Brooks Glycerin 7

After my recent post in which I mentioned that I was in the market for a new pair of running shoes I am glad to say that I have ignored my own advice and gone for a pair of Brooks Running Shoes!

I have bought a pair of Brooks Glycerin 7's. Yes they are not the latest model as you can now buy Glycerin 8's but I have never been one who needs the latest model the day it is released. I need to secure what I perceive as value for money and only time will tell on this score.

I judge value for money in running shoes on a number of factors but the number one is the no of miles I get from the shoes before the heels wear away. As a neutral heel striker , with high arches who under pronates ( yeah I have tried to run and land more mid foot and I have told myself I am doing it but the evidence on the wear of my last shoes just shows I don't!) I need a heel that will last and give me at least 400 miles.

Secondly I want comfort and from my first few runs in the Brooks Glycerin 7's the shoes were comfortable and don't pinch anywhere. You know how when you open new running shoes you require a pair of scissors to cut off an increasing number of information labels attached to the laces. If you are like me you cast a cursory glance at this before binning as I don't profess to understand the scientific bits ( rather like those shampoo adverts !).  However I was drawn to the use by Brooks of a material called BioMoGo which apparently is the world’s first-ever bio-degradable mid sole which has to be good for the environment.

The review of the shoes on the Runners World site wouldn't have you rushing out of bed to buy these . In summary they state "Probably the best way to describe this shoe would be "solid but unspectacular". Our testers found it to be, at best, a pleasant ride and, at worst, inoffensive, with the cushioning and breath ability being the standout features. Our wear-testers say:
"An average shoe in most departments. I was most impressed by the breath ability of the upper which was excellent." - Ben Madsen"

Interestingly though readers reviews were better than the Runners World staff so hopefully I have made the right choice and I will alternate use of these with my other pair of Asics Gel Stratus 3's which are still going strong  after 300 miles.


I have used Brooks shoes before I had a pair of Addictions back in 2004-5 which served me well.

What new Running Shoes shall I buy?

Yes it is that time again when I need to invest in a new pair of running shoes and retire an old pair.

Unfortunately my experiment with using Saucony shoes or at least the Saucony Jazz 13's was a failure. I should qualify that the Jazz 13's may be a good shoe but they were not right for me and I will explain why. Not sure if you can make out the wear and tear on the shoe photos  in this post but to explain I think you can see that the uppers are as good as new and would last many more miles.  However  the heal wear was excessive and the black carbon sole has been worn away to show patches of yellow beneath. At this point I never run on using a pair of shoes as to do so will only lead to probable injury. There may be people who do and get away with it but not me.



Unbelievably I have only run a 108 miles in them! They were very comfortable and out of the box were immediately enjoyable to wear perhaps more so than most shoes that I have had which normally require 3-4 runs to get used to them. New shoes can often feel so springy and it just takes a few runs for you and shoe to become perfect partners. The Jazz 13's as I say felt like slippers and were a great fit.

As a runner I have high arches and under pronate as I run and the advice I have always had is that I need  a neutral shoe.As I tend to land on the outside of my heel this is where I found shoes wear out. I need shoes to have a hard carbon outer otherwise I can find the wear is too great.I can end up chucking shoes out even the rest of the shoe may be in good condition because the outer heel has become like a cliff edge.

What lead to the Jazz 13's not being right for me? Well I just don't know but with my long term injury I did put on weight so I would have been a harder on the shoes. I do tend to mix my running between road and trail. As you can see from the photos there is plenty of mud on these but I have never had a pair which gave up the ghost after just 108 miles! Clearly Jazz 13's were not ideal for trail running.

I always try to alternate shoes for each training run so I still have my Asics Gel Stratus 3's which currently have over 300 miles of usage and are still fine. In fact this set me to  looking back on recent shoes and how many miles they have lasted as a basis for what brand I should buy next. My results are

Asic Gel Stratus 2's                     412 miles
Asic GT 2130                               449 miles
Mizuno Wave Rider                     423 miles
Asic Gel                                        427 miles
Asic Gel GT 2110                        516 miles
Reebok Premier Ultra 111          314 miles
Reebok Premier                           214 miles
New Balance 1060                       439 miles
New Balance 854's                      241 miles
Saucony MC5's                             356 miles
Brooks Addiction                          405 miles
New Balance 855                         406 miles
Saucony Trigon                            258 miles


I started recording the shoe I wore and the miles run in them from around 2004 so what does the stats tell me ? It is fairly clear that the Saucony shoes just don't suit me as well as Asics. I have consistently got at least 400 miles out of Asics. New Balance , Brooks and Mizuno were also in the main likely to give me 400 miles of running. From this I am likely to look at one of these brands for my next shoe.

