Training/Life Update and New Training Ideas 2/28/14

My brain hurts, but I'm alive.

    It's that time of the semester.  DPT school is ramping way up (or I just realized that I need to bump myself back up to that level) and a crazy schedule of midterms is continuing.

    But things are going well!  This last week I have recovered well from the Brea 8k, which turned into a great workout rather than a good race (Brea 8k Race Report).  I learned some good things from it and am ready to start implementing some new ideas that I'll get into in a bit.

    On some not so great news, Saucony began sending out their offers to athletes for their sponsored 2014 Saucony Hurricane Team last week.  I kept checking Twitter with various hashtags (#sauconyhurricane, #sauconyhurricaneteam, #findyourstrong) to see who was announcing their spot on the team.  After a week I have heard nothing, which based on who I saw sponsored is not totally surprising.  Some very fast people are on this team, particularly those with fast half marathon times.  My 1:11:11, despite being my first half marathon, is fairly slow for a sub-elite runner.  If I ran in the 1:06:00-1:07:00 range that would be different.  Unfortunately I don't think I have the time or money right now to adequately train for a fast half marathon.  Post DPT school is definitely a time when I will focus on that distance.  For now though I will be racing it sparingly.  Although we'll see where my Elliptigo training goes as I have a stationary trainer adapter coming for it that I'm hoping to use while studying so I can get more aerobic training in (more on that later).

    So yeah.  I don't think my application to the Hurricane program was accepted.  It is a little strange that I saw a few other people comment on the fact that they actually received nice rejection e-mails that still wished them the best.  I have received nothing in the way of communication from Brian Mahoney (marketing director at Saucony), who I originally sent my application to.  To which he replied confirming that he had received them.  I even e-mailed him earlier this week when I did not receive a rejection letter wondering what the status of my application was.  Still have not received any response.  

    That is not going to keep me down though!  I will continue looking to the future and continue to train as a member of the Cal Coast Track Club.  I'm hoping if I get fast enough this will mean some seeding of gear from Asics, but we'll see.  I already received really nice short and long sleeved shirts from the team, so things seem to be going well.  It's nice to be on a team again!

And those new training ideas.

So here's what I've been doing.

    I have incorporated a great deal of plyometric exercises into my post-run drills.  These started Sunday after the Brea 8k and I will definitely keep them in my arsenal.  I've started with just doing variations of single leg hops up on a step and down.  I do forward single step hops, side step hops (both directions, laterally hopping and medially hopping) and then diagonally hopping up and down in both a medial and lateral diagonal direction.  This seems to really be helping my ability to push-off from the ground, along with continued step-ups on the stairs of my apartment.  The step-ups have been really good for my glute max strength and stride length as I have seen a decent increase in running speed since I added it to my routine.  Mostly because the glute max is one of the main hip extensors.  Why do you think fast (good) sprinters have such huge butts?  Because that's the main propulsion muscle.  I learned about this exercise's effectiveness on the glute max at the recent CSM 2014 Physical Therapy conference in Las Vegas.  I have not found the article the talk referenced (Running Injuries: From Youth to Collegiate), although I have found several articles discussing how much the single limb squat activates the glute max and medius and how much the side leg abduction exercise activates the glute medius (Distefano, Blackbun, Marshall & Padua, 2009 & Lubahn et al., 2011).  Both of these exercises have been very important to my core/strengthening routine, particularly the single leg squat.  The side leg abduction has been in my routine for a while now, but it wasn't until recently that I added some medial and lateral limb rotation during that motion to stimulate the glute medius and minimus more (this was something I just learned in my Kinesiology in DPT school).  Doing external rotation with the hip slightly extended during a side leg abduction will really hit the glute medius and doing internal rotation will hit the glute minimus a bit more.  That and clamshells with my trunk stabilized has allowed me to continue working on my glute medius strength.  When I am satisfied with my strength level, I will start adding therabands and leg weights into these exercises to make them harder.  For the single leg squat I need to start holding light dumbbells to work on strength once I am ready to move up difficulty-wise.  

   Obviously for core I am still doing exercises focused on good core control via firing the transverse abdominals.  Two exercises I'm doing for that are a bridging exercise with alternating single limb hip flexion and the transverse abs engaged to stabilize the trunk and pelvis as well as the bird-dog exercise, also with the transverse abdominals engaged to stabilize the trunk and pelvis.  The bird-dog exercise is more focused on the multifidi and other deep muscles of the back, but pulling in the transverse abdominals helps those fire.

    Just this morning I started adding power skips for height and distance into my post run drills just to work on more pop from my push-off.  It's not a good idea to try starting new things right before a race (I'm running the Dairy Aire 5k tomorrow, which is part of the group of 3 races called the Triple Crown that I am trying to triple win), but I'm training through it anyway.  No report yet on how these have effected me but I'm interested to see where I can go with more plyometrics.  I've done a ton of drills throughout the last few years, but I'm beginning to see some discussion in the physical therapy and athletic world as to whether those drills actually do anything for motor patterns.  I still think drills are important before hard workouts in the sense of doing a dynamic warm-up.   But like how static range of motion may not relate to actual moving range of motion (dynamic ROM), I wonder how drills actually affect running form.  So as always, I am my own subject for this experiment.  Let's see where this goes.

    What I probably need to do is do my "drills"  (high knees, butt kicks, etc) before every run and plyometrics after.  I've done drills after runs for the last several years with the belief that I am solidifying motor patterns when my body is fatigued.  I have not seen peer-reviewed evidence regarding this idea, but I have continued to do it.  Maybe it's time for a change just to see what happens.  The only issue is motivating myself to do that before the run as usually I just want to get started.  I'll try any type of training once, so let's see where this goes.  

    Oh yeah.  And the Elliptigo?

   So I have a stationary trainer on the way right now so I can actually start using the Elliptigo.  Pomona has nothing in the way of bike lanes.  I have tried seriously riding it on the streets for 10 minutes before I realized I was going to get hit by a car.  Plus I don't have the time anymore to be doing a second workout during the day unless it involves studying.  In the last few days I've actually had some success using the elliptical machine in my apartment for 35-45 minutes hard while studying.  The material I have studied has stuck in my head and I feel like aerobically I gained something from the elliptical without any additional pounding.  I'm beginning to see why many elite athletes use the Elliptigo to get additional training in without putting them at risk for stress-related injuries.  The mechanics of the Elliptigo are much more similar to those of running than a traditional elliptical.  This is achieved through the athlete being taken through greater hip extension and hip flexion, as opposed to the limited mechanics allowed by a normal elliptical.

    So my goal is to try studying on the Elliptigo with the stationary adapter in my apartment to get my work for school in while getting aerobic work in for running without the pounding.  I'll still be running 10-11 miles in the morning for training with 20ish miels on Sunday for a long run so I can hit my +80 miles for training, but now I'll have this additional training that doesn't put me at risk for injury (I hope).  So in a way I'll be able to train like I'm running +110 miles a week again (I hope to work up to using the Elliptigo for an hour a day in the evening while studying), but with studying for a bunch of it.  We'll see what happens and what school allows.

    So that's what I've been doing recently.  I'm hoping for good things tomorrow at the Dairy Aire 5k, but it is raining pretty hard.  So I'll just be going for the win.  Then it's back to studying my rear end off.

Let's see where all of this takes me.  I'm excited for the future.

Thanks for reading!

As always, my thoughts are my own.

Tack On!!

-Matthew Klein, SPT

Citations:

Distefano, L, Blackburn, J, Marshall, S & Padua, D.  (2009).  Gluteal muscle activation during common therapeutic exercises.  Journal of Orthopedic Sports Physical Therapy, 39(7), 532-540.  

   

Lubahn, A., Kernozek, T., Tyson, T., Merkitch, K., Reutemann, P. & Chestnut, J.  (2011).  Hip muscle activation and knee frontal plane motion during weight bearing therapeutic exercises.  International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 6(2), 92-103.  

Brea 8k Recap: Lessons Learned From a Difficult Day

So I raced the Brea 8k this morning and it didn't go well.  But it's mostly my fault.  I learned a great deal from this morning and have some new training ideas I want to experiment with.  So luckily I'm making light of the situation.  

     The race itself was pretty good.  The course had a great deal of hills that I didn't respect and they bit me in the ass.  Not like a kinky bite.  It was a full on chomp.  Again, also my fault.  Always respect the hills.  I had some pretty awesome competition to go up against, which I haven't had much of for a while.  Finally decided to step up with some of the big dogs.

    The race started out quick and I settled in with the lead pack.  Despite a warning from one of my new Cal Coast teammates Roosevelt Cook (who finished 2nd), I was antsy and jumped into the lead and surged a bunch for the first 2 miles.  I decided I was going to try to drop everyone at the start of the main long hill (2 miles in), so I put in a huge surge.  Which didn't work.  I died.  Another of my new Cal Coast teammates (one who got 3rd) passed me and I did everything I could to hold on for the remaining 2.5 miles.  I came in at 25:49 for 5th place, a solid minute off my PR and the slowest I'd run in a while.

