Review; Saucony Triumph ISO

Hot on the heels (no, these didn’t give me blisters on my heels) of the Peregrine 5 review is the new Saucony Triumph ISO. I have put nearly 50 miles on these shoes, not that these have been ignored it’s just that a lot of my time recently has been on the trails. Runs have varied from 5 to 11 miles on both the road and the treadmill. They have included both recovery runs and tempo runs.  

Just some backstory; I have been running on the roads in the Kinvara 5 since they came to market last April, I am now on my fourth pair, the new 6s should be out soon! Before that I ran through three pairs of the Kinvara 4 since June of 2013, typically they last 240-250 miles a pair. 

With all that said I was interested to try to the Triumphs. They share some of the characteristics of the Kinvara, they are a neutral shoe and are engineered for neutral pronators and they have both been Runner’s World Editor’s choice shoes. The most significant differences are the volume of cushioning and the increase in drop. The Triumphs have an 8mm drop (vs the 4mm or the Kinvara or the 0mm of the Virrata). Specifically the Heel Stack Height is 29mm and the Forefoot Stack Height: 21mm.

I was particularly interested to try these the day after a long trail when my feet and legs feel pretty beaten up. Saucony describe the ride as plush, in fact it’s the “most cushioned running experience that they have every created”. To create this plushness they have used three main technologies;

• iBR+ Injection blow rubber; a proprietary compound that is 33% lighter than standard blown rubber.
• ISOFIT; an ultrasoft inners sleeve constructed of stretchable air mesh fabric that cradles the foot.
• PWRGRID+; used for the midsole, it is 20% lighter than then other mid soles and allows for a fluid movement during your footstrike.

Out of the box he shoes looked big, but big does not always mean heavy and these shoes are not heavy, weighing 292 grams they are only 74 grams heavier than the Kinvaras. The additional weight is not noticeable. The first few runs were with the standard OEM laces. I had a problem with the eyelet on one shoe that was too high and was rubbing some on my foot, nothing major but just a niggle. The ISOFIT essentially separates the two layers of the shoes upper into to (1) a cocoon for your foot and (2) the overlay. The lace holes are constructed within the overlay and it’s where the collar of the shoe and this met that I was having the problem. It was easily resolved by unlacing by one eyelet in the short term and in the long term with the fitting of Yankz laces, this is something I do to all my road running shoes. Once fitted and adjusted you never have to touch them again! The snugness of the ISOFIT took a few runs to get used to as well as the overall increase in volume of the upper, again this is when compared to my Knivaras. The collar is well padded and despite my opening sentence no blisters or rubbing etc. was experienced.

What you can’t see from the photo is that the black overlay is essentially an exoskeleton for the shoe. It is single piece that wraps around your foot, including the lace eyelets and by default extends to the laces. It also includes the heel cup. At the heel there is supportive clear plastic which reduces the overall look of the shoe.

So as with most things the proof is in the pudding, which in this case is the running! I can say that they did get some getting used to. Both the cushioning and the increase in drop took some adjusting. Overall the shoe is flexible and as mentioned pretty light. You can pick up your pace without feeling like you have anvils at the end of your legs. The cushioning is really nice, when I say really nice I mean REALLY NICE! It is firm enough to be supportive but not in a structured shoe way. As I hoped these are great shoes for that Monday run after you have had a tough Sunday.

A video posted by Stuart (@quadrathon) on Feb 25, 2015 at 10:16pm PST

Available in 3 different colorways for men and women, these shoes are now one of the flagship shoe offerings from Saucony, with that in mind they have the associated price tag; $150.

In summary, these are a medium weight, highly cushioned (not soft or spongy) shoe. They have no corrective traits and allow your foot and gait to remain neutral. While I remain a big fan of my Kinvaras and I am not expecting to migrate to these shoes full time they are an excellent pair to have in your closet and in rotation.

These shoes were provided free of charge by the good folks at Saucony. See previous gear reviews in the sidebar on the right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Skratch Labs Recipe of the Week; Baked Eggs

This is super easy and super yummy…who doesn’t like eggs and bacon!

