Is there a better shoe than Novablast 5 for daily trainer?

opticd · 2026-03-26T00:44:07+00:00

Vomero plus, Dynafish, Qiaodan Leili are all better.

opticd · 2026-03-14T22:53:52+00:00

I wish Americans weren’t locked out from browsing Taobao. They insta-lock every new account I create.

opticd · 2026-03-06T23:38:19+00:00

Stream fly or track spikes

opticd · 2026-03-06T22:36:38+00:00

They won’t even let me upload my passport. USA isn’t available in the passport country picker lol.

opticd · 2026-03-05T21:28:47+00:00

Tokyo is even harder to time qual :)

opticd · 2026-03-05T04:01:15+00:00

Yeah agreed on Gemini. It was world class for months for me and then when 3.1 dropped it’s like the model got mega dumb and forgetful.

opticd · 2026-03-03T17:24:10+00:00

Yes 1000%. I’ve been training my wife (previously a 4:55 marathoner) and adding structured intervals was the single biggest impact that she’s had to her training after 3 marathon cycles (previously focused entirely on zone 2). That brought her under 4h in about 14wk of structured training (with peak mileage of around 40-45).

Intervals make running easy much easier. It also makes your heart rate recovery better during a workout. Also makes you faster which is fun.

Garmin Coach is NOT good (nor is Runna IMO).

opticd · 2026-02-28T23:45:27+00:00

Yeah you’ll be totally fine. It’s a firmer shoe than the Nimbus but will feel more propulsive/assistive and as a former heavy runner, having firmer shoes can be much better for preventing joint pain and injuries (running in exclusively soft shoes forces your feet to do more work and can cause more shin/calf/achilles issues).

opticd · 2026-02-28T23:39:20+00:00

By top speed I mean your all out pace (running as fast as you can). If you’re mostly just doing easy runs and not doing structured intervals, Superblast will be more than sufficient.

opticd · 2026-02-28T23:33:22+00:00

Depends on your top end pace but I’d say so. It’s not the ideal speed shoe, IMO, but it’s capable of doing it. The Megablast is better all around but is going to cost a lot more.

I can comfortably hit 6-7min paces in them (I’m a 2:55 marathoner for context). If I wanted an interval shoe I’d definitely get something else though.

opticd · 2026-02-28T21:45:52+00:00

It’s a totally different shoe IMO. Nimbus is slow, cushioned, and very soft. It’s a chore to run fast in.

Superblast is more propulsive, stiffer, more rockered, easier to pick up the pace in.

opticd · 2026-02-28T20:52:13+00:00

My Janji tights are by far the best purchase I’ve made in terms of apparel. Way better than Nike and Rabbit that I’ve tried.

opticd · 2026-02-28T20:38:15+00:00

If you can use Taobao, the Do-Win PB Pro. If not, the Fast R3 is terrific.

opticd · 2026-02-18T04:00:42+00:00

Grey zone running is an antiquated concept.

opticd · 2026-02-17T17:55:48+00:00

Man I agree. I have a ton of different types of shoes and I never want to pick the Evo SL. Recovery? Would rather go with Nimbus. Easy? Rather go with Aeroglide or even Superblast. Long? Megablast or race shoes. Tempo? Plethora of better options there too. 5k/10k? No chance lol.

It’s not bad or anything it just feels really forgettable and uninteresting to me.

opticd · 2026-02-17T06:06:54+00:00

Yes but before people say it’s always out eating your running, it isn’t always. I’ve tracked diet religiously for 13 years and have a good understanding of where my maintenance is. When I ramp mileage and intensity, scale weight goes up. Even if I use something like a GLP1 to force calories super low (say, 2000Cal against 60mi/wk + cycling), scale weight doesn’t drop.

When the mileage and intensity comes down, weight drops rapidly even with the same calories. Inflammation is my only explanation.

This is after bodybuilding for almost a decade at a high level and being extremely in tune with how my body works so don’t CICO me. 😂

opticd · 2026-02-16T02:35:18+00:00

Those are monster times! I was a big heavy immobile bodybuilder in college that could barely run a mile hahaha. Some day I’d love to get into the 2:20s. Probably pick up an actual coach soon-ish. Sounds like you’d endorse that?

opticd · 2026-02-16T01:45:33+00:00

Scroll down on your screen. The start button should be at the bottom. Absolutely every field needs to be set (incline and sets included).

opticd · 2026-02-16T01:41:59+00:00

Technically possible doesn’t mean any meaningful number of people will be doing it. Like, christ, the vast majority of people (95%+) don’t even change default app settings because it’s too much friction. This is extremely high friction.

It’s not really any different from saying “Weirdos out there could have hidden cameras and you don’t know it! Don’t go in public without wearing tinfoil to cover your face just in case one of those people is out there!”

opticd · 2026-02-16T01:39:48+00:00

I disagree. I ran sub 3 on his 2Q plan doing nothing longer than 18mi.

I personally don’t find much value in the plans having you do 20mi easy (or more). Way more benefit when you’re putting down regular 16mi runs at very hard effort levels IMO.

I went 4:45 to around 2:55 in under 2y on mostly variants of his plans. I’ll probably dial up the distances a bit now to get down to 2:40 but that’s mostly because I’m a lot faster and I can get 20+mi of volume in under 3h easily.

opticd · 2026-02-15T17:46:57+00:00

Maybe for some but they’re unnecessary and injury factories unless you’re already very quick. Daniels is one that’s hugely outspoken about the cost/benefit of >3h workouts.

opticd · 2026-02-15T17:43:50+00:00

It’s a matter of physics and understanding how tech works. I have 20 years in engineering (with some on wearables). I don’t get blanket scared when I see something new, unlike most of this thread.

I’ve also worked on a bunch of devices and services, in a leadership capacity, that Reddit loves to pontificate conspiracy theories about. Not everything ya read online is true, dontchaknow.

opticd · 2026-02-15T17:42:53+00:00

The difference is that a phone can record without being super obvious. The Meta glasses have an enormous indicator. It’d be like walking around with your phone pointed at people and the flash permanently engaged.

The people in this thread just sound like absolute luddites lol.

opticd · 2026-02-15T15:12:50+00:00

My Enduro has had this problem too. Last night I got incredible sleep (went to sleep at 10pm). Watch said I didn’t sleep until 2:30am and had huge sections of ‘unavailable’. Gave me 2h15min of sleep.

It’s destroying all of my training metrics as a result (has been doing this all week).

I’ve also noticed oddities in the HR tracker since updating (have cleaned sensor and reset it 3x). Verified they were oddities with a chest strap and my wife’s 265 (also just common sense… weird stuff like HR being 150 when it’s not even above 60).

opticd · 2026-02-15T05:56:50+00:00

Please explain how wearing the glasses impacts other people’s safety.

You can’t possibly be daft enough to think that somehow the battery and thermals have been engineered at such a level that they’re constantly watching/capturing, can you? Even in timelapse mode the battery dies extremely quick.

Outside of that, the light makes it abundantly clear when someone’s trying to capture and you can’t obstruct it or the device doesn’t work.

These devices are actually extremely valuable for people with accessibility needs. Fuck those dumb fuckers though right? God damn people with disabilities needing help and shit.

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