Nike Victory Elite Review

I was lucky enough to win 2 pairs of Nike Victory Elites.  Let me tell you, these shoes are amazing.  The upper is lightweight and much more breathable than its predecessor and the new and improved full-length carbon fiber plate makes these mid distance spikes feel quite agressive and fast.  In fact, that plate makes these shoes feel like they would be ideal for the 400-600-800 distance.  I would be hesitant to use them in longer races but I have seen the original Victory used often in 10ks and XC races.  It will be interesting to see how the new material will hold up over time.  I have no doubts about the Flywire or plate but the areas of the upper that are not held together by the external flywire may have issues.  That being said, these shoes are going to be worn most often by elites, hence the name, and high level collegians.  Those types of athletes don't race as often as high schoolers and if they do choose to workout in these shoes they are probably at some level of sponsorship that they can get these shoes for free or highly discounted.  My overall recommendation would be to go with the cheaper Victory 2s or even the original Victory if you can still find them.  These shoes are great but the differences are minimal compared to their predeccesors.  They also might be more limited in range than previous Victorys due to the aforementioned longer plate.  Like always, I recommend trying on a shoe in your local running shoe to see if you like it.  Thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions!

Top Minnesotan Times- Women

This list is by no means all-encompassing.  If you know of any updates to this list please let me know.

800
1. Heather Kampf 2:00.41, 2011
2. Laura Januszewski 2:01.01, 2011
3. Gabe Anderson 2:02.83, 2012
4. Sarah Thorsett 2:03.83, 1996
5. Ada Anderson 2:05.38, 2005
6. Amber Affeldt 2:05.88, 1997
7. Jeanne Kruckeberg 2:06.38, 1989
8. Marie Borner 2:06.39, 2010
9. Nikki Swenson 2:07.19, 2009
10. Jamie Cheever 2:07.46, 2007

1500/Mile
1. Gabe Anderson 4:04.84, 2012
2. Kara Goucher 4:05.14, 2006
3. Sarah Thorsett 4:05.87, 1996
4. Carrie Tollefson 4:06.13, 2004
5. Cathie Twomey 4:11.96, 1981
6. Heather Kampf 4:12.09, 2011
7. Leslie Seymour 4:35.54 (4:15.21c)
8. Jody Eder 4:15.59, 1984
9. Elizabeth Yetzer 4:18.11, 2009
10. Nikki Swenson 4:18.38, 2011

3000
1. Kara Goucher 8:34.99, 2007
2. Gabe Anderson 8:43.52, 2012
3. Carrie Tollefson 8:44.63, 2006
4. Leslie Seymour 8:51.34, 1987
5. Lynn Nelson 8:55.57, 1988
6. Stephanie Herbst 8:57.12, 1986
7. Cathie Twomey 8:59.66, 1984
8. Sarah Thorsett 9:05.51, 1996
9. Tracy Dahl 9:15.57, 1993
10. McKenzie Melander 9:21.59, 2012


3000SC
1. Jaime Cheever 9:51.42, 2012
2. Katie Moraczewski 10:18.60, 2012
3. Maddie McClellan 10:19.39, 2012
4. Ladia Albertson-Junkans 10:34.13, 2008
5. Greta Sieve 10:34.91, 2010
6. Katie Theisen 10:36.39, 2009
7. Katie Dolan 10:37.86, 2010
8. Alyssa Sybilrud 10:38.52, 2010
9. Elaine Eggleston 10:44.11, 2001
10. Victoria Moses 10:44.42. 2002

5000
1. Kara Goucher 14:55.02, 2007
2. Carrie Tollefson 15:04.07, 2004
3. Lynn Nelson 15:12.7, 1988
4. Cathie Twomey 15:17.02, 1988
5. Stephanie Herbst 15:42.36, 1986
6. Gabe Anderson 15:45.99, 2011
7. Tracy Dahl 15:49.52, 1993
8. McKenzie Melander 15:57.13, 2012
9. Leslie Seymour 15:57.52, 1988
10. Janis Klecker 15:57.xx, ????

10000
1. Kara Goucher 30:55.16, 2008
2. Lynn Nelson 31:51.27, 1988
3. Stephanie Herbst 32:32.75, 1986
4. Cathie Twomey 32:38.11, 1984
5. Alex Gits 33:19.42, 2008
6. Eileen Donaghy 33:31.96, 1988
7. Stephanie Price 34:02.75, 2011
8. Laura Docherty 34:07.40 2012
9. McKenzie Melander 34:29.83, 2012
Janis Klecker 31:44, 1990*

HM
1. Kara Goucher 1:08:05, 2009
2. Janis Klecker 1:10:41, ????
3. Lynn Nelson 1:12:30, 1996
4. Leah Thorvilson 1:15:00, 2010
5. Jennifer Houck 1:15:53, 2010
6. Dani Stack 1:17:26, 2012
7. Kelly Brinkman 1:18:10, 2012
8. Kate Koski 1:18:29, 2008
9. Kim Kauls 1:18:12
10. Bonnie Sons 1:24:35, 2011

Marathon
1. Kara Goucher 2:25:53, 2008
2. Janis Klecker 2:30:12, 1992
3. Jennifer Houck 2:33:00, 2011
4. Lynn Nelson 2:33:31, 1988
5. Linda Zeman 2:34:52, 1988
6. Cathie Twomey 2:35:43, 1986
7. Leah Thorvilson 2:37:26, 2012
8. Kate Koski 2:42:33, 2002
9. Kim Kauls 2:43:01, 2000
10. Johanna Olson 2:43:27, 2003

 

*indicates that Janis ran this at Drake Relays on the Roads in 1990.

