24 May 2011

Nike Lunarglide 2

Nike have perfected something incredible in this shoe. This is the third time that I've worn them now since buying them on Saturday and my suspicions are confirmed: these shoes are designed to go slow.

On Saturday, it was not immediately obvious. I was with Nico going around Cora and we had intended to head out slowly from the start. We sped up over the course but our fastest kilometre (apart from the fast finish on the tarmac) was 4:18 pace.

On Sunday, it was immediately obvious. From the word go, I struggled to find any pace. My only achievement with the new shoes was to get 2 enormous blisters on my left foot and a black toenail which I have not experienced in years with Brooks, Asics or Mizuno.

This morning I tried a new tactic and changed the orthotics and replaced them with the original Nike insoles, hoping that this would improve the shoes. A complete waste of time. My first kilometre was in 4:50, the second 4:54. What on earth was going on ? I was still sore in my thighs from the long run on Sunday, but even when I'm doing a recovery run I normally manage under 4:40 per km. The shoes were unresponsive, flat and heavy. I've never had such a feeling of lethargy emanating from my feet before. It felt as though gravity had doubled overnight and lifting each foot took twice the amount of effort previously needed.

There was a slight improvement from the 5th kilometre onwards where I managed to accelerate to 4:35 pace. Pathetic. I'm putting the shoes up for sale on e-bay this evening. One pair of Nike Lunarglide 2 size 45.5 used 3 times with 59 km on the clock. Anybody interested ?

10.7 km in 50:38 or an average of 4:43 per kilometre.

2 comments:

David said...

Nike will not be pleased! but thanks for the tip. Good Luck in the 10K

James said...

Thanks Dave. Postage to Oz would be excessive! I've managed to find somebody at the club who is willing to take them off my hands. We'll see if they suit him better.
Will keep you posted on the 10k race this evening.