Zero drop shoes in rotation for muscle strength?

What a let’s run blog post without the grammar police.

Everyone knows what I meant...it was supposed to be 10 miles and I went the full 13

gsimmons2005 wrote:

What a let’s run blog post without the grammar police.

Everyone knows what I meant...it was supposed to be 10 miles and I went the full 13

Wrong, on Letsrun that meant you went out for a 13 mile run and ended up running 26 miles.

Right....

Similar age and times to you. Also a heel striker. Don’t like zero drop shoes. I usually wear adidas but my local running store doesn’t carry them. I wanted to support the owners because they support the local running community so I bought a pair of Saucony Liberty at 4mm drop. Which was a change for me. And while they have a really nice fit, even 4mm drop doesn’t feel right to me.

Think about it, when your heel compresses the cushioning in a zero drop shoe, it puts your foot in an uphill running position. Nothing natural about that. Of course there’s not much natural about the 4% either lol. But I remain steadfast that most heel strikers do better in a 8mm drop or higher.

Interesting...I think the times would be the same but the soreness is not there anymore with 10mm drop shoes.

I do like the zero drops for 5ks at fast 5:45 paces. Prob not enough time to heel strike.

That's not what we are talking about. And further more I say look at what the consensus of medical doctors say. They see the effects of all kinds of shoes on all kinds of runners over many years. They have a good idea what is best. What you'll probably find is the best shoe for 95% of runners is one with a well protective sole, one that does not flex (so the joints don't flex, too), has some decent cushion and has a forward drop to take stress off the Achilles. This does not mean it's a maximal shoe.

Don't bounce around. Make the commitment but then stick with it. Long term you'll be happy about it. Just do it after a big race when you'd normally take some down time. That way you'll ramp up slow. Baby your calves. I made the change back in 2010 and haven't been injured since with running 60mpw average.

Or better yet, ditch the running shoes and with sandals. I get some weird looks but shizit when you're running 30 miles on a Sat as just another run they feel great. Of course when you show up at a cute little 5K hobby then you'll get some odd questions.

Flip flop marathon...the bloody feet

Just wow... wrote:

let's think this through for a moment wrote:

Before the running boom, all running shoes were zero drop. Millions of years of evolution of people running and walking barefoot/very minimal shoes, but only in about the last 40 years we realized we made a mistake and need more protection from the unnaturally hard, flat surfaces we now run on.

There. Fixed it for you!

Altras are minimalist maximalist shoes. Meaning they take the "zero drop" concept from the minimalist side and combine it with the maximalist concept of heavy cushioning to protect joints from hard surfaces.

The zero drop took me a while to get used to. I would suggest walking in sandals everywhere for a month if that's not something you do to get used to it. Personally I think the sandals are enough for "muscle strength" and to op, it's the weight of the shoes not stack height that makes the difference in times. I also found the toebox in altras was better for my blisters but whatever

The standard approach is to do your slow days in thicker, more supportive shoes and your workouts and tempo-runs in thinner more flexible shoes because pretty much everyone runs faster in thinner, lighter, lower-drop, more flexible shoes.

Just wow... wrote:

let's think this through for a moment wrote:

Before the running boom, all running shoes were zero drop. Millions of years of evolution of people running and walking barefoot/very minimal shoes, but only in about the last 40 years we realized we made a mistake and need more protection from the unnaturally hard, flat surfaces we now run on.

There. Fixed it for you!

Zero drop shoes can still provide some cushioning.

let's think this through for a moment wrote:

Before the running boom, all running shoes were zero drop. Millions of years of evolution of people running and walking barefoot/very minimal shoes, but only in about the last 40 years we realized we made a mistake and need to fix our natural stride.

Because we all know that ancient humans ran 150-200 km/week at a steady pace and also did about 20% of that at an even higher speed.

Perhaps we should go back and live in caves as hunters and gatherers because that´s our natural way of life.

I run in the Escalantes from 75-90 miles a week, treat me great and do a lot of workouts in them. It took probably a month or so to get used to the zero drop and my form changed a bit at the time, but have been injury free for the 2 years running in em and enjoy a lot different types of workouts. (Side walls on the Escalantes are far too sloppy though for running on indoor track, only place didn't dig em, but indoor tracks aren't great places to run either)

I dont know how you guys run in Altras... those shoes are so sloppy

You could park a Cadillac Escalade in the midfoot of that shoe - just extremely sloppy

I recommend checking out the Boston 7's or VaporFlys. Much more dialed in and less sloppy, which will give you superior results than having your foot flop around in a flipper-like running shoe

I was a terrible heel striker with low cadence. I owe Altras Escalante + hill sprints a big improvement in my running form, i.e. I passed to midfoot contact and cadence is about 180+ even on regular runs.

They are comfortable and good for fastish ride when I'm ok to press. Don't like them though for recovery nor for long runs. They are complete disaster downhill.

It might be an overkill but I rotate few pairs of shoes with various drop/weight/cushion depending on workout and my mood. For slowish stuff I prefer Cloudflys which are quite heavy 6mm but a lot of cushion; for a simple run I use Escalante or Nike Elite 10mm; for tempo or long repeats I use Nike Elite or Flys or Bostons 8mm; for track I often use Streak LT 4mm.

As quite a few people mentioned in this thread doctors recommend to rotate shoes as each has its flaw and when you run in different shoes you avoid a constant stress on one zone.

IMHO you should keep 4% for the race and big workouts; use slower stuff for regular training. It's like bike training on heavy duty wheels and using carbon feather wheels for the race.

PS. I'm a hobby jogger with 1:19 HM PB at late 20s.

I am not a fan of "forefoot" or "midfoot"running, but I am a huge fan of zero drop minimalist shoes. I don't give me BS about how we need cushioning to run on Crete. Runners have been runners been running in minimalist and zero shoes long before modern bricks y'all call trainers. It just takes time for the body to adjust to the difference. As long as you do it slowly there should be no problem.

http://www.runningpast.com/jim_fixx_shoes.htm

I have also had success with Altras keeping me injury free. I have wondered if it is the zero drop or the wide toe box. Would love a wide Altra toe box on a 4-6 mm drop. I have adios and Vaporflys. I love the adios but way to narrow to run a lot in. Get blisters on longer runs. If the adios came in a wide version, this would probably be my new favorite shoe. The vaporflys are fast but only use them for races. Also a very narrow feeling shoe. Each person is different, I say keep the altras in the rotation. Use them on short or easy days. Try it for a bit I don’t think it will hurt.

Positive Contribution wrote:

Just wow... wrote:

There. Fixed it for you!

Zero drop shoes can still provide some cushioning.

Agreed. My comment was targeted at the "barefoot/very minimalist shoes" aspect of the message.

not a fan of "forefoot" or "midfoot"running, but I am a huge fan wrote:

I am not a fan of "forefoot" or "midfoot"running, but I am a huge fan of zero drop minimalist shoes. I don't give me BS about how we need cushioning to run on Crete. Runners have been runners been running in minimalist and zero shoes long before modern bricks y'all call trainers. It just takes time for the body to adjust to the difference. As long as you do it slowly there should be no problem.

http://www.runningpast.com/jim_fixx_shoes.htm

I'm sure you carefully considered differences in body weight, age, flexibility, efficiency in running form, underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and osteoporosis, structural imbalances such as limb length discrepancies, unstable foot structures, abnormal metatarsal length patterns, joint misalignments, etc. before confidently arriving at your blanket statement of approval for all.