This year we didn’t travel for Thanksgiving so I decided to take the opportunity and run a 4 mile race. The weather was cold and I mean cold. It really made me realize I wasn’t prepared for cold weather running so I had to go purchase some new gear over the weekend. I’ll post a separate review on those later.
I managed to pull a 7:19/pace according to my Garmin but the official time was 7:27.
For the first time in 6 years I just completed my second marathon, the Columbus Marathon 2014. In 2008 I ran the Green Mountain marathon in Vermont, I weight 300lbs and it took me 5 hours 27 minutes. This past weekend I completed the Columbus Marathon in 3 hours 59 minutes and 31 seconds and I’m over 100lbs lighter :). My goal was 3 hours 45 minutes, but I got calve cramps around mile 23.5 so the last few miles were done with a run/walk strategy.
The weather was amazing this morning in Montreal so I decided to hit the road for a short casual 3 mile city run before my meetings. It’s the first time I’ve run in my Skora Running shoes barefoot and its amazing compared to running in them with socks…
I love my job. I get to travel around, met new people and today run a 5k in Rochester with a group of coworkers. I’m shooting for a 22 minute time, but 23-24 minutes might be more realistic.
I took my new Nike winter running gear out for a test 3.5 miler today and it rocked! The temp was around 30 degree’s, with a slight wind. I kept my pace pretty steady around 8:13/mile and didn’t push myself. My left knee bothered me a little bit on the outside, IT band related I’m sure. I’m going to go back to running in the Saucony Mirage 3’s instead of the Hoka One One’s they don’t impact my knee in the same way.
Why a new pair of shoes?. Here is a little background, the initial pain after running over 4 miles is really intense for around 15 minutes in my left knee, it’s a common case of “runners knee”. This lead me to do some research into knee and joint pain in runners and I became intrigued with the Hoka One One product line. The additional cushion and support they provide was appealing and could possible aid my knees and joints during those longer runs. During the past year I’ve been running in a more minimal style shoe and I’ve really enjoyed it. However, it’s time to start looking at some alternatives for 2014 to see if my knee pain can be reduced.
I went for a short 2 mile run today wearing the new Hoka One One Bondi B 2 shoes despite the fact that my legs were sore from my run yesterday. I also had a one hour Insanity Max Plyo workout ahead of me.
The initial run in these shoes were amazing, they provided a good amount of cushion and were very comfortable. The Bondi B 2’s toe box isn’t as roomy as the Brooks shoes I’ve been running in which is fine because in the Brooks my toes seem to flop around creating blisters depending on the pair of socks I am wearing.
I’ve read a few blogs and people were mentioning they issues with the Hoka shoes because the sole is much thicker than a normal pair of running shoes and it was causing them to trip, stumble and have balance issues. I didn’t have these or any balance issues when running in the shoes.
After my run I had a very minimal amount of pain in my knee which was a great feeling. I’ll take them for a 4+ mile run later this week and test them further. However, here is my initial pro’s and con’s:
Hoka One One Bondi B 2 Pro’s:
Comfortable snug fit
The quality build of the shoe was impressive, the sole and upper fabric were very comfortable
Was able to run normal despite the “higher” feeling from the extra cushion
Hoka One One Bondi B 2 Con’s:
The shoe laces were a little short, I can deal with it.
I’m not sure if this is a con of the shoe or my legs were shot, but I ran about 15 seconds slower than my normal pace. I’ll test this again later in the week when my legs aren’t shot.
I’ll continue to update this review as I put more miles on the Bondi B’s. However, my initial run was nothing short of amazing in these shoes and I hope they continue to be “the” shoe for me.
Today I went out for my first 2014 run today. I haven’t run since November 9th, 2013. I’ve been doing Insanity for the past 60 days and I currently have one week of insanity left.
However, today I decided to take a run. (I signed for for a half marathon on February 23rd, 2014) The weather was overcast, windy and 33 degrees. I’m happy with the time considering I ran against the wind for 2 miles, it was cold and I haven’t run in 2 months.