    But honestly?  That's what I get for surging like an idiot high school freshman.... and also running with a bad sinus infection.  Which I knew I shouldn't have.  I'm probably going to get more sick now that I went out and ran hard this morning....

    

    So yeah.  I don't get sick very often, but when I do (see above picture) I get really bad sinus infections.  And after an intense week last week in PT school, my body clearly was toasted.  Friday night my sinuses started closing, my throat started getting raw, phlegm was building up like crazy and I was generally feeling pretty crappy.  But I raced anyway.  Why?  Because I'm an idiot.

     Ok.  So I'm not a total idiot.  Just a partial one.  I wanted to come out and race for the new club I am now a member of:  The Cal Coast Track Club.  You're probably seeing a new banner on the right side of my blog.  I was excited to represent them for the first time and I wasn't going to let a sinus infection stop me.  I'll come back healthy in the future and do awesome things for them.  It's awesome getting to race alongside people like Roosevelt Cook, who is a very fast runner that is much more accomplished than I.  He mentioned a few stories racing some of the best people in the country, including Bernard Lagat in the mile (he ran 4:05 while Bernard ran 3:55 something, but they're both still really fast).  Roosevelt is just a little bit away from hitting the B-Standard for the Olympic Trials in the Marathon.  I will definitely be rooting for him.  He's also the one that tried to calm me down at the beginning of the race, but like usual I didn't listen, took things out really hard at about mile one and then you know the rest.

    So a couple good things did happen this morning.  It was really nice to meet and be a part of that group.  Plus I got a good tempo effort in as 5:11 pace is around my tempo pace and I usually do 5 miles for my tempos.  So it all worked out.  Plus my real focus is next weekend winning the Dairy Aire 5k, which like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts is part of the Triple Crown, which I am trying to triple win.  So far so good.  One more race to go.

Oh.  Those lessons.

1.  Be patient and don't be a dumbass.  That second part is something I should have learned from my college coach from UPS.  My nickname was dumbass if you didn't know (it was mostly "Kleiner", but "Dumbass" was a close second).  Because I did a lot of stupid stuff and asked a lot of questions because I was really curious about training and was working way too hard to run fast.  I couldn't wait to push the pace during this race and I started pushing it at mile 1.  I know from experience that I don't run races well that go out really hard and where I surge a great deal.  My best races start with me running fast and relaxed the first part and basically doing a progression run during the race.  Slowly increase the pace until I'm going balls out at the end.  Instead of just trying to hang on.

2.  Relax.  I run fastest when I run relaxed.  My previous 8k PR of 24:51 was set while I running "Fast and Relaxed" (another favorite expression of my college coach).  It was at the 2012 NCAA DIII West Regional Championships where I started out in dead last and worked my way all the way up to 10th place.  This  also qualified me for DIII Nats, which I had the pleasure of attending with another sinus infection.  During the Brea 8k, I was great the first mile, but then I got antsy and surged a bunch.  Fatigue set in and I never recovered.  I need to learn to stay relax during races so I can focus on good mechanics.  That'll take work.  My form is still a work in progress.

3.  I need to work on my basic athleticism.  This was a thought that went through my head.  I'm not an athletic person.  I can just run because I've worked at it for many years.  And I've worked very hard.  Too hard.  Many of the best runners started off in another sport that tended to develop their overall athleticism.  I'm going to be adding in more plyometric stuff and will be working on my general leg strength quite a bit more.  Let the exercise experimenting begin (or continue.  It's never really stopped with me).

4.  I need to be doing more set workouts.  The Fartleks are nice, but I may start just doing those during normal runs.  I need to be doing more Hill In/Outs, Sprints, 400s, etc.  Today I guess can count for a good tempo run.  I'm need to find a track somewhere because another favorite workout of mine is doing a 4-5 mile Strider workout (sprint the straight, run the turn).  That's essentially a In/Out workout if done right.  I'll find a place to do that.  And I also need to run more workouts with John as he pushes me really hard during the short stuff.  He has much more leg speed than I do.

     So yeah!  The future looks bright despite the storm today.  At least I got a 1st place Age Group medal.  I'm excited to be part of the Cal Coast track club.  They're a really fun group.  I can't thank Ford Fuji for having me along.

     This race probably didn't look good, so if Saucony and Skechers don't consider me I'm not surprised.  Since Cal Coast is sponsored by Asics, I'm going to look into them to see what kinda of sponsorship they offer through the team.  I know it sounds like I'm just a free gear/footwear whore (which I am) but PT school is expensive!  Free stuff is always good.

   Back to studying now.

Thanks for reading!

As always, my thoughts are my own.

Tack On!

