Have you ever felt that sometimes you just need to race? I mean you are really hungry to put yourself to the test against the clock and the field.
I really needed to cross a finish line after my DNF at the inaugural 70.3 in Kansas a few weeks back
So it was a pleasant surprise when I not only crossed the finish line feeling strong at this past weekend's Lake to Lake Olympic distance triathlon, but actual placed on the podium in my age and weight group.
FYI: I went just under three hours.
I missed out on 1st place by about 3 minutes. Had I known I was so close to winning my race I would have suffered a bit more and pushed the pace. But unlike the professionals, we age group athletes never really know how we are doing until the results are posted. This usually means that we really don't know how hard to push the pace.
I had an interesting talk over lunch the other day with my friend coach Luis from Mark Allen Online about pain and age-group athletes.
Not the kind of pain that comes from (or leads to) an injury, but the how much an endurance athlete should suffer (read push the pace) during a race. Keep in mind that a 1 on the pain scale below is about equal to an easy recovery workout and 10 on the pain scale would be going all out during a track workout. In other words, running your fastest lap around the track.
Sprint Triathlon=9
Olympic Distance Triathlon=7
70.3=5
Ironman=2
What's really interesting is that during an Ironman you should not be suffering at all, but instead feel just a little bit above an easy recovery workout. By that point your work should be done, and you should be cruising the race.
Yea, that's a good one Luis ;-)
Anyway, I blame this weekend's podium finish on my new running and racing shoes. The fine folks at Spira Footwear sent me their latest training and racing shoes to try out recently.
You may recall that Spira, a small Texas Shoe Company, was best known for a one million dollar offer at the Boston Marathon a few years ago. The shoes that I'm wearing in the photo above were were banned by USATF because they have springs in them. Spira decided to become a bit of an outlaw company in the best Texas tradition by offering any athlete one million dollars if they won the Boston Marathon in their illegal shoes.
FYI: A number of very fast runner's took up the challenge, but none succeeded.
So I bet you are wondering if the springs in the shoes really work?
I suppose my results speak for themselves. I was just a few minutes from the podium position in my new racing shoes.
To tell you the truth I'm really not qualified to evaluate running shoes. But than again:
1) I suppose you already knew that and
2) Neither are any of the running or triathlon magazines.
When it the last time that you read anything negative about a shoe in any running/triathlete magazine evaluations? These "evaluations" are basically paid advertisements for the running shoes and shoe companies so I suppose my opinion is perhaps worth more...as at least I'm always honest with my readers.
I can report that the Stinger racing flats are super light. These bad boys weight something like 2 ounces each. OK, maybe a bit more, but the springs certainly don't add much weight.
I can also report that they are extremely comfy and loud(loud as in very bright and colorful). I like loud and comfy when I race. They don't offer much support, but no racing flat does.
And of course now for the one million dollar question...do the springs in the shoes really work and make you run faster?
I can't really say if the shoes are faster, but they certainly make me feel faster, and that's pretty much the same thing in my book.