Race Report: Wo-Zha-Wa Run (Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin)

I ran the Wo-Zha-Wa Run in the Wisconsin Dells last weekend.  This is my third or fourth entry in this race and it is one of my favorites to revisit every year.

The Race:

The Wo-Zha-Wa Run bills itself as "Wisconsin's Oldest Long Distance Run" and this was its 48th year. The race offers a 4-mile option and a half marathon. Having run a half marathon in the Wisconsin Dells once, I always opt for the 4-miler. The Dells is an extremely scenic tourist trap, and while the four-mile race is gorgeous, the half marathon has to avoid the crowds and trots runners out to some hilly but dull farmland outside of the Wisconsin Dells proper. I ran it once - never again.

Why this race?

Simply put, this race is swag city. The technical t-shirt and finishers medal are nice, but the real prize of the day is the Wisconsin Dells attractions pass given to all finishers. The pass offers free admission to a bunch of Dells-area attractions, including boat tours, mini golf, the amphibious Original Wisconsin Ducks[1] (DUKW) tours, and more. I'd guess the pass is worth about $60 if not more. Not bad for an extremely cheap race.

My training:

I'm training for my first 50K right now, and I've been doing a runstreak since June 1. I also do Crossfit a few days a week. My training plan is basically the FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) plan of one weekly long run, tempo run, and speedwork, plus daily running for the runstreak and crosstraining via Crossfit. Not a traditional training plan by any means, but it seems to work for me. I average 35-40 MPW under this plan.

Precedent

I'm slow. Rather, I used to be slow (oooh, that's foreshadowing!). I spent 4+ years as a 11-12 minute miler, and I could hit a 10 minute mile for a single mile on a treadmill once in awhile. But since I started training with the plan described above, things have improved. My last Wo-Zha-Wa run was my previous best, and I came in at just under 40 minutes. I was hoping for a big PR this time and aimed for 36:30. I felt confident about that goal.

Race day weather this year was perfect - 50s and sunny. I wore my InkNBurn Robot Capris and got a ton of comments on them.  I joked with a few people who commented on them prior to the race that my bionic legs would make me run faster.  Little did I know...

Mile One

While I had my Garmin on, I decided to run by feel for the first mile. I've run the race enough times to have the course in my head, and I figured I'd aim for a 8:50 pace for the first mile which sloped nicely downward so I could bank a little time for the big hill at mile 3. A mile in, a woman I was running nearby commented that we hit the first mile in 8:12 WHOOPS. But I felt good, so onward.

Mile Two

I kept pushing on, focusing on foot turnover and breathing. I collected my hi-five from the race's founder as I do every year at 1.25 miles, and I saw a cute little boy on the sidelines faceplant as he was trying to catch up to his dad who was running just ahead of me. A true runner, he instructed his son to "walk it off, kiddo!" and didn't slow his pace at all. Noice. I kept on keeping on and found that Mile 2 passed at a 8:08 pace. WHOOPS. But I still felt good, so onward.

Mile 3

The terrain changed as the course moved off of the nicely paved streets of downtown Wisconsin Dells and onto the shoulder of a highway. The road was gravelly and choppy so I had to pay more attention here. There were some gently rolling hills. It was nothing terrible but it definitely weeded out the people who don't train on hills. I dropped a few people I was running with during this point. And I knew the big hill was coming up, but so was some of the most scenic, wooded parts of the race. The leaves weren't turning yet as they were during previous years, but it was still a beautiful sight. And then came the big hill.

This was the first year that I didn't walk at least part of the hill. I put my head down and powered up it. And it didn't feel quite as big as it was in previous years. I was sure I lost some time on this hill, but no. I checked my Garmin and saw I made Mile 3 in 8:03. WHOOPS. And I was starting to feel a little gassed.

Mile 4

The race ends back at the Wisconsin Dells high school, finishing with a victory lap around the track. I struggled a bit at this point as we wound through residential streets.  And by "a bit" I mean I really did struggle.  I put up 8:40 for the final mile.  Which, in retrospect, isn't bad considering I had planned to run the whole race much slower.

Final official time: 33:51 Fastest mile (per Strava): 7:50

I collected my finisher awards and later found I was third in my age group. Me, a back of the pack runner! Damn. 29th overall out of 139, and 13th female overall.

I finally feel like I don't have to start my conversations about running with "I'm really slow, but...". I'm still not fast, but I'm finally getting faster. It's working.

