More about shoes: Saucony Triumph 7 and ASICS Nimbus 11

My Triumph 6 served me very well over the past year. I trained in them in Adelaide and used them for the WDW marathon. The ASICS Nimbus 9 (silver) was a throwback given my disappointment with the Nimbus 10. Unfortunately, I found the later version of the 9 (unlike the earlier blue version) to be more akin to the 10s in terms of undersole durability. Nonetheless, they served me well for the Aviva 70.3.

So my recent acquisitions were the Nimbus 11 (from Running Lab) and Triumph 7 (N Zone).

The Nimbus 11s logged in less than 100km so far. The verdict todate is pretty optimistic. They are well cushioned, and more importantly, the durability has improved significantly over the 10s. That made the 11s more like the ASICS I know.

The Triumph 7 in luminous orange (pix above) are brand new, and only ate earth and asphalt this morning, all of only 8 km. I had to take a half size larger (11 instead of 10.5). Cushioning is good, and the one piece undersole provides better toe to heel transition. The flexibility, I feel, is not as good as the Triumph 6 (in luminous green - see a trend here?).

Why so many shoes? Good question. To be answered in a subsequent post.

Under Armour Spectre

Most readers may have the same reaction as I did when I first head of Under Armour. What's that? Running shoes?

As it turned out, my luggage got delayed again last week (the culprit is Chicago O'Hare), and I was desperate to do some running (Sundown is only 6 weeks away). MBH told me about Under Armour that has an outlet store near Fort Myers. Since I was going to the factory outlet with a long shopping list, I might as well get some running gear and shoe.

Didn't know that UA has a very comprehensive range of merchandise - from golf tees to running shoes, compression tights to socks. The friendly assistant gave me a 2 minute introduction of how UA started when some Maryland (?) football players couldn't find suitable gear. My impression is that UA goes for comfort above all else.

So is the UA Spectre (USD44 - a steal!) comfortable? Most definitely. From the moment I put on the shoes, they felt very snug and well cushioned. I was surprised at how light the shoes were (officially 9.8 oz). But how would they perform?

The next day, I took the shoes out for a 10km run. They felt significantly lighter than the Nimbuses and Pro Grid Triumphs I had been using. There was a flopping sound when I landed too heavily on the heels, the result of a hollow under the heel section. But as long as I kept with the mid foot strike, the annoying sound was gone. 

After about 8 km, I could feel my feet complaining a little - they had been too accustomed to heavy cushioning. The good news was that the shoes felt comfortable and lively - thanks to the thin forefoot and foot sleeve technology. 

I would be taking them out for a long run soon, and reserve my verdict until then. For now, they make a good pair of trainers.

Another thing - the outsoles material looked to be durable, unlike that found in ASCIS and Saucony. Hopefully they will last 400km.

And I guess I have the only pair in Singapore.

PS: Took the Spectre out for an 18 k run on April 25. They felt just fine. The shoes also dried up fast after the downpour. Pretty happy so far.

TLog: Trying out the new Salomon trail shoes

An easy week for recovery and transition to more trail running.

Mon: rest
Tue: easy 15k bike
Wed: easy 2.8k swim
Thu: easy 1 hour trail run - relatively flat

Took me a while to figure out where to run. Then Tampines MTB park where there were some relatively flat trails, thanks to our run there one year ago organized by tekko. Also the first chance to try out the new salomon XA COMP shoes.

Started with going round the perimeter, which is relatively flat, measuring 3 km. The northern perimeter is only a narrow path, with denser vegetation, the rest are wide open paths, paved and unpaved. Then I went round the south "hill". Recalled going round and round last year, and it's round and round again today! Next went up the second "hill", and decided not to go round that. Overall, 1 hour covering 8 km.

View route on Garmin connect.

The one concern I had with the Salomon was possible blisters. My good friend experienced blisters on the inside of the foot arch a couple of times. Before I purchased the shoes, I checked with my friendly shoe consultant, and he told me it was probably due to the pronation control that came with some models. The model I purchased is without pronation control.

How did the XA Comp 4 worked out? Pretty well, I'd say. There's more flexibility than the NF Boa Arnuva, and the fit is much better. I feet better heel support and the width is sufficient for my wide feet. There's a nondescript feel about the shoes, nothing loud and fanciful, but with a ruggedness to get the job done and yet comfy enough.... at least for one hour. And as for the goretex, well, that will have to wait for a wet day.

