Merrell Barefoot Road Glove Review

Shoes. I wonder how many passionate runners out in this world that will have only 1 pair of shoes. I know one and even that person is starting to get bitten by the running bug lol.

The main pair of shoes I usually run in is my Skechers GoRun. I've put in over 200 km over the pass 3 months in that shoes and I am still loving it. I'm however curious as to how much of an impact 200 km has made to the feel of the shoes, so Skechers, if you're reading this how bout it? Send me a new pair and let us see how much difference 200 km does to the GoRun? I'm sure there's lots to learn from this exercise.

Anyway, this post is mainly a review about the Merrell Barefoot Road Glove. I'm not too sure as to the popularity of Merrell in Malaysia but Vibram Five Fingers seems to be the rave around here.

A little info on the Merrell Barefoot line: Sometime in 2010, Merrell and Vibram teamed up to release a new line of minimalist/barefoot style shoes. Their first release was not until February 2011, the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove which turns out to be a great hit. They subsequently released the Road version of their shoes and you guessed it, it's called Road Glove.

I was looking for a barefoot-style shoes to incorporate into my run as a way to build up my muscle and work on my form and like all Kiasu Malaysians, first thought that came to my mind was of course the VFF (Vibram Five Fingers). I gave them a try at Running Lab but unfortunately, my feet is too small and I have to go for the Women's size which I find a bit narrow. So after searching high and low for an alternative, I found out that Merrell was being sold by Running Lab and Royal Sporting House. Needless to say, I went shopping :D

The Shopping
I had a bit of difficulty in this department I went to my favorite running store, Running Lab, in Tropicana City Mall, but unfortunately they do only had the Flux Glove in Blue. The Flux Glove is a CT (Cross Training) shoes which has the upper of the Trail Glove and the out sole of the Road Glove. I wasn't too keen on the Blue and Orange color mix so off I went.

I next went to Stadiume in KLCC. Found the Road Glove, but unfortunately don't have my size. So I hopped over to Stadium at Pavillion and lo and behold they had my size. They however only have one color and it's Lime Green.

Anyone Green with Envy? Guess not :P

I was a little put off at first due to the following:

1. Green has never been my favorite color. I happen to be wearing jeans on that day but somehow or another, the color seems to fit nicely with jeans. And the best part is, it seems to grow on you. - Strike One!
2. For a barefoot style shoes, it's actually heavier than my Skechers GoRun, by a few ounce. The shoes also fit very snug and tight across the midsection. (Pardon me but I was a noob then) I was a little uncomfortable in it at first but I liked the roominess of the toe area a lot. I reasoned that since you have a roomy toe box, you have to secure your foot somewhere. - Strike 2!
3. I've done some research and was aware that there is a very pronounced bump at the arch area of one's foot. This got me very worried as I have been having my Plantar Fasciitis problem during that time. The bump actually pushes in toward my arch and I could feel it while standing in it. I tried running in place a bit to see how it felt. I could still feel the bump a bit. I was pretty hesitant bout buying the shoes even though Pete Larson has reassured in his Road Glove review that it's not an arch support per se. I studied the bottom of the shoes and confirmed that it's actually the curve of the out sole inward that causes the bump.  - Strike 3!

What sealed the deal was that there was a 30% discount on the shoes, bringing the price of the shoes down to the RM 250 range, nearly half the price of VFF!!! Being a Gung-ho at that time, I bought it and off I went being the happy owner of a pair of Barefoot Style Shoes.

The Construction

The Merrell Barefoot Road Glove is a 0 mm drop shoes with a stack height of 11 mm at both the heel and forefoot area. I'm actually quite surprised about this as the Skechers GoRun has a listed stack height of 14 mm at heel and 10 mm at forefoot and a whopping 19 mm at mid foot area!!! At first glance, you would think that there isn't much difference between these 2 shoes, but you would be wrong.

You see, the Skechers do not have an out sole/mid sole as most shoes have as they're using Resalyte. From what I understand, they've actually combined both out sole and mid sole into one component, you actually have quite a lot of cushioning from the Skechers. The Merrell however only have 4 mm of EVA cushioning for their mid sole, the rest of the stack heights, 7 mm of it, goes to the out sole as well as the insole. This mean, you'll definitely feel that pebble on the road, albeit not as painfully as truly running barefoot.

Very thin sole actually.

The construction of the out sole for Merrell also gives the illusion that this shoes come with a lot more cushioning. However, the fact is that the out sole curves over and onto the upper to facilitate the bonding of the out sole to the upper of the shoes. The heel counter/overlay is nicely placed to provide maximum grip on the back of your foot.

The Upper of the Road Glove is of excellent quality and well ventilated. I've never felt the inside of the shoes getting hot even when wearing them on hot days walking around for the whole day (while working in Sandakan). The toe box has plenty of room for your toes to splay out and my toe has never felt constricted once. The one complain I have is that the tongue has a tendency to slip out of place. I'm not sure whether it's my lacing or a problem with the shoe construction (maybe I'm too used to the Skechers sewn tongue) but the lace lock makes sure it doesn't stray too far. 

