As you may or may not have guessed by the title, I have jumped on the Hoka band wagon. They caught my eye early on in 2013 and have been on my radar ever since. Recently I read more about them, talked to a few folks who run in them, and then checked them out at my local running store. I got a pair of Stinsons in mid-January.

I have had ongoing issues with shin pain for years. Sometimes it will be gone for months and other times it plagues me constantly. I figured why not give some maximum cushioned shoes a try. The above picture is from a 10 mile treadmill run at the end of January, after which I didn’t have any shin pain at all.

They are like running on clouds, marshmallows, etc. just like everyone says. It has gotten to where it feels normal to me, now, but at first the extra cushioning was very noticeable and very strange feeling. Switching to these shoes has been a bit of an adjustment for me, since the heel to toe drop is much less than my Asics that I usually run in. The Stinsons have a 7mm drop, while the Asics have an 11 mm drop. My calves were screaming in my first run, but over time they have adjusted.

The first full week that I had them, I put in 22 miles. Now I have been doing almost every run in them, except trail runs. The running store employee that I worked with warned me about the hazards of tripping on trails due to the larger sole. I already trip on trails enough in ‘normal’ shoes, so for now I am sticking with my Asics on trails. My shins still seem to do well, thanks to the softer surface.

Overall, the main reason I gave these shoes a try was to see if they would help with my shin pain. So far they seem to. I am still being diligent with my stretching and icing. Maybe (hopefully) I’ve found a solution to help me run the miles I want to run. I’ve read some criticism that the extra cushioning actually causes runners to heel strike, but I feel like I land more on my mid-foot.

At first, I was a little self conscious about how big the shoes are and how I looked in them. But I’ve been so happy in the shoes that it no longer matters what they look like. I needed a full size smaller in the Stinsons than I usually wear in traditional running shoes. I also decided to give the Kailua’s a try and ordered a pair online since they were on super sale and I had a gift card.

I ordered a size down, but they ended up being too small. So I returned them to exchange for my normal running shoe size. It’s strange how for one model (Stinsons) I needed a full size down, but for another one (Kailua) I needed my regular size.

The Blacksburg Classic 10 Miler was supposed to be this past weekend, and was going to be my first race in my new Hoka One One’s. However, it got postponed due to the snow we had last week. They have rescheduled the race for March 2, so hopefully that will hold up and I will get to try out my Hoka’s in a race for the first time!

What type of shoes do you run in- minimal, traditional, cushioned, other? 

Happy President’s Day! Or as it is know here in Virginia- Happy George Washington Day! Either way, I have the day off of work, which is nice. There has been lots of Winter Olympics watching going on lately, and plenty of cross training. I didn’t actually run outside at all this week, due to the weather and late days at work, but I still got in some miles.  

Monday- 30 day shred workout: day 6, level 1

Tuesday- 30 day shred workout: day 7, level 1. I had planned to run in the evening after work, but I didn’t get home until 7:00 and still had to cook dinner, so I bagged the run.

Wednesday- AM: 30 day shred workout: day 8, level 1. This is what Hank and Scout did while I worked out in the morning:

That’s pretty much what they do every morning that I workout. The only difference is that I usually workout in the living room, instead of the basement, so they’re usually both asleep on our living room couches.

PM: 4 miles on the treadmill while the snow came down heavy outside. I decided to make this a mini-tempo run and ran the two middle miles in 9:18 and 9:09. I also discovered that the Winter Olympics are pretty good entertainment while running on the treadmill.

Thursday- AM: 30 day shred, day 9 level 1 workout.

PM #1: 3 mile easy run on the treadmill

PM #2: Dug my personal and work vehicles out of 18 inches of snow and then shoveled our driveway. This probably would have been enough on it’s own for the day. Good thing I did this last.

Friday- 30 day shred, level 1 workout. This was day 10 of the program, and my last day at level one.

Saturday- The Blacksburg Classic 10 Miler was supposed to be today, but it got canceled due to the weather. I was on my own to do my long run. So I did a 13.1 mile run on the treadmill in the early afternoon. The snow and wind kept me inside, but Remember the Titans and Jurassic Park kept me entertained.

