Monday in my red shoes

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 · Mike Davis

Monday night in my Newton’s

Tonight I ran in my brand new bright Red Newton running shoes. After getting a basic gate analysis on Saturday, I decided my Father’s Day gift to myself would be the rather expensive minimalist Newton Gravity Running shoes. Very red they are, but also quite lite and comfortable. The gate analysis guy (salesman) told me that I could run up to 4 miles initially and build up from there. Being the smart guy I am, I read the information included with the shoes which suggested being much more conservative. So I decided that I would start out somewhat conservative and be patient. My goal is to be a better and healthier runner and of course the good people at Newton, believe they have the answer. I certainly am willing to give them a chance. I don’t try to be that person that chases every new concept or idea, but I like minimalist in general and would like to find a pair that works for me.

The beauty of my life right now is that I’m not training for anything and am just running for the love of it. I have a goal that I want to get up too, which is running 4 to 5 times a week with a long run of 12 miles. Staying healthy and running 30-35 miles a week is how I would like to enjoy my summer. From there I can pretty much do anything. Tonight I wanted to just run a couple miles in the Newton’s, a couple in my Asics and then see how I felt. I went out to the track for the weekly running session, but I was the only one that showed up. No problem, I decided to do my running on the track. My first 2 miles were in the Newton’s and I comfortably ran 2 eight minute miles. Lately eight minute miles have been a struggle so maybe my bright red running shoe’s had some gas in them! I switched over to my Asics and set out for my 8 laps around the track. Focusing on the same form I used with the Newton’s as directed by the Newton rep, I pretty much kept the same 8 minute pace. Maybe no special thrusters in the Ronald McDonald looking shoes. Deciding that I wanted to run one more mile, I switched back to the Newton’s and eased through another mile and again I was right at 8 minutes.

Anything to surmise yet? No, not really, I like them and I feel more protected than I did in the Vibram’s, but until I build up some miles I won’t really know how they work for me. It’s hard to be patient, but because I’m not training for a particular event, I can be patient. Training people is my business, and hopefully I can learn enough about the particular minimalist to help others that are considering the investment. If you have some experience with minimalist shoes, I would like to hear about it.