I MUST mention the liner of the Road Glove is unique. It's kinda furry to the feel (as can be seen in the first pic). It feels marvelous when you go sock less but when wearing socks, it tends to grip your socks, to the extend sometimes you can curl your toe up inside your socks without the socks moving in the shoes. It however doesn't interfere with the running and is something that you'll get used to. The integrated insole has no visible seam is of the same furry material. I've tried wearing the Road Glove sock less once and did not notice any hot spot at all so the Road Glove is definitely good news for those who loves to run sock less.

Check out the light green arch area

The out sole of the Road Glove is provided by Vibram. As you can see, it's a pretty unique design. The medial and later part of the sole is actually curved upward and inward toward your feet (see pic below to get a clearer picture of it). This is the cause of the bump that I felt while I was trying it out. Coupled with the lacing, it provides a solid grip of your feet from the mid area toward the back, ensuring that your feet don't go stumbling about in the shoes.

Inward curve of the arch area

In regards to the sole's traction, I'm a little disappointed in it at current time. On certain surfaces, it gets slippery when it's wet. Example, fungal grown rocks/ concrete area, synthetic running path. I'm not too sure if the traction will improve as I break in the shoes (it's only been like 30 km) but here's hoping it will. This situation has however proven to be a good thing as well. It doesn't allow me to over stride  and it forces me to push off properly so as not to waste any energy. See, there's always a positive side to things if you look for it.

Performance wise
As a casual wear shoes, the Road Glove is extremely comfortable IF, and this is a big if, you're comfortable with 0 drop or minimalist shoes. Reason being, even when walking, it activates different sets of muscles than traditional shoes. If you're used to walking barefoot for 2-3 hrs a day, then I'm sure you'll be fine. If you're not, don't be surprised if you do have some slight muscle ache the next day. Your feet WILL get tired in this shoes.

The Road Glove is a very good training shoes for running form. In runs, the first thing you will notice is the lack of cushioning in the Road Glove. If you don't land properly, you're gonna feel it in your ankle, your knees, your hip, and your back. You'll learn to get off your heels and land on your forefoot to mid foot  keeping your knees bent to absorb the shock of landing as well as to land close to your center line.

The next thing you'll realize is that you'll forget you're wearing a pair of shoes. Your body and your feet will automatically adjust to the surface you're running on. If the surface is slick, your stride shortens, you land lower with your toes more splayed. If it's harder and firmer, you get into a cycle fast. If it's grassy with roots, you get onto your toes and hop along, and when you step onto a pebble, you'll quickly notice and your foot will automatically lessen the pressure placed on that foot to continue on to the next step.

Remember the tight mid foot and the bump under the arch? In my run, it completely disappeared. I had no Plantar Fasciitis episode with the Road Glove at all. In fact, I hope that Royal Sporting House will continue to bring in Merrell shoes so I will always be able to get a pair to run in.

In fact, Royal Sporting House is currently having a 40% discount on the Merrell Barefoot line. This discount has brought the pricing of the Road Glove down to approximately RM 212. So, for those of  you who would like to improve  your running form, but does not care to run barefoot or find the VFF too expensive or unsuitable, go give the Road Glove a try.

A word of caution though. If you've never ran in a barefoot style shoes, please take your time making the transition to the Road Glove. You need to give your body some time to adapt and build up the musculature required for these shoes. I've had a lot of muscle soreness from just using this shoes for walk when I first got them. Running in them when you're not ready can lead to some pretty severe muscle pain if you're not careful. Below are some links to resources on how to transition to a barefoot style shoes so feel free to look through them.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.it/education_why_barefoot.aspx
http://www.merrell.com/US/en/BarefootConnection
Principles of Natural Running with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella - YouTube
Are you ready to go Minimal?



Happy running folks. I hope the review would be of some use to some people.

May your run be swifts and graceful.

Summary
Pros:

1. Lightweight barefoot style shoes. Excellent for form and gait training.
2. Disappear from your feet once you start running.
3. Excellent upper and lining.
4. Don't receive weird look like VFF.

Cons:

1. Out sole does not have a good grip. Not too sure if it's coz it's not broken in yet or what. I'll update if there's a change to it.
2. Shoe Lace is a little on the short side. I can't tie it the way I showed in my Tying the Knots post.

How to start running.

As some of you may know, I've started joining a running workshop organized by Skechers, Kumoves, and Xcelerate Fitcamp. The workshop is conducted on every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month at 7.30am at Lake Garden.

This weekend, the 23rd of December, they'll be having a workshop titled "From Zero to Hero" and will be concentrating on the topic of how to start running, how often to run and how to keep yourself motivated.

I would highly recommend this workshop to those of you who would like to pick up the sports of running either for competition or for health purposes. Do come and join us on the 23rd December at 7.30am near to the Deer Park entrance.

For more info, do visit http://www.runnersmy.com You can also sign up for the newsletter and register there.

Remember, Running is the real sports. The rest just play with their balls.

Half a year and Counting.

