HOKA OneOne Clifton 1 & 2 Shoe Review

Before I get to the actual review, a little backstory is needed. Early into my sophomore season of high school track, I came down with some nasty shin splints. I was only running about 30-35 miles a week, so I couldn't really figure out how or why I came down with such an injury. What came next is a bit shocking. I spent three months off from running, making regular prescribed visits to the local KORT Physical Therapy center. Everyone knows that physical therapy is annoying, time consuming, and quite expensive. As a 16 year old runner, my innate pride gave me some reservations about having a therapist who specializes in helping older people move certain joints and what not. So I went multiple times, seemingly doing the same exercises at every visit. After a while, the therapist legitimately told me that "running just isn't for everyone" after I showed little progress over a few visits. This came as a surprise. What she told me next was even more surprising; I would now need to buy a better shoe. The recommendation: Adidas Boost Energy $180. I fell for this...twice. $360 on shoes. And to be honest, I never liked them. I put in a lot of miles with them and even completed an Olympic distance triathlon in Indianapolis, but they hurt my flat feet like crazy. Long story short, I knew I needed a change.
I bought my first pair of Hokas early in 2015. Since then, I have logged close to 2.000 miles on just three pairs - one pair of the first model and two of the newer ones. As mentioned, I have experienced a few running related injuries. I can honestly say that I have been completely injury-free for over a year. Injury-free isn't even a valid description. As a matter of fact, I am stronger than ever. Wearing Hokas has allowed me to train harder without worrying about lurking injuries.
These are also the most versatile shoes I have ever worn. Not only can they be used on varying surfaces, but they can also be used for any workout...yes, I mean ANY workout. With the Cliftons, I have completed track repeats at high intensities; I have logged long runs of up to 20 miles on the road; I have put in a few trail runs up to about 10 miles (though I would recommend the Challenger ATR). This factor was something I took into consideration when buying this shoe for the first time. By the looks of the shoe, it does not look fast. This was a major turn-off for junior-in-high-school me. But I believe in trying new things, so I gave them a chance. Within a few weeks of training, I was able to bring my mile time from 5:03 indoor to 4:46 outdoor. Likewise, later that year, I trained my way from a 17:51 5k to a 16:41. I would not be the runner I am today if it weren't for Hoka OneOne.
As of now, I am training for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon on April 30. Logging upwards of 60 miles a week, I know that having a reliable shoe is absolutely vital. The only shoe I will wear for road training is the Clifton. Not only will I train in this shoe, but I will also race in it. The goal time for this marathon (considering this is my first one) is a 2:45 - a little under 6:30/mile. This is a "safe" goal, as I will refer to in later posts, because I believe that with race day adrenaline, I will beat this time. This is merely a prediction based on training.
A final note for this post is that these shoes live forever. I still wear my first pair of Hokas for hiking, camping, and traveling. They will be my primary shoes for my trip to Costa Rica over spring break. I have no intentions of buying another brand of tennis shoe in the future as long as Hoka keeps making the same caliber masterpieces.
So go out and buy some Cliftons and prepare for the miles and miles and miles ahead!

LLTH 2016

Louisville Lovin' The Hills 2016

With the new year in full swing and a good amount of miles on my legs so far, I thought it would be a good idea to go out and try my first trail race. Having never ran more than a mile or two on trails in my entire life, I really didn't know what to expect. Leading up to the race, I knew that I would be competing in the 15 mile event. My training peaked at about 53 miles in a week with my longest run being only 15 miles (one week before the race, I might add). With many years of running cross country, I figured the off-road running on trails would be the same concept. I will explain why I was so wrong.

I started the morning of the race with two pieces of toast and peanut butter with honey (major key) and a banana - a typical race day breakfast. I knew this race would be longer than normal, however, so I threw down a Clif Bar (my coffee-equivalent) on the way to the race, as I did not plan on eating or drinking during the run.

I arrived at the race about an hour early with the intention of warming up and getting a good starting spot. Neither of these, I found, are nearly as important as they are for road races. Seeing not one person near the starting line with thirty minutes till the gun, I decided I was wasting my internal warmth and went to wait in the car. I also decided to ditch a warm up run when I didn't see anyone doing it. At this point, I think I was just waiting for someone to walk up to me with a check list of what to do to prepare for a trail run. Nobody came.

Time passed and the air horn finally went up - I had a good view of this because I got that front spot I so desperately desired. The horn sounded and my track/cross instincts shot me out in front of the pack, leaving hundreds of experienced trail runners - who knew NOT to sprint - in the dust. About thirty seconds in, I and two other runners had all but forgotten the rest of the competitors. My suggestion in hindsight is this: DON'T DO THIS!!! Adrenaline was flowing and my Hoka Challenger ATRs were blazing downhill into the depths of the woods.

