Where can I get running flats? (Read 1716 times)

Kimmie:

 

I just checked this site where they sell Japanese running shoes.  They have size 23.0cm for the equivelent of Piranha.  The catch is; with the currency rate, it'll cost something like US$97.  So including shipping, it'll get close to, or over, $100.  This particular model I really like and I have a pair as well.

If you want, I can help you get them.

 

With adidas, you want to look for adiZero Pro or adiZero CR or adiZero RK (new one).  I just checked but I think the smallest size is 6.

 Those are awesome! The currency thing isn't an issue since Canada and US currency is pretty much on par right now. 97$ isn't bad seeing as getting the Piranhas in Canada is very pricey! It's very hard to find US dealers who will ship to Canada in the first place and Canadian retailers are very expensive( $170-190) in Canada, plus our 13% taxes makes it a little out of my price ranger

I just spoke with a Runner's Den owner in my area. He hosts a lot of the races I go to and helped my bf get sponsored by MIzuno. He has seen me run many times and suggested these:

Brooks Mach 12 spikeless flats

Pretty minimalist which is what I like for racing. The flats I have now are similar weight to my training shoe but I still wear them because of the feel; I love shoes with less support for racing.

They are super light @ 4.9 oz. I have never had luck with Brooks running shoes because of the higher heel but these seem pretty look.

Plus they look sweet! Which is always a bonus and @ $65 bucks a pair it may be worth a try

any thoughts?

Just saw the YouTube vidoe on these shoes.  Yeah, they look pretty cool.  Love that curve (of the bottom of the shoe).  The curl of the toe box is actually more or less natural curve.  That's where your toes flex and, if it's completely flat (on the ground), then when your toes flex right before the toe-off, your toes will be pushed forward and potentially pushed up against the wall of the inside of the shoe and possibly create black toe nails.  Anybody experienced that?  Many people think it's more or less a feather in a hat; now you're like a runner...  Not so.  Completely unnecessary.  Lydiard called it "over-sprung".  The shoe should have this natural curve to conform the movement of the foot.

I've tried a few different types of spikeless XC shoes.  While they are great for some off-road running (I go up to almost close to 2-hours in those if on trail or XC course), sometimes the rubber is quite stiff and makes it hard to run on road.  They do that so the rubber would last longer.  Those rubber would actually make it heavy too so, considering these weigh very light, they probably use the blown rubber which might wear out fast but very light and soft which would make it ideal for road running.  You need SOME cushion but not as much as most people think.  I was chatting with Bill Rodgers while in Boston but, when you think about it, the type of shoes he was racing in back in those days are just like these spikeless spike shoes.  Not just him but most marathon runners of the days.  They not only ran alright, they probably never heard the term Plantar Fasciitis or ITBS.

Do you have a link for the youtube video? I'd love to check it out.

http://videos.apnicommunity.com/Video,Item,3864666904.html

I know even racing shoes need cushioning but does that make a difference if you run mostly 5ks? I never use my racing flats outisde of racing except for the occasional time when I get to a track to do a track workout so wearing out is not a big issue.

It's not so much to do with the racing distance (well, that too...) but how you run.  I'm not quite sure of your question; are you asking whether you need more cushion or you wouldn't need much cushion for 5K???  It really depends on how lightly you land.  Rodgers was VERY light on his feet; so was Frank Shorter.  On the other hand, Don Kardong, who finished 4th and missed the bronze medal by 3 seconds in Montreal Olympics marathon (teammate of Rodgers and Shorter in 1976) was rather quite heavy on his feet when he ran.  You can hear "thunk, thunk, thunk..." when you run by him (yeah, I had a few runs with him in Spokane, WA...) but he ran alright.  Incidentally, possibly because of this running style, he liked Nike Air and, had that German been DQed for possible drug accusation, he could have been the FIRST athlete to haev won Olympic medal wearing Nike shoes.  I remember he used t walk around in Nike Tailwind which was probably one of the cushioniest shoes at the time.

Depending on what you usually wear, because these so-called minimalist shoes have much less difference between the forefoot thickness and heel thickness, you would naturally get extra pull in your calves when you switch to minimalist shoes (if you wear "normal" training shoes most of the time).  Coupled with the fact you use your calves extra for braking action when you run fast, your calves WILL get quite a bit of beatings.  Make sure you gratudally get used to it.  What I did is to wear these minimalist shoes for easy jogging (less stress to gradually get used to it) and wear "regular" training shoes for early season interval training (extra heel lift).  This combination worked really well. 