Time. As runners, we're always chasing it to get PR. As human, we're always chasing it to get more out of it, as a species, we're obsessed with stopping it or reversing it. It's an ever flowing river that flows through our life, etching our life stories into our soul. A master painter with nary a care of anything.

How do we then respond to what has been etched and painted in the canvas of our soul? Some people fight it, others ignore it. The wise look at it, and appreciate it in its entirety. Personally I always feel that it's a good thing to learn from our pass with all the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.

It has been about 3 months since my post on Positive Changes and more than 6 months since all these begin. So, what have I learned and achieved during this pass half a year?

1. I've picked up running and completed my first race, a 5K run. I've also signed up for Brooks Half Marathon 2013 10K run. All this even when the friend that got me started on it has left to go back to his own country.
2. I've continued to stay off nicotine and no longer have the urge to light up. Passive smoking still get to me so I do my best to stay far away from smokers all the time.
3. I've learned to eat healthier. Wonder how many of you out there actually do look at the Nutritional Values as well as the Ingredients when you do your groceries. I still indulge in some of my favorite food but have cut down on them by quite a lot. Running has also caused me to be intolerant of high fat content, of which I used to love, so there goes the braised pork belly. :'(
4. My perspective on running has changed. Instead of looking at it as a challenge, I now enjoy my personal runs. Its a time where there's nothing else but you and the road ahead. It gives me a very calming effect where I can just let go of everything and run, without a care of what bothers me deep down inside. Running with friends are always enjoyable of course.
5. I'm no longer as impulsive as before but still as impatient. But I can see myself getting better in that as I  work on my runs, I learn to be more tolerant and patient as the day goes by.
6. I've learned to be more positive on things. Every cloud has it's silver linings, and everything that happens have its reason. Even though I still do not understand why life has dealt me this card, I will continue to live my life going forward, taking baby steps and adjusting as need be.
7. Running has brought me back to some old friends and introduced new ones to me. To my old buddies out there who knows my story. Thank you so much for your support through this pass  half a year. To the new friends, may your feet be fleet and flawless and may we continue to enjoy our runs for another 1000 years ;).

What's my plan for the future? Not too sure as yet. There's still the divorce to settle, not to mention my own life to settle as well.Time, in it's other form will also sweep away the hurt that you've experienced. It will not remove all the hurt, but only the sharpness of the pain. In its wisdom, it will leave behind a dull ache so that we will always be reminded of our folly so we may learn from it.

Truth be told, this month has been a very hard month for me. It's a time of joyous celebration and yet, I could not find that joy in me, nor any cause for celebration. I still find it uncomfortable to join any family gathering or any large celebration, as such, I really have no clue on what to do this Christmas.

Oh well, bad comes to worse, I'll always have the road and my shoes for company.

p.s. Sorry for the depressing post. I need to get this out of my system.

Tying the knot. :D

Source: Wikipedia.org

After participating in my first ever race at the Parkcity Run on November 25th, I noticed that a lot of runners actually do stop quite a lot to retie their shoelaces which has come undone during their run. It got to the point that it got a bit irritating as people just stop in the middle of the road to retie their shoes. I almost bump into someone when they stopped right in front of me.

I stumbled upon a page from Runner's World on How to best knot your shoes quite a long time ago while I was doing my online research on running. So I got the added benefit of not needing to stop to retie my shoelaces. As the steps can get quite complicated, I'll be putting the link on how to tie the shoelaces here directly.

Basic 101. How to tie a reef knot.This is how we're suppose to tie our shoelaces all the time. We just got confused at the last part. If you're a scout or girls guide before, you should be able to pick this up pretty fast.

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/fit-be-tied

I've also found a faster way of tying your shoelaces. It's called the Ian's Knot, considered to be the world's fastest shoelaces knot. It's a little confusing at first due to muscle memory, but once you got it, I guarantee you, you'll be using this knot all the time. It's fast and easy. I've place Runner's World link as well as the original link below so that you guys can do a bit of comparison in case things get confusing.

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/tie-better-knot
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm

Now that you know how to tie your shoes properly, go practice and have a bit of non-running fun ;)

On a side note, ever wonder why there's an extra hole that's sometimes present a little toward the back and below the top most hole for laces? Well, a lot of people will just use it to your lace as per normal. The actual use of the hole can be found here.

So here's to a happier feet to all my running friends out there.

Running Academy and I

Had a great time this  morning. Instead of going for my normal Easy run this morning in my Merrell Road Glove, I decided to join the Running Academy at Lake Garden, jointly organized by Skechers Malaysia and KuMoves. The workshop is conducted on every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month and registration can be done at here. They start the workshop at 7.30am and I was there by 7.15am. I was surprised to find that the parking was nearly full! Apparently there's 2 entrance and I've headed to one of the more popular one. I'll try the other one next time round.

While there, I bumped into Lorna Roderick nee Wong and Markus Kus who's part of KL Runners. It was a nice and pleasant surprise, especially after I found out they're helping out with the Workshop. There were quite a bunch of us there, approximately 15, with a healthy mix of Noobs like me, and more experienced people.

