Tune Footwear Loafer Review Posted by Steve on June 14, 2013 No Responses » Jun 142013 Today, we’re going to take a little detour from our normal “programming.” For those of you looking for running shoe reviews, I’ll direct you to our sidebar where we have all of our recent reviews listed, but, for those of you looking for a minimalist dress shoe designed by a team with fitness and health on their mind, you’ve come to the right place. Mike, the brains behind Tune Footwear, first came up with the idea for these shoes because of his passion for running, as well as his interest in the minimalist shoe movement. As his professional career progressed, he found there was a need for a minimalist dress shoe in the market, and took it upon himself to design a shoe that offers both style and versatility to the minimalist enthusiast. Thus, Tune Footwear was born. Continue reading “Tune Footwear Loafer Review” » Technorati Tags: loafers, minimalist dress shoe, minimalist shoe review, minimalist shoes, Primal Professional, shoe review, tune footwear
Happiness and Heartbreak at the Houston Regional Corporate Track Meet Posted by Ashley on June 12, 2013 No Responses » Jun 122013 Funding? Check. Waiver forms? Check. Singlets? Check. Tents and chairs? Check. Food and Gatorade? You bet. But did we have a team? I was able to account for the 20 or so folks who had been coming to practice 3 times a week for the past 2 months, but we would need double that number to fill our roster for A and B teams for every race and relay. Two nights before our big meet, my co-captains and I sat down to pick relay strings and determine who would be running each event. We had received 42 entry forms(!) and each of those 42 had told us which lengths they wanted to race. We faced the monumentous task of aligning the lengths people wanted to run, how old the person was, their gender, and my knowledge about their speed to place them into relay strings which had certain restrictions as set by USA Track and Field. For example, in the Master’s Relay, all racers had to be 35 or above and a woman had to run the first 100m leg. After a long night that included a matrix filtered excel spreadsheet, we had our top individual racers and our A and B team relay strings picked. We were ready! Continue reading “Happiness and Heartbreak at the Houston Regional Corporate Track Meet” » Technorati Tags: coaching, Houston Regional Corporate Track Meet, racing, Schlumberger Running Club, track
SKORA CORE Review Posted by Meagan on June 7, 2013 No Responses » Jun 072013 It’s been almost a a year and a half since Skora burst onto the minimalist scene with the release of their original models, the Base and Form, becoming what can only be described as the “luxury car” of the minimalist shoe world. From their inspired “Run Real” campaign, to the beautiful design and quality construction of the shoes themselves, it wasn’t hard to see why people were willing to shell out almost $200 to get their hands on a pair, and the overwhelming consensus was that they were definitely worth the money. By the time the women’s models were finally released last August (about 7 months after the men’s), I was practically beside myself with excitement to get the chance to test out the Base model. Unfortunately, because my feet are quite narrow, the straps didn’t quite hold things in place well enough for me, and I struggled with uncomfortable rubbing on the balls of my feet. Because I loved the overall fit, feel, and style of the Base, however, I wanted another shot at Skoras, and I thought a pair with laces would solve my rubbing problems by allowing me to better secure my feet. So, I was very happy to get the chance to test a pair of Skora’s new model, the Core, which is one of two new styles added to the Skora line this spring. Like the Form (reviewed by Steve), the Core’s upper is made of goat-leather, and it features similar design elements (e.g., asymmetrical lacing), but is somewhat less expensive ($155 relative to $185 for the Form). The $30 difference can be accounted for in several elements of the design, such as the lack of a velcro heel adjustment strap, simpler stitching/construction of the upper (in the Core), and differences in the material and structure of the soles. Despite being priced as a “lesser” shoe than the Form, though, the Core holds its own as a great (and in some ways better) minimalist running (and casual!) shoe, and it, along with the Phase, further solidify Skora’s position as one of the best minimalist shoe companies around today. Continue reading “SKORA CORE Review” » Technorati Tags: barefoot shoes, Core, minimalist running, minimalist shoes, run real, shoe review, Skora, SKORA CORE