Nothing much to add, except that over the next few weeks, it's going to be love 'em or hate 'em.

Shoe review update: Saucony Type A2

Having raced with the Saucony Type A2 in two triathlons - a sprint and OD - and taken it through a number of interval sessions, and given the high number of hits this blog has received on this shoe, I thought I'd do an update.

After going through many pairs of heavily cushioned high mileage shoes, it is a delight to run in racers. So my first obvious impression is that the Type A2 is really light.

But how did it stand up to longer distances, say up to 10 km? I had no problem whatsoever, if my limited experience is any thing to go by. The shoes brought me through last week's 10 km run pretty smoothly, without any fuss. I'd thought that the blister on my right heel could give me problem on the run, but it did not.

BTW, that blister was caused by wearing the A2 without socks prior to the race, not during the race. Note to myself: wear socks in future, even for OD tris. However, I didn't develop any blister on my runs with the Type A2. So it must be abrasion when I was sitting that caused the blister to develop :(

How did the Type A2 hold up during hard pounding interval training? Very well, I'm glad to say. I did not have any complains from MRK (my right knee). In fact, I thought the A2 was really smooth, flexible and surprisingly well cushioned.

For an Asian weighing 74 kg (162 lbs) at 1.75m, I am considered overweight by BMI standards. Generally, I'd prefer cushioned shoes. But I'd make an exception for the Type A2.

I also have broad feet and the A2 more than adequately accommodated them.

Triathlon Plus magazine made the same observation - that the grid design for the heel provided good dampening. In fact, the Triathlon Plus Gold Award went to the Saucony Type A2, rating it 5/5 for performance, 4/5 for value and 4/5 overall.

Shoe review: Saucony Pro Grid Triumph 6 and Type A2

By now, readers may know that I spend way too much money on shoe - running, cycling, trail, etc. No, I am not Imelda Marcos, but my purchases are purely driven by necessity. (Yes. Some people would take issue with that statement!)

I supinate and my right shoe always wear out too fast. In part this is because of the less than durable outer soles I find on some shoes recently (Nimbus 10!!). But also in part, I don't wish to wear out what little cartilage I have left. So I buy cushioning and replace my shoes religiously when they reach ORD date, which is 600 to 800 km.

My latest purchases direct from Saucony First 2 Market - I have to thank MBF for this actually ... she needed to replace her hurricanes - were the Pro Grid Triumph 6 and Type A2. I have been a fan of Saucony for some time. I have two pairs of Triumph 4s, one pair of 5 and now the 6. After the gold and orange 4s, and bright red Type A, I am ready for any color. So the luminous green Triumph 5 and lime green Type A2 were, not shocking whatsoever. In fact, bright is in.


How did they run?
I needed a light racer for the upcoming sprint and OD triathlons, and I liked the Type A I bought two years ago. The latest model Type A2 did not disappoint. After being used to heavy well cushioned shoes, I almost felt like I was running barefooted with the A2s. What have improved over the older Type A are (a) drainage holes along the soles, (b) better layering on the soles - cleverly laid out where the impact is most likely, and (c) breathable uppers. The only grouse I had was that the A2s are not cheap relative to the Triumph 6 (less material and technology!). But still cheaper than other comparable performance shoes such as Newton and Zoot.

The Triumph 6s felt lighter than the 5s. The one piece sole design is retained but drainage holes have now made their way into (through?) the soles. The ride is as plush as before, so I am quite pleased in that department. My grouse? Well the shoes made a flopping noise that was not present with the 4s and 5s. I figured the noise came from air trapped under the channel running through the middle of the sole. While the noise is not loud, it is somewhat annoying.

The true test will come soon enough, when I take them through the races.

What I can say for now is that my latest shoes have caught the eyes of the garbage truck driver. I gave him my two pairs of Triumph 4s and he wore them proudly the very next day. When I ran past the garbage disposal truck the other morning with my luminous green Triumph 6s, I swore I could see the glint in his eyes as he smiled broadly and waved to me.

Hey, you gotta wait 600 km, ok?

For Saucony Type A2 shoe update, click here.

Saucony Triumph 6 update coming soon.