Top Minnesotan Times- Men

This list is by no means all-encompassing.  This is just what myself and cohorts at tracktalk were able to come up with.  If you have any updates please let me know!

800
1. Steve Holman 1:44.98, 1995
2. Scott Clark 1:46.61, 1981
3. David Pachuta 1:46.62, 2012
4. Harun Abda 1:46.65, 2012
5. Mike Slack 1:46.9, 2007
6. Garrett Heath 1:47.26, 2010
7. Toby Henkels 1:47.29, 2002
8. Zach Mellon 1:47.45, 2010
9. Will Leer 1:47.69, 2007
10. Trent Riter 1:47.79, 2004

1500/Mile (Sub-4 or 1500 equiv.)
1. Steve Holman 3:31.52/3:50.40, 1997
2. Garrett Heath 3:36.03, 2012
3. Will Leer 3:36.33, 2011/12
4. Mike Slack 3:37.46, 1977
5. Ben Blankenship 3:54.10, 2011
6. Rob Finnerty 3:38.60, 2012
7. Paul Michalek 3:39.94, 1996
8. Luke Watson 3:57.83, 2004
9. Jeff Jirele 3:58.26, 1978
10. Steve Plasencia 3:58.34, 1982
11. Sean Graham 3:58.40, 2007
12. Elliot Heath 3:58.46, 2012
13. Jake Watson 3:59.40, 2007
14. Ted Nelson 3:59.4, 1966
15. Carson Hoeft 3:41.99
16. Jon Stublaski 3:42.20, 2010

3000
1. Steve Holman 7:42.49, 1996
2. Mark Nenow 7:43.01, 1989
3. Elliott Heath 7:45.08, 2012
4. Garrett Heath 7:45.80, 2012
5. Sean Graham 7:46.9, 2006
6. Luke Watson 7:49.56, 2004
7. Ben Blankenship 7:49.70, 2011
8. Will Leer 7:49.73, 2010
9. Garry Bjorklund 7:51.07c, 1976
10. Justin Tyner 7:53.91

3000 Steeplechase
1. Donovan Bergstrom 8:29.08, 1993
2. Don Timm 8:32.72, 1976
3. Luke Watson 8:36.12, 2006
4. Justin Tyner 8:37.54, 2012
5. Andy Tate 8:38.01, 2001
6. Jim Gathje 8:39.80, 1985
7. Larry Berkner 8:42.84, 1980
8. Don Hurley 8:43.19, 1983
9. Craig Cassen 8:43.02, 1991
10. Eric Pierce 8:44.33 2000

5000
1. Mark Nenow 13:18.54, 1984
2. Steve Plasencia 13:19.47
3. Sean Graham 13:23.50, 2007
4. Elliott Heath 13:26.14, 2012
5. Garrett Heath 13:27.07, 2012
6. Hassan Mead 13:28.45, 2011
7. Garry Bjorklund 13:32.33, 1976
8. Luke Watson 13:35.08, 2003
9. Will Leer 13:36.15, 2012
10. Justin Tyner 13:37.66, 2011


10,000
1. Mark Nenow 27:20.56, 1986
2. Steve Plasencia 27:45.20
3. Hassan Mead 27:59.04, 2012
4. Garry Bjorklund 27:46.9, 1984
5. Bob Kempainen 28:23.80, 1993
6. Dave Morrison 28:34.03, 1985
7. Elliott Heath 28:47.69, 2011
8. Paul Gisselquist 29:00.05, 1987
9. John Idstrom 29:03.64, 1982
10. Lloyd Ness 29:03.64, 1982


Half Marathon
1. Bob Kempainen 1:00:48, 1995
2.Antonio Vega 1:01:54, 2010
3. Steve Plasencia 1:03:37, 1996
4. Luke Watson 1:03:51, 2009
5. Chris Erichsen 1:04:29, 2011
6. Mike Torchia 1:04:47, 2011
7. Chris Raabe 1:05:06, 2011
8. Dick Beardsley 1:06:15, 1987
9. Justin Grunewald 1:06:34, 2010
10. Ben Sathre 1:06:48, 2012

Marathon
1. Bob Kempainen 2:08:47
2. Dick Beardsley 2:08:53
3. Gerry Bjorklund 2:10:20
4. Steve Hoag 2:11:54
5. Steve Plasencia 2:12:51, 1994
6. Antonio Vega 2:13:47
7. Mark Nenow 2:14:21, 1988
8. Chris Raabe 2:15:31, 2011
9. Luke Watson 2:15:29, 2009
10. Chris Erichsen 2:16:31, 2012

Weekly Training Recap: Feb. 25th-March 3rd

25th- 6 miles fairly easy, had a little tightness in the hip/butt.  Got some good myrtle in afterwords.

