I remember thinking some time ago, possibly this time last year when I
got my first Hoka's that the running durability that if was feeling
was due to the shoes. Actually what I have realised over the last year
is that it was down to me and that it was false anyway.
Sure, Hoka's help with fatigue and recovery. The soft shoe reduces
fatigue and means you can run again perhaps sooner than in a normal
shoe. What it doesn't do is ensure you are conditioned and for me that
was the problem. I was fit enough but not conditioned. My lack of
stretching and maintenance on my body was masked by shoes that allowed
me to rack up the miles.
Eventually I broke. Not majorly in terms of needing surgery or
anything dramatic like that. I broke in my knee because for years I
had neglected some very simple stretches that work preventatively. Yes
runners, take a seat, you can do things to prevent injury! Prevention
is better than cure. Who knew right?
Since being fixed, and it took a musculoskeletal specialist to
facilitate this, I have come back feeling stronger than before and
more durable. I stretch regularly and it takes but moments. I also
foam roll and have a new one with teeth - nasty. This durability feels
different in that it feels like it is built on a solid foundation. It
is not built on a platform of foam runner but on solid physical
condition.
I will test this properly in a couple of weeks with my first 50 mile
ultra. I am excited and nervous simultaneously but feel that I can do
it.
Oh I ditched the Hoka's too.
