For the Love of Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is considered one of the most influential people in human history. – Wikipedia

That’s Sir Newton. He comes with me. He runs with me when I do practice runs. He still have yet to race with me though.

Sir Newton, welcome to the 21st century!

It took me sometime to start an article about this new running shoes that hit the town of RUNNR store. Not an easy task. Reading from the various sites, I had a nosebleed (literally), of course.

Passing by RUNNR one time, couldn’t stop myself from staring at the colorful display of shoes with the name Newton. Not a familiar brand. Then, off I went to Speedo for window shopping.

Three days after the launching of RUNNR, I got this new pair. Oh, I didn’t splurge. Somewhere out there two angels graciously approached me after the Globe Run for Home race. These kindhearted souls offered me their RUNNR discount coupon. Wow! Abundance! Couldn’t believe it! So, I got this pair for only half of its original price. You know who you are. From the bottom of my heart [and feet] thank you very much.

Why Newton? I didn’t want it. Well, I did like it because the color is nice, especially, the green one. I really wanted to try Asics Kayano but for some reason Newton got in the way. Well, blame it on the gait analysis. The results showed that I do the midfoot strike. “Huh?” “What does that mean?,” I said to myself. The results showed further that my right foot needs stability. So, I got the Newton (not the green one) with the light blue color intended for runners that need stability. Does this mean am going to be a fast runner now that I have Newton running shoes? Not really. By the way, Newton is designed for forefoot and midfoot runners. If you are not a forefoot or midfoot striker, then, you are spared from buying this pair. Please don’t be sad just because some runners are using it. There are still good running shoes out there.

What is a footstrike? I came across an article explaining the running technique of footstrike–heel vs. midfoot vs. forefoot: how do elite runners land? Please don’t think am elite, OK? Because I am not. Interesting article though. It is a <a href=”http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/04/running-technique-footstrike.html/
\”target=\”_blank\”>scientific comment and analysis of sporting performance.

Done reading it? Do you still want Newton? Or, wait for Archimedes? Just kidding!

Now that I have introduced you to the scientist, let’s try to understand his popular laws of motion without any nosebleed.

First law: There exists a set of inertial reference frames relative to which all particles with no net force acting on them will move without change in their velocity. This law is often simplified as “A body persists its state of rest or of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.” Newton’s first law is often referred to as the law of inertia.

Second law: Observed from an inertial reference frame, the net force on a particle is equal to the time rate of change of its linear momentum: F = d(mv)/dt. This law is often stated as, \”Force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma): the net force on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration.\”

Third law: Whenever a particle A exerts a force on another particle B, B simultaneously exerts a force on A with the same magnitude in the opposite direction. The strong form of the law further postulates that these two forces act along the same line. This law is often simplified into the sentence, “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Did you understand them? I didn’t. Hahaha! Kidding aside, Newton shoes have been reviewed already and are currently worn by some notable elite runners in the world. Here I am showing you a close up view of Newton’s actuator’s lugs that extend from the base of the forefoot region promoting a natural running technique as if you were barefoot. To know more about these running shoes please visit Newton’s site.

So far so good. Breaking in of the new pair yielded the following results:

First day: Walking them around in the house. Good!

After 2 days: Running in them initially for a good eight kilometers. Good!

After 5 days: Running in them on the track oval for speed training. Really OK!

Sunday for a long run: Running in them for a 18k LSD. No pain. Excellent!

In terms of fit, the pair is just right. It’s so light and comfortable.

I recommend more kilometers to further break them in and …

Newton or not, performance still depends on the runner. The shoes that we are wearing are just but an extension of our running performance. As what Mr. Jeff Galloway said in one of his running books, “looking for the right shoe is like a quest for the holy grail.”

I still have yet to find the RIGHT one. Do you?