: Arcteryx Norvan SL Hoody

I take my running heart pretty seriously. Before I purchase anything, I generally do a ton of research. Such was the case with the Arcteryx Norvan SL Hoody.

In this instance, I was seeking the most lightweight rain jacket possible. As one who runs literally every day (my five year streak mark is fast approaching) I’ve run through many a NorCal “atmospheric river” and was seeking a rain jacket that was as lightweight as humanly possibly.

All paths led me to the Arcteryx Norman SL Hoody. My next challenge was finding one. This wasn’t easy, which led me to think if availability was this low, I must be on to something. I finally found one in Minneapolis of all places and had it shipped any way.

I’ve now worn this jacket for over a year and through many a rainstorm. And I have to say of all my running gear – of which I have a lot – I have more of a love/hate relationship with this jacket than anything else I own.

First, the positive: 85 percent of the time I love it. It’s as lightweight as advertised, looks sleek and in *most* rainy conditions, it does the trick well. It’s also true to its name: the Shakedry technology/coating is also very useful. For the most part you shake the jacket two or three times and it’s dry.

Now the not so positive: the remaining 15 percent of the time, it sucks. The problem is that for reasons I can’t quite understand, while the jacket is waterproof, for some reason (weight, I guess), the zipper is not. And in very rainy and windy conditions, water gets right through and soaks my chest area. Based on multiple product reviews, others seem to experience the same.

I’ve spoken with Arcteryx customer service and they acknowledge the issue. Why they can’t fix it in a $299 jacket is another question entirely.

Is this a product I could recommend? Having worn it for a year, that’s a tough one to answer. If they get this problem fixed, I’d say for sure. But until then, it’s quite an expensive proposition for a product that works only 85 percent of the time.

 

Napa Marathon Recap

Well, that went – alright. Not good, not bad.

3:38:02 was the final time. I didn’t hit my goal time and wasn’t really that close, but I wasn’t far enough away that I’m willing to quite give up this challenge yet.

Not sure what to say, other than I wasn’t feeling bad, but I wasn’t feeling too great either. I worked very hard on trying to keep an even pace of about eight minute miles. I’ve blown myself up too often in the past trying to “bank” time for the backside of the race and the result has more often than not been a total meltdown over the past few miles. I’d say, for the most part this strategy worked. I ran a fairly even pace up until around mile 21 and even then, I didn’t fall apart completely. My slowest mile was mile 26 and was “only” 9:05. So, that was something to feel good about.

The not so good part of the day was the wind. I guesstimate that it was blowing at around 10-15 mph all day and it really took a toll. In talking to some of my friends at the finish, they seem to have experienced the same. The race goes down one single road (the Silverado trail) and there was unfortunately no one in front of me to break the wind. Nothing I can do about that, really. Beyond the wind, conditions were solid: it was nice and cool temperature wise and really no rain at all.

The highlight of the day was being surprised by my wife and daughter at mile 24. I didn’t expect them to come down and that was really cool. It gave me a very short lived boost (being that it was mile 24 and all).

The Nike Vaporfly’s (which were worn by practically everyone in the race!) definitely were awesome. They were comfortable the whole way through and I think that without them, my time might have been slower. No regrets with that purchase.

So, that’s that. In thinking back on it, I think this race might have been too early in the season for a PR. I crammed a ton of training into 1.5 months, which is kind of sub optimal. I think I should have given myself a two week taper, too. The week before the race, while we were on vacation, I ran 45 miles and I think that had an effect.

The marathon is the most painful race out there, but I love it because it’s like a great big puzzle. Unlike a lot of other races, it’s extremely difficult to figure out. I’m fourteen road marathons in and have yet to nail one just right. There are just so many variables. I think that’s a big reason why it’s my favorite race. So, I plan to give it another go. The question though, is when. I’m thinking in all likelihood in the fall; maybe a return to NYC or Chicago. We shall see. In the meantime, I chalk this one up to another learning experience.

 

 

 

Next up: Napa Marathon

So, in my quest to get a Boston qualifying time, I am taking my (marginal) talents to Napa this Sunday, where I plan to give the Napa marathon a go.

This one kind of snuck up on me, so we shall see. I crammed in a lot of training into the month of March, though optimally, I’d like to have had an extra two weeks (and one more long run). But that said, I’m feeling pretty good and I’m hopeful of getting my goal of 3:29:59. Note that this time is technically the qualifier for the 2019 race, but to run the 2020 one I’d have to be more than a bit faster: probably somewhere in the 3:24-3:25 range. But that’s no matter, as 3:29:50 is the goal.

One thing I did do for this race is buy a pair of the infamous Vaporfly 4% race flats. They are very expensive and more than a bit of indulgence, but man oh man, based on my two track outings this week, I can tell that they are very fast. Hopefully they will help make a difference, if even a psychological one.

So, that’s the story. Race report forthcoming.

Also, over the next few weeks I plan to do a few gear reviews, including one for the Vaporflys, after they have a race under their belt.