Apparently I got into their 4th session where they have a performance check/challenge going on. We started off with a 2K warm up where we had a group of runners chasing another, kind of like Police and Thief. Once caught, the one chased became the chaser. We follow that up with other games to get the heart rate up. What really got to me was the stairs repeat. 10 years of lack of exercise really catch up to you then. My quads tightened up and I had difficulties coming down the stairs. Needless to say, I'm pretty much bummed after that :P

I would say that, the workshop is very very nice, with lots of information and different type of exercises which you can pick  up and incorporate into your ordinary routine. It may however be a tad tough to newcomers. We had a bunch of early leavers and a girl that stayed for all the exercise emptied her breakfast after a very valiant effort to hold it in.

To people who sees this as a challenge to overcome, and as a new baseline  to work on and get better at, this is a good workshop to come for. Personally, I found out the weaker points of myself where I need to improve on in 1 session and will be working on it to get better.  For others however, they may get the wrong impression whereby this workshop is not too friendly/useful for new runners. Don't get me wrong, the organizers are nice and friendly and I can see that they are trying to make things fun and interesting to the runners. It's just that some newer runners than me may find it a bit tough to keep up.

Hopefully the organizer can address this issue especially since it's in their agenda to get people to run again. Looking forward to more sessions and more people joining in the workshop.

Being lazy on the blog

Ok, I'm not actually being lazy but catching up with work and family after the long trip to Sandakan.

Just a bit of update, I've finished my 5K run and have registered for Brooks Half Marathon 10K run on 3rd March. I was tempted to go for Half-Marathon in the beginning but thank God for some cool headed advice from my dad. Looking at the training plans out there, I doubt I could actually make it at all and end up burning myself  up.

So instead of setting such a high goal for myself, I've decided to just go for 10K and most importantly, enjoy the journey toward the Marathon milestone and not rush myself into it. Things will only get better as long as you learn to enjoy the journey there.

In terms of gears, there's been a few changes as below:

I've gotten a Merrell Road Glove to use as a form trainer. I HAVE to say, a 0 drop non-cushioned shoe is ABSOLUTELY and TOTALLY different from the Skechers GoRun. 4mm made a lot of difference. My calf ache every time after a run in them. Hopefully I'll get better as I continue to train in them.

Merrell Barefoot Road Glove

I think I am now pretty sure what type of shoes that I like. Both the Merrell and the Skechers disappear from my thought as I run in them. It doesn't get in the way of feeling what's under the feet, it's light and it provides my toes flexing spaces. Seriously, it's liberating to be running in these shoes.

I've also gotten myself a technical shirt from Salomon. I usually run in any plain old cotton T-shirts but I've found them getting more and more uncomfortable as the mileage increases and the T-shirts get heavier, wetter and clingier. Seriously, they feel like they've just came out of the washing machine. -_-''' I've done 2 run in the technical shirt and I'm happy to say I love the feel. My first run was aborted due to sudden rainfall. SO I had to run back in the rain with everyone driving looking at me like I'm a dunce, but it was fun to run in the rain XD. I reached home soaked through the top. The shirt does cling to me but not in an icky sort of way, instead it stretches and conform to me when it needs to and hang lose when it can. It also got freaking cold when it clings to you as the water start being wicked away.

Check out the wickedly cool design.

The 2nd time was helping a friend to train, running a relatively "easy" 5K. I wasn't too sweaty and the shirt isn't too wet this time round, but even then, when the shirt comes in contact with you, it feels cool. I guess this is because the shirt kind of promotes evaporation. This was proven quite true when I washed the shirt. It dries super fast compared to my other shirts. Of course the color scheme of the shirt's a killer ;)

I've also gone out to grab myself a running jacket for the rainy season so that I can continue my run. I've had to move my run outside as the pool area walkway is roofed and it's surrounded by 4 tall buildings, thus the GPS signal is terrible. I'm currently using iSmoothRun to capture my data and even though it has an accelerometer mode, it's not overly accurate yet as it relies on previous data to do some calculation algorithm. It is however a wonderful app as I can have all sort of integration with it.

Be that as it may, I'm planning to go shopping for more shirts, shorts and a water bottle to facilitate my long runs on weekends so it's "Ho Ho Ho" for the shop owners and "ouch ouch ouch" for my wallet.

Away for pass few weeks and into my 5K Race

Sorry I've not been posting anything in this blog for the pass few weeks. I've been away in Sandakan over the pass 2 weeks for work related purposes. In a way, this is kind of a welcomed break for me. Things have gotten hectic "challenging" in office and a change of tempo and scenery is greatly appreciated.

My work there is mainly to install programs for a new hotel that's coming up. It's a stressful but fun time to be there. It's a quaint little hotel, looks normal on the outside but full of surprises on the inside, so I'll strongly recommend people to go for a visit there.

Reception Area of Borneo Cove Hotel

5.45pm from hotel room (pardon the picture quality)

Borneo Cove Hotel in Sandakan

Life in Sandakan is slow. Very slow. To get work done there you need to learn to do things at snail pace or skip from Point A to Point G or you'll lose your mind. The good folks there are however kind enough to bring me for some sight seeing.

