Initial Impressions: Altra Olympus and Hoka Bondi 4

After my disappointment with the Bondi 3 and subsequent Bondi 3 donation to the Salvation Army, I managed to find a pair of Bondi 2s at a reasonable price and have been running in those. Unfortunately the sole is on the way out so it was time to get new shoes for an upcoming double marathon. I have wanted to try the Altra Olympus for a while, but I wasn't up for paying full price. I noticed the price dropped significantly at Running Warehouse so I decided to pick up a pair. I had read that they run small so I ordered an 8 rather than my usual 7.5. As soon as I put the shoes on my feet, I knew I needed another half size larger. I've found that if I feel like a pair of shoes feels like they might be too small, they will be by mile 30. Luckily Running Warehouse is great about such matters, and I soon had a 8.5 at my door.

Instantly I liked the upper of these shoes. The inside has nice padding and the quality of the materials is impressive. Of course, they also have that distinctive Altra shape. These are my first pair of Altras so they felt different than what I am accustomed to. The Olympus is a trail shoe, but it is hard to imagine that the tread would be effective on technical trails. What really struck me as strange after putting these shoes on was the "cliff" that seems to occur slightly forward of the ball of my foot. I expected zero drop shoes to be... well... flat. You know, slope of 0 an all of that. As I rolled from my heel to the front of the shoes, it felt as if there was a cliff near my toes. Odd. This strange drop makes it feel as though I should be impacting the ground on the ball of my foot. Do all Altras have this rocker "cliff"? If you know the answer, please let me know. My first run was a 6 mile run on the roads which went okay, but I am fairly certain these will not be my next long distance shoe. 

Women's Size 8.5 comes in at 8.5 ounces (no insole)

I looked around for another pair of Bondi 2s with no luck. I noticed that the Bondi 4s had just been released so with a couple of looming races, I pulled the trigger. I had been told by Running Warehouse that the 4s should be lighter than the 3s (yay!), and I noticed they had changed the tongue of the shoe back to something that looked a little more comfortable.  

Despite Hoka still using my less than favorite upper that they incorporated since changing ownership, I was hopeful that the design change would make things better. For the most part, it has, but the stiffness is still a bit uncomfortable around the ankle area. The tongue of the shoe is significantly better than the one on the Bondi 3s, however. Instead of being a flat inflexible piece of material, it has some very comfy padding. 

Bondi 4 versus Bondi 2 sole

Hoka says they have added better material in key wear areas to increase durability, and the soles do look different. They also look slightly more narrow than the previous versions. Since I've read many complaints about the narrow nature of the Bondi model, I really do not know why Hoka would choose to do this. Perhaps to cut weight?  If so, it worked. 

Hoka Bondi 4 women's size 7.5 - 8 ounces (no insole)

The Bondi 3 came in at 8.5 ounces for a size 7.5, and now the Bondi 4 is 8 ounces. That still isn't as light as the original Bondi which came in at a mere 7.4 ounces for size 7.5, but it is a step in the right direction. I should also mention that I was told the new 4s run a bit larger than previous models, but I chose to go with my regular size, 7.5. I really see very little difference in the 7.5 Bondi 4s and the 2s. I am quite certain 7 would have been too small for me. The 4 seems more narrow than previous models, but things may feel different with added miles.

Left: Bondi 4 Right: Bondi 2

Left:Bondi 2 Right: Bondi 4

Just for kicks, I ran some miles on the treadmill in the Hokas and then switched over to the Altras. The sole of the Altras is significantly harder than the Hokas. The strange rocker shape of the sole felt as if I was slapping the ground with my feet unless I made the conscious decision to run on the balls of my feet. Making this effort in a 5 mile race is doable, but after mile 20 in a marathon my mind isn't up for a lot of thinking. I then switched backed to the Hokas which felt a little odd, but not as odd as the other way around.

If I could combine the feeling of the uppers and the anatomical shape of the Altras with the sole softness and rocker of the Bondi Bs, I think I might just have my perfect shoe. Until then, I'll put in some more miles with both of these shoes and see what turns up. Happy running!

Tecumseh Trail Mix

The last truly muddy long distance trail run I ran was in 2011. It was not fun. I vowed never to torture myself that way again. It's funny how time makes us forget.

