Over 50 Running

We ran the 11-mile loop at Jay Peak yesterday. I love ski resorts, and this was a great summer event for Jay Peak ski resort. I finished in 3:32.  We did a 5k on day 1 of the 2-day event. My wife ended up doing just one loop on the 2nd day and also finished in a little over 3:30. She started with the 6:30 am starters and I started with the 8 am group. My right thigh injury/weakness flared up during the 11-miler and I had to walk the last few miles, which were downhill. My right thigh could handle running on level ground but not downhill. The Toronto half marathon is six weeks away. I’m hoping I can start running again in a few days. These trail runs are crushing. I have a sore right ankle and sore left thigh. And sore lower back. My Adidas Agravic SL’s hurt my left foot again, causing a blister on the side near the ball of the foot. I used tape over the spot for the second day and that helped. Ultimately, though, it is bad luck that the shoes tend to hurt me. I might be done with t...

With several rest days interspersed, I have completed five 5-mile runs. In 5 different pairs of shoes, to make it fun. The same route for the five runs. 1. Superblast 3, 49:50, 9:57/mile 2. Vomero Plus, 49:59, 9:59/mile 3. Megablast, 45:51, 9:09/mile (best time) 4. Nike Alphafly 3, 46:13, 9:13/mile (2nd best time) 5. Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo, 48:04, 9:36/mile These were the first outside runs for Nike Alphafly 3 and Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo. The Nike did quite a bit better. The Sky Tokyo's did better as the run went along, but took some getting used to. After winning the last round, the Superblasts were just as slow as the Vomero Pluses this time.  The Megablasts finished second in the 3.5-mile runs, and now first, living up to their reputation as good shoes.  I think I might be getting a bit of a soft spot for the Superblast 3s, and I'm still into the Megablasts. The other three in this series (Vomero+, Alphafly 3, and Sky Tokyo) are closer to curiosities. I like them, but ...

I have just completed five consecutive days of running a 3.5-mile route in the Butler Farms neighborhood of South Burlington, Vermont. I used a different pair of running shoes each day. Sunday, August 9, 2026 - Asics Glideride Max 2 - 72 °F - 9:11/mile - 31:52 Monday, August 10, 2026 - Nike Vomero Plus - 76 °F - 8:51/mile - 31:03 Tuesday, August 11, 2026 - Asics Superblast 3 - 63 °F - 8:26/mile - 29:34 Wednesday, August 12, 2026 - Asics Megablast - 64 °F - 8:37/mile - 30:16 Thursday, August 13, 2026 - Nike Zoom Fly 6 - 62 °F - 8:44/mile - 30:40 Why Superblast 3 Won The Superblast 3 was the fastest because of energy return from the heel. I was taking it easy on my legs trying to avoid injury and just going with what the shoes made comfortable. The Superblast 3 seemed to have the best shock absorption and energy return in the heel. I didn't have to expend energy trying to make the landings soft. I could slam into the heel as hard as possible over and over again, no problem.  Megablas...

We ran the 14.7-mile Moosalamoo trail run in Goshen, Vermont yesterday. Goshen is only about an hour from where we live in South Burlington, Vermont, and yet this might have been my first time there. It's a rural town up in the mountains that isn't too far away from the Champlain Valley. It's basically the Middlebury area, and Middlebury is up there with Richmond and Stowe, mentioned previously, as one of my favorite Vermont towns. Goshen includes the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area plus some nice, rural, Vermont mountain neighborhoods, similar to Middlesex, Vermont where I lived from 2006 to 2022. I was sold on Goshen right away, especially with the Moosalamoo area, which did seem worthy of being one of 41 "National Recreation Areas" in the United States.  The weather and trail conditions were fantastic. I finished in around 3 hours and 50 minutes (3:50). That included large sections of walking. My Adidas Agravic SL trail running shoes gave me blisters in the...

Here are proposed categories for the running shoes in my collection. 1. Heavier maximum cushion trainers - Nike Vomero+ 2. Easy run shoes - Asics Glideride Max 2, Asics Superblast 3 3. Long run shoes - Asics Megablast  4. Speed trainers - Nike Zoom Fly 6 5. Race day shoes - Nike Alpha Fly 3, Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo  6. Trail running shoes - Adidas Terrex Agravic SL

We completed the Richmond trail run yesterday. It ended up being around 28 kilometers (17 miles). I ended up walking the last 7 miles and took 5 hours to finish. My wife Julie finished in around 4:20.  I got a bad blister on my left foot before the first aid station at 7 miles (my Agravic SL's couldn't save me from that - reportedly I should have used "body glide"). Then my right thigh injury started acting up. I could barely make it down the final descent. It’s a beautiful course and fantastic to have it at Cochran’s ski area. I took my kids skiing there lots of times when they were little (over 10 years ago). Love that place. We parked at Cochran's, took a shuttle to Huntington, and then ran back through the woods over a couple ridge lines. I was not in good enough shape for the course. I think I’ll be in better shape this time next year to give it another go. We have three races scheduled: (1) the Moosalamoo trail run on August 1st (14 miles); (2) a Jay, VT tra...