Step by step, mile by mile

20 milers are worth it although. They really make a marathon race feel more "doable" when you're starting to fall apart nutrition-wise around the 2-hr mark.

i might be crazy enough to quadruple, but i have enough sanity to stay off the marathon bug, at least for another couple years.

I saw the article last night that Runner's World put out about banning the Nike NEXT% shoes that came out in 2017. They were the one's that all the pacers were wearing when Kipchoge broke the 2 hour barrier. I don't really see the point in banning them, because anyone that can afford $250 for shoes (I know they are expensive), can use them for racing. When I ran Chicago Marathon this past October, basically everyone around me was wearing them.

I have been interested in trying them for a future half or full marathon, but I can't make up my mind if I want those or just another pair of Nike Pegasus Turbo's or Nike Zoom Fly's haha!

i’ve thought about getting the pegasus turbo’s, but since this was so much cheaper i’m okay with it. even if you win a race in the carbon plated shoes i don’t think it’s necessarily a problem; i just think having a world record ran in shoes that give such an advantage over any other kind is a little unfair. they do seem like great shoes for running fast though; i’ll def use them until that plate breaks.

I always like this debate. What's interesting is carbon fiber plates have been out since the early 90s, Pebax foam has been used throughout the 2000s, and the "air pockets" they are putting in have been used in basketball shoes since the mid 90s. I can't imagine banning a shoe that has elements from the Adidas Boost- PEBAX/zoom X foam (hello Dennis Kimetto, who set the world record with them and no one bat an eye), the Nike Jordan's (MJ had air pockets in his shoes in the 90s when he was winning titles) had the air bubbles which are mentioned to be in the 1:59:40 shoe, and the carbon fiber plate has been introduced various times in almost every major brand.

In other words, just go buy the shoe. It's worth it ESPECIALLY if you're a heel striker, it's not that expensive (a pro bike for example is $13 thousand if you want to be truly competitive and these are $200 on sale), and they offer a psychological edge right now because of the hype.

good point. articulating my issue a bit better, i just think shoes can potentially provide substantial differences in performance compared to track. it's a longer race so everything matters more, and it's not like with spikes where different types don't really matter THAT much.

it's honestly on Nike though. how they thought they could advertise a shoe that makes you 4% faster and not think that could be viewed as unfair compared to any other shoe is beyond me. seems like a great shoe though!