Arbutus Cove Run October 22, 2012

I really enjoy running in the rain. I should rephrase that, I really enjoy running in a light drizzle. The rain keeps you cool and is also a bit invigorating so that you seem to find a little extra energy to draw from. I also love running in the Autumn not only because of the obvious reasons of vibrant fall colors and cooler temperatures but also knowing that the racing season is over takes some of the pressure off to perform and train at such a high level. You are able to relax some and enjoy running for the simple act of covering distance efficiently. Today's run checked both these boxes. I stepped out my door and was first greeted by a brisk drizzle, during the Island's first true cold spell the year; it was a little like jumping into a cold pool, but like swimming in a cold pool, it is only a matter of time before the body adjusts and the exertion makes you quite comfortable. The smell of earth and leaves in various stages of decay accompanied me as I started down the trail. I decided to run Arubutus Cove a small sandy bay near my home. As I ran down the stairs to the beach, I could hear the surf which meant high tide. The waves were crashing right up against the high water mark which only left a small strip of runnable sand. It would be possible to run this strip, which would include some scrambling on slimy rocks, but tonight I opted to head back to the road and circumnavigate the beach and run to the other end. The other end of the cove has larger grassy areas along the headlands strewn with large arbutus trees, both lush and green, and dead and scraggly. I enjoyed the view and ran down the 40 or so steps to the beach. It was a superb run at the height of fall. I retraced my steps and did the route in reverse for a simple 35 minute run. Nothing too serious just enough.

Brooks Cascadia 7 Review

Cascadia 7 statistics:

Weight: 11.93 oz (US Men’s 9)

Heel-Toe Drop: 10.0 mm (improved from Cascadia 6’s 11.3mm drop)

Heel Height: 28.0 mm

Forefoot Height: 18.0 mm

Before reviewing the Cascadia 7 I need to mention that I gave the Cascadia 6 a score of 21/25 in my previous review, and even though I reviewed the 6's after running 90 miles, it may have been premature considering several issues popped up later in the life of the shoe. More realistically the Cascadia 6 score was an 18/25. That said, my Cascadia 6’s ended up lasting for 1,600 miles before I had to retire them, and that includes over 600 of those miles on roads. The good news is that the Cascadia 7 addressed these issues that cropped up later with the 6’s and I am extremely excited about the updated 7. I will address these issues with the 6 and how the 7 has addressed the issues in this review.

OutSole

The Cascadia 7’s outsole lug design has been redesigned from the 6. The biggest change was the elimination of the round lugs in the core of the outsole of the 6 and returning back to a more triangular lug design in the core of the 7. This change was important because the round lugs in the 6 were not angular enough to grip crevices in rocks and seemed unable to cut through deep mud due to their large surface area. The round lugs also wore quicker and as they wore the traction decreased significantly.

Here is how this new outsole performed on the trails and roads and improved the shoe from the Cascadia 6.

Roads - The lugs handle the roads reasonably well for a trail shoe that is primarily designed for gripping rocks and mud. The lack of surface area in contact with the road on a luggy trail shoe does cause some slippage particularly on wet asphalt. The amazing thing about the Cascadia 7 is that the tread design is smooth enough on the road that you can actually run many miles on the road and have no problems. This shoe is no replacement for a nice road runner but it is as close as it gets. For a runner who has to navigate roads to get to the trails or run trails that have sections of road, this is definitely the shoe for you. I rated the outsole 3/5 for performance on the road

Trails - This is where the outsole and lug design of this shoe excels. The amazing thing about the Cascadia 7 is the fact that this outsole can handle muddy, rocky and root strewn trails nearly as well as specialist trail shoes designed primarily for nasty trails, and yet the Cascadia 7 can run roads making them a more diverse shoe without losing much performance compared to a specialty shoe. They grip mud extremely well. In the Pacific Northwest where I train, muddy trails are a constant, so it is key that the shoe doesn’t slip and the mud doesn’t stick to the sole. The Cascadia 7 nails this combination and can handle the soup and then releases the mud between strides. As for wet rocks they did as good a job as you can expect any versatile shoe. There always seems to be some slipping on wet rocks but the more triangular lug on the 7 seems to find better purchase in small imperfections in the rocks better than the Cascadia 6 so there is improvement there, but there is still slipping on wet slimy rocks. They handle dry rocks extremely well and the ballistic rock shield eliminates the shock from sharp roots and rocks and can handle long distances on rocky trails. Total score for outsole on the trails is 4.5/5.

Cushioning/pivot points/caterpillar crash pad

The Brooks Cascadia 7 incorporates the Brooks DNA cushioning system into the mid sole. This non-newtonian substance is supposed to give each runner a new tailored ride. They have kept the pivot points which are meant to prevent an ankle roll when stepping onto the side of your foot on a rock or root. There was little change in the cushioning from the 6 to the 7 because they really have the cushioning figured out.