-Matthew Klein, SPT

*UPDATE: While I did not win the individual title, apparently I helped lead the Cal Coast Open team to the Open Division team victory.  Glad to be part of a team again.

Kleinbars: The Secret Recipe REVEALED!

Alright.  I'm going to reveal a secret today.

    Many of you are aware of the energy bars that I make.  I call them "Kleinbars", because that is the level of creativity I am capable of in regards to naming things.

    These have evolved over the years.  In the beginning, they tasted like shit.  Why?  Because I didn't add any water and they were basically bricks with chocolate chips and dried fruit.  Then I added water and Kleinbars became an actual energy bar that people would eat (by people I mean my housemates and other team members from the UPS XC and track teams that were forced to eat them at our weekly Pie/Desert-Night).  Then I thought, "What if I put pure cocoa in them?  I have an undiagnosed addiction to chocolate, so more must be better right?"  No.  I put too much cocoa in them and that batch tasted like dirt.  Kleinbars Chocolate Dirt flavor, which was quickly pulled from the market.  And by pulled from the market I mean I sadly and slowly ate them all by myself over several weeks because no one would touch them.  Even the Tacoma raccoons wouldn't touch them.  I put them outside and those creatures looked at me through the window with an expression that said, "What the **** is this?  You want me to eat that?  Hell no."  So the cocoa powder was removed from the recipe.  That is not a good way to end an introduction into a food recipe.  Further tweaking was undertaken (especially after the cocoa incident) to what they are today:  Full Blown Awesome Energy Bars.

     Kleinbars were designed to be both a pre-run and post-run snack.  They have a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, which is in the realm of the post-exercise carb:protein ratio that you want for optimal recovery and glycogen replacement (3:1 or 4:1 are the optimal ratios taken ~30 minutes after the end of exercise).  They are also light enough on the stomach that they work well as a pre-run snack, in case you happen to be hungry before a run but don't want to mess your stomach up with a huge meal a few minutes before.

     So here is the recipe designed by yours truly.  Make sure you cook them because the recipe does call for eggs.

Ingredients

     -3 Cups Rolled Oats
     -3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
     -3 Eggs
     -1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
     -2 servings of Whey Protein Powder (whatever GOOD kind you want)
     -1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (Get the GOOD kinds.  IE not the crap kinds with Hydrogenated Oils in them)
     -1.5 Tbsp Canola Oil
     -1 Cup Chocolate Chips (Again, get the good kinds.  No Hydrogenated Oils)
                 -You can use Milk, Semi-Sweet, Dark, White Chocolate, etc.  Whatever you want.
     -1 Cup Dried Fruit (Any kind you want.  This is optional)
     -1 Dash of Salt (Just a little bit)
     -1/2-1 Cup of water (Depending on how dry you want them)

Directions

     -Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  
     -Lightly coat a 12"x 8" (ish) baking pan with cooking spray (so they don't stick)
     -Mix all ingredients together until combined
     -Press batter into the baking pan evenly.
     -Bake for 20-25 minutes (NOT TOO LONG or you will be enjoying homemade bricks)
      -They will be lightly golden brown when ready.
     -Cool and cut into 24 squares.
     -Enjoy your Kleinbars.  

Nutritional Information 

Per Single Serving (Approx): 195 Kcals, 7 grams fat, 26 carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, 3 grams fiber.   (26:7 carbohydrate to protein ratio or 3.7:1 ratio.  Close enough).  

Per Batch:  4680 kilocalories, 168 grams fat, 624 grams carbohydrate, 168 grams protein and 72 grams fiber.  

If you do add cocoa powder, don't add too much.  They will taste like dirt.  I promise you.

     So there you have it.  The secret has been revealed.  I hope you enjoy them. I'm learning that as I get older, I enjoy cooking more and more because each time is a little experiment.  I have a few more recipes I'm working on that I'll post soon.  One is a Kleinbar alternative made by my good friend and DPT-student buddy Dan's fiancee Cindy, who is a wonderful and awesome Dietitian.  Another is one that I call "Kleinbites", which are small bite sized energy snacks.  The Kleinbites need some tweaking before I post the recipe, but they are really good.

Again I hope you enjoy the Kleinbars recipe!

Thanks for reading!

As always, my opinions are my own.

Tack On!!!

-Matthew Klein, SPT

Training and Life Update 2/21/14

Hello!

    Since I plan to have this as a physical therapy, running, training, shoe review and more type of blog, I'm going to branch out from only doing shoe reviews (as I have been doing the last few weeks).

