The Pure Grits are a trail shoe but almost have the appearance of a racing flat–super lightweight, virtually no drop from heel to toe and very breathable.  When I decided to run my first ultra (HAT Run 50k), I wasn't sure which shoe to wear.  Thought about going with an Inov8 or Cascadia but ultimately went with the Brooks Pure Grit because of its weight (Womens 7.6 oz. Men's 8.9 oz.) and so glad I did.

The HAT 50k course was predominantly trail but had portions of grassy fields, creek crossings, asphalt streets and rocky dirt roads.  This shoe handled all the terrain and with grace.   I never had any issues transitioning from one environment to the other.

The sole is one I haven't ever seen or run on before–for lack of a better word, it almost feels spongy and the, what I refer to as the "camel toe – ninja foot", up front must serve some purpose.  Perhaps it allows the shoe to "relax" upon impact?   It provided plenty of traction on the trail with the textured sole but with the flexibility and give, there were no issues running on the road either.  I did hit the mud pretty hard and in creek crossings I couldn't avoid getting them wet.  The shoes, being so lightweight, never had a problem as the miles ticked on.  In fact, they dried quickly and I never needed to swap the Pure Grits or my socks for a dry pair of shoes or socks.  I appreciated the elastic strap that came across the top — seemed to give support and stability with the changing terrain.  My only gripe would be that the laces seemed awfully long–even double knotted they were flapping around.   Right now they have 52 miles and not a single sign of wear (besides the residual mud), which surprises me because of the sole's lightweight, foamy material feels like it would be easily worn out.  The only other thing worth noting is that I did lose 2 toenails.  I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the shoe, my kamikaze downhill strategy, maybe they were a half size too big or just the nature of the race.  At any rate, I'd choose this shoe to run my next ultra.  The Brooks Pure Grit did me proud.

About the author of this post Jenny J.:

Until 2 1/2 years ago, I swore I'd never be a runner and was even more adamant about never running a marathon.  Those were for crazy people.  I've learned never to say never and have since run 18 races with indefinitely more on the horizon.  It started with me watching a friend finish her first marathon.  Overcome with emotion for something I wasn't even participating in, I was hooked.  Training started immediately and five months later, I was running my first half.   In another five months, that half turned into a full and I haven't looked back.   Since then, I've run just about every distance from a 5k to most recently, a 50k.  Four marathons, two of them qualifying me for Boston, four half marathons, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30k's, a 197 mile, 12-man Ragnar team relay, pacing a buddy for his 100-miler…the racing hasn't slowed down and unless I'm unable to, it never will.   As a wife and mom to three kids, finding time to train isn't always easy but with an understanding family and super early wake-up calls, it's possible.  We make time for what we love.  A huge part of my improvement this year was due to dailymile.  A year ago I joined the site to log my miles and have found so much more.  What an incredible community of athletes where I have found friendships, encouragement and motivation.   I may not ever win a race, but I run for the joy of it and I will always strive to be my best.

On the course

I will cut to the chase… I had a great time.

January in Baltimore is bitter cold and dreary as hell.  The idea of getting out of town and heading to warm temps sure is appealing.  From the moment we touched down in Phoenix our spirits were lifted.  We peered out of the shuttle taking us to our rental car and saw blue skies and green grass.  When we picked up our car and started to head towards Scottsdale where we were staying, I couldn’t help but notice how clean everything looked compared to the east coast.  There were no pot holes!  We had booked a vacation around the marathon to get a little RNR (rest and relaxation not Rock n’ Roll) and were staying at the Boulders Resort.  It was a little out of the way but totally worth the extra driving.  It was beautiful there.  You are out in the middle of the desert with cactus, big rocks, mountains in the distance, we were totally transported to another world while on the resort property.

Our schedule was pretty packed but allowed for downtime too.  The second day there, I hit the running expo with Cindy.  I love the atmosphere at the expos and I am a kid in a candy store with all the running gear.  I still haven’t found an expo that has topped the Chicago Marathon Expo, not even the New York Marathon was as good.  The PF Chang’s RNR Marathon Expo was just okay.  Maybe it is because Brooks Running is the main sponsor or maybe it is something else but, other than Brooks the other shoe manufactures were not there in full force.  After the expo we headed back to the Boulders and went to the pool to chill.  I love sitting by a pool when I know it is FREEZING where I would normally be.  I also can’t tell you the last time I was able to sit by the pool and just relax.  Since my son Theo, I have been on baby duty when it’s pool time.  Later that evening we went to meet up with some dailymilers for dinner.  This was a lot of fun.  I spend so much time interacting with the group online that it is great to get a chance to sit with them and break bread.  I have met some amazing people through dailymile.

