Wednesday 27 March 2024

Topo Athletic Pursuit shoes first day

Even though I run quite a modest weekly total, alongside some hiking in my trail shoes, the mileage and wear soon develops. Two months after moving onto a new pair of Lone Peak shoes I saw the internet traffic praising the Topo Athletic Pursuit shoes as an alternative to the long running Lone Peak standard. You can do your own search... As I like to have a new pair of shoes being worn-in alongside a pair that are wearing-out I decided to try out the relative newcomer.

I called a shop I've bought from a few times and asked about the sizing of the Topos compared to the Altras. They thought that sizing was comparable so I ordered the same size that I'm used to. I wore the shoes around the house and felt that the size was slightly smaller but not so much that I wanted to size-up. Going into summer I'm more likely to wear thinner socks anyway, that is if the rain stops and I put the Sealskinz socks to one side. I was conscious of the greater stack height oddly enough.

Today I took them out for a 10km trial trail run near home.


My initial impression is that even with the thicker sole unit the Topo are harder on tarmac. On wet grass and slimy mud there is a little more grip, perhaps due to the more widely spaced lugs. One of the supposed advantages of the Pursuit over the Lone Peak is better longevity of the sole, due to Topo using a sole produced by Vibram. I wonder if in my use I'll see this as, to me, a sparse tread is inherently more prone to wear on hard surfaces? Living in an urban area my trail runs generally start on tarmac suburban paths, then move to hard-packed trails with some grass and loose rocks. Although internet reviewers have complained about excessive wear to uppers of recent Altra shoes I've mostly found the uppers to outlast the soles, although as noted previously, I aim for over 1000km from Lone Peaks which many don't seem to find.

The Topo and Altra shoes have similar list prices but many UK suppliers discount Altra, and even the Altra online shop reduces prices for last season's colour. This makes the Topo considerably more expensive for me at the moment, as I'm writing the Lone Peak 7 (the old model but readily available) is £80 and the Pursuit £140. I'm sceptical of achieving twice the mileage from the Topo Athletic Pursuit and will report back in a few months.

Saturday 13 January 2024

Retired Lone Peak shoes

 After some muddy runs I've retired by default khaki Lone Peak trail shoes after around 1000km. This is earlier than previous shoes of this model and was due to me losing confidence in the sole which was worn almost smooth. In the past the shoes have lasted 1400km and failed with tears to the upper. Perhaps the v6 shoes have a slightly softer rubber? Anyway, in wet, slimy conditions a heavily worn sole isn't especially safe. 

Tuesday 5 September 2023

Trying yet again to to keep up endurance

I find it hard to commit time to long, slow runs or walks. By this I mean over 30km or 6 hours of walking.  Even with a week's holiday that pattern doesn't fit in and I often only mange a few short runs. Today I was fortunate to have some annual leave to take, lovely weather and nothing else pressing to do. However I'm out of practice and didn't want to over do things. So I decided on a walk/jog to Hathersage which is 32km round trip from home.

I also took along my poles which I rarely use as I'm not well practiced and find them an overall hinderance. How would I get on with them today, how would they fit onto my Harrier pack? I found them useful on uphill sections, which I'd already decided to walk, with a bit of arm effort I felt I'd got a good ascending pace. On one or two easy level bits I was able to use them whilst jogging but anywhere else they went back on the pack. That wasn't ideal either as they fit horizontally at what turns out to be elbow height so I was aware of them if I was swinging my arms. So I had to put the tip covers on to reduced the risk of injury. Jury's out currently....

Despite the leisurely pace I tired on the return leg, dragging my feet and managing to trip over a teeny rock. Luckily I'd enough water to rinse off the various grazes. (My ribs still hurt a few days later).

Whilst on holiday I'd seen the Southern Upland Way and fancy a go at that - so I need better long distance pace. I'm not thinking of running 214 miles but due to the lack of settlements you're committed to some pretty long days. 

Tuesday 18 April 2023

HRM strap battery swap

Once again I spotted erratic heart rate data from the 935. On checking there wasn't any running dynamics data so the heart rate strap was offline.
I've just swapped the battery and according to the blog it's 3 years since I did it last. Can't complain then.

Sunday 2 April 2023

Crookstone Out Moor (Edale)

 I was in Edale for a few hours so planned a 2 hour run/walk towards the east. I included Ringing Roger so the first section was a tough ascent at a brisk walk, but from there it was pretty much downhill all the way back to the village.

Some parts of the route were muddy and slippery (not helped by worn shoes) but overall a good morning's activity.




Don Valley Way

I've been looking at options for a longer run, something longer than a marathon, for some weeks. Peddar's Way was an option for the summer but after reading a few hike reports I didn't think it sounded worth the trouble. It's a fair way from home and with endpoints in rather inaccessible spots. I suppose that's just how Norfolk is.

With a day off work I wanted something easy. Somehow I spotted the Don Valley Way which starts a £5 train trip from home and ends a bus ride away. The weather forecast was reasonably favourable too. After an evening of indecisive packing I was on my way. The video below gives an overview of the route. As others have said, it wasn't the most inspiring of trails.

I took sandwiches which were very welcome but bought a coffee and extra water at Thyrburgh. Overall I was slower than hoped and shocked that the GPS track says that I was stationary for an hour. My coffee break was brief so a substantial part must have been navigation. The route was vaguely marked throughout but was blocked all through Rotherham. I had to find an alternative and check the map often. It was also disheartening to be tramping on busy main roads, adding to my tiredness.



The Five Weirs was a pleasant change although that had a closure too. I mostly walked after Neepsend.
Having been off the route so much I can't even think about putting it on FKT so that wasn't an incentive.

Fly tipping was common along the path

Also, I can't recommend the route to others as the diversions and plentiful litter make it unpleasant. It's been a day out and shown me that I need to practice longer runs. I'm in a 15 to 20 km rut!

Thursday 9 March 2023

In the snow

This afternoon I'd got leave booked and was initially disappointed by the poor weather forecast. "It'll be magical" I was told by a keen runner at work just before leaving the office. Indeed, the woods in snow could be lovely. 

So I wrapped up well and made my way rather slowly up to Oxstones.
Near the stones the snow was quite deep and relatively undisturbed which made the final bit of ascent tiring. Even downhill along the pavement was slow as the path was slippery. Near the school I slipped on compacted snow and ripped a small hole in my overtrousers (and my skin).

I'm pleased I made the effort to go out and being 30% slower was probably what I should have expected!