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Mizuno Wave Rider 7
The premise: Created for the runner who has a neutral gait cycle and demands
the best blend of cushioning and stability that gives a "feel the road" sensation.
I admit, I have been out of shape lately and I havent put in even a quarter
of the normal mileage I do when I train. So when I looked at myself in the mirror recently, as a lot of those whove
known me have already noticed, I look a little rounder than usual. The first thing on my mind was to start doing my
regular morning runs. But the first couple of times I went out for a short 30 minute run, I felt jolts in my knees,
even if I was wearing my favorite cushioned stability shoe. Of course I knew that the shoe wasnt the culprit, but the
additional weight that I put on me. (The force of impact that we put on our feet during a run is about 3x of our body weight.)
With that in mind, I had a pretty good excuse to get a new pair of shoes.
I can say that I own a fairly decent stable of footwear and I have trained
and raced in various brands and types of shoes, but I have never owned a Mizuno. I always thought that they were too
pricey, but I knew that there was a certain mystique to them which is the reason that they have their cult following, much
like Asics. Mizunos for me was the type of shoe that I would get for myself on a special occasion, or if I had enough
money to spend on one of them. So when I was given the chance to pound on the companys latest flagship shoe, who was
I to say no?
I had a lot of expectations for the shoe, much so that it was the cushioning
stability shoe which was recommended to me by their personnel because of my gait. I tested it out on an asphalt rolling
course, doing 5 1hr runs and a 2hr long run. As my runs progressed, I could feel the shoe, molding to my foot as the
minutes passed by. At first, the wave plate at the heel of the shoe felt a bit stiff, but by the time I was on my 4th
hr of testing, it was already working very well to dampen the punishment I was giving it. Its weight felt very light
for the cushioning it was giving me, which is probably the selling point of the Wave plate. The placement of the Wave
plate and the combination of the Mizunos VS-1 rubber gave it a solid feel from heel strike to toe-off. And while I was
running, one thing I noticed is that I didnt feel that I was pounding the pavement as I felt with my old cushioned trainer.
The proof of this was that since I started wearing them on my runs, I never felt those jolts in my knees again. On the
looks side, I must say that the styling and the color combinations work perfectly, giving the wearer that hardcore yet fashionable
athlete look. Mizunos noted breathable mesh upper works seamlessly with the styling to combine fashion and function.
And the reflectors are very well placed, making me shift a lot of my runs to the evenings, just so I can test their novelty.
Bottom line: For me, they did the job. The Mizuno Wave Rider 7
got me to run comfortably again even with my added weight, and it took away the pain in my knees. But I felt some pain
in a different area during my first few runs, so I conducted a different test to finds a cure to it, check out my other product
test on Speed Laces to find out the results. One note though, the Wave Rider 7 has to be laced all the way
until the top holes to prevent heel-slip. And to a question that Ive always asked myself when it comes to Mizuno shoes,
Why should I spend so much for this? I think I got my answer.
Adidas Climacool 2
A couple of weeks back, I got my first taste of the new Climacool 2. The
premise of the shoe was that it was supposed to keep your feet dry and well-ventilated for those long hot days, and built
with enough cushioning to go the distance.
Part 1 of my test came during a wet and rainy morning 1hr 30min run. I wanted to see if the shoe was all it was
cracked up to be in wet conditions. I must admit it performed decently well. I could feel the water getting flushed
out of the bottom vents of the shoe. By my own fault, I forgot to wear synthetic socks, which meant that I could not
experience the full benefit of the shoe. The outer of the shoe did absorb a lot of water, which made it a bit sluggish.
For the inside, do avoid stepping into puddles, the bottom vents of the shoe does flush water out, but it also creates a venue
for water to go in. And if there's one thing I hate while running, it's wet socks. One thing that impressed me
about the shoe is that is only took 2hrs in direct sunlight to get the whole shoe dry, inside and out, without having to open
the tongue of the shoe. Plus, it did not have that moist, funky shoe smell whenever shoes get dried after they're soaked.
I must admit that at first, I was very skeptic of the sole's cushioning. Sole? What sole? Because there
were so many vents, there was hardly any sole left to speak of. I wondered what would be the best situation to test
the cushioning properties of the shoe, and what came to mind was a 1hr run, after a 5hr bike ride. 'Cuz after long rides,
our legs are really sensitive to vibration and shock. The Climacool 2 came with a generous serving of adiprene, and
I'd like to shake hands of the engineers that placed them all in the right spots. The cushioning felt comparable to
my all-time favorite cushioned shoe brands, Saucony and New Balance. I always ran my long bricks with those shoes, and
this was to be my first long brick without them. And at 12nn, the ventilation didn't hurt either. Thankfully,
the adiprene at the heel absorbed at lot of the shock that was supposed to be sent up my legs. Working well together
with the forefoot adiprene+, in English it gave more bounce to the toe-off, especially when it felt hard trying to get myself
up those hills.
Bottom line: this is a shoe for normal pronators, it lacks motion control capabilities of other technical shoes.
It feels and weighs like racing flats in the long haul, with the cushioning you need. For ventilation, only few shoes
can rival it, just standing outdoors, you can feel the wind blow through the shoe. This is the shoe for those long,
hot days. After checking with the adidas offices, I found out that the Climacool series is made with a narrow last.
So you may have to get one size larger than you normally wear, I had to get size13's. And for a snug and comfortable
fit, I suggest replacing the laces with elastic shoelaces.
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