My biggest concern with running, even on the trail, is how my feet (and then knees) will hold up. When standing, my feet severely over-pronate. In fact, I hate standing and walking feels a bit better, but structurally, my feet are flippers. I've seen a few podiatrists in the past and have had custom orthotics made and have been put into motion control shoes every time. Having such a sturdy shoe on your foot will never feel fast and light, but that's the direction I've been pushed. Until today.
I trekked out to Danville to Forward Motion Sports on the recommendation of a well versed running friend to be properly fitted for a trail running shoe. I've been wearing various trail running shoes from The North Face but wanted to broaden my footwear experience. The TNF Single-Tracks (2010 Outside Magazine Gear of the Year winner) have been great, but am concerned that I'll need more medial post support on long runs. When I got there the staff was great and asked a lot of questions about my running history and goals. When it came time to check out my feet while standing, the footwear technichian said sadly, "I'm sorry, but there is no trail running shoe that will be supportive enough for your over-pronation." However, I was adamant to be put into a trail shoe. She finally pulled out a few pair of the most supportive trail shoes there and we started with the Nike Zoom Structure Triax Trail. We walked out of the store and she had me run down the sidewalk and back. "Um... do it again." As I got back the second time, she announced that my foot strike was neutral, with no indication of over-pronation unless I were standing or walking.
Interesting, but not particularly surprising. I played a lot of sports in high school and have been climbing for over a decade, stuffing my feet into soft shoes several sizes too small. I've also dealt with a lot of pain from standing for several days at a time on concrete floors for work and have noticed that I stand on the outside edges of my feet to alleviate stress on my heels and arches. Perhaps all my time rock climbing in slipper-like shoes have heightened my plantar awareness and I compensate my biomechanical disadvantage by adjusting my foot strike. Either way, I has happy to try on a multitude of shoes, ending up with the Brooks Cascadia 5 and a recommendation to read "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall. I'm already liking both of them...
With a few days off for Independence Day, a road trip was in order. It's been a while since I've been to Mammoth/Bishop and an open invite from my friends Kip and Lindsey made the decision to pack up and head out that much easier. The plan was to drive through Tuolomne and stop for a quick bouldering session or run, but a late start had us driving straight through. The plan was simple... boulder or trail run, or both, every day. And we did just that. Snowboarding could have been added to the mix, too, since it was Mammoth's closing weekend for the season. The thought of sliding on snow was pretty attractive when it was 90+ degrees in Bishop. But, you can only do so much in a long weekend and we were pretty stoked as it was. Next time.
Kip spotting me on V7 at the Catacombs
Kip sending his project... a super exposed-feeling v4 right next to a canyon dropoff
Candice in-stride on our Mosquito Flats seven-miler at about 10K feet
Aaron Kehoe and David Murphy
Product testing
Candice Stewart and David Murphy
If I were stuck in a cubicle every day at work, I'd probably go insane. So, thank goodness my day job gets me out on the road and keeps my frequent flier program in-tact. But recently, I had the opportunity to go to an athlete summit meeting for work. About a dozen climbers all flew to Yosemite for three days of product testing, feedback, and open dialog with our RDD team. My involvement was to communicate our marketing efforts with them and take feedback. Pretty sweet day at the office.
Our twenty person basecamp outside Tuolomne Meadows
Jim Zellers on belay
