Right around when my New Balance Zantes started to hit about 300 miles, I figured I should start looking around for a new pair of sneakers since running shoes tend to have a limited lifespan. It had occurred to me that I should just buy another pair of the New Balance and call it a day, but with an almost limitless number of choices and options out there, I figured it would be worth it to try out a different pair.

Oh boy were there a lot of choices...

I decided to narrow down the candidates to shoes that fit (snicker snicker) the following criteria:

1. Lightweight
2. Supportive midsole
3. 4 to 6 mm heel-to-toe drop

So that limited the choices down to about a million pairs of shoes... sigh...

Image courtesy of Boston.com 

I had narrowed the choices down to Brooks or Hoka based on reviews and feedback from other runners and was about to call it until I read an article about Meb Keflezighi who won the 2014 Boston Marathon... in a pair of Skechers...

Whaaaat....?

I never ever associated Skechers with performance of ANY kind. In fact, the only notable thing I recall of Skechers is the company getting sued for false advertising on their shape up shoes. However, after looking into their Performance brand, it sounds like their Skechers Performance department warranted a consideration.

I poked around Amazon (which is something I do 5 times a day) and actually found a pair of GoMeb performance running shoes for $45. This made the decision fairly easy since, if they stunk, I could still use them to mow the lawn and not feel so bad about it (I’m looking at you Under Armour HOVR Sonic).

I have to say, I was very surprised by these shoes. They are extremely lightweight and supportive enough for a half marathon distance. They have a 4 mm drop so it helped me with my heel striking. I was impressed.

It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns though. The laces that came with the shoes were essentially twine, I couldn’t remove the insoles and replace them with my own, and 13 miles is definitely their limit in terms of support and comfort. Those shortcomings though were more nit picky than anything else.

The only knock I have against Skechers as a brand is that their naming for their performance shoes is terrible. It seems like they have two major performance models; GoMeb and GoRun. However, if you look under those models, there are so many sub-models (?) that you can’t really make heads or tails of it. GoMeb Speed 5? Razor 2? GoRun Ride 7? Helicopter turbo jet Optimus Prime 2?

One of those may have been made up...

Naming goofiness aside, I’m sold on Skechers Performance shoes and, as long as I can figure out which pair fit my needs, I will consider them first when I need to buy my next pair.

Although if they did name a pair called “Helicopter turbo jet Optimus Prime 2” I would probably buy those just because...

Viva Las Vegas!

I capped off my year of endurance events with the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to have my mother watch my children, which allowed my wife to join me on this mini vacation.

Do you still consider it a vacation if you have to run 13.1 miles?

This was a very different event from the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon that I ran back in May. The obvious difference being the size difference between the two events. I forgot how many people ran on the vineyard but I’m sure it wasn’t 40,000, which was how many ran in Vegas. Having a race with this many people was extremely intimidating to me. Where do I go? When should I get there? Which color group am I? Which wave in my color group do I belong to? WHERE ARE THE BATHROOMS?

With over 40,000 participants, you tend to get a different answer from each person you ask these question.

So how did I feel about this race? Well, let’s start with the good.

For an event of this magnitude; it was fairly well organized. I can complain about the size all I want but in the end, I did find out where I was supposed to go. Me feeling intimidated is more of an issue with me rather than an issue with the event itself.

For large sections of the run, it was extremely entertaining. The strip was closed down and runners were able to run right in the middle of the street all the way from the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign to downtown Las Vegas at Fremont Street. The main section of the strip that everyone is familiar with was all lit up.

The run itself was fairly easy. The course only had about 200 feet of elevation total and the roads for the majority of the run were in very good condition.

Now for some of the challenges...

I’m a morning runner so shifting my long run to the evening was a big change. When do I eat? What do I eat during the day of the race? Do I try and sleep before the race or just stay up the whole time? All of this was exasperated by the fact that I was still on Eastern Standard time and Las Vegas is in the Pacific Standard timezone. Although to be fair, this is not the fault of the event either - I could have planned this better.

Another element I did not plan well for; the weather and climate. Running in New England, cold temperatures were something I knew I could run in without an issue. However, what I did not plan and train for was the desert humidity - or extreme lack of humidity. I woke up everyday with a dry and sore throat. My lips were chapped by the end of the trip. This changed my hydration approach the days leading up to the race and during the race. Again, something I should have planned for more.

