Skechers GoRunUltra Nite Owl Review - TriStupe

Been a while since I've blogged or provided a good update. Rest assured all is good and I've been going along well with family, work and training (in that order). Though it appear I am not working, as some that know me think (hey, he is on social media all the time, how is he working). Haha.
This post has been sitting in my "draft" for a month at least and long overdue. Maybe like 250km overdue since I've received the GoRunUltra Nite Owl from Skechers Malaysia. 

Being seen = potentially ensuring a safer late evening run

This is a follow up after the last unboxing of the Skechers GoRunUltra Nite Owl Edition. Along those mileage, the shoe has seen both road and trail action. Consistent with the GoRunUltra purpose, it is built to handle both on and offroad condition and it truly live up to it's name in terms of cushioning and grip. I brought this shoe into the trail during the Team 2ndSkin Trail Running Clinic about a month back. 

Look ma! No hand! Photos by Eugene 2ndSkin

First Feel
This updated GoRunUltra "feel" is the same as the original GoRunUltra that I've reviewed here. In my unboxing write up, I put up the differences between the GRU original and this Updated version. The biggest differences (not counting the Cool Glow In The Dark feature) is the upper synthetic material that make up the new mesh and overlay. 

Gripping all around. Photos from Eugene 2ndSkin

The feel of the dual-density sole is the same and the layout of the sole remains as well. I guess the philosophy of "why change something that work" holds true here. Despite the bulk, the shoe is surprisingly nimble and offer good protection. It is super flexible without giving the feeling that it does not offer sufficient support. I've raced this shoe (original) for Sabah Adventure Challenge and absolutely loved the fact that walking/jogging/running on hot gravel surface has never been more enjoyable partly due to the cushioning.

Dry terrain posses no issues for GoRunUltra. Photos from Eugene 2ndSkin

The toe box and sockliner remained the same as the original. So it is really (this time) about reviewing the shoe/revisiting the shoe again. 
Road Test
Almost 250km since I gotten the shoe, and likely will retire this on my Ironman Langkawi. I know the legs will appreciate the additional cushioning after the long day anticipated. 

Road test

Apart from the additional cushioning provided by the GoRunUltra, I've noticed that the new/refreshed material felt significantly cooler perhaps due to the lighter mesh on the top of the shoe. While I still sweat as much and the perspiration runs down to the shoe (as I run sockless and nothing soaks it up), the shoe doesn't feel sweat-logged and dries as quickly after I leave it for an hour.

If the shoe doesn't impress you with the technology, the color will

Similar to the original GRU, the toe box was more than generous without being overly roomy. I wear a triple-E wide leather/working shoe and those with similar predicament will know how difficult it is to find a shoe that suits you. Happy to report that apart from two other manufacturer (Brooks and New Balance), Skechers' range definitely caters for the wider-footer too.

Encouraged Mid-foot strike

The Skechers shoe promotes and help with the progression of mid-foot and forefoot landing/stride. More so after almost 2-years of unlearning and relearning how to run and keeping injury away, I am comfortable to say it comes naturally. So a word of caution if you are looking to change the way you run - the tools (shoes) is there to help, but you need to do most of the work (of landing correctly). Only then both will be in synergy. 

Runs are done mainly in evening as my Ironman Langkawi run will be after 5pm. Part of acclimatisation for the different heat and humidity. Make your training specific to your race.

Nite Owl Remain An Eye Opener
It is easy to see why. A short 30mins run outdoor before the end of day charge up the photo-luminescent material of Nite Owl and literally makes it glow like a road marker at night.

Not obvious under normal sunlight...until...

it goes into darker area

Friends with darkness, no less

As is from my phone camera

The lifespan of the Sole

The GRU sole has been reported to be fast wearing and that much is true. I've used both pairs of GoRunUltra and it has exhibit consistent wear at the sole. It was no difference when I compared it against my favorite GoBionic when I first got it about a year ago. It has passed the 600km mark (the GoBionic) and still in service for short (less than 30mins) run. The first pair of GRU has served me really well with about 400km mileage and still great - just don't take it out to tricky trails as the grip is not as good as it was; otherwise, it is still Go Like Never Before!

Note: This pair of Skechers GoRunUltra in NiteOwl variation is sponsored by Skechers Malaysia via collaboration with 2ndSkin Asia Athletes program. Thank you Skechers Malaysia and 2ndSkin! This pair is retails for RM449(men) and RM429 (women) in Peninsular Malaysia and available in all stores. Opinion in this write up is my own and not influenced by Skechers Malaysia or 2ndSkin program.