GO>ID Review Posted by Steve on June 4, 2013 No Responses » Jun 042013 Staying fit is one thing, staying safe is a whole different game. As we’ve mentioned before, staying safe while out for a run, hike, walk, ride, climb, or swim is an extremely important factor to consider when participating in these activities. For the most part, this can be achieved through simple means: going out with a friend, keeping yourself well-lit or wearing reflective clothing, running with a cell phone for emergencies, knowing your surroundings, and paying attention to the time of day (if trail-running, mornings can be hazardous because of animals; if road running, nights can be bad due to crime or traffic). Unfortunately, even if you take the aforementioned precautions, I would be lying to you if I told you that they make you magically immune to accidents. For those times that something does goes wrong, it is best to be prepared. Enter GO>ID, with which, as they so elegantly put it: You’ll have the peace of mind to do everything you want to with the confidence to go anywhere. As far as big ideas go, the simple ones are always the best. Continue reading “GO>ID Review” » Technorati Tags: exercise, fitness, GO>ID, hiking, identification, racing, running, running tips, training tips
The Challenges of Coaching Posted by Ashley on May 29, 2013 No Responses » May 292013 It’s been a month now since I started coaching my corporate track team. Practices are held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, with about 20 runners coming to practice. I have been faced with several unforeseen challenges and with leading a group of runners with a huge variety in athletic backgrounds. Needless to say things have been…interesting. “Ashley…This is so hard…” I’ll admit it. I made our training schedule way too difficult. I made a schedule that an active racer like myself could do, but I overlooked the main problem – most of the folks on this team are not racers. Our upcoming meet may be the only running event they participate in every year. I’ve been truly humbled when it comes to telling people what they should do. I’ve realized that not everyone can do the workout we have planned for the day and I have to be ready to provide options. Even so, the dedication to the training is inspiring. Some of my runners have never run this hard in their lives, but they give 120% every practice. I often hear the classic line, “This is too hard”, but I encourage them to try, and at the end of practice, when it’s all over, I always hear “Oh, that wasn’t too bad!” And then I jokingly ask them if they want to do a few more repeats! Continue reading “The Challenges of Coaching” » Technorati Tags: coaching, running, running coach, running tips, track
From the Toes of Colbert Posted by Steve on May 21, 2013 No Responses » May 212013 As I’m sure many of our followers noticed, we posted a picture of Stephen Colbert on our Facebook page on Friday of him wearing a pair of Vibram FiveFingers (specifically the EL-X model). Although a funny shot for Colbert, it was actually a pretty exciting moment for us minimalist runners. Regardless of the countless times our “fad” (as Runner’s World recently called it) has been seen on TV, I still get excited when I hear them come up and have to run and look up whoever it is that’s talking about them! Colbert is rocking the EL-X’s because during the interview portion of his show, he sat down with Dr. Daniel Lieberman, an advocate of long distance running, a professor in human evolutionary biology from Harvard University, and a barefoot runner. During the interview, Lieberman shared information about his research on the evolutionary biology of humans. They have found that there are five major things make humans special relative to other mammals (running, walking, chewing, throwing, and sweating), most of which are closely related to why we make the best long-distance runners, and, in many cases, natural hunters. Continue reading “From the Toes of Colbert” » Technorati Tags: barefoot running, ffs, fivefingers, minimalist running, minimalist shoes, Stephen Colbert, Vibram
Instabeat: Master Your Swim! Posted by Meagan on May 17, 2013 No Responses » May 172013 It’s been a couple of years now since I’ve hopped in a pool to swim laps, and even longer since I swam competitively, but after spending 8 years on swim teams, including all through high school, the sport of swimming will always be near and dear to my heart. Swimming is an excellent all-around form of exercise, and I always feel at home when I’m in the water (maybe I’m part mermaid!), whereas running has never been an activity I feel naturally suited for (but I love it anyway). As it turns out, swimming is also an excellent form of cross-training for runners, made even better by the fact that it is virtually zero-impact, so it is great for recovering from/preventing injuries. Because of this, I’ve been meaning to get back in the pool since about the time we started doing races (over a year and a half ago already!), but have had trouble motivating myself to make it there during open swim hours (which are usually very early in the morning). However, I think I’ve finally found the perfect reason to get out my suit, cap, and goggles and hit the water again–the Instabeat! Continue reading “Instabeat: Master Your Swim!” » Technorati Tags: cross training, Heart Rate Monitor, Indiegogo, Instabeat, swimming, swimming gadgets, swimming heads up display, swimming heart rate monitor, swimming tracker
