PURE DRIFT! What's in a name anyway?

Yes....This is a humble 'Shoe Review'.

But! Before I begin, if you are not a runner, you may be a Cross-Fitter, or casual squash player, or Zumba instructor, or whatever, there is still a chance this review may be handy.

Even if you’re not a sport-nut, please read on and be thankful this isn't ’50-shades of terrible writing’. If you’re an idiot savant, feel obliged to count the consonants and divide the calendar number of Tuesdays this year to see if the overall figure is a magic number (if it is, thank me later). Alas, thank you for reading this far.

I will begin.

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall at Brooks, when the boffins there clunked heads together and tried to come up with a name for their latest release in the minimal range of trainers. Somehow, someone suggested Pure-Drift….seemingly a majority supported this.

The ‘pure’ aspect of the name is understandable enough; it’s the name that has been adopted by the entire range of new release Brooks trainers. Pure ‘Cadence’, Pure ‘Connect’ and (the awkwardly titled) Pure ‘Flow’ make up the remainder of the line.

The ‘Drift’ however conjures up images of Vin Diesel and cars sliding sideways around corners with their tyres squealing and screaming like 16year old girls at a One Direction ticket release…hardly the image a runner want’s to envisage in any shoe! Traditionally most runners have looked to shoes for stability, durability, and comfort. They have looked to shoes named after Greek mythological creatures, or with words like ‘free’, ‘glide’, ‘float’ in their titles. These words reassured them that they were doing the best for their feet, and at the end of the day, all of those piggies would be free to return all the way home from the market time and time again without blisters (or early onset arthritis).

As for Brooks naming them ‘Drift’, I guess that’s the point; to highlight the difference between the ‘old school’ (i.e. tried and tested ‘strapping pillows and orthotics to your feet running 1000 kilometers at a time) vs. the ‘new school’ (i.e. dangerously running as close to barefoot as possible, like bad-ass Bruce Willis types, faces stern whilst traversing mountains of broken glass all-the-while being chased by a German, Alan Rickman).

As for the shoes themselves, I can only speak for myself.

I’ll lay it on the line; I’m one of the ‘new school’. I race solely (pardon the pun) in my Saucony Hattori’s (basically a sock – I’ll review soon). When it comes to shoes I’ll take them like I take my drinking straws; a.k.a. ‘light’, ‘fun’ and ‘bendy’. So I may be biased.

The ‘Drifters’ come in at around 160 grams (for a size 9, I’m a size 10.5 but I can’t give you stats on that) so they’re fairly light, which is a big tick for me. Simply holding one of the shoes in your hand you’ll find the weight distributed evenly. Another bonus for these shoes is the two ‘split grooves’ (taken from the Brooks website) that channel down the base of the sole. Whether it is an intentional design side-effect or not, these provide heaps of side-to-side flexibility and (probably) assist cushioning as well. The jury is out on whether they can cure bowel-cancer but the overall feeling from me is that these grooves are kind of cool (surprisingly they don’t pick up too many rocks too, which was a major complaint of early versions of the Nike Free range).

Another advertised feature of the ‘Drifties’ is the easily removable inner-sole, which allows runners to instantly transform their shoes from an ‘lowly-transition-nancy-4mm-heel-to-toe-drop’ runner (meaning; the heel is 4mm higher to allow cushioning for runners who land ‘heel first’) to the ‘ultra-trendy-I-make-my-own-marmelades-and-jams-because-I’m-in-touch-with-the-environment-0mm-heel-to-toe-drop’ show (meaning; completely flat to promote mid-foot striking and speed even more, aka ‘barefoot’ styled running). I road-tested this and personally found the shoe’s felt better with the insoles in, and to be honest, pulling the insoles out, creates issues with the sizing and lacing.

On the plus side, the lovely people at Brooks are even kind enough to package the ‘Driftoes’ with an extra pair of (different coloured) shoelaces, which is really cool, and probably handy should you need to ‘Macgyver’ your way out of a nasty situation, or be wrongfully imprisoned and in need of a creative home-made-lasso-styled-escape (please note: Tim Robbins and Steve McQueen).

Overall the handiest aspect of these shoes is the really wide toe-box area. They allow the toes to spread wide apart and cushion the whole foot on impact. This is a massive improvement on the other shoes in the ‘pure’ line whose thin forefoot areas have left me blistered and writing ‘angry letters’. This alone is the most redeeming factor behind the ‘Pure-Drift’ and it’s the main reason why I’m happy to smash out a 20km+ training run in them without hobbling around like a ‘Golden Girl’ afterwards.