    Life has been going pretty well the last few weeks.  I am very deep into my 2nd semester of physical therapy school and have been trudging through the first few midterms.  This week I successfully made it through our equally difficult Kinesiology exam and practical.  I am extremely inspired by my professor, Dr. Fairly, in that class.  He's basically a god to me as he is the expert manual therapy, gait, foot and footwear guy.  So it was a little intimidating having him critique me on the practical.  Luckily I was paired up with my awesome friend Noelle, with whom I had practiced a great deal with the day before.  Because we suspected we would be partners, despite everyone telling us otherwise.  So that worked out well!  Got my highest practical grade yet!  Now I have to just make it through the next several weeks until spring break.  By make it I am referring to the fact that I have at least one major exam every week until then.  No rest for the weary.

   Training has been pretty awesome.  At my first physical therapy conference at the 2014 CSM (combined sections meeting) a few weeks ago, I made contact with a fellow UPS alumni and awesome runner for the Asics Aggies Kota Reichert.  It was inspiring to go for a run with him during the conference (a fairly quick 9 miles after a tired but fast 4 mile uphill tempo early that morning around 5am).  We talked a great deal and he mentioned In/Out workouts, which I'd never really considered before but have been integrating into my training.  Mostly in the form of hill workouts.  IE 1:00 min hard uphill with 1:10 to get back down the hill and start again.  Doing about 8 of those.  The first session I ended up averaging 5:33 pace for a little over 5K (3.2 miles).  It hurt, but in a good way.  Since my favorite workout is the Fartlek, I've tried to integrate this type of training into that by trying to keep the off session at a fairly decent pace.  I still have not done set distance intervals for a while.  I find it so much easier to get Fartleks in multiple times a week by having the workout during a normal run rather than a set loop.  I've still been running very quick during the workouts, doing things like 15-18x1min ON 1min OFF or doing informal fartleks to forget about specific time and focus on form.

    My form work has continued as well.  I know there is still a long road ahead, but I've made some good strides (no pun intended) working on hip extension and controlling my crazy arm swing.  I learned some new things about the best exercises for the glute medius and max recruitment and have been modifying those working on my glute max strength especially (the main hip extensor).  These exercises include high step ups, single leg squat touches and more.  This combined with some tweaks in my nutrition (adding in more healthy fats for a more balanced diet) seems to have contributed to me feeling much better during runs.  Enough that I have not had a run average over 6:35 pace for about 2 weeks.  Almost every normal run is in the 6:10-6:15 pace range and that is fairly comfortable.  I pushed a 9.52 mile run at 5:55 pace and even that felt pretty good!  This has been really awesome because I've been able to get more miles in without more time infringing on my studies! Also I've been integrating a little bit of POSE form back in.  Not in a major way but just some of the things I used to work on my form back during the summer before my sophomore year of college.

An example of my horrible arm swing an mechanics at the 2014 Run For Russ 5k.  Which I still won in 15:23.  This is before I started working on my form again.  

   I added 3 mile night runs back into my training just to shake my brain out after long school days.  Also to get some more fast mileage in.  I wear my Brooks T7s on these runs and I push them pretty hard.  My fastest one so far has been 3.1 miles in 16:54 (5:27 pace average) and all of them have been under 5:50 pace.  That's with a 6:00-6:30ish first mile and then moving.  It takes less than 20 minutes for a nice run break and then I'm back to studying.

   Racing has also been going decently.  Three weeks ago I won the 2014 Run for Russ in 15:23 which is awesome considering I trained through it.  My training buddy John Barker PR'd and then we did a hard Fartlek right after just to get some extra work in.  I've done a second workout after every race except my half marathon this year and plan to continue doing that to try to get better.  A week ago I won the 2014 Anaheim Semper 5k in 15:48 on a very hilly course that I measured at +3.2 miles.  I was pretty excited to run that there as I had been working on my form and my pace had really increased early that week.  Also they gave out a pretty awesome first prize.

Picture from the 2014 Anaheim Semper 5k that I won in 15:48 on a long (3.2 mile) and hilly course.  Lower extremity form is better, but that arm swing still needs work.  Granted my left arm is like that because I'm pointing to the way I think I'm supposed to go for confirmation from a race official.  That part wasn't marked well.....

   Coming up on Sunday 2/23/14 I'm racing the Brea 8k.  Since I'm doing 3 races in three weeks (also doing the Dairy Aire 5k next weekend.  If I win that I'll have won all three of the Chino Triple Crown races.  The 2013 Reindeer Romp 5k and the 2014 Run for Russ 5k were the first two), I'm only doing a few workouts per week.  I'll probably be wearing a Cal Coast jersey and am hoping that if I win this I'll get some recognition from footwear companies.  Also it'll be a nice longer effort compared to the 5ks I've been doing. Even if I don't win it'll be nice to have some really good competition as that race has been very quick in the past.  Next week I'll be racing the 2014 Dairy Aire 5k going for a Triple Crown win (as I mentioned early).  If they have an accurate course I may have a shot at a PR since Chino, CA is completely flat.  And it should be relatively accurate since it's USATF certified.  However I've learned that certification is relative after the 2014 Ontario Mills 5k that I won in a slow time that I later learned was due to the course being much longer than a 5k.  Certification?  Yeah right.

