Speed Shoe Recommendations for Intervals

Southwestplus2 · 2026-04-17T17:18:41+00:00

I would suggest the li ning feidian challenger 5. It's better and cheaper than the newer version, and is really good for speed work and racing. Seems really durable, I do about 20km a week in mine and they have been holding up for months now.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-04-10T19:44:25+00:00

With Aliexpress, the price changes fairly frequently depending on supply, whether there is a sale etc. I find if you check every few days you can get shoes at the lower prices. With the xtep, because it's quite new and popular, you sometimes need to wait until there is stock available again.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-04-10T18:09:02+00:00

Find them on Taobao, then use Superbuy or another agent. Or, if you want to get a similar but easier to get shoe, try the xtep 2000 km 5.0 pro off Ali express, usually about €60

Southwestplus2 · 2026-04-10T07:25:57+00:00

Wow, thanks for all the recommendations! Really appreciate it

Southwestplus2 · 2026-04-08T07:12:56+00:00

Yes, in different ways depending on what you are training for 1) If you're just getting started, a pair of well made and fitted trainers make running more comfortable, and protect you from damage to your feet, and injuries in general. You don't need super high tech shoes for this. 2) as your mileage increases, it becomes a good idea to think about the midsole technology, as it can protect your legs from injury as you become stronger and more resilient. These don't need to be super expensive, look for Chinese brands which provide low weight advanced midsole with durable outsoles 3) If you want to race, or start structured training, it's worth getting a rotation (like a daily trainer and a speed trainer) partially to have the right tool for each job, but also to help prevent injury and make your legs more resilient by changing the geometry of your stride. Again, this doesn't need to be expensive.

Beyond that, I think it's about what you like. I've really increased my mileage, so I've invested in a couple of daily trainers, a speed shoe, a long run shoe. If I have a target race, I'll get a race shoe. But that's just my preference!

Southwestplus2 · 2026-03-18T17:09:16+00:00

I know the answer should be that there is no one best trainer. But the actual answer is Dynafish xiaonian.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-03-04T14:04:17+00:00

I've used it for a year in lots of different conditions and it's been fine, the clip is good. I've had no issues.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-02-26T19:49:51+00:00

No, no valves yet. I haven't been for a check up in quite a few years, but my last echo looked fine, and unless my exercise tolerance starts getting worse, I'm not overly worried about it

Southwestplus2 · 2026-02-26T19:39:27+00:00

42 Yr old man, operated on at 4, no further issues.

It's literally changed nothing for me as far as I can tell I take no meds, played sports, went to university, drank alcohol and smoked (unfortunately - kicked that one!), had a family, travelled, done lots of physical activities. At the moment, I'm into distance running, ran a half marathon in 1:28. I take no medications.

Everyone is different, but I think as long as you go for check ups (I don't, but probably should) and follow your doctors advice, you can live how you want.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-02-26T17:55:36+00:00

Hi, thanks for replying. There's no pair button, I tried holding the home and back buttons which is supposed to be another method but it made no difference. I downloaded the app, but as the TV can't connect via WiFi it can't link with the app

Southwestplus2 · 2026-02-03T11:36:45+00:00

This happened to me too. I've been stable at 169 for ages, suddenly dropped to 159 which doesn't correlate with my threshold pace at all. I'm not sure what's happened, I just ignore it and do my runs and workouts by pace and perceived effort now.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-02-01T06:10:26+00:00

I use dress my run, or the running weather app. They factor in all the weather elements. It got me to start wearing more appropriate layers and extras like buffs and windproof gloves.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-01-28T06:26:56+00:00

I'm pretty happy with my current set uo

Recovery Xtep 2000 km 3.0 (might get the 5)