Roads – Once again Brooks has found a way to cushion their shoe in a way that is virtually invisible. The shock of the road is adsorbed particularly for heel strikers due to the roll of the shoe and also from the collapse of the caterpillar crash pad in the heel area. Mid to forefoot strikers will find the shoe extremely comfortable on the roads even for long distances. As far as trail shoes are concerned this is the Cadillac of trail shoes on the road. I give the cushioning a 5/5on the roads.

Trails - Everything said previously about the cushioning on the roads applies to the trails but even improves more since the added softness from the trails makes the impact even less noticeable whether you are midfoot striking or heel striking from packed dirt to rocks and mud. The Cascadia 7 deforms around obstacles due in part to its pivot posts. The shoe definitely gets the full 5/5 for cushioning because of the pivots, the DNA, and Caterpillar Crash Pad that all work together to give you a custom, stable, and a shock free ride.

Upper

The upper has changed once again. The previous Cascadia 6 had an adjustable piece in the eye row, which I found to relieve pain in the bridge of the foot during toe-off, but over time I felt the elasticity allowed my foot to slide forward on steep downhill trails and my foot would begin to slide into the toe box. I was quite happy to see this feature go even though in my previous review I praised the elastic eye row as a smart innovation. To address this issue brooks has offset the entire lacing system to lock down the foot and take pressure off the bridge of the foot.

Roads/Trails - The new adjustments have definitely changed how the shoe fits. At first I thought the size 10 felt too wide, but as I worked on the laces it locked down across the bridge and finally tightened up in the toe box and seemed to feel closer to the previous size 10’s fit. The offset laces work really well and not only lock down the shoe in the arch area but release the pressure points across the bridge of the foot, improving the shoe from previous lace designs. The shoe goes from completely water logged from stepping in a stream or puddle to damp in about 20 steps so the shoe really expels water once it gets in there and even seems to draw water out of the wet sock and move it to the outside of the shoe. This is key for any long runs that have high probability for getting your feet wet. I had issues with the Cascadia 6 laces staying tied and thought the floating eye row may have allowed the laces to loosen up over time. The Cascadia 7’s seem to stay tied better than the 6’s but I feel there is still some room for improvement in the lace so that it doesn’t come untied or loose. The shoes upper receives a 4.5/5.

Overall I gave this shoe a total 22/25 scoring higher than my previous Cascadia 6 review and if you consider I feel the Cascadia 6 was actually lower, you can say the Cascadia 7 is clearly a major improvement. Most of this improvement comes from the lug design and the offset lace design. Once again I would recommend this shoe for a versatile runner who encounters the full spectrum of running surfaces from trail to track in any given day. There is still some wiggle room for improvement but Brooks has really developed a great shoe that any runner can take and excel in whether training or racing. This shoe is the Swiss army knife of trail shoes!

Here is a video of a run on Mount Work in Victoria, BC wearing the second pair of Cascadia 7's I have owned!

Long Distance Training

I have been training solo most of my five year running career. I have had the pleasure of training consistently with a great runner and friend on the island for about one year, but he has since moved. So once again I find myself doing all of my training alone. This is partly by choice, but partly because of the challenge of finding someone who can put in the distance at about my same speed. Most guys who can do the distance, do it a bit quicker than me. I don't want to drag them down, whereas most people who are a bit closer to my pace don't enjoy my choice of running distances or terrains. So I find myself running primarily alone which has great advantages but it is nice to train with someone at least once in a while.

My best friend of 20 years Tim has started running and training for marathons for a few years now. We met at a scout camp in 1992 and both got carsick on the drive home. We both had to hang our heads out opposite windows, and we were nearly inseparable for most of our teenage years. This is awesome because he runs at a very similar pace and at the same distances I do. The problem is that it has been tough to train together because we live 1000 miles (three states and one country) apart.

So I came up with some sort of solution that is currently in the beta testing phase. The idea is that as we both train for running long distances we will occasionally take along a camera and talk to it as though we were training together and the other person was present. We can than edit and post a video each week which will have random thoughts and conversations as well as training conditions and routes summed up from the week. Then after a few of these videos get passed along we can start conversing in response to previous training vlogs from each other and train together via long distance for long distances.

Here are my first two. The first video is a little rudimentary, and has no music, and contains some embarrassing information that may have not been wise to spread on Youtube, but I don't mind. It contains footage of Mount Doug, Mount Tolmie, and Cedar Hill Golf Course. The second only has the long run from this last week in The Gowlland Tod Range on the Timberman Trail because I erased the previous few runs when I formatted the card. I do like the second one a little better particularly because it covers the last run Tim and I ran together when he was visiting last summer and so it has footage both of us can relate to. Choose 720 HD for better quality. Enjoy!!

