lower mileage marathon training with super shoes?

No

You can do 76.8 to 96 mpw (4% less) in super shoes and you'll get the same results.

I feel like this is what people don't get with super shoes. 4% refers to running economy. So now we're assuming that people are 1) wearing the best super shoes available & 2) responding at 4%. A lot of people respond in the 2.5-4% range. People have small variances within the handful of best super shoes so you might be running in your 2.5% & leaving your 4% on the table. Now we have to adjust running economy to savings. Take ~1% off. So the gains are 1.5-3% depending on what shoe you're wearing.

You still have to train & get a good weather day & pace right & hydrate/fuel well. It's not a 1:1 because so many other things go into running. If you've done the training for a 2:30 marathon & all your tempos have been done in trainers then you can shave some time off but you can't make mistakes in other areas. Elite marathoners are running 1:00-1:30 faster. They're not 1:00-1:30 faster in every race. That's for top performances. So it might take you being in 2:30 shape a few times to run 2:28-2:29. You still have to do a whole lot of training for that kind of a time.

For sure understand the need to really put it together perfectly on race day! I’m hoping that my age can be a positive factor in being smarter this time around. Weather though….ugh, always a crapshoot.

I guess I’m really asking: can I move my training emphasis from quantity more toward quality miles?

If the shoes are « easier » on my legs (which I do feel) maybe I can afford more hard miles in training? Maybe there is less need for the pounding of 100mpw to prep for the fatigue of 26.2?

I wouldn't recommend it. I would almost guarantee that you get a lower calf injury from running in those shoes for every single run. Running in super shoes for easy/recovery runs is super uncomfortable.

ALH359 wrote:

I wouldn't recommend it. I would almost guarantee that you get a lower calf injury from running in those shoes for every single run. Running in super shoes for easy/recovery runs is super uncomfortable.

Sorry, that’s not what I’m suggesting. I’m theorizing (poorly) that if these shoes take away from the pounding of the marathon, then maybe there is less reason to build up a tolerance to pounding in training?

Fwiw I have experimented running in them at an easy pace and am not uncomfortable, no soreness. But no, I wouldn’t do it every day- partially for $ reasons but also I like variation in footwear.