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I like the one that says, “Don’t Honk at Me.” I’ve had several cases of motorists honking at me lately. Like, I’m pedaling as fast as I can and I will move out of this lane at my first opportunity, believe me!

Anyhow, gonna have to buy some of these shirts.

Here is a video from their company that explains the idea:

It is a good video but one thing that is funny about this video is they run in barefeet and then tell you to put shoes on to help you run as though you were barefooted. Why not just run barefooted if that’s so good for you? I know, I know, some people have concerns about that too. I just think it’s kind of a funny point in the video.

Well, I bought a pair of these Newton shoes on Wednesday and just took them out for a short run today.

I got mine at TriLab in Santa Monica. I have a friend who bought some there who said the salesguy who helped her wasn’t very knowledgeable about the shoes and couldn’t really advise her on them. Well, I must have lucked out, because I got a pretty knowledgeable sales guy and he recommended I get the stability trainers.

I am already a forefoot runner. I don’t know if I’ve ever been a heel striker. Maybe. But in the last year or so I’ve been very certain I’m a forefoot runner, partly because of my pace, but also paying attention to the fact that my feet do hit the ground under my hips, not out in front of me. I’ve also played around a bit in the last several months with the Vibram FiveFingers and a bit of barefoot running, which also require forefoot strike in order to avoid injuries.

When I tried the shoes on at the store the salesguy confirmed that I am a forefoot runner and that I have good running form. The shoes do feel funny at first walking around in them, due to the “lugs” under the ball of the foot. It’s kind of odd to run on them and think about making that part of the shoe hit the ground first when you initially start running in them.

But after my 2.4 mile run this morning, I have to say that I don’t find that I run that differently in them than in my other shoes. It’s probably because I’m already a forefoot runner. I do appreciate that the heel doesn’t seem to get in the way. After running in my FiveFingers I would find that then switching to shoes the heel was so huge and it  felt hard to land on the ball of the foot because the heel of regular running shoes are so built up. I don’t get that with the Newton’s, so that is certainly a good thing. Also the finishing and lining inside of the Newton’s is very soft. I ran with no socks today and it felt absolutely fine. I’m trying to get to a “no sock” style if possible to save time on triathlon transitions.

Also, after the run this morning, walking in the shoes feels less odd. I don’t seem to be noticing the lugs under the forefoot as much. The running also became more mindless and automatic. I guess I’m just landing in them how I’m supposed to. Feels right.

Wednesday night I did a few short sprints (about 50 yards each?) and did feel it in my adductors, and I wondered if that was due to the Newton’s or due to the fact that I’d already run 10 miles earlier in the day. Not sure.

So people want to know if these shoes are worth the money. Because they are super pricy (almost double what I’ve been paying for shoes). It’s really hard to answer that at this time, having barely tried them out. But my impression is that if you are not having any issues with your running form or injuries arising from form and if you already run pretty fast, then these shoes aren’t going to help you much. However, if you have injuries and form issues (meaning injuries resulting from your running form style) and if you are looking to possibly speed up, if you are naturally a heel-striker (bad) and want to change to forefoot running (good) then these shoes might be worth it for you, if you are not willing to try and learn to run in the Vibram FiveFingers or barefoot.

I will give more feedback on them as time progresses and I get to know them better.

Vortex 3 Fullsuit $199 (Reg. $400)

I’m so nervous about choosing the wrong size or something that doesn’t fit me right. I’ve never tried on ANY wetsuit before, nor obviously swum in one. What should I do? Buy this one? Or give it a miss and go to a local tri shop and get fitted for one there? Help? Advice?