I have a pair of road flats that are lighter than any of my spikes. Would it be a bad move to wear them in a 5k track race?
I have a pair of road flats that are lighter than any of my spikes. Would it be a bad move to wear them in a 5k track race?
Not at all, unless the track is soaking wet or made of cinders.
Personally, I don't wear spikes for 5000 or longer, and it's a coin toss whether I'll wear them for 3000. I like the way my adizero PRs feel on my feet at (relatively) fast speeds on a flat, hard surface just as much as (maybe more than) I like my milers. At 5k pace, I don't think the pins really do much to help you. But of course, your 5k pace could easily be much faster than mine, so it's possible what works for me (a recreational masters guy) won't work as well for you.
I find that the mentality of the act of spiking up helps me for a track race. I do not get that same feeling with flats on a track--seems too much like a workout.
Flats on the road, on the other hand, give me the feeling of spiking up.
I've run 14:18 and I'm shooting for faster. Does this make any difference?
As an athlete I never ran in flats on the track, even for 10000m races, but as a coach I never resisted when my athletes wanted to go in flats. I was more cautious with their legs than mine. Indoors on 200m banked tracks I would insist on flats for longer work outs and 5000m races.
if you are a 14:18 runner i would think you already know what works and wouldn't need to post this dumb question on letsrun. So don't bullsh*t us... you are a 16:00 guy.