A Woman and her Weight

This morning was the first time I can honestly say my teeth were cold. The temperature was 22 degrees plus it was windy with flurries. My nasal passage was frozen. My counting pennies were sticking to my bumper. But I couldn't resist getting out on my hill with my new weight vest. (Yeah, not a post about a woman obsessing over the scale. That's just silly).

Finally, I found a 30lb vest for women. Its small and doesn't squish the little bit of boobs that I have. It fits my torso and I have mobility in my shoulders. Best of all, its snug. My men's vest is way too big and is only good for running up hills. Not good for squats, burpees, push ups, and all that other good stuff. I fully anticipate a long, lasting relationship with my new vest. We'll clean the house together. Maybe even do some shopping? I can only imagine the stares I would get cruising through Costco outfitted in my weight vest. I'd probably get tackled by security as a matter of national security. Actually, now that I think about it, pushing a loaded cart with my weight vest on dodging security sounds like great Spartan training. Hmmm.....

So its a V-Max Women's 30lb vest. The individual weights are 2.5 lbs and can be removed. If your goal is to eventually tote around an extra 30 lbs without eating McDonalds everyday, you should get the 30lber. You can remove the weights to adjust to a lighter vest, and add them back as you build strength. I bought my vest from APT-Pro Lifting Gear. I found a discount code for 15% off which basically covered the cost of shipping. I also added the heavy duty hanger to store it. Of course, once it delivered I realized I'm going to have to find a place to actually hang a 30lb vest. Jon says I should be able to hang it in my closet near the wall support, but I'm scared to death of my closet falling apart. In the mean time, its being stored on the backseat of my car ready for action at any moment.

For reference: I am 5'8" and about 138 lbs.

The Men's vest

TOD:
8 hill sprints with snazzy, new vest
1/2 trail loop with Roclite 275 GTX including product testing (right foot remained dry despite going through the ice in the creek bed)

Total Distance: 2.6 miles
Total Time: 45 minutes

Trailroc'in in the House Tonight

This song has been stuck in my head since this morning's test drive of my Inov8 Trailroc 245's. I mean they are pretty sweet looking and definitely dope enough for some serious partying or running on the trails.

After failing with the Inov8 X-Talon's 190's and Inov8 Roclite 268's, and emailing Inov8 with my concern over their selection of trail shoes for folks with wide feet, I thought I'd try out the Trailroc 245's. I originally did not order them because of the description of the terrain they are good for: 'Loose, rugged, eroded trails.' Nothing like the soft dirt of the Midwest. I also ordered the Terrafly 277's which I will write about at a later date. They fit, but I need to get one size smaller. I made a chart of the different Inov8's I have tried highlighting key features and differences that I found. Why a chart? Because I'm an Excel junkie. You should have seen my wedding planning worksheets. I'll break down each category and my madness.

Shoe	Fit	Upper construction	Differential	Terrain
Roclite 275 GTX (8)*	Comfort, Womens	Mesh	9MM	Wet Trail
Roclite 268	Comfort, Womens	Synthetic	9MM	Trail
X-Talon 190	Performance	Mesh	3MM	OCR
Trailroc 245 (8.5)*	Anatomic, Womens	Mesh	3MM	OCR
Terrafly 277 (8)*	Anatomic, Womens	Mesh	6MM	Road/Trail

* - Winning!

Fit (links to Inov8's fit chart):

Don't even waste your time on anything Performance if you have wide feet. Its not going to happen. The mesh of the X-talon allowed my foot to expand, but the sides of my feet were hanging too far over the soles. The widest fit is the Comfort, however, that fit is extremely limited to only the Roclites. That left me with the Anatomic fit. I will say, it is a wide fit. My feet fit very nicely inside without any pressure on my pinkie toes. The women's fit has a narrower heel. The Trailroc's are unisex but I can heel lock lace my shoes to keep them from slipping.

Upper Construction:

All of them except the Roclite 268 have a meshy top. This is important for two reasons. First, it allows wide feet room to expand. Second, it drains water well. Of course, the Roclite GTX is made from Gortex and is mesh, so the draining rule does not apply. It kept water in. The problem I had with the Roclite 268 is they were too tight because they had synthetic material along the top which kept the shoe narrower. Plus, I was concerned about its performance in mud and water.

Differential:

This is the amount the heel drops to the toes. Think of your standard gym shoe as a high heel. The smaller the differential the more the gym shoe resembles a pair of flats. Inov8 uses an arrow system. Three arrows are 9mm, 2 are 6mm, 1is 3mm, and 0 is 0. The importance of the differential in OCR is the weight of the shoe. The less cushion, the less weight to carry when your tromping around with shoes caked in mud. Its also just a personal preference. The one arrow is as far as I will go on my trail shoes. I am sticking to cushioned shoes for the road since concrete was not around when man first popped on the scene.

Terrain:

I wore the Roclite 275 GTX's for the TX Beast simply because my other option was the shoes that caused me foot pain and shin splints. Shoes made of Gortex are perfect for winter running. I have worn them doing hill sprints in dewey grass and on snowy trail runs. My feet always stay dry. The reason the X-talons and Trailroc's are good OCR shoes is that they are trail shoes and have the mesh upper that will drain quickly. Also, the bottoms do not absorb water. I ran in Brooks Cascadia 7's for the MS Muckruckus which added an additional 5 lbs. per foot once submerged. No bueno. The Terrafly's I will not use in OCR because of the tread. Since they are for road and trail, I'm afraid the tread will not be good enough to climb up a steep, muddy ravine.

Well, that concludes my little comparison. I hope it helps. I know finding the perfect shoe has been a struggle for me over the past year.

Like I said in my intro, I test drove my Trailroc's this morning. I wore my gaiters over to keep the dew and cold out since they are mesh. From one run, I really like them. The tread is really good. Perhaps even too good. I hit an area that was semi-frozen, stiff mud. My shoe got a little stuck which sent me flying over a log and face first on the ground. After slowly getting up and limping it off, I continued with my run. "The only way out, is through." I now have a wonderful knot and gash on my shin and a scraped hand, but I'm not holding it against the Trailroc's. Looking forward to putting them to the test this season.

Riley Kitties will keep your feet warm but not recommended for training.

FYI: Gaiters go on before your shoes.

I've been asked several times what to wear for both OCR's and in the winter. I know I was once someone who thought running outdoors in the winter was just plain nuts. Now I can't get enough. Keep in mind it was 18 degrees when I left the house. I usually don't wear a fleece. Also, dress as if its 10 degrees warmer which will account for your body warming up. And if your core is warm, everywhere else will remain warm hence all of the layers on my torso.

Top to Bottom:
Black Diamond Storm Headlamp
Alpaca beanie
Saucony Weather Proof soft shell jacket
Lole Fleece
Nike Combat Pro Therma Fit
Under Armour Compression Mock
Fleece Gloves
Hind Running tights with fuzzy material inside
Smart Wool socks (will seriously keep your feet warm and dry
Inov8 Gaiters
Inov8 Trailroc 245's