I should have brought some chapstick…

My last challenge with the Vegas half marathon was gaps of Rock and/or Roll through large parts of the course. Realistically there’s no way the organizers can light and entertain every stretch of the 13.1 mile course but the event certainly tried to make it sound like it was like that. The reality of it was that after you got past the Mandalay Bay hotel heading south, there’s not much after that until you hit the Las Vegas sign and then turn around. The same can be said when heading northbound on the strip too; after Treasure Island it was fairly quiet and dark. In fact, certain parts were so dark that, if you weren’t careful, you could have stepped on another runner.

This blog entry is getting a bit long winded and I don’t want to seem like I’m rambling (even though I am). Despite what it sounds like, I really did have fun. This is not something you can do all the time and I certainly recommend runners to give it a try at least once. If you’re a fan of Sin City, then this may be something you’ll want to do on a regular. For me though? Once is enough. I learned a ton from it, I hit my personal best, and I got a mini vacation with my wife - I’d say that is a good event.

Hi, I’m Pete and I’m an Apple fanboy. Whew. Glad I got that out of the way.

It’s no secret that I love gadgets and when Apple announced their Apple Watch, I jumped right in and got one… and I wasn’t really that impressed.

Wait, is a fanboy even allowed to say that…?

I think my expectations of what the watch could do and what it actually was capable of were a bit too far apart. The apps that were written for it were tethered to the phone and it was extremely laggy and slow. I stuck with it like any good fanboy would and hoped that subsequent software revisions and hardware updates will improve it.

I had been researching for a while on what fitness watch I should get. Fitbit, Garmin, etc - I wasn’t really that impressed with any of them. I had a few requirements that none of them really fit:

1. Wirelessly connect to bluetooth headphones (I hate wires…)

2. Store or stream music

3. GPS

4. Fitness and heart rate tracking

5. Doesn’t need the phone

6. Can place and receive calls

None of the devices I looked at so far could really do any of those things together. Some did some of the things very well, but none of them did them all. The ability to place and receive calls was the toughest feature that very few fitness or smart watches had at the time - so I was ready to resign myself to taking my phone with me on runs.

Fast forward to the Apple Watch Series 3.

This watch pretty much checked all of the boxes so when it was announced, I ordered one right away.

Have I mentioned that I was a fanboy?

Now I won’t get into the nitty gritty details of the watch; you can get much better reviews from professional technology review sites. I will say that I was able to pair my headphones with it, store my music, pair my heart-rate sensor with it and Strava worked on it - done deal.

The killer feature for me though was the ability to un-tether from my phone when I’m out for a run and still be reached. Why would I want someone to get ahold of me? Because with two little children, you never know if or when you need to get your ass back to the house as soon as possible. For example, one time during a run, my wife called me and told me she had a really bad migraine and needed me to get home. I was able to answer the call and turn around and get home in less than 10 minutes. 

Worth every penny.

An added bonus is that my wife could track me if she wanted to in case she was worried about me on my long runs. 

It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. The battery life isn’t great (lasts about a day). The notifications during my runs can be distracting. I’m not a huge fan of the interface. Not all of the apps work well on it or can be run without the phone nearby.

At the end of the day, as a workout and fitness companion, it more than gets the job done for me. It worked for me but your mileage may vary - just go with what works for you. In the end, just get out there and have fun, gadget or not.

One of the things I learned that I loved about running was that I can be by myself. I know that this is not a very popular opinion and many people love running in groups but I’m personally not a fan of it. My big hang up with running with other people is that on days when I want to slow down or speed up, I feel like I have to keep a certain pace for the other person.

I mean, I could just ignore them but then I would look like a jerk… 

But I can’t deny that during my long runs it can get a bit boring. When I’m left alone with my thoughts, I can start dwelling on things and I’d rather not worry about these things when I’m running or biking. This is why music plays such a huge role in my fitness life. I can be by myself but still have something to distract me from the millions of thoughts running through my head.

First things first; I freaking hate wired headphones. I have lost track of how many times my arm catches the wire(s) and either yanks the headphones out of my ears or, worse, pulls my phone/device out and flings it across the floor.

Bluetooth headphones are my jam.

I don’t claim to be an audiophile so if you’re not into bluetooth audio and all of the tradeoffs that come with the technology, then read no further.

