Well, maybe ye shan’t but that’s because ye have such little faith (and such small readerships). I however, asked for some YakTrax a few months ago in this post and now I have a pair. Technically I don’t think I asked for a pair of YakTrax in that post, as much as I cursed YakTrax for not sending me a free pair but what’s important is that someone at YakTrax read that post and sent me a free pair! You may catch more flies with honey but you get more free swag with vinegar, and really, who wants to catch flies?I actually received the YakTrax a month ago but we haven’t had enough snow for me to try them out. You East Coasters are so lucky! I was getting pretty sick of all the sunshine and 60 - 70 degree temperatures so this past weekend I went in search of some snow and I found some up at Grand Lake, CO (elev. 8,500 feet). I pulled on my free Pearl Izumi shoes and my free YakTrax and headed out for my run on a frigid 50 degree morning. The skies were clear, the air was fresh and my feet had more traction than a congressional bill laced with a congressional pay raise.
I was pretty cautious at first, not wanting to put too much confidence in my new YakTrax and end up on my delicate tushie. However after a half mile I had completely forgotten that I was running on snow and ice. I raced up hills on my toes and I barreled down them at full speed without even the slightest hint of slippage. Usually when I run on snow and ice I have to run with a shorter, more careful stride, but that’s simply not the case when you’re wearing a free pair of YakTrax. (I obviously don’t know how it is when you wear a pair of YakTrax that you’ve paid money for but I assume it would be similar.) People out walking their dogs gazed on in wonder at the sure-footed runner with the magnificent stride, I was a thing of beauty.
I didn’t ever notice the snow building up on the YakTrax, which I had suspected might be a problem so they must have used some NASA space technology to prevent that from happening. I had also thought that I might be able to feel the coils beneath my feet when I ran, but that was not an issue either. All in all I am very impressed with the stability provided by the YakTrax. Really the only downside is that I can no longer use “it was pretty slippery out there” as an excuse for a slow run, I guess I’m going to have to stick with the old “it was at an elevation of 8,500 feet” and the trusty “I didn’t really fuel properly” and then there’s always the reliable “it was too windy” that I can fall back on. One thing I don’t need someone to give me for free is excuses, I’ve got plenty of those to go around.