    Speaking of footwear companies, I haven't heard anything from the Saucony Hurricane program.  I'm not totally discouraged (even though this last week was the time that athletes have heard from them in the past) because I haven't seen anyone else post anything on the internet about being accepted.  So maybe they're just taking a bit longer.  However I also submitted my application to the Skechers Performance Elite team just as another option.  I figure I'll wait it out for a bit and see who gets to me first.  If nothing happens I'll review my options from there.  If Cal Coast does not have an elite team with sponsorship I may have to head over to check out the Snail's Pace Racing Team to see what kind of benefits they get from New Balance.

Yep.  I got one of these for free.  I cannot thank Brian Brown and the wonderful people at Elliptigo enough for this wonderful opportunity.  

    So that is what's going on in my life.  I'll keep this blog up and we'll see where my future takes me.  Also..... I won an Elliptigo 8C at that 2014 CSM conference I mentioned (as you can see above).  I know this is completely random to throw in at the end here.  But it's awesome.  I'll have a review up soon.  I've made fun of people who ride these things for years and I take it all back.  If you haven't tried an Elliptigo yet, find one.  They are sooooooo awesome.  Seriously.  You feel like a badass riding one.  At least I do.  It has become a great tool that also gives me a huge piece of mind just in case I get injured.  Having this tool is insurance that I will be able to maintain my running fitness, my mechanics and still get outside in that event.

   So things are going to get pretty interesting!!  I'm hoping for some big things in the next few weeks and I hope you'll check back in!

Thanks for reading!

As always, my opinions are my own.

Tack On!!!

-Matthew Klein, SPT

Mizuno Wave Sayonara Review

Once upon a time I was a die-hard minimalist runner and refused to train in anything with a heel-toe drop of more than about 5mm.  The Mizuno Wave Sayonara was the shoe that pushed me to being open to different shoes regardless of heel-toe drop.  I liked it so much I picked up a pair after trying them on and did a very hard Fartlek workout in them on my first run.  So much for breaking the shoes in.

As you can probably tell, we have the Mizuno Wave Sayonara on deck for a review!

    The Mizuno Wave Sayonara is a lightweight trainer that took the place of the Precision and the Elixir.  It is listed at 8.1 ounces and supposedly has a 10mm drop.  It was one of Mizuno's first shoes to debut their new U4ic midsole that is now in all or almost all of their shoes.

   Before I started training in this shoe I was wearing the Mizuno Wave Cursoris.  You know.  One of Mizuno's full on dives into the zero-drop market.  Which is now being taken off the US market.  However the Cursoris 2 and Levitas 2 are available now in Europe and Asia.  So if you're over there, check them out and tell me how they are.  Anyway, I was training in the Cursoris and was getting really tired of how the soles got torn off after about ~120 miles of use (that durability in the forefoot was horrible.  As I've said before, I am hard on shoes).  Right then Mizuno came out with the Sayonara and people were raving about it.  I tried a pair on during a quite moment while working at Foot Traffic and I was very surprised.  Surprised enough that I immediately bought them.  

     First what blew me away was how well they fit.  I'm very picky on the forefoot and toe box fit of shoes.  Having them too narrow is a major turn-off for me.  And that was one of many reasons I had been steering clear of traditional shoes, even with a nagging on and off peroneal injury that I kept running through (pressure was taken off that with higher drop shoes for me).  These had a very good fit in the forefoot.  I know the term "fits like a glove" is overused, but that's how they fit.  The upper is a little stiff, but has the combination of holding your foot down well and having a spacious fit.  The stiffness of the upper does break in a bit and form to your foot as you put more miles on the Sayonaras.  Even after breaking in, the upper remains very durable and I have not seen any tearing or wear in the +200 miles I'm put on them.  The midfoot and heel is on the narrow side in a way that will REALLY grip your foot.  Not uncomfortably so for me, instead in a good kind of "Lockdown" way.  I never had to worry about heel slippage in the Sayonaras, although I still did a lace lock because it's just a habit.  For those of you with narrow feet, you'll like these shoes through the heel and midfoot, then if you like a wide forefoot, you'll like them even more.  For those with wide feet, the midfoot and heel may be a bit snug.  The forefoot will feel fine though.  Again, that forefoot width is awesome.  Speaking of fit, these shoes fit about a half size big, so take that into consideration and go try them on at your local running specialty store.  

