Thinking of getting some flats (Read 2199 times)

Zoom and all - I run in flats and made the transition in October. I love the enhanced feel of my stride. BTW - I am an overweight (albeit only 10 lbs) and a plodder (my current PR in a 10k is 49:24). So I'm no light weight elite runner. An elite beer drinker perhaps but thats a whole 'nother story. Currently my long run is 11.2 and I have a half next weekend. No problems of any sort with my feet or lower legs. Chuck the shoe company pushed stuff and go back to the basics. You won't regret it. Just for clarification - I worked my way up to this mileage very slowly and methodically. I love my flats and I won't go back. Hey that's kind of catchy - erhaps there is a song in there. What do ya think.

I'm going to be interested to see what shoe works best for me once I start hitting distances longer than the HM (that's the furthest I've gone in the 902).

Zoomie, I always wear my regular trainers for anything longer than 10k. At longer distances a light shoe isn't going to save me (on any other non-elite) much time and I would rather have the cushioning over that distance. I normally only wear lighter shoes for 5 and 10k. I have a HM on April 5 and I still haven't decided which shoes to wear because I am tempted to wear my new DS Trainers. I will say this...if you decide to wear something in a race that's different from your regular or long run shoes, make sure you do at least one long run in them before the race. I know two people that bought fancy flats before a marathon and didn't run anything longer than about 12 miles in them. Both got nasty blisters around mile 16 or so. One DNF'd and one barely made it with a horrible time. I don't consider DS Trainers a true racing flat though. They are not as beefy as a 2130 or as supportive and they are lighter, but have way more to them than a simple "flat".

Zoomie, I always wear my regular trainers for anything longer than 10k. At longer distances a light shoe isn't going to save me (on any other non-elite) much time and I would rather have the cushioning over that distance. I normally only wear lighter shoes for 5 and 10k. I have a HM on April 5 and I still haven't decided which shoes to wear because I am tempted to wear my new DS Trainers. I will say this...if you decide to wear something in a race that's different from your regular or long run shoes, make sure you do at least one long run in them before the race. I know two people that bought fancy flats before a marathon and didn't run anything longer than about 12 miles in them. Both got nasty blisters around mile 16 or so. One DNF'd and one barely made it with a horrible time. I don't consider DS Trainers a true racing flat though. They are not as beefy as a 2130 or as supportive and they are lighter, but have way more to them than a simple "flat".

How do ya like those "new DS Trainers"?? I just got a pair of the XIII's and I feel that they're a little narrower in the toebox than in previous years. Even with a very thin racing sock I feel cramped in the toes. I've run a few races in the DS T's but, as a non-elite, I can definitely feel the difference between the DS Ts and a real racing flat. I love the feel of the racing shoe after months of training in heavier shoes - feels like you're running barefoot. I run all of my races now in some kind of flat but I also run in the flats during training from time to time. If you're the kind of runner that is able to run daily in a lightweight trainer I would think you can probably handle racing in flats as well.