The Pool

Expo

Saturday, the day before the race, Cindy wanted to check out some of the shopping in Scottsdale so we did a little bit of walking around and then got back to the pool.  I loved the pool at the Boulders, did I mention that.  My nerves were calm the whole way leading up to this marathon.  Now for some reason, I started getting a little bit jittery.  I wanted to do well in this marathon, I had my sights set on a new PR and wanted to finish in 3:40.  I didn’t run New York smart two months prior to this marathon.  I went out too fast, hit the wall around mile 16 and battle to finish 3:57.  I spent 10 miles mentally beating myself up, it sucked.  My PR going into the PHX marathon was 3:45 with a caveat – I ran the Baltimore Marathon under an injured runners bib as a training run 3 weeks before New York City’s marathon.  I have no official record of the PR.  I wont get in the debate of ethics of running under someone’s bib.  The sport needs to figure out more ways to solve race bib transfer options.  Anyhow, The looming memories of the crushing NYC marathon performance filled my head with some self doubt.  Steve Speirs was running the PHX marathon too, I couldn’t decide what I wanted for a pre-race dinner so I talked to him.  Steve eats a Hamburger with a pint of Guinness, he is a sub 3 hr. marathoner, I figured if it works for him I will give it a shot.

Pre Race

Post Race

Sunday came after some rough sleep.  I had a head cold all week and it seemed to be getting worse.  Cindy dropped me off at the finish where we were shuttled to the start in buses.  I met up with Brooke, Jenny, Steve and Ally before the start.  Jenny, Brook and I were all hoping to finish around 3:40 so we stayed together and got into the corral where the 3:40 pacing group was gathering.  This was my plan, I would stay with the pace group until mile 16, if I had gas in the tank I would try to push a little harder.  The weather at the start was perfect for running 48º and overcast.  It was the first time I saw clouds since coming to Arizona.  The gun went off and we started running full of excitement and energy.  The course was as promised, it felt really flat.  My local running routes in Baltimore are filled with hills so I felt really prepared for this flatter course.  There were some stretches with some slight uphill grades but nothing too severe.  Jenny and I talked quite a bit the first few miles, it really helped those miles go by.  I was feeling boxed in by the jockeying other runners were doing to stay close to the 3:40 pacer.  The group had created quite a dense pack.  I found myself wanting to get away from them.  There were only two options, fall behind the group and make some comfortable space or get out in front of them.  Around mile 11, I decided to get out in front.  I didn’t look back.  It was great motivation to know the group was on my heels.  When I ran through support crowds, I would hear them say “I see the 3:40 sign here they come.”  Not wanting to get passed by the group I would dig a little deeper.  There were plenty of water stops, I was very happy with the way they spaced them out on the course.  There were not enough GU stations.  Just one for the whole marathon and it was deep in the race, around mile 23 I think.  As I finished the last 3 miles, I was beat but still in it and still pushing.  I gave this marathon my best effort.  I felt good about how I managed the race too.  The whole race different people that have sent me well wishes and support scrolled through my mind.  It is amazing what the people on dailymile do for each other in the way of motivation.  I ran with a lot of friends in my head.  When I crossed the line I saw that I had a new PR at 3:38:48!  I was super tired and super happy.  The sun was shining +70º and it was time to meet up with my wife and the other runners.  Everybody seemed to have had a great day.  Steve and Jenny both PR’d and Jenny qualified for Boston.  It was a great day.

Mexican Celebration Dinner

Later, Steve, Ally, Jenny and Brooke met Cindy and me out for some Mexican food.  Everyone seemed so relaxed.  I really will have great memories from this marathon and consider it a great one to do especially in the middle of the winter.  I am really excited that next month I am heading back to Arizona to run The Ragnar Del Sol Relay event with a great group of dailymilers.  Arizona is a great place to visit.

Very special thanks to my Coach, Coach Caleb for your help with training and helping me believe.

Believe in the run.

Camping on Michele's birthday weekend

This week was a little bit weird.  The taper began and and big weekend miles didn’t feel so big.  Tapering is always a strange place to be.  For weeks you are pushing as hard as you can to keep increasing your strength and endurance then suddenly, you start going the other direction.  The big event is still looming and you are relaxing, it’s unnatural.

Here is the re-cap of week 8:

Tuesday, August 3: 6 miles – Second run in the Brooks Ghost 3s, its official I like them. Funny they remind me of the Newton Sir Issacs trainers. My legs felt a little rusty from the long runs last weekend, but by the end of the run everything was going quite smoothly.
In my post run shower I got a bit philosophical about running and competition. I have come to the conclusion that I am competing against myself and lately I have been winning.
Wednesday August 4: 8 miles on bike
Thursday, August 5: 8 mile Tempo run – Mixed my tempo work out with some hills. Here are my mile splits, see if you can guess where the hills were:
Mile 1: 8:29
Mile 2: 8:08
Mile 3: 8:51
Mile 4: 10:01
Mile 5: 9:12
Mile 6: 8:40
Mile 7: 8:56
Mile 8: 8:51
Saturday, August 7: 12 miles running 2 miles hike with wife – I can’t believe it.  I have been looking forward to the TransRockies Run for over a year and I will be off and running in 14 days.  It is bittersweet.  I know there will be some post event lows after this run.  So much of my time has been spent preparing for it.  I have NYC and the HAT coming up so it shouldn’t be that bad. Good 12 miles this morning. Going camping with my girl.
Sunday, August 8: 16 miles – Well, after some rowdy campfire drinking with some friends for my friend Michele’s 30th B-day, I thought today’s run would be a lot rougher.  While it was a hard workout, it was hard for the right reasons.  It was hot out there and I think I wanted to punish myself.  I chose a pretty hilly route and went out of my way to run down Bellemore and run back up the notorious hill.  It’s a good quad buster.  I had a few more good hills on this 16 miles.  I am glad to have one more week of training under the belt.