Now, being in Canada, I don't know how much snow you have during the winter but if you do get a lot (like MN), you should be careful to do extra calf/Achilles stretch during the winter.  Because of snow and ice, you tend to take choppy strides when you walk around and this would tighten your Achilles (not being stretched out).  I have this special shoes called "Wind Sprint" that have the exact same thickness thorughout the midsole just to walk around in the winter to naturally stretch out my calves.  When you're young, like you are, your body can take a lot of extra beatings so you just don't think about it and just do it.  But you may pay for it some years down the road.  Use common sense, which is not common any more, to take extra care for your body.

MTA: I love how you just happen to be chatting with Bill Rogers, you know, like he's some regular guy! You have quite the connections, Nobby!

Billy is a super nice guy.  I actually know him really well so it wasn't like "just happened to be chatting".  We chat via e-mail quite a bit.  In fact, I'm working on getting him to Japan for a few clinics sometmie this year or next year.  His daughter studied Japanese and she's quite keen on Japan so he actually took her with him a few years back when Ohme 30k race organizers invited him.  They had a blast and now he wants to do it again.  Great guy!

Oh, and it's not that he's some regular guy; it's that I'm someone special! ;o)  Just kidding...maybe... ;o)

 

http://videos.apnicommunity.com/Video,Item,3864666904.html

 

It's not so much to do with the racing distance (well, that too...) but how you run.  I'm not quite sure of your question; are you asking whether you need more cushion or you wouldn't need much cushion for 5K???

Depending on what you usually wear, because these so-called minimalist shoes have much less difference between the forefoot thickness and heel thickness, you would naturally get extra pull in your calves when you switch to minimalist shoes

Now, being in Canada, I don't know how much snow you have during the winter but if you do get a lot (like MN), you should be careful to do extra calf/Achilles stretch during the winter. 

 Well I couldn't get the video working but I found a video of it on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WteQmt5u05E I don't know if it's the same on you were looking at.

I am pretty light on my feet as I am not a heel striker. I run landing mostly around the middle of my foot, but I do notice a little heel striking when my body is really tired in a race and I start to lose form (my finishing pictures usually show a heel strike) And again, I'm young, but also only 108 llbs so I don't know if that makes a difference.

We do get a lot of snow where I am in Canada and I do take care of legs, doing exersices because I have rolled my ankles in the snow and ice a few too many times!

I wear Mizuno wave rider 13s now and I love that they are a low ride - I find that shoes with higher heels make me heel strike!

So I wonder if these shoes would be right for me - or should I keep shopping?

I know even racing shoes need cushioning but does that make a difference if you run mostly 5ks?

 I'm not much help for most of this but I'll share one tidbit that might help with understanding where the limits are. Of course, YMMV as always.

So I used to wear fat guy shoes, then discovered that I was ready to move down to less of a shoe. Got a pair of Mizuno Elixirs and gave them a shot running a marathon. They're somewhat light and not totally cushioned but still a reasonable amount of structure for a training shoe. 

Not only did they work for the marathon but they became my preferred training shoe. That made me go one step further down and start racing marathons in the Mizuno Musha's, which are getting fairly close to a racing shoe. That works fine too.

But I found the limit for me. I wore the Elixirs in a 50 miler in April, much of which was gravel. It seemed like they were working out fine for the first 30 miles or so until the trail turned onto a section that was bigger (and pointier) gravel. I could definitely feel that stuff poke through the sole and it was moderately uncomfortable. Not a showstopper but it sort of sucked after 10 miles of the stuff. I know for sure that if I'd had the Mushas or godforbid the Universes that it would have hurt like a @#$%. 

But that's a long way from a 5K or 10K on a decent surface, so this may not be a real concern for you.

i just got my first pair of Musha's too.  I am wearing them in a 5K next week and a 10K the week after.  I've had them out as long as 7 or 8 on training runs and absolutely love them...I am even considering trying a HM in them as long as it is all smooth.  But my next HM has a fairly rough gravel section.

 

 

MTA: but my running store also sells true flats. But yeah, you would have to special order and probably go for a junior size.  I think 4.5 might overlap with the larger juniors size.

I run half's in flats but my feet suffered until I started using an anti chaffing cream on my feet and now I have no problem.

Depends how long and rough the section is.