Asics ds trainer 19 neutral review

First impressions:
Obviously the colour impressed me...soich so that I never even saw that it was a neutral version of what had always been a stability shoe.
The upper looks VERY simmilar to that of the nike structure 17s I ran in before them.
Wouldn't surprise me at all if I was to find out Nike actually supllied them.
The inner layer thoigh is a lot softer and comfortable than that of the Nike structures.
These shoes really feel like socks.
The sole unit still has the torsion shank and gel later crashpad of the stability version even though they don't feature the dynamic duomax medial post
The modole compriaes completely of asics' solelyte, just like the gel lyte33.

Upper:
What more can I say than they're comfortable and judging by the simmilar Nike structures I'm sure they'll last aslong as the rest of the shoe.

Midsole:
The solelyte is a wonderfully soft eva mix which for me generally lacks responsiveness in shoes like the lyte33, but asics employs a trustic beam which extends into the forefoot from the torsion shank and this give the ds trainer a mix of softness and responsiveness I've never even come close to in any other shoe I've tried.

outsole:
This uses asics' ahar high abrassion rubber throughoit the forefoot which gives it a lovely soft feel.
Carbon rubber is used in the heel and it starts out as quote a jarring uncomfortable experience when heel striking but once the shoe is run in it is just as soft as landing on the mid or frontfoot.

Overall:
I have not done more than about 20-25km in ine stint in these shoes due to lack of support, but even though I am on the heavier side they held up well on those runs and I would definitely say go for it if you are looking for a lighter comfortable and supportive shoe.

Where the runningshoe manufacturers get it wrong/right...

Warning: the following blog contains my personal opinion...you know: the one I'm entitled to. So please no comments about defamation etc.

If there is any company guilty of heavily leaning on it's laurels and not being willing to go with the times then it is Asics.
No matter what outlook a company has the general movement has been towards less weight.
Some has gone allout and pretty much slapped the thinnest sole to the thinnest upper and left it at that.
Others have spent millions in developing new compounds that have the same cushioning and durability but weigh as much as 30% less than EVA and other foams used normally.

Asics though has stuck with the same gel formula since 1992 and as far as I can figure out the only change in midsole material they've made was from duomax to dynamic duomax in the medial posting of their stability shoes.
Dynamic duomax is certainly lighter than duomax but it's not new it's just a case of not having been used much before because it's softer and less durable.
Another gripe I have with Asics is that they've stuck to the 12mm heel like cocaine addicts to the white stuff.
Instead they've shaved frontfoor cushioning to make their shoes lighter.
My tibia thanks you Asics...incase you didn't catch that it was sarcasm...
Saucony you are pioneers.
By keeping the stack height of the heel the same and making the stack height in the front more they've lessened the profile to a max of 8mm throughout their range.
I can see Asics smirking and commenting that that move makes Saucony shoes heavier since they've got more midsole.
Bring on the scales though and a totally different story is told by the needle.
Want to know why?
Because Saucony's midsole foam haas been continually improved over the years...they didn't stop in 1992 like some other companies.

Recently though I was quite surprised when I came accross an article related to a new shoe in Asics' 33 range.
It's called the Electro33 and immediately I fell in love.
The upper wasn't Asics' typical overlay on overlay of thick mesh which left your feet hot and sweaty after even short runs in the cold.
This looked qiite simmilar to Nike's flyknit type uppers.
The profile is about 8mm, which is perfect in my opinion, and the stability is of the wedge type not the medial wedge variety I hate with a pashion second to none.
Furthermore it's light as a feather and also incorporates the exciting Fluidaxis technology.
Has Asics finally seen the light?
At a local dealer I ran into a Asics rep who'm apparently is also in the know at Asics SA.
When I enquired about availability of the Electro33 he got a sour look on his face asif I asked him to supply me with a pair of Nikes and then continued by basically breaking down the whole 33 range, saying that even Asics themselves thought it wasn't a great range and simply brought it in to try and stop the flow of Asics clients streaming to other, more forward thinking manufacturers.
After a lengthy conversation about what I wanted in a shoe and about Asics either not providing or importing the right model he proceeded by asking me what made the Electro33 different from what was available.
After I explained that I needed stability but that the Super33's upper was a nightmare he proceeded by asking whether I actually considered running in a 33series shoe.
There was a look of incredibility on his face when I said yes.
"But the 33's aren't serious running shoes" he answered.
According to asics it 's the type of shoe you should wear on a short run maybe once a week just to give your feet "a change of scenery".
"It's impossible to run Comrades in a pair...not even a marathon. It's simply too far. You'd get injured. Rather get a pair of Nimbus or Kayano if you need stability."
Funny how opinions differ.
I've spoken to a few people who use the lyte33 2, read several reviews and personally know a person who is about to do her 2nd Comrades in a pair.
People coming from "traditional" running shoes generally feel the lyte33 2's are too little shoe while people who mostly run in minimalist type shoes feel they are too plushy and unresponsive for anything but long gentle runs.
General consensus is that it is a n excellent alround shoe though.
Now in my opinion, and this comes from reading several other people's opinions on the Electro33, is that it would be a great shoe for me.
Maybe not a marathon or ultra shoe but still great.
It's basically the upper of the lyte33 on the sole unit of the super33.
I've tried on both and though I loved the Lyte33 I fear that it's just a bit too unstructured for me, beimg a overpronator.
The Super33 has stability though but I absolutely despise the upper.
Even when just walking in them the upper creases on top of your toes and even though it's sure to soften up a bit I still think I'll never like them.
I always love new shoes then that love slowly turns to hate the more I run in them.
How would that go if I hate them from the start...
On 2nd thought though I must admit I hated my Newton Gravity shoes too especially after my first halmarathon in them, but after retiring them recently I must admit that through all we've been through together I've had no other pair of shoes I've loved more...or rather hated less.
Over +/- 20km they never really gave me any trouble even though I overpronate and they offer no support.
But I'm looking for the perfect "middleground" shoe...the one that will rule them all.
Not a shoe that's comfortable on the longrun but slow because it's too heavy because of all the cushioning and not a shoe that rocks the shorter speedy runs because it weighs nothing but kills your feet and legs on longer runs because it lack cushioning.
The shoe I'm looking for needs to be comfortable on the longruns but not so heavy that it tires you over ultra distances or when pushing the cadence on shorter runs.

