Dear James, Daniel and Emily
First run in the new shoes, wow that felt good. So good in fact that I pushed out to 4.5 miles. Legs hardly felt like I had run at all. Which is what the reviews led me to expect.
What I didn't expect? I'll start with some perspective. One of the things I remember as a kid, when I got new tennis shoes, was the the expectation that they would somehow make me faster. Of course they didn't but it sure felt that way. Well, now as an adult, I certainly didn't expect a pair of new shoes, no matter how different, to add to my speed. But the facts bear that out, even with a decent hill involved, I did complete my run faster.
I have a race in 2 weeks through the Garden of the Gods. It's a 5 mile race. And when I just traced the route in my car the other day I realized how many hills and ups and downs there are on the route. I figured the smart thing to do would be to run through it at least once, so I am mentally prepared for that. Now, it didn't help that I caught some bug that gave me a nasty sore throat all weekend. So I was fighting that as well as all these hills.
As a result, I wasn't expecting a speedy 5 miles. But I made the 5 mile mark under 55 minutes, which meant I was just under 11 minute miles so that really isn't that bad for me. And with another couple of weeks, better health, and the added incentive of a race environment, I should finish at a respectable time.
Normally I never run the day after my long run. But there were some schedule changes this week so I went ahead and did so. Which was also a bit of a test for the new shoes and how my feet and legs would handle 3 miles on little rest. And I am pleased to say that it was much better than I would have expected. Yeah, I walked a little more, but I still had a good time, and very little soreness after I finished.
In conclusion, after 3 runs of differing lengths, difficulty and conditions I can say that I am very pleased with the Hokas. Really the only negative is that I might as well kiss my toe nails goodbye. Because, for some reason, unlike my minimalist shoes, my toenails do take a beating, and there was some post run blood, especially after the long run. Not a big deal, just an observation, and one that is common I guess.
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