This morning I covered 11 miles, power walking up to Inspiration Point via the Sam Merrill trail out of Altadena and then running back down via the Mt Lowe railway fire road, transiting back to the lower Sam Merrill Trail to Altadena. I did the run in my Merrell Ascend Gloves, and it felt great. I was a bit cautious running down the Sam Merrill as I haven't run steep technical single track since my accident, and my legs haven't recovered full strength; plus I am a bit leary of slipping due to the lack of lugs at the rear of the Ascend Gloves (which I was wearing when I had my accident last May).
I've been experimenting with various models of trail running shoes lately trying to find something like the Ascend Glove but with more aggressive lugs. It seems that in the last year, the offerings of low profile, minimalist running shoes has really dried up, evidently the minimalist trend on running shoes has crested. Inov-8's Trailroc 255 shoes are decent but I find them a bit tall, with a much thicker sole than what I am used to - and somewhat unstable as a result. They are also a bit narrow for my feet, they work but need to be broken in, unlike the Merrell's that I've been spoiled to wear the last two years. Skechers' Gobionic Trail which I've had good luck with seems to have been discontinued (as has the Merrell Ascend Glove). I bought a discounted clearance pair of Solomon Sense Ultras on line. What shipped though was Solomon Sense Ultra SG, which has super aggressive lugs. I decided to try them: I wore them last Sunday for an 8 miler and a couple days later I woke with really severe pain in my left foot, feeling like planar fascitis, which I haven't had in 24 years. I took three days off and treated my feet morning and evening with an ice pack followed by a hot water soak. They felt OK by Friday so I resumed my walks and runs, and the feet felt fine today. This may not have been due to the Solomons but a few more trial runs will sort this out.
I've bought a pair of Merrell's Bare Access Trail today, which look like Ascend Gloves but with more aggressive lugs; maybe these will be my go-to shoes this season.
Pete Sercel's ultrarunning training blog --my experience with running injury prevention and recovery, and training for the Angeles Crest 100.
I'd love to know what you think of the Bare Access Trail. I loved, loved the original Trail Glove, but never warmed to the Ascend Gloves. To be honest, I had a defective first pair, and probably never gave the replacement pair enough of a chance. I've yet to find a shoe that disappears on my feet like the trailglove did, but with added girp and protetction I feel are needed for these SoCal moutain trails. Anyway, I've been eyeing the BAT and wondering how they compare to the AG.
ReplyDeleteChuck, looks like Merrell just announced the Trail Glove 3. The specs on the outsole are similar to the old Ascend Glove in thickness, and it has a rock plate...just ordered a pair :)
DeleteHey Pete,
ReplyDeleteRE Shoes: You might want to check out Altra Superior 2.0. I'm trying a pair right now and they seem to do a lot of things great. Grip is probably the best I've seen. These things will tear through anything; sand was easy, rocky trails, I never felt like I might slip. They are probably Ok in mud, but we don't see much mud here anyway.
The shoes are zero drop, but more shoe that you might be used to. Not as low as the Ascend Glove, more protection than the sketchers, maybe similar to the Trailrocs you used (I've run in the Trailroc 245's and I think they might be similar in protection to the Altras). Not a lot of ground feel, but they don't feel like hiking boots either. They have a removeable rock plate, which I don't think I'll need to use. The toe box might be a bit shallow (like a racing flat) but I think it is about as wide as the ascend glove. I had to size a 1/2 size up.
I've only done one short run, and haven't done up/down a moutain yet, but I think they are worth investigating if you are looking for a light weight zero drop shoe with crazy grip.
Hi Chuck- thanks for the info. I will check out the Altras based on your advice/comments. Yesterday I did receive the pair of Merrell Bare Access Trails that I'd ordered. The outsole is similar to the Ascend Glove but with larger lugs all the way back to the rear of the heel...which is good...but its narrower than the Ascend Glove in the forefoot, and the upper is made of more standard padded fabric like Inov-8's. In any event, the fit is different than the Trail Glove or Ascend Glove -- sufficiently different that the toes on the lateral side of my feet are scrunched into the end of the shoe despite there being ample room at the big toe. This may be because the rubber of the sole curves up around the rim of the shoe on the inside. Not sure...but the contact with the ends of my lateral toes will be a problem if I run in them. I'll be returning them. All in all they seem a lot more like the Inov-8 line now than the old Merrell Barefoot series, albeit they do seem lower than the Inov-8's. I think its a shame that Merrell has gone back towards conventional shoe design; I've never run in shoes as comfortable as the Trail Glove or the Ascend Glove. The first time I ran in my Ascend Gloves I did 27 miles and had zero hot spots. I am noodling on whether to try the Bare Access Trails a half size larger...however the shoes I ordered are sized correctly, they are just too narrow, so this may be a lost cause.
DeleteHow do you compare your Altras to your Inov-8's in width and etc?