I would be interested to know how many miles do you get out of your shoes before they wear out ?

I ran a 40 minute mainly green paced heart rate monitor run this morning. This is a medium paced effort and I think doing the race on Sunday acted a little as a kick up the pants as I ran 4.6 miles for around 8.45 pace. Still no great shakes but heading in the right direction as most of my previous training runs in the last month have been at 9 min plus miles.

Track Interval Session at West Suffolk Athletics Arena Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Tonight my running schedule called for an 8 mile tempo session. I decided to vary it a bit and do an interval session at the West Suffolk Athletics Arena in Bury St Edmunds instead.

This was my first visit to the track this year as I have focused entirely on my half marathon training schedule. This has meant road training and road training and more road training and I haven't been to the track or ventured off road as much as I would normally do. This has been a deliberate plan to see if a focus on a schedule would put me back on the straight and narrow as regards to my stamina to run longer distance and most importantly my confidence. I haven't raced for so long it is now a scary prospective.

So it was with great pleasure that I jogged a mile to the track with a drink in hand wearing tracksters and a thermal top. It was positively balmy this evening and I wasn't in two minds about removing the layers and a short sleeved technical t- shirt and shorts was all I needed along with my Ascics Gel Stratus 2's. These shoes will have to be retired in probably a month or so as I see I have recorded 375 miles in them.

The coach and many of the rest of the Saint Edmunds Pacers club were doing some sets of 4 minute runs but I wasn't tempted to join in as my plan was 6 x one mile intervals .

I felt strong as I set off on the first mile. The main thing was I felt I could keep up a decent pace throughout and my legs and breathing were not acting as a brake as they quite often do. I wasn't sure what time to expect for a mile but I stopped the Garmin Forerunner 205 at 7.32.

Not bad my fastest mile of the year but only because I havent't been to the track. Normally runs at th track are over a shorter distance with intervals of between 1 min and 5 mins so running several mile intervals isn't usually done. Looking back my diary indicates that last year for pace on the track over 3 minutes I would often run around 6.50 - 7 mile pace. 

I tired after 4 intervals but managed to complete the set of 6 to give times as follows

7.32,7.32,7.27,7.22,7.39, and 7.40

In between efforts I had my Asda Isotonic Mixed Berry Flavour Sports Drink

I really like this flavour , very good design of bottles with a good closure cap and cheap  in comapison with the competitors £1.46 for 4. Nice one Asda.





My times were pretty consistent with just 13 seconds between fastest and slowest. I was tired after this and jogged home the mile to give me a warm down and 8 miles in the bag.

Felt good tonight will have a break Thursday before reurning to the road on Friday lunch time.

Five Mile Tempo Run in Fornham St Martin Suffolk

Wednesday in my training schedule usually calls for a tempo or speed interval run which I always look forward to. It's something different from the usual easy paced runs which make up most of the rest of the week. Of course it is also a chance to test yourself and to see how the training is going.

My run today consisted of a warm up mile , five miles tempo and warm down mile. I ran the same course as Monday following the route around Fornham offering as it does a 7 mile course with not to many roads to cross where you can get stopped by the traffic.

After two days of snow and sleet the weather was mild , in fact possibly the warmest day of the year at about 8c. I only wore one layer for the first time this year- a sweat shirt and tracksters and my Asics Gel Stratus 3. If anything the sweat shirt was a little too heavy and a thiner thermal top would have been adequate as I got warm on this run.

My warm up mile was run in 8.35. I then paused and set the IPOD to music rather than running podcasts. I am sure I run faster when listening to music rather than speech. On the IPOD I had The Ramones, The Beatles, Jimmy Eat World, The Saints, The Lillingtons, Joy Division, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach Boys, Editors and The Jam.

With the music belting out I was able to tackle the tempo run. The schedule called for 5 miles at 7.54 mile pace. I was happy with what I did achieve though I didn't hit this pace my mile splits show 7.48,8.12,8.09,8.19 and 8.28. So my 1st mile was under target but I then slipped back to over 8 minute miles averaging out at 8.12 miles for a total of 40.58 for the 5 miles. I felt good and comfortable for 3.5 miles but then had to grit my teeth for the last 1.5 as my times showed I tired particularly for the last half mile.

When I tired I had reached my lactic threshold maximum. Tempo runs  create lactic acid in the muscles and eventually you do begin to slow. Running at tempo pace often enough should help train the body in dealing with lactic acid. As it will make the body more efficient in removing lactic acid from the muscles.