So basically my perfect shoe has stack heights of 18-20mm in the front, 24-28mm in the back, weighs about 9oz, but no more than 10, and uses a wedge system for stability as it is needed.
The upper should not have any unnecessary overlays especially over the toebox, but a proper midfoot fit, something like what is achieved by Nike's flywire or Brooks' pureproject supportband thingy.
A floating heel counter like Nike uses would be perfect for keeping your heel in place.
Furthermore a flat outsole like Puma's Vaas range and Nike uses is another unnegotiable feature.

So if Nike and Mizuno are reading this please contact me because I can design the perfect nike shoe but I need access to some u4ic foam.

Surrender hill 2014

Surrender hill 2014 took place on saturday 1 March and was quite well attended by Harrismith marathon club.
George Tshabalala once again showed his class by winning the 42.2 in an excellent time of 2h28m.
The next runner in was Bambie de Wet in a time of 3h29m, the first female veteran, with Five Molokoane right on her heels.
His time was 3h32m.
Michelle Botes and her mother, Edca finished only minutes apart.
Their times were 4h14m and 4h23 minutes respectively
The 21.1km event was even better attended with a total of 7 HMK runners.
Abram Mofokeng was the first across the line in a time of 1h33m.
Unfortunately his time could have been a lot better, but due to the club organising the event not having crew at the halfway mark on time, several runners ran quite a ways past before realising something was amiss.
Petro Mathyssen was next, and also the first woman overall, in a time of 1h43m.
The next runners, in order, were Johannes Mahlasela (1h52m), Leon Pieterse (1h57m), Paul Riekert (1h59m), Zelda Oosthuizen (2h03m) and Jill Marshall (2h22m).
Last, but not least, Johannes Serero competed in the 10km event and finished in a time of 45minutes.
Congratulations to everyone.

Unfortunately I can't help but say that there was a bit of a dark cloud hanging over this event.
Call me a chauvinist for speaking my mind if you want to, but atleast one of the referees seemed to have been right in the redzone of her post menstrual cycle, disqualifying Edca van Zuydam for wearing earphones during the race and honestly being quite a bitch about it.
Not a single warning was ever issued.
Later on she again bordered on outright bitch with a member of the BHM marathon club organising members.
Her husbnd probably forgot to stock up on romany creams in time.
Furthermore the current state of the economy and therefor the loss of a lot of sponsors has pretty much fucked everyone over.
Entry fees have pretty much doubled and because ASA is basically forcing clubs to drop the open class in preference for a senior division you are pretty much fucked if you are over 35.
Thanks to the economical problems mentioned earlier your only hope of getting any prize money is being first overall, but if the open division was to be swopped around for a senior division then that would basically mean no hope of a cent if you are over 35.
Today not even the overall winners got a penny.
No, a shirt and a pat on the back, that's it.
"Thanks for paying the extravagant entry fee, dumbass! Come back next year. We'll be here to swindle you some more!"