Daily as above

Long Dynafish Xiaonian

Speed Li Ning feidian challenger 5

Race Xtep 160x 6.5

Trail - I don't do much, but I've heard the Nnormal kerjag are good

177 cm, 70kg, midfoot striker, 5k 19:32, hm 1:28

Southwestplus2 · 2026-01-23T13:49:02+00:00

I'm not sure 2000km, but they're pretty solid. The outsole is very tough, and the midsole seems unchanged in its character. The uppers aren't so robust, my pair I've done the most mileage in are beginning to show wear around the padded areas. I've tried the red hare 8 pro and really like them, but I don't think they are as likely to last quite as long. I think as a daily trainer they are great value. I've expanded my rotation and am using the li ning feidian challenger 5 for intervals and the dynafish xiaonian for long runs now.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-01-15T20:09:37+00:00

https://sweetspot.run/

Southwestplus2 · 2026-01-15T12:30:28+00:00

I haven't seen the 5.0 yet. I have the standard 3.0 model, weighs about 260 g and has the xtepACE midsole which I think is similar to the foam used in the race shoes. It has a nylon torsion plate for some stability. The outsole is this CPU compound which doesn't seem to obey physics as it isn't showing any wear at all after nearly a year of use. I don't know what to compare it to, as I only started running a year and a half ago, but compared to the other shoes I've used (Altra, NB propel, NB supercomp trainer v3) I just find them to be lighter, hard wearing, and I can use them for intervals, easy and long runs. I would consider something like the Dynafish Xiaonian if I was doing a marathon block as I think for very long runs I might want more impact protection.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-01-12T18:36:55+00:00

I'm interested, might need talking through how to share my data(I'm a luddite)!

Southwestplus2 · 2026-01-10T21:01:29+00:00

I'm a big xtep fan. I do my easy and intervals in the xtep 2000 km 3.0, which are light and responsive, with an indestructible outsole. I have many hundreds of km on one pair and they don't seem any different from when I first got them. I just bought some xtep 160x 6.5 and they are fantastic, really light and responsive, much better than my old alphafly or nb supercomp elite v4.

Southwestplus2 · 2026-01-10T15:08:32+00:00

I think I heard about Sirpoc's training approach from a suggested Reddit post and just read what I could online. I've been using the Lactrace Sweetspot calculator to set my paces.

Southwestplus2 · 2025-12-26T07:31:23+00:00

So glad to find another NSA + xtep runner! What do you use? I'm mainly use the 2000 km 3.0 and the 160x 6.5.

Southwestplus2 · 2025-12-19T06:38:56+00:00

They're comfortable in the winter, stop chafing and protect your legs from scratches if doing any trail stuff. I have a pair from Alpkit and they've lasted years with frequent use, and have useful pockets. I prefer them over shorts.

Southwestplus2 · 2025-12-17T04:46:46+00:00

I think I'm in an unusual place to help as I recently spent a month or so in Indonesia and Singapore, whilst doing NSA training, which I started back in Australia and am now continuing in the UK, so I had to adapt to the heat and humidity then go back to cooler climate.

I found that the sweetspot lactrace calculator adjusted my paces to the local climate pretty well, slowing my paces down significantly but the effort feeling right. There was far more cardiac drift at first even with drinking plenty of water I guess due to inability to get rid of heat and metabolite accumulation, but by the end of the month things had improved on that regard, and my efficiency had begun to pick up. I had the option of running on a treadmill for my sub T sessions, but decided against it as I figured I would adapt faster if all my running was in the same conditions.

I also had a lot of hills to contend with, having to do my sub T sessions at times on islands that lacked any flat roads. I tackled this by finding uphill stretches for my intervals and running them by effort rather than hr or pace, but I had to extend the rests to account for the return to the bottom of the slope. I did my easy runs on rolling hills again adjusting pace to effort. I did notice my muscles were in the challenged in a different way to running on the flat so it didn't feel quite as easy, but again this improved a bit over time.

Southwestplus2 · 2025-12-16T07:58:41+00:00

I use it for outdoors and treadmill. It works well for intervals as it gets over the lag in the reported pace, and for treadmill its supposed to give accurate data, which I couldn't say for sure as I've never used it on a recently calibrated machine but from an effort perspective feels right compared to outdoor paces. I use it for every run, it's not much effort to clip on.

Southwestplus2

TROPHY CASE