OK, I bought the Newtons. The men's cushion trainer, size 12.5. For those that followed my running challenge posts, I've been running a lot, in the range of 200-250 miles per month since September. I took a break for some reconstructive facial surgery in January. I am more than back up to speed. I am lighter and faster than ever in my life. Will do a 5k in low 17's or so. I am very aware of my pacing, heartrate, etc. I am in tune with my running. So on to the 'experiment'.
Actually first come my impressions, Received the shoes May 1st and have logged about 120 miles in them as of this post. I liked them immediately. I was a forefoot striker already and had very little transition to speak of. First day I ran 10 miles with a little to moderate calf soreness the following day. 4 days and 30 miles into the shoes, it was like I had been running in them my whole life. They felt good, they felt fast. But so what, right? I agree. Also noticed that if I slowed down significantly and dropped backed to my heels at all, it felt like running over a speedbump. Heel strikers will definately need time to get used to these shoes.
So I have been running half mile repeats on a track for 8 weeks now. I've built up from 3 to 10 over this time. I ran this simple experiment on the last week of halves. The week of 10. Ths would be my toughest workout before tapering for a 5 mile race this Sunday. I have progressed from running these at 2:55 with 3:00 rest the first week, to running them in the 2:40-2:45 range with rest of 2:30. This is active recovery, meaning half walking, half jogging, drinking water if needed. I use a heartrate monitor and my range once past the first 2 is always 163-168 bpm. I hold this range very accurately. I also hold my times very accurately at this point. Usually have a discrepancy of no more than 3 seconds over the set.
So what I did was alternate shoes on each repeat. Switched between my previous favorite Brooks Racer ST's and the Newtons. Used bungee laces so the switch was very fast, less than 10 seconds and did not affect my recovery. I was very careful while running these repeats to keep my heartrate and perceived effort constant, meaning I did not try to run faster in either shoe. I really wanted accurate results.
The results were as follows:
Beginning with the Brooks for repeat 1
1 - 2:44 hr 162 Brooks
2 - 2:43 hr 164 Newtons
3 - 2:45 hr 166 Brooks
4 - 2:42 hr 165 Newtons
5 - 2:45 hr 166 Brooks
6 - 2:41 hr 165 Newtons
7 - 2:46 hr 167 Brooks
8 - 2:41 hr 166 Newtons
9 - 2:44 hr 168 Brooks
10 - 2:40 hr 169 Newtons
So what does this prove. Well yes, one could certainly conclude, Not a goddamn thing, and be absolutely right. However what it leads me to believe is my initial impressions are pretty much true. Which were, I was slightly faster in the Newtons. Nothing dramatic. It may be the increased cushioing and energy return. What I really felt, particularly on the last half of the set was a much easier toe-off and the ability to almost kick myself in the ass the last 400 meters. I mean when I was really cranked up and pushing, this effect was for me, to profound to be in my head. My foot could be described as almost jumping off the ground whereas with the Brooks I had to noticeably concentrate on it to get the nice quick and high kick. This effect in itself probably could account for the performance differences. Anyway that's really all I did.
I really like these shoes and I personally conclude that they help me to kick myself in the ass better and seem to improve speed in the 3-6 second/mile range. So 15 seconds in a 5K?!? I think that is reasonable. And I'll take it. I really liked these shoes before this test, but I really liked my Brooks at a third the price. I ordered a pair of the racers and should have them for my races this weekend. Further impressions to come.
So what do you think of these results and my 'testing protocols'? Any feedback appreciated as I will probably do this again in the future and would love to further tweak my protocols. Thanks for reading and have a swell day.
-Soulswimmer
Actually first come my impressions, Received the shoes May 1st and have logged about 120 miles in them as of this post. I liked them immediately. I was a forefoot striker already and had very little transition to speak of. First day I ran 10 miles with a little to moderate calf soreness the following day. 4 days and 30 miles into the shoes, it was like I had been running in them my whole life. They felt good, they felt fast. But so what, right? I agree. Also noticed that if I slowed down significantly and dropped backed to my heels at all, it felt like running over a speedbump. Heel strikers will definately need time to get used to these shoes.
So I have been running half mile repeats on a track for 8 weeks now. I've built up from 3 to 10 over this time. I ran this simple experiment on the last week of halves. The week of 10. Ths would be my toughest workout before tapering for a 5 mile race this Sunday. I have progressed from running these at 2:55 with 3:00 rest the first week, to running them in the 2:40-2:45 range with rest of 2:30. This is active recovery, meaning half walking, half jogging, drinking water if needed. I use a heartrate monitor and my range once past the first 2 is always 163-168 bpm. I hold this range very accurately. I also hold my times very accurately at this point. Usually have a discrepancy of no more than 3 seconds over the set.
So what I did was alternate shoes on each repeat. Switched between my previous favorite Brooks Racer ST's and the Newtons. Used bungee laces so the switch was very fast, less than 10 seconds and did not affect my recovery. I was very careful while running these repeats to keep my heartrate and perceived effort constant, meaning I did not try to run faster in either shoe. I really wanted accurate results.
The results were as follows:
Beginning with the Brooks for repeat 1
1 - 2:44 hr 162 Brooks
2 - 2:43 hr 164 Newtons
3 - 2:45 hr 166 Brooks
4 - 2:42 hr 165 Newtons
5 - 2:45 hr 166 Brooks
6 - 2:41 hr 165 Newtons
7 - 2:46 hr 167 Brooks
8 - 2:41 hr 166 Newtons
9 - 2:44 hr 168 Brooks
10 - 2:40 hr 169 Newtons
So what does this prove. Well yes, one could certainly conclude, Not a goddamn thing, and be absolutely right. However what it leads me to believe is my initial impressions are pretty much true. Which were, I was slightly faster in the Newtons. Nothing dramatic. It may be the increased cushioing and energy return. What I really felt, particularly on the last half of the set was a much easier toe-off and the ability to almost kick myself in the ass the last 400 meters. I mean when I was really cranked up and pushing, this effect was for me, to profound to be in my head. My foot could be described as almost jumping off the ground whereas with the Brooks I had to noticeably concentrate on it to get the nice quick and high kick. This effect in itself probably could account for the performance differences. Anyway that's really all I did.
I really like these shoes and I personally conclude that they help me to kick myself in the ass better and seem to improve speed in the 3-6 second/mile range. So 15 seconds in a 5K?!? I think that is reasonable. And I'll take it. I really liked these shoes before this test, but I really liked my Brooks at a third the price. I ordered a pair of the racers and should have them for my races this weekend. Further impressions to come.
So what do you think of these results and my 'testing protocols'? Any feedback appreciated as I will probably do this again in the future and would love to further tweak my protocols. Thanks for reading and have a swell day.
-Soulswimmer