Shoe Review: Newton Running MV3 Racing Flats / Trainers

You’ll see from several previous posts that I first looked in to whether racing flats really make that much difference and secondly, a look at my shortlist of the five best racing flats around in 2014.

Well… I finally decided on going for some Newton MV3′s. Newton call this a ‘lightweight performance racer’ and at 5.4 ounces they really are. I think my flip flops  (thongs to you guys in the US) weigh more. I think I have socks actually that weigh more! The mesh upper is barely there. When you’re running, you kind of forget you’re wearing shoes and, after wearing heavily cushioned Nike Lunar Glides for two years, I could suddenly actually feel the road beneath my feet.

Newton MV3 shoes in the box

Newton MV3 shoes in the box

 

Newton MV3 shoes in the box

Feel and Flex

Best shown through the medium of video:

Heel Drop

These shoes have a zero drop and with the five lugs at the front they feel like they have a slight raise at the front even. They do come with inserts to raise the heel by 3mm for a gradual adjustment if required. I haven’t inserted these yet, but having done a 7.5k test run earlier my left Achilles is definitely sore as is my right calf. I may therefore add them before the next run. I can see why some people say these are only good to wear up to half marathon distance… Newton even have a ‘good running form‘ guide on their website to help you run right:

Newton MV3 heel insert guide

Newton MV3 heel insert guide

Newton MV3 3mm heel inserts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sizing

One of the worries with ultralight racers is sizing as they generally seem to be a snug fit. I run a size 9 in my Nikes so after checking with a Newton rep which size I should go for, he recommended to go a full size up to a 10. Well the shoes arrived on the same day I had a track speed session to go to, but no matter how optimistically I looked at the huge gap between the end of my big toe and the front of the shoe, the phrase ‘clown feet’ kept entering my mind. So I sent them back on the Thursday and by 9am Monday I had a new pair of size 9′s. I went for a run in these today. They felt ever so slightly small on first try but after just a couple of km I felt I was running barefoot but with trampolines on my toes!

In Summary

It took a LOT of research getting to the point of actually ordering the Newtons and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with them. Super light and they look the part too if I’m honest – looks shouldn’t matter but of course they do! When running with them I could feel the shoes urging me to run raster with the Action/Reaction tech.

Top 5 Racing Flats For Running in 2014 (Saucony A6, Nike Flyknit Racer, Newton MV3, Adidas Adizero Adios Boost & New Balance RC5000)

Top 5 Racing Flats – After a LOT of Research

As an ordinary Joe Runner I am often on the lookout for ways to improve my times other than the obvious HARD WORK!

As I’ve looked at in a previous post, racing flats may offer around a 1% increase in speed which although apparently trivial would make all the difference in my 5 and 10k races! Now I never purchase anything without first doing copious amounts of research into different manufacturers and models, reading reviews and comparing prices online.

I’ve recently spent so much time switching between tabs in my browser to compare the shortlisted trainers that I’d thought i’d be easier to list them all out here for all to see and to hopefully help save you the time I’ve spent looking!

1. Saucony A6 – Price £80 – Weight 144.6g

Weight is all important when looking at which racing flat to choose and the Saucony A6 is VERY light – 5.1 oz / 144.6g. The upper is a water shedding, airy mesh that Saucony call FlexiFilm, which apparently sheds moisture and heat as you run.

There is a rubber outsole, a foam EVA midsole to add cushioning and drainholes in the sole that allow moisture to drain out through the bottom of the trainer. Some reviews I have read say this has the potential for gravel to get stuck in the holes and for water to actually leak IN through the soles.

One reviewer said these shoes BEG to go fast and that you can’t help but run faster in them due to the design!

In research the fit, it seems that the sizing of the A6 is spot on for most people with no requirement to size up or down a half or full size. Plus they look great – these are the ones I went for in the end, mainly due to the hugely positive review on Running Shoes Guru (my fave website!), but also because they come in at the mid range price of £80.

I found them cheapest in the UK and in stock at Wiggle. More on the Saucony blog

In Summary

One of the lightest shoes on the market, still has a slight heel to toe drop and competitively priced – these will be mine, oh yes, they will be mine.

Saucony A6

Saucony A6

http://blog.saucony.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/TypeA6_Outsole-570x380.jpg

Saucony A6 sole

 

Nike Flyknit Racer – Price £129.99 – Weight 159g

Now these shoes look good! They really are where fashion meets function and I think in the end that’s what swing my decision away from them. Well that and the price. These trainers are for sale on fashion sites like ASOS as well as your regular running shops. I’m no running snob (ok maybe I am) but for some reason I don’t trust a shoe that isn’t worn purely for performance.