Epiphany

People told me running would change my life.
They told me I'd find the meaning to life.
Everybody always say that nothing beats the feeling you experience after finishing a hard session.
Well, to some degree that's true.
Finishing a 8km tempo run feels great, mostly because it's always a challenge but afterwards I am still able to walk...after 20km not so much.
I'm still no single millimeter closer to discovering the meaning of life though and the only thing in my life it has changed is my sleeping patterns.
When I look in the mirror I still don't like what I see.
I don't love myself any more.
I don't hate myself any less.
For all the "friends" I've made I don't spend any more time with anyone but myself.
I still haven't found the joy in my life.
I've lost everything I've ever loved and running is what I'm left with.
I can truely say that most of the time I hate it.
Why do I still run you ask...
Well, that's an easy answer.
All my life I stood back and watched life pass me by, mostly I still do, but I also backed away from anything hard and all the things that I didn't love.
So this time around I said "fuck you, life!"
You can't stop me!
You can't break me!
I'm a fighter and I'm here to stay!
I'm stronger than all those bitches out there that do this week after week because they enjoy it.
It's easy doing something you love.
Try doing something you hate week after week without pause!
My epiphany: how ever hard life pushes you you need to push back harder.

It just never gets any easier...

I remember that first jog like it was yesterday....or this morning...mostly because I felt just as close to dying this morning...and yesterday...and if I'm spared I will feel the very same way tomorrow morning and Saturday morning maybe even worse.
I can clearly remember everything I was thinking that first time: "how long until this gets easier?"

But we joggers and runners are a funny bunch.
The pain never gets any easier or less and neither does the perceived effort.
The only difference that ever happens is we go further and faster.
Many people have asked me why I run, mostly my family.
I can honestly say I don't know of a single jogger in my WHOLE family.
There's plenty of talented athletes amongst them but our bloodline seems to be infused with the kind of talent that lends itself a lot better to sports where flatout speed and strength rules the roost.
I guess whatever talent I have leans that way as well.
Both physiologically and psychologically I struggle to keep it up(jogging).
Honestly, I hate the discipline and work it takes just to stay where I am in the scheme of it all.
But God, in his infinite wisdom, has taken everything else I love from me so it's either running or doing nothing.
Sometimes I just want to quit, but there are people that expect a whole lot more from me than I am delivering at the moment.
In the whole course of my life other people's opinion have meant very little but I wonder what they see that I can't.
So I run even though I hate it, it hurts and I don't see it ever getting better.
I run because I will always love the reason I took my first tentative jog and that will never change.

Newton Distance S: Initial impressions

Had my first run in my brand spanking new, bright canary yellow Distance S shoes.
Only did 8km but here are a few of my initial impressions:

1. The uppers breath VERY well...but it was early and cold and my feet didn't appreciate it...hot days will be heavenly though
2. People notice them. IMMEDIATELY!!! Boy Newton sure don't make inconspicable colours.
3. The medial posting doesn't get in the way, etc uncomfortable...but just how well it works I'll still have to see but for now can confirm that my knees don't hurt.
4. The heel collar padding is quite a bit thinner than on the Gravity or Motion shoes and on only 8km the left shoe rubbed right through my sock and left my heel bloody. Right side no problems though and I have had similar problems with other shoes so time will tell.
5. Cushioning is excellent. Very comfortable to run in. I'm sure this will be a great shoe to do longer distances in.
6. Boy are they light!!! Except for the rubbing they disappear on your feet.
7. The heel obviously won't last as long because it doesn't have carbon rubber and I can already see some scuff marks...the comfort and weight advantages make it worth it in my opinion though...

Here's to many more wonderful miles...

Asics GT2170 500km review

The tread still look good and overall they are in pretty much the same shape as the day I brought them home excitedly.
No compressed mid-sole here like I had with the Pulses.
BUT, and it's a big but...I've ran three races with them and for some apparently explainable reason I've either crashed out or very nearly did with cramps all the way from my Achilles up into my piriformis muscle.
Being the know-it-all that only follows his own head I went back to my trusted old pair of Newton gravity's even though some advised against it.
So far so good.
I've done quite a few kilometers on them since then and still no pains yet.
Their medial side is starting to get severely compressed, probably due to me pronating especially when I'm tired.
During the december holidays I stopped doing faster runs so I only ran in the GT's and then for some reason the pain was back.
Haven't run in them for a while now and though I'm still in some slight discomfort it appears to be getting better even though I'm steadily increasing my distance and pace.
My final verdict is though that its an excellent shoe quality wise.
It will last forever.
For some reason it just doesn't work for me...
Whenever I concentrate on keeping my cadence up thus striking more towards my mid-foot I immediately feel the extra pressure on the ball of my foot, especially towards my big toe.
Heelstriking is wonderfully plush...right up until I've done a couple of kilometers then my knees start to hurt BAD.