Ho Hum wrote:
I never did much work in spikes, usually just a few sharpening workouts. Otherwise, flats are fine. Look for something under 7 ounces, probably not a super shoe since you can't race in them anyway. Pay attention to the heel-toe drop; if you run everything in 10mm drop shoes your calves/Achilles won't be ready for spikes.
Wouldn't say so in a universal sense, I think the issue is that people buy spikes that aren't a great fit for them personally. Since most people don't wear their spikes much they don't have time to figure this out and just assume that spikes always cause pain.
I typically wear flats (currently adios) for everything, they're 10mm drop. Sometimes I wear spikes for a sharpening workout or if I'm doing intervals faster than mile pace, but not very often... maybe once or twice a season. Usually just races,... 5k/10k on the track or 8/10k XC.
The only time I've had issues with spikes irritating my Achilles was a specific pair I had... gave them away, bought a new pair and it went away. I think the issue was that this pair of spikes had a very rigid and high heel cup, which pressed upon my Achilles a bit too much. The other pairs I have owned had softer/flexible heel cups.