     That heel-toe drop obsession that I mentioned early?  The amount in the Wave Sayonara feels like 8mm to me despite the measurements of it being about a 9-10mm drop.  I felt it, but it didn't bother me.  Why?  Because these shoes are VERY responsive.  These are not cushioned trainers at all.  Do they protect your feet from the road?  Yes.  Would they work as a half/marathon racer?  Definitely yes.  I personally would opt for something lighter, but this would make an awesome long distance racing shoe.   This shoe has a ton of pop and I have very much enjoyed using it for tempos and fartlek workouts.  Should I have run my first half marathon in this shoe?  Maybe.  But I was Brooks crazed and only want to train in their gear because I was hoping to be sponsored by them.  Personally I think this shoe is much better than the Brooks Racer ST5.  The drop is lower, the shoe is lighter and there is more pop thanks to that amazing U4ic midsole.  And despite being lighter, the shoe does feel as if it has more protection, which may just be due to the lower heel drop and more material under the forefoot.  Every time I ran in the Mizuno Wave Sayonara I wanted to run really fast.  These shoes don't do recovery runs.  I mean.... they do, but they'll kick and scream a bit before giving in.  Not literally.  That would be freaky.  I don't think I would run in a shoe that actually kicked and screamed at me.  I have run very slow, tired and sore runs in them and they have done fine (I've only done a few of those though).  Really the Sayonaras are meant to go fast.  The sole is fairly firm and remains that way.  Not racing flat bone crushing firm, but responsive/protective firm.  

     I'm pretty happy with what Mizuno has done with the sole of the Wave Sayonara.  It almost has full ground contact, which Mizuno is generally not good about.  Like Asics, they like separating out the forefoot and heel, which I have problems with since I suspect that leads to a bend in the midfoot which could lead to some plantar fascia issues.  I have no study to back that statement up, only personal observations of hundreds of customers and runners working in running retail and biomechanics knowledge as a DPT student.  It's just a hypothesis at this point.  Mizuno has done better with that (that little lateral midfoot section could use some work) in the Sayonara.  The G3 sole pattern on the Sayonara is both very durable and grips the road very well. I have never had any slipping issues in this shoe (like other shoes.. cough pureproject shoes cough) and the sole provides an awesome base from which to push off from when running fast.  The black rubber on the shoe in the heel and the lateral forefoot is super durable.  Over the +200 miles I have on my pair, there is next to zero wear there.  So expect (from an outsole durability standpoint) these shoes to last a long time.   

     As the Sayonara is a replacement for the Precision and Elixir, Mizuno put some mild support elements in the medial heel to provide just a but more of a stable platform.  It is still listed as a neutral shoe, but know that those who need some support will get it from this shoe.  This comes both from the wave plate in the heel  as well as a fairly firm and narrow heel fit.  So again you can see why this would be a great choice for a long distance marathon/half marathon racing shoe for those who need just a bit more shoe.  Although granted the Adidas Adios/Adios Boost only weighs a few tenths of an ounce lighter.  So it's not that much more of a shoe.

    One of my few problems with the Sayonara is how stiff the actual heel is underfoot.  The forefoot is responsive and has some flexibility, but the heel has next to none.  So if you are a heel striker or someone who hammers down on their heel when they are tired (me), this shoe may not be the best option for you.  The lack of flexibility back there gives it a bit of a jarring sensation if you land really hard.  If you are a mild heel striker, midfoot or forefoot striker, these will be fine for training.  Heel strikers may want to save these for workouts or races.  

    Other than the heel inflexibility issue (which prior to Mizuno's current line, ie the Inspire 10, Rider 16, Paradox, etc was pretty common for their trainers.  Things have changed) I really like this shoe.  If you like a lightweight trainer with a wide forefoot, narrow midfoot/heel, that is very responsive, the Mizuno Wave Sayonara is your shoe.  It's great for workouts, uptempo runs and even racing.  That and it's a fairly durable shoe.  If nothing else try them on and tell me what you think!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to Tack On!

These shoes were a personal purchase and as always, my views are my own.  

-Matt Klein, SPT

*Images obtained from the Mizuno Running website.  Again, go down to your local running specialty retailer to check them out!

Mizuno Wave Universe 5 Review

Finally time for a non-Brooks shoe review.  I love the Wave Universe series so much.  I really do.  And I will start it off by saying that the Universe 5 is my favorite racing shoe of all time (thus far).

