They really don’t make as big of a difference as people claim they do. I think the main benefit of the new spikes is that you can use them in training a lot more often and thus train more efficiently.
I agree but this is where the incredible amount of nuance comes into play. Because no, I don't believe that you take an athlete who has trained and raced all season long under certain conditions and give them "super spikes" and they suddenly start running 3 seconds a mile faster because of them. I do though believe that if that athlete was to have trained in them for a concentrated period of time, they could see decent improvement - especially over longer distances because as you alluded to, the main benefit of these spikes is fatigue reduction over long durations (and periods of) - which is more beneficial in training.
So to the OP, if you went to "super spikes" tomorrow and were in 14.30 shape, you might get a nice placebo effect from the spikes and maybe bust 14.27-8 (the newness of them, the extra cushion in the race that gives you the perception of smoother gait etc) which I guess is pretty decent but not earth shattering. If you were to go through your buildup in them depending on how much your legs took a pounding in the past on the track (ie. lots of track work in basically zero cushion spikes) that incremental and compounding benefit of the new product might help you to the mid to low 14.20's but again I am totally hypothesizing on what kind of training you might have or be doing.
Now if you really wanted to run fast you should do all your buildup on the track in the new super cushioned flats and then race with wavelight set to 14.15 pace - that's a different story ;)
They really don’t make as big of a difference as people claim they do. I think the main benefit of the new spikes is that you can use them in training a lot more often and thus train more efficiently.
I agree but this is where the incredible amount of nuance comes into play. Because no, I don't believe that you take an athlete who has trained and raced all season long under certain conditions and give them "super spikes" and they suddenly start running 3 seconds a mile faster because of them. I do though believe that if that athlete was to have trained in them for a concentrated period of time, they could see decent improvement - especially over longer distances because as you alluded to, the main benefit of these spikes is fatigue reduction over long durations (and periods of) - which is more beneficial in training.
So to the OP, if you went to "super spikes" tomorrow and were in 14.30 shape, you might get a nice placebo effect from the spikes and maybe bust 14.27-8 (the newness of them, the extra cushion in the race that gives you the perception of smoother gait etc) which I guess is pretty decent but not earth shattering. If you were to go through your buildup in them depending on how much your legs took a pounding in the past on the track (ie. lots of track work in basically zero cushion spikes) that incremental and compounding benefit of the new product might help you to the mid to low 14.20's but again I am totally hypothesizing on what kind of training you might have or be doing.
Now if you really wanted to run fast you should do all your buildup on the track in the new super cushioned flats and then race with wavelight set to 14.15 pace - that's a different story ;)
Placebo effect and then you mention actual possible benefits. So what was the point?
I don't know when the super spikes came out, but I looked at the world men's lists for 2010, 2012 and 2021 for the total sub-13:10 for the 5,000. 2010 had 38 sub-13:10, 2012 had 28 sub-13:10, and 2021 had 35 sub-13:10. I was not expecting those numbers. I thought 2021 would have many more.
I don't know when the super spikes came out, but I looked at the world men's lists for 2010, 2012 and 2021 for the total sub-13:10 for the 5,000. 2010 had 38 sub-13:10, 2012 had 28 sub-13:10, and 2021 had 35 sub-13:10. I was not expecting those numbers. I thought 2021 would have many more.
My theory is the super shoes really help heal strikers. Which are pretty rare at those speeds. They also help on really hard surfaces like the road. Road times have been coming down closer to track times.