-Believe in the Run

My Runner's Stocking

My wife is the greatest!  She really took care of me for the holiday.  I may have pointed her in the right direction but, she really came through.  She even had her parents get me gifts from my favorite running store, Charm City Run.  I will start with the Stocking: Six tubes of Nuun (I am on the 2010 Nuun team), One bottle of Sport Wash, Two packs of Clif Shot Bloks, and one chocolate Dove bar.  Ok, so the Dove bar doesn’t exactly fit the category, I will justify it under the heading of motivation.  On to the main event.  First I opened the Saucony Ulti-Mitt Vizi-Pro gloves.  These are great gloves with a lot of features, safety orange day glow color, large areas of reflective material, LED blinking light, retractable mittens that expose gloves, and retratable thumbs and right index finger on the gloves for working iPods and iPhones. Then I opened a package with a pair of Brooks Wanganui Pants “Advanced protection from wind and rain.”  These are some serious winter running pants, with wind and rain resistant materials.  They will be reserved for the coldest rainiest days of the year.  You gotta check them out.  Although I already have a pair of Under Armour compression tights, it was time for another pair and that’s just what I got.  I have tried Asics, Nike, and Craft tights, the simplicity of the Under Armour Cold Gear tights makes them a favorite.  No zipper on the ankle cuff is a good thing and they keep you warm on cold witer days.  Finally I was given a North Face M TKA 100 Glacier 1 Fleece 1/4 zip pull over.  This fleece is just cozy softness.  It will be great for cold days with no rain.  As you can see I was spoiled.  There is still room for new gear, my birthday is only a couple weeks away! – Believe in the run.

X-Mas 2009

I thought I would just run on Sunday morning instead of my typical Saturday morning run but then, I had to return a pair of shorts to Charm City Running. While I was there I decided to get a new pair of running shoes. The Nike LunarTrainers are good for tempo runs and track workouts but I don’t know how much I trust them on the long runs. I decided to get a more traditional shoe for the long runs. I tried on the Asics Nimbus 11, Nike Vomero 4, and the Brooks Defyance 2. I was surprised that I ended up with the Brooks. The difference between the Nike $135 vs Brooks $80 was slim. As a matter of fact the only difference I could feel was the Nike had slightly more cushion in the front of the shoe. So now I have the 1st part of the love triangle, a new pair of running shoes.  I love new running shoes!  I might even admit to having a problem.

Brooks Defyance 2

It is late in the afternoon Saturday, I went with my wife to walk the dog (Vincent) and take Theo for a stroll through our neighborhood while she picked up some wine at our local shop. I started thinking, if I run now instead of tomorrow morning, I could drink some wine and chill out tonight. BRILLIANT! Who cares that it is 90º F and close to 100% humidity. In case your keeping score, the second love is wine.

With a new pair of running shoes begging to get out of the box and fulfill their destiny, I figure I will down some Hammer Enduralytes and bring my water with money to re-up on the water. Running is the third love in the triangle. The first 3 miles were pretty hot but I was doing well. I ran past all the Boston Red Socks fans heading to Oriole Park, and made my way to the Statue of Johnny Unitas outside of the Raven’s Stadium. I tapped Johnny U’s foot for luck and kept moving. Wow, it was getting hot. I trudge on, not my best pace but I figure not to shabby considering the heat.

I was through my first bottle of water 4 miles into the run. The loop around Fort McHenry has a water fountain so I fill up there. Next stop would be at the 8 mile mark and I am parched. I stopped in a coffee shop and poured ice water from a pitcher into my bottle. Man! The ice water tasted AWESOME! I gulped it greedily. At the 11 Mile mark I stopped at a CVS to get another bottle of water. I thought checking out in the “self checkout” lane would be faster and I could avoid the embarrassment of handing over sweat soaked dollar bills. It took me an extra 5 minutes trying to get the bill feeder to take my money. My legs are stiff when I leave the store but now, I am on my way home. It is all uphill on the way back and I am spent. As I get to 14 miles I hit the wall, I HAVE to walk. I have accepted that I am beat on this run. After a couple minutes I start running again. My Garmin is telling me I am close to the 15 mile mark and at 14.75 I was finished running and now walking the last .25 and feeling very light headed. I get inside and down cold water and some Recoverite. A hop in the shower to rinse off and I will be free to enjoy some wine.

Here is the funny thing. I felt so out of it that I was able to only have one glass of wine and I didn’t even enjoy it. I was all googly inside. So, I got my long run in, and learned a lesson. I will avoid the heat at all cost.