My very first running shoe was from the Asics GT range and ignoring the occasional dalliance with ultra minimal barefoot shoes, and condition specific trail shoes, I’ve stuck with Asics all the way. I’m afraid to say that as the years have passed my wallet has expanded and I have been persuaded to part with much more of my cash as I’ve climbed up the range in search of magic, go-faster running shoes. I do the same with cleaning products, you cant beat bicarb of soda and a bit of vinegar but you still can’t stop me wasting money on flash products and gizmos that promise to clean the house for me.

I was recently sent a pair of Asics GT-2170 running shoes to review and I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to place the GT-2000 series against the Gel-Kayano range and see if I can find an excuse to continue paying the extra £30-£40.

Both the GT-2170 and Gel Kayano are classed as stability shoes and are recommended for the moderate over-pronator. They are also both well cushioned running shoes which make them a good option for the overweight or heavy runner.

If you were in any doubt, I should inform you that the lovely clean pair of running shoes are the Asics GT-2170 and the rather muddy pair in the photos are my well worn Asics Kayano-17′s. The GT-2170′s have been restricted to fair weather and treadmill running duties for the duration of the testing.

I feel like I’m playing spot the difference with these images but they are remarkably similar shoes on a number of levels.

Both models incorporate the new guidance line feature in the sole. This is the longitudinal groove carved into the midsole that guides the foot through the most efficient stride and apparently helps reduce the weight of the shoe. On examination of the upper I was expecting to find that the Kayano was plusher and more comfortable but my suspicion is that they are actually identical – both are equally padded around the tongue and foot inlet (I’m sure it has a proper name but hopefully you’ll know the area I mean).

I’ve worked quite hard to find the differences in feel and performance between the GT-2170 and the Asics Kayano but I’m afraid I haven’t come up with anything concrete. The midsole is noticeably different between the models and I would suggest that this gives rise to a slightly more luxurious and cushioned feel to the Kayano but it is not a huge difference.

Admittedly I’ve been comparing a brand new pair of GT-2170′s to a pair of Kayano’s with 180 km on the clock. My impression is that the “new shoe feel” is more pronounced for the Kayano’s, you come out of the store feeling as though you are bouncing on air. That doesn’t seem to last very long though and after a couple of weeks I’d say the two shoes were pretty much on a par.

I think my next purchase could well be for a pair of Asics GT-2170 running shoes. So what to spend my extra £30 on?

I got up early enough to hit traffic jams in the Royal Parks – hordes of runners and dog walkers trying to enjoy the beautiful winter sun on the frosty ground.

My original plan was for a short loop of Wimbledon Common followed by a full lap of Richmond Park but I was at the back of a very long queue of Range Rovers so decided to start at RP instead and mix up the route.

My 15k plan required a lap and a bit. I was well aware that the “bit” would require monumental mental strength to complete when my very sole would be pleading with the body to veer off and take the car back home, so I opted to complete this first. I started with the 5k Richmond Park Run route and then repeated last weeks 10k bridle way loop.

It felt so much better than last week, although I’ve just checked the average pace and it was exactly the same pitiful result as last Saturday. Still, I went 5k further and it doesn’t detract from the joy I felt to be out there in the cold, sunny park, surrounded by runners and walkers -athletes every one.

I’m approaching marathon training with all new vigour this week. After a slow and somewhat glum start to the program, which saw me achieving only 20km of a 20 mile weekly target, I have decided to show a little more gumption this week and commit.

Today was scheduled for my mid-week longish run which means a resurrection of the running commute. I wasted a good portion of the day playing with google maps, trying to determine the best tube station to start my run from. Shame I didn’t spend more time examining the details of the route.

It didn’t seem that tricky, just Tooting Bec to X marks the spot but less than a mile from home I managed to get myself horrendously lost, turning right when I should turn left and then again. Looking at the map it seems like such a sharp bend that I can’t understand why I didn’t notice that I’d just doubled back on myself and come back down a parallel street.

I haven’t broken any speed records or even come close but I have just completed a torturous 5k on the treadmill, completed my #plankaday and there is still time left in the day to watch 2 episodes of The Biggest Loser. That is surely cause for celebration and the perfect excuse to crack open one of the left over bottles of Xmas fizz.

The cat, pictured, is not in a celebratory mood.

All mouth and no trouser….

Despite wailing, breath holding and more wailing, the all-over body shudder had me collapse in a vainglorious heap after today’s #plankaday attempt. A mere 48 secs to Jogblog’s 62.

Pants!

I headed to the rower with the bitter taste of defeat in my mouth.

Life didn’t get an awful lot better here. I felt like I had a tight band around my chest, crushing me while I rowed. I stopped to stretch and then decided to ignore my impending coronary in order to crack on with the task at hand.

6500 metres later I disembarked or whatever you do with rowers, and discovered that the tight band was actually my heart rate strap that I’d tightened for one of the skinny teenagers we have knocking around the house.

I’m in search of habits – little habits.

I’ve signed up to something called 3 Tiny Habits. I don’t know much about yet as it hasn’t started but I’m guessing that it requires me to develop 3 small habits.

But what to choose?

Daily running aka Janathon, sounds like a major habit. Nail biting sounds simple enough but really what is the point?