In Short:

Positives:

- Awesome wide Toe-box allows for comfort and cushioning

- Light-weight and probably great to keep in-flight baggage down

- Even distribution of weight

- Relatively cheap (compared to high-end trainers)

Negatives:

- Obscure name

- Removable sole

- Lack of racing stripes

My overall ranking for the ‘Pure Drift’ – a respectable 8 ½ out of 10. Well done Brooks! A fine return to minimal shoe design for you guys! I love your work!

To try on a pair, feel free to drop into a local running store (there are heaps around, I’d recommend Intraining (http://www.intraining.com.au) for those in Brisbane (QLD Australia) – in-spite of my ‘vested interests’) and try them out. 

If you’re thinking barefoot, this would make a handy transition/running shoe!  Cross-fitters will enjoy the versatility and bright colours (matches board shorts and bad ass tattoos well), great for indoor sports as well!

Finally, if you’re unsure about the whole ‘barefoot’ thing, read some articles, talk to some runners, and pop in to see a podiatrist! You won’t regret it! My advice is to ease into it regardless – Rome wasn't built by barefoot labourers, over a weekend; so a complete change to your running regime shouldn't also!

Any questions or feedback, leave a comment below! Thanks for reading!!!!

COMING SOON! 
I SUBJECT MY BODY TO A REVOLUTIONARY DIET TACTIC! 
WILL IT WORK FOR YOU? WILL IT LEAVE ME WITH CHRONIC BOWEL COMPLAINTS? 

WATCH THIS SPACE!

Much Love,

Clay

I’ll admit it……I take DRUGS! AN EXCLUSIVE EXPOSE!

Over the last few weeks it has become increasingly obvious that we all exist in a world of fallen angels in the form of sports stars who we all once looked up to....

 There was Lance; Numero-uno role model for every 'lead pack' chasing cancer fighter on earth. Quite publicly he spilled his guts and admitted to using a cocktail of performance enhancing drugs and blood transfusions. I guess most of us secretly knew this all the while, but somehow convinced ourselves that superman existed and the blindly obvious simply wasn't happening. We’d noticed the flurry of snowflakes early, but kept our backs turned until the avalanche hit.

Then came the explosive allegations that widespread drug taking in Australian professional football (across a number of TEAMs and CODES!) had been occurring under our oblivious noses. With the number of professional athletes, Olympians, coaches, trainers and support staff coming clean (no pun intended) and admitting their involvement and the breadth of cheating in sport we as fans can only be left to watch our favourite sports with an unparalleled level of cynicism and disbelief. 



This and we were only still recovering from Milli Vanilli.

But you see….from my ivory castle I’d always felt so distant from those in the media.

The time has come to fess up. 

As a (and I use this word lightly) ‘competitive’ runner I need to come clean to my competitors, and the readers of this article.

I have used drugs in the past, and although I know it is wrong I continue to do so.

I’m not proud of myself.

Now, the drugs I use aren't those you would refer to as being ‘illegal’, either criminally, or athletically. They aren't performance enhancing in any way that would give me an advantage over any other competitor, however they do have the power to change me physically in a very dramatic manner.

I don’t get my drugs from other competitors or from shady characters in store car-parks….but I do get it from the stores themselves.

But this is hardly explosive information, I’m small time. It’s the wrong thing to do, but my actions haven’t effected too many people (considering), and if they did, 

I’ll take this time to misdirect your hatred back onto Lance. 

Wasn’t what he did quite bad?!!!!!! How does he sleep at night?!!!!! Etc. etc.

THE EXPOSE:

The truth is, almost EVERY living sport star on the planet is guilty of partaking in recreational and unconsciously addictive taking of this drug.

They have TELEVISED footage of athletes taking this drug.

YOU HAVE TAKEN THIS DRUG.

But before you start vehemently denying this or calling your lawyers to file ‘slander lawsuits’ against me (err hmm ‘Lance’), take the time to learn a little about THE MOST WIDESPREAD DRUG USED IN SPORT/FITNESS TODAY!

C(6)H(12)O(6) is known by many different names; ‘Brown’, ‘Raw’, ‘White’, ‘Palm’ or (to a very select few) ‘Angels Dandruff’.

Most of us know it as Sugar.

Now sugar doesn't have the capacity to positively affect muscle recovery, and although it holds, with some varianse in figures here (...I'm working in satire and with Google here!)....1,619kj (per 100gm) or energy. It does no provide enough stimulation to give anyone a sufficient edge over their competition at all!

In fact, Sugar occurs naturally in foods, such as fruits (dried, fresh or otherwise), so really it would be quite impossible to police anyway…..even if it did provide an edge. 

Which it doesn't.

Funny though, that advertising companies and product manufacturers will pitch sugar laden products to you as being ‘healthy’ or ‘essential’ for performance, or recovery. It’s simply not true, no matter how many athletes they get to pedal it.