I had signed up for the Tecumseh Trail Marathon expecting a snowy run in December. It was so snowy, in fact, that the run had to be postponed due to a snow storm in Indiana. The Race Director opted to reschedule the event to January 11th. This was a hit or miss proposition with the harsh winter the Midwest had been having and continues to endure. Up until a couple of days before the race, I wasn't even sure that running it was going to be an option. Tecumseh was originally a point to point course which happens to be my favorite type of course. There is something about someone dropping you miles and miles from your car and then saying go! The harsh weather conditions this year turned this course into a lolly pop with 3 loops and then back. Not my preferred option, but I really wanted to kick this year off to a good start with a January marathon. It also helped that Jim was as brave (or crazy, whichever you prefer) as I and had planned to run Tecumseh, too. Difficult times are much easier when shared.

The beginning section of the trail was on road. Normally this feels a lot like cheating because it gives you some faster miles, but not on this day, on this course. The road was completely covered in ice. This was the only time I fell during the entire event. I slid on the ice and some lovely soul behind me grabbed me and helped me get up off of the ground. No clue who you are, but thank you! After that slip, it was time for a water crossing (in the middle of the road?!) that had ice along the bottom and water that went up to my knees. Rather than go into all the gory details of the trail portion of this race, I will just say that we were usually either running in 1. mud or 2. water with ice floating in it or 3. on ice. We did that loop 3 times and then it was back to more ice water and then onto the icy road. While all these things were impossible to ignore, another thing that was impossible to ignore was the volunteers. They were all so nice and friendly, and they stood out there in the freezing cold helping us so we could finish this race. We both managed to finish without any major injuries which was not a given on this trail in these conditions. That said, we didn't get out unscathed. I am very thankful that the falls, slips, slides, blisters, brier scratches and multiple ice water crossings didn't do more damage.

I also must say I have never had so many pictures taken during a trail race. That means I can show you some of the fun we had.  I also want to give a shout out to Ed who I bumped into after the race. Good to see you again!

On with the pics...

Icy roads...

It begins...

Ice water trail... 

Might as well run through it.

Creek crossing....

Yep, hills, too.

Mud and hills!

With my January race complete, my February marathon will take me to a warmer climate. Is it too early to be ready for Spring?

Enjoying the Journey

7+ hours in a car is a long time. I've done it a few times. Usually I hurry to get from point A to point B. When I found out I would be driving from Indiana to Georgia, I had an idea. What if I stopped in each state and ran a 1 mile along the way?

I pulled up the map and noticed that there were a number of state parks near the interstate. What a great country! Well, why not? I looked for the biggest patches of green on the map. In Indiana, I saw Clark State Forest. In Kentucky, I saw Knob State Forest. Tennessee gave me a few choices, but Chattanooga happens to be a beautiful place so I knew that was going to be one of my stops. I picked Point Park as I had never been there before. In Georgia, I planned to run a mile on the sidewalks of Atlanta to recon the route from my hotel to my work spot the next day.

After about an hour into my journey, I was at my first stop. That first hour flew by because I was more interested in where I would be running than getting to Atlanta. As I was driving down some back roads after leaving the interstate, I saw a little parking area and a sign. It was so little that I almost missed it. The thing about parks on Google maps is that you never really know where the entrances are, where the trail heads are, or what you are getting yourself into. Since I didn't want to spend a lot of time driving in circles, I stopped.

The first small section of the trail was on grass along the road, but that soon turned into some single track going up a hill. The trail was narrowing as I continued to run, and as the different plants were slapping my legs, I was praying that last plant that just got me wasn't poison ivy. It was just me, a trail I had never run on before, and an uphill. My little heart was pounding, and I felt great.

Before I knew it, I was half a mile out, and it was time to turn around. I headed back to the car, took some time to stretch, and continued on my journey.

The next stop was another hour or so that went by like it was nothing. I found myself on some gravel back roads in Kentucky. This time I saw signs for Knob Forest State Park so I was hopeful. I saw a small parking area that had no real trails from what I could tell so I kept driving. After a few miles, I turned around to head back to the parking area because I felt like I was going to circle the forest. On my way back, a couple of dogs started chasing the car. Ugh. I checked my mileage to make sure if I had to run along that gravel road, it would be far enough away from them. Over a mile later, I was back to the parking area.

I saw a small opening to what might have been a trail at one point. I decided to head that way to see what I could find. A short time later, I realized there wasn't enough of a trail to make it work. Still, it had pretty yellow flowers.

