Topyko Triathlon

With the Zoot shoes back at the store, I am running in a pair of yellow New Balance 903. These cost quite a bit less than the Zoots. I like these shoes; they are light and fast, have good grip and seem of good construction so far. I’ve run about 40 miles in them, the tread is starting to wear a little on the heel. Then have laces that vary in diameter every half inch or so, which makes it easy to tie up quickly. I use them mostly for short 5K runs. Don’t expect much cushioning though, but they have sufficient comfort. The color is fun, it goes along with my blue shoes, red shoes, black shoes and now yellow shoes. I am tired of the white typical running shoe with some weird deco on them, its time for color! I have tried running in them bare foot, to compare with the Zoots, and these feel quite a bit more airy. However then same happens after some miles, perspiration leads to blisters without socks… I’ll be using them for my next triathlon, Mission Bay triathlon in October.

Product Test Report: Zoot’s ULTRA Tempo+

Verdict: Expensive shoe, light and responsive, but don’t run barefoot in them ! Hence… what’s the purpose?

Verdict “Gadget or Product”: Gadget

The details:

I’ve been wanting to try a new shoe. I was hesitating between the Newtons that apparently make you run faster and the Zoots which are meant to speed up your transition time. Both are expensive shoes, but the outrageous pricing of the Newtons ($175) got me to buy the Zoot shoes, still $126.06 tax included.

I bought a pair of Zoot ULTRA Tempo+, which are supposed to have the most support. They fit true to size but are only available in one width. They felt a little tight on my foot, so I decided to wear them for a while before attempting a run.

First run, 5K with a pair of socks, went fine. The shoes allow a fast pace.

Second run, 5K with no socks, sunny around 70 degrees. First mile was great, were these the shoes I was looking for? On the second mile, my feet started to sweat a bit, and the shoes started to squeak at each step. Coming up to the third mile and I am starting to feel a distinctive pain on the inside of my right foot. Blisters. The shoe also feels quite hot, I miss the cool breeze in between the toes that I feel with my Mizunos.

Third Run, 5K with no socks, wet day and cool, ran on a trail. I gave my blisters some time to rest, however same scenario all over again. The shoes have decent traction on the sandy trail though.

Sadly, it doesn’t look like my feet will run anymore than 5K without socks in these shoes. So I have to wonder what is the advantage of these shoes? Keep them for Sprint Triathlon events only?

- Ease of entry: the shoes are fast to put on and are snug. The Quick-Lace system does its job well, but close to using your own adjustable elastics ties on a standard race shoe.

- Water flow through: Zoot says these have amazing water evacuation ducts. Well I could probably take my electric drill to my Mizunos and have that too. However it seems Zoot hasn’t figured out that you put your shoes on at T2 not T1. By then you have had many minutes or hours depending on your race length, to dry your feet on your bike. By the time I get back in the transition zone, my feet are surely not dripping with water. Maybe this is an Xterra product if you do off road races in mud and streams.

All in all, these shoes are a nice expensive gadget. They look nice, but its a lot of hype in my opinion, they are overpriced. The “run without socks”, is not comfortable over 5K, hence their benefit are limited, and become comparable to any race flat shoe.

These shoes are by now a prime candidate for a prompt store return and swap for some racing shoes, that I’ll probably rig with some elastic ties.

MT.

Note: Topyko is dedicated to providing real usage feedback on products. All products tested on Topyko are bought by the testers and have not been donated by product marketing companies.

Last Sunday was SuperSeal triathlon (and SuperFrog) along the Silver Strand Beach. I opted for the international distance rather than the ½ ironman SuperFrog. Conditions were great for the race, the best part was that my start was not until 9.30am! Way to go race organizers! I hate those 5am in the transition zone races.

I got there a little early though, and watched the last heats of the SuperFrog jumping through the cold waves on the ocean size. A few dolphins were having fun watching these crazy rubber clad frogs.

The race wasn’t too crowded; maybe the longer distance spreads us out. The bike was windy, and it seems it went on for ever. I’m not used to spending 1 ½ hours on a bike, it hurts! I’m convinced regular bikers do not have any nerves left down there at all! Then I also kept getting over taken by guys with shaved legs on expensive bikes which doesn’t help moral when you are fighting a head wind. I’ve yet to understand which follows the other. Do people get the shaved legs first, or the expensive bike?

I was hoping to tell you more about the effect of the compression tights, but it was too warm to wear them at the race. I did see someone with some 2XU tights on in the transition zone, but no one racing with them. Newton shoes still seems to be appearing left and right, I haven’t tried those yet, seems an interesting idea, but also an expensive one.

The Hammer marketing staff was out handing out Hammer Gels and other unknown liquids. I downed 2 of the gels during the race and drank one of their water bottles. No idea what was inside the bottle, some yellow slurry substance, but I did feel good after the race.

Although the longer distance was fun, I’m now convinced I’m better at the short stuff, its just not fun to be stuck on a bike for so long. I think triathlons should even the time out, say spend 20mn in the water, 20mn bike, 20mn run. Instead Sprint triathlons are usually more like 10mn swim, 30mn bike, 20 mn run. Totally unbalanced! I’m going to have to start my own race series I guess!

I followed the magazine advertising hype and bought 2 pairs of compression tights to try these out. Interestingly, since I bought these, I have found out that many people wear compression tights, but its of the medical type. I’ve now heard stories of how patients with usually heart or blood circulation issues feel much better and are less tired when they wear compression tights. So why not for sports…

I got a pair of 2XU compression tights and a pair of CW-X Pro tights. Both cost me and amazing $100 or so. I’m going to have to inquire how much the medical tights are worth.

I first tried on the 2XU tights and used for post effort recovery. They seem to fit the size advertised. I’ve now worn them about 3-4 times, they are comfortable but fragile! The seems on one legs are already broken at 3 different spots. I think this happens when you pull the tights on. Not a good feeling for a $100 tight. You definitely feel like a character about to enter a Star Trek movie stage when you wear them.

As for the recovery benefits 2XU advertises, I’m not sure yet, I’ll keep wearing them to find out. However in South California, I don’t see how I can wear these in summer daytime, yet in an air conditionned office, they feel ok.

Next come the CW-X tights. These are of a different construction, they have tighter bands within the fabric that are meant to keep your muscles in the correct position while running (at least as I understand it). They seem to offer superior construction and compression than the 2XU. I have not yet ran in them as I am waiting for a cool morning to do so. I will let you know on this page as soon as I have an opinion on them. Don’t have a verdict yet.

We are have just started the triathlon blog pages, bear with us, more content to come.

topyko tri.