Equipment
The Soles
Looks like my arsenal is increasing rapidly, especially for running! The strangest thing about running is that I sort of went extreme by going Barefoot directly, moved into minimalist shoes like the Puma, and now I'm back to padded shoes! I think for me, a heavy guy, I will need some padding especially for those long runs, hence the Kinvara 2. It still promotes midfoot strike with its low profile sole/padding design. For maintaining running form and technique or just for kicks, barefoot and/or the Pumas are the way to go, no question. It looks like I got it all figured out :)
So my short 6 month journey in to serious running taught me a couple of things
- barefooting is good for form and technique sharpening (midfoot strike, balance, feel)
- minimalist shoes like the Pumas gives some measure of protection and is almost as good as barefooting (and they look good too!)
- shoes are absolutely needed for trail running, plus a stiffer and less padded sole is ideal to allow stability
- minimalist shoes with virtually no padding like Pumas or the Road Glove will make one suffer on the last 5-10km of a 42km run (from experience!)
- there is a difference in barefooting for a 65kg guy and an 85kg guy. The padding on the feet is more or less the same for both but one is carrying 20kg more. That heavier guy has to have more pain purely because of that.
Equipment : My FEET (1 Pair)
Start : September 2011
Start : September 2011
Protected Barefoot Running
Equipment : Puma H Street Plus (2 Pairs)
Start : October 2011
Equipment : Merrell Road Glove (1 Pair)
Start : January 2012
Equipment : Saucony Kinvara 2 (1 Pair)
Start : March 2012
The Rides
Biking has sort of taken a slight back step for me over the last couple of months. 3 years of getting on the bike, it has helped to maintain my weight (and lose some) but it was difficult to shed weight on the bike. I've did a lot of riding last 2 years, accomplishing quite a few events. Until today, my solo Genting Climb when I weighed 90kg 2 years ago is STILL the reigning pain reminder (yup, more than that 42km run for fun which I did recently). I need to revisit Genting again.
Equipment : Parlee Z3 on Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and HED Stinger 6 wheels
Start : October 2011
Almost 9000km on this bike and still going strong. This bike setup is perfect and I won't change anything on this one. I'll keep riding it for a long time.
Equipment : Ciocc Mokba Single Speed on Shimano Components
Start : March 2011
This is my 'barefoot bike'. Everything I want to accomplish on a bike, this makes it harder. Its just one speed and you have no choice, no matter the terrain. Strangely though, its in its simple minimal nature that makes it the best riding bike I have and its always a pleasure to ride on it.
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