Agnes Keith House

How the House once used to look Pre-WWII

The Bedroom (Agnes Keith House)

A spot of English Tea perhaps?

St Michael's Church. Too bad they charge RM 5 for entry.

"Beach" behind the hotel. Check out the "Chicks".

Panoramic view of the bay area from one of the temples.

Ranau Death March Memorial.

I had a good time doing my C25K training there. The roads are hilly and not as heavily used as here in Good ol KL. This is not to say that I had it easy there, instead, the first run I did there I almost pass out. This was mainly due to the heat and the hills. Killer combination. I however feel that I've done lots of progress while I was there what with the heat, the hills and a crazy co-runner who decided to speed up and leave me behind on our way back to the hotel.

For all that trouble, I finished the Parkcity run with ease. Yeah! I did it at a lowly time of 41.26. But this was mainly because I decided to pace a friend who wasn't feeling too well that day. I however realized I didn't breathe hard throughout the run and didn't even feel tired out. For that, I get the below as a present.

Consolation Prize. Finisher Medal.

The real prize is that I walked away from the race knowing now that I can run the complete 5K without stopping. A goal I have set in the beginning before I started running. And with that done, what do I do now? Why go for another race of course lol. I plan to do better next round and have signed up for a 10K comes March. I plan to also work my way up to a Full Marathon in the next year or 2. And since this is suppose to be a quick update, I'm gonna go off and go sleep, lol. Gnite folks.

Running Shoes and Shopping

Shopppinnnggggg!!! A word that would stir any ladies heart. Combine the word with Running Shoes and most runners will be going Oooooo as well.That is of course, if there is no budget limitation lol.

I've just stumbled onto a post by Jay Dicharry, author of Anatomy for Runners: Unlocking Your Athletic Potential for Health, Speed, and Injury Prevention. He's also the Director of SPEED Performance Clinic and the Motion Analysis Lab Coordinator at the University of Virginia. But I digress. The post can be found here and mainly discusses on Tips for Running Shoes Selection.

Having bought my own shoes just recently, I can say that there's some truth in this. A shoe that does not feel comfortable may not feel the same way when you're running. Take the Skechers GoRun for example. It feels weird when standing on it. The only reason it got sold on me was because it's super light and when I was jumping on it, it felt different, with more firmness than I thought it would feel.

So when you buy your running shoes next time, do remember what's been discussed by Jay Dicharry in his post.

Running and Shoes dilemma

Let's talk shoes today. I have a major big issue with shoes nowadays. All my shoes have gotten uncomfortable.

What happen you may ask. God knows. Ever since picking up running, I've noticed that my feet seems to have change by quite a bit. My feet arch seems to have gotten higher, my feet shorter, and the toes area wider. Not just that. I've also developed Plantar Fasciitis and can't seem to tolerate overly cushioned shoes as well as any shoes with heels. All this in a matter of 1 month.

I've always bought shoes for comfort. I now have a dilemma whereby my ubber soft cushioned Camel shoes is now too softly cushioned, my super light and comfy Clarks have become too tight across the toes, and my Hush Puppies (Just bough -_-''') and it's heel is no longer comfortable.

Due to all these, I've now taken to not wearing shoes as much as possible. Every Monday morning, when I put on my work shoes, it feels as if my toes are being cramped and pushed together. There's also the higher heel to toe offset that gives me heel pain as well as a possibility of aggravating my Plantar Fasciitis if worn for too long. It's so uncomfortable nowadays that I have to take off my shoes as soon as I reached office.

I'm not sure how many of you guys and gals out there face the same problem as me. But I'll need to look for alternative Working shoes. I can always opt for barefoot or sandals or Minimalist shoes or even "Barefoot Shoes" for casual wear, but Work/Dress shoes are a big headache. I've done some research and have found 2 possible candidate for replacement.

Merrell Tough Glove

Vivobarefoot Ra

Both the above shoes are unfortunately not available in Malaysia. So now I'm undecided as to whether I import them in or just bear with the discomfort.

Sigh.

Interesting article on shoes and pronation

Just finished reading an article on RunBlogger title Neutral Running Shoes Need not be the Goal for all Runners. The article is mainly about our obsession with Pronation Control (you can read more about it here in this article).

In a way, I'm lucky not to be sucked into that sort of mindset since I just started running and went out to buy a pair of new shoes which I felt comfortable in (yeah, I'll try and write a review on it soon). I'm lucky in the sense that I had no idea what I am looking for and the store clerk was not overly convincing in selling me any of their "running shoes". I stumbled upon my current pair literally when I was walking out of the store.

I WILL say that I understand what Pete Larson meaning on the following:

" I would also agree that comfort is hard to define, but for me I think it’s mainly just how good a shoe is at letting my body do its thing without getting in the way – a comfortable shoe is one that I barely even notice when I run." 