The way sugar can affect your sporting performance is through a lack of it (within reason….I’m not a doctor remember!). I can speak from personal experience that by using a ‘reduced sugar’ intake in collaboration with a reasonable exercise regime I can more easily manage my weight and performance.

Yes, after a hard run I will drink a Gatorade. To be honest I’m fortunate enough that I don’t need to lose much (if any) weight, so I can enjoy sugar in moderation. I DON’T however, binge on foods and drinks laden with the stuff. I find that it renders the training less effective, and spikes my energy levels unnaturally high and low.

So I reward myself with it, and to assist this, I look at the ‘sugar per 100gms’ level on food and drinks I consume to check they are under 10gms (or 10%).

It’s hardly rocket-surgery, but you’d be surprised how eating a diet with less refined sugars can keep your emotional, physical and professional life at a more manageable level.

I’m interested in hearing other people’s tips, and thoughts on SUGAR intake. POST COMMENTS BELOW.

As for this article, I’m not an expert, or a dietician. I can only tell you what worked for me and the things I have read and learned. It is a simple admission, and acknowledgement that I won’t stop taking this drug…If there is a delicious slice of cake on offer at one of my niece’s or nephew’s birthday parties, be sure that I’ll be eating it!...but that’s ok, because all of this is supplemented with hard work and a realistic understanding of how my body works!

I never wanted to race in the peloton of the tour-de-france anyway!

Keep training, running and laughing!

(I’ll do my best to keep up on all accounts!)

Clay

Fatty VS. The Zombie…..a (somewhat) typical runner’s tale…

Alright, I should preface this article with the acknowledgement that it (in part at least) was inspired somewhat by the return of ‘The Walking Dead’…the show about hoards of meandering flesh-eating zombies seems much more important than a story I’ve honestly told too many times to feign interest.  

The ‘Regular’ version (pre-apocalyptic if you will): 

It’s the story I’ve been asked about plenty of times, particularly at parties and social gatherings when I’m asked, “So what made you begin to run?”

Now, at this juncture I do not want to sound ungrateful or too toffee-nosed to acknowledge my roots, but I always have to draw breath at this point for the simple reason that I don’t think my story is all that unique OR inspiring….to rectify this I shall ‘creatively tweak’ a few facts….but for the time being;

I began running to lose weight.

Around the time that I found myself a newly graduated, mid-twenties, teacher I was sitting at home (on holidays) when an article in the Courier Mail (Newspaper) was brought to my attention. It read that a local university student was running fitness tests for ‘obese’ men in order to help her achieve a doctorate in something ground-breaking and medically important (perhaps pointing and laughing at fat, jiggly men on treadmills?). The reward for signing up, was a complete fitness and physiological printout, which sounded like a lark to me.

Now, at this point I had never worried about my weight. I never considered myself small, slender or muscular in any capacity, but I would NEVER have thought myself OBESE!

How wrong could I be?!!!

When I weighed in for the test I tipped the scales at an impressive 120kgs (I’m about 179cm in height). I was accepted into the program.  

Now it doesn’t take a scientist with a degree in ‘watching fatties jog’ to realise that the results that came back were shocking to say the least, and after a few days of telling myself that I was cursed with a slow metabolism, an addiction to Slurpees and Fast Food, and a ‘husky’ build that could never be slimmed down, I decided to do something for the first time. 

I used the tiny gymnasium in the complex where I lived. Actually I use the word ‘gymnasium’ loosely, the small room was filled with antiquated relics from the birth of the concept of fitness, but I tried anyway.  I changed how I ate, tried to eat healthier. I rewarded myself with smart snacks when I worked really hard! When the exercise bike literally broke, I began to jog…..very slowly around the block. Soon I was running every day, with no motivation other than the joy of it.

I didn’t expect or think things would change….but BAM! Over the course of a year or so I lost weight…..50kgs of it! 

Fast forward a few years (and a completely influential year living in Campbell River, Canada) and I’m now running, faster. I’m racing and meeting elite runners, who once seemed like another species of human!

I guess I try to always think of those early days when I tell this story…and I guess even for the times when I tell it without the gumption and ‘life-coach’ motivation it deserves, I hope someone finds inspiration.

I like to think, with the inclusion of zombies this may be even more possible.

Continue reading….if you dare.

The ‘Zombified’ version (post-apocalyptic if you will): 

It’s the story I used to be asked about plenty of times, particularly at parties and social gatherings, but they don’t seem to happen much since the infection began. Very occasionally now-a-days, and the punch is generally terrible.

 “So what made you begin to run?”

Now, at this juncture I do not want to sound romantic or idealistic but I didn't begin running to escape the living carcasses that now wanted to chew off my arms and legs. 

 I began running to lose weight.

