Gear Review: Brooks PureFlow Shoe

After the Virginia is for Lovers 14k, my intense case of arch pain had me convinced that I needed a new pair of running shoes. My beloved, trusty Brooks Ravennas have about 400 miles on them.

They are the "original" version - Brooks is now up to the Ravenna 3, but I love the original so much that I was afraid to try the new ones (you know, the whole "create of habit" problem that I have). When I went to replace my very first pair and found they had moved on to Ravenna 2 I freaked out and scoured the Internet until I found a pair of the originals at some random website and promptly purchased them. I toyed with the idea of buying 3 pairs and stocking up (they were on clearance), but my cheap side won out and I didn't.
I regre that decision, because this time it was downright impossible to find the original Ravenna in my size. When this tragedy struck, it just so happened that my issue of Runner's World included the Spring 2012 Shoe Guide. So I sat down and actually read that section for once. It was in that article that I came across the Brooks PureFlow:

The reviews for this shoe were positively glowing - in fact, Runner's World named it one of their Best Buys. When I used the "shoe finder" flow chart (which I'm sure is just oh-so-accurate...) that accompanied the article, it pointed right to the PureFlow. So, I decided to give the shoe a closer look on the Brooks website. The user reviews there were all pretty positive. However, I was still unsure, so I decided to chat with one of their representatives before buying to get their opinion on what was going on with my arch and whether or not the PureFlow might be a viable option for me.

After my chat with the Brooks fellow, I ordered up the shoes. They arrived on February 21, right around the time when my arches were really bothering me and just in time for a scheduled 9 mile run. I opted, however, to not try them out for the first time on a long run. Instead, I gave them their maiden run on the indoor track at the Y.

At first, they felt strange to me. They are pretty minimalist shoes, which Ravenna definitely are not. The material on the topside of the shoe is so thin and light that you can see your socks through them (I have an orange stripe on my socks and it was glaring at me!). The only support that I felt was the elastic band midfoot - you can see it underneath the Brooks logo in the photo above. At first it was a weird sensation, and I found that it made my foot feel constricted even when I left the laces as loose as possible.

An immediate plus was the cushioning. Wow! These things really felt like walking on air. When I was doing my 5 mile tempo run around the Y track, it went from feeling like I wasn't wearing any shoes at all to feeling like I had just the right amount of support when I needed it. The only problem I felt was that the 4th and 5th toes of my right foot were rubbing the inside of the shoe box. This often happens to me... I guess my feet are wide at the base of the toes or something. I also couldn't tell if that was happening only because of the grading on the corners of the indoor track. I was on the fence about whether they would work out or not.

A 6 mile outdoor tempo run went slightly better. I didn't get the rubbing on my toes, but I did have some arch pain. Still a toss up! What ended up eliminating these shoes was last week's 10 mile run. Miles 7 and 8 took place on uneven cobblestone sidewalks (probably not very smart but hey, it's Richmond) and as I ran I was noticing that my left ankle was just dropping all over the place - rolling inwards, outwards - everywhere but straight up and down This led to serious arch pain in my left foot. To make matters worse, the 4th and 5th toes of my right foot were beginning to be rubbed so raw that they were going numb.  When I got home and got the shoes off, my poor toes looked as red as the Swedish Fish I'd been munching on during the run. I was shocked that I didn't have blisters.

Here is the run down (punny!) of my review in easier-to-digest format:

Pros:

• Lightweight
• Price is Right - $70
• Lots of cushioning, especially in the heel
• A cool mid foot support that you don't even notice is there (in a good way)
• Very breathable

Cons:

• Not enough stability for high arches
• Toebox seemed a little more narrow than my Ravenna, resulting in rubbing
• Not wild about the color combo... the mainly white pair made my size 9 feet look like boats
• If you step in a puddle or it starts to rain, your feet are going to get SOAKED

So they are going back. I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of Ravenna 2's - which luckily (?) are being replaced by the Ravenna 3 so they are on sale for $65. Initially I tried to get the neon yellow detailed ones, but they were out of my size (figures), so I ended up with these instead:

They haven't come in yet, so I'm back to my trusty Ravennas for now. I also ordered up some ankle length compression socks from Pro Compression thanks to Skinny Runner, who posted a coupon code for 20% off. I figure these might help support my arches and my calves too. I wanted to get some fun neon green ones, but restarined myself and got practical white ones. Y-a-w-n.

Tonight I'm headed out but don't really have anything particular in mind. This week is a little bit crazy so other than my scheduled 11 mile long run, I didn't really faithfully put Training Schedule into my calendar, figuring I'll just fit in miles whenever I can.

Smells and the City

Last night I totally kicked butt on my longest ever non-race run!

And I learned some important lessons.

So let's get to it!