26th- 2 miles.  It was snowing with big drifts over sidewalks and roads.  Winds were in excess of 35 mph.  Ran back to the house and got the xc skis from the car and skied to the park and skied for awhile until it got too cold.  Got a decent aerobic and upper body workout in.  Am quite a bit behind on the weekly miles now.

27th- Only ran 5 today due to time constraints.  However, it was  a great 5.  I felt good, no pains, a little extra bounce in the step.  I have some work to do to reach my weekly goal of 54 because I only have 13 after today.  I expect a couple doubles on Thursday, a longer run or workout on Friday, a long run Sunday morning and whatever is left over on Saturday.

28th- Ran 6 in the morning.  Had a little bit of the butt/hip tightness again and it was cold out.  I do love Wyoming sunrises and sunsets so much more than anywhere else I've ever lived.  It is a joy to see the light peeking over the mountains to the east and illuminating the mountains to the west.  That, if not anything else, will get me out of bed on these cold winter mornings.  I am prepared for a double today, it is much easier to run doubles while working 8s instead of 10s.  Up to 19/54 on the week after the morning.

28th (PM)- Ran another 6.  Felt good again.  Not overly tight or anything.  Got some decent stretching in.  Didn't help the weight by eating a Qdoba burrito afterwards but have been under or at 160 for a few days.  Now up to 25/54 for the week with 3 days remaining.  Alex and I all but decided to entra an ultra-marathon at the end of April (27th).  We will be running the Cheyenne Mountain Trail Race.  It is a 50k in Cheyenne Mountain State Park near Colorado Springs, CO.  It is run completely on trails and appears to have an elevation gain of around 4000 feet total.  The course description describes it as slightly technical.  The elevation is 6000 to 6800 feet so that shouldn't be a problem as I train at a minimum of 7100 currently.  I am not sure how this will affect my Deadwood aspirations but I have awhile to decide.  All the great Ultra guys run races close to each other so I should be able to as well!  I am hoping to get out to Happy Jack for some trail runs before this race but we will see how the snow melt is going.

1st- Ran an easy 5 with Danielle.  I had wanted to get at least 8 in but the pesky wind just sapped my motivation.  30 miles on the week.

2nd- Ran 3 with Danielle before she left for her field trip.  Then packed up and drove out to the Snowy Mountain Range.  I began with some backcountry snowshoeing.  I did that for about 2 hours and probably went less than 4 miles.  I measured the snow to be 7 feet deep at some points.  After that I put my running shoes on and ran 17 minutes of warm up then 1,2,3,4,5,5 minutes intervals up the hill with an equal rest jog back down.  With a cool down the run ended up being nearly 70 minutes.  Due to the fact that it was at 10,000 feet altitude and lots of up hill, I will call it 9 miles.  After that run I ate a little bit and went out for more snowshoeing.  This time it was about 7 miles on more developed trails so I wasn't doing as much work.  42/54 on the week with 14 miles planned for tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be great!

3rd- Got up early after a late night hanging out with The Tinder Box after their show.  Ran the mile to Alex's with Danielle then another 10 minutes before Danielle turned off.  Alex and I headed out Northwest of town to try out a gravel road recommended by the High Plains Harriers.  Winds were in excess of 30 mph and we ran straight into them for awhile.  That made for a decent negative split on the way back in.  I took down a Chia Surge Gel at 60 minutes.  I felt good and energized with that in me.  It was my second time using Chia Surge and I liked both flavors.  I will probably use that in the Ultra coming up next month.  After dropping Alex off, I continued for another 4+ miles picking up the pace and pushing my current fitness boundaries.  I don't have the motivation to do a lot of workouts so I need to get the legs moving on runs here and there.  I felt very strong and am excited going into the next couple months of training.  The run totalled 14 and brings me to 56 on the week.

Weekly goal- 54, actual- 56 miles
Long run goal- 14, actual-14
Pushups goal-900, actual
Weight goal-under 160, made it!

Goals and expectations for March 4th-10th:
Total miles- 62+, with Lars, Big-T, and Blu coming out it will be hard to be under my goal unless I really botch the first couple days of the week.  I only had 13 miles through 3 days last time and still reached my goal.
Long run- 16 miles, I felt great through 14 and don't want 50k to be too much of a shock.
Push-ups- I just want to get a bunch in, not exactly shooting for a certain number this week.
Weight- I am consistently under 160.  I just want to continue to lose a pound or two per week until I feel that I am at my optimal weight.  Somewhere around 150-152 most likely.