This is one of those things you can cook while you working on something else in the kitchen!

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• Bacon, chopped and cooked, it has to be cut up small enough to sit on the egg
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Preheat oven to 350f
• Coat 6 cups of muffin tin with something nonstick, personally I use a strip of kitchen towel (Bounty), I wipe it over the butter and then wipe that in the cups
• Crack an egg into each cup
• Place the tin in the center of the oven and rotate every 5 minutes so the eggs cook evenly
• Once the egg whites turn white remove and set on side, sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese
• Top of with the bacon, I actually found that if you add the bacon before the whites harden the bacon sinks into them and is less likely to fall off
• Give them a wiggle with a small spatula so they don’t set to the tin
• Allow to cool, wrap and store

Roughly 80-100 calories each these are a definite improvement on you memory of a hard boiled egg!

Review; Saucony Peregrine 5

This weekend I passed the 100 mile mark on my new Peregrine 5 Trail shoes. With that in mind now seemed a like a good time to write up a review.

As mentioned earlier this month I am very fortunate to have a relationship with Saucony which allows me to run in and then review their shoes. I reviewed the first and fourth versions of the Peregrines here and here respectively. My 100 miles has been made up of a 50k race, multiple long runs on local trails in both the wet and the dry, a big training weekend in Santa Barbara and a few short sharp hill sessions…in short a bit of everything So without further ado here is the review.

The Peregrine is Saucony’s lightest trail shoe. It has a minimal drop of 4mm. Specifically the stack heights are Heel: 21.5mm and Forefoot Height: 17.5mm. The outsole remains unchanged when compared the the 4. There is still an effective rock plate to help you over that harder terrain. The sole also has drainage holes. This is something that I have not had to worry about in recent years however Southern California actually has had a winter and several long wet runs and a couple of river crossings have tested this feature. The drainage works well and allows the shoe to drain quickly and avoids that “squelchy” feeling when you’re running with a shoe full of water. The insole feels like it has undergone some improvements and is a much more cushioned ride when compared the Peregrine 4.

The upper retains the Flexfilm saddle overlays. These add the structure but allows for plenty of flexibility and breathability. Overall there is less Flexfilm than before and the 5s have some more solid overlays, noticeably the black/yellow “zig zag”. The heel counter is solid although the structuring has been reversed. This is not noticeable in any real way. The collar has more padding than the prior version, this created no hotspots. New this version is a heel loop. I don’t usually wear gaiters but this may cause some folks an issue. There is the usual gaiter loop at the end of the laces. The toecap has been improved and now features a heavy duty rubberized version. This is great as if, like me, you barely lift your feet and you’re sick of kicking rocks! The shoe lining is now fitted with Run-Dry, this is the new naming configuration that Saucony have adopted, the others being Run-Shield or in shoe parlance GTX (waterproof) and Run-Warm (insulated) the latter only applying to clothing.

One thing that is missing is the loop on the shoe tongue that your laces go through. It’s one of those innocuous things that you would never think about until you see it’s not there and as a result the tongue slips to one side. I had no problem with this but it’s worth pointing out.

The shoe weighs in 6 grams heavier than the prior version, 307g vs. 301g (size 11) although that can probably be written off to the amount of dust inside! Both of these are heavier the original Peregrines which were 255g.

In terms of colors there are available in an orange/yellow or black/gold colorway for men and purple/red or black/lime for women. They retail for $110 from Saucony and pretty much anywhere you can buy them. If that’s too steep consider the Peregrine 4s, you can read my review here and you’ll find them online for around $80 a pair.

Overall the biggest difference between there and the previous iteration is a much more cushioned ride. Not that the 4s are harsh or that the 5s are spongy but just that these feel easier on the feet. The trails I have been covering over the last few weekend have been rocky and hard with a fair amount of technical single track. I have not had any issues with grip or slipping and no problems with blisters and the like. As for having yucky black toenails…well that’s a side benefit of being a trail runner!

These shoes were provided free of charge by the good folks at Saucony. See previous gear reviews in the sidebar on the right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.