.
I looked up the MT800s on line and found they did not have very favorable reviews....probably why they were so cheap to begin with. I suspect New Balance stopped making them for a reason. I hate it when I waste money..
11/24/10
Libbey Hill 6 miles @ 1:08:52 (11:36 pace)
11/28/10
Bradbury East 5.75 miles @1:00:31 (10:32 pace)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
One More Weekend!
One more weekend of worrying about hunters.....it is so hard to give up the rare opportunities to get in a run (because of my tight schedule) just because there could be some unsafe hunter out there waiting to shoot anything that moves.
Don't think I am putting down hunters because 95% of them are very conscientious and safe, there are those few bad apples though that ruin things and when it comes to getting shot I must admit it scares me.
I have noticed one odd thing this year, you see I travel to work very early in the morning (around 4am) and I usually see deer in 3 - 4 places crossing the road every morning .....except during hunting season which I rarely see deer.
It is strange that they seem to know the season and lay low or perhaps change their patterns. The strange thing is, I have seen deer 3 out of 5 days last week and every day this week which is so unusual.
Not only have I seen deer, but I saw bucks which rarely happens anytime of year. The other strange thing is that the places I see them is totally different than their normal crossings through out the rest of the year.
If I was a hunter, I suspect I would have no problems getting my deer as I not only know where they run when on their morning migration, but I also run on deer trails which are perfect single tracks.
I would just drive around at 4am, wait to see a deer cross, park until daylight and follow the trail.....seems easy. Lucky for them deer, I do not hunt. I do like the thought of hiking through the woods and pitting my intelligence against theirs and if I actually had no other way to put meat on my table, I would shoot one.
It seems ironic that the very time deer are up and moving, is when most hunters are stopping at their favorite breakfast spot for a big morning meal and by the time they finish eating and the daylight shows up, the deer are long gone.
I almost suspect there are many hunters that do this by design.....because they love hunting but perhaps don't really want to shoot and gut a deer...
Today, I am getting out of work early and regardless of where there may be hunters lurking, I am going for a run. If I do get shot, at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing the meat they get will be old and tough!!!!
Don't think I am putting down hunters because 95% of them are very conscientious and safe, there are those few bad apples though that ruin things and when it comes to getting shot I must admit it scares me.
I have noticed one odd thing this year, you see I travel to work very early in the morning (around 4am) and I usually see deer in 3 - 4 places crossing the road every morning .....except during hunting season which I rarely see deer.
It is strange that they seem to know the season and lay low or perhaps change their patterns. The strange thing is, I have seen deer 3 out of 5 days last week and every day this week which is so unusual.
Not only have I seen deer, but I saw bucks which rarely happens anytime of year. The other strange thing is that the places I see them is totally different than their normal crossings through out the rest of the year.
If I was a hunter, I suspect I would have no problems getting my deer as I not only know where they run when on their morning migration, but I also run on deer trails which are perfect single tracks.
I would just drive around at 4am, wait to see a deer cross, park until daylight and follow the trail.....seems easy. Lucky for them deer, I do not hunt. I do like the thought of hiking through the woods and pitting my intelligence against theirs and if I actually had no other way to put meat on my table, I would shoot one.
It seems ironic that the very time deer are up and moving, is when most hunters are stopping at their favorite breakfast spot for a big morning meal and by the time they finish eating and the daylight shows up, the deer are long gone.
I almost suspect there are many hunters that do this by design.....because they love hunting but perhaps don't really want to shoot and gut a deer...
Today, I am getting out of work early and regardless of where there may be hunters lurking, I am going for a run. If I do get shot, at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing the meat they get will be old and tough!!!!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
It's Foggy, But A Plan Is materializing
I've been runner lazy lately and even though a break is well deserved at times, my brain still needs to rationalize it......fit it into some type of plan so I have an "excuse" to rest up a bit.
2010 has been a fair year for me as I have experienced many new things, running Mount Washington being one of them. Unfortunately, I wasn't very prepared for that race, so luckily my only goal was to finish.
My original plan was to use Mt Washington as a stepping stone to some bigger and more exciting finishes. Perhaps Pr-ing The Breaker, the Bruiser then capping the year with either a fast 5k,10k or something like Stone Cat marathon or possibly even the 50
I had it in my head to do a 50 miler this year and it never materialized.....partly because I didn't implement any sort of plan and also because of my knee injury from the Bruiser.
At the time, I didn't think the knee would put the brakes on my running like it did....kind of strange actually. Was it really the knee or was I using it as an excuse for derailing my goals? The thing I did realize is that I have to have some type of goal or plan, otherwise I will run around blindly and accomplish very little.
I thought about the ab challenge for about 3 seconds, then I came to my senses and realized that I didn't have a six pack at age 20....age 30...age 40....or at age 50......so thinking I could find one now (at 54) is as much a fantasy as winning any race I enter. Sure it is exciting to think about, but I do have to be realistic....I have a thirty pack and would be lucky through massive discipline and training to get that down to a twelve pack.
So, anyway, I took the date of the Pineland 50 and worked my way back to see how it would fit in for a winter/spring schedule. It is actually 30 weeks away which gives me a lot of leeway for training.
At this point, I have 10 weeks of what ever I want type running and training before I would start working on base. This feels like a good fit to me, I can run in pleasure mode, do some cross training and snow shoeing, get past the holidays and be fresh to start a training schedule the first week of January.
Whatever I do during the prebase 10 weeks would be a great jumpstart for the training schedule. As long as I am healthy and the training goes as planned, I will be running the 50 miler in May. It feels good to make that decision, I hope it works out.
2010 has been a fair year for me as I have experienced many new things, running Mount Washington being one of them. Unfortunately, I wasn't very prepared for that race, so luckily my only goal was to finish.
My original plan was to use Mt Washington as a stepping stone to some bigger and more exciting finishes. Perhaps Pr-ing The Breaker, the Bruiser then capping the year with either a fast 5k,10k or something like Stone Cat marathon or possibly even the 50
I had it in my head to do a 50 miler this year and it never materialized.....partly because I didn't implement any sort of plan and also because of my knee injury from the Bruiser.
At the time, I didn't think the knee would put the brakes on my running like it did....kind of strange actually. Was it really the knee or was I using it as an excuse for derailing my goals? The thing I did realize is that I have to have some type of goal or plan, otherwise I will run around blindly and accomplish very little.
I thought about the ab challenge for about 3 seconds, then I came to my senses and realized that I didn't have a six pack at age 20....age 30...age 40....or at age 50......so thinking I could find one now (at 54) is as much a fantasy as winning any race I enter. Sure it is exciting to think about, but I do have to be realistic....I have a thirty pack and would be lucky through massive discipline and training to get that down to a twelve pack.
So, anyway, I took the date of the Pineland 50 and worked my way back to see how it would fit in for a winter/spring schedule. It is actually 30 weeks away which gives me a lot of leeway for training.
At this point, I have 10 weeks of what ever I want type running and training before I would start working on base. This feels like a good fit to me, I can run in pleasure mode, do some cross training and snow shoeing, get past the holidays and be fresh to start a training schedule the first week of January.
Whatever I do during the prebase 10 weeks would be a great jumpstart for the training schedule. As long as I am healthy and the training goes as planned, I will be running the 50 miler in May. It feels good to make that decision, I hope it works out.
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