Date: 2012-02-16 18:48:33 Created: 2012-01-15 11:21:03
Time flies, as always. It has already been two months since I bought and began using my Adidas adipures. They have been my outdoor running shoes the whole time. So, how has the story unfolded past the first two weeks?
I have ran 29 times for a total of 1231 minutes and 260 kilometers.
The adipures are still by far the kindest shoes I have ever had when it comes to blisters, chafing, blue toenails and the like. I have managed to develop a bit of a sore on my right foot where a seam or something is somewhat in the wrong place. One blister is not bad in itself, and I truly was asking for that one too. I noticed a hint of soreness well in advance, then proceeded to run for several days (some of them without my usual day of rest inbetween too) without a band-aid or anything else for protection. Apart from this, I have not had any incidents of pain, unexpected aches or anything of that kind. But I keep listening carefully to how my body feels during and after each run. I still feel more "worn" in certain muscles and joints after a given distance than I think I would have in other shoes, but it still feels like it is all natural adaptation and build-up.
When it comes to temperature, I still think around zero degrees celsius is as low as you want to go in adipures. (Especially if you stand still outdoors for any length of time, stretching for example.) And if the ground is wet, you want it to be a bit warmer still. Five degrees and rain leaves my toes a lot colder than zero and dry conditions.
Oh, and there is probably no way I could run in adipures in icy conditions. The kind of grip just is not there, and crossing a moderately flat and icy surface can certainly be a good exercise in balance and stubbornness, but definitely not one in running.
So far, I have nothing at all to report here. The shoes seem to be holding up perfectly to what I am putting them through. Pebbles can get lodged in the pattern pretty easily, but they have been easy to remove and have not left any noticeable marks so far.
I have kept my regular running schedule (aiming for every other day and pretty much achieving it) during the whole time, and I have not used any other shoes for running. I started slower and with shorter rounds on average, but now I am back to my common distances - five to ten kilometers with a longer run (usually twenty kilometers) thrown in a few times per month.
It is of course very hard to say, but I imagine I run at about the same speed as I would have in other shoes too. I am nowhere near my best times ever, but that was just as true in the period before I changed shoes too. In any case, I think I am still developing and getting used to this kind of running. Today (January 15th) I experimented a few times with landing even further to the front of the foot. The result was an earlier landing and a step which felt really flowing and soft. I do not think I could use that step for too long right now, but it definitely felt like the direction to go. There is always more to discover and try!
My legs feel more worn, I am not getting faster and, my feet get colder and I have to pay more attention to the way I move. So why switch to shoes like these? For me, it is a move toward simplicity. I want my exercise to be simple, uncomplicated and easy to go about. I want to exercise to feel good, not to chase times, distances or "optimize" my life for best performance. If my body is harmed by doing something, I should stop doing it. I also do not want to do things which depend on lots of technology or perfect circumstances. Somewhere from this perspective comes my interest in and pleasure from minimalist running shoes. I want to run in a natural way which my feet and body can support, not some way which needs strange padded and dampening footwear to work. If it takes time to get used to, so be it. If I can never be as fast as I can in more artificial shoes, who cares? I do not run to break records in any case. The less stuff I need to run and feel good the better, and there is definitely a lot less stuff in a minimalist shoe than a more common one.