I’ve plumped for one sun salutation per morning and then Jogblog came to the rescue by introducing to me to a perfect option: #plankaday. The hash indicating that this is a twitter incarnation, the plank bit suggests there will be pain, but not for very long and the aday part makes it perfect habit material.

Sorted, only one more to find.

I’ve also inadvertently entered into a competition with the said Jogblog and possibly FitArtist if she doesn’t eat too much pizza.

This isn’t my entire Janathon offering though as I actually ran today. I took a trip out to my favourite running haunt and followed the bridle way around Richmond Park to complete a very sedate but satisfactory 10k. I was actually scheduled for a ten-miler but this marathon plan is progressing way faster than my ability to keep up with it.

I also read about running today, which has got to count for something. I’ve started a new book called, rather aptly Run Fat Bitch Run. I shall quote liberally from the second chapter as I believe it rather succinctly explains my current frustration with running.

You will reach a stage in some runs when everything feels so right that you almost forget you are running. You are running ‘in the zone’ and that is a real pleasure. You will hate some runs from start to finish. What you ENJOY is less the run itself and more what the practice of running is enabling you to do with the rest of your life. The pleasure you really get from running is FROM THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE RUN; that you put your trainers on, braved the outdoors and actually did it, in spite of all the excuses you could think of not to.

So with that accepted, I am happy with a plank and a 10k for today.

I came off the treadmill this evening feeling like a very glum ole Bagpuss.

My running spirit has deserted me and I am currently at an all time slow. It seems that I am now as slow as I was in the run walk days of my running initiation 5 years ago.

Any luck and this slight snuffle will turn into full blown flu overnight and I will feel vindicated.

It’s no secret that I’m a Biggest Loser fan and tonight was treat night with new series from the UK, USA and Australia back to back across the channels.

I was ready for some big ass style motivation but I’m afraid Series 10 of Biggest Loser USA did not deliver the goods. Watching a 380 lb guy collapse yards from the finish line after racing two other contestants around a 1 mile course didn’t do it for me.

1 mile is a long way and I still find it tough going, so I’m not surprised that these guys can run themselves into the back of an ambulance when the stakes are so high.

Still, I see from Facebook that he’s looking ok now and selling designer proteins so I dragged myself onto the treadmill and attempted to knock out 3 miles.

I managed to stay on my feet but it was not pretty. Running feels like such a struggle at the moment. It seems so long since I actually ran and felt fit while doing it.

Here’s hoping I’ll have felt the pleasant boost of Janathon by the 31st, in the meantime I have the UK episode to try out tomorrow.

We seem to be developing a habit for slightly nauseous New Years Day runs.

I was prepared for the event so attended the New years eve party fully togged up in running regalia and suffered an evening constricted in the sports bra vice.

Champagne popped, fireworks admired and we were free for the 2k slog up the hill to home.

I can’t claim that this was an impressive run. Each step was accompanied by something akin to a belch but it was a run nonetheless.

I can draw a line in the sand – Janathon has truly commenced.

Hopefully I’ll wake in the morning and feel shamed into a proper run.

I’ve been prepared for snow since August.

Since last years transport freeze I’ve been determined not to find myself stranded at Victoria next time the flakes cho0se to descend. I decided to purchase, and keep ever-ready, a pair of YakTrax Pro, snow running gizmos. A crampon affair that should keep me running and impervious to the wrong kind of snow announcement.

Of course, when the snow came, I was in the middle of the Peak District surrounded by virgin snow, while my YakTrax were cosy at home, in the cupboard, where I left them. I’ll never get that boy scout badge.

Fortunately I had just taken delivery of a new pair of trail running shoes that Sports Direct had kindly sent me to review. They were in the boot of the car – just where I needed them.

I opened the box to reveal a surprisingly handsome pair of shoes the New Balance 813 GTX, ladies version. I think I was worried they were going to be pink or a bit wishy washy but they have that solid trail feel about them and they have GoreTex which is an absolute blessing in the snow.

I think at £42 they are probably the cheapest running shoe I’ve run in so far but nothing about them feels cheap. I often think we are being conned by shoe manufacturers, what on earth do Asics put in their shoes that makes my usual model cost £130?! More fool me obviously.

So £42 + Gore Tex + super grippy sole + handsome = mighty good value trail shoe

We opted to start our run out by the start of the Monsal Trail – an 8 mile gravel track along the route of the disused Bakewell to Buxton Railway. The choice of location was based solely on my determination to sample the long awaited tart of Bakewell fame. It’s been a fairly longstanding gripe of mine that I’ve managed to reach the age of 40 without trying a real tart.

Runs are so much better with purpose, I’m usually driven by the post run Stella but in freezing conditions that promise of a warm cuppa and a pastry works pretty well too.

I was mighty pleased with the shoes, they fit perfectly which suggests they are a wide fit, they are super comfortable and came with that new shoe affect that makes you admire the reflection in puddles and shop windows.

Here’s an assemblage of my trail shoes, New Balance on the left, Inov8 MudRoc in the middle and Salomon GTX on the right, showing the tread differential between them. The Inov8 is the most aggressive sole with deep tractor treads ideally suited for wet muddy conditions. The Salomon is ageing a bit now so the tread looks flatter than it should but its the least aggressive of the three, with the New Balance 813 treading the middle ground.