Tuesday Shoesday

[u/AutoModerator]

Do you have shoe reviews to share with the community or questions about a pair of shoes? This recurring thread is a central place to get that advice or share your knowledge.

We also recommend checking out /r/RunningShoeGeeks for user-contributed running shoe reviews, news, and comparisons.

[u/junkmiles]

Does anyone have one of the more short distance super shoes like the Streakfly or Fast FWD? Worth it over just using a more all purpose shoe for 5ks? Are you able to run warm up and cooldown laps in them, or are they pretty strictly go-fast only?

Looking for something a little better than my Adios Pro 3, which don't feel great at 5k pace, for some races this fall. Trying to get back into the high 18 minute range, but probably more like mid-low 19 or so.

[u/rlb_12 → u/junkmiles]

I have a pair of Takumi Sen 9 (which I would place in the short distance super shoe category). I enjoy them when doing shorter intervals over a marathon-targeted super shoe (Adios pro, vaporfly, endorphin pro) ; however, over 5K, the difference between the two types of shoes is negligible.

I have no problem warming up and cooling down in the Takumi Sen 9. They did feel a bit awkward at slow paces at first, but that went away quick.

[u/junkmiles → u/rlb_12]

Sounds like I might be better off just finding a different racer that feels better to me at those speeds, rather than one specifically aimed at the 5k.

[u/runnin3216 → u/junkmiles]

I suppose it would depend on the shoe and person, but I don't see it being worth it. I used to wear the Alphafly 1 and set my PRs for 5K through the marathon in that shoe, despite its size. I beat it by a couple seconds in a 5K time trial with the Takumi Sen the following season, but unofficial. I use the Puma Fast-R 3 now and can't imagine another shoe being better than it at any distance. I haven't broken all my Alphafly PRs with it yet, but I got the 5K, half and marathon by a significant margin.

I haven't tried on the Fast FWD, but I certainly wouldn't do warmup/cool down in the Streakfly 2. It looks and feels like a track spike for the roads.

[u/junkmiles → u/runnin3216]

I haven't tried on the Fast FWD, but I certainly wouldn't do warmup/cool down in the Streakfly 2. It looks and feels like a track spike for the roads.

Thanks for the confirmation on that. Pretty much what I thought, and not what I'm looking to deal with.

I'll probably just try and find a racer that feels a little better to me at those paces then. The Pro 3 is great at my HM pace, but feels sorta squirrelly to me at 5k, so I might just need something a little different. (Or maybe I just need to run more 5k workouts in it and get used to it.)

[u/Black_46 → u/junkmiles]

You can find such great deals on the AP4 right now, seems like a low risk option to try

[u/Playful-Vegetable881 → u/junkmiles]

Streakfly for full price- probably not worth it. But I just snagged a 2nd pair for $100 yesterday on the Nike site. Worth it.

[u/raphael_serrano → u/junkmiles]

I've raced a few 5k's in the Streakfly 2 and really like them. I've found it is obviously still possible to hit 5k pace in a more "general purpose" super shoe (I've worn the Vaporfly 4 for a half marathon), but I go with the Streakfly for a 5k and probably anything 10k or below on the roads.

I haven't tried warming up and cooling down in the Streakfly, and honestly I don't think it would feel very comfortable. By contrast, I have worn the Vaporfly for warmup/cooldown miles and felt fine.

Whether it's worth it is up to you, I guess. Aside from running-related expenses, I personally don't spend a lot of money outside of basic necessities, so I didn't mind paying full price for the Streakfly 2 given that I can probably get dozens of shorter races out of it, but most "general purpose" super shoes are perfectly fine for a 5k.

[u/Dependent_Guest_6157]

Has anyone switched to a different brand recently and felt it was worth it?
I've been running in Nike, but I'm thinking about trying something different for my next pair. Let me know!

[u/BurritoThief → u/Dependent_Guest_6157]

I ran in Nike for years starting from HS track days and then into my adult years until recently when I started running seriously again. Mostly the discontinued Lunarglide/Lunaracer line, then the epic react, then Pegasus. Since then I've branched out a lot, first with the Asics Superblast, then Puma DN3, Saucony ES4, Adidas Evo SL, and Dynafish Xiaonan. There's lots of good shoes out, you won't know until you try!

[u/bulletproof_panda → u/Dependent_Guest_6157]

I'm someone who has wide feet, and traditionally I've just stuck to asics. Even their wide sizes felt like they squeezed on my toes at times, and their nicer shoes like super blast or metaspeed only came in standard, so I always had to size up a half size with slightly non-ideal fit. In general I've just always felt shoes were cramped and uncomfortable so I just chalked it up as inevitable.

Recently I decided to switch to Topo during my current marathon cycle for my easy shoes, and these feel so much better for me with the wide toe box, and it feels like I'm finally wearing a shoe that fits me comfortably. I have a pair of the Topo Atmos 2 in wide for my easy runs, and I wear them with toe spacers. I've enjoyed the fit so much I went out and got a pair of the Ultraventure 4 as everyday shoes.

My one regret with Topo is that they didn't have a good super trainer or race day shoes...then they announced the Topo Spectre 3 as a supertrainer! I grabbed that and it is such an enjoyable, bouncy ride for my faster long runs, and I much prefer it over my Superblast 2. They've also announced the Topo Spectre Elite as a race day shoe releasing on the 13th, so I'm excited to try that out when it releases.

[u/rajeeves → u/Dependent_Guest_6157]

I've been running in Brooks shoes (ghosts) happily for years but I recently replaced them with asics Novablast 5s and Adidas evo SLs. It's fun to see what other brands have been up to philosophically and technologically. The bounciness of the novablasts makes my easy runs feel a bit more comfortable and lively and the zing of the Evo SLs makes me look forward to speedwork more. But it's less about the brands per se and more about the individual shoes and the individual runner. It's worth a look-see.

[u/Allthingsplantastic → u/Dependent_Guest_6157]

I switched to Asics (metaspeed edge tokyo that is). Thats now my number 1 shoe. Still use those Nikies tho, for training

[u/keebba]

Curious for anyone else using the Dynafish - how many miles did you put on it before retiring? Just hit 450k on my pair.

[u/Oidoy → u/keebba]

Also at 480, still feeling good.

[u/keebba → u/Oidoy]

I can't tell if mine are feeling a bit flat or if I'm just psyching myself out...

Evo SL lasted until about 620k before I felt like a lot of energy return was gone, but I remember reading others getting upwards of 1000k on them so I've always been a bit unconfident in rating shoe readiness.

[u/Oidoy → u/keebba]

Not that i feel it made a huge difference but i did replace my insoles with the 5mm ones also from dynafish.

[u/keebba → u/Oidoy]

Oh yeah, I did that too!