Lesson #? - Running downhill is fun...until you realize you have to run back up.

Mile one came up as 6:17 (on pace for about a 1:34:15 finish - a course record by a lot). Mile two was not much different as a 6:21. I was feeling great! The gravel, downhill road had just turned into dirt trails and what to my wandering eyes did appear??? The first hill.

Leading up to the race, I had been reading Relentless Forward Progress by Bryon Powell - an excellent read for anyone training to be an ultra runner. In this book, it talked about how one stark realization for the road runner on trails is the necessity of walking. I went into the race with the mindset that walking is weak and only for beginning runners. Let me preface the rest of this blog with the total elevation gain of 2600ft. from start to finish. That's about a half mile of vertical gain. By mile three, I knew where the race got its name.

Mile three is also significant because this is where I lost the lead to Greg Fraze, the eventual winner of the race. I happened to be walking up a hill when I finally realized I had gone out too fast, and that the competition was already there to take the lead. Although I was kind of bummed, I decided I was going to stick with this guy for as long as I could.

Skipping forward a few miles, I remained about ten meters behind. At the 6 mile mark, where the starting line was, I saw my parents to whom I expressed: "I underestimated the hills." Indeed I had. I passed on the available electrolyte supplement and water and decided I wanted to catch the leader, no matter what. It seemed as if, however, every time I started to catch up, we hit an uphill. At such a point, he would extend the lead up to thirty or forty meters. I remember praying out loud that the hills would eventually cease and that the finish would be just around the corner at the bottom of a crazy downhill. To my dismay, this did not happen.

At this point, you may be thinking that I was having the worst time of my life. This is so not true. By about mile ten, I had solidified my love for such a difficult race. The gnarly hills, slick terrain, plummeting downhills, unexpected tree roots - what more could you ask for? This was putting road racing to shame! I was having the time of my life...until the last mile...

Little did I know, the race was actually going to be 15.43 miles long instead of 15. Also, to my surprise, the last mile was uphill - entirely. Both of these factors played into my failure of a finish. For ten miles, I had maintained a decent pace (working towards a sub-2 hour finish). Miles 14 and 15 were quite interesting. In my entire running career, my slowest mile ever was still below 9 minutes. The last two miles were both in the 10 minute range. Not to include the last half mile which took me 6 minutes!

As I trudged up the final hill, I remember hearing music in the distance - a runner's signal that the end is near. Being completely exhausted, I closed my eyes periodically and grabbed a tree for a quick breather. Behind me, I heard something I thought I wouldn't hear: the heavy breathing of a runner. This was at 15.2 miles. At 15.25, I was passed by yet another runner. I was now in 4th place and in my finishing position.

I crossed the finish line in 2:09:17. Considering my goals were 2:10 and top-ten, I was very pleased. I was even more pleased to see peanut butter and honey at the finish area. Also, I have never been a coffee drinker...I downed three cups of straight black. Now, I absolutely love it! I was greeted by a race director shortly after finishing. She congratulated me and said that I reminded her of a runner named Scott Breeden who had supposedly performed similar to me a few years prior as an 18 year old. Seeing where he is at now as a runner, I immediately became optimistic for what my near future in running has to offer.

I learned so much in this race that I think a separate blog is needed! Briefly, I will say that I should have trained more on trails, no doubt. Also, don't start out too fast. By this I am not only speaking of the pace, but also about running in general. My goal was to run a 100 miler in my first year of ultras. Now I want to relax and enjoy running as I grow as an ultra runner. Lastly, I learned that you can always rely on a pair of Hokas to get any job done, both on the road and trails.

I am proud to say that this was my first of many trail races to come! LLTH, I will see you next year.


 

My First Race and What Followed

My First Race and What Followed

Growing up the oldest of six in Bullitt County, Kentucky, basketball was the primary sport of interest. I was never the tallest, nor the best, on my team, but I thought that playing ball was where I would find success in life. In the sixth grade, I had a friend who invited me to run a 5k with him and his dad. My immediate response was, "What is a 5k?" I had never heard of such a thing, nor the sport of cross country (which I took to mean literally as running across the country). Innocently, I agreed to run the race with him. It was about three days prior to the race, so I figured I should buy some running shoes and research how to train for a "5k".

I vividly remember going to Hibbett Sports to buy my first pair of running shoes: the cheapest pair of lightweight Nikes the store had to offer. That day, I went out and did what I thought was a few miles. In reality, it was probably only a maximum of 1 mile. Long story short, I took the next two days off to rest for the race, per my friend's request.

