300s, 200, Adidas Takumi Sen 7 trial

Warm on Friday mid afternoon, low 80's and hazy sun, light shifting winds, heat index 85º so it felt much hotter in the sun.   I got the new Adidas trainers in and wanted to give them a spin.  

The Adidas Takumi Sen 7 are marketed as a 5k racing flat, the lightest trainers I've ever seen at 5.75 oz in my size.  They have a unique inner sleeve that's integrated with the tongue and provide a great lock down without sacrificing toe space.   They are just 0.5 oz heavier than my Nike Maxfly racing spikes.  The outsole has a bunch of small hard rubber 'spikes' that provide super traction.  Closest thing to wearing spikes without wearing spikes.  

I brought my Hoka Rincon 3s for comparison purposes.  These shoes could not feel more different.  Here's the workout, all run pretty hard.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100, bands

Adidas trainers on

300m - 43.56  (13.40, 14.26, 15.90)

Hoka Rincon trainers on 

300m - 43.81 (14.31, 14.38, 15.12)

Adidas trainers on

200m - 27.20 (13.26, 13.94)

I was feeling a bit sluggish for this workout after 3 days of relative inactivity.  I took off too hard on the first 300m for my level of fitness  (27.66 - 200m split) and suffered in the end, really tightening up.   It took me a long time to recover from the first 300m.   The shoes felt comfortable, great traction and a lot of ground feel.   

Switching to the Hokas on the second 300m, I ran much more even splits.  It felt like I was running on air in comparison with the Adidas.  I felt taller, much more spring, smoother transition in the stride.  I felt I could run faster with less effort over a distance of 300m with the Hokas.  The Hokas gave much more 'return' or bounce than the Adidas.  Not surprising since they have 9mm more foam in the forefoot and a slightly wider footprint.  Overall, a much easier 300m than the first.

Conclusion:  The Rincons win overall.  For the type of training I do, the Hokas offer much more protection without sacrificing speed.  I think the Adidas would probably do better in short quality sprints or accelerations from the line or from blocks, distances of 150m and down.  But that type of workout is not one that I do very often.  The Adidas are probably a good substitute for wearing spikes.  

141.5 lbs after workout.  

Well, I did it again.  I bought yet a 3rd pair of new trainers.  I found the Adidas Takumi Sen 8 on sale at Running Warehouse so I bought some .  They were discounted to $111, minus $69 (originally $180), probably an undesirable color.   They have the same forefoot stack height as the Rincons and have some sort of energy return rods in them and may be even lighter than the Rincons or similar.  If I don't like 'em, I'll exchange 'em for another pair of Rincons.   They may be the best of both worlds, we'll see.  Yea, the discounted Sen 8s are kind of an ugly color but so what.  Nothing is uglier than those coral green women's Clifton 1s - of which I have 3 or 4 pair.