Hey runners. Hey. Hi. We gotta stop calling ourselves slow. I think the most egregious example of this I’ve experienced was when I was looking stuff up about carbon plate shoes and saw some comment on reddit like “if you’re a slower runner, like 8-9 minutes miles, then these probably won’t do anything for you.” Looking back on this, I’m thinking this must just be like.. someone in high school or their 20s, with people running 6 minute miles around them, track runners, whatever. Not applicable to the over 40 set who are working on getting within striking distance of a small community race podium.

Also that’s bunk – plate shoes (I have nylon plate shoes rather than carbon – not quite as good, a little cheaper) are tremendously helpful. Don’t wear them for anything but races, and I think they really help me go about 1-1:30 minutes per mile faster. They break down faster, and I’ve heard they can hurt your body if you wear them all the time. I can’t corroborate any of that, I do not know the science, but I love love them as race shoes.