B2R Trail Shoes

Hi Everyone

Yesterday my B2R Trail shoes arrived along with a pair for my wife and a pair of the road shoes for my running partner Jeff. All in all it took 3 weeks for them to arrive which is very good given the distance they had to travel and having to clear customs before being delivered. As Jeff is also the local Post Master we opened our shoe boxes in the post office like kids at Christmas with new bikes. Jeff even took his shoes and socks off then and there trying them on in the post office. After admiring and weighing them (and getting a few funny looks), as we both could'nt believe how light they are, we arranged to meet later in the afternoon at the local oval to take them for a spin.

When I arrived home I took the photo that you are looking at now and sent it to my sister in Adelaide who I have given "The Cool Impossible" to as a gift. Her Message back was "OMG! Very different, once you've transitioned, the others will feel so odd" and then I messaged to her that's exactly the point and what is supposed to happen. To realize how weak our feet and legs are, how lack of muscle equilibrium holds us back and how through the philosophy's explained in the TCI can truly open the door to our own Cool Impossible.

Now I know that Eric suggests that one transitions into these puppies but I just had to go for a run on the road in them. I don't think anything could have stopped me, Iike I said, I was like a kid at Christmas with a new bike. So I ran the 4km or so to the local oval where I completed phase #1, day 1, of week 5 of the Strategic Running Foundation. As I ran to the oval I felt, I think for the first time, every muscle in my foot and leg and though uncomfortable it was'nt so bad that I had to stop. I didn't find the Zero Drop an issue and liked the way you naturally run with better form, however they do at the same time illustrate exactly how weak your feet are.

On the road the feeling in my feet and legs was similar to what I experience when I do the slant board excercises but not as intense and when I arrived at the oval running on grass cushioned my feet and they felt great to run in.

After finishing our session I was driven home and shortly thereafter my calves began to ache and I thought I would be very sore today, however to my supprise they weren't sore at all just a little stiff. However, not wanting to push my luck, I didn't run in them today and will leave running in them again until Thursday.

Jeff has also reported that his calves are fine after his first run in the road shoes on grass.

Thank you Eric for all the hard work putting these together and making them available to everyone, there a great shoe.

To let those that are interested know, I did run tonight in the B2R shoes, Hill Repeats with a twist. My schedule for today was Phase 1 - Week 5, Day 4.

Instead of doing 15' warm up with 4 X 30" moderately fast sprints before 5-8 X 90" Hill Repeats, as it was getting late I warmed up for 10' then ran 3 X 60" repeats with a 90" jog recovery, then 3 X 90" repeats with a 2' jog recovery, followed by 3 X 90" repeats with a walking recovery until my HR dropped to 110 BPM then jog, followed by another 3 X 60" repeats with a walking recovery until my HR dropped to 110 BPM then jog. CD. ran home up hill (I live on a hill) then walked for 5'

The B2R shoes felf fantastic, it took about 5' to get use to them again but after that I was amazed at how tight my form felt and how fast I felt, it all seemed to click. Now I know I'm not "fast" in the dictionary term of the word "fast" but it felt bloody good to me. :-))

My legs felt good, no issues at all, even now 3 hours after finishing my legs have no soreness or stiffness what so ever. But here's the thing, I'm coming from normal "Stabilizing" New Balance runners with custom made $500.00 orthotics, to these zero drop puppies with no orthotics having seemingly little or no trouble.

I'm amazed I even fit into the B2R's because they look so narrow, the main reason I use New Balance is they are wide enough not for my FEET but for my, yep you guessed it ORTHOTICS. However in my mind, I use to justified buying this type of shoe by saying I have very flat feet (which I had), plates of meat actually, the medical profession say I have to have these and so I need the widest shoe possible, when really I think I've been buying shoes to accomodate my orthotics. To be fare though, my feet were that weak I wouldn't have been able to run or even walk without them, so of cause that justified the cost of having them, I use to say that my orthotics "availed me to be able to walk".

