Monthly Archives: September 2009

Let me start with a confession: I wasn’t expecting much from Saucony’s ProGrid Xodus Trail-Running Shoes. Sauconys tend to fit my long, narrow feet awkwardly, leaving me with blisters and a host of sore spots that linger long after I’ve shed the shoes (Sorry, Saucony: It’s not you, it’s me).

It’s hard to express just how pleasantly surprised I was by these great trail-runners, and not just because of their fabulous Vibram outsoles.

My favorite trail run requires about two miles of road-running to get to and from the trailhead. I didn’t think about the shoes once while pounding the pavement, a testament to just how lightweight and cushy they feel despite being so stiff and stable. When I finally hit the dirt, I was so immediately enchanted by the stickiness of the soles, I let out a long, reverent, “Oooh.”

I appreciated the soles even more once I hit the downhills, which are riddled with roots, rocks and other obstacles I usually gingerly tiptoe around. This time, I plowed through them, enjoying the tight grip apparently created by a complicated network of lugs in the soles.

My only complaints: My orthotics immediately rendered the shoes uncomfortable to the point of being unwearable, so I opted to run without them. For me, this is akin to driving without a seat belt — not a guarantee of immediate injury or death, but also not a risk I’m willing to take on a regular basis. Also, I did have to make some adjustments to prevent what I refer to as the Saucony slide: The way my heels tend to flop around willy-nilly in Sauconys even when the shoes as a whole fit snugly.

But a couple lacing adjustments and a thick pair of socks later, and I was sold. When I’m in the market for trail-runners, I’ll certainly be looking for Vibram outsoles, whether or not they’re on these shoes in particular.

Bottom line: If you’re a fan of Sauconys, you’ll likely love these shoes. And if you’re a fan of Vibram in general, these soles will rock your world.

Convinced? Lucky you! You’ve got a chance to win a pair! Here’s how to enter my first official contest:

1. Share your favorite trail-running story in a comment below. It can be funny, embarrassing, heartbreaking or any other adjective I’m failing to think of currently. To get things going, I’ll share my own trail-running timeline:
Grew up running on trails in high-school cross country; spent college running through the Flatirons in Boulder, Colo.; moved to sad, trail-deprived Florida and forgot about my true love; twisted my ankle in Rock Creek Park in December, leading to a long, ugly divorce from trail-running. Six months and lots of balance/agility training later, I consider myself a born-again trail runner, with Rock Creek Park serving as my personal playground.

Not a trail-runner? Just tell me a story. I’m not too picky.

2. Want extra-credit? Follow me on Twitter, and share the link to this blog post there.

If any trail-running stories truly stand out from the pack in my humble opinion, I’ll choose you. If there are a bunch of stories of equal merit, I’ll resort to a random giveaway. You’ve got a week to enter. Good luck!

Oh, and in other news: I completed a gloriously rain-free 17.15-mile in 2:43. That’s 9:30 minute-mile pace! And get this: My last mile, I ran in more like 8:30. Stay tuned for details!

Our latest backpacking trip to Shenandoah National Park left me with the following: aching calves and quads, six bug bites, several scratches and one eye infection (hint: if a bug flies in your eye and you blink on it, resist the urge to swipe at your eye with your grimy, unwashed backpacking hand!).

Good thing I also left with four bear sightings, several deer sightings, and memories of a moonrise, a sunrise and sunset at the highest point in the park and a jump from a 12-foot cliff into a natural swimming hole.

I’m still sore after carrying what I’m estimating was a roughly 50-pound pack (more like 30 by the last day, thanks to me being the designated food-carrier), and I didn’t get in a single run over the weekend. But I have faith that hiking between four and six miles a day with a big ol’ pack up steep, rocky grades did as much to prep my lungs, legs and joints for the stress of a marathon than actual running could have.

If not … well, there’s always my tempo run tonight and my 17-miler on Thursday!

Is there a better dinner the night before a big run than pizza?

I don’t think so. Neither does Olympian Keith Brantly (read the transcript of my 2007 Web chat with him here.) Neither does sports dietitian Suzanne Girard Eberle, a former elite runner who says she won a pizza-eating contest at Uno Chicago Grill on M Street when she ran for Georgetown.

For me, any old pizza will do in a pinch. But I prefer it to be my homemade pizza, which couldn’t be simpler to make, easier on the stomach or a more delicious way to get some good carbs the night before a run.

Here’s how to do it:

Preheat oven to 375

Procure a ball of dough from the bakery section of Publix, Whole Foods or your grocery store of choice. Roll out dough with rolling pin.

Cover with tomato sauce (I like to make it at home with plain ol’ canned tomato sauce, with every Italian spice imaginable simmered in — basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, garlic powder and some red pepper flakes to spice things up). Cover with mozzarella cheese to taste.

Add toppings of your choice. I like sliced tomatoes from the farmers market, especially this time of year, and basil form my balcony garden. Steve prefers pepperoni. I don’t judge.

Sprinkle liberally with aforementioned Italian spices.

Bake on pizza stone, or a metal pizza pan you bought for $10 from Wal-Mart (can you guess which one I use?) for roughly 12 to 15 minutes.

We usually make two pizzas to ensure leftovers, which we’ll be enjoying tonight before heading off to the Shenandoah for three days of backpacking tomorrow.

And it’s a good thing I have those leftovers: I’ve been one hungry little dude lately. After my 15-miler yesterday, I had my typical post-run recovery shake, then lunch of a quesedilla and tomato/black bean salad two hours later, then a delicious concoction of peaches, berries and balsamic vinegar mixed in a saucepan then topped with Greek yogurt two hours later, then … well, you get the idea.

It’s like my body and I are engaged in our own rendition of “Little Shop of Horrors,” with my body pleading: “Feeed me.” (Does it have to be chocolate?). “Feeed me.” (Does it have to be wine?) “Feeed me, runner … ”

This week has marked a vast improvement over last, when I didn’t give into the hunger in any way post-13-miler … until I made brownies for a friend’s get-together. I ate so much of the batter, it affected the cooking time, leading to burned brownies I had to scrape from the pan. And did I throw out all of the brownie char? No. No, I did not. I actually stood over the pan, picking at the rubble to see if I could find a nugget containing one of the Ghirardelli chocolate chips I’d baked in. And one would think that I’d be so horrified by that episode, I’d be disgusted by the thought of brownies. One would be wrong, as I ate two from the next batch in quick succession. Yikes!

The lesson: My body’s needing a bit more fuel these days, at least on the days surrounding my long runs. If you’ll excuse me, it’s time to feed the running-monster some pizza.

(Pizza photos on the way soon: There’s packing for the Shenandoah to be done!)