I've recently had that experience in another pair of shoes. While trying it on in the store, there's always a niggling reminder of the shoe due to the presence of a pretty high arch curve on the inside shoes. I was a little worried that it will affect me on my run. I was however put at ease after running in the shoes for a bit as I totally forgot about the shoes and was enjoying myself a lot. I'll talk more about this shoes when I put more mileage in it. In the meantime, enjoy the article.

New to the Running Sport

As a new runner, I'll always have questions in my head. How should I start running? Is my form correct? What type of shoes should I get? How often should I run? Where should I start?

Out there in the InterWeb is lots of information. Unfortunately they're all scattered and some are even contradictory. Hopefully I can use this blog as a stepping stone for people who, like me, would like to pick up the sport of running. In no way

So, where do we start? We start like all manner of things, in the beginning. Nahhhhh. I'm not here to give you a history lesson (yet = P). Depending on whether you're like me, a couch potato, or already running short distances, you will want to start off on one of the following level below.

Walks: 
Walking is a good way to start. I would recommend you go to a park and pick up walking. Do your walks with a friend or relative to alleviate any boredom you may face. Yeah lots of people will say I walk enough when I go out shopping. The truth is indoor and outdoor walking differs. Some of these differences are:

• Indoor walks do not face Wind Resistance. A strong head wind can force you to use more strength to counter the push back factor.
• Walking surfaces for outdoor walks have subtle unevenness, forcing your muscles in your leg to adapt to the surface you walk on.
• Outdoor walks have slopes and elevation you have to deal with, helping to build up your leg strength in many ways.
• If you walk in the evening, the heat and humidity of the weather will force you to exert more.

The objective of the walk is to build up your leg strength as well as to build up some level of stamina for you to progress to the next step.

Walk/Run: 
Once you feel that you are ready to start running, you can transition into it by adopting a Walk/Run Program. A walk/run program such as C25K is used to help people who are not used to running to get into running in a systematic, controlled approach. The program is designed as “Intervals” to ease you into the habit of running.  These intervals can differ. For example, you can have a 1 Minute Run X 90 Second Walk interval. As you progress along, the intervals between Run and Walk will get Longer and Shorter, till you’re running a full 5KM non-stop.

When are you ready? For me, I walked up to about 6km in 1 hour after which, I couldn’t stand the itch to start running. Some things to consider when you do walk/run program:

• There is no Hard and Fast rule that you have to follow. Everyone is different. You can always slow down the program or repeat 1 plan till you’re comfortable to move on to the next step.
• Take it slow and don’t overdo it. That’s what everybody tells me. Problem is, how would you know you’re gonna overdo it till you’ve overdid it? So instead of telling you that, I’ll say, Take it slow and listen to your body. If you hurt, don’t push it.
• Be patient. Sometimes it may not be apparent that you’re improving. It is important to remember that you’re building your foundation at the moment and will reap the fruit of harvest in the near future.

The objective of the Walk/Run program is to get a person used to running for longer distance in a systematic and gradual way. If  you'd like to try one out, go on and head to Cool Runing's Couch to 5K Plan.

Run: 
Congratulation. You’ve made it to your goal of being a runner. Take your time and slowly build up on your mileage, from 5K to 10K to half marathon to full marathon and etc.

Disclaimer: All the rambling above are from a crazy old man and should be taken with a healthy dose of caution and self-censorship. ;)

My current running gear and wish list

3 months into a sport is a relatively short period of time. And yet, it this short period of time what have I gotten myself into? Let's seeeeeeee.......

Shoes:
I'm currently using Skechers GoRun. It's a pretty comfortable shoes to run in. It's however not suitable for you to go shopping in. I'll explain more on this when I write a review on it. I also own an adidas JawPaw II Watersport shoes. I'm still wondering if it'll make a good substitute for barefoot running shoes. We'll see how it goes when I do test it out.

Belt/Pouch:
Currently using a twin pouch SPIBelt. Fairly decent and cuts down on the jingling of keys I would say. I can even stuff my iPhone wz casing in it.

Apps:
I'm using iSmoothRun app on iPhone to track my runs. It is feature packed compared to the rest of the apps I've used.

Wish List (Read Shopping):

Head/Sweat Band:
I'm currently eyeing Bondi Band. They're unfortunately unavailable in Malaysia as yet and have to be shipped in from US. I really hate it when sweat starts dripping from your forehead into your eyes so this is the next thing I'm getting.

Jacket/Raincoat:
Still doing research on this. Saw the Nike Vapor Windrunner and I'm drooling over it. There's also the Adiviz Jacket which glows in the dark. Doesn't seem to have any hood though for the adidas.

Cap/Hat:
Not too sure if I wanna get one or not as my main concern is heat ventilation. We shall see.

Bag:
No extra gear as yet to pack it in, but would be useful when the raining season come for me to pack in the extra clothes and towels.

Shoebag:
No extra shoes as yet so not needed yet, but I got my eyes on some of em already.

Shoes:
Oh my. The list will be too long to list down. My eyes are on Merrell, Vivobarefoot, Saucony, Skechers GoBionic, Vibram and etc. I'm a "little" picky when it comes to shoes I'm afraid. How picky can you get you ask? Let's see now.

