TrailStompers.com: San Francisco Bay Area Trail Running

Gear Review: Nathan HPL #020 Hydration Vest 07/11/2011

OK, I have to be honest: I hate wearing or carrying things while running. The longer the distance, the more it bugs me. The first time I tried carrying hand-bottles I wanted to throw them in the woods after 5 miles. I tried my old Camelbak and it felt like I was giving a piggy-back ride to a fidgety 5-year-old child that had filled up on Slurpees. I put up with a waist-belt on long runs because it seems like the lesser of a few evils. However, prompted by a solo 30-mile run I was planning for last weekend, I finally broke down and blew $80 on a Nathan HPL #020 hydration vest. I have to say that this little pack has changed my mind about hydration packs.

First and foremost, this thing is darn comfortable. Even when the bladder is full (2 liters) and the pack is crammed with PowerBars, the suspension system makes the load almost unnoticeable. Honestly. I didn't believe it either, until the end of the 30-miler when I realized that I had absolutely no chafing or discomfort from this pack. One major reason for this is that the straps are highly adjustable for the perfect fit. Also, the chest strap has just enough elastic built in such that the strap expands with your breathing. You don't feel confined or "strapped in."

Now here's the really cool part. The front of the pack is a full-fledged Nathan running vest. It has very useful pockets and pouches that are easily accessible while running. Although the little pockets look small, I was easily able to fit the following: 1 Blackberry smartphone, 3 GU's, and 2 PowerBars. (This is in addition to the storage in the rear pack.) Also, the drinking tube clips in to the chest strap when not in use so you don't have to deal with the mouthpiece banging against your chest the entire run. Speaking of the drinking tube, another nice feature is that you can route the tube over either shoulder, in order to customize the pack for your liking.

One thing I should note: There is not that much storage capacity in this pack. If you want to carry along a change of clothes, extra pair of shoes, and a Subway footlong, this pack is not for you. However, Nathan now has a complete line of packs, from tiny minimal packs to larger daypacks.

Overall I highly recommend this pack if you are looking for a new accessory to extend your runs. For more information, visit: www.nathansports.com.

Back on the Poto 06/18/2011

So I'm back in Michigan and I did the 18-mile Potawatomi Trail yesterday. According to SeriousRunning.com it's the 23rd best trail run in the United States . I don't know about that, but it is quite nice. Given that it's Michigan, there are no big hills. But, it is a shaded rolling singletrack through densely wooded forest. Luckily, it's shaded most of the way. Plus, there is a hand pump for water at about mile 11 or so. The only problem is that you have to deal with near head-on collisions from crazy mountain bikers.

If you're not up for the full 18-mile loop there are shorter loops as well, ranging from a few miles up to the full 18-miles. There's also the 35-mile Pinckney-Waterloo trail, which would be a good challenge someday.

The trail is located in the Pinckney State Recreation Area. For more information check out the official website.

Gear review: Brooks Adrenaline ASR 7 01/19/2011

Two words: "IMPULSE BUY". I hadn't planned on picking up a new pair of trail shoes, but they just looked so shiny and so downright, um, dare I say *sexy* sitting there at Sports Basement. And once I tried them on I knew I had to take them home.

Since I'm a dedicated Asics guy, I can't compare these shoes to any other previous Brooks models. But, once I tried them on, I made a few immediate observations:

Even though I bought the medium width (13D), they are definitely pretty narrow, especially at the forefoot. Now, for me that's perfect, because I have very narrow feet. However, I get the feeling that people with "normal" feet may need to get the "wide" version.
The shoes seem to be on the minimalist side. They are supportive, but lower-profile and much less cushy than other shoes. This makes them light and responsive, but some people might feel the impact from the trail more than they like.
The lacing system is great! They actually feel more snug and secure than my beloved Asics.

But the real question is, how do they perform on the trail? Well, I've put about 84 miles on these shoes (according to the trusty training log) including one 20-miler. Here are my observations:

PROS:

This shoe does feel light and responsive!
The shoe's lacing system and upper fit like a glove. No blisters or hot spots, and pressure seems evenly distributed around the foot.
Personally, I like the lower-profile minimalist feel.
They look really cool!