The morning of race day, I indulged on some Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a banana and Gatorade. Walking up to the starting line was very odd for me; I had never realized that so many people gather together to run. I have to add that this race had a max of 200 people (I might be overestimating). I thought this was huge! Anyways, standing at the line, I remember asking how far the race was because I honestly had no idea. Actually, I do not remember ever getting an answer.

All of a sudden, I heard dozens of "beeps" from what I now know to have been watches. Then, a loud air horn went off and everyone started moving forward...so I did too. My running career had begun and I didn't even know it. I stayed with my friend for quite a while, navigating through the crowds down a narrow street. After just a few minutes, I was told to go on because he was feeling sick. I felt really awkward - "go on?" I hesitated for a bit, but eventually took off in a sprint because there were people ahead of me. Knowing that this was a "race", I assumed that the goal was to finish as fast as possible.

It was an out and back race on a beautiful spring morning, so running back, passing people still running out, was a real motivator. Cheers fueled me on to run as hard as possible to the finish line that I hoped was just around the next turn. At the finish, I realized I had placed very well in a time of 24 minutes. I thought this was some kind of record. I took home a 2nd place age group trophy which sits on my dresser today.

A few weeks later, I ran a 5k in downtown Louisville where I ran a 21 minute in the pouring rain. This is when I realized that running was my talent.

The following months, I took off from running because I didn't know that training was important. I went out for the school track team and had an amazing first season, running a 6:08 mile as a sixth grader. The next year, I started cross country and had some success at our small meets. I won my first two races and placed second in the final race (that was a full season). The next summer, I had the opportunity to run the national race in the ESPN World Wide Sports Park in Orlando, FL. This was a super cool experience and a major event that spurred my love for running.

Running in high school is when things got interesting. Before my freshman year, I had taken about 5 months off because of an IT Band injury. It really could have only been a few weeks off, but again, I was a clueless 4'10" kid who really didn't know how to run. So, needless to say, the beginning of cross country season with a high school training plan was brutal. However, I got back into the swing of things and worked my way down to an 18:49 5k. I was stoked! At this point, I legitimately thought that the Olympics were in my future.

Nothing really significant happened that track season, nor the next cross season. My new PR by the end of sophomore year was 17:54, so that was a plus. This year also marked the beginning of my attention to diet. I [stupidly] adopted a "low low low fat" diet because I thought that having no fat meant the ability to run faster. I quickly changed this after feeling a bit fatigued...every day. I had to sit out that track season with some vicious shin splints that put me out for three months. Again, it probably could have been a much shorter recovery period, but this time because I ran while injured for far too long. Thus, junior year brought no success in cross country. Track season, however was a different story. After a few meets of running the mile in low 5 minutes, I finally broke into the 4 minute world. My dad made a deal with me (while I was still running in the 5's of course) that if I broke 4:45, he would buy me a Mini Cooper, my dream car at the time. By the end of the season, I had run a 4:46...

Time passed and it came to my final cross country season in high school. I had concluded that I did not want to run in college because I didn't think I was fast enough - this was, and is still, true. I was the only senior on the team with the next three fastest runners being freshmen (two of which were my twin brothers who both crushed my freshman times). It was a rough season to be honest, until about 5 races left to go. Something just clicked, mentally and physically, and I was able to run much faster, both at practice and in races. With only one race until regionals, I ran a 16:41 5k, smashing my PR, breaking the school record, and just beating out the county record of 16:42. After this race, I remember my dad suggesting I reconsider running in college. I did reconsider it for a bit. I qualified for state and ran pretty well against a very competitive field, but I knew that this was my final cross country race. In fact, I decided that it would be my final race at my school in general.

Backing up a little, I have never been a fan of running fast. Yes, it was a goal, but to be honest, I dreaded "speed days" at practice. I always got excited, however, about the distance runs. My weekly mileage never really surpassed 35 or 40 miles, but I always wanted to do more.

This desire has brought me to where I am now. As of March 2016, I am an aspiring ultra marathon runner. I don't really know if I can officially call myself this yet because my farthest race so far is only 15 miles, but I plan on running some of the world's toughest races in the coming years. I have read a few books about running and follow closely to the advice put out by runners such as Sage Canaday and Scott Jurek, as well as the training plans that many pro runners utilize. The biggest change to my training, besides the mileage, is that I now wear Hokas. These shoes have changed my stride for the better and have eliminated all running injuries that have held me back. I don't know how I could wear another shoe. I now run the trails pretty often, but dream of a day when the mountains are my training grounds.

If you read all of this, I applaud you. I promise, everything from here on out will be more exciting. With a newfound love for hiking and the outdoors, I will share my adventure stories and updates on training and racing as often as possible. Thanks!

Here's to the miles ahead!