It’s clear that the Flyknit technology is excellent and helps with the lightness and sock-like feel of the shoe, but all the different colourways make it seem too fashiony for my liking. Hell, they were launched at Milan Fashion Week! When you read the comments on the Nike website to get a feel for how they perform, it’s just a load of fashionistas commenting on the colours and look of the shoe – bleugh.

One thing this model does have going for it; these are Mo Farah’s go to shoes for the marathon distance

In Summary

I does look good, it’s very light and many reviews say that they are very comfortable, but for that price range I decided against.

Nike Flyknit Racer

 

Newton MV3 – Price £110 – Weight 5.4 oz (142.8g)

Newton call this ‘the lightest running shoe ever produced’ which, when looking at the others on this list holds true. My decision to get racing flats was kickstarted after running alongside someone who was wearing Newton MV2′s. Her running form was far better than mine and she swore blind it was all down to the technology in the Newtons, forcing her to strike on to her forefoot.

Newton MV3 Racing flats

Newton MV3 Racing Flats

Newton seem to have gained a reputation for taking a more scientific approach to show design and the majority of the innovation appears to be in the mid-sole. This is what it says on their website:

MIDSOLE

  • Second generation Action/ReactionTM technology in the midfoot
  • Biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate
  • High-rebound EVA
  • Met-flex enhanced midfoot flexibility
  • ETC anti-friction, antibacterial sock liner
  • Water drainage system
  • Optional 3mm lift included
  • Widened midfoot and filled toe area for greater stability

In Summary

I did seriously consider getting these as they are created precisely for what I need – a 5-10k racer. However, they have a zero millimetre drop which I think may be too much of a change from my Nike Lunarglide 5′s which have a large drop and lots of cushioning. These may be a shoe that I move on to once my joints have gotten used to running on racing flats.

Adidas Adios Boosts – Price £98.99 – Weight 220g (7.7oz)

In comparison to the Newtons (0mm), these racers have a 10mm drop which seems very high for a racing flat. However this drop incorporates the Boost technology that Adidas have been heavily marketing recently.

At the pre-London Marathon expo Adidas had a display that had my son entranced… The floor of the left hand part of the display was  made from standard EVA foam, whereas the right hand floor was made from Adidas’ Boost foam. Over and over again a metal ball was dropped from a height of around 1 metre on to each of the surfaces, showing the resultant bounce. The Adidas Boost foam definitely made the ball bounce a lot higher. To what extent this translates to real world running I’m not sure. Steve Way, 100k World Champion and 2:16 London Marathoner is sponsored by Adidas and these are his shoe of choice.

Adidas Adizero Adios Boosts

Adidas Adizero Adios Boosts

In Summary

This is a nice looking shoe and the Boost technology is very appealing. However the high price and the fact that it’s not the lightest racing flat go against it. After owning Nike Lunarglide 4′s, I ordered a pair of Adidas Boosts in January this year but they were so uncomfortable a fit that I sent them straight back and opted for the Lunarglide 5′s.

New Balance RC5000 – Price £81.99 – Weight 3.2oz (85 grams)

These shoes are an older model and are ridiculously light at just 3.2 ounces! They kind of disprove Newton’s assertion that they make the lightest running shoes ever! With a 6mm drop they are not too flat and not too high. With a super thin upper these are a true minimalist running shoes! Weight loss is found through the minimal cushioning in the midsole which may give a slightly harder ride but that’s the the compromise – heavier Adidas with lots of cushioning, or extremely light New Balance RC5000′s with less.

New Balance RC5000

New Balance RC5000

The sole also has rubber spikes which should give excellent adhesion to the road or track, saving micro-calories of energy through the lack of slippage on each take-off.

In Summary

Really light at 3.2 ounces, great grip and nowhere near as expensive as the Nikes?! These may actually be a contender for me.

If you use them, what’s your go-to racing flat?

MIDSOLE

  • Second generation Action/ReactionTM technology in the midfoot
  • Biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate
  • High-rebound EVA
  • Met-flex enhanced midfoot flexibility
  • ETC anti-friction, antibacterial sock liner
  • Water drainage system
  • Optional 3mm lift included
  • Widened midfoot and filled toe area for greater stability

– See more at: http://www.newtonrunning.co.uk/shop/men-running-shoes/newton-mv3-performance-racer-yellow.html#sthash.YnWne0Fs.dpuf

MIDSOLE

  • Second generation Action/ReactionTM technology in the midfoot
  • Biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate
  • High-rebound EVA
  • Met-flex enhanced midfoot flexibility
  • ETC anti-friction, antibacterial sock liner
  • Water drainage system
  • Optional 3mm lift included
  • Widened midfoot and filled toe area for greater stability

– See more at: http://www.newtonrunning.co.uk/shop/men-running-shoes/newton-mv3-performance-racer-yellow.html#sthash.YnWne0Fs.dpuf

Training: Yawnsome Pounding of Pavements

I didn’t write about Monday night’s training yesterday as it would have been difficult to insert an ounce of interest! After an 11 miler on Sunday, Monday’s evening run was a 30 minute easy run.