CONS:

The sole. Boy, it looks cool, doesn't it? However, the traction on wet rocks, roots, and wooden bridges is not very good, as compared to the Asics 2140/50/60 soles. I believe it is because of the harder rubber material used on the Brooks. It just doesn't grip very well on wet surfaces. Also, the deep grooves really collect mud and debris.
The lower-profile minimalist feel. Yes, it's true that I also listed it as a "PRO" above. But, for some people it may be a "CON." After the 20-miler, my knees definitely ached more than they would with a more cushy shoe.

The verdict? Overall, despite the negatives, I still love this shoe. It may not be the best shoe for the super long-distance ultra-runner, but it's a great shoe if you are looking for a more minimal, great-fitting shoe for 10-20 mile trail runs. And, it really looks cool... :)

-c

A study showing shoes = bad 01/06/2011

Here's a great study that was conducted on 2300 children between the ages of 4 and 13. The purpose was to determine if there was a link between wearing shoes and developing flat feet. The conclusions were:

"...The incidence [of flat foot] among children who used footwear was 8.6% compared with 2.8% in those who did not ... Flat foot was most common in children who wore closed-toe shoes, less common in those who wore sandals or slippers, and least in the unshod. Our findings suggest that shoe-wearing in early childhood is detrimental to the development of a normal
longitudinal arch...

Click here for the complete article!

I'm back on the Vibram Five-Fingers! 01/06/2011

I just couldn't do it... I gave up the FF's after a tear in my right foot. But, after months of recovery, things are back to normal. And, barefoot running is just too fun. It's like being a kid again, just running around and having fun! But here are a few things I learned from my injury:

If you feel a shooting pain in your foot - STOP! Don't run another 2 miles until the pain is excruciating (like me...)
Be very careful when running in the Vibrams... Now I focus on track or road running with the Vibrams, or trails that are very smooth. I'm also more careful where I step.
Just don't push it too hard!

Happy running!

Vibram Five Fingers: The end of a love affair... 08/30/2010

Well, all good things have to come to an end. And three weeks ago, my love affair died. Well, it actually tore. It was a beautiful morning at Rancho, and I was out for a run with the Five-Fingers. About 2 miles into the run, something went haywire in my right foot. I had to walk back out, with excruciating pain shooting from the top of my foot all of the way up the back of my leg. The X-rays showed that nothing was broken, but some ligaments were obviously severely strained. The culprit? The damn Five-Fingers. When I went to see my doctor, he gave me the "I told you so" lecture, as previously he had told me that it wasn't prudent to run without proper shoes.

And so it goes, and a love affair dies. Unfortunately, it is worse than a relationship break-up because I am left with physical damage as well as the emotional scars. Hopefully things will heal soon, but as for the Five-Fingers, they are off to the landfill to rot along with the Chia Pets, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Furbies, and other fads from a past generation...

Moccasins for running 05/08/2010

Today on the run I learned about a new minimalist running shoe: the RunAmoc from Soft Star Shoes. This running moccasin is designed and handmade in Oregon, and comes in a road and trail version. Watch out Five-Fingers, the RunAmoc could be the next best thing since sliced bread!

RunAmoc's can be ordered directly from Soft Star Shoes or from a local store. See the website for details.

Race Report: Quicksilver "55k" 05/08/2010

What is the Quicksilver "55k", you may ask? Is it a new event? Well, sort-of. Let's just say that today I unintentionally ran the longest distance of my life because of two unicyclists...