I ran back toward the car and opted to head down the dirt road. It was shaded, and there were no cars.

A short time later, I rounded a corner, and I'll be darned if I didn't see those same two dogs coming down the road. Geeze! They weren't too friendly when I drove by the first time so I turned around and hightailed it back to the car. I had pepper spray, but I wasn't really looking for a fight. I made it back to the car safely and out of breath. It was a close call, but I knew Chattanooga was next. I was really looking forward to Chattanooga.

Since I had 4 hours before the next run, I took the time to relax and get some breakfast. As I approached Chattanooga, I was getting pretty excited. I was anything but disappointed.

Before I knew it, my half a mile was done, and it was time to head back to the car. I really didn't want to, but I also didn't want to get caught in Atlanta traffic after 5pm. I decided that on my return trip I would stop and do some miles on one of the many trails on Lookout Mountain. I managed to get into Atlanta shortly before 5pm, and luckily I managed to get to the hotel without any major traffic issues. It took more courage to get myself to go out and run on city streets than deserted trails. It was .6 miles from my hotel to the building I would be going to the next morning and so I completed my final mile for the day. 

What could have been a very long day in a car turned into a mini-adventure. Why hadn't I done this before?!

On my way home, I stopped in Chattanooga once again and this time parked at Craven's House since Point Park did not open until 9am. I left Atlanta at o-dark 30 to miss traffic and get to the trail early. I started along Bluff Trail at 7:30am, and I had the trail completely to myself. The only unfortunate side to this was that I became a spiderweb slayer. 

I had managed to get my miles in for the day on some beautiful trails. I'd love to go back to Lookout Mountain and do some more exploring on the awesome trails in the area. Road trip anyone?

Next time I find myself on a long journey in a car, you bet I will be doing this again. You never can tell what you will find off of the beaten path. 

Got Water? Nathan Speedbelt 2 Review

First things first. Thank you! Enough folks have read my Hoka One One reviews and bought items from The Clymb that I managed to pick up another Nathan Speedbelt 2. This time it was free. That's right! Zero. Nada. Zilch. Why? Because of you. Thanks!

Notice I said another. I am a big fan on the Nathan Speedbelt series. The biggest issue I have had with water belts is that they refuse to stay in place on my girlie hips. It turns out the hour glass figure and water belts don't play nicely together. I tried the Fuel Belt, and there was no love. I had it so tight that a buckin' bronco would have complained, but that didn't stop it from heading north. Guys don't seem to have the same problem. I also tried another belt in the Nathan Sports series. That one didn't work out too well either. It seems the Speedbelt series is the one for me. I've been wearing them for years, and I decided a review might be helpful. You paid for it so here it is.

Nathan Speedbelt 2 in stealth mode

My past Speedbelts were gray. I was happy to see one in black. I wear black shorts, and lets face it, black has that slimming effect. :-)

The Speedbelt 2 has a place to carry two 10 ounce water bottles. It also has a nice size pouch to store some things while on the run. First, lets talk about the pouch...


My old belt had the standard pouch that my Nexus 4 refused to call home. My phone was just too big. This time, I was in luck! My Nexus has a 4.7" inch display (specs 133.9 x 68.7 x 9.1 mm), and it fit! There was another cool little surprise.  I could actually see the phone through the pouch! See:

Stealth mode and an almost invisible pouch. Call me
Wonder Woman.

There are a few other nice things about this pouch. It has a divided area that isn't see-through and helps separate things. That means I can throw something else in the pouch and not worry about scratching my phone. It also has a place to attach a key so you don't lose it out on the trail and a small card to put down your emergency info.

There is also another small key pocket upfront. My car keys won't fit, but my house key will.

Left cap is the standard version
Right cap is the race version

So about those water bottles... they carry 10 ounces of fluid which is generally enough to get you to the next aid station in a trail ultra unless it is an extremely hot day. They have a nice ergonomic shape that fits the hand nicely, and in general they stay put in the holder. I've had one bounce out maybe 3 times in the past 5 years. The only thing I would really change is the cap.  In fact, I do change the cap. Once I tried the race cap, I couldn't go back to the old popup style so I ordered more bottles with the race caps. The race caps allow you to drink without having to look down or use two hands. On the road that is no big deal. On the trail it can cause you to kiss the dirt.

