10 January 2008

Traction

I couldn't pass up a chance at a 4-mile tempo run at noon time today, nor the chance to share it with you. With the temperature hovering around 30°, and a fluffy snowfall just beginning, I dug out the new pair of YakTrax-Pros for their inaugural journey around the neighborhood. And what a magnificent and dauntless journey it was.

Of course being a person who doesn't normally hold on to those handy instruction booklets which come with all new gear you buy, I was pleasantly surprised to find the YakTrax-Pros quite easy to decipher and had them attached to my running shoes in under a minute. It took me a couple of moments to understand how to pull the natural rubber straps up and over the ends of each shoe, but all was forgotten as I stepped outside onto the slick walkway and finally learned what winter-running traction truely was all about. Being a Jeep and off-roading afficionado, let me put it this way: it's like having four-wheel drive for your feet. Yes, real traction is finally here and, boy, is it nice.

Not only did I literally hit the sidewalk running, but my apparent confidence was seemingly better than the drivers around me. It allowed me to enjoy the brisk weather and beautiful snowfall for all that it was. I'll go out on a limb and say there were quite possibly my best purchase from Scheel's yet!

Here are a few photos from before and during the run ...
















9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear you are enjoying your Yaktrax's! Run safe and have fun! Great photos

Yaktrax Headquarters........

Topher said...

Do you feel the Yaktrax when your sole hits? I've looked at some and wondered if they'd feel like when I step on my kids' Legos. Just curious after my long run through the slush and ice last weekend.

What, no sign in front of your face today? It's been a little while since I've come to your actual blog because I have it set in my Google Reader. I'll have to check back more frequently.

Mike said...

Neat to see Yaktrax Headquarters are checking up on our experiences with their product!

Personally, I really like these so far and haven't any complaints. They felt snug the entire run and didn't shift around like I expected them to possibly do.

Topher, I can honestly say I did feel the Yaktrax when my sole hit the pavement (not the snow) but it didn't seem to bother me that much. We'll see with additional runs soon. I will say that I did notice that snow tends to clump up on the bottom heel strap, so much so that I wondered once or twice whether the strap had shifted or I had picked up a rock. But possibly that was due to the plentitude of sticky snow.

By an large, I was just impressed with the confidence I felt when I ran in them over the entire icy run.

As for the sign, Topher, I have one cooking at the moment and will put it up soon. Thanks for asking and stay tuned. BTW, loved your "I'll run for a Frosty" comment. :)

Anonymous said...

Love the pics.
Glad to hear that the yaktrax work well for you.

Dee said...

I'm so glad they worked so well! And the pictures are gorgeous, it makes me want to go play.

Mike said...

Yes, it was a wonderful run, one that I typically am not able to enjoy often. The flakes were so big and fluffy! And it was also nice not to end up on my butt due to the ice! :)

Bob A said...

I almost bought Yaktraxs last year but it just doesn't snow/ice enough in Richmond to justify it and I really wondered what effect they would have on the running experience. But, since they worked so well for you, I'll reconsider.

Mike said...

If you've been having troubles from running on snow and ice, these might be what you're looking for. All I know is that I'm really pleased with the results from my run.

Nancy said...

Looks great. I'm so jealous. All I can find in the stores are XS. Seems they are sold out...