1. Lightness: They have to be light. If I wanna train with weights attached to my feet, I can always attach it myself. 
2. Flexibility: Flexibility is a relative term I guess. Basically it should flex at the right places and allow for a full motion of feet movement to conform with road surface.
3. Heel Drop: I would say 4mm and lesser. Why? Currently I'm getting PF whenever I get into anything with a high heel drop-off. This may change in the future once my feet has strengthen up but we'll see.
4. Toe box: Wide and Big is the keyword here. I've grown used to having full motion of my toes when walking and running. I like my toes to be able to splay our, curl and have freedom of movement when they're shod.
5. Cushioned vs Non-Cushioned: I'm currently running in the Skechers GoRun which is fairly cushioned. I've yet to run in a Non-Cushioned shoe but planning to give it a shot when my feet has strengthen up

Yeah yeah, "little" is a bit inappropriate I guess. :P I also plan to buy 1 or 2 Sandals/Huaraches for comfort wear and as emergency run gear but we'll see.

I think I better put a stop on my wish list for now. It's getting kinda scary even for me. Hehe.

Run Boy-o Run!!!

A little History lesson.....

Do you guys know, I'm one of the most unlikely candidate to be in the sports of running. This is not to say that I've had no interest in running since I was young. On the contrary, as a kid, when my family was still staying in my hometown, we've always ran all over the place. We walk to school, run to friends place, run out to the shops and back for groceries and ice-cream. Our mode of entertainment involves activities such as chasing your playmates around in differing activities, be it Hide and Seek, Police and Thief or just plain foot race. We even hop on 1 foot to chase each other in restricted space! Boy, those were the good old days. (Crap I sound old!)

I can't remember when it was or what was the cause, but I am pretty certain I developed a dislike to running during my primary school years. I remember vividly how I hate the 100m Dash, the 200m runs we have to make during PE in school and the cursed "Marathon" we had to run during sports day. Even when other sports involves running, I've always seen it as a chore and a punishment. Back then, during my late primary and secondary school years, I graduated from walking/running to cycling and would never turn back to that punishing activity anymore, or so I thought.

I've always been very active in sports back in my teens. I've dabbled in Karate, Swimming, Squash, Hiking, and Jungle Trekking, out of which Hiking and Jungle Trekking are my favorites. I would be one of the few guys that goes in to scout out a trail for the group to follow the day before, and I will be the few people that will bound up a rocky path like a mountain goat. All these however came to an end about 10 years ago.

It was on a Sunday morning as I was getting ready to go to church. I was having breakfast in the kitchen, and as usual, due to my sinus, I will be sneezing away for the first few minutes of the morning. I remember quite well how it felt like that morning. I was sneezing for a bit and felt a big sneeze coming along. What I wasn't prepared for however was the Pop I felt in my lower back. Sharp pain like someone driving a knife into you shoots up my back.That morning I herniated my disc.

I was regulated to bed rest for 1 month. Even after then, I was in pain for the next few months. My activity list have been cut short. High Impact sports are a big no-no to me from then on. So was any sort of heavy lifting. I'm relegated to walks and swimming has not been a strong interest due to my lack of skill in it.

As if that's not bad enough, my asthma, which I have developed when I was 14 years old, came back to haunt me. I'm pretty sure this was due to the smoking during that time.Thus start the year of fitness decline with my exercise amounting to swinging the Wiimote or going shopping with my family.

So now, 10 odd years later, with Herniated Disc, Asthma and a weak ass body, I'm getting back to something which I absolutely abhor in my younger days. Best of all, I'm not just getting back into it, but am absolutely loving it! My friends always caution me to go slow, but I've developed "the itch". If I don't run, I feel uncomfortable. Even with all the injuries, breathlessness, and muscle fatigue, it's like, when you run, you're you.

          Running = The Real Sport. The others just play with their balls. - Unknown Quote

Cruel Mistress

Oh what a cruel mistress I have. She's always sulky and when her mood is bad, she'll make sure  you suffer throughout the day or the week.She'll make sure she hurts you and turn you into a cripple. You'll be forced to give her Tender Loving Care for as long as she needs. Who is she???


















My Plantar Fascia of course.

Too Much Too Soon.

Sorry for the lack of posting these past week. I've been a bit busy with recuperating from doing Too Much Too Soon. I manage to cause some major muscle stiffness in both my calf and shin for 2 full days. I've also been pretty fatigued recently so it's usually rest for me for the pass week.

This was mainly attributed to a busy Saturday whereby I've gone for my usual Saturday morning run with my mum. After I'm done with my training, while waiting for my mum, I thought, "Oh why not, let's go for some hills." Went up twice and felt some tension on my calf so I decided to call it a day.

I had Church Band practice scheduled after lunch, but before that, I had to pick up some Chia Seed from my supplier. Since I've had a pretty good, tiring run that morning, I decided to wear my Adidas JawPaw II since it's pretty flat and comfy. Due to some out of the blue high traffic, I ended up reaching my appointment late. I parked my car and ran over to the agreed meet up place. Running in the Adidas JawPaw II is very different from my Skechers GoRun, and I've never ran in it before (I'll write more about these 2 shoes at later date).

