Two lessons learned today. First, if you make a Twitter account you should probably check it. And second, shoe reviews are best done with angles of the entire shoe. Especially the sole.

This morning I had the spontaneous urge to check my runlittlegoat twitter account. I figured it was probably dormant, despite connecting all of my Instagram photos to it. I was almost right. It was almost lifeless, except a few posts directed at me to give an update on the Hoka One One Valors!

Remember these guys? Valors Vs Bondi3's

I figured that the only people reading my blog were my equally fitness and health crazed friends, and...my Mom. (Thanks Mom!). 

To make up for it, I'm going to give this person AKA Midpackbiped on Twitter, a quick recap on the Valors. 140 characters just did not cut it.

I was surprised to find that I've done over 400 miles in these shoes so far (thanks to Strava tracking them!), even with alternating them between the Hoka One One Clifton's (My previous "review" here)  and Altra Olympus's. By the way, the olympus shoes are a STEAL right now. 

I can't complain. The Valors have held up. Keep in mind though, that I'm somewhere between 105 and 110lbs, so I don't think I'm the best person to talk to about shoe wear and tear. It's clear that they have plenty of miles left in them.

The only thing I don't like about them, is the toe box. I REALLY wish they would take a hint from Altra and really give a toe box that let's your foot splay out. I don't think that I have an unusually wide foot, but I'm a bit sensitive to my toe room. Especially when I wear the Injinji toesocks, I find that my toes are uncomfortably cramped. I just said toe way too many times in this paragraph.

I DO love the upper. It's substantial in quality, but is also light and breathable. The colors are nice, but I've never been a huge fan of the Hoka Logo smeared all over the side. I don't mind it, I've learned to accept the fact that runner's can't choose a shoe primarily for their looks. They're definitely getting more fashionable as the years fly by, but I'd love to get rid of the giant logo.

And does anyone else think the bird flying in the "O" looks like a women's bikini? That's all I see. I bet you can't unsee it now, can you.

The ride is cushy and smooth, and I still reach for those on the days I need an extra soft footfall for my legs. 

Now, I have to say that I am getting confused with all of the different models they are putting out. I know that the Valors are comparable to the Bondi's, but I'm not sure how different it is from the Bondi4. Then there's the Vanquish, and Odyssey, and don't forget the Constant. I used to feel like I knew everything about Hokas, and could probably be a better sales person than most of the running store employees, but now I'm starting to lose that feeling. Too many to keep track of, all with very slight differences! 

Anyway, that's my updated review. These shoes will probably go into retirement if I choose to run with them in the AR50. It's scary that I don't know what shoes I want to run in yet. 

And I'll end with a new pair of shoes I received today! I got the fancy and sleek Skora Core's. Made from...goats. I guess it's fitting. Or is it? I will write a review for them soon, but it won't be running based I don't think since I'm not much of a minimalist. I wanted to get them just for wearing casually, because they are just that good looking. 

Now go follow me on Twitter!

Jack approves!

My Skora Core's. And our dirty old floor.

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Hoka One One Valor Update

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I'm pretty sure the REAL final countdown is going to be the last ten days...but it is absolutely terrifying how quick these weeks are going!

First of all, BAM.

For the first time EVER I have hit 400km in a month!!! For us 'muricans, that is almost 250 miles! The more miraculous part is that I have not needed a single ice bath, nor have I needed to crawl into my desk after lunch to nap. I remain a fully functional, house cleaning, grocery getting, hard working, energetic little bee!

I wanted to organize a chart in which I could visualize my progress a bit better (yeah, that's the artist in me). I'm sure there's an easier way to do this in google docs, but I managed to do okay. The first column is the date obviously, the 2nd is the mileage with the orange and yellows being my long runs, the middle is the average pace, and the last is heart rates. For the middle, I picked the cooler purples to show the faster times, and the red to dark red to show my slower times. And for the heart rate, everything over 149 is in orange, and everything under is in green, and yellow is JUST right. You can see that there is definitely some progress even though I seem to be pushing my heart rate higher than I used to, but only by a couple of beats. Keep in mind that I've also increased my mileage a lot since I began.

Runs have gone well for me, except for maybe today. I ended up stacking all five together without taking a rest day between, for scheduling reasons next week. Tomorrow will be my off day, and I will resume Mon-Wed, rest, and long run on Fri and Sat. It wasn't bad doing my runs stacked together. My legs feel so great that I would really like to run every day if my brain wasn't telling me that I'm asking for trouble.

My run on Wednesday was my fastest overall run yet, at a 10:22 pace. The 10 miler the next morning was also pretty fast for me, at a 10:25 pace. This morning I tried something new and went up to Marin for the San Francisco Running Company's 2 year anniversary run. There were a ton of people including quite a handful of elite runners. I'm a little fan girl since I listen to podcasts on my runs and am familiar with a lot of runner names. Unfortunately I'm also extremely introverted and awkward, so I didn't introduce myself to any of them, wah wah...

Since I still wanted to follow my MAF pace, I ended up being completely alone at the back of the pack. I knew that would happen, because the runners in Mill Valley are another species, I swear. The entire pack is lightning fast! It's fascinating. There is also a great love for the SFRC, and everyone is proud to wear the logo. You can now order stuff from them at their store online HERE, so I highly recommend checking it out! The mug is my favorite mug that I own, Brett, the store owner, CLEARLY cares about the quality of the items he has his logo on. The shirts we have are ones we want to wear daily, and the mug keeps things hot for hours!

