I looked for something lightweight, with a small heel-to-toe drop and low profile that would allow me to maintain my forefoot strike. So, what follows is my search for a shoe that I could alternate with my Bikilas to relieve some of the stress on my achilles tendon… Saucony Grid Type A4 However, due to either pushing myself too hard lately or perhaps the inherent frailty of my middle aged body, I have developed a mild case of achilles tendonitis. All went well for the first couple of months and my perfectly fitting Bikilas are just great. Starting out, I focused on taking it slow and developing a proper forefoot strike. These days, when I run “barefoot” in Five Fingers Bikilas I don’t have these problems and running is fun again. I had tried running on and off through the years, but was an old school heel striker and always gave up due to back and knee pain. I learned about barefoot running here on Birthday Shoes and I decided to give it a try. A cut out arch means a narrower platform, smaller base of support and thus a more unstable platform.Back in April, I started running consistently after about, uh, a 30 year layoff. Essentially if you have some pronatory issues due to weakness, you may be able to get away with the Saucony Type A6 due to the filled in arch and broader and thus more stable platform versus many that cut the arch out. Certain shoes get away with this like the Brooks T7 Racer (a personal favorite: Review HERE) but others like the original New Balance Minimus Road do not. This to me leaves the shoe feeling very unstable as my foot has nothing to rollover. Many racing shoes do not have the arch filled in at all and instead leave the space completely empty to save weight. Saucony does this with many shoes, especially the Kinvara series and some people may find the arch irritating but I tend to enjoy from a point of guiding the foot without forcing it to do anything like many traditional stability features do. To me it feels like a prioprioceptive cue due to the mild touch of EVA to the arch to remind some of my muscles to continue working with a little extra to cushion medial movement. Saucony simply put a little more midsole material in the arch. It is not posting or a different density of foam. The A6 and Kinvara both have EVA built up under the arch, which is not intrusive, but due to the pattern of EVA creates a mild feeling of arch support. Thoughts as a DPT (Student): Saucony uses many aspects that I have discussed previously that other companies don't necessarily take advantage of for creating a stable shoe. My favorite part is that despite the lack of outsole nubs, they still have great grip on roads even after rain. They are larger than previous versions, however they still perform well on XC courses. The Type A6 also has drainage holes are a little annoying in terms of picking up rocks. The heel to toe drop is low at 4-5mm which is typical for racing flats in this range. Additionally, the ride is consistent from heel to toe, which definitely contributes to the smooth ride. I expected the simple EVA midsole to not provide a great deal of cushion, but the ride is cushioned for a racing flat. With over 50 miles I am seeing very little wear despite tough workouts and races on a variety of races. Now without the nubs and the additional EVA pads on the bottom, the outsole is much more durable than in the past. In the past, the Type A series used nubs for additional grip on the road that fell off very quickly. Sole/Ride/Drop: The sole is made of a simple EVA sole.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |