[ryanoelke]

Hey Everyone 🙂 Today was the first day I really got clued in on ‘heel drop’ in running shoes. I’m currently running in Brooks Ghost 14 (12mm drop), got my feet analyzed at Fleet Feet, and got a running sole to help fit my feet even better. I’m getting close to needing new shoes and a half-marathon on October 9th and REI had Hoka Carbon X 2 (5mm drop) on big discount today, so I ordered them, but now I’m wondering.

I have a pair of Hoka Bondi 7’s that I’m using just for my daily walking shoes and love them. Not a good fit for running as my normal size is too tight and these are a smidge big, but totally fine for walking. I realized they have a low drop (4mm drop).

I see that people recommend transitioning when going to lower drop. So, Is a month enough time to transition? Does having been walking around in the Hoka Bondi’s for a month help? Or should I just go for a shoe that’s closer to my current drop for now?

I honestly don’t know what would be better for me in the big picture and I’m curious to experiment and see. I definitely feel like I could benefit from next-level support for road running impact as that’s been a little bit of a struggle, and feel I need something more than the Brooks Ghost 14 offers.

Thanks for any thoughts 🙂
-Ryan

[ryanoelke]

A little follow up here: one reason I’m interested in these shoes is summarized from a review I just watched. Great for ultra running on the road, which I’m not doing, but I like the sound of how supportive that will be for me road running. Think I really need that. Second, they mentioned that this shoe could be a great training and racing shoe, so music to my ears.

Also, I didn’t intentionally pick up a 12mm drop for my current shoes, but realizing now that it’s on the high side for a lot of popular running shoes. Very curious to compare my experience in some lower drop shoes like the 5mm Hoka Carbon x2.

[Charles]

I do like the Hoka Carbon X. Also use the Clifton and recently purchased the Rocket.

The problem I have with these shoes is the sole wears fast. Only 319km on the Carbon X and I am applying Shoe Goo where the outer sole has broken through…

So… IMHO you won’t go wrong with the Hoka, but buy a couple of tubes of Shoe Goo to extend the life. My Clifton’s have 2089km and I still use them, but the sole in almost totally covered with Goo – they are ready for the dumpster, but I’ll try and squeeze a couple of more runs out of them, they’re that comfortable.

[ryanoelke]

ah, very good to know! I guess fortunately they’re over 30% discounted, so hopefully that makes up for the sole problem a bit. But still, they should hold up a lot longer than that! Do you have v1, 2, or 3?

[Charles]

Carbon X2. Very smooth.

I’m sure you will like them.

[alancraig]

I switched from 12mm to zero drop. It was weird at first and my calves were really sore. But once I got used to it, they felt great. It helped that I was coming back from an injury and was basically starting over with minimal training volume.

I don’t think 12mm to 4mm will be a complete shock, but there will be an adjustment period. My suggestion would be to ease into them. Start with 2-3 of your easy runs, and do your other runs in the 12mm shoes. Depending on the distance / duration of your easy runs, you might consider dialing them back to 30 minutes or so – for now. If your calves are really sore, then keep the duration the same. But if you find that you’re feeling pretty good, then add 5-10 minutes. Once you’re back to your normal training volume, then use your 4mm shoes for one of your faster runs. Like before, I would dial it back and then increase based on how your calves are feeling. And so forth.

That’s a pretty conservative approach, and you could probably get away with approaching it more aggressively.

[ryanoelke]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Alan 🙂 Super helpful. I think I’ll do what you’re suggesting, try them out during easy foundation runs, see how that goes. I’m going to cross my fingers I adapt quickly and can use them for the race, but if not, I’ll just take the slow approach. Good to hear that it doesn’t sound like a big of a shock to go from 12 to 8, so we shall see!

[Author]

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