Island Vines 10k in South Hero, Vermont

We ran the Island Vines 10k this morning in South Hero, Vermont. This was our third time following 2023 and 2025. I ran in Superblast 3, the first race for those. I'm liking them.

2026

2025

2023

I set my course record today at just under 53 minutes, an 8:30 pace. I would love to get my 10k time under 50 minutes, but an 8:30 pace is still good. If I could do that for a half marathon, that would be impressive progress.

Julie finished about a minute behind me, a 10k PR for her, I think, in a little under 54 minutes. She wore her Hoka Cielo X1 3.0's and liked them for that distance. She had said they had made her feel unstable near the end of the half marathon in Charlotte, NC, which she did in under 2 hours!

Superblast 3 and Megablast have gravitated to the top of my shoe list. I see a bunch of love on YouTube for the Vomero Pluses - maybe their time will still come. 

I have three pairs of carbon-plated shoes, which is wild. I like training in them, but I do feel like they can be harsh. I think Superblast 3 is the least harsh, most-cushioned shoe. And still light.

I felt sore the morning after a treadmill run in Alphafly 3, although the run itself had felt good. So that made me call off the plan to run in the Alphafly 3s. The Alphafly 4's were just released this week. I need to log some triple digit miles on some of my current shoes before I think about buying new ones.

I feel like 8 pairs isn't too extreme. I need that amount to help satisfy my curiosity. That's why just having Megablast and Superblast 3 wouldn't be as fun, even if it currently looks like those two are the runaway favorites.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summary of Spring 2026 Half Marathons

Image
Welcome to the first post of my running blog. My name is Jeff. I'm 52 years old and live in South Burlington, Vermont. I've just completed the Spring 2026 half marathon season. I attempted five half marathons and finished three: 1. The Vermont Half Unplugged in Burlington, Vermont on April 11th (1:55:15, personal record [PR]) 2. The Charlotte, North Carolina Race Fest Half Marathon on April 18th (Did not finish, only made it three miles) 3. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Half Marathon on May 3rd (Did not finish, only made it three miles) 4. The Vermont City 2-Person Marathon Relay on May 24th (I did my half in around 2:21) 5. The Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon on June 6th (2:02:46) I got my PR in the first race of the season (1:55:15 in Burlington, VT). My previous PR had been from the Delaware Coastal Running Festival on April 13, 2025, 2:01:40 (age 51). I strained my right calf three days after the Vermont Half Unplugged, on April 14, 2026, and could not finish the Charl...
Read more

Catamount 25k in Stowe

Image
Yesterday was the Catamount Ultra trail run at the Von Trapp lodge in Stowe, Vermont. It was pouring down rain before the event, enough to give us second thoughts about running. The rain let up right before the 8:30 am start, and we were off. There is an option to do the loop twice to make it a 50 k. The 25 k was all I could handle. The water and mud made it tough. It was an adventure. For the most part, I enjoyed it. The mud was too much, but it adds to the sense of accomplishment when it’s over, and the feeling of "Type 2 fun." It’s fun looking back as soon as you see the finish line. Here's a link to a YouTube video that shows what it was like. He didn't seem to get the Type 2 fun at the end. His comments during the run were similar to my thoughts, along the lines of, "yikes, this is too muddy." https://youtu.be/BduEdaSKAWo?is=z5DHRqKnWs-5gpkC We finished in around 3 hours and 35 minutes. The shoes were good, Adidas Agravic SL. I had a pint of Von Trapp V...
Read more

Lapierre 26k Trail Run in Richmond

Image
It sounds like we’re doing a 26-kilometer trail run in Richmond on Saturday. On the map, it says 25k, but in the signup and on the  website , it says 26k. My wife heard about this run through one of her online trail running friends.  Lots of States have a Richmond. Vermont’s Richmond is a good one: a small town that’s hip like a city (e.g., good coffee shop, good brewery). It’s just outside the greater Burlington area and into the mountains. Along with Stowe, Richmond is one of my favorite Vermont towns. My thigh injury from the Stowe run is 90% healed. I’ve been able to do some short training runs. I feel like I’ll be in good shape for Richmond. Today is Wednesday and I’m pretty much injury free. I had calf pain for weeks that is finally gone. No plantar fasciitis. No back pain. I only have one pair of trail running shoes (Agravic SL), so I don’t have to decide on which shoes to wear. Today, tomorrow, and Friday will be rest days.
Read more