Wednesday, July 23, 2014

It's Definitely the Shoes

In my third post on this blog, I talked a bit about the new shoes I was trying. The Hoka shoes were a new experiment at the time and I was encouraged by the results. I had quit running regularly in 2009, with occasional attempts to return. But chronic plantar fasciitis stopped me in my tracks every time.

I tried all the known cures and palliatives, short of surgery. You name it, I tried it. But if I ran as much as a single mile, my feet would hurt for days. In fact, they hurt every morning whether I ran or not. But they started feeling consistently good this past winter, so I decided to try running again. Instead of returning to my trusty flat, minimalist training shoes, I got a pair of Hoka Bondi3 shoes.

After almost 3 months and a few hundred miles in these shoes, I can say unequivocally that they have been a miracle for me. Not only did the PF not return, but all the aches and pains I'd become used to have not returned. I get tired on long runs (like we're supposed to), but not achy and sore. My conditioning is the limiter now, not my joints and bones. Which is as it should be.

For you, *ahem*, mature athletes, consider a pair of these shoes if the aches and pains of regular running have you skipping runs or cutting your volume more than you'd like.

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