Run to Win

I often recommend to people who want to run outdoors in the Winter that they put sheet metal screws in their running shoes.

They are a more effective way to get some traction in slick conditions and cost a lot less than some other solutions such as Stabilicers or Yak Trax.

Can there be anything better?

Well, maybe.

The folks that make Ice Spikes sent some trial packages over to a friend of mine so I got to test some out (and they were nice enough to give a few sets away during my 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge) so myself and the other Trail Monsters have been testing them out for the past month and a half.

Here is the claim:

ICESPIKE™ is a simple, effective and lightweight solution to inadequate traction devices. ICESPIKE™ ends frustration with clumsy and cumbersome strap-on attachments. ICESPIKE™ ice spikes are easily installed on the sole of any shoe or boot. Each ice spike provides outstanding traction and is unsurpassed in hardness and durability. The ICESPIKE™ system includes thirty-two patented ice spikes and one precision ICESPIKE™ tool for installation. ICESPIKE™ is a semi-permanent non-slip grip shoe system that can’t fall off, break, get lost or left behind. Outfitted with ICESPIKE™, any footwear can be winterized into ice safety shoes or ice safety boots. Don’t be discouraged by winter ice and snow – with ICESPIKE™ you are always ready and able to navigate any conditions with confidence.

Click here to skip straight to my comparison of the two options.
(Click here to continue reading…)

All of this week I will be sharing some tips on Winter Running Apparel, with some strategies on how to keep yourself warm, safe and comfortable in cold and dark running conditions. Today is the 5^th of 6 videos, with strategies on how to keep your feet warm and firmly planted on the ground, as well as how to protect your skin from the sun.

Hello. This is Blaine Moore from RunToWin.com and I’m going to show you a few things about winter running apparel so that you can go out and be prepared for the colder weather as it comes in.

Your Feet

Once you get down to your feet, you have couple of options. You don’t want to wear cotton socks for the same reason you don’t want to wear cotton anywhere else. I really like Thorlos socks. They are nice and thick. They’ll keep your feet very warm. If you have shoes that are really tight then they are not very good for those kind of shoes because they are pretty thick. You might also want to wear some socks that ride a little bit higher up on your legs and then you can wrap them underneath your pants or under your tights. And Wright Socks makes really good pairs of those.

If you are running in icy conditions you are going to want to have a good grip on the road. So one thing to consider is putting something like Stabilicers or Yak Trax on your feet. Basically what the Stabilicers are it’s a crampon for your shoes that you wear and it’s just got some screws down at the bottom that give you a good grip. The problem with these is that can collect snow underneath of them. And they are heavy and they can fall off of your feet. I don’t run in these anymore. I liked them a lot when I did use them, but they’re just a little bit too heavy for me now. So I only wear them on my boots when I’m shoveling the driveway.

What I like to do is put screws directly into my shoes. It’s much lighter, it’s much cheaper and it’s a lot more effective. So I have a video on runtowin.com already on how to put screws in your shoes. It’s really straightforward. Just buy some sheet metal screws, screw them right into the bottom with the head of the screw facing down. It will give you some great grip.

Yak Trax are another option. I’ve never used them. I prefer just using screws so I go with that method.

Your Skin

One other thing you might want to consider is to make sure that you have sunscreen on. Even though it’s the winter time, the sun can still be very bright and especially if you are running on snow or if you are doing any kind of lake running, then the sun can be coming down at you from above and reflecting off of the ice or the snow into any exposed areas of your skin. Which can warm you up quite a bit as well as give you a good sunburn.

In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about do-it-yourself home exercise implements throughout February and March. This week, I’d like to teach you how to make screw shoes.

Stabilicers are a good product and will go a long ways towards making your run safer by providing good traction in icy conditions. They have a few problems, however. If you don’t put them on right, then they will come off during your run. They can get heavy, especially when you get snow packed in between the stabilicer and the sole of your shoe. They are also more expensive than the alternative.

So what is the best alternative? Screw shoes.

Here’s a quick video that demonstrates how to make screw shoes:
(Click here to continue reading…)