The Hoka Experiment

     Just as the title implies, I decided to take the plunge and see what all the fuss is about with this brand of shoe with the funny name.  For the last couple of years I have jumped on the Altra shoe bandwagon and was hooked.  I loved the whole premise of the shoes, with the larger foot shaped toe box, zero drop natural foot position and the cushioning options available.  Altra shoes have been a rock star for off road trail runners and has been picking up steam on the road scene, but no where as fast has Hoka One One.  I figured if I was going to jump ship and join the Hoka camp, now would be a good time since I am not officially training for a race for another couple of months.

     

     Hoka One One is known for its tall soles with a plush ride that can, at times, feel like you are running on a bed of marshmallows in a light weight package.  There are several models to choose from, and after a little research I decided to give the new Clifton 3s a try.  I headed over to one of my local running stores to try them on.  In my research, one of the big complaints about the Clifton 2s was how narrow they felt, but all the 3s reviews were saying they rectified the problem, so I figured I was good to go.  I slipped on the shoes and right away they felt tight, especially on the outside edge of my feet.  I tried going up a half size, which helped, but they still felt more snug then my Altras.  In full disclosure, I have short wide feet and usually require a shoe that come in wide widths, however this was not the case for my Altras.  At the time of this write up I did not see any wide width options from Hoka, but I could have missed it on their website.   I hopped on the treadmill and right away I was hooked!  I loved the feel and the cushioning was so absorbent, it truly felt like I was running on a bed of marshmallows.  With a thirty day money back guarantee I figured they were totally worth the time to put some miles on them.

    After only 20ish miles and one 10k PR I am going to return them.  Why you ask?  Well for me its the fit that concerns me.  I really think it is just a matter of the width of my foot and the lack of width in the shoe, because if this shoe came in a wide version, I would be keeping it.  I was noticing that the top of the toe box would rub the top of my two outer toes with every stride.  With the longest single run of 6.2 miles in these shoes, the rubbing never became an issue, but I am envisioning what will happen when I am out for a 20 mile long run.  I really want to minimize any issues during my marathon training and the potential for blisters or worse can be controlled with the right fitting shoes.  I decided to give my Altras a quick try again, just to be sure I wasn't over reacting, and while there was a slight touch, it was nowhere near as bad as it was with the Hokas.

     So in conclusion, if they offered this shoe in a wide and it fit with no toe box rubbing, I would make the switch, I loved them that much.  I didn't feel like the shoe was to tall, and while the super soft ride felt great, I never felt like I was sacrificing performance.  At the end of the day, you need to be comfortable in your shoes regardless of brand or style.  Even thought things didn't work out with the Clifton 3s, I'll keep my eye on Hoka, and maybe down the road they will accommodate those of us with wide feet, but until then, I'll stick with my Altras.   

 

A Few Days Away

     With just a little over a week and a half from my surgery, I can say I am starting to get a little nervous about it.  I keep thinking to myself that I am laying on the table waiting to be put under and telling the anesthesiologist "Don't let me end up like Joan Rivers" I would say.  Of course this kind of fear is to be expected when anyone is about to under go a procedure that puts you to sleep, but now I am starting to worry about work now as well.  I will be off work for a minimum of 10 days and I have so much to I need to make sure is taken care of before and while I am off.  

     Today I had an appointment at the medical supply company to pick up three items that I will need post surgery for recovery and to kick start my rehab.  One machine can only be described as two large lower leg sleeves that work like a blood pressure cuff the doctor uses.  The machine slowly pumps air into the sleeves squeezing my legs to help fight against blood clots from forming.  

     The second is literally a cooler with a pump and a hose that hooks to a large pad.  I am to fill the cooler with ice and water so when the pad is attached to my hip the pump in the cooler will circulate the ice cold water through the pad.  This is to help relieve the swelling and pain that will result following the surgery. 

     The last machine is what I will use to start my rehab.   I can only describe it as a device with a frame work covered with a sheepskin cover that kind of acts like a sling that I will lay my leg in while it slowly bends my leg.  I am to lie flat on my back for 6 to 8 hours each day and allow this machine increase the bend angle of my leg slowly starting with a measure of 0 to 30.  I am to increase this ten points each day till I can get to a measure of 110.

     

PVC gym equipment

     With the I.T. band issues I have been having I have been doing a lot of research on recovery and prevention.  The main component of prevention is getting the muscles that surround and connect to the I.T. band stronger.  Obviously there are many ways to accomplish this, but the last thing I want to do is pay a ton of money for a gym membership, so I started researching body weight exercises.  The more and more I read, the more I got interested in overall strength.  I found a site called Nerd Fitness that had a youtube video on a simple playground workout for those that don’t have access to a gym while they were traveling.  My town has a great playground that was perfect for this, so I gave it a try, but the down side to this is the overall timing with winter setting in.

     As I continued to research I found people creating workout equipment out of PVC pipe to allow them to do the same moves I was doing at the playground.  I came across this one that allowed for everything I wanted to do, all in one self contained set up.  I downloaded a couple of pictures from the site and wrote down their materials list and went to work on recreating it. 

 

     The site recommended that for people below 180 pounds, the 1 ½ inch pipe was sufficient, anyone over that should use 2 inch pipe to prevent the pipe from bowing and possibly breaking.  Being that I am right on the border I chose to go with the 2 inch, just to be safe.  The website suggested you measure from your hip bone to the floor to get the proper height for the horizontal bars.  The width I figured out when I put two folding chairs together and simulated a dip to see how wide would be comfortable and measured the distance between.  As far as the rest of the measurements I simple made a guess on what I think would be enough to create a steady platform.  For my set up I went with 3ft by 2.5ft for the base and 3ft tall for the parallel bars.  After I finished all the measurements I added up all the lengths I needed to give me a total length so I new how much material I had to buy.

Here is what you will need:

28 - foot of PVC pipe (your measurements will determine how much you need)

6 - T connectors

8 - 90 degree elbows

Hacksaw - to cut the sections you need

Sharpie - to mark your measurements

Masking Tape - this helps maintain a straight cut if you don’t have a miter box

Glue - I used Gorilla brand expanding super glue, but there is PVC specific glue available

(On a side note, the PVC pipe at Lowes was sold in 5ft and 10ft section.  The 10ft section was only a little more than a dollar more than the 5ft section, I am guessing because it was pre-cut, so I would suggest going with the 10ft pieces and save some money.)

 

          I got started by measuring out one piece at a time and cut as I went.  I would dry fit each piece as I went making sure everything was square.  Once I finished the base and it was all dry fit together I started on the uprights and parallel bars.  Since I didn’t have step by step directions I took my time and would refer back to the pictures for guidance.  Once I was completely done, I gave it a quick test run and worked perfectly.  Now I just had to disassemble and glue it up.  I glued it up just as I built it, starting with the base; I would glue a couple of sections at a time to ensure they stayed square until the glue set.  After the base was finished I let it sit overnight to fully cure before I started the uprights.

     After it was all assembled and glued I let it sit over night to let the glue fully cure.  Since then it has worked exactly as I hoped it would have.  If I had to do it all over again I would highly recommend to spend a little extra and get the glue designed specifically for assembling PVC.  I have already had to re-glue one section, but I think that is because I didn't get enough glue in the joint the first time.  Anyway, this has been a fun project to work on and I am glad I did it.