Thats good news because next time I  run, I shouldn't  build up as much lactic acid in the muscles as the last time I ran at that same pace. The body will be able to get rid of lactic acid faster too. At least thats what I have read.

I warmed down for a mile and half feeling that this was a really worth while session and has helped overcome some of the disappointment of not racing on Sunday.

Asics Gel Stratus 3

Christmas has come slightly early as I have bought myself some new running shoes. Namely a pair of Asics Gel Stratus 3. With there being no specialist running shops within a dozen miles of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk as per usual I buy on line and surf for the best bargins.

I am never worried about buying the latest model of a shoe but nor do I want to spend hours combing dozens of on line retailers to save a fiver. I often buy from Prodirectrunning.com offering as they do with most shoes a free technical t shirt. Their service is always good with prompt delivery .



The Asics Gel Stratus 3 suit my high arched feet as I tend to under pronate. As I tend to land on the outside of my heel this is where I found shoes wear out. I need shoes to have a hard carbon outer otherwise I can find the wear is too grea.I can end up chucking shoes out even the rest of the shoe may be in good condition because the outer heel has become like a cliff edge.

If you have any doubts about the type of shoe you should wear for running you should go to a decent shoe shop for a gait test. This is a check on how you land your heel and whether you roll your foot to the left or right or stay neutral.

You can also do a water paper test at home. Wet the sole of your left foot and lay it on a white piece of paper for a few seconds. If you are like me the water will leave an inprint as shown above. Visit Runners World for a complete range of types of feet and how to choose a shoe.

I also like to double up my running shoes so that I alternate usage. I do think you can give your shoes a chance to recover and dry out if you alternate usage so at the moment I also have a pair of Asics Gel Stratus 2 on the go with a hundred or so miles of wear.

Icy 5

It was only 5pm but already there was a heavy frost on the cars and a crispy glint on the pavements as I set out for a steady 5 mile run.

For the first time this autumn/winter I felt the need to wear a hat and gloves. I hesitated there as to whether it is still autumn or are we in winter? The answer is it that it doesn't matter as whatever season we are officially in nature doesn't run to an official clock. Astronimically winter solstice begins on December 21st so it is still autumn. However Metrologists would go by whole months with December , January and February being winter in our Northern Hemisphere. So take your pick!

My run was pretty good without any obvious back or leg pain. I ran a circular route along Newmarket Rd in Bury St Edmunds with a white visable top over an Ipswich Town football sweat shirt, Ron Hill tracksters and my Asics Gel Stratus 2's. I picked up some excellent sweat shirts from Portman Road about 2 years ago for about £3 which were ex players training wear. I haven't looked at what they are made from but they are just perfect for running being warm and also wicking away sweat.

My laps times were 8.43, 8.35,8.44,8.35,9.12 for 43.51 for the 5 miles. This is better than my last 5 miles times which have all been in the 44 min plus region so perhaps some small improvement.

Newmarket Road Bury St Edmunds

8.15am 4 miles in 32 mins 45 seconds
Week to date mileage 13 miles
Month to date mileage 85
Average weekly rate 29.9 miles
Average monthly rate 130
Year to date 1282
Lifetime 10875

A forgettable run as I thought more about my injury then anything else. However wore my new running shoes a pair of Asics Gel Cumulus from Do Running who provide excellent quick service and a free technical t shirt with orders.


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Now playing: The Vibrators - Whips and Furs
via FoxyTunes

Horringer School /Hospital /Cullum rd Newmarket rd Bury St Edmunds

5.30pm 5.4 miles in 41 mins 15 seconds

Week to date mileage 5.4

Month to date mileage 15

Average weekly rate 30.4

Average Monthly rate 132

Year to Date 1200

Life time 9220

19 Sep 06 41.39
8 Sep 06 41.01
1 Aug 06 41.45
28 July 06 42.25
17 July 06 42.46
13 June 06 42.08
11 May 06 43.21
27 Mar 06 42.41
8 Mar 06 42.13
24 Feb 06 42.33
16 Feb 06 44.0
10 Feb 06 41.50
2 Feb 06 42.38
17 Jan 06 42.50
10 Jan 06 42.52
1 jan 06 41.45
14 Dec 05 42.47

Ran well tonight and settled very quickly into using my new running shoes a pair of Asics GT 2110 that I bought from Joe Jogger. This was my first purchase from this internet site and I have to say it was first class. Excellent value and a quick delivery. The compny doesn't offer lots of different shoes but a smaller selection at good value compared to many other sites. If you haven't heard of them then give them a look before you buy.