Slippery Pearl Izumi SyncroPace

I needed a new pair of runners. My shoes would not dry in time in the wet year-end weather. I picked up a pair of Pearl Izumi SyncroPace from Running Lab, and was eager to test them at Safra's run. The route was ~12km from Clubhouse to Cantebury Estate, 2 loops of Labrador Park and return via Henderson Road. That was my 1st pair of Pearl Iz shoes and I was curious to try them. According to Pearl Iz's brochure, the SyncroPace was a "Stability + Cushioning" - moderate stability with excellent cushioning. At Running Lab, it was listed as "Performance Stability". My daily staple are stability shoes like Asics GT21** series and Mizuno Wave Elixir. So the SyncroPace matched that genre.

For the 1st stretch from Clubhouse to Depot Road, the shoes felt really good. Cushion and support were very good, my feet felt snugly in place and the shoes could adequately catch hold of wide strides. The shoes had a nice bouncy feel which added a spring in each step. However, the problem of slippery shoes arose when I was coming out of Cantebury Estate. The cement path was slightly downslope, wet from the rain and semi-covered by fallen leaves and twigs. I almost went gliding but managed to stop myself in time. So I tried to gingerly walk through that stretch of wet pavement. Even then, I skidded a few times.... walking! In all my days of running in different shoes and terrains, I had never skidded as much as tonight! That was when I realized that I should have checked the soles before buying the shoes. :(

The soles had little circular bumps instead of flat markings. They drastically reduced the amount of surface area and frictional contact with the ground, making it especially slippery on wet pavements. A typical mid-foot striker engages the ground on the fleshiest part of the runner's soles, toe-off and go. The bumps are located on the forefoot area of the shoe soles (see picture), meaning the big toe experiences the 'skid' and instability right at the very moment of toe-off. It happened a few times as I was walking, and also when I was opening up strides. It was very irritating, because one would have to hold back and be extra careful. You never knew if your next step would send you sliding.

Tarmac roads are not a problem. Cement pavements that are dark, wet, covered with fallen twigs, brown leaves and so forth... you get the idea... would be a challenge. In my mind, the shoes would be really dangerous if we were doing speed work on MF loops or running down MF slope.

The shoe body that cradles one's foot was a full-piece seamless construction. There was a thin sponge/ fabric that lined the inner shoe completely such that the foot was kept snug and eliminated chances of foot/ toe abrasions. However, that same construction meant that you would not feel the 'wind through your socks' on runs and consequently, a less ventilated feeling. By contrast, most running shoes have mesh tops and sides that allow more wind and ventilation - but which would leave your feet cold in winter runs.

Conclusion
From an amateur runner's perspective, the Pearl Izumi SnycroPace offered a softer (yet firm) cushion over the Asics GT, but had a firmer support over the Mizuno Wave Elixir. The SyncroPace would be a good pair of shoes for cool and dry conditions on tarmac (or rough) surfaces. For instance, evening track workouts, and marathons in Tokyo, Hong Kong and temperate countries.

That said, my intention of buying those shoes as a wet weather backup would have been misplaced. The shoes offered an excellent blend of support and cushion for an enjoyable run. Pity the skid marks.

Double Spins

Rain, rain, rain. It had been raining the entire evening. That meant no run. :( I headed out to Paragon for double classes of spinning led by Kee Leong and Jennifer. Surprisingly, I had lots of energy to unleash in KL's first class. Maybe it was a leftover from Sunday's non-too-exciting run. I actually spinned hard and felt good. Jenn's class was less energetic, perhaps because there were only 5 of us in the class and she chose some tracks from the new release which I did not like. I think I whacked the bike quite hard at the classes.

I took a quick shower and decided to go to Ding Tai Feng for dinner. I had a sudden craving for its steamed dumplings and dan-dan noodles (in tangy peanut sauce). The plan was to eat alone, and get some peace and quiet to read my Economist. Alas, the couple at the next table had finished their meal, and the guy decided to impress his date by starting a monologue. He rattled on about his religious conversions, his school rugby training days and how he proud he was of his raw power without having to workout much, and yada-yada-yada. The girl did not have any chance to interject the monologue beyond nods and some sympathetic sounds. What a killer. My dinner plans were going down the drain.

I am now on a boycott of taxis due to the fare hikes, so I tried to take a bus home. The public transport was not cooperative. My direct bus was so packed that I could not squeeze onboard. I ended up taking a different bus and changing another later. Ooophf, the bane of public transport I say. I mentally drafted a note to the forum page.