After my run I ate a bowl of vegetable soup. Does anyone ever put the full cup of water that condensed soups call for? I feel like that makes it too watery and usually only add 1/4 to 1/3 of a can of water. Anyway, I ate my soup while I watched Sixteen Candles. Then it was time to get my 30 day shred workout in. It was day 11, and the first day at level 2. I got it done, but my energy level was nowhere near where it usually is.

Sunday- I considered doing an easy run, but ended up deciding not to. I was a bit sore from Saturday’s long run. Plus my shins were feeling good, and I didn’t want to cross the line after they held up so well on my long run. Name that movie!

I did get my level 2 workout for the 30 day shred in, of course. This was day twelve. However, I did not do my workout until the evening. Although I do enjoy running and working out, I don’t like leaving it until the end of my day on the weekend because it kind of hangs over my head all day. It felt good to have it done.

Total Miles: 20.1 miles

You may remember that I ran my first full marathon this past November. That means that my personal distance record is 26.2 miles. The title of this post may lead you to believe that I covered a distance further than that, but that’s not the case. My overall personal distance record remains 26.2 miles. But I do have a new personal distance record on the treadmill!

That’s right, this afternoon I ran 13.1 miles with Sven. You know that saying “I’m only half crazy” that goes with the half marathon? Well, I think when you take a half marathon and put it on a treadmill it becomes full crazy. I used movie entertainment to keep me going. Before my run, I narrowed it down to four movies.

I ended up going with Remember the Titans. You can’t beat a great football movie with an awesome soundtrack. I especially love this movie because it centers around the high schools in the area that I grew up in and it’s focused on the era my dad grew up in, which is pretty cool. Once I finished that movie, I still had roughly 30 minutes to go, so I put in Jurassic Park. I skipped right to where the action starts. Barry says I am not allowed to watch Jurassic Park while running anymore because the T-Rex is too loud.

I guess that roaring (is that the sound T-Rex’s make??) can be heard throughout the entire house when you have the TV turned up loud enough to hear it over the treadmill. In addition to the movies, I kept myself going by keeping a towel over the treadmill display and playing with the incline. I fueled with two Vanilla Honey Stinger gels, one Salted Caramel Gu, and water. And the whole reason I did my long run on the treadmill in the first place? It’s snowing again outside, adding to the 18 inches we already have, and we are having 16-20 mph winds which is causing snow drifts on the road. No thank you.

Speaking of movies, I have been watching more than I usually do lately. On Thursday night I watched Easy A, which still makes me laugh out loud. On Friday afternoon I started Crazy, Stupid, Love, and I finished it this morning. Friday night Barry and I watched The Great Gatsby (I think they used the cliff notes version of the book to make the movie…). Then there was Remember the Titans and most of Jurassic Park while I ran. And lastly, I am currently watching Sixteen Candles as I type this. That’s a lot of movies.

What’s the longest distance you’ve ever covered on a treadmill?

Which is your favorite movie from the ones I’ve watched over the past few days? 

Does anyone else have Monday off of work?
I do!

First of all, I feel like I should say Happy Valentine’s Day! Now that we got that out of the way….

We got a whole lot of snow dumped on us over the past two days. The snow started on Wednesday afternoon and didn’t let up until Thursday evening.

Thursday morning, before we got another 10 hours worth of snow

In the morning I did my 30 day shred, level 1 workout. Then I worked from home all day because there was no way I could drive. Our road never even got plowed until around noon. In the afternoon I did an easy 3 mile run on the treadmill and then got down to digging out my work and personal vehicles and shoveling our driveway. I probably could have done without the two earlier workouts because the shoveling wore me out.

Hank and Scout wore themselves out as well, playing outside in the snow numerous times throughout the day.

Sometimes he thinks he’s a pointer

She copies Hank

As pleased as Hank and Scout were with the snow, that’s how displeased the chickens were. The poor things were actually snowed in, because we had so much snow it was covering the door to their chicken run. Not that they go out in the snow, though.

