What goes through your head moments before the start? What do you think about? How does imagery and focus help you perform? How can you better harness your feelings and emotions to succeed? I dive into my personal tools leading into my most recent race - fresh off injury at the Rattler 25k.
Optimism leans on the premise of ‘why couldn’t it go right?’and not ‘why would it ever go right?’ Optimism at its center is the belief that we can foster hopefulness; it is the ability to believe that life can be good and satisfying.
Optimism is not avoidance and optimism requires us to own all of our shortcomings, and understand that if we repeat the same mistakes we will get the same results. Try, fail, change, repeat.
Every person has an operating system it was developed by our parents, our coaches, and our teachers. We developed it in school, on the playing field, and in meeting rooms. What we aren’t given is a notification or a reminder to ‘update software’. There is nothing designed to flag us when we need to dive into personal development. I share some thoughts after diving into the idea that the operating systems that got us where are, won’t get us where we want to be.
At 13, I was unaware of much else other than friends, wrestling, and video games. It was 18 months before the life changing events I discussed in the last blog, that I had my first experience with running. My dad and I would go out for runs that felt like hours. He saw it as a way to connect. The runs were 30 minutes at an absolute max pace and I remember feeling like I wanted to be done as soon as I started.
Like a potter on the wheel, every athletes starts as a piece of clay, how you choose to mold and manipulate yourself is how you define the end product. Some of us are happy as dog bowls, some of us want to be a beautiful vase. Both have value, both possess skill to make - the biggest factor is time. The vase took thousands of hours and practice to make, the dog bowl is a challenge for a beginner. The success isn’t in making the most beautiful object, the success is put the clay on the wheel. Everything after is art.
It seems like every week we’re seeing a new record shattered, national records are falling at a rate unseen at any other time in the history of running. What’s the cause? Are we seeing a physiological shift in training and recovery? Are we seeing athletes recovered and fired up to race post-quarantine? Is it the shoes?
In the last 8 years, I’ve tried on hundreds of prototype shoes and have wear-tested everything from carbon plate, nitrogen-filled pods, springs, and a litany of foams. Shoe design has moved in so many directions from when I started with wear testing a pair of New Balance MT100 Prototypes. This was an era of extremes - at the height of minimalist shoes in 2009 we saw the introduction of a weird and polar opposite to this minimalist shoe boom - Hoka. Hoka launched and it was the weird “moon boot” company that made these ridiculous cloud shoes but were instantly adopted by our local trail and ultra runners for the distinct advantage the foam offered. This advantage would drive 10+ years of rapid innovation. Foam, something so simple but revolutionary.
It was the first pair of Adidas Adizero Boston Boosts that made me a believer in foams and performance shoes. I’ve written a piece on where performance shoes fit in everyone’s arsenal - it was 2011/2012 when I first picked up a pair of Saucony Kinvaras for tempo runs and racing. It was a little lighter, it made me feel a little faster, and it gave me a mental boost to “go-fast” in the final reps or miles of my workout.
The problem was simple - they just didn’t last. The first run was amazing - it had this great bounce and feedback that when coupled with a light breathable upper - you knew it was fast! After 200-300 miles this shoe just felt flat and compacted out. It simply had no life left in it. The uppers looked brand-new but the shoe was toast. Each revision improved the fit and foam but once Boost came along - it wasn’t even a fair fight.
Personally, once I had the Boston’s on my feet. I knew I had something special. A relatively light shoe, great outsole (Continental Rubber), and Boost foam broke it into a new and odd category - the lightweight trainer. How novel, a light shoe that felt responsive and lasted 500+ miles - unreal!
I have always been curious about how things are designed - the nuances and feel of things. I spent 5 years running in the Adizero Boston Boost for workouts, marathons, as well the Type A5 and A6, and NB 1500/5000 Spikes for track racing. The progression of foams and technology in shoes was all about light, measuring the standard of a shoe by its weight in grams is all that mattered. You know what you were getting into - you were going to feel everything but for those 5 years the equation was lighter = faster. This is when we saw new upper materials like FlyKnit and the era of mesh uppers take hold. Lord help you if you enjoyed running without socks - this mesh was a cheese grater to feet!
With the exception of Mizunos “wave plate” - the idea of a carbon plate in a shoe just wasn’t on anyones radar. In mid-2017 I started testing for Nike and have since continued to test in various capacities on road, trail, and race shoes. While I can’t share a ton of what I’ve “seen” - I have worn some pretty crazy prototypes that can only best be described as a race boat meets F1 car.