Finally onto my favorite part of the belt, the velcro attachment that keeps this thing where I put it:

I can get this belt tight enough to stay without making it too tight. This is what originally sold me on the Speedbelt and keeps me coming back.

And now for the model shot with the help of Charlie and Honey:

Another nice touch is that the silver you see on the belt is reflective. In fact, I had to turn off the flash to take the above picture or else risk blinding you with the Nathan logo in the middle.

These belts have an MSRP of 45 bucks. If you keep your eye out on The Clymb, you can get them for less than half the price on last year's model. Stay hydrated and happy running!

Shoe Review: Hoka Stinson Evo Tarmac

I picked up a pair of the New Hoka Tarmacs for a good price from RunningWarehouse.com by using their annual before Christmas gift card sale and a coupon code. It took some patience as I had to wait a few months for their arrival, but it was certainly worth the savings. When I opened the box, I was shocked with the blast of color. The images I had seen showed a more subdued blue with yellow accents. Cameras don't capture the color of this shoe well. The blue is much richer (think Zensah leg sleeve blue) than in the picture to the left, and the yellow is more of a tennis ball green (or yellow, whatever) than the banana yellow it appears to be. Mostly, I am happy that Hoka has recognized that women's shoes don't need to be boring white or gray like a lot of their past models. Thanks Hoka!

Stinson Evo Tarmac = Stinson Evo (left) + Bondi B (right) ... sort of.

The sole of the shoe has a different tread than either the Bondi B (read my review) or the Stinson Evo (read my review). This shoe is meant to be a road shoe. Just like the Stinson Evo, it comes with a pair of extra insoles that are thinner than the regular Hoka insoles and a pair of laces to replace the no tie version that comes on the shoe. The toe cap is also re-enforced like the Stinsons (unlike the softer Bondi B toe cap).

The weight of the Tarmac is closer to the trail Evo than the Bondi B, and the upper has some stiffness due to the rubber support structure just like trail Evos. The mesh material is thicker than the Bondis, and I think it will probably stay cleaner and last longer. (I currently have 804 miles one on pair of my Bondi Bs.) The toe box seems a bit narrower than the Bondis as well.

Women's Size 7.5 (no insoles) = 8.8  ounces
Bondi Bs = 7.4 ounces 
trail Stinson Evos = 9 ounces
Mafate 2 = 10 ounces

First Impressions:  Woohoo!  Unlike my last Hoka purchase (Mafate 2s, read my review), these things feel good right out of the box. Also, 7.5 in Tarmacs = 7.5 in trail Evos = 7.5 in Mafate 2s. I jumped on the treadmill for a mile just to see how running would feel. The shoes felt good, and my heels did not slip.

Second Impression: Ran 5 miles in the Tarmacs and had no issues. I did notice the white piece running down the middle of the shoe for the first mile, and then I didn't notice it again. I think it was a little stiff initially, but that went away quickly. I think the Tarmacs and I will get along just fine. It is going to be tough choosing between the Bondi Bs or the Tarmacs. Tough choice, I know. What can I say? Life is good. Time to fly!

The Joy of Running

Officer Basic Course Flashback:
Me: Hey, Holly, some of are going to go get dinner. Wanna go?
Holly: Thanks, but I'm getting ready to go for a run.
Me: Why?
Holly: Because I like running.

Say what?! In 1997, the idea of running for fun was completely foreign to me. For the life of me, I could not understand why anyone would take her own free time and go for a run. Running and I had a very bumpy start.

Now in the very beginning it wasn't so bad. I would run the 50 meter dash at track meets in grade school, and usually I would get some kind of ribbon. At that point, I fancied myself as an okay runner from what I can recall. It was all uphill from there.

High School Flashback:
As a freshman, my coach asked me to run on the mile relay team for track. 3 of my friends were on the team, and a 4th wanted to be on the team. Coach wanted me on the team for what reason I know not. It turned into a battle, and I didn't want to take my friend's spot. I remember my coach doing his darnedest to talk me into it. I remember feeling really awful about the whole situation, but somehow I wound up on the team instead of Angela. I didn't really want to run that far nor did I want to take Angela's spot, but there I was. It gets worse...