Training: The Buildup Phase

As the word "buildup" implies one has to be in a state of atrophy or degradation before you can "build up". Unlike so many dedicated superhuman runners who seem to never allow themselves to fall into disrepair, the rest of us mortals find those occasions where we have slacked and given our shoes a chance to air out and de-stink a bit, and our tummies time to expand. This means that we must start the training process over again. How much you have previously ran, length of running hiatus, and your abilities as a runner, will determine how smooth or painful this stage of training is.

It begins the same as all things running, with a single step. The difference is that this first step often adsorbs the added impact caused by the extra pounds gained during the holidays (darn those chocolate oranges). Unlike the last time you ran fit and well, this step reminds you just how out of shape you let yourself become. The first system to tap out tends to be the lungs. This initiatory run seems to cause the lungs to revolt and sear with pain and all the huffing and puffing just falls short of filling your oxygen quota.

It is a good thing then that your pace for this first run falls somewhere between snail and tortoise. Now the mind kicks in and begins to scold the runner with such thoughts as "how come you took a break" or "this pace is pathetic, I might as well be walking laps at the mall", or you begin to sound like a fogie reminiscing about the good ole days like "I remember it only took me 17 minutes to get to this point during the summer". After the self-flogging you start to settle into some sort of a laboured rhythm.

Then for some of the more unfortunate runners, their pulmonary system has an unpleasant surprise in store for them. All the millions of capillaries that we had spent the previous year growing for maximal blood flow, had spent the hiatus sealing themselves up since they were no longer needed. Now that the body is having to work, it decides it is time to open up the old capillaries and move some blood to the surface of the skin to aid in the cooling of the over-insulated machine. This may seem harmless enough but for anyone who has experienced the burning and itching associated with running after a break, knows the torture I am talking about. No matter how hard you scratch your ribs, stomach, and thighs you can't begin to quench the fire from within. Millions of rusty pipes being flooded with blood for the first time in weeks or even months. All that can be done is a half trot half scratch lope down the trail or road (possibly even whimpering) until you finally have had enough training for one day.

With run number one out of the way you are able to start the next run knowing you have at least ran once previously and so you start again. This time things work a bit better, not anywhere near comfortable but at least the itchy capillary thing is over (it tends to only take one run and the phenomenon vanishes until the next time you run after a hiatus).

Now starts the phase of building up some fitness momentum. Unfortunately, fitness follows Newton's first law all to well, in that an object at rest wants to stay at rest and an object in motion wants to remain that way. In many ways fitness is like a gargantuan iron steam locomotive. If neglected, it kind of sits there in all its ginormous glory, and rusts to the tracks. In order to get your fitness moving down the tracks in the right direction again you first have to use some superhuman strength just to get it to budge. This is really what the first few weeks of a new training program are all about. Getting that fitness in a state of motion and moving in the right direction. With dogged perseverance and consistency you find your fitness on track and moving in the right direction.

It is at this point that we are the most prone to injury. The lungs and heart have finally figured things out and found that they are still capable of providing the oxygen necessary to fuel the furnace. Herein lies the conundrum, with your new found fitness, and zealous impatience to achieve that fitness level you once had you begin to ignore such basic laws of running like the 10% rule. Why not increase distance this week by 25 or even 50%? Now it is your legs who tap out. Up to this point your limiting factor has been your respiratory and pulmonary systems, now that they are working, and you are logging some impressive miles, you start feeling some pain along your shins or perhaps a slight twinge of something on the side or lower knee. Now is the time you must exercise extreme caution because you can kiss all those previous weeks of training goodbye if you make one wrong move at this point. You are on extremely thin ice. You now must let up a bit and let the legs catch up to the lungs. This interim stage usually takes a few weeks of tip-toeing the knife edge between too much and just enough. If you listen to your body and try not to get too greedy with mileage your legs eventually turn the corner and you begin increasing your mileage again, a little wiser from that close call.

You are now running consistently. You have lost some weight and your mental state has improved. You are positive and seeing great improvements. You can run 4-5 times a week with little problem. Your pace has progressed from tortoise to something a little quicker. Your long runs are at the half marathon mark no problem. You have made it through the buildup phase, it is now time to turn your attention to an entirely different beast, the long run, but that is a whole different story for another day!