It was one in-person test in particular that had us running a 1 mile loop with direct instructions to “avoid people at all costs” that I felt something insane under my feet. I never had moon boots as a kid (although I sorely wanted a pair) - this was something different. The suppleness and stability was a thing nightmares are made of but if you didn’t have to worry about cornering - this thing was all gas, no brake.
In 6 months, my next test was a black on black, on black 30 minute wear test. A simple - run in this and tell me what you feel. “we don’t care about the upper” , “we don’t care about how it’s laced or how you think it looks” - How does it feel?
My response was simple - “This is unreal” - “I don’t have to work nearly as hard to hit my marathon pace”, and when I’m at pace - it’s soft on my feet and easy on my legs.
It was after that test that I knew the snowball effect was about to happen. The idea of an ultralight shoe was officially behind us once the 4% was released. Nike followed the Bugatti Veyron for function, design, and even the price tag. The shoe didn’t need to be ultralight if the plate provided the savings and mechanical advantage just like the Veyron - if you shove enough tech and horsepower into something - it will break records and go fast. Add to that plate a great foam you had the speed of a Porsche 911 GT3 with the comfort of Grandpa’s Cadillac Brougham (they corner about the same too).
In quick succession, we saw the 4% become the Next % and even now spikes with AirPods and carbon plates. This is why we’re seeing record after record fall - you’re getting to a true category-breaking shoe - it’s comfortable, light, and advantageous for nearly every runner at any speed.
With records falling - will we see a distinction between BV (before Vaporflys) and AV (After Vaporflys). I can personally attest that new technology and rapid forms of development are causing everyone else to play catch up. We will continue to see records fall and see other companies start to push the boundary that Nike has set for them to meet.
I do question if we are falling into a lull. After numerous workouts and one road race in a pair of Saucony Endorphin Pros - I can attest that we’re entering a time of “pick your flavor” - there is no clear leader for me. This is great to see for professional runners who aren’t sponsored by Nike; the gap in technology is closing but what’s up Nike’s sleeve next? I wish I could tell you…
Are these new shoes ethical?
Will we see a new leap in tech or will the IOC stall that progress?
If you have a pair of “super shoes” - are you a believer?
Effort and Courage are not enough without purpose and direction - Robert F. Kennedy
Chicago, New York, Fargo and the list goes on and on it seems. In a world where every race is cancelling - there is no confidence that things will return before next spring! So when should we expect to return to racing? How do we progress our training if we don’t have a race to peak or train for? How are we expected to progress and make sense of our fitness?
Optimism leans on the premise of ‘why couldn’t it go right?’and not ‘why would it ever go right?’ Optimism at its center is the belief that we can foster hopefulness; it is the ability to believe that life can be good and satisfying.
Optimism is not avoidance and optimism requires us to own all of our shortcomings, and understand that if we repeat the same mistakes we will get the same results. Try, fail, change, repeat.
Every person has an operating system it was developed by our parents, our coaches, and our teachers. We developed it in school, on the playing field, and in meeting rooms. What we aren’t given is a notification or a reminder to ‘update software’. There is nothing designed to flag us when we need to dive into personal development. I share some thoughts after diving into the idea that the operating systems that got us where are, won’t get us where we want to be.
At 13, I was unaware of much else other than friends, wrestling, and video games. It was 18 months before the life changing events I discussed in the last blog, that I had my first experience with running. My dad and I would go out for runs that felt like hours. He saw it as a way to connect. The runs were 30 minutes at an absolute max pace and I remember feeling like I wanted to be done as soon as I started.
Like a potter on the wheel, every athletes starts as a piece of clay, how you choose to mold and manipulate yourself is how you define the end product. Some of us are happy as dog bowls, some of us want to be a beautiful vase. Both have value, both possess skill to make - the biggest factor is time. The vase took thousands of hours and practice to make, the dog bowl is a challenge for a beginner. The success isn’t in making the most beautiful object, the success is put the clay on the wheel. Everything after is art.
In my journey of life thus far, I have seen a solid mix of people living from a place of passion, and many from their limiting belief - believing they are incapable or find themselves chasing a lifestyle they will never have in their current line of work. This was me, I was chasing my calling in the corporate world. Learning that my greatest gift was what I gave away not what I was paid to do.
