Back in the groove - Nike Free 5.0 review

It's funny how things turn out. Only 2 days before, I had been telling eatingtrees that I really needed some new trainers as the current ones were a little worse for wear and lo and behold I get an email telling me that the senders finally had my size in and were offering me a chance to review the new Nike Free 5.0. I jumped at the chance.

The shoes I had run my first ever Half Marathon in were a pair of Nikes but weren't exactly running shoes. Once completed I realised that I needed a proper pair of shoes and went off to be checked and fitted and my wallet emptied. I have worn those shoes or the latest variations of them for around 4 years now. Reason being as I've always been scared of the dreaded iliotibial band syndrome as I knew a couple of people who 'got' it when they changed their shoe but it was time for a change.

Nike say of the Nike Free 5.0... 'Natural Barefoot-like Feel'. Well my previous foray into the world of minimalist running was with the New Balance Minimus range but for someone who comes in 'overweight' on a BMI basis they didn't have the comfort needed despite the enjoyment of a more forefoot strike. These Nike Free 5.0 are an absolute bloody joy. The 'barefoot-like feel' makes sense now I've tried the shoes. Yes there's cushioning on the soles for which I can hear the barefoot traditionalists shouting 'it's not proper barefoot running' and you know what, they are completely correct. It's not. But that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to be as efficient as I can be while being comfortable and enjoying my running. These are as light as a feather, still encourage me to forefoot strike and so far, I'm injury free. I love these shoes and the colour.... WOW

It's like they were designed by someone who works in a cave all day and once they came out, they wanted to spread a little colour around. I have to say, when I got them out of the box and was brave enough to remove my sunglasses, I was a little shocked but they've grown on me and I absolutely love them now. There's loads of equally bright colours (plus probably a black and white option) available but I wouldn't change these for anything now.

I've run the same 6km route 3 times in the last week in them now and I love how they feel. I've also upped the pace a bit although that's probably down to me enjoying running in them a lot more than my olds shoes but that's worth it's weight in gold. They offer me a good amount of support, they are comfy to run in and I know I'm still forefoot running as my calf muscles always feel they are given a good work out. And the best thing in the world about them???? They have Waffle Outsole Pistons. Nope I have no idea either but that's genius... What sane man in this world would NOT want Waffle Outsole Pistons!

I just have to add, the Nike Free's are also available on the rather cool NIKEiD. You can completely customise the shoe. I've just done it. A lot of fun and you can get the exact shoe you want. Not only can you muck around with the colours of EVERYTHING, you can also use different parts of different shoes. For example, using the sock-like feel of the Nike Free 3.0 with the cushioned midsole of the Nike Free 5.0. Or vice versa. Get it feeling exactly as you want it but in the exact colour combo you want too. For now, I'm completely sold on my neon ones but when they do wear out, I'll be heading out to find some more. Chuffed

Under Armour ColdBlack T-Shirt

I had an email a while ago asking if I'd like to review a new t-shirt from Under Armour. Yes, yup, absolutely was my response. The only condition was I had to review it by the 18th May. No problem at all... I failed. Mind you, this was due to a couple of things. Firstly, I forgot I'd said yes to it as it didn't arrive for over 3 weeks and left me with a week and a half and secondly, IT HASN'T STOPPED RAINING FOR MONTHS!


Eventually, I did manage to get out and test the ColdBlack T-Shirt one Sunday morning (not today) when the sun was shining bright. This was important you see as they claim, even though it's dark, (mine's a lovely navy blue) it still reflects the heat. Hold up... was everything (the only thing) I ever learnt in science class a load of rubbish? Well no. But yes.


See Under Armour have worked their voodoo magic on the material (they call it revolutionary technology but mine sounds better) to make dark colours act like light colours and reflect the sun's rays and all those other nasty rays from the sun therefore, not making you really, really hot. So... then question on everyone's* lips... does it work?


Tough one that. See to know the answer, I'd have to do the same run in identical conditions wearing a light and dark top and remember every detail (Sorry, I ain't that intelligent). So I can only go on what I felt on the day and I have to say that it was good. I didn't feel overly hot (and I make a fat man in a sauna look like he's comfortable) so that's a bonus. It was lightweight, looks great, is a lovely fit and not too expensive.

I AM A SLIGHTLY" OVERWEIGHT WHITE MAN WITH A BIG GINGER BEARD, THIS MAY NOT BE ME

I certainly need to go out and use it a bit more (which I will as my marathon training starts in 3 weeks... FAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRK) and if it continues to feel as good as it did on it's first outing, I may actually have to consider buying another. Overall, I loved it and once I have a clear out of some of the old smelly tops in my drawer, it'll be near the top.


* OK, maybe not everyone as some people might have got here by Googling^ 'voodoo magic' but at least a few
" Ahhmm, yes slightly alright!
^ other search engines are available~
~ just seeing what other symbols are on my keyboard now....

Time for a change

I didn't mention it at the time but there was a strange smell on the second half of the BUPA 10k that wasn't all that pleasant. It took a while for the penny to drop that it was actually my t-shirt and after 2 years and numerous races and numerous training runs had come to the end of it's smell free life. Time to go shopping!

I wanted a couple of replacements and found myself heading over to simplysweat.com to check out what they had. Quite a simple and straight forward website meant that I was able to find the mens tops quite quickly and once I'd checked out the size guide and selected the size I was after, I was given a large selection of tops from some very well known brands to choose from.

Prices ranged from the very high (maybe it's just me) to much more in my price range so I found 3 I liked that were at the lower end of the scale, in colours that mean I'll never be missed on the course again and headed to the checkout.

Delivery had 3 options which were standard, express and next day and I have to say, I'm not a fan of paying for standard delivery and generally go elsewhere but I felt £2.99 was a small price to pay for the 3 tops I'd chosen. I could even pay by Paypal which saves the whole card details and address input thing but maybe it was having a bad day as it wouldn't let me use my account. Pah! I ordered Tuesday and delivered on Saturday (just after I got back from a run typically) so not as quick as some sites but if I had been desperate for it, I could have paid more I guess.

Overall, a good site with loads of stock from some good brands at pretty good prices. Give them a go next time you smell a funny smell while running. It may be you.

Juneathon has continued with a little running and a little cycling but nothing interesting has happened so I don't want to bore you all. My stats, as with all the others are on that running free site.