speedwork in racing shoes?

I do my workouts in flats if I feel 100% healthy. You feel faster and the lost weight helps mentally and physically. However, if my legs feel beat up or something is nagging me, I stay in my regular trainers to help prevent further damage.

Flats.....dude slap on your spikes! If you don't have any go get some. You will surely get faster with your flats. But training in spike will bring you to a different level. At first you are going to be tired but it will be just fine.

If the spikes are too much go back to flats. Who does intervals in trainers these days?

The Roc

In addition to just making you feel faster, strapping on your spikes or flats a couple times a week for intervals or just pick-ups can help prevent achilles problems.

Most training flats have a significant heel that tends to shorten the achilles over time. Spikes and racing flats have much smaller heels and can stress the achilles a great deal, especially if little running has been done in anything other than the typical training flat.

I never did workouts in college in spikes, but I do all my workouts in spikes or flats now. Usually anything under 800m repeats and I will slap on the spikes, if doing mile repeats I will usually use a flat.

I think it really helps - #1 you can always run faster in spikes then trainers, and it gets you used to the spikes come race day.

I do all of my regular training racing flats. Brooks Hyperion Racers to be exact. Anything else feels to stiff and heavy, and I definitely fear the excessive heel lift of regular trainers. I normally do the majority of speed work in spikes. If the intervals are 800m+ I'll only do the second half or so of the workout in spikes.

DJL

Middle D wrote:

In addition to just making you feel faster, strapping on your spikes or flats a couple times a week for intervals or just pick-ups can help prevent achilles problems.

Most training flats have a significant heel that tends to shorten the achilles over time. Spikes and racing flats have much smaller heels and can stress the achilles a great deal, especially if little running has been done in anything other than the typical training flat.

Yes. In fact, if you can train in racing flats you can help eliminate achilles problems altogether.

Hamstring injuries await many of those who do speedwork, and even striders, in training flats. Carrying racing flats to the track to do a dozen striders can be bit of a hassle, but it is preferable to that sickening pain in your hammies or butt.

I also second the advice on using spikes as early as possible in the season. I even have a pair of distance spikes (with small heel padding) which I use early in the season, which I transition to a an unpadded spike for true speed work or racing at 800/1500.

Thanks for the input everyone. Spikes are not really an option since the people in charge of the track that I use are a little anal about such things and I try to do most of my work on a measured bike path that seems pretty accurate.