    On deck we have the Mizuno Wave Universe 5.  This is Mizuno's 5k/10k racing flat that comes in at an amazing 2.8 ounces.  This shoe has a 2mm drop according to Running Warehouse (feels flat to me) and a none-removable insole.

    As of now the Wave Universe series has retaken the "lightest racing flat" award back from the New Balance RC5000.  The series is named as such because they are supposed to be the "Lightest Racing Shoes in the Universe" (obviously ignoring any alien races who also happen to run that have created an even lighter shoe that we are not aware of).

    I have a great deal of history with this series.  I have worn the Wave Universe 3, 4 and 5 and have loved each one.  The Wave Universe 3 and Saucony Type A4 were my introductions to minimalist running as I trained in both of them for some time (and loved both of them).  I have raced in all three Universes extensively and have done many workouts in the 3s and 4s.  The 5s I have saved for racing due to a couple reasons I will get into.

   So yeah.  A 2.8 racing flat.  It feels like there is nothing on your feet.  Almost.  The sole is surprisingly cushioned ("cushioned" being an extremely relative term) for how little there is there.  And they are responsive.  REALLY responsive.  The first time I raced in these I set my 5k road PR in 14:45.  That was of course a week before I my peak race at the BAC 5k last summer, which I kinda bombed because I went out too hard with the Kenyans and Ethiopians.  That and I hadn't fully recovered from my PR race (also I'm an idiot, got excited and did too many hard workouts during my peak week).

See how flat that heel drop is??

    These shoes feel really good.  They disappear off your feet and you totally forget about everything down there except how much pop you're getting flying down the road (or track if that's what you're into).  And they feel at or close to zero drop in terms of the heel-toe drop.  So be prepared that if you are not used to running in very low drop shoes, these will wreck your calves.  The Wave Universe 3 and 4 had some drop (4-6mm) to give you some (not much) achilles protection.  These have next to none.  It's like running in a track spike.  The U4ic midsole is very responsive and this is the closest thing I've felt to a track spike for the road.

   And the upper?  A minimalist's dream.  The toebox is non-constricting, fairly wide for a racing shoe (like all the Wave Universes) and the upper is barely there.  In racing conditions I was very nervous about this, but found that when I tied the laces down tight, I had very little to worry about.  Would I like a little more structured upper?  Yes.  I like the midfoot to have some lock down.  But I cannot complain as there is no heel counter and thus nothing to irritate my calcaneus.  Also it's 2.8 ounces.  I don't think they have much more to take out before the shoe falls apart after one race.  So yeah.  I'll shut up about that.

   On a side note, I have not raced sockless in these yet, but wearing them around the house without socks has caused no ill effects.  I'll go hammer out another race soon in the Universe 5 as my achilles is getting used to being in low drop shoes again.  I'll see where I'm at next Saturday and report back with the sockless details. 

    Mizuno did put some strategically placed material (called G3 Sole) to give some traction and bite the road (see the picture above).  Which it totally does.  I have never had to worry about traction in these as they grip the road very well.  The Wave Universe 3 and 4 had decent traction, but this new sole is awesome for the most part.  I do have one problem.

   And that problem?  Outsole durability.  Yeah..... It's not good.  I have 5 races in them with about 20 miles total and the wear is significant.  Yes I get it.  The shoe weighs 2.8 ounces and there is barely anything there.   But for $125 I would hope for some kind of durability.  Which I guess is in the upper.  I'm surprised that with how little upper there is that it has absolutely no rips, tears or any signs of wear compared to the sole.  They seem to be going strong so far despite the outsole wear.  I guess you're paying for the light weight and super responsiveness.  So that's why I keep them for race day only.  But that's really the only problem I have with them and I'm pretty hard on shoes.

  So that is the Mizuno Wave Universe 5.  This is my all time favorite racing shoe.  Not the best durability, but it is a FAST shoe.  I still cannot believe how much relative protection it has for how little shoe is there.

   If nothing else, go try them on.  This shoe is for anyone who wants to run insanely fast over the 5k (maybe 10k).  I would not try them over 10k unless you are a seasoned minimalist runner.  If you are a minimalist runner, you will especially like this shoe.  I started racing in them when I was training in the 6oz Brooks Puredrift.  At 2.8 ounces, there are only a handful of shoes that you could train in where you wouldn't notice the weight step down on race day.

   Give them a shot and go fly down the road.

Thanks for reading!

As always, my opinions are my own*.

Tack On!!

-Matt Klein, SPT

*Shoes were provided free of charge from the Foot Traffic Mizuno Rep Ben Evans.  Because I was bothering him for a free pair.  Thank you Ben!

*Images obtained from the Mizuno Running website.  Go down to your local retailer to check them out!