Two Loops, Four Shoes

There were very few runners for this morning's Safra run. The usual hardcore regulars were there and we started off on our planned 15km route (1.5x MF 10km loop). Linda dear girl managed to wake herself up at 530am and dragged her sleepy feet to the clubhouse in time! Impressive feat, given that our shared concept of time is like blu-tack -- elastic. It is a waste of her talents that she does not like running. She is fast. 55min for MF loop, in heavy trail shoes, untrained. I do think she is capable of a 4h +/- marathon timing if she chooses to do one. Sub-4h even, if she trains for it.

I went out fast initially, above my normal pace for a 20km attempt. I cut 3min off my normal timing on the first 5km, which should have triggered alarm bells that I was going too fast. I ran with Jason for that 1st loop, with me panting and him coughing along the way. Unfortunately, it was too late by the time I decided to slow down my pace and the 10km loop felt extremely tiring. Even as I tried to stroll a little to regain my breath, my rhythm was totally lost. When we reached clubhouse after the 1st loop, Jimmy, Wong, and Julie were having a break at the entrance. Jason was not feeling well and decided to stop. I continued on the 2nd loop alone. I was glad Jason did not come along, he would have been utterly irritated. That loop was a lost cause from the word go. It was a great struggle, with multiple stop-strolls in between jogs. I lost count of how many times I did that, and how many runners bypassed me. Why was it mentally so hard to continue running and not stop? It was only 20km. :( The total time for run was way longer than my usual, nevermind that the 1st lap was faster.

I still need lots of practice and training to find a new balance between power (which I'm trying to build) and sustainable pace (which I had but slow) so as to create a more effective rhythm. Retail therapy beckoned during sulky moments like this. I indulged and bought 4 pretty pairs of shoes for my 1 not-so-pretty pair of feet. :)

Discovering Power

I ran hard today. Telok Blangah hills x 6 loops. I cannot recall the last time I breathed so hard and heavily during a run. Alber paced me for the 6 loops, and kept telling me to close the gap. I tried. I really did. On the 6th and last round, I felt a shift in my power source and could sense energy being tapped from my quad muscles rather than calves. Hmmm..... perhaps I'd been running 'wrongly' and using the wrong muscle groups all this time.

Sleepy Track 8

Andrew took the RPM Challenge class tonight instead of Kee Leong, who had MIA-ed. He mixed some new tracks from the latest RPM release, but they did not feel oomph enough for a good workout. The pace track (#8) was so monotonous, it totally killed the energy high from the earlier tracks. The legs were so sleepy after that, they could not be awakened again for the last hillclimb track #9.

Expectations or Runner

So there I was, all fresh after 4 days of doing nothing and mentally psyched to have a good run. The 'put in effort' type of run. The endeavor and images were prettily rehearsed in my little mind. They remained there.

I started off strong, but only because everyone was still chatting and taking it easy. After 15min, the runners began to get serious and picked up pace. I lost a group at the road leading to Labrador Park. I was already panting on the way up the Labrador Hill, but I persisted in keeping a close distance with my target pacer for the day. The 2 loops within the Park were quite a killer, I had to distract myself from the huffing and puffing by totally focusing on the pacer ahead of me. Then I was dropped, or rather I could not keep up. I continued alone back to Safra, desperately trying to test out the speed I was using. Speed is relative. What is fast and heart-thumping for me is often a relaxed pace for the better runners. I tried tagging on a front group as we waited together at a traffic junction. Of course I could not, and I lagged further and further until I could not see them anymore. Then I tried sprinting on the finishing slope up Henderson Road and nearly died 3 times (metaphorically).

The bitter pill was knowing that I was pushing the pace and strides, yet not being able to close or maintain the gap. It is very demoralizing to go for a run feeling totally refreshed and recharged, only to be reminded once again that one cannot perform up to expectations. Or perhaps the problem lies with the said expectations, and not the runner. And yet perhaps, redemption might come from the expectations, and not the runner, to spur us to better ourselves. I would just have to train so much harder and push so much more. That, plus I need to drop 2kg to go faster.

A Week of Nothing-ness

This was essentially a whole week of doing nothing, taking a break and eating. I did a recovery run of 8km on Tuesday, and 10km and Thursday, both at a very slow pace. My calves were still aching during those runs after the marathon. Jaime and Ong reckoned that I was upset over my marathon results and tried to cheer me up. That was so sweet of them. :) Next year is a new start, and a new training season. In the meanwhile, I am going to take a well-deserved break until the MR ultra run at the end of the year. :)