Posts Tagged Sole
Update on Sole Video Contest!
Posted by Thomas Neuberger in Believe in the Run, running Gear on December 18th, 2009
And the winner is… That’s right, it’s me! How cool. I was notified tonight that my video entry won first place, $1000 and $250 in merchandise. As you might guess I love Sole! I have actually been a fan of Sole ever since Lisa Batchen-Smith recommended the inserts atfer I got a bad case of Plantar Fasciitis. Stretching, icing, and sole heat moldable shoe inserts did the trick and got rid of the pain. Shortly after that I ordered the Sole Sport Flops. Thanks SOLE!
The entry I put together for the SOLE video contest
Posted by Thomas Neuberger in Believe in the Run, General Running, running Gear on December 9th, 2009
SOLE Entry from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo.
Spring Gear Review
Posted by Thomas Neuberger in 2009 Marathon Training, Believe in the Run, General Running, running Gear on May 17th, 2009
It is time to review some gear! In this post I will review Nike Dri-FIT Tempo Two-In-One Men’s Running Shorts, Skull Candy “Smokin Buds” earphones, New Balance 1063, Sole Sport Flip, and CLIF shot bloks electrolyte chews.
Nike Shorts
Nike Dri-Fit 2-in-1 Short
I will start with my favorite item, the Nike Dri-FIT Tempo Two-In-One Men’s Running Shorts. The shorts are light weight even though they have the full spandex short liner. I typically will wear a pair of Under Armour compression shorts under my running shorts. The Nike short eliminates the need to do that. The length of the short is perfect. My favorite feature of the short has to be the sweat proof pocket on the back of the waist band. It is the ideal place to put your iPod while running. Even during high humidity and sweat, the shorts stayed light and comfortable.
New Balance 1063
New Balance 1063
I have put 173 miles on the New Balance 1063′s. The best compliment I can give any shoe is that I have had no injuries or foot problems while running in the shoe. I have had no plantar faciitis flare ups since I put the 1063 on. I thought that having less cushioning then my previous shoes, I might run into some joint problems, I was wrong. My legs from toes to hips feel great. The shoe has an exceptional fit and has maintained the great fit after the 170+ miles. The rubber on the sole of the shoe has held up well, just as well as the Nikes. Which up to this point, had held up better than Saucony, Brooks, Asics, and Mizuno soles. The Mizuno shoes fared the worst of all. I wore the bottoms of the Mizunos down in 150 miles. I am 5’11″ and 178 lbs., rubber should not wear that much that fast. The 1063 is a work horse shoe. I wore them for all my city running and my feet never felt “banged up”. The styling of the shoe could use some work, but other than that I would give the shoe high marks. I look forward to the next 170 miles in the shoes, I think they will hold up nicely.
Sole Sport Flip
Sole Sport Flips
On to the Sole Sport Flips… After my trouble with plantar faciitis, I thought I would be giving up Flip Flops. The company that makes my favorite foot bed insert Sole, also makes the Sport Flip. I decided to give them a try. At first I did not feel a huge difference between the Sport Flip and your run of the mill flip flop; it took time for me to appreciate the Sport Flip. It is what you don’t feel after wearing the Sport Flip for hours that will amaze you. I did not feel any foot fatigue after wearing the Sport Flips all day. My arch was supported and the cushioning softened the blows of walking on concrete surfaces. They are more expensive than what I normally would spend on a flip flop but, I will say I think they are worth it. It is early in the season so I will see how they hold up for an entire summer. So far so good.
“@sirisaac @neudesigns Nice gear review Thomas. The SOLE Sport Flips are my favorite post run footwear!” – Newton Running
Shot Bloks
Shot Bloks
I usually eat GU or Hammer Nutrition gels during my longer runs. After years of them I was ready to try something else. I picked up the CLIF Shot Bloks. I find them to be a great substitute for the gels. I run with some people that don’t like the consistency of the gels, the Bloks can take care of that problem.
Skull Candy FAIL
Skull Candy Smokin' Buds
My only FAIL this review is for the Skull Candy Smokin’ Buds earphones. The sound quality was ok. The base over powered the treble a bit. The volume control on the cord weighted the cord making it a little jerky during runs. I found myself holding the cord to avoid the swinging and bouncing of the volume control. The biggest problem was that the cord snapped after three weeks of running with the headphones. The weight of the cord felt “chincy” when I first took them out of the packaging. Turns out the impression was right, they are not strong enough for running. On the bright side, my local running store (Charm City Run) was able to exchange them for me with no hassle.
Four out of five ain’t to shabby!
Recovery week and New Balance 1063 shoe review
Posted by Thomas Neuberger in General Running on March 29th, 2009
It was nice to take a week off from running. I ate and drank a little too much and remembered why I run. I did ride my bike for 7 miles on Tuesday but other than that, just rest. Today I ran for an hour, about 7+ miles.
I ran in my new pair of New Balance 1063s. Before I give my initial review I will disclose two important facts. First, the shoes were a gift from the wonderful people over at New Balance. Secondly, I immediately replaced the foot bed with a new pair of Sole Dean Karnazes heat molded foot beds. First impression after putting the shoes on my feet was that they felt stiffer than what I currently run in. I was aware of the stiffness as I headed out into the city streets for the run. The shoes felt nimble and quick. The over all fit of the shoe was the most impressive of any running shoe I have owned. The foot was snug with little to no movement within the shoe. Even around corners my foot did not slide around the toe box. With the snug fit you would expect the loss of circulation or some pinching but that was not the case. The shoe out of the box fit my feet. Around 40 minutes into the run I felt like the shoes were starting to break in a little more. Overall I think the 1063 is going to be a great shoe to run in. I typically like more cushion, we will see if that comes into play over the next few weeks. I will give another review when they have 150 miles on them and 300 miles, stay tuned.
