How fast before you can wear flats for a half marathon?

flatsforhalf wrote:

Looking for some advice. I usually do half marathons in my regular training shoe, Asics Cumulus, which weighs in at 325g. My PR is 1:24. Is this too slow to be considering a lighter shoe for the distance? If so, what kind of time would be a good point to start considering flats? Thanks.

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Who told you that you need to be capable of a particular speed to use flats??? Unless you have some unusual mechanical problem, you should use racing flats in any road race regardless of your speed.

Your 1:24 in those foot weights have probably cost you 1 minute or more!

59 minutes.

subfive wrote:

Who told you that you need to be capable of a particular speed to use flats??? Unless you have some unusual mechanical problem, you should use racing flats in any road race regardless of your speed.

Your 1:24 in those foot weights have probably cost you 1 minute or more!

I think I read it somewhere, a few years ago, and I've always just assumed flats where not for me. Thanks - I'll start looking for a pair and trying some longer tempo runs in them to see how I get on.

(Not sure if that other guy is being serious)

It is going to be different for everybody. Obviously, an elite wouldn't lace up their racing shoes to run 630 pace, but a fast feeling shoe might help you at that pace. I know personally, that is around the pace that a racing flat seems to help a little.

If you think your feet and lower legs can handle 13 miles on race day in lighter shoes - go for it!

I ran 1:27 and I wore racing flats for it. However, DO make sure you've worn them for something of somewhat similar duration before. I never normally race anything longer than 6k xc races so the farthest thing I'd worn my flats for were 4-6 mile tempos, and although I barely noticed it during the actual race, they ended up soaked in blood by the end because they rubbed my toes so badly.

XC Runner Girl wrote:

I ran 1:27 and I wore racing flats for it. However, DO make sure you've worn them for something of somewhat similar duration before. I never normally race anything longer than 6k xc races so the farthest thing I'd worn my flats for were 4-6 mile tempos, and although I barely noticed it during the actual race, they ended up soaked in blood by the end because they rubbed my toes so badly.

Ouch. Something like this?

flatsforhalf wrote:

Looking for some advice. I usually do half marathons in my regular training shoe, Asics Cumulus, which weighs in at 325g. My PR is 1:24. Is this too slow to be considering a lighter shoe for the distance? If so, what kind of time would be a good point to start considering flats? Thanks.

Why would your pace be a factor? What is the tradeoff you think you're making by wearing flats?

california pride wrote:

XC Runner Girl wrote:

I ran 1:27 and I wore racing flats for it. However, DO make sure you've worn them for something of somewhat similar duration before. I never normally race anything longer than 6k xc races so the farthest thing I'd worn my flats for were 4-6 mile tempos, and although I barely noticed it during the actual race, they ended up soaked in blood by the end because they rubbed my toes so badly.

Ouch. Something like this?

http://melodyfairchild.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/IMG_1649.jpg

Yep, pretty much, minus the black toenail.

What you are really getting into here is the minimalism debate.

Plenty of runners wear flats or equally light shoes all the time for any distance. Other people would wear flats only for speedwork or races and wear a heavier trainer for slow runs.

Whether you are a minimalist or not, there is no magic correlation between speed and weight of shoes, except that the heavier your shoe is, the more it will slow you down. As a result if you are trying to be competitive in your time you probably want to wear lighter shoes to pick up some time.

In your case, I can't see any reason not to wear flats as long as you are used to them and they don't give you any trouble. Get a good pair - if you like Asics, the Hyperspeed is a good shoe - and give it a try before race day.

flatsforhalf wrote:

I think I read it somewhere, a few years ago, and I've always just assumed flats where not for me. Thanks - I'll start looking for a pair and trying some longer tempo runs in them to see how I get on.

Agree that you should check them out.

If you've only worn trainers, and depending on how injury-prone you tend to be, I'd suggest you really easy yourself into them.

The lower heel drop will put more stretch/pressure on your calf & achilles. I wouldn't start with longer tempo runs. I'd start with some short easy runs. Then, if that goes well, some short tempos. Then longer tempos. Then a race or two.

Lighter, flatter shoes can be help your performance, but they can be a shock to the lower legs if you've only run in trainers for years. Be smart, and a little patient.

barefoot marathoner wrote:

flatsforhalf wrote:

Looking for some advice. I usually do half marathons in my regular training shoe, Asics Cumulus, which weighs in at 325g. My PR is 1:24. Is this too slow to be considering a lighter shoe for the distance? If so, what kind of time would be a good point to start considering flats? Thanks.

Why would your pace be a factor? What is the tradeoff you think you're making by wearing flats?

It was more time spent running rather than pace directly. I'm still running a half in nearly 1.5 hours, my concern was that's too long to be wearing flats. I guess the trade off I was assuming was a slight improvement in economy vs greater shock to the lower legs (and from that increased risk of injury)

Thanks for the suggestions. Next half is in just over 3 weeks so sounds like that might be too soon to ease them in? Will get a pair and see how it goes- some really useful advice here, thanks.

there are 6 toes on that left foot!!!!!!

Thanks for making me smile.

+1

big787 wrote:

59 minutes.

Agree that you should check them out.

If you've only worn trainers, and depending on how injury-prone you tend to be, I'd suggest you really easy yourself into them.

The lower heel drop will put more stretch/pressure on your calf & achilles. I wouldn't start with longer tempo runs. I'd start with some short easy runs. Then, if that goes well, some short tempos. Then longer tempos. Then a race or two.

Lighter, flatter shoes can be help your performance, but they can be a shock to the lower legs if you've only run in trainers for years. Be smart, and a little patient.[/quote]

Please lisen to this advice

I suffered a near career-ending injury for wearing a lighter racing flats in a half-marathon. I trained in stability shoes and raced 5K's in lighter flats. The half-marathon distance has a completely different effect, and the new minimialist shoes are dangerous if you're biomechanics and training history don't align.

flatsforhalf wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions. Next half is in just over 3 weeks so sounds like that might be too soon to ease them in? Will get a pair and see how it goes- some really useful advice here, thanks.

Yeah, I'd suggest you hold off for this half, since it's only 3 weeks away. You could get away with it, but it's not really worth the risk, in my opinion.

Injuries suck, and changing a major variable like lower heel drop in the last 3 weeks before a half is probably asking for an injury.

Assuming you have a full training cycle after this half, I'd use that period of time to gradually introduce them into your training and racing.

I'm conservative, but that has come from injury experience. You lose so much fitness if you miss a month or two of training (and then waste another month or two just getting back the fitness you lost) that it's better to avoid the injuries if you can.

Good luck in your upcoming race.

try a fast paced trainer like the Brooks Launch or Nike Zoom Elite

Some so-called experts have claimed for years that racing in flats/spikes does not confer advantage if the pace is slower than 6 min. I'm not sure if there is evidence to back that up, but I am sure that racing in flats with a lower heel lift places additional stress on particularly the calves. You want to do a fair amount of training in flats if you are going to race 13.1 miles in them, and by the time you do that you should have a pretty good idea of the times you can run in them.