December 14, 2009

Special Delivery & 3 Miler

I got a special delivery today!!!!

The people from Yaktrax were kind enough (aka awesome enough to offer a free pair of Yaktrax for me to review. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for me, today the snow and ice are gone. There isn't much reason to be concerned, I live in Chicago. We will have more snow and ice ... probably by the time I wake up tomorrow morning.

They sent a couple of extra treats in the package:



Two pair of insoles, one "Athlete" and one "Airr", made by Sofsole (both Yaktrax and Sofsole have the same parent company, Implus Footcare). I have to admit, I was a bit confused as to what to do with them. I did some searching online as to the role of inserts in running and why I should (or even if I could) use them.

From what I can understand, a typical running shoe insole (most often called a "sockliner") is built to conform to the foot and offers little-to-no support. The primary goal of a cushioned insole, like the Sofsole ones, is to absorb shock. I didnt think I needed to "absorb shock" but found most sources suggesting that its this shock that not only causes foot pain (which I dont have) but also knee pain and other ailments.

I gave the "Athlete" version a shot for a 3-miler tonight. Overall, the insoles made my shoes feel like they were new again. I'm thinking that is a good thing. On the other hand, my right foot felt like it was slipping out of my shoe. I think the insole is a bit thick for my curret shoe. I was wearing pretty thin socks, so this wouldnt have been an issue (and wearing thin socks wouldnt be a solution either). I had a pretty good run - I felt good and my legs felt strong. Was it the insert or 1/2 dozen cookies I ate today, I am not sure ;) I'm gonna do my next run without the inserts, then do another one with them. Its hard to compare without doing my testing back to back. But, I'm going to put a few more miles on them and then provide a more detailed review in the future.

Look for a review on the "Airr" version and YakTrax in the near future as well

Running Log
Time:30:39   Distance:3.16mi   Pace:9:42

Did a PM run tonight, sinced I wussed out on the AM run this morning. The training schedule suggests I do more time than I did (I think 45 was recommended) but it was 7:15 by the time I left and I had a pork roast in the oven. Sure, my husband was home. But its a bit scary leaving your spouse to tend over a pork roast, you know what I mean?

Splits:
1 9:18
2 9:37
3 10:36

The first mile I went out a little too fast for my own good. Perhaps it was the fancy new inserts that made me feel like I was running on a pair of new kicks. I slowed down a bit the second mile, and for the third mile I hit every-single-stoplight. So though I think mile three was still slower than mile two (which was slower than mile one) it wasnt that slow ;) So I rocked the positve splits tonight. Oh well, I felt good and finished my run before the roast was done. (On an additional note, hubby did an execellent job with the roast and it was delicious)

5 comments:

Sarah said...

You have to let me know what you think! I ran last weekend and the path that is usually kept really clean was covered in ice and I had to do 6 miles in the snow next to the path...no fun! Even then I hit a few icy spots.

kilax said...

I often start out too fast too!

That is awesome they sent you some to try! How did you get hooked up with that deal?

Bethany + Ryan said...

wow that is soo cool you got all that stuff! awesome! you are definitely getting faster too! each blog post u write your times are faster and faster! nice!

Jess said...

Wow, lucky you! That's awesome.

JScribe said...

now that I'm going back to this I'm thinking again about insoles. Now that I'm running again I'm in a constant fear of my left foot/knee getting all wonky again and I remember that the guy at fleetfeet told me to buy insoles for my insanely out of control over pronation. I never did because they were expensive. is there a possibility that they will not be good for me? or is it sort of a win-win?