 Good evening everyone. Welcome to the studio if this is your first time here at my house and literally my shed outside my house But now it's called the studio because this is where we talk a lot about Running shoes as you can see the collection continues to get larger and grow and yes I will just mention right now if you missed last night's running shoe giveaway You can watch the replay down below on the Facebook page right now. We can't live stream on YouTube It'll be it'll be back in July. Don't worry But if you want to go see how much fun a running shoe giveaway actually is go check it out down below We gave away 15 pairs of running shoes. It was insane so many pairs So it's a it's a good time. We have here the studio and a huge Thank you and shout out to so many people who continue every it's like three or four days a week There's new shoes showing up at the peel box. Thank you so so much You're helping people get out the door to do this crazy sport that we call running and ah, it's so fun to help people Achieve that goal of just taking that next step in a good pair of running shoes and on that topic Shall we dive in to the anatomy of running shoes? Why are we covering this topic? It's 15 years ago when I was in high school I was frankly a little clueless when it came to running shoes and the terminology like it's a little Intimidating and you might think that running shoes are kind of simple that they're basic. There's not much to it It's just it's a shoe, right? No, no, no not so fast when you start breaking down the different components and areas of a running shoe There's really a lot of innovation technology that goes into every single pair Even whether it's a road shoe whether it's a trail shoes and so in high school It was I put me in anything I will run in neutral I will run in stability and frankly did not matter in my mind and then in college We were sponsored our university was sponsored by Nike so that really limited the number of shoes I could try like I was a Nike guy in college then I graduated and really started to dive in to the different The differences that are really out there in the running shoe landscape and it can be intimidating, right? You walk into a running shoe store and you're like, oh boy Where do I start like some shoe stores are is a big wall of shoes and it can be for not intimidating maybe isn't the right word, but Overwhelming I'll use that word and so I want to hopefully provide a little bit of insight and information for you right now as to How to go about Discussing with a running shoe rep So somebody that's working on the floor at a running shoe store and they're kind of walking you through the process and you can Actually Understand the terminology that they're tossing at you because again if you don't understand the terminology Behind a running shoe what they're telling you or if you're online at running warehouse Jack rabbit wherever you buy your shoes online footlocker Those that terminology might be going right over your head and so anyway That is the goal of today's daily vlog is to help you come to a great not just a good But a great understanding of the running shoe lineup as we begin There's three terms that you want to commit to memory before you go shopping for your next pair of running shoes Okay, here we go term number one the upper this is the top of the shoe This is right where my hand is this is considered the upper I'll just say the fabric on the top of the shoe that is called the upper the second term to remember the midsole That's right midsole that is the foam right here through the midsole right below the upper So this white area on this Brooks Ghost 11 This is considered the midsole and then the last term to commit to memory the outsole So what is the outsole the bottom of the shoe? Okay, so upper midsole outsole and the outsole is where the tread is at It's where it's based. It's usually comprised of hard rubber now is the time to break out your pen and pencil or your phone So you can start taking notes. This is where the terminology goes way more in depth and here we go This is the anatomy of your running shoe Okay, and this is just good terms to be aware of maybe not memorize all of them at the running shoe store But it's just good to be aware of okay Here we go starting in the upper again the top of the shoe starting in the back here We go this area right here is called the heel Counter the heel counter so it basically is the heel cup that wraps around your heel Right in the back of the shoe here and then at the top of the heel counter This is often referred to as the heel tab Okay, it's usually got a little bit of cushion to help prevent any rubbing on your Achilles tendon All right right here at the top of the heel counter and then moving up the shoe just a little bit Right here where my finger is at it makes an oval shape This is the collar of the shoe and it makes sense Basically, you have a shirt collar right it wraps around your neck and then you button it in the front So it kind of looks the same shape So this is called the collar of the shoe which wraps around your ankle a really important part of a shoe You don't want the collar to be rubbing on your foot. Okay. All right moving forward Just a little bit more on the shoe on the upper. So we've got the tongue All right, and I'll just mention right now the Nike vapor fly 4% flying it does not really have a tongue Okay, it's all one piece of of a flying it material here in the top So in the upper, but this Brooks goes to Levin definitely has a tongue and yes I would say one of the best tongues on a shoe that I've ever experienced is the sock any fast twitch 8 I don't have it out here in the studio But all right, so that's the tongue of the shoe the eyelets. What do the eyelets do the eyelets lace up the shoe So I will say one of my favorite shoes right now is the new balance beacon However, I'm pretty concerned about the build quality new balance of your eyelets I'm starting to see some breakdown in the eyelets that is basically holding down Holding in the shoelaces in place and if an eyelet breaks That's really not good because it makes it not impossible but much more difficult to lace up your shoe Properly, so that's the eyelets those holes right there in the shoe and moving forward just a little bit more on the shoe You've got the Toe box area, so this is the toe box basically what's holding your toes This is called the toe box and then just on the side of the toe box right here Just where I'm squeezing there and then here this is called the vamp. That's right V. A. M. P That is the vamp of the of the upper and then moving all the way to the front of the upper is the toe cap Sometimes called the nose of the shoe this you might think this is a very small detail that is not important I'm telling you especially in trail running the toe cap is critical You want protection in case you kick a rock you kick a tree root something like that So that's called the toe cap or the nose and one last feature on an upper that a lot of shoes don't even have like for Example the beacon does not have this the vapor fly 4% does not have this It's called an overlay and an overlay is basically it's a piece of rubber or plastic that just lays on top of the Upper material to help provide a little more stability and protection through the upper and some people like it Some people don't I usually lean away toward lean away from too much overlay action I think