Sneaker review

About a week ago, I was pretty much at end-of-life for my two pairs of sneakers. Rather than push it a little bit too far, to include two marathons, I got my newest replacement pairs. And while one of them was my regular -- ASICS Gel Nimbus -- which is a really solid, supportive sneaker, and one which accommodates a custom insole, I splurged on the Metaspeed Sky for my second pair. The Metaspeed is essentially ASICS' answer to Nike's VaporFly. Given my newest sub-3 attempt at Chicago, I figured having the extra "boost" might be helpful.

So far, I've done a few runs in them. Walking in them in the lead-up to the walk is *really* weird. The feeling from the carbon plate is rather awkward. However, that's not a big deal, since I won't exactly be walking in them during the race. These shoes are kinda fascinating.

First off is just the experience of getting them on. With my normal sneakers, regardless of brand, I usually get a wide (2E) shoe. These only come in medium/normal (D) width. So, it definitely takes a little bit of effort to make sure I maximize the amount of space available to put my feet in. While it's a little tricky getting on, once it is, it's a pretty comfy fit. We'll see how I feel about that on Sunday late in the marathon as my feet gradually swell.

Then there's the material covering the top and sides of my feet. VERY thin, lightweight. Where the Gel Nimbus has a LOT of cushiony material there (which soaks up SO MUCH sweat during longer runs), there's almost nothing there on these sneakers. It's so noticeable that I could feel the self-made breeze through the tops of the sneakers as I ran -- instant cooling for my feet. And after a long enough run where the sneakers should have been noticeably wet, even if not soaked through (I only did 13 miles on Sunday), these were pretty much dry right at the end of the run. Nice!

Then there's the main crux of any review -- how were they to run in? While the high stack is a little awkward at first, it's mostly unnoticeable once the run is begun in earnest. These sneakers are very comfortable, lightweight (about half the weight of the Gel Nimbus), and definitely require less effort for the desired result. How much is from the carbon plate and how much simply from the reduced weight is for others to determine. Regardless, with less effort needed to achieve the desired outcome, that means it's likely to be able to endure the desired speed for a longer amount of time with less likelihood of hitting the wall, all else being equal.

If the reduction in PR time is actually comparable, then not only is sub-3 doable, but maybe even dropping down as far as approximately 2:57. (!) Wouldn't that be spectacular! Not sure I'll push that, since there will actually be a 3:00 pace group for Chicago, so I have no reason to break away from them (and risk blowing up my tiem/effort) until inside the last mile.

Looking forward to seeing just how well these hold up for me on Sunday.