Once again, 'Bent and I travelled south to visit Spring. Thanks to Funderstorm's and Mrs. Tiny's scouting trip last weekend, we got away with a shorter drive this time - just to Burlington. This may be the last big road trip to run. Over the next week to ten days, the trails around here should finally lose their ice - shouldn't they?!?
We parked at City View Park on Kerns Rd. and ran the Bruce Trail west to Hwy 6 and back, taking a couple of side trails and enjoying the tour along Grindstone Creek. 'Bent and I rarely run together because of our different paces but we ran the first 45 minutes together for a change, then he moved ahead. We both did some hill repeats, and he did more than I did so we met a few times along the trail.
Beautiful conditions! No snow or ice at all. There were some technical rock and root sections and slippery wooden steps to slow the pace but lots of easy trail too. There were more sections of goopy mud than usual but that was just fine. I thought there were too many people, dogs and roads to listen to podcasts, although 'Bent did. It was interesting enough just to be on different trails. At several points, I recognized places we've navigated through in various races.
This was my first Hoka test, and I'd planned to return to the car within an hour to change to my regular shoes but it didn't feel necessary. As many people have said, they don't feel as different as they look like they should. I didn't feel as nimble in the rocky terrain as I normally do, they felt bulky, and I slipped half a dozen times in places where the tread on my Speedcross would have held so I became tentative on muddy slopes, mossy rocks and wet wooden steps. On the flip side, I don't think they slowed me down much because I don't have fast turnover like Harps. They don't fit quite as well as my usual shoes but they're OK. The big plus was the way they protected me from myself when I got fatigued later in the run. When my running form got sloppy, I didn't slam into the ground. I think they will find a place in my shoe rotation, definitely over the next while as my foot continues to recover.