New Years Eve Long Run: Getting Lost on Vancouver Island

On top of Seymour Hill

Going for a run in a new location is always exciting and really increases your love of trail running, and this New Years Eve run was no different. Although I have been living on the Island for over three years now I still haven't even began to explore all the trail systems and parks even a few miles from my house. One area I haven't spent much time is Thetis Lake Regional Park. The park is wildly popular among residents because of its beautiful trail system, scenery, and more likely its appeal to dog walkers. It also hosts trail races like the extremely popular Gunner Shaw 10K and the Stewart Mountain 10 miler. It is amazing that I haven't run this park but one other time, with its amazing trails and rich cross-country race history. In the end, the main reason I haven't spent much time there is I don't like driving to a run if I can reach a similar type of run easily from my doorstep, I don't like paying for parking (May-September), and lastly I am not a huge fan of trails populated with dog walkers. I don't mind running around dogs on most trails but sometimes really popular trails get so choked with our canine friends it can really slow you down or prevent you from ever really reaching that flow state that can be so fickle to achieve.

That being said I decided it was time to give the park a try as my last run of the year. I went early enough in the morning that I figured the majority of dog walkers would still be avoiding the morning chill. I chose a course to run that followed closely to the Stewart Mountain Course with the exception of me running a smaller knoll called Seymour Hill first, and then also running to the summit of Scafe Hill as well as Stewart Mountain. The trail system is honestly straight forward and well marked so as to why I had such a hard time navigating this run is beyond me. Granted I haven't spent much time there before, and the main route has no fewer than 15 forks in the trail, but in the end I think I was just so busy enjoying the run that I wasn't paying much attention to what I was doing, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I started the run at a nice slow chug up the south side of Seymour. My blood began pumping and I quickly warmed up in the rays of the winter sun. I was in awe at how many cars were in the parking lot but the majority of people walk the main trail around the lake, so I had Seymour all to myself. The views of Thetis were absolutely beautiful and I was able to do one of my favorite things on the island which is glide along the tops of the hills over the moss covered rocks with amazing vistas all around me. After taking a photo or two at the top I began my descent and after a mile of beautiful twisting, turning, descending, single track I met up with the main trail that ribbons around the shore of Thetis Lake.

I knew that I needed to stay left near the shore a certain distance and avoid several right hand turns until I reached the correct right that led me north towards Stewart Mountain. The problem was in my attempt to hug the lake I took the trail that heads due south along a peninsula between the upper and lower Thetis Lakes and after a mile on that found myself literally back to where I parked. No Problem I thought I will just head north along the west shore of the lake and eventually meet back up with my main route to the north. In all, this wrong turn cost me several miles, but the trails were so amazing and the weather so perfect I just considered it a privilege to explore a few extra miles of trails.

I then began to probe my way toward the northwest end of the lake to find my main route to Stewart Mountain. I was unsure which trail I needed to take because I strayed from my original route that I had planned on running. So I found myself literally running every off-shoot trail I could find. I would run it until it dead-ended into a road, parking lot, race car track, or gravel pit. I was a bit frustrated to be honest but the trails were amazing and I had them to myself because I was away from the main lake. Eventually I found the correct trail after literally running every wrong trail in it's entirety. I thought it is a good thing I like to run long distances because otherwise I would be spent before I ever made it to the north bound trail that takes me to Stewart Mountain (which should have only taken about 25-30 minutes to reach).

I ran over streams, and puddles, and through trails with water pouring down them. I ran past old rusty cars and by old water tanks. It was a ton of fun to explore and every corner was new which is why I love running new areas so much. I finally reached Stewart Mountain an hour later than I had originally planned. At that point I realized I packed zero fuel and only had water and I could use a calorie or two going into the climb but pushed myself and thought it was good fat burning training. At one point I saw an overgrown trail that appeared to be a shortcut and would shorten my climb by quite a bit and so I took it. Within a minute I found myself chin deep in ferns and soggy grass. I stepped in a puddle that went up to my knee and finally broke through to the main trail after quite a battle with the brush, and while I was in the bush I donated my maps to the undergrowth. Finally I made the summit. It wasn't by any means a spectacular summit but it felt nice to lay down and I enjoyed the solitude and peace that comes from going further than anyone else is willing to go. I snapped a few photos, and took some footage, got a large swig out of the water bladder and headed back.

The way down was uneventful and now that I had a feel for the area I ran straight back to my car even without my maps that apparently didn't help anyways. What a great run and way to end 2011. I finished up the week with about 40 miles and felt really happy with each of my runs.

At the bottom of this post is the video I made of the run with another great song by Seven Mary Three. Feel free to laugh as I get lost, take shortcuts that don't pan out, and end up losing my maps (I know my wife sure had a good laugh at my expense). The video is in high definition so toggle to 1080 P before viewing to get a better picture!

Seymour Hill Ascent

Seymour hill

Thetis Lake

Running the Mossy Rocks

On the Summit of Stewart Mountain