A recent conversation got me thinking.
Do most on here use a carbon plate “super shoe” (Nike Vapor/Alpha fly, Asics Metaspeed, Hoka Carbon x etc. ) regardless of race distance?
Thinking specifically, if you toe the line of a 5k, do you still don the Super shoe or do you throw on traditional racing flats?
Curious to hear the collective thinking here.
Super shoes all day long for me regardless of distance. If they work for Kipchoge at 2:50/km pace, they work for me at all distances.
Why would you not wear the super shoe?
They’re definitely faster, and short races don’t even add that many miles on to them
Faster at all distances, short and long, for sure. Even 400s - they are faster.
Yes…I wear the super shoes for 5K’s. I had a 16:44 PR in the 5K for cross country my Junior year of high school before suffering a knee injury and undergoing knee surgery. After that I never got under about a 17:30. After College when I was in my 20’s I was doing about 18:15’s so I set a goal to get back under 18:00. In my late 30’s when I still hadn’t made it under 18:00 and started to slow down I gave up on my running goals and crossed over to Triathlon.
A funny thing happened. With triathlon training I got faster and started to consistently see 5K races in the 17:50-18:00 range with a PR in the 17:40’s.
After 6 years of only doing 5k’s and Triathlons I go involved with a running club again and they talked me into doing a marathon. I got a pair of carbon plated super shoes for the marathon and they blew me away. I didn’t intend to used them for triathlons or for races under a half marathon, but I was just too fast in them to not have them on in every race. After the Marathon I wore them for a 5K and ran a 17:13. I had been struggling to break 17:50 most races so a 17:13 on a course that everyone was getting as measuring slightly long sealed the deal for me. I have worn them in every running and multisport event I have done since then and have been shattering all my PR’s on the run.
Take some shoes to the local track and check 400m, 800m or 1200m time wearing different shoes. Carbon shoes are definitely faster and if not, they are easy on your legs. No reason not to race in them.
supposedly the super shoes are good for distances beyond 800m. i would like too see someone do a test at under that distance .
supposedly the super shoes are good for distances beyond 800m. i would like too see someone do a test at under that distance .
My n=1 I’ve done a few tests with the Alphafly against various shoes from 400m to 1600+ when I have brick or interval days and Alphafly beats everything for me, even Endorphin pro.
Most pronounced effects for me show up in the final most tiring repeats - in the early ones, I somehow can make even a clunky heavy Bondi6 marshmellow shoe go at the ‘right’ interval pace, but by repeat #6 or #8, the Alphafly are the only ones that are not only going the fastest, but also feel the easiest in terms of a beating on the legs.