Road to Penang 100 Ultra - Deo

Hi all, apologies for the long silence on the blog. Seems the lack of posting is related to many of us in the team getting caught up with different things and more so with the sudden less than usual activities during the recent fasting months. We are catching up again and today, we are sharing Deo Azrul's write up about him preparing for the Penang 100 Ultra. 

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Road to Penang 100 Ultra - Deo
31st August is Malaysia's independence day. The recent independence day also marked the end of my 2-month training program for Penang Ultra 100 (P100) which is scheduled to be flagged off at 9pm on Saturday, 6th September (less than a week from now). It would be my 8th 100km race and the nervousness that I'm feeling now is as though it is my virgin 100km race. P100 would just be my second road 100km after Beaufort 100K in last June but there are two main reasons why P100 gives me a real scare: 1) The rolling elevation at the Balik Pulau stretch as well as the 800m++ Penang Hill that we have to deal with after about 80km into the race (and if only I manage to get that far into the race); and 2) Fighting sleepiness when the race is scheduled to be flagged of at 9pm. Normally staying alert and awake between midnight and 2am would be very difficult. 

The training program was carefully planned to incorporate sufficient training for mileage/endurance, some speed works for intensity and at the same time not overdoing and risking ourselves to injuries. If I could recall, I never prepared a proper plan in my previous ultra marathon races, except for my very first 100km race in TNF100 Thailand back in 2012. The program was also carefully tailored so that Khairul, a good friend of mine, would be able to prepare himself to finish his first 100km race (he had never done anything more than a full marathon distance race before). Planning was easy but to execute it would take another set of efforts. 

Read all about it here at Deo's blog : Penang 100 Ultra 

Free Multisports (or generally sports) Tips : Jun Shen

I was attracted with the “life hack” pictures I saw in Instagram, so I thought of sharing some multisport hack that I practise. Hopefully it helps our blog readers to save money, or get things done easier, faster and more efficiently.

Hack 1.  I believe all cyclists face this problem when changing a new pedal cleat. If you’re not changing new cleat position, use a pencil to draw around the shape of yr old cleat position instead of writing down the scale you saw on the carbon sole. This method is more accurate and saves you from re-doing your bike fit all over again.

Hack 2.   Participating in a race that doesn't provide luggage deposit and have to keep all your stuff in the car? Need to carry car key but compression shorts doesn't have pocket? Here is the solution. If you’re wearing lock laces, you can secure your car key to it diagonally. It stays with u til the end of your race no matter how many thousand times you pound on the ground. I do it this way for all my running races, including full marathons.

Hack 3.  Running a 10km race with a compression shorts and want to carry one or may be two gels? Tuck it under your compression shorts. Make good use of the compression to hold your gels. 

Hack 4.  You find bike cleaning a tough task? Tie a strap onto your saddle and secure it to a strong structure on top. You can turn the bike 360 degrees and easily access to any part of the bike. You can spin the pedal and brush the cassette easily too. This makes cleaning much easier. Instead of buying a stand which costs more than RM200, you can recycle any unused strap or chord as long as it can support the weight of yr bike. 

Garmin FR620 Review of Cadence and Connectivity : Deo

As part of the collaboration between Garmin Malaysia and Team 2ndSkin, we were given the opportunity to test out one of Garmin's latest model in its running series, the FR620. While the detailed unboxing review of the watch has been done by team mate, Roy Yeow, which you can read here, a further review on the technical and functional aspects of the watch was done by Tri Stupe, which you can read here

So, I would like to review on a couple of FR620 functions that I like the most about this FR620 watch and other new generation of Garmin running watches.

1. Analysis of cadence 

One of things that is important for a runner is to analyze the cadence. Just like the rpm for a car, cadence (measured in stride per minute of simply spm) is a number of full cycles taken within a minute, by the pair of feet. As you need to clock more spm for better performance, higher spm will also helps to adjust a runner's form and technique (foot landing, arm swing, length of strides) and in turn may lead to fewer injuries. (note: I've written a blog entry on cadence which you can read here).