In hindsight I probably should have led with that… sorry…

My daily driver for running, biking, and general working out is the AfterShokz Trekz Titanium headphones. This model is an open ear headphone that works using bone conduction. I don’t know how much of that is legit and how much of it is marketing lingo but the main feature that I was looking for was the ability to listen to music while hearing my surroundings and this handles that use case without any issues. Being able to hear my environment is incredibly important for my safety - you never know when there’s a car turning the corner or someone in the gym carrying something heavy and needs to get by you.

These headphones are very light and stay put even with the most intense workouts. They are a behind-the-back style so nothing gets in your way as you’re working out. I’ve personally never had an issue with battery life either; I’ve gone a solid week without charging them and never ran into an issue. They are also IP55 certified so they can handle your basic sweaty athlete and rainy weather without any issues.

I paired them with my Apple Watch Series 3 (more about this in another post) and use the watch to play music through the headphones. This always worked for me without fail. The only thing that has not worked for me well is when I get a phone call through my watch and I try and answer it with the headphones (it has a built in microphone). Each time, the call quality was either terrible or the caller had trouble hearing me. However, to be very honest, I don’t know how much of that was the headphones or the watch. Since this is a very infrequent use case, I never really followed up on it and it never really bother me - your mileage may vary.

One major downside of the open-ear headphones is that loud noises can easily drown out any music playing through them. Once on a particularly windy run, I just turned off my music because I could not hear anything over the wind noise and I didn’t want to turn the volume too high. Another downside of bluetooth headphones is that you can only pair them to one device at a time (unless you’re using Apple’s fancy headphones). This means that if I wanted to use the headphones with my phone, I would have to go through the pairing process again, which I don’t bother doing.

As a self-proclaimed nerd, I usually try and get the latest and greatest tech as soon as I can justify replacing an existing item. With these headphones though, if I ever had to replace them, I would get the same ones again.

All products in this review were purchased with my own money and no one has approached me to do a review for them. My thoughts on the products are my own and do not reflect the thoughts or opinions of anyone else.

Links to products may be associated with an affiliate link.

First and foremost I want to thank the great people working on Martha’s Vineyard during the weekend of the half and full marathon. Everyone I met was so helpful and polite. I understand that this is a tourist spot and their livelihood depends on their hospitality but the people I ran into there genuinely went out of their way to help me when I needed it.

Pre-race day.

I arrived on the island the day before the race to pick up my bib and swag. The tent for this was at Waban park, which was also the finish line of the race. There was a single tent with different sections based on your bib number. You had to find your number by looking at this giant printout sheet on a separate table. My suggestion to the organizers is to email the numbers out beforehand to reduce this overhead for some of the runners. After figuring out your number, getting your bib and swag was easy enough - no drama there.

Morning of the race.

Transportation to the starting line from Oak Bluffs, where I was staying, was easy to get to and there seemed to be more than enough buses to shuttle the runners from Oak Bluffs to the high school. Once at the high school though, things seemed to get a bit chaotic. Everyone was packed into the cafeteria or hallways and there seemed to be people standing in lines but not entirely sure why they were in line. Since this was my first race, I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go next or do next. Luckily everyone there was very nice and I was able to get some pointers from some more seasoned runners.

I headed outside about 20 minutes before the race to warm up and get ready. I wasn’t really sure where the gear drop off was - cue me asking around some more. After finding the truck and dropping off my bag - I was good to go.

The race was broken up into 3 waves; fast runners up front, medium paced runners in wave 2, and yours truly in wave 3. The waves and their pace range were clearly marked so you knew somewhat where you were supposed to be. There were also a ton of pacers with signs there too so you could just find the one with roughly your time and hang out there.

The issue I had with the waves was that it really wasn’t a wave. It seemed as though once the race started it was just a slow push forward to the starting line. It felt a bit like cattle being herded towards an opening in the fence.

Moo….

The race itself.

The race itself was pretty straight forward. Aside from some initial confusion of where to actually run (jogging path or the actual street) everything was clearly marked. There were a ton of water stations staged throughout the course and some of them gave out some gels too. I did notice only one first aid station though but maybe there were more and I just didn’t notice any other ones.

One major annoyance that I found out after the race was over was that the tracking for the runners was not working. I don't know what was wrong but my wife and family weren't able to track me at the designated checkpoints.

At the finish, everything again was clearly marked and there was a ton of food, drinks, and first aid at Waban park. No complaints there. All in all, it was a fairly well organized race.