Let's be honest - I've been dreading this training week ever since I put it on my schedule three months ago. The dreaded 10 mile long run week. The last (and only) other time I've run 10 miles was the Army 10 Miler in Washington, DC in October and it was not pretty. In fact, when I was finished I posted this status update on my Facebook:

"Well... I think that 10 miles may be the furthest I ever run. Lord. Have. Mercy. (unofficial time 1:52:35)"

After I recovered from that terrible experience, I analyzed what I think  went wrong (bad choice of pre-race food, not enough water before the race, and taking an Advil before the race) and now try to make sure that I avoid those things. I was determined that this 10 miler would be better. So, I planned my "fuel" very carefully: 1/2 peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread at noon, a smoothie with pre-workout enhancer around 2:30 (unplanned bag of Pirate's Booty at 2:30... whoops), lots of water between 3:00 and 4:30, and Swedish Fish for the run itself.

      

The crazy "winter" weather in Richmond has continued - and believe me I use the term "winter" very  loosely. Yesterday's high was in the upper 70's. Yes, the upper 70's on March 1. I wasn't very thrilled about that because, as I've mentioned before, I hate sweating and I hate running when it is anything that could be called warm.

When Prabir and I met outside of the Y at 4:55ish it was 70 degrees with a slight breeze. I wish I had thought to take my phone into the Y to take an illegal locker room pic because even if I wasn't feeling the 10 miler I was about to do in the 70 degree weather, I was totally feeling my outfit. I wore my new sneaks (which, sadly, are going to have to go back, more on that later), my herringbone gray Lulu shorts, and my the new Paris Pink Striped Cool Racerback that I bought on Fat Tuesday with a black sports bra underneath. It was super cute. I also have to say that the Striped Ribbed Racerback is the  most comfortable running shirt that I have ever run in. Since it was 70 degrees, I was sweating buckets, but I never once felt overly hot or like my shirt was getting damp. A real miracle.

Anyways, the first 6 miles of the run were pretty uneventful. Prabir and I talked a lot, which was a good thing. We established that my new nickname is K.Prime and that Prabir's name is very fun to say backwards (Ribarp). When I was getting kind of delirious during mile 4, every time Prabir started to talk I would say "RIBARP!" and interrupt him. It was kind of ridiculous - I was like an annoying drunk person that you just want to punch.

Sorry about that, Prabs. I was just trying to distract myself from the fact that it felt like my stomach was about to explode while my left foot simultaneously popped off.

During miles 4 and 5 I kind of felt like death and wanted to quit, but we ran the whole thing. I designed the 10 mile route in such a way that it was out and back for 6 miles, then the last 4 miles were a loop back out so if Prabir didn't want to hang for the full 10, we could easily part at the 6 mile mark, which we did.

After a high five, I left Prabir and his OMK (Old Man Knee) and set out to finish up. By this time the sun had all but set and it was feeling cooler. In fact, I would say I got a second wind and felt pretty darn good during miles 6 and 7. Except for one thing. This is where I learned an important lesson about running in the city (and where the title of this post finally makes sense).

The first leg of the run had been up and down Monument Avenue, which, while pretty, is also bereft of restaurants. However, I had stupidly planned the last 4 miles of my 10 mile dinner-time run down a stretch of Main Street that includes nearly twenty restaurants.

Don't believe me? Here's a list that's not even completely inclusive: City Dogs, Mulligans Sports Grille, Baja Bean Company, Home Team Grille, Six Burner Restaurant, Bacchus, Sidewalk Cafe, Rowland Fine Dining, Delux, Sticky Rice, F.W. Sullivan's, 3 Monkey's Bar & Grille, Avalon, Roxy Cafe, Piccola Pizza & Subs, and Star-Lite Lounge.

Because it was so beautiful, many of them had thrown open their windows and opened outdoor seating. Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than running the last half of your 10 miler past patio after patio of people happily noshing on all kinds of delicious delicacies. Even worse than seeing them eating is all of the amazing smells of deep fried goodness, pizza, coffee, and Chinese food that waft to you.

Torture. Complete. Torture.

In the future I will not be taking that route again. The Swedish Fish that I was carrying with me did nothing to quell my cravings after inhaling all of the delicious aromas wafting from the restaurants of Main Street.

Here's the report from the Almighty Garmin.



This completely shatters my only other 10 mile time (1:49:31) by more than 15 minutes. While I was tired and absolutely covered with a thin layer of salt by the time I got back to my car, I didn't feel too bad. After the Army 10 Miler I felt like death. So, all in all, I'd have to say I've come pretty far in the last few months!

Next week brings my longest run ever - 11 miles. That will be the last long run of my half marathon training before my taper week leading up to the race. It's going to take some creative course planning to avoid running down Main Street during that one, but I will definitely not be running the restaurant gauntlet again.

 

Resolution Check In

Running

Total through February 29

January: 47 miles
February: 72 miles

Total for the year: 119 miles
Fun fact: It took me until late April last year to run that many miles!

Reading

January Books
Riggs, Ransom - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Bray, Libba - A Great and Terrible Beauty

February Books
Moran, Michelle - Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution

I've been reading Storm of Swords (the third book in Song of Ice and Fire) since the beginning of the month, but it is SO LONG that I'm only 45% of the way through!

Movies (no resolution; just to keep track)
The Artist