TevaSphere Speed Shoes (and Discount Code)

A while back, I was contacted by TevaSphere to review their Speed shoes, which are intended for running in more rugged terrain like obstacle courses and trails.

My first impression of these shoes is that they are light, yet still stabilizing.  It's definitely a change from all the bulky running shoes that I'm usually wearing, regardless of terrain.  Also, gotta love the bright colors!

From their website:

• Our TevaSphere outsole uses a spherical heel with two support pods to give you lightweight minimalism without sacrificing stability.
• A nylon shank keeps the foot stable and in control.
• Our Spider365 rubber is made to grip like crazy in wet environments.

The shoes were sent to me along with a bunch of other goodies, which definitely prompted me to go on a hike!  Although I've done a couple of trail half-marathons and a mud run, I'm usually more of a road-running person, so getting me out there is an accomplishment.

Here is the camera they sent me to film my adventure, the GoPro Hero 3.  It is mountable and comes in a waterproof case.

So we hit up the local trail in a group about 12 in size.  The shoes held up really well!  The trail that we took was moderately challenging, with plenty of ascents, descents, and stream traversing.  The TevaSphere shoes were a bit grippy, which made me feel really stable even though I am not experienced in hiking.  I felt light on my feet, unlike when I'm in my clunky running shoes that can easily roll my ankle in conditions like these.  There were points in which I was jogging slightly, and it felt really good!

Also, at one point, I did get the shoes wet, but they dried completely, very quickly!

Here's some footage from our day.  I am holding the camera until I passed it onto "The Ukrainian" to cross the log.

Our reward:

Going on this little hike actually inspired me to go on more hikes (and trail runs!) in the future, wearing these shoes, of course!  Also, if I ever do an obstacle race again, I think I would definitely wear these since they are so good at staying light and relatively free of water.

!!! DISCOUNT CODE !!!

- 15% off until July 31st

TSBLOG-HVDE-HM2C-MHT4-57WU

(To use on multiple items, you can place separate orders)

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FTC Disclaimer: I was sent a sample of this product but was not otherwise compensated to provide a positive opinion.

Track Repeats, Repeated

I have a 5K in a couple of weeks, and just as I realized a few months ago before said 5K was postponed, I'm nowhere close to the level of speediness that I would like.  Why do I always come to this realization so close to race day?

I have only done three 5Ks, because I find them highly unpleasant.  This is probably why I never joined Cross Country in high school -- well, that and feeling like death if I ran anything over 400 meters.  The 5K distance is short enough to make me feel like running as fast as I can, but long enough so that I can't really sustain that kind of effort for very long.  Then, it ends up hurting, in a way different than long distances, but hurting nonetheless.

At this point, ANY kind of speedwork would help my confidence, so I headed out to the track for the first time since January to do the same workout, 6 x 400 meter repeats with a walk/jog lap in between.

My goal this time was to hit 1:35 - 1:42.  I have a very specific rationale for this time range, but I'll share that in a later post.

Laps (Jan /vs/ Jun)
1 - 1:48 / 1:26
2 - 1:45 / 1:39
3 - 1:46 / 1:39
4 - 1:39 / 1:39
5 - 1:35 / 1:36
6 - 1:38 / 1:36

Needless to say, I'm pretty pleased that I clearly did better than last time, in spite of running less and carrying around a bit more weight (working on that *grumble*) than that time.  It's also pretty clear that I went out way too fast on the first lap -- my lungs were pooped, and I wondered how I'd get through the last five.  By the last one, I felt like I was giving it what I had, only to have the same result as the lap before, when I felt I was slacking a little.   I should add that "The Ukrainian" came along with me this time.  At first I had to convince him to program his Garmin properly and not just "wing it," and by the end, I think he may have started to realize how much one can learn from doing drills like this.  He's never really done anything like this and probably isn't used to full exertion over a short distance, so I generally ran faster than him -- unheard of.  Having him there MAY have led me to push a bit more...  

It's quite possible that the key to long distance goals is meeting short distance goals, so as much as I can, I am going to do more of these types of workouts.

Spirit of the Marathon II, Review

In 2008, I saw Spirit of the Marathon and was SO pumped!  At the time, I had only run one marathon and was training for my second.

My relationship with running these days is mixed.  I have been in what I hope is just a "down" period, in which I've been running one or two times a week, tops, 3-5 miles.  When I do run, I still enjoy it, but long runs are fairly out of my interest at the moment, as if my body is following a "when the going gets tough, forget it" mantra.  Hmmm.

However, I keep hoping my "high" will come, maybe once I get used to being out of the home 13 hours a day commuting to work+working (though at least includes exactly 1 hr and 20 minutes to work out + shower + prep). 

I was able to view the sequel yesterday, courtesy of Fathom Events (thank you!!).  Even though getting to this movie on time required me to shorten my total workout + shower + prep time to about 1 hour flat, I ran just over 4 miles on the treadmill so that I wouldn't be attending a movie about running without having done said activity.

Review:

The movie started right on time (no previews, etc.), which was great, because I barely got there on time anyway.  The opening scene involved stunning shots of Rome right before their 2012 marathon was beginning -- the view of the Coliseum, seeing runners in the corrals, all the anxious running shoes shuffling on the ground... yeah, it apparently gave "The Ukrainian" a chill, reminding him of the "nervous excitement" he gets right before the start of a race.

Without giving too much away, this sequel covers the stories of some interesting people:

- an Italian pizzeria owner who is a seasoned marathon runner

- a 72-year-old marathoner, cousin of the pizzeria owner

- a first-time marathoner, mom, and co-owner of an Italian running store

- Julie Weiss, who ran 52 marathons in 52 weeks: I actually met her at an LA Marathon training run a few months ago... she's just as energetic in real life!

- a retired cross-country coach

- an elite female runner from Rwanda

- an elite Ukrainian(!) runner/Olympic hopeful

Like in the first movie, there are guest appearances by greats like Hal Higdon, Paula Radcliffe, Jeff Galloway, Bill Rodgers, etc.  There was some talk about the increase in women in marathoning, including how they broke into the sport, etc.  Those who saw the first movie will probably feel some deja vu, but luckily, it's brief.

The Rome Marathon seems really awesome (though really warm!!)!

You will definitely feel inspired to run after watching this movie, seeing people at different skill levels with different life circumstances come together for a really awesome athletic event.  There were different touching moments and a broader world-view that I feel makes this sequel surpass the original.

Trailing the movie was a 10-minute short called This Water is Beautiful, in which Josh Cox shared why he runs for team World Vision.  This definitely was a way to feed off of the inspiration of the main film and get people to run for a cause!

As for the effect the film had on me, well, I have already been working on getting back out there again, ever since National Running Day last week.  Plus, since I'm at a new job, everyone knows me as the marathoner -- so, as much as I can, I have to keep trying, right?!

For more information on the film, please visit:
www.marathonmovie.com


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FTC Disclaimer: I was provided passes to view Spirit of the Marathon II but was not otherwise compensated to write a positive review.