Vivobarefoot Primus SG - durability update

12 months on, and the first pair are still wearable. I couldn't tell you exactly how far they've covered, but I think >500km.

The uppers are starting to develop some holes, and the studs have lost 3/4 of their depth, but they still grip the mud pretty well. I'm currently using them as my primary running shoes, and have just bought a new pair (while they have them in stock in my giant clown shoe size).

I didn't run in them through the summer (hence they've lasted this long). I like to run in shoes without socks in summer, and one go at that was enough. I love my SGs, but wearing them without socks is like going at your feet with a mini grinder.

Once the rain and mud arrived in earnest though, these came out of the cupboard. I'll be wearing them until about March/April.

Target panic and cognitive psychology - research project idea

Bit of an advert really. As noted elsewhere, my MSc was in psychological research, particularly cognitive modelling, and I've been an archer for many years.

I have some ideas for how computer models of cognition could provide an insight into the nature and treatment of target panic. I don't have the time to follow it up - I'm happy to collaborate or just hand the whole topic over with an explanation, if any sports psychologist or student of sports psychology with an interest in the topic wants it. The conventional 'neuroscience' explanation seems highly dubious to me.

I can be contacted via linkedin if you're interested in picking this up.

Plantar Fasciitis - the saga continues

It's still there, but I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. I should bloody hope so after nearly 2 years. Well, 18 months of PF and another 6 months of other tendon problems.

I still hold that the cause of all this was allowing my feet to move freely after thirty years of being crammed into ill fitting shoes, and I have to admit that I haven't taken the conventional approach to treatment. Normal advice is 'immobilise your foot, stop running, wear orthotics', whereas I have continued running (to much reduced distances) and continued wearing barefoot shoes.

It's feeling a lot better, and has improved dramatically in the last two months. What has made the difference is a) stretching my hamstrings, and b) doing more, shorter runs. I'm now typically doing sub 20km once a week, a parkrun on saturday and maybe another 10-15km somewhere else in the week.

Most important seems to be the stretching. I couldn't get even slightly close to touching my toes, and it is that rather than my calves that restricts my full squat and makes my calves ache. Stretching hamstrings several times daily has hugely improved this, and my PF symptoms have reduced along with it.

I've also taken to standing with the balls of my feet on a foam half roller for prolonged periods - 10 to 20 minutes at a time (while eating breakfast and playing with the cat). That has helped enormously. Stretching seems to be the key, but not just the standard calf stretches.

PF has become more or less normal for me. I'm really looking forward to it going away.

Vivobarefoot Primus SG - update

I ran through most of the winter in the SGs, and they were just the job. Towards the end of Feb, we had a warm spell, and I experimented with running without socks. The result was...bad. In 15km I got blisters that took weeks to heal.

The problem is twofold, the point at which the inner side of the upper creases pokes into the top/side of my foot just behind the ball (on both feet), and the ankle curves back from the heel too sharply, cutting into the skin where the achilles tendon goes.

VB passed the feedback on to their designers & very kindly refunded me shipping on some orders as a goodwill gesture (I like this about VB - they're responsive, and they make gestures like that to keep their customers happy). I hope they will tweak the design a little - I'd really like to be able to do ultra distances in the SGs.

Durability - after maybe 400km there's a little hole in the mesh on top of one of them, and there's a little noticeable wear in the soles. Way better than the Trail Freaks.

Vivobarefoot Primus Trail SG review

Summary
These are proper trail shoes - barefoot shoes for fell runners. They grip like Inov8s but they're zero drop, wide toebox. If you're a barefoot/minimal fell runner, or you have a wide forefoot, or you run in barefoot shoes and you need a proper UK ready shoe that can handle mud, then these have your name on them.

