Your Loving Arms - VLM 2013

No this isn’t an excuse to play a Youtube clip of that classic mid-90s banger from Billie Ray Martin, it's some of my thoughts on the last couple of days.

So, on Sunday I ran a Marathon. I ran it quicker than I had run a Marathon before, but not quite as quick as I’d expected to.

But the race report can wait for another time.

Sunday needed to happen. Sunday had to happen. Londonhad to show the world that there is a way forward, out of the darkness. As runners, we were running for the entire city, maybe for the entire running world. We weren’t going to be cowed, we weren’t going to be beaten. Each footfall was the sound of a runner shouting “You don’t win. We do".

On Sunday, London wrapped it’s Loving Arms around the running world and said “Don’t worry, we’ll all be okay.” It roared like a Lion alongside the crowd along the Embankment. It comforted the lost and despairing and said “You’ll get there, hold on.”

There were Loving Arms clapping at the start, in support of all those affected by the events in Boston. The same arms that had pinned Black Ribbons to their running outfit, and possibly wiped away tears of sadness in the preceding days.

There were the Loving Arms of family and friends who let out massive cheers as I went by in various states of focus or distress.

There were the Loving Arms of a runner, Nev, who put his arm around me at mile 19 when I was starting to think it was all over and said “stick in there, I know what it’s like, you can do this”.

There were the Loving Arms of my coaches at mile 20 who could see the battle I was having and allowed me fight them on my own terms.

There were the Loving Arms of the RunDemCrew Cheering Station where I guy shouted my name with such passion it spurred me on for a further mile.

There were the Loving Arms of the lady who took my hand in Parliament Square and ran the penultimate 800m together.

Finally, there was the Loving Arm of the guy on the baggage truck who insisted on shaking my hand and said “thank you so much for running today”

London, I Love You Back.

Reader, I Ran

The images were so shocking, so horrific my brain almost couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing.

In a sign of the age, the first anyone heard about it was on Twitter. As I scrambled round the news agencies, trying to find more information – BBC – Nothing, AP – Nothing, Reuters – Nothing. It must have been a good fifteen minutes before the breaking news tickers spring into life indicating that something was amiss. By this time the photos were everywhere. Horrible, ghastly images of blood splattered pavements and people lying injured in the immediate aftermath of the explosions.

The Twitter running community sprang into life, checking that friends and relatives were okay. One of the odd things about Twitter is that you get used to hearing about the day-to-day of people’s lives. Therefore, when something like this happens you genuinely care that everyone you ‘interact’ with is okay, even if you haven’t met in ‘real life’. Slowly but surely, runners were checking in as safe, with sighs of relief all round.

Over the next few hours the situation unfolded, the reports of casualties filtered through and the community took each other hand-in-hand to get through this.

How could they? How could anyone justify an act like that? As many have said, the finish line of a Marathon is a place of joy, celebration and most importantly love. Anyone who has completed 26.2 miles can attest to the fact that to run a marathon is to be surrounded by a bubble of love the whole time – be it fellow runners or spectators.

Someone tried to shatter that love yesterday, but they will not win. It is times like this that draw a community together, and you can be we will come together.

Being thousands of miles away, I thought to myself “What can I do to help?” so I did the only thing I could do. I carried on. Today, I put on my trainers, my calf guards, shorts and club vest and I ran. I ran a short 30min interval session before VLM on Sunday.

I ran three threshold intervals.

I ran for those three people who tragically lost their lives.

I ran for all those that sustained injuries

I ran for everyone who helped at the scene.

I ran for everyone who has ever tried.

Because we are runners.

Reader, I ran.

I didn’t know what else to do.

Shoe Review - Mizuno Wave Rider 16

Ooh, whats in the box?

The fact that the Wave Rider shoe is on its 16^th incarnation tells you that it is a popular shoe. Sure, Mizuno haven’t always got it right (Just Google “Wave Rider 14” for a barrage of internet vitriol) but it’s an ‘ever-present’ shoe that the running community care about. I’ve been running in Wave Riders for a few years, starting with the 13, and always found them solid, dependable and a bit…well...boring. I ran well in the 15s during 2012, but they didn’t excite me. I used the Brooks Launch for speed and races, they were the brylcreem boys of my shoe collection. The Wave Riders were the dour house-wife/house-husband, ready with dinner on the table when I got home. Other manufacturers would bring out shiny running shoes to make you gasp and yearn (Adidas Bostons and definitely you Saucony Kinvara) whilst the Wave Rider carried on as it always did. White, boxy and no frills.

Temptation led me elsewhere, shoe adultery if you like. I would plead with running shop owners to show me alternatives for a light, neutral shoe that could handle high miles. I would often get a puzzled look as the shop owner would shift awkwardly from side-to-side “Well the Wave Rider is a very light shoe...” It was like there was a conspiracy to keep me in these foot coffins.

I ignored their advice and flirted with lower heel drops (see my review of the Saucony Mirage 2 here) and different brands, but a bout of Achilles Trouble and a mountain of shoes that appeared in the house led me to rethink.

So I decided to go back to the Wave Rider for my VLM training. Only, by now, the 15 had been replaced with the 16. Despite the reasonable large heel, this was the shoe I’d been searching for. Sleek, light and in a fantastic “Fuck You Competition” colour.

 

Please note - shoes may not actually levitate (they are light though)

There are styles of running shoe that require a certain amount of confidence to wear.  Stepping out in a garish pair of Adidas Boston 3s, Adizero (or possibly even my old, beloved, Brooks Launch) says “I feel the need, the need for speed” before standing to attention, chopping one off and shooting off into the sunset aboard a Harley Davidson.

Mizuno appear to have taken heed of this when giving the Updated Wave Rider 16 a paint job, producing a vision in yellow. You can’t be timid in these trainers, there’s no hiding at the back of the pack .You need to #gohardorgohome.

Mizuno have gone back to the drawing board and designed it from first principles. The Upper is sleek and considerably lighter, and tellingly, the whole shoe is now in the same weight category as the Boston 3s. This is one light shoe, without all the bollocks that goes with barefoot running (No I’m not convinced).

I’ll say it now - I’m in love with this shoe.

Whatever you throw at it, it handles with comfort and ease - Hills, Speed-work, Tempo Runs, Long Runs - the works. I’m a mid-foot striker and was worried that the chunky heel would feel like it was holding me back, But each session felt like putting on your best racing shoes with the safety net of a bit of cushioning.

The fit is snug without being Adidas-tight and the toe-box was definitely roomier than I expected. I worried that I’d got a size too big but a couple of runs later and I didn’t even notice it. 550 miles later and it's finally time to replace with a new pair. I think that's good going for a lighter shoe.

The one criticism I do have with the Wave Rider is that the gap in the sole can get clogged up with stones when you go off-road, but living in Liverpool that doesn’t happen very often!

If you are looking for an all-round shoe that means you won’t need to shell out on five different pairs you can’t go far wrong with the Wave Rider 16. I’m a firm convert and will be sticking with it after VLM, even in the face of the bright lights of the much-hyped Adidas Boost and impending Kinvara 4.

I’m excited to see what Mizuno choose to do with the Wave Rider 17. If it’s to give it an 8mm heel-to-toe drop, I might just have found the perfect shoe.