I was very fortunate during those early days to spend a good deal of time seeking refuge in a university science lab. To while away the hours and to take our minds off the incessant scratching on the windows and doors, one of the remaining scientists and I ran fitness assessments on each other. In retrospect we should have spent the time researching and experimenting to discover a cure for the infection….but retrospect is pretty useless when you’re running for your life away from a burning and over-run laboratory. 

I wasn't completely devoid of ideas during those early days though…The fitness tests had told me that my ample torso weighed in at 120kgs of zombie-bait, with the rapidly decreasing human population, this would soon pose a problem. 

The only natural solution was to only harvest healthy food from dumpster and abandoned houses, and to travel on foot. Let’s be honest, zombies aren't known for much more than shuffling like pensioners, but I soon began to run faster and faster as I became more and more fitter. Those gargling freaks never stood a chance! 

Since those days I have traveled to Canada to seek refuge (to various degrees of success) and my journey now sees me weighing under 70kgs, happily in a relationship (with a living human!).

I don’t know where my story will end, or how long I will survive in this crazy world. I’m not even sure if anyone will read this…but if you do, please remember….limit your intake of sugary soft-drinks, conserve bullets and weaponry wherever possible, and always try to enjoy the journey!

Till next time,

Happy running!

Happy Valentines Day Michelle!

What is more romantic than a bunch of flowers on Valentines Day you might ask? 


Perhaps a simple 'shout out' on a simple running blog). 


Happy Valentines Michelle! I'm looking forward to a huge year, with us being married along with everything that comes with that (a.k.a. paying exorbitant prices for 'wedding' stuff).

For everyone else! Watch this space for the next 'actual' blog as well as an upcoming review on the new minimalist shoe from Brooks! ......See Michelle!!! How romantic was that?!!!! (AND you don't have to peel the price tag off the 'servo flowers' before you have to bin them!). 

Oh yeah....one more thing....

I did manage to get you one last present...

 Happy Valentines Day! 

OCD vs. Logic.....Who will win the EPIC battle!

There is nothing at all glamorous about a mid-night 'disagreement' with your beloved over the topic of an early morning race......

Many of us have been there before....trying to explain (to loved ones, friends, strangers, houseplants, ourselves...) the compulsion behind why we feel the need to run, to strenuously put ourselves through pain, over and over. Why it's not necessarily something we enjoy, but find it practically impossible to resist. I guess the best analogy I could use to describe the sensation is having a mosquito bite in the middle of your back with only a cattle prod to scratch it.

Regardless....it's probably this innate flaw (in being able to draw logical parallels) that created such problems for at 11:30pm last night. But, I digress...

We had returned for the night from watching her brother play a musical gig, when my beloved suggested that getting up in 3 hours for a low-key, community fun run may not be the best idea for either of us and perhaps not as 'fun' as one would think.

My rational mind probably agreed, I was coming to the end of a huge week (by my recent standards, 120+kms including a 6km race), was very tired, probably prone to injury and could easily make up the kilometers later. Unfortunately for both of us though, my rational brain was shirking it's responsibility, probably kicking up it's heels on the dance floor still.

Instead, 'the runner me' tried to feebly explain, that there really wasn't another option. My best excuse? 'We really should'.....hardly an input worthy of inclusion into the Guinness Book's 'Compelling Arguments' chapter, but it was my only ammo, and I used it over, and over, add nauseum.

Finally Michelle (My fiance....did I mention that?), saw the error of arguing with me in such a state, set the alarm, and simply said "We'll see how you feel in the morning."

Perhaps this was an underestimation of the depth that the roots of my Undiagnosed-Running-OCD ran, because when the alarm went off 3.5hours later, I was up and ready to go.

Long story short....we came to an 'agreement' and decided to stop arguing. The only way to do this? To head to the race. However...

In perhaps the greatest moment of spousal-karmic-justice we made it to the race....5 minutes after it started.
Immediately the depth of my idiocracy hit home. The world did not end when we didn't toe the start line....in fact, I suddenly realised just how worthwhile the morning would have been, as a much overdue 'rest day'....in fact I was so unfazed by our tardiness that in my head (I'm sorry to admit) I'd already began thinking of the next weekend of races.

But today, we ran together; just Michelle and I. We ran slowly around the streets talking and enjoying being us. We didn't solve the 'OCD', but I did apologize...numerous times, and take the time to realize that it's highly unlikely that these races are a case of 'life and death'. These races will be replaced next week, month, and year by their siblings, as well as other races, millions of them (probably). They are a dime-a-dozen, as frequent as a full carpark at Christmas time....

...Except, of course, next week's Sherwood Forest Community Run....that is a race that's already penciled in.

(sorry Shell).


Till next time.