I realized I am carrying these 10 ounce barbells on my feet, when during races I could be using a lighter 4 ounce speed inspired injury creator.
Anybody? I have read a little about using a racing flat and essentially the concept is lighter helps you move faster. Of course lighter means less protection or cushioning. But some people say I should be barefoot anyways.
Do I buy new trainers and use them for all things, or do I buy a racing flat and use my current trainers (I have two trainers now, one is not working on long runs, so I am in the market) for majority of the training. Actually I am not opposed to having two trainers and a race pair, but is it worth it. Potentially two to five seconds, some say.
AnyONE know, I need led!
3 comments:
I was curious about this subject also. 6 miles, not that big of a deal. 12+ miles I'm guessing there is a difference.
My running shoes are the Brooks GTS7 which have been replaced by the GTS8.
If I go to the brooks website, they have a shoe advisor. If I put in my info which lands me on the GTS8 training shoe. I can then choose "competition". Then it suggests the "Racer ST 3". So 11.5 to 8.7 oz.
Is that enough of a difference? Jim?
There are a lot of good training shoes in the 10-13 or 14 oz range (285 grams to 400).But,11.5 down to 8.7 is a 24% drop. I know, it is 24% of a small amount, but still significant.
I've lost 10-20x that amount in pre-race jitters! I do like racing in flats but I think Craig hit it right on the head: I'm not sure how much they help. Certainly, they feel good ( like switching from a 14kg bike to a 10kg bike)but many times are the quickest way to get yourself an appt with a sports med doc or physical therapist.
Anthing longer than 6 miles, I use my light training shoes. If my legs are "beat up" the slightest bit from training, I stick with the heavier shoes for racing.
Bottom line to me: It depends on your mechanics, some can get away with it more often without injury, others can not. I can't, so I'd rather run 6-15 seconds slower in a 5k and still be running the next day/week/month.
Talked to my old boss, he is still involved in the project but not my boss anymore. He use to run races on a competitive team in college. He went to Penn State, he didn't run for the college, just a group of guys doing race series. Well, I asked him about the flats. He said if 20 to 30 seconds was that important to me than wear them, but expect that I would increase my injuries even if I only wore them during the race. He said he used them when he was 20, but would never do it again.
His daughter was a state qualifier 5 years ago in Pennsyslvania in Cross Country, plus a four year letter woman at Waynesburg College. He didn't let her or persuaded her not to wear the flats. So, it sounds like no flats for me, maybe heavier and lighter trainers.
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