 And away we go, diving into the Shudio. Oh, another week, another, and I look down here because, yes, we've got the carbon fiber plate shoes here, the 4% and the next percent that I cut open. I know I ruffled a few feathers when I did that, but the reason I did it was to, for moments just like this, so we can analyze and break down these shoes together here in the Shudio. And that's what we're talking about in this week's Q&A, and we'll get to the QD later on. Let's dive in. About 80 questions came in last week on YouTube all about carbon fiber plates running and racing shoes. And so I'm gonna go through as many as I possibly can. All right, let's go. Here we go, JK asks, what is it specifically about carbon fiber plate shoes that makes them faster? JK, that's an interesting question, a big kind of broad question. And JK, based on what I've researched and read, yes, the carbon fiber plate, and you can see it exposed here on, let's see, maybe on this one. There we go. On this next percent, you can see it exposed there, the actual carbon fiber plate. But what I'm reading, JK, is that it's the midsole stack height that is making a big, big difference for runners. Yes, the carbon fiber plate inside is helping. And I will say that I've also read, and this is on a study that I read out of Boulder, Colorado. There's a, I think it's a physiology lab up there where they tested runners on a treadmill. It's the curvature of the carbon fiber plate in the midsole. So what is the actual, how much curve is through that carbon fiber plate as well? It's like some science that is a little bit beyond me, frankly, like I took physics in college, but I'm not saying I understood it completely. So anyway, JK, stack height of the midsole and curvature of that carbon fiber plate. I'll leave it there. And yeah, oh, it's a big, it's a big topic. Okay, moving on to Valentin. He asks, how much faster would you say you are wearing the Hoka Carbon X compared with a non-carbon plate shoe? So on this carbon X, it's kind of neat, the outsole, they actually leave a portion of the outsole open so you can see the carbon plate inside. I think it's just to reassure us that it's actually in there. However, some rocks get stuck in there. So that's a little, a little, I bet they're tweaking that for the Hoka Carbon X2, which I haven't heard is being released anytime soon, but Valentin, is it, how much is it making me faster? That this is where it's a guessing game, right? For all of us. And it would be interesting, I must say, I'll probably try this at some point, for example, to race a marathon in an audios lineup or an Adidas shoe that is not a carbon fiber plate and see what time I run in, you know, actually in a marathon. Valentin, if I had to guess like same, maybe five, four to five seconds per mile faster, that's a complete guess though. I use the Carbon X4 long runs and I know like there's the whole, like branding of the 4%, like it's supposed to make you 4% faster. Oh my gosh, it's a, this is where it gets into a little bit of a guessing game, but I will say this much, is that based on data from Strava, they didn't, Strava has put out data from thousands of runners using these shoes and times have been dropping. In fact, I will be interested to see how the Boston Athletic Association that puts on the Boston Marathon, how they will need to adapt their qualifying times, their BQ times moving forward because of all the shoes that I'm about to list for you in moving into the future. It's gonna be interesting. Okay, I gotta move on. From Jay Rowan, 99. Well, let's address the elephant in the room. What do you think of the legal AlphaFly and did we all get played by Nike? I'm not afraid to dive into a little controversy. Okay, the Nike AlphaFly, next percent. In my humble opinion, it's not the same shoe that Kipchoge was wearing in Vienna. Just put it out there. It's a different name. And okay, so, and that's a huge, like Kipchoge was in a prototype and the AlphaFly next percent is now supposedly legal, all right? Now I guess, so here's where I'm a little confused about world athletics. So in case you didn't hear world athletics, put out some rules about two weeks ago, approximately, about the different, the specifications for shoes moving forward, carbon fiber plate shoes moving forward. For example, you can only have one carbon fiber plate inside the midsole. The stack height needs to be under 40 millimeters and there's a couple other little stipulations but where I'm confused, world athletics, is that just so everybody knows, this is a seven and a half. But if this was a 10 and a half shoe size or a 13 shoe size, the stack height is gonna get much taller. So from what I've read, the 40 millimeter rule for the midsole is for, now I've heard two different things. I've heard it's either for the size eight or size eight and a half. So what I'm saying is as the shoe gets bigger, of course, the stack height is gonna get taller and it's gonna go over 40 millimeters. But world athletics, again, from what I've read has said, we're gonna measure a size, I've heard two, whether it's an eight or an eight and a half. Why that shoe size? Why not if, in my mind, it should be, I think I did the math