Thursday, October 10, 2013

Running with the Virrata

NEW SHOES ALERT!

For the longest time I have been trying to find it – and so I did.  I finally got the Saucony Virrata shoes!  So long, Minimus (I won't be running in your run this year as well but its because registration's a hassle!)

This was an early birthday present for me, thanks to the wife.  It is timely though, as my next run would be on November 24 for the Sante Barley Domination run.  And if I would buy it on my birthday, might not have enough time to get used to it.
 
I’m fixed on getting the Virrata, but there was one thing that kept me thinking for at least 5 minutes – whether to get the black or the green one.  I knew myself that I want the green one, as it fits my running in the early, darker mornings.  Its highly visible with the neon color.  But thinking about the terrain that I’m running in most of the time it’s a bit wet and dusty, so having a light-colored shoe will require frequent cleaning (I do wash my shoes but not that frequent, and the make of the shoe might not handle frequent washing that well).

So I got the black one.  Yes I wished it could’ve been much noticeable on low-light runs.  The reflectors don’t seem to be enough (then again it might just not reflect too much on me wearing it).  So I bought this red blinking hazard light and installed it to my belt.  Problem solved!


Running in it was a big difference with the Minimus.  Having ran at least 1 speed and 1 long-run (update – upon posting this I already made at least 5 runs), no blisters or hotspots.  Feet were not as sore as with the other shoe.  I’m happy with the cushioned ride.  I have been getting quite faster results with the shoe.  It seems that with the Minimus, I tend to take it a bit easier.  Anyway, I really can’t assess the difference (it could be the shoe or it could be the new found excitement I found with it), but I’ve done a pretty good set of runs with the Virrata, that’s for sure.