Gear Review: Saucony Grid Fastwitch 4

Saucony Grid Fastwitch 4 – “Happy-fast Feet!”

RUN – Race
• Lightweight light stability racing shoe
• Versatile enough for those fast training days to marathon day
• Weight: 7.0 oz

Introduction

Happy-fast Feet!

That describes my feet when wearing a pair of Saucony Fastwitch 4’s, a light-weight racing shoe with a trace of stability.

Not only are these racers extraordinarily comfortable, as your feet slide right in as if a pair of form-fitting socks, but they also provide superior performance when running hard, be it during speed or tempo training or even racing distances up to the marathon.

Gone are the days of sore arches or foot pain after hard runs; these racers have ample cushioning, just enough stability, and good arches. And gone are pains in the joints from pounding the pavement at those intense levels; these dampen the load with a smooth cushioned yet feather-light ride and just enough stability.

If you’re looking for a pair of fast, light-weight shoes for those speedy training runs or for road racing of all distances, from 5K up to the marathon, make your feet happy with the Saucony Fastwitch 4’s.

RunningWarehouse.com has this to say about the Fastwitch 4’s:

“Flexible and fast best describe the Fastwitch 4. It’s a versatile road racing shoe for any race distance or up-tempo training and offers support for over-pronators. Lightweight mesh keeps the feet cool and a modest midsole height provides added protection, while delivery a smooth ride”

Construction

The quality with which Saucony shoes are put together continues to amaze me. And the Fastwitch 4’s follow suit with remarkable construction.

Having been away from Saucony for so many years, maybe I have gotten used to a certain level of construction and the materials used in putting together Adidas, Ascis, and Nikes, brands I have run in for the last 15 years. I challenge you to put a pair of Saucony’s side by side with any other brand. Pick up each brand. Look at the materials. Look at the stitching. Look at how the technologies flow together. Inspect the sock-liners. Pull out the shoe insert and peer inside. I bet you too will come away with what I have – that Saucony seems to be constructed with not only better materials but also with greater care.

Fit

I love these things.

Right out of the box the Saucony Fastwitch 4’s fit perfectly. My foot slips right in to a happy place. There are no pressure points, rubbings, or lumps. The fit is secure and comfortable. The sock-liner is smooth and safe to use with or without socks.

Feel

Did I already say that I love these things?

I do. And it’s because these shoes feel comfortable and light. They make my feet happy, and being extremely lightweight they also make my feet feel fast. The cushioning is ample for longer races, and with me being a fan of cushioned shoes, I love these things. Even better is the light stability that keeps your feet in track with moving fast. There is very little roll. You can “get up on top of your feet,” as I like to say, with fast running and stay there for duration.

These feel so comfortable you will forget you’re wearing shoes at all.

Performance

Weighing in at a light 7.0 oz, the Saucony Fastwitch 4’s are very fast. These will not get in your way of your feet. With a slight bit of stability, they also help stabilize the track of your feet so that when you’re running at top-end speed and have to start muscling through in order to maintain pace, your feet stay aligned rather than landing or sliding astray, thereby killing your form as you muscle even more to correct.

The smooth, light ride make these shoes great for proper speed work, up-tempo training, or racing. And with ample cushioning, you can easily race on the roads up to marathon distance. Put it all together and it’s easy to get up on your feet for some fast running. Your feet will be happy.

Uses

I really love these things.

The Saucony Fastwitch 4’s are now my racing shoe. This coming from a guy who raced exclusively in Adidas Supernova Cushion’s for many years. Although the Adidas’s were not light like most racing shoes, I stayed with them due to their superior cushioning, which I craved. But no longer. The Fastwitch 4’s provide that cushioning for the longer races in a shoe that is light weight and, with a hint of stability, brings performance to my standards, as I have issues with most racing shoes due to the lack thereof.

To date I have been using the Fastwitch 4’s for speed work. I love them. In fact, my first workout in them was an hour in duration that had over 30 minutes of running at far faster than 5K pace. The next day my body felt good, and my feet even better.

On top of that, these shoes have flash. You can’t take them anywhere without somebody asking about them. Their loud yellow color scream fast! And people will want to know. They are a sure looker!

Gear Review: Saucony ProGrid Triumph 7

Saucony ProGrid Triumph 7

RUN – Neutral
• Premier cushioning shoe for the neutral runner
• Ultimate blend of cushioning for a responsive ride
• Excellent transition from heel strike to toe-off
• Weight: 12.3 oz

Having not run in a pair of Saucony shoes since the early 1990’s (no kidding!), I was curious to give Saucony another try. Back then Saucony was mostly a newcomer struggling to make it in the running shoe market; since then, it has grown into a top-flight performance shoe maker.

I am glad I have been given the opportunity to come back because after trialing a pair of Triumph 7’s and even a set of lightening Fastwitch 4’s, I am converted – and this coming from a guy who has run exclusively in Adidas, Asics, and Nike.

Construction

First thing I noticed upon taking the Saucony ProGrid Triumph 7’s out of the box was how each shoe was constructed. Materials, stitching, and design flow seem high quality – above that of their counterparts. These are so well put together that they make my previous running shoes look like they were slapped together haphazardly and with shoddy threads. I feel like I’ve been missing out all these years for having been away from Saucony.

Fit

Slipping my feet into the Triumph 7’s caused me to pause. With the Natural Arch-Lock patented technology, my feet seemed to lock into the shoes, almost as if something was locking the shoes at the arches. It was an odd sensation to me because although the shoe felt secure to my foot, there was no feeling of the shoe gripping me, as if it might be too small. But I kept thinking it was. And with this feeling I wondered it would survive the test of training miles. But still, there was no discomfort, nothing rubbing or tight or gripping. I realized that it was a slightly different feeling than the Adidas, Asics, and Nike’s I was used to.