I written in this place before that until I read TCI the only time I did not have shoes on with orthotics in them was either in bed or in the shower. Until recently, as an adult I had never walked bare foot on the beach, around the house, on lawn, anywher because as I now know I had no foot strength. It sounds strange now, but I hated being bare footed, my feet felt weak and vulnerable (which they were) so I avoided being bare foot at all cost. Hale Ye Eric and The Cool Impossible

However,I'm still going to leave it a couple of days before I use them again. :-)}

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Comments

Lori Enlow April 11, 2014 at 6:53am

Well said...harness that
Robert Burpee April 10, 2014 at 9:44pm

Thank you Lori I appreciate you feed back and support as I do everybody's.

If I can build myself into the runner and competitor that you are I'll be more than Happy.

I went to bed last night with that inner feeling of contentment knowing that something for the better had changed while completing those hill repeats. I can't quite put a finger on it is, it's a knowing of something, maybe I let go of fear last night as I ran in the rain. Maybe the feeling of good form and all that goes with it made me feel excited about the future, maybe I just felt good about the fact it was raining, maybe it was the marrage of all these things, I don't really know but I feel an excitement, a buzz and I don't want to let it go.

Thanks for your support.
Lori Enlow April 10, 2014 at 7:02am

That is so amazing and wonderful! Sounds like you are really progressing well. I am so impressed at where you were with the orthotics and what you were able to do in the B2Rs yesterday! REALLY! look at that!
Robert Burpee April 10, 2014 at 6:30am

To let those that are interested know, I did run tonight in the B2R shoes, Hill Repeats with a twist. My schedule for today was Phase 1 - Week 5, Day 4.

Instead of doing 15' warm up with 4 X 30" moderately fast sprints before 5-8 X 90" Hill Repeats, as it was getting late I warmed up for 10' then ran 3 X 60" repeats with a 90" jog recovery, then 3 X 90" repeats with a 2' jog recovery, followed by 3 X 90" repeats with a walking recovery until my HR dropped to 110 BPM then jog, followed by another 3 X 60" repeats with a walking recovery until my HR dropped to 110 BPM then jog. CD. ran home up hill (I live on a hill) then walked for 5'

The B2R shoes felf fantastic, it took about 5' to get use to them again but after that I was amazed at how tight my form felt and how fast I felt, it all seemed to click. Now I know I'm not "fast" in the dictionary term of the word "fast" but it felt bloody good to me. :-))

My legs felt good, no issues at all, even now 3 hours after finishing my legs have no soreness or stiffness what so ever. But here's the thing, I'm coming from normal "Stabilizing" New Balance runners with custom made $500.00 orthotics, to these zero drop puppies with no orthotics having seemingly little or no trouble.

I'm amazed I even fit into the B2R's because they look so narrow, the main reason I use New Balance is they are wide enough not for my FEET but for my, yep you guessed it ORTHOTICS. However in my mind, I use to justified buying this type of shoe by saying I have very flat feet (which I had), plates of meat actually, the medical profession say I have to have these and so I need the widest shoe possible, when really I think I've been buying shoes to accomodate my orthotics. To be fare though, my feet were that weak I wouldn't have been able to run or even walk without them, so of cause that justified the cost of having them, I use to say that my orthotics "availed me to be able to walk".

I written in this place before that until I read TCI the only time I did not have shoes on with orthotics in them was either in bed or in the shower. Until recently, as an adult I had never walked bare foot on the beach, around the house, on lawn, anywher because as I now know I had no foot strength. It sounds strange now, but I hated being bare footed, my feet felt weak and vulnerable (which they were) so I avoided being bare foot at all cost. Hale Ye Eric and The Cool Impossible

However,I'm still going to leave it a couple of days before I use them again. :-)}
Robert Burpee April 9, 2014 at 7:09pm

Thanks for the feed back Eric, but your the one we should all thank, the enviornment you have created and fostered along with the quality people that are attracted by this enviornment is an absolute credit to you.
Eric Orton April 9, 2014 at 3:36pm

This is great Robert, love your story and your support and thanks for passing on the passion. The most important part of any movement is the people like you, living it!! Keep the groove!

Keep us posted as those shoes hit the dirt in AU.
Robert Burpee April 9, 2014 at 5:43am

Hi Jay the shoes are darker with the picture is pretty much spot on colour wise
Jay Mijares April 8, 2014 at 5:56pm

Nice! They look a darker blue than from the web site. Or is it just the indoor lighting! Can't wait to get a pair!

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