Last night’s was my own, quickly designed speed session. I found a flat road in the village, one of the the few with street lights and after a 20 min warm up proceeded to run 16x 350 metres at about 80% effort. To be precise, each 350m length took on average 1min 5secs.

I prefer to measure my training by perceived effort though, so I basically ran each length as fast as I could sustain for 16 lengths. Why 350 metres? Because that’s how long the longest flat road in my village is!

There is of course the awkward, 1 minutes rest period between repeats. Standing on the corner of the residential road, not a sound but my laboured breathing, it’s hard not to scare the elderly dog walkers, but I tried my best to put the at ease by looking at my watch in a dramatic way whilst jogging on the spot!

Both Monday and Tuesday night’s runs we’re amazingly boring, but necessary to hit my 30 miles per week target. Clocks go forward in just over 2 weeks, yey!

Next Training
Club night tonight with Purbeck Runners which will either be some kind of intervals/fartlek so or a hideous hill repeat session!

Running Gear: The Emperor’s New Compression Socks?

Do running compression socks work?

Do running compression socks work?

When I first started running a few years ago I didn’t even consider what socks to wear, or that this might make an actual difference to my performance. After a while, to avoid blisters, I started using specialist ankle running socks which felt fine but in real terms I probably could have kept on with my regular ‘sports’ socks and nothing would have been any different…

Then I noticed people at races wearing these really high socks… They went up to their knees! At first I thought perhaps this was a fashion thing that I really wasn’t getting but then I heard someone call them ‘compression socks’. Hmmm, I thought… that sounds scientific, maybe people are wearing these things for a reason!

I bought a pair and wore them for a few training runs before trying them out in a half marathon. I noticed no difference apart from blisters in places i’d never got them before. This is my investigation into whether compression socks for running actually work…

Possible benefits of compression socks:

A quick look at the description for some compression socks on sale promotes the benefits as:

  • More energy, greater endurance and enhanced performance thanks to improved blood circulation
  • Activates the flow of blood in the muscles
  • Muscle and joint stabilization for reduced risk of injury
  • Increased coordination by activating the muscles for a sense of stability and security when running

But surely they’re biased?!

During a Run – Maybe, Maybe Not!

Blood can pool in your legs. They’re low down so gravity tries to keep more blood than is necessary there. Your heart then has to work extra hard to get the blood up through your leg veins to be diffused with oxygen again and get rid of the lactic acid build up. It is suggested that wearing compression socks might increase venous blood flow, so flushing out these by -products of muscle exertion and warding off fatigue.

THERE IS NO CONSISTENCY in the results of the various studies done on this field. Ali et al. (2007) found that no performance or changes in physiological parameters occurred during or after a 10k run. In a more recent study,  Spurlich et al (2011) also found that compression “revealed no effects whatsoever”. On the other hand, Kremmier et al. (2009) found improved performance when wearing compression socks while running. The problem is that over all the various studies there were a lot of variables, from the type and length of socks, to the abilities and physiology of the studied athletes.

After a Run (Help the Recovery) – Probably!

There’s a theory that suggests that the vibrations created with every foot strike contributes to post-run muscle soreness. The aforementioned study by Ali et al. (2007)  “did find a reduction in muscle soreness, pointing to the muscle vibration and recovery aspects of socks.” Additionally, a study using full lower body graduated compression tights only after exercise showed improvements in muscle soreness (Byrne & Easton, 2010). so it would seem that compression socks CAN help your muscles recover quicker after a taxing run. As Steve Magness says though, it’s the process of damaging your muscle fibres and rebuilding them better adapted to running that helps improve fitness

Graduated Socks

Graduated compression socks

Graduated compression socks

Apparently the best types of compression socks to get are those that compress more down near the ankle, with compression force decreasing towards the knee. Buy them here (just for your info, I get no commission!)

You can read about this in a far better post by Steve Magness on his ‘Science of Running page (also a great book)

Warning: Do Not Run on Blisters!

Got Blisters

Just over a week ago I ran the Blackmore Vale Half Marathon. I did so wearing a pair of very cheap compression socks by More Mile, which, by mile 1 had slipped down my calfs and by mile 7 had created some terrible blisters. Not one to ever give up on a race, I carried on the the end with gritted teeth and was pleased I did, I beat my half marathon PB by over four minutes, but to the detriment of my feet which were now covered in blisters from the loose and rubbing socks.

Kept Running with Blisters

Three days later, blisters not feeling too bad (but still visible) I ended up having to walk a long way in my work shoes across London due to the tube strikes (followed by a quick run around the capital). Blisters reappeared – ouch.