I ended up running through the Tennessee Valley trail which is a relatively flat out and back to the beach. It was much hillier than I'm used to unfortunately, so I really struggled through it. At least I got to enjoy the beach which was brilliant and peaceful. I ended up doing an additional four miles on the bike trail in Mill Valley, and that was flat but the sun was harsh. And no, it actually was probably still in the 60's but I am a baby with anything that isn't windless, 60 degrees, and flat apparently.

Tennessee Valley Trail, the BEACH!

So what's next? I need to start working on hills...FOR REAL. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but this week, I might start walking up some and running down for both leg strengthening and turn over. The trick is not over doing it, so I might just do one hill day per week, and maybe incorporate some on my longer runs on the weekend. I also need to get off the stupid bay trail but it's so easy and close!

Lastly, FOOD. I love it, and I've been experimenting with new things! I found this awesome bread recipe here. Don't get put off by the name, I am not exactly looking to be in ketosis but I don't think it's a bad thing either. These buns are delicious and taste really great! I love that there aren't a billion ingredients, and I leave out the fake sugars. I make sure to only eat a half a piece, because they do contain a lot of fiber. I haven't had any problems with them though, if anything they've been great for my digestive system. I also experimented with this Cloud Bread. While it's pretty delicious and has a nice texture, it is super light and unsatisfying. The tops also tend to be a little sticky, not sure if that was my fault. I would continue making them since they are so easy, but I prefer the keto buns. 

Keto Buns - SO GOOD

Cloud Bread in the making, so light and fluffy!

Great texture, very light.

I've also REALLY been enjoying our meat from US Wellness. Despite them being frozen, the meat has been very soft and delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Here's a burger that we made from the 85% fat ground beef. I threw on some spicy mustard and sauerkraut with tomatoes and onions. I could eat this every day. We are going to be regular shoppers.

Last is our usual scallops with tomatoes. Jon and I stock up on the big bags of frozen scallops at whole foods, which makes for a really quick and easy source of protein. This time I threw in some more greens and put it on some zucchini noodles. Also, amazingly delicious. I'm getting really hungry just looking at this food again.

I took out a lot of the dairy I've been eating aside from the occasional goat cheese and greek yogurt, and I've also been eating less red meat and more fish. I think it's helped a lot with inflammation. I used to have tired feet sometimes, but that has completely gone away. I've never realized just how important and impactful each type of food can be on your body, and I've also never felt better! I don't eat before any of my runs, and I will only eat during my very long runs over 3 hours. It's been good so far, and my energy has been very consistent. Can't talk enough about it...(sorry)

I apologize for cramming all of my info into one weekly post! I'm going to try to break it up a bit more next time. OH YEAH, and I've ran a lot in the Hoka One One Valors this week and they've been awesome!!! They're my go-to shoe now, and I haven't had an issue with them at all. I also ran in some of the new Bondi 4's today, and did the 12 miles in them no problem. I don't really like how they did the tongue on them though, and prefer the Valors. The Bondi's seemed to run slightly large, I usually wear a running size 7, but I kept tripping over the toe since they were a little too big. I AM curious to try out the Cliftons since I've heard nothing but rave reviews about them, but I'm going to wear out some other pairs first before I can justify another shoe purchase. Ok, going now!

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401km DONE! And 9 weeks left!!!

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I just got my new Hoka One One Valors in the mail today, from the ever so lovely Running Warehouse. I swear by them, and have only good things to say about them. They have an awesome 90 day no sweat return policy, as well as lightning fast free shipping and returns! Since I live nearby I get free overnight shipping. It's sort of amazing. Not to mention that they seem to select the best running products out there, and the prices are hard to beat!

And no, I don't work for them. But...call me RW! I LOVE YOU!

I love shoes. I am obsessed with learning about them for some reason, and could probably babble off a billion different brands and shoe styles, as well as their advantages/disadvantages and drops. I tried to get into the minimalist thing, but I really believe that my high and rigid arches works against me there and I always end up with shin splints. I still try to run in flatter shoes every now and then to keep my foot strength up, but for the long efforts I stick with my cushy shoes. 

Right now I'm alternating most between the Bondi3 and the Altra Olympus. I like the Olympus, but I find that out of the box they are pretty stiff and a bit heavy. It took me a long time to get my first pair to where I want them to be, and now I think they are the softest shoes ever! I have put in over 500 miles on them, so I retired them, but I wear them around town and am in heaven! I'm still breaking in the 2nd pair, so I'll probably retire my Bondi3's now.

I love Hokas. I can usually wear them straight out of the box for a half marathon (and many times, I've actually done that) and they are usually fine. I loved the Bondi2, but haven't been too crazy about the Bondi 3 shoe, which you can see on the right of the valor in the photos. The upper was too roomy and my foot felt very loose in them even though I ordered a half size smaller than I usually do for running shoes. I also DESPISE those speed laces, I don't know how they lasted so long on this particular pair. I think I lost the other ones.

The Valor seems to fix those issues, and the upper fit snugly and like a dream. I got them in a size 7, and while they look slightly larger, they actually fit the same length wise and feel perfectly cozy. One of the best improvements I think is the tongue. I hated the paper flat tongue of the Bondi3.

The height and drop is very similar. 35mm heel, 31mm forefoot, 4mm drop for the Valors and 35mm/31mm for the Bondi3. There is a bit more durability in the sole of the Valor, but it seems like most of the improvements are made to the upper. They are also TWO ounces lighter than the Bondi3's. Not to mention they just LOOK cooler in my opinion.

If it's anything like the Bondi, I expect a lot of soft cushy goodness on my first run. Maybe with the improved upper I will be less likely to get blisters. I always used to get blisters on the outside of my big toes when doing marathon distances.

Anyway, I just wanted to show them off before I get them dirty. I will be updating more on them later!

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The Valors have arrived!

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