The day started out quite early. I woke up at 3 am and, realizing that I had get up at 4 am, couldn't get back to sleep. So I hung out in bed until NPR started blaring at 4 am. Some interview with Craig (from Craigslist) and another guy trying to educate women around the globe. Admirable. I got up, went through the morning ritual, and ate some PBJ. Out the door at 4:50, I headed down to Almaden to meet Bill at 5:15 a few blocks from Almaden Quicksilver. We made it to the park a little after 5:20 and managed to snag the third-to-the-last parking spot. At this point, there was only the faint glow of morning on the horizon. We picked up our numbers and then I set off to wait in the bathroom line. Seriously, who only puts one stall in a bathroom?? It was soon 5:45, and time to get ready. We lined up at about 5:55 and then 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..GO!

The first few miles of the race are brutal. You run up about 1000 feet very steeply, and then descend almost all of the way back to the car. But, it wasn't too bad as Bill and I held a pretty easy pace. It was then on to the New Almaden Trail, about 6 miles of challenging rolling singletrack. I soon found myself alone and cranked up the iPod. I was just starting to get a queasy feeling in my stomach and question why I was doing this when I happened to start listening to a new episode of RadioLab. Coincidentally enough, the topic was people who push themselves to their limits. They interviewed some IronMan finishers, Race Across America (3000-mile bike race) finishers, and other six-sigma people. Needless to say, this gave me just the kick-in-the-butt that I needed! I had soon reached the end of the New Almaden Trail and the other end of the park. The stomach was still a bit queasy but just then I remembered the TUMS that I had brought along. This was my first time trying TUMS during a race and just let me say, I'm hooked. I popped one or two every 30 minutes or so for the rest of the race to keep the stomach under control. Highly recommended! After a moderate climb, the race then turned onto the Randol Trail, which is one of the flattest trails in the park (comparatively speaking, that is) and I was soon at the halfway point. My time was well under 3 hours, and I started getting excited for a decent finish. The race then turned up to begin the next climb. Sadly, this is where things went terribly wrong...

As I was climbing up the trail, I came up behind two mountain-unicyclists. Yes, you read correctly. These two people apparently felt that having two wheels was for pansies and were unicycling up one of the harder climbs in the park. As I continued up the trail, I was gawking at the unique sight along with another runner, who I later found is a serious ultra-runner named Donald who was doing the 50-mile. He pulled out his camera and snapped a couple of pictures of the one-wheeled-weeble-wobblers. Soon after, we passed by an aid station that was just being set up. Hmmm, that was a bit strange, but - oh look - another arrow on the trail so I guess everything is OK. The arrows then guided us onto the Yellow Kid Trail which I again throught was strange because I didn't remember seeing that on the map. After a few-hundred foot climb, the trail flattened out by the old ore furnace. At this point the conversation went something like this:

Donald: "Have you run this race before?"

Carl: "No, but I've run here a lot. Why?"

Donald: "I think they changed the route this year. I don't remember this from last year."

Carl: "Well I know that we don't go by Bull Run until later so this is probably right" (Man am I dumb)

Donald: "Oh OK".

We continued descending for another 5 minutes or so, then started climbing. At this point Donald uttered the amazingly insightful words:

"There are no runners anywhere!"

With these words I actually stopped, looked around, and yes, even though we could see for miles in every direction, there were definitely no runners anywhere in sight. Oh $#%^, we're on the Hicks Road out-and-back, which the 50-milers would do later in the day. This explains the aid station that was just being set up!! There was no choice but to turn around and backtrack. As we backtracked, I was at a loss as to where we could have gone wrong... I was attentively searching for arrows the whole time... except... OH NO!!! The UNICYCLISTS!!! Sure enough, after about 10-15 minutes of backtracking we saw the turn at the exact spot where we were gawking at the one-wheelers!! (I blame all unicyclists for this and will never attend another circus.)

The rest of the run was rather uneventful: a 1000-foot climb here, a GU there, some water here, a descent there, a TUMS here, a 1500-foot climb there. Miles 28-30 (31-33 for me) are a series of very steep climbs, followed by a steep downhill to the finish!

The result: 34.5 miles in 5:45. At that pace I would have done the 50k in 5:15. GRRR! When's the next 50k??!?

-c

Check out updated photos! 04/26/2010

Visit the TrailStompers photos page for new photos of beautiful Bay Area trail runs!