Another three days later on Saturday I thought, “screw this, I need to go for a run!” and off I went for what I thought was going to be a quick 8k… Well I can tell you, I have never stopped on any run, training or race but after 6k and still 2k from home I had to stop running. My feet hurt too much!

The moral of the story?

Never run with blisters, you’ll stop them healing and will put yourself out of action for longer. Also – spend a bit extra on decent running socks! I now have my next race, the Lytchett 10 mile coming up this Sunday, I can’t run and I still have blisters : (

So yesterday I went swimming instead… read about that here

Real Shoe Review: Nike LunarGlide+5 (neutral ride)

After several bad shoe experiences I have found a trainer that I love and that doesn’t leave me limping the morning after a run. This is the 5th iteration of the Nike LunarGlide with slight improvements being made in each version. My previous trainers were the predecessors – the mark 4′s – which is an endorsement in itself.

In a nutshell, the LunarGlide+5′s are like running on a pair of squidgy trampolines. When I first put them on, I just stood there in my living room bouncing up and down on my heel!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The fit of these trainers is, in my opinion, what makes them so comfortable to run in.  Never before have I had a shoe that wraps around my foot so perfectly – it’s like wearing a sock. The fleece lining only adds to comfort, and keeps your upper foot warm in winter!

As you can see, I opted for the luminous yellow/green colour option but there are plenty of others to choose from. Doing a lot of running near roads at night time, I need all the high-vis I can get! The tongue stays in place and never slips to one side or the other.

The only things that lets this trainer down slightly is the easy wear of the outer sole. I haven’t had enough time to compare my +5′s with my +4′s but my previous pair wore down so much after 6 months that I didn’t dare take them off road after a particularly nasty slip up. This is the compromise with the weight I suppose, a lighter shoe (281 grams) means lighter component parts.

They also feel quite… big. Not clown shoe big, but they’re certainly not minimalist. But then again, that’s why I chose them, to give that cushioned support I need. I would say that my times have slowed since I started wearing them. There’s a part of my that thinks that maybe all that cushioning is absorbing too much of my stride’s natural ‘kick’ or ‘oomph’. That could also be a bad workman blaming his tools ; )

Muddy trainers Nike Lunarglide

His and hers muddy trainers!

More info on Nike LunarGlide+5′s

Laces are great, they stay in place and don’t pinch the top of my foot.

Evening Speed Session -THE PYRAMID

Last night was the weekly speed session with Poole A.C. at the athletics track in Ashdown, Poole. As is customary these days, it was tipping it down with rain and the wind was up but nothing can dampen (no pun intended) my spirit when on the track – I love it!

We ran 400x800x1200x800x400x800x1200 with roughly 1-2 minute rests in between. I generally up my effort level as the session progresses, so I take the first 400 easy(ish) in 1m 15 and then by the time i’m doing the final 1200 I’m gasping for breath and can’t possibly run any more! No screaming pain in the lungs, no gain… About 1-1.5 minute rests in between.

As you can see, it doesn’t make for a very exciting route map – nothing like my 14 miler through the countryside on Sunday!

ashdown session

The thing I find hardest about these track sessions is remembering what we’re doing, how far we’re running and how much is left to do. I must be very annoying as I spend the whole evening  asking whoever’s running next to me!

Next Training:

Want to try and do 7-8 miles tonight but it will mean finding a new route or extending my Boring Corfe Mullen Winter Route. I also have to fit it in between getting in from work at 6:15pm and my wife going out to netball at 8, whilst also putting the kiddies to bed! But fitting it all in is all part of the fun : )

Day Off Running Training – Calisthenics

As I’ve alluded to before – the day off running is just as important as the days spent running. After my 10 miles through country lanes and high water yesterday my leg muscles need a day to recover!

Calisthenics
So a little about calisthenics today. I learned the word recently so I need to use it…

This is essentially a way of strengthening your muscles without the need to go to a gym and use weights etc. So sit-ups, pull-ups, crunches or press-ups would all be included. As a runner a strong core is important as are the leg muscles. But no muscle in the human body is an island! Everything is interlinked, as I discovered when I visited a physiotherapist for my dodgy ankle. Fractured several years ago, as I recovered my body adapted to not being able to use my ankle properly by used my glutes and achilles to compensate. None of this became apparent until I started running regularly and my ankle started to ache chronically.

Changing the way I ran helped, as did trainers with good cushioning and support. It;s also got better the more I’ve run as my muscles have gotten stronger.

Then there’s your core muscles. Just think every time your foot slams down on to the pavement how much your core is doing to keep you balanced and upright. Your core is connected to your hips, which connect to the.. thigh bone, which connects to the… you get the message. So a strong core keeps everything moving fluidly and in a good line. It also supports the chest whilst your doing all that heavy breathing!

So tonight i’ll be mainly holding myself in increasingly painful positions, just on the verge of falling over. Fun!