Any drawbacks (other than the obvious $$ side of it) ?
I have no idea what you are asking. That is not a phrase I have seen before. Are you are asking, “who trains in their full race kit (TT bike, deep wheels/disc, TT helmet, tri suit, etc.)?”
I train on my TT bike in its full race setup (aero wheels, tires, tubes, etc.) But, most of that is indoors with a few outside rides leading up to the race. The majority of my outside rides are on my road bike. I never use my TT helmet and tri suit except in the race.
Ugh- sorry … typo (one letter made a huge difference).
Training in race SHOE all the time.
Versus a trainer shoe.
Any drawbacks aside from money side of things (spending more money rifling through top end shoes).
hahah… I tried to guess and totally missed the mark.
I have janky feet, so I train and race long course in the same shoes. Nothing special-- Asics GT-2000. However, I race sprints & Olympics in very light speed lace shoes (primarily for fast transition). Those have a super short lifespan, so I only race in them.
Train heavy, race light.
Aero wheels are for race only, race flats race only.
Flame away…
Train heavy, race light.
Aero wheels are for race only, race flats race only.
Flame away…
Understand your philosophy, but I feel like, this is a just a hobby for me and riding my expensive aero wheels is just more fun, so I ride them 100% of the time. Life is short, might as well use the fancy equipment I shelled out the bucks for, if I wreck them, sucks but oh well, at least I got to use them. My race split will be the same either way.
Race shoes for key workouts, training shoes for everything else. There are some adaptations for running that come from moving fast, and can only really come from moving fast, so whenever it’s time for speed work I prefer to really let it rip. However, this is something to do minimally. Its been shown there are some injury prevention benefits from using different shoes, so I wouldn’t run in the same racing pair all the time.
Trainers: Nike Zoom Fly 3
Race: Nike AlphaFly
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I’ve got seriously screwed ankles so have orthotics in there too. So for me then yes, same shoes for training and racing. If love to be able to use a race shoe but just can’t.
Saucony omni all the time. Although I do run two pairs at a time and newish ones for raceday.
I’ve got only one set of cycling shoes, so I guess I do train and race in the same pair. (the only thing I race is triathlon, fwiw)
Edit: after seeing other responses, I see now that people (probably correctly) assume this was about running shoes. In that case, I actually do use a different pair of running shoes for races than I do for training. I typically opt for lighter, lower drop shoes for racing, and use comfier shoes for training.
Nike Pegasus Turbo for training
Nike 4% for 70.3 and shorter
Nike Next% for IM
The 4% and Next% aren’t stable shoes and are a waste at easy run pace. The Pegasus Turbo is harder wearing and the foam although not as plush feels very similar and they are a nice balance for me that respond nice for my faster workouts.
Assuming you don’t need the extra structure/stability of a trainer, then they are fine.
It used to be that racing flats had significantly less cushioning than trainers, so using them day-to-day was not a great option. Now that the supershoes have tons of foam, that’s a non-issue.
pre-supershoe racing flat
supershoe racers (can’t really call them flats anymore)
I come from a swimming background and initially I thought this was ridiculous. No one ever trains in their racing suit for swimming. Then some people I respect started talking about potential benefits and I gave it a try and did substantially improve my 5k pb. It’s very anecdotal but I’m not nearly as skeptical as I was when it was first proposed. I trained primarily in Hoka Carbon X and Brooks Hyperion Elite 2 and raced in Nike Next% so I was rotating through a few different pairs.
I’m old, so my philosophy is reverse. I race in my training shoes. The only difference, is I usually buy a nice new soft pair, for a big race. At 60, my knees are beat up, my shins are tender, my PF flairs, and trying to train in anything less than my Hoka Bondis is asking for trouble. Since I’m just trying to make it to the finish vertically these days, I wouldn’t even dare try to race in anything less cushy.
In the past I would have said training in racing shoes is really going to beat you up, because typically they were less cushioned (more responsive and less weight). But this new generation of carbon plate racing shoes and new foam have so much squish, they probably give you more cushioning than what most people are using for trainers.
One drawback is you will lose the speed boost, in terms just feeling fast on race day because of the boost you get from the shoes. This is really a mental thing, so isn’t really a drawback. And I have also heard arguments that training in your racing shoes (I think this is definitely true for spikes, so maybe less applicable to triathlon or road racing) helps you better adapt your mechanics to the shoe, which will ultimately allow you to maximize whatever gain they give you.
So I think you have it right, aside from the cost element, I can’t really give you any legitimate argument against.
I train in a few different shoes, including my race shoes. I heard there is evidence that training in at least a second pair of shoes regularly helps with adaptation as it requires your feet and stabilizers to adjust to each pair.
For practical reasons, I use a trail shoe when it’s wet out or if I want to run on some soft ground. Otherwise I have my race pair from last season for speed and volume work, and my current race pair for stuff closest to race pace.