Cadence analysis feature

The beauty with FR620 is that you don't need to have an external footpod to pair with the watch to measure cadence. While additional gadget means additional weight and additional stuff to carry around, having the watch being able to track cadence on itself, is a cool thing about the watch. However, other running dynamic functions like vertical oscillation and ground contact times still require the usage of heart rate monitor, which I hope one day can also be stand alone just like cadence tracking.  

2. Connectivity to Garmin Connect mobile application.

After you have installed Garmin Connect mobile application in your mobile device/phone, you would be able to upload your activity/workout as soon as you've completed it, in a jiffy. This works really well especially when you are not anywhere near your computer of laptop when you need to transfer the activity/workout data via ANT+ sensor. You can do this in the gym while waiting for shower or waiting for the sweat to dry up or even while walking to the car park after each workout. And while you're having post-workout dinner or commuting in public transport on the way home, you can already view and analyze your workout data from your mobile device. 

Viewing your activity/workout right after you've done with it

The Garmin Connect mobile application gives you enough data to analyze on-the-go. It allows you to view summary of your workout including map, as well as the details of the workout such as splits, graphs for the pace, elevation, heart rate, cadence, etc. It also allows you to do simple editing on your workout like the title of the workout, activity type and notes/comments on the activity. 

Other details of your activity/workouts that can be viewed from Garmin Connect mobile application: 

Liking/commenting your friends' activities as well as replying to friends' comments are also made possible, just like facebook-ing. 

Friends' activities/workouts screen...

Another function that I think maybe interesting to use is the Live Track feature whereby we allow our connections in Garmin Connect to follow our activities in real time. For those who doesn't mind for their workout activities to be 'live-tracked', which is the main reason why I didn't use this feature, this should be a great feature. In addition, to use the feature, your phone is required to be around with you during your workout as the watch and the mobile app is connected via bluetooth. 

To me, as an amateur athlete who still holds a daytime job, all this connectivity function which you can access the data and information right from your mobile device, view/like/comment your friends' activities, allows this watch to be the go-to watch to be worn from dawn (the moment you wake up and get ready for work until dusk when you're all settled with your works, workouts, nightlife and just getting ready to hit the bed. 

The sleek and trendy design of the watch does not make it looks like any other sports watch. I've worn the watch to high level meetings in office (instead of wearing the a more formal chain strap analog watch) but it doesn't makes me feel awkward the way I would feel if I wear my other bulky, rubber-strap sports watch. In fact, I did receive praises from my colleagues admiring the design of the watch. And it is a good motivation for you to work out when your sports watch is already wrapped around your wrist than neatly placed in your gym back - it's like an obligation to work out when you look at the watch. 

Wearing FR620 indoor and during non-workout time (at one of the Team 2ndSkin Running Workshops)

I've worn it for my casual activities during weekend and I even wore it during my engagement day and still, it didn't feel like I was wearing a sports rubber watch, but more as casual watch. Only that the 'colored screen' or theme feature of the watch where you can choose different colors as your watch theme is either unnecessary or can be further improved by adding more 'colored' functions in the watch. And if you just use the watch as a normal watch (without activating GPS), the battery can last for more than two days without the needs to recharge.

...FR620 on my casual days too!

As FR620 is purposely designed and built to cater those into running (you can also use it for cycling but will have to edit the type of activity manually in Garmin Connect), those who are into multiple sports other than just running, FR620 may not be the ideal watch for you. But for runners, overall, FR620 serves the purpose of a running watch very well, marrying those technical features with the casual look and the social connectivity function which is the trend these days. 

Team 2ndskin Running Workshop - Introduction to Trail Running

Skechers GoBionic Trail. Review at www.tristupe.com

Hey hey hey!!!!

We're doing it a bit different this time around with an introduction to trail/offroad running this weekend!

Team 2ndskin will be conducting the next running workshop and it will be an introduction to trail running as per below details:

Date: 26th July (Saturday)

Time: 0715 - 0900

Location: Taman Rekreasi Lembah Kiara (Jalan Abang Haji Openg opposite the SK TTDI(2)) - we will meet up outside the toilet building within the park

Registration: email your details to runningworkshop@2ndskin.asia to book your slot (first come, first get a slot)

Using Waze to get here? Click Here

Using Google Map to get here: Click Here

(we strongly advise you not to use your phone while driving, please set the destination prior to driving and utilise voice-guidance. ARRIVE SAFE so you can RUN!)

Please bring your own water/hydration and come in running attire and running shoes. Trail shoes are preferred but not a must. Punctuality is of utmost importance!

See you there!!