The DairyAire 5k, Triple Crown and Quick Update

Quick update!

   I won the DairyAire 5k in 15:14 (RESULTS).  It was a great race put on by wonderful people.  The course was almost totally flat but had some 2 complete 180 turns and a couple sharps turns.  The race director and the volunteers were cheering me on by my first name, because they knew me from winning the Reindeer Romp 5k and the Run for Russ 5k.  The DairyAire 5k was the final leg of the Chino Triple Crown and I very proud to have taken home victories in all three races.  I didn't really have any competition out there during the DairyAire race (lots of potential and talent out there though!!), but it was awesome to know that I can run a 15:14 completely solo.  Honestly it felt more like a hard tempo effort, which is awesome.  Now I just have to work on my speed to get myself running comfortably around 4:40 to 4:45 per mile pace so I can go sub 15 again.

   My racing shoe of choice was again the Mizuno Wave Universe 4.  Not the 5, the 4.  I love this shoe so much because it's a sub-4 ounce shoe but it still has some protection to it.  There is a 4-5mm heel drop that will save your achilles and calf muscles a bit but still let you run really fast.  Luckily my pair has a ton of life left on it, but I'm eyeing a pair of orange MWU 4s on Amazon that are $45.  I might have to splurge for those before they disappear (the MWU 4s originally retailed for $120).  The MWU 5s are a little intense for me right now.  When I get my feet strong enough I'll probably pull them out for another 5k.  Or when I start getting to some of the bigger races.  But I still may go with the 4s because that little bit of extra protection may just pay off in the last mile when shit starts to hit the fan.

   I also got a nice 22 miler in this morning with my training partner and good friend John Barker.  I've wanted to run from my apartment (next to Western University of Health Sciences) all the way to the Ontario Airport and back for a while.  Today just happened to be that day where we jumped on 1st street and headed east.  9-10 miles later we looked north and realized we were right next to the airport!  Then we kept going to explore the area.  Definitely a Tack On day.  

I won a bottle of milk and a wreath.  Triple Crown!!

    The next few weeks are probably going to be quiet in terms of racing.  I'm going to try to get some good hard workouts in including my hill In/Outs, 6x1000m and 10x400 hard.  I'll through some tempos and fartleks in there somewhere.  My next race is definitely going to be the Spirit Run 5k on March 23rd with Cal Coast and then I'm thinking about doing the Carlsbad 5000.  I've wanted to do that race for the last several years and never thought I'd be living close enough to do it!  Plus it's at the end of my spring break, so I have no excuse not to race it.

   So that's all for now.  I'm going to buckle down for the next couple weeks as Midterms really ramp up and just try to survive.  And run faster.

Thanks for reading!

As always, my opinions are my own!

Tack On!

-Matthew Klein, SPT 

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!