Gear Review: Mizuno Wave Rider 15

15th Anniversary Edition Mizuno Wave Rider 15

When I was still running college cross-country and track, it seemed like the two most popular shoes on the team were the Nike Pegasus and Mizuno Wave Rider. To this day, the Rider is, without a doubt, one of the most popular go-to trainers among many of my serious runner friends. Last year, when I was looking for a trainer, several of my friends told me to go Rider. Unfortunately, the Rider that was available at the time was the Rider 14, the red-headed stepchild of the Rider family that strayed from everything everyone liked about the 13 and earlier. I tried it on, and immediately knew I couldn't wear that shoe...especially since the arch support seemed to dig into the front of my calcaneus (WTF???). Thankfully, Mizuno promised to return the Rider 15 to its roots, and I was again curious to try this shoe. When my friend Seth asked me if I wanted to test the Rider 15, I jumped at the opportunity.

Gear Review: Brooks PureConnect

A while ago, I posted some information on the Brooks PureProject, Brooks' entry into the reduced shoe market. When they were first announced, I was pretty unfazed, being happy with my other shoes, and mainly just satisfied that if Brooks was making other low-drop shoes, maybe that meant they'd leave the T Racer alone and not mess with that shoe's H delt. But then the more I heard about them, the more I wanted a pair! First came Sage's review of the PureFlow, then there was the PureProject Facebook contest, and then, well, I bought a pair of PureConnects. The PureProject line consists of four different shoes: the PureConnect, the PureFlow, the PureCadence, and the PureGrit. More information can be found in my previous post. Well, I've finally got some miles on the Brooks PureConnect, the most race-bred of the group, and now, it's time for a review!

Gear Review: New Balance Sure Lace

Shoe laces are something that should be super simple. All they are is a little piece of fabric rope that keeps the shoe together. It shouldn't be rocket science. Yet so many companies can't get this right. I have complained time and time and time again about laces that just don't stay tied. I've double-knotted, I've tucked the laces into themselves...doesn't matter. The bad laces always seem to come untied at the most inopportune times anyway. Like mile 15 of a marathon when the last thing I plan on doing is stopping and retying them. Obviously something so easily replaceable should never be a deterrent to buying a shoe that you otherwise love (it's like not buying a bicycle because you don't like the saddle...just replace it), but it also does no good if you replace the laces with some other pair of laces that don't stay tied. Enter the New Balance Sure Lace.

‎Molly Pritz in 2:31:52 for top American at NYCM!!

Molly Pritz just went 2:31:52 at the New York City Marathon, for 1st American and 12th overall! In her marathon debut no less too.

12 122 Pritz, Molly PA/USA 23 2:31:52 +08:37.12 5:48


Flotrack video after the break.

Picture courtesy of Runner's World

No One Perfect Way to Run

The latest article to sweep the running world is Christopher McDougall's New York Times article and video on how to run. The article is harmless enough...obviously it's skewed towards McDougall's way of thinking, and like any opinion piece, it only shows one side of the argument, but it doesn't present anything that actually stuck out to me as factually wrong (unlike his book, which has some incorrect details like the assertion that Nike invented the raised heel, when there were actually running shoes with raised heels on the market before Nike was even founded). The video is...odd. McDougall comes off a bit like a car salesman, telling people that there is only one way to run and 85% of people are running "wrong," and then showing people how to do the same barefoot sprint drills that the rest of us have been doing for years, calling it a foolproof method to running the "correct" way. Only lots of people who are running "wrong" are pretty fast...and if someone has gotten themselves to the elite level running "wrong," are they really wrong?

New Design and Countdown to NYCM

Yes, you are at the right blog. Well, you're at the right blog if you're looking for that blog with all the shoe reviews that used to have a picture of 2006 Pre-Nats in the background.

5 days until the Freshman Class (Molly Pritz, Lauren Fleshman, Bobby Curtis, and Ed Moran) make their marathon debut at the New York City Marathon. Don't miss it.
Elite men's field: http://www.nycmarathon.org/pro_men.htm
Elite women's field: http://www.nycmarathon.org/pro_women.htm

That is all.

Departure from the Norm...Seven Random Facts

I do a lot of serious posts, and not nearly enough "fun" posts. So I decided it's time for a fun post. Leah at Chasing Atalanta just tagged me to write a Seven Random Facts about myself post. Thanks for the link, Leah! She herself was tagged with a Versatile Blogger Award (well deserved), but my blog is not very versatile, so I'm not sure that part was actually intended for me. Since all my readers actually know about me are my shoe preferences, here's a chance to get to know me a little better. Plus maybe it'll help me make this blog more versatile and/or get me more internet friends and readers.