Seven Summits Body – Fitness and Training

Author: Charles Miske

  • Review: Hoka One One Bondi.b

    Hoka One One Bondi.b

    Having used a MafateWP as one of my “snow running” shoes, and being generally happy with the cushy feel, I got a pair of the Bondi.B – a primarily street shoe that I’ve used on roads, trails, and treadmill for about 250 miles now.

    In fact, right now it’s one of my favorite trail runners, and I’ve used it on every organized trail run, including 10k, half marathon, and marathon. Compared to the pic above, here’s how mine look now after about 100 miles offroad, and 150 miles other …

    Bondi.b - on feet - dirty tops after 250 miles
    Bondi.B from the top, on feet, showing wear and dirt
    Bondi.B showing side on feet
    Bondi.B from the side, on feet

    In the two photos above, note the general wear and tear, including a crack near the left big toe joint I got during a trail 10K that I repaired with shoegoo. Also quite dirty compared to the marketing image at the top of the review.

    Left shoe inside side view crack near toe
    Left shoe inside side view – crack near toe repaired with shoegoo
    Left outside side view
    Left outside side view

    Above two photos show side views. One of the most obvious differences in these shoes is the very thick, soft, cushy, foamy midsoles. Some people love them, others hate them. The foam has a lot of energy, and if you can try them on and run on pavement, you should totally feel it. Whether you like that feeling or not though …

    Above in the video, I show the general characteristics of the sole. If you can’t really see what I’m doing, from the ball to the end is very soft, ball to instep medium soft, and heel fairly unsoft (though it will deform in twisting motions). Notice the speed with which it snaps back when I let go. Lots of energy, even after 250 miles (about half the life advertised, and I have no reason to doubt I’ll hit 500 miles).

    For “anti-traditionalists” notice the sole is very rounded in shape (some people report being asked about their butt-augmenting workout shoes while wearing them). The hype implies that you’ll strike in the prominent middle foot area and roll off the toe without necessarily flexing your toes. Here are a few shots of my current sole wear at about 250 miles:

    Middle sole zone
    Middle sole zone – note moderate wear in white rubber, maximum wear in yellow foam area
    Heel sole zone wear
    Heel sole zone – note minimal wear in orange rubber, moderate wear in white rubber, maximum wear in foam area
    Toe sole zone wear
    Toe sole zone – note minimal wear in orange rubber, moderate wear in white rubber, maximum wear in foam area

    Notice that there is minimal wear at the heel and toe, and a lot of wear in the middle instep area. So at least in my case it’s working as advertised.

    Now down to the nitty gritty: the midsole is fat, thick, soft. If you need some type of support, it’s not there – this is majorly a “cushion-only” shoe. IMHO for my foot anyway, it seems to run about 1/3 size small.

    Some people report very tired support and stabilizing muscles in their lower legs, and increased incidence of rolling because of the lack of support. I can’t dispute that, as I’ve felt the stress on the little support muscles as I got used to this shoe, and while I have rolled a few times in them, I normally do, so I can’t report that it’s any better or worse than any other shoe.

    On a treadmill, the foam absorbs your impact quite a bit, which has one bad result – the belt feels like it stops just after your midfoot expands on it. It’s the weirdest feeling. Never read anyone else mention it though, so maybe it’s my wacked out gait?

    Hype says the huge foam blob deforms to accept all terrain variations. I feel rocks, so I can’t really accept that. Maybe I’m just more sensitive? I mean, I really can’t walk across a normal concrete driveway barefoot without a lot of pain from the miscellaneous stuff that gathers on it.

    Running uphill and downhill on the road is just freaking amazing. On the trail I had a lot of control issues on technical downhill. Took a major fall in the Aspen Backcountry Marathon, as well as a lot of sliding around that I managed to save. I talked to a few of the aid support crew who’d worn Mafate’s in the Leadville 100, and they said the same for that more popular offroad shoe with larger tread lugs.

    I love this shoe, wear it frequently in my rotation, and despite the thin tread, it’s one of my favorite trail runners. One of my prime considerations in using it is the ease of recovery, probably from the impact absorption (though it appears I’m not a heel-striker, I’m big at 185 lb and 6’1″, and old, at 50+), not to mention the increase in strength I’ve noticed in my stabilizers.

    Don’t take my word for it though, go try a pair on at a reputable running store and see if they’ll let you go outside (Boulder Running is where I got mine – nice people overall).

  • Book Review: The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing

    The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing

    by Phil Maffetone

    I’ve been training hard for quite a while now, and learned to cruise at 165 bpm heart rate. I have to go fairly quickly on the stairmaster to accomplish this, max’ed out the elliptical way before that, and can only run fast enough to accomplish it at an elevation of 6% or so on the treadmill.

    Some recovery issues have prevented me from weight training very seriously for a few months now. As well, my continuously decreasing pace for the last few half-marathons and marathon. Based on the reviews for this book, and several top ranked triathletes having successfully used this training format, I decided to give it a shot.

    The book is laid out linearly, in categories, so you can skip whole sections and not miss anything. Since I have long been free of most sugars and simple white carbs, I could skim those sections for tidbits but not get bogged down. If you still depend on them, then please, do read it.

    Why is a book on training and racing talking about sugar? In a nutshell, the aerobic system needs only a trickle of sugar, depletes our massive fat stores, and is more easily recoverable. The anaerobic system consumes sugar, and in spite of any loading plans, runs out fairly quickly and takes longer to recover.

    Standard training wisdom is to train like a sprinter, and work very hard to get your heart rate ever higher, but the point of this book is to help you increase your speed at a very low heart rate that will allow you to maintain that speed for a very long time with very little energy expenditure.

    There are a lot of ideas for how to go about this, some self-tests to assess your current state, a lot of information on eating and fat reduction, as well as foot health – he’s a “sensible” bare foot advocate. I’m not really all that interested in barefoot running since I’m a big old guy who’s worn the wrong shoes for most of my life. It would take years of rehab to overcome all that, and honestly I really can’t give up training to learn a skill that isn’t likely to have all that much value. YMMV.

    After a week or so of reading, I decided to go ahead and try it. Based on his formula, my target heart rate zone is centered on 132 bpm. ARGH! So I messed around some to find some combination of speed, and incline that would put me there. I reset my Polar so that Zone 2 is from 130-140. ARGH!

    I have been working on the treadmill and stairmaster to achieve that goal HR. Very tough. My first couple days I kept going over, and had to step off now and then to rest, but after a couple weeks it’s not that hard to maintain the right pace. Btw: stepping off is a LOT harder to do on a stairmaster. 🙂

    I got to try it at 10,000′ in Colorado. Since he doesn’t mention anything about heart rate at altitude I kept my target, and plodded along. No running in CO, pretty sure I can’t run at that altitude at that low a HR. The treadmill I have access to there allows a 20% incline so I can walk to achieve my zone. He does include one of the best sections I’ve read yet on high and low pressure/altitude training, resting, and sleeping. If you’re interested, that alone is worth the price of the book, imho.

    After a few weeks of training that “slowly” I have noticed a visible (like in fat loss) change, my speed at that HR is actually increasing, and it’s getting easier to stay in the zone. I’ve been averaging around 20 miles a week for some time now, and this program hasn’t changed that. I’ll try this program for a few more months and will keep you in the loop.

    If you’re an “endurance athlete” (events longer than 5k, day-long hikes or climbs, training more than 6 hours a week) or even just unable to recover from your current training, this book is totally worth a read.