When I opened the main door to the coop and asked if they wanted to come out in the snow they said no we don’t and please shut the door!

That was as much as I could get the door open

The cows behind our house also did not seem very pleased with the snow. Usually they run off when Hank or Scout charge the fence, but today they just stood there.

Barry got a good picture of the cows last night, when they were right up against the fence. A few felt like posing and stood and stared straight at him. Probably hoping he’d bring them inside…

So far we still have power. Fingers crossed it stays on! The snow has stopped, but now it’s super windy. We’re supposed to get some more snow tonight. As a result of all the snow (I think we got around 18 inches) tomorrow’s 10 mile race has been postponed.

Did you get any snow as a result of this storm? If so, how much?

Have you ever had a race get postponed or canceled? 

If you have pets, do they like the snow?  

On Saturday morning I headed up to Pandapas Pond for a long trail run. My early March trail half marathon, which will be my first-ever trail race, is quickly approaching. I feel like I haven’t gotten enough time on trails, particularly long runs, to prepare for this race. This run definitely helped me feel a bit more prepared, but also has me quite nervous about what I’ve gotten myself into.

I parked and headed for the Poverty Creek Trail. There are signs at the trailhead that indicate how muddy it is and if it is marked high they ask you to choose a different trail to avoid damaging the trails. The trail was marked high, but the ground was frozen so I decided to run there as planned. I quickly found out that the mud was indeed frozen on the trail, so I don’t think I was doing any damage by running there. I also quickly found out how difficult it is to run on frozen mud that has footprints and tire tracks in it. It’s like running on tree roots.

I wasn’t really feeling it for the first two miles or so, but then I settled in to my run a bit. The trail I chose to run on has three creek crossings each way. It was lightly snowing and just below freezing outside, so I really wanted to avoid getting my feet wet. When I arrived at the first crossing, I found that there was a downed tree. I was able to walk across it balance beam-style both times, without falling in. Which is good since the creek was deeper there than the spot you’d typically cross.

See that deep section under the tree where you can’t see any rocks?

The second creek crossing was smaller and I was able to jump it both ways. On the way back, it was an uphill jump so it took a bit more effort. But I couldn’t find any way around the third creek crossing and ended up getting my feet wet up to my ankles in both directions. I tried to stay on the rocks somewhat, but the rushing water made my feet slip off.

About a mile after my three creek crossings, I hit my turn around point. I stopped and had a vanilla Honey Stinger gel. This was the first time I’ve tried this brand, and I really liked the flavor. It was as thick as Gu, which I didn’t used to like, but now I do.

As I headed back, my legs started to feel very fatigued. I had to walk a few times on some of the hills but I kept moving. On my way back I saw a couple of other runners, a pair of mountain bikers, and a couple walking their dogs. It was nice to see some other signs of life after not seeing anyone for over an hour and 20 minutes.

Just before mile 9, I rolled my left ankle twice within 10 steps. The first time I caught myself and kept going. But the second time, I tried to push off with my right foot as my left ankle was rolling to keep it from happening. But instead my right calf cramped and my left ankle rolled completely. I may or may not have yelled out the “S” word, but luckily no one was around to witness it or my ridiculous flailing. Shortly after that, I made it back to the parking lot, but I was only at 9 miles. I had planned to return to my car at this point to refill my water bottle, and it proved to be a good plan as I had run out of water. I quickly poured more water into my handheld water bottle and then headed back out on Horse Nettle trail, before I could change my mind and call it good at 9 miles. I was tired enough to do so.

But I really would have been kicking myself later if I had cut my run short with just that mile to go. One more mile, right? It wasn’t awful, but I was so done when my watch finally hit 10 miles. It took me a little over 2 hours to cover 10 miles on the trails, so I’m hoping I should be able to complete my upcoming trail half marathon in less than 3 hours.

This run definitely gave me a better idea of what to expect for a long distance run on trails. Hopefully I can get one more in before March.

Have you ever run/rode a bike on frozen mud? What did you think?
I don’t know how the mountain bikers were riding on that stuff.