Powerless stride on track

try barefoot

Barefoot the track would start cutting my feet after 200m

Trackhater wrote:

I wrote on a previous thread, and I would like to get more opinions. I run both on the road and on the track with trainers kinvara 6. On the road it feels super bouncy and fast and responsive, yet on the track it feels terrible. Less bounce, less power coming back after the impact. It’s a new 400m track, supposed to be good, maybe too soft. Someone wrote that it is because both my shoes and the track are cushioned, that is cushion on cushion, and that when running on the track I should use spikes. I noticed all elites do their track sessions with spikes or with flat shoes (are those spikes shoes that the spikes were taken off from them?)

Discuss

Even new tracks can have different amounts of "bounce," some more than others. Usually they have less to encourage fast times while saving money. You legs be damned.

Try running in some older shoes that have lost their cush and see it they feel better on the track. If so, get some new track shoes that aren't so cushioned. For the most part I liked saving the spikes for raceday only.

Thanks. It’s a track that has been renovated. They took off the old rubber and put new one. One of the managers there said it is the best and fastest material. I don’t know if he’s talking right or wrong, but I liked the old one way better. It was stiff. This new one is so cushioned.

Feels like this

Why would barefoot cut up your feet? Power comes from your feet, stronger feet = more power. Kinvara 6 are far too heavy, soft and structured to allow for the windlass mechanism (look it up) to generate power from your feet. Use a shoe under 200g, 4mm drop or under as flat and flexible as you can.

you are running on a modern high energy return mondo track surface in near maximal road shoes

of course it's going to feel completely wrong, you've got a surface trying to give you back as much energy as realistically possible and a shoe that is trying to protect you from impact forces

try some cheap flats or low profile road shoes with minimal stack

boingboing wrote:

you are running on a modern high energy return mondo track surface in near maximal road shoes

of course it's going to feel completely wrong, you've got a surface trying to give you back as much energy as realistically possible and a shoe that is trying to protect you from impact forces

try some cheap flats or low profile road shoes with minimal stack

This.