Last night I tried a new pair of race day shoes. I’d been contemplating a lighter shoe for marathons. There are a few things to consider in this decision. The lighter the shoe, the less cushion and support. The lighter the shoe the shorter distance you can run (fast) in them. The faster you run the harder it is on your body. The lighter shoes help you run faster, but offer little to help you cushion the blows.
My Asics racing flats are 7.5 oz. The furthest I’ve run in them was 7 miles at 6:40 pace. My Asics general running shoes are 13.5 oz. I’ve run 26.2 @ about 8:13 pace.
So in order to get my aging (40) body moving faster and further, I tried out a pair of Zoot triathlon shoes that weigh 9.6 oz. They are pretty cool. They drain water very easily as I found out on my first run in the poring rain. They also take on water quickly. You can slip these on and off very easily with a high heel and pull string lacing. The inner portion of the shoes are seamless and are touted as a sockless shoe, but I won’t be trying that feature out to soon. Not sure I want to be 10 miles into a 18 miler and have my feet start blistering. So I went with my thinnest running socks and it felt like I wasn’t even wearing shoes. So, I think I found “The Three Bears” of racing shoes, just right…… not to light, not to heavy. I will however admit I doubt I can run 26.2 in them. Who knows, I’ve tried crazier things in my running. Like the time I thought about running the 50k (31 miles) around Greenlake. I may still try it, it’s in March.
My Asics racing flats are 7.5 oz. The furthest I’ve run in them was 7 miles at 6:40 pace. My Asics general running shoes are 13.5 oz. I’ve run 26.2 @ about 8:13 pace.
So in order to get my aging (40) body moving faster and further, I tried out a pair of Zoot triathlon shoes that weigh 9.6 oz. They are pretty cool. They drain water very easily as I found out on my first run in the poring rain. They also take on water quickly. You can slip these on and off very easily with a high heel and pull string lacing. The inner portion of the shoes are seamless and are touted as a sockless shoe, but I won’t be trying that feature out to soon. Not sure I want to be 10 miles into a 18 miler and have my feet start blistering. So I went with my thinnest running socks and it felt like I wasn’t even wearing shoes. So, I think I found “The Three Bears” of racing shoes, just right…… not to light, not to heavy. I will however admit I doubt I can run 26.2 in them. Who knows, I’ve tried crazier things in my running. Like the time I thought about running the 50k (31 miles) around Greenlake. I may still try it, it’s in March.
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