So would I run it again?

I thought about this long and hard and decided that I would not run this again if the logistics remained the same.

Don’t get me wrong - this is a great race and I would recommend it at least once to other runners because running on the vineyard and along the coast is breathtakingly gorgeous. However, the race is scheduled very early in the tourist season and the weather is likely going to be a game of chance every year. Also, from what everyone tells me, the island doesn’t get to 100% operational capacity until memorial day weekend. At least half of the stores or restaurants had signs saying that they won’t be open until late May.

Now if you’re there to just run the course and go home, then this will probably be fine for you. However, I wanted to make a weekend out of it so I left the island feeling a bit disappointed. I get it though, at the height of tourist season, the cost to block off hotel rooms and other logistics will probably be prohibitively expensive for many people so they had to get in early, which is why I don’t fault the organizers.

However, for me, I ran it and checked off a bucket list item. I don’t think I have a need to run it again myself.

If you haven’t subscribed to my instagram account yet, please check it out to see some of the sights and food I had while there.

Places I would recommend on the vineyard if you do go:

• Martha’s Vineyard Surfside Hotel (Melissa there is awesome)
• The Cardboard Box (amazing dinner and drinks)
• Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery (late night donuts and giant apple fritters)
• Slice of Life (great food and awesome desserts)

We’ve certainly come a long way in shoe technology compared to the old sandals they wore in Ancient Greece. At least I think they wore sandals... movies are historically accurate right?

I have been trying to find my perfect pair of running shoes and, while nothing I have tried so far has been perfect, they’re still worth taking a look at.

Brooks Men's Ghost 10

This was my first pair of running shoes that I bought when I started to take running more seriously. It’s a neutral shoe with a 12 mm heel-to-toe drop. Overall, I think it’s a really good shoe for the casual runner. It’s very cushiony, which I personally like a lot, and the upper is very breathable. I especially love the roomy toe box which gives my feet a ton of room to spread out.

The reason this pair is no longer part of my everyday running gear is because it’s a bit too heavy for me now and I’m used to running with slightly less of a drop. Again, if I were a bit more of a casual runner, I would think these would be a great pair of shoes. Definitely worth a consideration if you’re looking for a new pair.

Under Armour Men's HOVR Sonic

When the HOVR line first came out, my YouTube feed blew up with reviews of this shoe. At $100 (at the time of this post) it was definitely worth taking a look. It’s a neutral shoe with a 8 mm heal-to-toe drop and was relatively light (compared to my Brooks). I, personally, loved the design of the Sonic and the upper was extremely breathable. In fact, there were days when my feet were a bit too cold because this shoe let in so much air. UA’s big marketing push for this shoe was the energy return and I will admit that it lives up to the claim - it’s definitely very springy.

I’ve put about 120 miles on my pair so far and I really want to like this shoe but the biggest drawback for me is its width. For some reason, the shoe is just really tight on my feet. I’ve played around with the laces and used alternative laces but it feels like my feet sometimes goes off the sole a bit. The toe box is cramped compared to the Brooks (although to be fair you can park a Buick in the Brooks) and has led to some very uncomfortable distance runs. I’ve checked the website and have not (at the posting of this blog entry) seen an option for a wide. My verdict; if you have narrow feet, go for it but otherwise it might be a bit too uncomfortable on longer runs.

New Balance Men's Fresh Foam Zantev2

I actually picked up the Zantes on a whim because I was looking into a pair of shoes with a lower heel-to-toe drop. I swung by my local running store and they had this on sale because it was last year’s model. At first, when I tried to run in them, my reaction was that I didn’t like them because I felt it lacked the cushioning that I’ve grown accustomed to with the Brooks. However, now that I’ve put about 200+ miles on them, I have to say they’re probably closest to being perfect (for me of course). 

They’re light and the upper is very breathable. There’s a lot of flex in the sole when compared to the other two pairs and the toe box didn’t feel as cramped as the HOVR. The foam in the sole could use a bit more energy return but that is probably more of a personal preference than anything else. With a 6 mm heel-to-toe drop, this is the most aggressive offset pair I have to date.  I don’t have an issue using these for long distances so I’m likely going to use this pair for my 1/2 marathon in May.

All products in this review were purchased with my own money and no one has approached me to do a review for them. My thoughts on the products are my own and do not reflect the thoughts or opinions of anyone else.

Links to products may be associated with an affiliate link.