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Would be interested to hear the verdict after the longer threshold session. I really love the bouncy feel of Vaporflys at marathon pace but would be much happier avoiding Nike if possible.
siskind-
I'm doing 4x10 mins at threshold tomorrow so I'll alternate them and report back 👍
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Threshold session today 4x10 mins @3:38 P/km pace alternating the endorphin pros and the alphaflys. No difference in HR at that pace just very different feel. The Sauconys feel fast and suit my foot shape better. They are however noticeably stiffer than the Nikes and I'm having to roll my feet after running in the Sauconys as the entire sole aches a little after a hard session in them. I don't have that issue with the alphaflys or my 4% flykits. It isn't really an issue as a quick roll and a rub and they are fine plus the shoes will break in a little and my feet will get used to the extra stiffness but worth noting especially if new to carbon plated shoes. The Sauconys are definitely a pure race shoe and for me they don't start to wake up until about 4:20 P/km pace which is only a little slower than my marathon pace but the alphaflys feel good at all speeds. I've gone right down to 5+ min P/km for long easy runs in the Nikes and still get that bounce. So the Nikes work at a wider range of paces but will suit less feet as they are very narrow and high in the arch and in combination with the high stack they can feel a little unstable and if you have any unwanted foot roll these will exaggerate it and they don't actually feel that fast because of their bulk (not weight) but they are very fast. The Sauconys are only suited to faster runs for faster runners and they are extremely stiff and whilst their shape will suit more people as its just like a regular trainer those other characteristics won't which i assume is why they offer the speed version. The Sauconys do feel quicker even if they aren't in comparison to the alphafly and i just prefer how they feel. So I'm still leaning towards the Sauconys for my race shoe at this stage. At the end of this months block I'm going to have a crack at either a sub hr 10 miler or 1:18-1:20 for a half which will be a pb for me if i pull it off and if i don't i certainly can't blame it on the shoes.
Retro_Bastard
I did my first hard session in my new endorphin pros and i ran them back to back against my alphaflys for a comparison. Todays session was 6x1k at 3:09 p/km pace. Later in the week I've got a 4x10min at threshold which will be more suitable session for another comparison. Both are very fast shoes I'd say equally fast at this stage but they feel totally different. The Nikes always feel weird and I'm always aware of the high stack and can really feel the bounce from the zoom x/carbon plate combo in every stride. I think I'm only aware of the air pods because i can hear them and not sure if they provide any extra pop on top of what your getting from the rest of the shoe already and i always feel like I'm running on the Nikes. Whereas i feel like I'm running in the endorphins which is much more familiar. The speed roll really works and definitely assists a faster turnover but for me it doesn't really come in to play until I'm running under 4:20 p/km pace. I'm going to keep them both but the endorphins feel great and are fast and the Nikes feel weird but are fast. Unless further testing shows the Nikes to be significantly faster i can see myself reaching for the endorphins in more scenarios and the Nikes less to the point the may just end up a PB attempt or race day special. If i could only keep one pair right now it'd definitely be the Sauconys.