Running the 2009 Suntrust National Marathon
Posted by Thomas Neuberger in Race Re-cap on March 22nd, 2009
The Course
The Suntrust National Marathon is a beautiful course. They made some changes to the course since the time I ran it in 2006, and it made the race even more scenic. It is inspiring to run past the Capital, WWII memorial, Washington Monument, and the Lincoln memorial. I thought to myself, the sacrifice so many Americans have made puts perspective on the effort it takes to run a marathon.
Temp and Gear
The race started off pretty cold and never fully warmed up (30º-40º F). For me this makes for good running weather. I was dressed properly, so I was ready to go. For this race I wore Nike Vomero 3′s, Under Armour Cold Gear tights, Under Armour sleeveless running shirt, Under Armour long sleeve performance shirt (shirt from the 2008 Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival), gloves, and a Brooks running baseball cap.
Running
Sara, Jeff and I started out at a comfortable pace. There was a little weaving to avoid runners that lined up in the wrong pace corrals and the race was thick with people that were only running the 1/2 Marathon. It actually might have worked out for us because it kept us from gunning it out of the gate. I felt like the first 7 miles went pretty quick. Somewhere around 10 miles we lost Jeff and did not see him again. Sara and I pushed on at our steady pace. At the 13.2 mark I started feeling a little fatigue. I told Sara if she was ready to go she should leave me. We were together until about mile 15. I slowed a little and Sara kept pushing. There were some switch backs, so I saw Sara two more times before the end of the race. I was really proud of how strong she was running. (it was her first Marathon) I got to mile 22 and knew if I wanted to make it in under 4 hours it was all push from here on out. I wasn’t sure if I had anything left in my legs, and was sooo ready for the end of the race. I promised myself if my legs kept moving the finish line would get closer. They put some rolling hills between us and the finish line and I could see the distress in some of the runners. To keep my mind busy I started picking out the weak runners the way lions pick out the weak animals in a heard, then just chased after them and passed them one by one. There was one girl I passed and then 3-4 minutes later she came blowing by me. I thought “good for her”. It was going to be close for me to be under four hours and wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. I left it all on the road. Approaching the finish I saw Judah (trainer and pro at the local running store, Charm City Run). Judah gave me a cheer and it was enough to give me a little more kick. When I passed the finish line, I looked at the official clock it read 4:03:08, then I looked at my stop watch that clocked the time from when I crossed the start and it read 3:59:4?. I tried to stop it but my fingers were cold and they fumbled the button. It stopped around 3:59:55. I thought, “I think I did it!”. I stumbled into a hug with Sara and was in a daze. I had to pee. I made my way through chip return and headed for the port-a-potties. The race was over! I ate a banana and drank a Powerade, sat and waited for Jeff. Eventually, I made my way to the DC Metro station and rode the train back to where I was staying. DC’s public transportation is great and easy to navigate.
Results and splits
Place Div/Tot 10ksplt Pace Hlfsplt Pace 20mspli Pace Guntime Nettime Pace Name Ag S Race# 949 131/225 56:42 9:08 1:57:29 8:58 3:01:56 9:06 4:03:08 3:59:44 9:09 Thomas Neuberger 38 M 1618
Home remedies
Posted by Thomas Neuberger in General Running on March 8th, 2009
I have had problems with my plantar faciitis tendon in my left foot and have found that icing (take a plastic water bottle and fill it with water, freeze it, then roll your arch over it for 10 minutes after running), stretching (I use the “Stretch-Ez” to get an extra deep stretch), using Sole’s Dean Karnazes heat modable insole, and wearing a night splint (Freedom Dorsal PF Night Splint by AliMed) have all worked together to help eliviate the issue.
Just recently, Jeff Arricale (running buddy) got me to try “The Stick” for breaking the toxins out of your muscles. I will let you know if it helps.
Current Gear
Posted by Thomas Neuberger in General Running on March 1st, 2009
Ok, I love the gear whatever the hobby, for me it’s the gear. I almost got into Mountain Biking last summer. I realized soon after getting started that I would not be able to support another toy intensive hobby. Between painting, photography, running, and my first child Theo, I am tapped out. Currently, my running gear consists of Under Armour apparel for the basics (base layer, t’s, tights, shorts, compression shorts, coldgear mocks), Inginji socks, Dean Karnazes moldable insoles from Sole. I HIGHLY recommend these insoles! I have three jackets I use for different conditions a Northface Windstopper for colder days 20º and below, a New Balance running jacket for cold 30º and below days, and a Brooks vest for moderately cold or windy conditions 35º to 40º. I am currently running in Nike Vomero 3′s, however I have been working with New Balance for the past 6 weeks or so and am really impressed with their running shoes (and shoes in general). I think I will be trying the NB 1063′s very soon. I may even use them to run the Suntrust National Marathon. I love to run with music, and I use my iPod Nano with Nike+ on every run. It is an easy and fun way to track the miles. I have tried Nathan water bottles but I find the hand sleeves don’t hold up as well as the Ultimate Direction bottle’s. It takes a little while to get used to the nipple on the Ultimate Direction bottle but it seems to stay cleaner than the Nathan’s nipple. One other advantage the Ultimate Direction bottle is that the threads that screw the lid on seem to hold up better over repeated uses, creating a better seal. For dietary suppliments I use Hammer Nutrition Enduralytes and the new berry flavor Recoverite. Recoverite works I swear! Lately I have been on a GU kick for calories during runs. The Roctane GU’s are great but al little expensive at $2.50 per GU.
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