Hi running nerds,
I would like to hear your experiences on run form in carbon plated shoes for a marathon. I am currently testing two carbon shoes (Asics meta speed sky paris and New Balance Super Comp Elite v4). And I realized that in the asics my run form seems to deteriorate. After 1.5h of running my form really feels off, my hamstrings for example start feeling strange, not tired, just strange. I am also not slower than in the NB shoes, but I just feel strange. So for me while the asics are the faster shoes during a 3k test that I made I am hesitating to use them for a marathon.
Do you think this will go away when training more in the asics? Or should I go with what feels better?
Anyone have similar experiences?
Thanks for your wisdom.
Uli
For me, the trick is to engage the carbon plate like a spring to help your step. This means that you need to run a bit more “on your toes”, flip the foot backwards and kick closer to your butt.
I think since I started with the OG 4% my form changed to much more forefoot strike. It takes some time for calf muscles to get used to it.
But that’s just me YMMV.
I found this video useful discussing how to “flip” the ankle and kick to use the plate as a spring (starts at about 3m): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7FgHlNX5F4&t=698s
Height, weight, running history, shoes for the last 6 months or longer, recent mileage, sports history in general.
There’s a lot of details that go into an unknown person’s running form
This was also my experience when first running in a carbon shoe. My first few runs I had quite sore calves. Only once I started “letting the shoe do some of the work” during a 5k TT did it click in my head and I ran with the proper form to not only utilize the shoe but to also run comfortably.
Hi, Sorry, I’ve neglected my own thread…my question was less about my run form in general but whether I can train myself into running efficiently with a carbon shoe…I am not a light runner at 5’11; 176 pound and I run around 40-50 miles per week. I just started with the “carbon business” and that’s where my question came from.
I agree with what has been said by others that they had the same experience as you with new carbon plate shoes and that you need to run more on your toes. My test run before my marathon was a 16 mile run. Yep, about 1.5 hrs into the run things started to feel weird. I was doing 15 sec/mi faster that I had been doing in standard shoes at the same effort and my HR was lower than it had been in standard shoes but that weird feeling concerned me. What I learned is that my shoes were designed for striking midsole and that I run midsole for about 1.5 hrs then as I fatigue or just slow down that I change to a heel to toe runner. Striking on the heel was loading the carbon plate backwards which was what was causing the weird feeling. Fortunately, when I race I am always fast enough that I strike midsole so I have never had any issues racing. I run naturally in the carbon shoes and they feel fine.