All of my concerns dissipated on my first test run. The Arch-Lock felt natural. The shoe stays secure – not snug, not too easy, just right, locked into the arch. No pressure, no rub… perfect. I was impressed!

Feel

For a training shoe with lots of cushion, this shoe is far more stable than what I was expecting. The shoe provides excellent cushioning, and the added stability affords a quick transition from heal strike to toe-off. Because of this trait, the shoe rides more like a performance trainer rather than a shoe-of-all-trades plodder. This shoe keeps you raised high yet feels stable and ready to run hard.

Performance

The Triumph 7’s seem to cover a category unto themselves. They are billed as a premier cushioning shoe for a neutral runner, and that would be correct; but they also perform far faster than their weight. Although these shoes weigh in at a healthy 12.3 oz, they perform lighter due to the built in technologies. The cushioning is ample to support long runs, while the shoe is stable with each foot fall to prevent movement. The Arch-Lock and quick transition from heal strike to toe-off make this shoe even better for quality long runs when you have to run tempo. The cushioning will ensure you aren’t beat up while the technologies help you get up on your toes for that fast running.

Uses

As mentioned in the Performance section, I find myself using the Triumph 7’s for long runs in which I know I’ll be running hard. In fact, I even use these on tempo runs of middling distances, especially on hillier courses. Because the cushioning is superb, and the stable shoe with quick transitioning make running “on top of your feet” easy to keep the tempo going. In the same manner, they are great for energy back when powering over smaller rollers, because you can get and stay way up on your feet.

For long runs in which the only goal is to plod along with friends to share in company, although I could use the Triumph 7’s, they are too good, filled with too much performance, to waste.

Renn 575 Disc: Initial Thoughts

In a attempts to gain “free speed”, if there is such a thing, I decided to purchase a disc wheel with the notion that a company called Renn makes a very good product much less expensive than some of the more popular brands (HED, Zipp, etc). Found a good deal online and finally purchased a Renn 575 Disc Rear Wheel. Aero helmet will be next, but only when I find a good deal or a used one because, well, I’ve spent quite a bit of money on gear and race fees this year – will probably wait until winter to purchase.

Bike Set-up

Specialized Transition Comp w/Ultegra set-up. Renn 575 Disc rear wheel. Normal wheel up front – Mavic Cosmic Elite.

Maiden Voyage

The ride was smooth, much smoother than normal. Material in the disc seems to absorb road vibration and noise very well. In fact, I rather enjoyed it, though at times I wondered if the tire was flat because of how different it felt and sounded.

Speaking of sound, I was surprised to not hear the common whir of the disc. Mind you, it was there, it’s just that when down in aero, the rush of wind over powers the sound of the disc cutting through the air. Only could I hear it if I tilted my head so that my ear aligned. But it seems many other people heard because, as I flew past, they would look – normally they would not.

Performance-wise whether there is a benefit is difficult to say. I did a loop I normally do, but since I look at averages rather than actual numbers, I am not entirely sure. My average speed for this loop seems about the same. Again, still not sure. Making a comparison on performance is even tougher because I did this ride on legs still tired from running a marathon only days earlier. So although I have not ridden in several days, my legs felt a bit sluggish, though again, it’s hard to say because the wheel seemed to be “heavier”.

Speaking of heavy, the wheel at times seems heavy. Going up Sagamore Hill, a hill with average grade I use for repeats when I ride mornings, the wheel seemed heavy. My average pace up the hill *seemed* slower. It’s times like this when I wish I were a number junky, because then I’d know exactly where it stood compared to without the disc. But it seemed slower going up the hill. And since it seemed slower, I tried to exert more energy.

Down hills and flats is where the wheel seemed to gain performance. Although it wasn’t entirely noticeable, when searching for positive results, I could find them – but again, often when you go searching for something, you’ll find it even if it really isn’t there (pure psychology).

This morning there was a nice gradual down hill stretch for a mile that then turns into a fairly flat-to-one or two rollers for another 2 miles where I typically race cars. On good days I could keep up. Today I had to brake at times so that I didn’t overtake the car in front. I felt fast, but not all that different than normal. Again, if I were a number junky, I might be able to tell you I was .5 mph quicker. Or not. Don’t know. But I’m guessing I was a touch quicker, merely because of two thoughts: First, I had to let up on the pressure on the pedals so that I didn’t pass a car, which is really cool by the way. Second, the wind was stiff nearly the entire ride. But there was no wind. Thing is, I was creating my own wind. I think I was going just a touch faster so that I had even more wind to cut through. And because it was a touch faster, I noticed it.

Initial Summary

I really don’t know if the Renn disc is faster. I think it’s way too early to tell. From my first ride, I’m guessing the wheel *is* faster; however, it’s not all-around faster. The wheel seems faster on the flats but mainly on the downs (hard to tell on the flats), whereas it seems slower on the up, as if the wheel required more work to turn. My guess is that after a few rides, I will gain more muscle to turn the wheel on the hills and flats where, after that, it will be faster to the bottom line (time); but right now I’m not there. So since it is faster on the flats and downs and slower on the ups, my ride this morning was near the same average speed as normal. I expect that to change when my legs are fully recovered from my most recent marathon and when I get a few more rides on the disc to learn the nuances and specialized muscles to work the wheel.

What’s Next?

I’ll add to this thread more thoughts of subsequent rides.