Shoe Review: Nike Epic React

I bought this shoe last December while vacationing in Japan. The Nike Harajuku store had it on sale at about 5,600.00 PhP (or roughly USD 105.00) which was a steal as these were sold at 7,600.00 PhP (or roughly USD 144.00) here in Manila, Philippines. The only color available in my size was the grey one as shown above which looks good for my taste.

Scanned the 'net for reviews and tried it on before my purchase and it felt alright. A Christmas gift for myself, I thought, which hopefully will have me running more miles in 2019.

True enough, I have already logged 60kms with it (alternating with my racing shoe, the Saucony A4) with a 14km long run made yesterday as proof of how much I am liking this shoe (I have only been running 10-12km long runs sparingly for the past few months so yesterday's 14k was a big morale booster).

This shoe is very comfortable with the patented Nike flyknit upper and the soft sole. No hotspots experienced in my first few runs thanks to the flyknit that comfortably "embraces" my foot. Can't trust it fully though to wear sockless, especially for long runs, as I might run into hotspots in the latter kms. One might think at first that the heel cup is not secure, but after several runs I am glad to report that it held up well in securing my heel from any slippage.

The sole has a cloudy/springy feel into it as it helped make those Z2 medium/long runs comfy. The 10mm heel-to-toe drop is slightly above my natural running gait causing me to heel strike (slightly) but I am able to adjust it to make the runs very pleasurable.

This is a (teeny weeny) bit heavier than my Saucony A4 racing flats so I doubt I can achieve a PR on this one nor use it for those fast training days. But still, it's a great shoe that I plan to use extensively for those slow/relaxed medium/long runs.

A great shoe. Thinking about it now, I should've bought 2 pairs. Hehe.

Jan2019 Recap

It's a cold Sunday morning and I have just finished cleaning my bike. Skipped the planned long run as I was too tired from yesterday: coffee ride with friends in the am and then drove the fam to Sta Rosa to meet with old friends in the pm.

Weight is still at 172lbs and I am expecting it to go a notch higher by tomorrow am, no thanks to the weekend binging that I might have on a regular Sunday. Diet meals on weekday lunches help lower it but when the weekend arrives....wala na finish na.

TP CTL improved a bit to 40 but nowhere near my peak fitness....yet. I signed up at the gym near my office to hopefully make up for skipped morning workouts via lunch runs and lunch rides. That'll help me manage the CTL line flat until the weekend workouts kick in although today, on a cold Sunday morning, I chose to just sit out my long run.

I joined the PF Virtual race last month, target of 50k in 2 weeks but I only managed 41k. It didn't cost me anything but it surely made me run....except for the 9k that I successfully debated myself that, "Nah, it's ok. Sleep is better."

Failed.

Tsk tsk.

Really need to get myself motivated this Feb. An increase of 40 to 45 CTL by Feb28 would be great, so let's see how this month goes.

I signed up for two PF Virtual races this month (free reg on their app which is quite cool of PF to do) so that'll keep me running.

And oh btw, I signed up for my first dua this year. I'm not telling you where and when (yet), but I am definitely training my balls out for that. That'll add to my motivation, I hope.

As always, let's see.....