Shoe Review: The Hoka Speedgoat

As a disclaimer, I'm a huge Hoka fan. I've worn the Stinson Trails, the Constants and the Bondi Bs previously, so I've been counting down until fall which is when the Hoka One One Facebook page said their new Speedgoat model would be available. So imagine my surprise when I checked Running Warehouse in August and found that they claimed to have a pair in stock in my size. I ordered.  They arrived.  And I put on some miles.

Background:

By way of comparison, I had been running in my current Hoka Constants for about 450 miles. The Constant is Hoka's answer to the stability shoe, and I found them to be like a cross between the Hoka Stinson Trail and the Brooks Adrenaline. I mostly like them.  The issues I had with the Constants were relatively minor: they have a worrisome pressure point on the right foot which never caused any real problems. More troubling, they are such a horrible shade of lavender that no matter what I wore, my shoes looked silly. #runnergirlproblems Hokas aren't exactly the sexiest running shoes on the market, so when you combine their clownshoe-shape with a ridiculous color, you end up with some pretty silly feet.  #notcute So with the Constants starting to show some signs of real wear, I realized it was time to free myself from my purple prison and order some new shoes so I could break them in with plenty of time for a bunch of fall races.  With that in mind, I ordered the Women's Hoka Speedgoats, in glorious non-purple coral and blue.

What arrived was something else.  Something far more purple.

SERIOUSLY? THEY SENT ME THE PURPLE SHOES? As it turned out, the box was mislabeled - it said coral and aqua but contained the purple shoes.  I was torn:  I did not want purple, but I did want my shoes. I had to decide to either take advantage of Running Warehouse's return policy, or nut up and wear purple.  So I choose to start wearing purple. Aside from their purpleness, the shoes look great. The grippy treads look like they'll grab the trail nicely, and with Hoka's signature marshmallow cushioning I won't feel every little pebble under my feet which is my big complaint about pretty much every other shoe. The placement of the Hoka name on the shoe is a little odd - I like it, but doesn't it look like it says HO HO? Or is it just me? #ordoesitsayOHOH

Initial Impressions:

I took them out for a short 4 mile run on pavement/park path just to see how they felt.  Because I like to match, I pulled out one of my few purple tech shirts #InkNBurn and realized it actually looks great with the shoes. Will I grow to love purple? Doubtful. Maybe. I don't know.

I slip the shoes on and they fit true to size. My feet are not petite #yeti and I like my shoes roomy, and there's nothing unexpected about the general fit of the shoe. I have read other reviews that say the shoes feel sloppy or that the sizing is off, but that was not my experience. Perhaps I can attribute that to knowing Hokas and knowing how they fit on me. I immediately notice that they feel infinitely more breathable than the Constants, which is good. The Speedgoats have ample ventilation, while the Constants were definitely a little suffocating.

The shoes performed well on their initial outing on pavement/park path.  I was most impressed with their grippiness:  I crossed a few wooden footbridges that are notoriously slippery when wet, but the Hokas handled them well - no slippage, and no cause for slowing.

I checked my feet after the run and found no hot spots, no blisters, no redness, no negative effects.  So far, so good.

Trail:

In the weeks that followed I had the chance to take the Hokas out on some trail, including the well-groomed trails at Minooka Park and the wild singletrack at Estabrook Park.  They performed just as I expected:  very grippy, and not too much play on uneven terrain.  They handled roots and rocks easily. I did notice that the deep treads did pick up more than the usual amount of debris on the Estabrook trails.  I found myself kicking off some excess mud more than I'd like.

Complaints and Concerns:

I do have a few concerns about the Speedgoats.  I've read other reviews of them and haven't seen this mentioned so maybe it is  "me problem" but the top of the tongue is inexplicably razor sharp and it jabs right into my ankles if I'm wearing no-show socks.  The obvious solution is to wear higher socks, but I'm surprised that this is even a problem.

The other concern is that I'm noticing a bit of rub along my pinkie-toe on longer runs.  I've heard that the toebox width is a common criticism with Hokas although it hasn't been a problem for me until now, and it only seems to happen with certain socks.  Again, perhaps an easy fix just by figuring out which socks don't work with these shoes.  I'll need to do some more experimentation.

Overall, I like the Speedgoats a lot and I'm happy with my purchase.  Because of the toe/rubbing problem that I've developed I didn't trust them to run the Badgerland 24-12-6 (and really, I didn't need trail shoes for a track race anyway) but I am hoping to have them squared away for the North Face Endurance Challenge 50K in October.