it just adds too much weight But if you like your upper to have a little more of a lockdown feel then I would say look for a shoe that has these overlays Anywhere whether it's sometimes you see it on the toe box Sometimes you see it in the heel counter area and a quick review of the upper the heel counter the heel tab the collar the tongue The eyelets the shoe laces which we didn't get too much into but they're important the toe box the vamp right through here the toe cap or the nose and then Overlays and yes all of these working together give you a good or not so good Comfort level and lockdown feel through the upper. Okay. There you go. That's the upper Okay, and moving on from the upper to the midsole so just below the upper is the midsole this white area on this Brooks Ghost 11 this happens to be an EVA foam here through the midsole But don't forget some people forget this and frankly I sometimes forget to mention this in the running shoe reviews Basically, don't forget the insole inside the shoe. This is actually really important For example back to the new balance beacon some people have Mentioned and you know kind of been concerned about how thin the insole is inside the beacon And I would agree with you and they're also mentioning that it slides around inside the shoe. That's not good new balance If you're listening, I hope you are that basically we need a better insole for this new balance beacon So it's not moving around and I do realize that a lot of times the insole is not considered a part of the midsole I get that but I'm gonna put it in the same category as the midsole because it does impact It does absorb some of the impact through your gate cycle Okay, and a couple more features of a midsole and we could go into a lot more detail But we're gonna save that for future vlogs basically the difference between a neutral shoe and a stability shoe a Stability shoe will have a it's called a medial post Which is sometimes a hard piece of plastic or a harder piece of rubber that is right here through the inside of the shoe To help with overpronation Okay, it also threw a lot of midsoles now the carbon fiber plate. That's right. This is the Nike vapor fly 4% flying it There's the Hoka carbon rocket. There's the Nike zoom fly flying it the Nike next percent the Hoka carbon X Basically the carbon fiber plate race is on and I'm I think Skechers. I wouldn't be shocked if Adidas Probably probably new balance we'll see but the race is on to put carbon fiber plates in the midsole So watch out. I think it's the race is on all across the running shoe landscape So that is another feature of newer midsole in newer running shoes and one last midsole feature is the rock plate That's right A lot of trail running shoes like the Solomon speedcross 5 has a rock plate Which again is basically a piece of hard plastic which is embedded between the outsole and the midsole Right there at the forefoot of the shoe So the front of the shoe here to help protect your feet from sharp rocks when you're out there on the trails It's a nice feature it adds weight to your shoe But it's a really really nice feature when you're running here in the Rockies here in Colorado or somewhere on rocky trails Okay, last but not least moving on from the midsole to the bottom of the shoe the outsole this rubber here on the bottom and A lot of outsole use very similar rubber sometimes companies will call it different things But usually you will see rubber here on the outsole of a shoe and what of course an outsole protects your foot from the ground And it increases the durability of your running shoe if you have an outsole that is more exposed Meaning the midsole is exposed for example in the vapor fly 4% flying it this midsole here is exposed to the ground It doesn't have this hard rubber like you see here in the forefoot So this mids this outsole will break down quicker than this Brooks ghost 11 And I should mention also on the bottom here. This is the forefoot. So just below your toe box This is the midsole under the arch of your foot and this is the heel just below your heel So the heel of the shoe and I'll just grab this Solomon Speedcross 5 to make a point about on the outsole You will have your tread. Okay. So your traction and also known in their in their trail running world, especially your lug depth So I don't know if you can see it here also on the innovate mud claw See how big those lugs are these are lugs right where my finger is pointing and in really muddy conditions You want your lug depth to be taller. So usually six millimeters is a really good These are eight millimeters on the mud claw and where these lugs are placed on the outsole Makes up your tread pattern and I really do think a tread pattern can can impact the type of grip You're getting in muddy conditions snowy conditions, etc. Etc. Okay one last point on the outsole This is called the foot bridge So it's basically a bridge right here through the midsole between your heel and the forefoot So this is called the foot bridge which sometimes on certain shoes can have a little piece of plastic again to help provide More support through your arch and there you go Not as simple as you thought right the upper the midsole and the outsole But then within those three regions of each running shoe There's a lot of different terms being thrown around So and we didn't even get into the different types of fabric used on the upper and the different types of foam Used through the midsole and then of course the different types of rubber used in the outsole We'll save that for another vlog another day, but it's just exciting to continue to Basically have as much Information at our fingertips as possible when we're making running shoe purchases And as you know running shoes are not getting any cheaper this day and age And so if we can just be as informed as possible going into the store going to running warehouse going to jackrabbit Wherever you buy your shoes online and just being ready to make sound decisions based on the different Regions of the shoe and the different technologies Gosh, oh we could go on and on about shoes. That was fun Thanks for coming along for a little a little lesson in running shoes today keyword is going to be Anatomy that's right because we just learned the anatomy of running shoes and yes I'm just gonna say it tip of the day Basically, don't hesitate to save this video somewhere and listen to it You know just listen to it in your headphones when you're driving to a running shoe store so you can basically refresh your memory Okay, these are the terms I want to basically kind of quiz the people working at the store on so that they can help you make the best purchase Possible and the question of the day what term had you never heard of before within the anatomy of a running shoe or What what term kind of jumped out at you is something like oh that's very interesting I've never thought of that before And second part do you feel a little more prepared to go make your next running shoe purchase? I sure hope so. That's what I'm trying to do here help you guys out a little bit. Okay. Thanks for being here That's today's a daily vlog I appreciate you coming to the studio and again shout out to everyone who is sending shoes for the running shoe Giveaways you're helping other people and that's what it's all about right get out there and pound some miles seek beauty Work hard and love each other. Thanks for being here. All right