When I was younger, my mom would affectionately refer to me as space cadet. I liked Star Trek, so I was good with that. There was a little more to it, however. You know when you are talking to someone and you "space out" or lose track of your point? Well, I did that, but it was a bit more. I would be talking, and every once in a while, I would just stop. A few seconds later, I had no idea what I was just saying. In fact, it felt as if someone had pulled the curtain, and I really wasn't even seeing what was right in front me. Seconds later, I was back and confused.(I am happy to report that I graduated space cadet academy and no longer have this issue.) Now imagine being a teenager, standing on a track waiting for the relay baton, and doing that as your friend Ginger runs past you. You don't move an inch as coaches, classmates, and kids from other schools are watching.  Yep, I was beyond embarrassed. One minute Ginger was running up behind me. The next she was jumping up and down at the hand-off line. That was the only year I ran track in high school.

Coach had a rule. If you played on the varsity basketball team, you had to run at cross-country practice to get in shape for basketball. I loved basketball, and I made varsity my sophomore year. I felt like the slowest person at cross-country practice. I imagine that I really wasn't, but that didn't matter much. Before district competition my sophomore year, one of the runners  on the team caught a cold. Coach told me I had to run. Because of that district meet, I missed a debate competition. Thanks again, running! Running was a torture I was willing to endure to play basketball.

West Point Flashback:
"Gold Group" was slowest of all running groups during basic training at West Point, and there I was. Usually, most of the women wound up in Gold Group.  "Look, that must be gold group," remarked an upperclassman as he passed by during one of my first mornings at physical training (PT). Now whether he said something about us being girls or I just took it that way I cannot remember. There are more stories, but I will move on... By my firstie (senior) year, I was being counseled by my TAC (tactical officer) for scoring so poorly on the run on my PT test. I even lost my extra 3 day passes because I didn't score well enough. Seeing a trend here?

Army Flashback:
After that, it was on to Fort Campbell where I was expected to be able to run 4 miles in 36 minutes even though it was above and beyond the women's Army PT standards. Even if I had tried to keep up, I despised running so much by this point that it was never going to happen.

"Ralls, get up here or you have no heart!" Yelled the XO Major in front of God and country during a battalion run. I had stuck it out until the last mile, but he decided we had fallen behind pace.  That meant it was time to run an 8 minute mile up a big hill. I was barely holding on before the hill. His style of "motivation" completely took the wind out of my sails. I looked him dead in the eye and slowed down. I was at the front of the battalion with the rest of the staff which meant I had fallen out in front of the entire battalion. Nice, eh? After the run, I received a counseling statement from my boss about how I needed to improve my running. Of course, it didn't say anything about how to do that. That was how running was for me in the Army.

For 15 years, running had been the bane of my existence, and I felt like a failure.

Wait one minute! I thought this post was about the joy of running?!
Uhm, yeah, it is.
Sounds more like torture to me!
Uhm, yeah, it was. Let's continue, shall we?

After the Army, I kept running. I would like to say that it was because I enjoyed it, but it wasn't. With age came a slower metabolism and weight gain. With running, I was able to eat more activity points with Weight Watchers. Finally, I was getting something out of running.  More food! I also picked up a book about women's running so I could understand how to do a little better since I was running anyway. Shortly after that (in 2005), I signed up for my first 5K. No one MADE me run it. No one told me I had no heart. In fact, people were smiling and cheering. It was, dare I say, kind of fun. After that, I signed up for a few more. I also started reading about running... a lot. I began to understand the importance of weekly mileage, hills, and speed workouts. I was also enjoying the nice pair of legs that were forming and the weight that was leaving. Suddenly, I cared about getting better at running. I also found friends who would run with me. After races I would sometimes receive age group awards rather than counseling statements. With the weight now gone, I kept on running.

5Ks turned into 10Ks. 10Ks into half marathons. Then a trail marathon. Then 50K. Then 50 miles. Crazy, right?

At the beginning of my
first 50 miler in 2010

Now running is not only about improving and learning. When I run with friends, it is about forming relationships. When I run alone, it is one of the times I am closest to God. During a span of 23 years, running has transformed from torture to pure joy. Does that mean every run is all sunshine and rainbows? Heck no! Just like life, there are ups and downs. In the end, it is worth every step and each step is important. Without the rather depressing first years of my running life, I might have never reached an understanding of how difficult things can turn into blessings. How could something that felt so terrible transform into something that brings me happiness, peace, and strength? No clue, but I know it has God's fingerprints all over it.

If you are new to running or are struggling with it, throw any shame to the wind and don't give up on yourself. There is no telling what is down the road for you. Life is full of surprises!

Godspeed :-)