                                                                 My Skechers GoRun

Now you may think that it's just a short run and etc and I'm just being a sissy. Well, maybe I am, but what I DO realize is that running in the Adidas JawPaw II did some considerable "damage" on that day. Damage in the sense that due to the lack of cushioning, I'm running in an entirely different way, thus exercising totally different sets of muscles.

                                                                The Adidas JawPaw II

This by itself shouldn't be too much of a problem for seasoned runners. I'm however pretty green in running and I've been a vegetable for the pass 10 years. I've also realized that my legs have actually weaken by quite a considerable amount. How do I tell? Try and stand on 1 leg with your knees slightly bent and see if you can keep yourself stable for 1 minute.

In any case, my legs started to hurt the next morning till Tuesday (and I gung ho-ed and continue with my training :P). Be that as it may, that short run in the Adidas really stir my curiosity as to whether it's possible to run in that pair of shoes.

EDIT: Updated with photos

Quick Update

Came back from work, got changed and went for my walk/run. I'm currently on a training program to help get me started with running. I'll tell you guys a little more bout me and running at a later post, but basically I'm  on my 2nd week of training whereby I have to huff and puff while "running" for 90 seconds and huff and puff while walking for 2 minutes. I managed to finish off at 3.7km with a fastest time of 6.54min/KM, my best time yet. Anyone know what's a normal run time for 5K run per km? Please advise ya.

After I'm done, I know how steamed crabs, lobsters and prawns felt like. Apparently I'm flushed red, steamy, and felt hot both internally and externally. And yet, I'm still keen on continuing with this training. In fact, I'm so keen I've enrolled myself in the Parkcity 5K run come November.

I must be nuts. Why do I say so? I'll tell you in another post.

Positive Changes

It all started in May 2012. Why is that so important? You see, I have shifted back to my mum's place on May 7th, 2012. Why you ask? Well, my wife asked me for a divorce. During that period, I was having difficulties going to sleep and concentrating so a friend of mine invited me to join him in his weekly morning walk. We were hoping that the exercise will be able to tire me out so that I can try to get some sleep and do me some good.

It worked to a certain degree. It has however set an itch in me which I could not scratch. Some insect or tick carrying a disease called "Runningtitis" or "Healthyism" or something must have bitten me during that morning walk. I started having an urge to live my life in a healthier way.

I WILL admit at this point that for the pass 10 years or more, I've not had any form of active exercise whatsoever. I've also lived my life eating whatever I want, smoking my life away, and just enjoying life as easy as can be. Most of the days, it'll be Wake up, Go work, Go back home, Play Computer Games/Shopping/Makan with wife (Soon to be ex-wife)/Meet Friends, Sleep. Rinse and Repeat 365 days a year X 10.

Looking at my lifestyle for the pass 10 years, I decided it's time for me to go for a health check ASAP. Not surprisingly, result came back and Gasp!!!! Doctor says "Everything normal, but you got High Cholestrol."

What's surprising is that I'm 5'10" and weigh in at 67kg. My mum calls me a bamboo stick and my Aunts complain that it's a waste of money to keep feeding me. My Grandma complains my mum's not feeding me enough. To me it's no surprise considering the type of rich foods I've been shoving into my system.

"So what would you like to do now?" the doctor asked. "Do you want to go on medication, or would  you like to try and do exercise?". Told the doctor flat I'll do the exercise and he said, "Ok, I'll allow it since you're still young and have demonstrated that you have the will power to change your lifestyle".

Oh, by the way, by the time I went for my health check in August, I've been completely off Nicotine for about 2 weeks. Apparently, a total Cholesterol of 7.2 is a pretty big issue. =P There goes my Roast Pork  Belly, Luncheon Meat (Spam), Fatty Bak Kut Teh. Sigh. In return, I've been shoved full of Oats, Oat Brans, and Fish oil by my mum and dad.

I've stucked to the morning walk my friend has introduced to me, and I've stucked to quitting cigarette.I've also started walk/running. I'm in the process of revamping my diet, hoping I can eat more healthily and yet be able to enjoy what I love most on an occasional basis. It's been 4 months since I had to start a new life. With these changes behind me, I hope I can continue to make positive changes not just to my own life, but the life of others.

A little background

It's been years since I penned my thoughts down, so pardon me if I'm a little rusty in this department. Here's a little background on myself.

I would like to think of myself as a typical normal guy who spends his life in this world as a temporal guest. I consider myself Middle aged, plain looking, skinny guy with a little tummy and love handle (something I'm proud of, for making sure it didn't get as big as some of my friends'). I'm a Christian and attend and serves in my church in the worship ministry by playing the Bass guitar (just a noob). My interest has always been good music, good food, and of course, computer games. (Hey I'm an IT Guy what do you expect?)

I'm however going through a tough spell in life at the moment. I'm however intrigue to find that even during this time, there are tiny surprises that kind of moved and motivated me. I hope to share with you guys my journey during this period of time in my life.