Sunday, September 9, 2018

4% faster... I wish

Hi
So the other day my friend Grant from RUN asked my if I wanted to give his Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% a test run.... hell yes... I grow up running in Nike!

Now before I go on I must tell you that now a days I run in barefoot shoes... (Vivos) Shoes with zero drop, zero cushioning, and a wide toe box...

This was going to be an interesting run... not only because of the reasons above, but his feet are a full size smaller then mine! Knowing I would never get another chance at trying this news making shoe I squeezed my feet in and... walked around the office. It was Friday, rest day and it was raining, so my run would have to wait till Saturday.
I'm training for a marathon and had a longish run planned for Saturday, so because I could never run 20+ km at marathon pace in shoes that small I would run 20km first in my normal Vivo's then head out in the Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4%....
Good plan...
Some 90 min after I started I found myself squeezing into the Nikes... my run wasn't going to do them justice! Such a pity... I turn and headed I turned back after 1km. Tried on the way back to run freely but the shoes were just to small.

(Is someone else willing to lend me a test pair for a 20min run? Ok really I would like to test them proper, but 20mins will do!)

So what can I tell you about this shoe:

Should it be band? As much as spikes should be band on the track!

It, like a number of other shoes on the market had quite a bit of cushioning... but not marshmallow soft. I wasn't sinking into the shoe like I had some other shoes, making running fast impossible. So it looks Nike is one up on those shoes. 4% faster... I don't know... Now as for the run: it's not easy for me to tell you much but there was a hint that the shoe would run well. I can tell you this: with my big foot squeezed into the shoe I was feeling pressure on the ball of my foot. I wrote it down to the size of the shoe and the fit, but then, my wife, now back from her run. Thought she would take them round the block. Her foot went in easy the shoe a couple of sizes too big. But with the laces tightened off she went.
Short answer, what colours do the ladies come in she wouldn't mind a pair! But they feel a little hard under the ball of her foot! (Interesting)

I couldn't run fast enough or long enough to let you know if the shoe really works magic with the way it's put together. Maybe I'll get hold of a pair that fits one day and let you know.

3 comments:

  1. Afraid I never got on very well with Nikes. Currently I'm a great fan of Inov-8's alternating between Terraclaws and Trailrocs, with a pair of X-Talons for when it gets squishy.
    Having said that I bought my partner a pair of Hoka trail shoes for her birthday and she absolutely loves them. Might try a pair - if they come down to half price!
    Good luck with your marathon training, seems you're firing on all cylinders again. Cheers!

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    1. I normally run in Vivobarefoot shoes... have tried Ultra's there are a bit like Hoka's, but I can't, don't like running so high in the air.
      I ran a lot in Nike just out on school, and with the hype of this shoe I had to try it. would now like a proper run in them.

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