Do elite train in flats?

bump

I do not consider myself elite, but my PRs do put me in the top ~10% on the all WeJo PR list. Here is what I found out yesterday.

I had a highspeed food stike analysis done by a sports doc. I wore a pair of Mizuno Aeros (not flats, but lower profiled and unstuctured) I underpronate and have usually worn neutral shoes. I have an older orthotic that was made for me when I ran at my University. W/O the orthotic my footstrike was pretty normal (particular to my mechanics, but not problematic) my hip action was good and my back kick aligned. When I put my orthotics in my shoes, besides feeling awkward, my footstrike became more violent, pushed me into a heelstrike pattern and FORCED me to over pronate. My hip action changed and it "felt" harder to run fast. I have been experimenting off and on with running in lower profile shoes (when I was running most injury free in HS I was always in a lightweight trainer) and after seeing the difference between structured and unstructured shoes, I know my choice.

Jaguar, Stipe, Trackhead and all you other hard core minimalists:

Besides H streets, If you had to pick ONE shoe to run in what would it be? I have heard here, The Mayfly, Nike katana, the xc nike shoe (forget the name?) Tiger Paws, NB 205 and Brooks T4. What would you choose.

Any answers?

My alternatives are the Street Maxcat and the NB 240 (XC).

how much did that cost?

Nothing like having facts and scientific evidence.

Trackhead,

How does the Street maxcat differ from the zoom waffle xc racer? Looks like the same shoe..

ya and where did you get that? and what exactly did they call it (like give me something to punch into google or something I could use to search for)? I\'ve been trying to have my foot strike / stride analysis, diagnosed, and weakneess / strengths fixed / enhanced for a while now, but not body really does it that I know or can find.

Thanks

The Street Maxcat has a slightly thicker midsole, infinitely more traction (it has the same midsole/outsole as an older Nike XC shoe) and a synthetic leather upper.

ghost racer I'm assuming you were talkin about what I had done. It would help if you stated where you live, someone in this forum may know specifics about that city.

Others here have posted about the ancient Onitsuka Tiger G9 racing flat. Is there any hope that ASICS would resurrect that model AS IT WAS?

I from the CT area (southwest part, about 45 outside of the City) but go to school in the middle of PA, near the harrisburg (capital of PA) area. I've been to some really good doctors, but I've never had anyone analyize my form like it sounds was your recent case. If I had a camera i would have tried to do it myself a long time ago.

Thanks man

Wello wrote:

I've seen pics of Gebre training in Adidas Competition-racing flat.

GEB IS SO HIGH ON EPO IT DON'T MATTER WHAT SHOES HE BE WEARIN...

Hands down the best shoe I have ever used for daily training and road racing (5k through marathon).

Grrr.......I hate that.

http://www.eastbay.com/catalog/productdetail.cfm?TID=5555-49230521560149211152041-0&module=productDetail&action=view&sku=03854731&model_nbr=36230&supercat=other&id=54527&mvp=brand&sport=all

trackhead,

where do you purchase your maxcats? i've looked online and can't seem to find them anywhere — at least not in my size (11.5).

thx

Bump.

So this thread has been incredibly informative. I just recently switched over from running in Brooks Adrenalines to the Asics DS Trainer XIs, and working into running in Adizero LTs. However, the part that really is screwing with me is whether or not I should adjust my footstrike accordingly. I have always been a bit of a heelstriker, and recently in the DS Trainers I have been concentraing on landing on my forefoot-midfoot. However, my old HS coach strongly opposes this decision. If it ain't broke, dont fix it, right? I already run on my forefoot in track races w/ spikes, why should my base summer mileage be run on my forefoot/midfoot? What are the benefits of doing this?

I'm not qualified to advise you one way or the other as to whether you should switch your running style. However I can tell you that if you are trying to switch to forefoot running, the Adizero LT's are among the LAST flats you should look to for this purpose.

The heel to toe drop in those shoes is big. The heels are way too high. I have the Adizero RCs and love them so I thought I'd try the LTs too. I literally gave them away after just one run because the heels were built up so high they were forcing my heels to hit first.

A change as seemingly simple as converting to a different footstrike may seem okay, but be warned that all of your mechanics may change as a result, which can increase the amount of stress at certain structures, and eventually result in injury.

Although this is a very general statement, just make sure you have the strength and flexibility to handle different foot strike patterns. At the first sign of injury (or different type of injury than you normally get) you may need to re-evaluate your decision, and it may or may not be too late.

Just take it gradually and pay attention to your body if you do choose to change.