Full Review

Trail Freak left, PT SG right showing the changed stud density

I came close to giving up on Vivobarefoot over the trail freak. To their credit, they gave me returns and discounts on multiple pairs as they fell apart under the strain of mud and contouring, but they were awful trail shoes for UK conditions. I think the problem was that they took a road shoe and gave it studs and called it a trail shoe. That's understandable - most 'trail shoes' are nothing more than that. Merrell Trail Gloves are the same - designed for nice dry surfaced paths, what tread they have is no more functional than the pseudo crampon ledges on the heel of cheap lowland walking boots. With the Merrell if you try contouring you'll fall on your arse. With the VB trail freak, they have enough grip to hold the slope (mostly, until the studs clog), but your foot will slide around in the overly floppy shoe. Enough of that and the strain will rip the upper from the sole. I'm pretty sure that's what was happening with the 3 pairs I wrecked in a short time.

Enter the Primus Trail SG. I nearly didn't bother - at 110 GBP they aren't cheap (although I got mine in a 20% promo, 90 quid is still not to be sniffed at), but I thought "Oh well, one more chance, they might have got it right this time".

They have.

These are the running shoes I've been wanting for years. They seem to have been designed by someone who understands off road running. They have the grip of Inov8 roclites, in a zero drop, wide toebox barefoot shoe. The sole is hard enough to give the shoe some structure and protect your feet from stone bruises, but thin enough to still have a minimal feel.

First time out with them was a 20km run in the dark across Rombalds moor. Grip was strong and positive, the forefoot was easily wide enough for my giant duck feet to spread out, and the occasional stone didn't provide a stub hazard as the rands are substantial enough to protect your toes.

Just to check, I went out last night for another try. Full tilt, brakes off from Windgate Nick to Slade above Addingham I didn't slip once. Hill reps up and down the mud and rock of Nab End above Silsden were the same - better than Wave Harriers, about as good as Roclites.

I'm not a total devotee of the 'sport laces' found on most running shoes these days, but I can live with them. The important thing is that I can run confidently on fell terrain, and don't have to buy a new pair every 250km.

Time will tell whether they're more durable than the trail freaks. They certainly feel it, and I'm pretty sure the main problem with trail freaks was that the whole shoe was too flexible, leading to strain on the uppers when contouring. That's certainly not the case with the primus trail SGs, they're much more like fell shoes. I really hope there's enough market to make these popular, because they're exactly what I want out of running shoes.

Updates

Bit chafe-y though 

12 month durability update 

Why I run - variations

Me, I run because I’m a runner, and I’m a runner because I run. I run because I know what I am. I run because I’m a human – we evolved these springy legs and feet to run with. I run for the same reason cats snooze – it’s what we do. I run because I’m me, and running is a big part of what I do.

I run because I’ve never been happier than since I started running. With more encouragement to run as a teenager I’d have had a much healthier, happier time of it.

Now, 6 months into a bout of plantar fasciitis I don’t feel so much like a runner. In a good week I get to do 25-30km at a gentle pace. In a bad one I might get to walk 10km. I can feel the anxiety that dogged me through my teens and early adulthood returning. I can feel the confidence and independence and mental resilience lent me by the ability to run a marathon and more draining away.

I’m still a runner. Somewhere in my head, and my feet, and my heart and lungs, I’m still a runner.

A few more months…






(Cross posted from a comment I made here: https://pursuingthevoid.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/i-cant-run-today-day-2/)

Fell running is insane (but I still love it)

I have a new job. This is a very very exciting thing, and I'm bouncing about like a small child. I'll write about that elsewhere though. The important thing here is that it has an effect on my training.

Most of my training fits around work - I used to run at lunchtimes (not possible now unfortunately), but my main long intense run is (or was - I'm still on short commons because of the plantar fasciitis) on a midweek evening, homewards from work.

The new job is in Leeds, which is about 20 miles on the train. 20 miles is a nice doable distance once I get back to normal fitness, one or maybe two evenings a week or so, but there's very little ascent on the direct route. So I was thinking "OK, I can run on the towpath out to Shipley, do that at a brisk pace and I'll get a good workout in. THEN I can head up onto the moors for the rest of the journey".

This is obviously gruelling and stupid. I'm really looking forward to it.