Recovery Week, Shoe Reviews and Hitting The Slopes

Breaking trail on the Mattabassett

Nice easy weekend.  1.5 hours yesterday out on the trails/ snow and an easy 10 this morning run/ ice skating.  Amazing weather this weekend and finally some snow!  Since it was a low mileage weekend we got to spend some decent time skiing on Saturday which was a nice break.  Now we are preparing for the snow-pocolypse like the rest of CT.  I'm siked - more snow = more skiing, snoe-shoeing hiking!!! Yippee!! (Trying not to think of the impending time on the Dreadmill - which I have avoided all winter thus far)

So, nothing interesting from a running standpoint to report, but thought I would do a few shoe reviews.  I have been running in Solomon Speedcross 3's - trail shoes but I've been taking them on the road as well.  These are the most comfortable running shoe I have ever worn, hands down.  Nice wide toe box, the bungee laces and are so comfortable inside and very warm for winter.  The feel stable on the trail, but I still feel like I have the feel of the ground and can react.  That being said - I decided to get two pairs of Hoka One Ones to try out, which is totally weird because the Speedcross is more shoe than I have worn in years.  I got the Cliftons and the Stintons and I got them both a whole size larger than my foot so I can wear them after feel swell.  I have a wide foot, but these things are wide and the toe box is super-wide, I probably should have gotten them smaller.  So I ran for the  first time in the Hokas this week.  I don't know how I feel about them - they just seemed so heavy (and they are actually really pretty light) - I'm just so not used to  all of that show, plus again, they are so big so not


My beloved Solomon Speedcross 3 Trail Shoes

that comfortable.  The road shoes I get - but the trail ones, I'm not sure if I will like them as I don't see how you will have any feel of the trail.  Because of all the snow on the ground, I have to just run into snow, so I have no idea how the show will react on the trail.  That being said, the jury is still out on the Hokas.  

Also, I have to give a shout out to the Ultimate Direction ultra-vest bottles.   So I bought my Ultimate Direction, Anton vest a year and a half ago and my son proceeded to eat through the squirt part of the bottle (the rubber part) - he actually chewed a giant hole in it.  I ended up taking the messed up bottle out in my vest and couldn't

Hoka One One Stinson Trail Shoes

believe it - that thing did not leak at all - even with the giant hole - once the squirter was pushed down the bottle didn't leak a drop.  Nice job Ultimate Direction!

Skiing with the family at Powder Ridge (conveniently 1.5 miles from home)