right, either a 10 or a 10 and a half. And because, let's say men's sizes started size seven. You know, that's like the bottom and go up to 14. So half of that seven plus three and a half is 10 and a half. So they should, in my mind, am I crazy the median measurement anyway? It's gonna be fascinating to watch as all these companies, Adidas, Brooks, Soccany, as they roll out their shoes and the measurements start happening at the end of the day, and I know this is a long answer, but at the end of the day, they better be obviously measuring the exact same shoe size for all these different companies. I know that was a lot and I kind of jumbled it, but I'm honestly a little confused by World Athletics. Why the eight or eight and a half shoe size? And so, but maybe I'm off. Maybe it's a different shoe size, but those are two reports that I read. So if it is under 40 millimeters, J. Rowan, then I'm good. I was concerned. I was very concerned about the reports of the prototype being in that, from what I read, the 50 millimeter range. So anyway, I will leave it there and that is that. That is that. Supposedly it's gonna be released on February 29th, the day of the US Olympic marathon trials down in Atlanta that I'm gonna be at. Moving on to Mark, here we go. I remember a little while back you answered someone's question about, I believe the next percent and that you would take them out for a couple runs, totaling 15 to 20 miles. You are correct, Mark, before racing a marathon in them. I bought a pair a few weeks ago for my 2020 racing, but with that price tag, I'm obviously going to wear them for more than one race. So what have you heard about the mileage lifespan of the next percent? Mark, it's a great question. Mark, I would say it depends a little bit on your gate cycle. It depends on your foot strike and it depends on how big you are as a runner. Like if you're a football player that's retiring from football and you're transitioning to endurance sports and like if you weigh 270 pounds, like you're gonna obviously compress the midsole quicker than a lighter runner. So putting that out there, I've heard Mark that 150 to 200 mile range and a lot of that Mark comes down to the integrity of the outsole. The integrity of the outsole is actually from again, I think the next percent made a good leap forward from the 4% but I've seen some pretty bad pictures all over the place on Instagram, on Facebook, of people's outsole's breaking down at like that 150 to 200 mile mark. So keep that in mind. And I took my next percent's these to I think 120 and I was just starting to feel like they didn't have the exact same pop as out of the box. Okay, I remember that 120 Mark, they were just like not quite as peppy if that makes sense. Mark, good question, I love it. Moving on to Raphael. What carbon plate shoe to be released in 2020? Are you most excited about and why? Raphael, let's do it. Let's list all the shoes, man. That's a tough question, man. So here we go, you guys ready for this? Here we go. We've got the in 2020, in the next three months, this is what's happening. The Soccany Endorphin Pro, the Nike Alpha Fly Next Percent, the Adidas Adi Zero Pro, the Skechers Go Run Speed Elite Hyper, the Brooks Hyperion Elite, and well, okay, the New Balance Fuel Cell TC but that I think they're also releasing an Elite version for racing. The TC one I believe is more geared toward training. So bottom line everyone, and I think it's actually called RC, sorry, New Balance Fuel Cell RC. Bottom line everyone, are you ready to take out a second mortgage so you can pay for all these shoes? Like it's happening, it's exciting. Finally, the competition is here to continue to innovate. All these companies are gonna have to innovate together to compete against each other and obviously Nike has dominated the carbon fiber plate scene for a long time and I'm beyond excited. So what was the question? What am I most excited about? I'm still probably most excited about the Soccany Endorphin Pro. Maybe it's because I saw Jared Ward run in New York City, at the New York City Marathon in those shoes. I actually didn't really see him run, he was ahead of me but I saw footage and so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm also, okay, so did I mention the A6 Meta Racer? Oh my gosh, I think I missed that. The A6 Meta Racer is coming out and yeah, the Brooks Hyperion Elite. I think I skipped a couple, sorry. Anyway, the Brooks Hyperion Elite, I'm excited about everything. Everything, everything, everything. So good question from Raphael. Okay, I gotta move on, I gotta go a little quicker. From Brent, Seth, do you think A6 will throw their hat in the ring and make a carbon plate racer like the other top brands? Brent, I just answered that, yes they are, it's the A6 Meta Racer. At least those are the initial reports and I think I've heard April 1st. All these companies are releasing soon because they have to get them on the marketplace for that new rule with World Athletics where they have to be available to the public. Is it four months? Yeah, four months before the competition. So, oh man, Brent, you get me going, you get me going. Okay, TJS 1189. I actually don't like running in carbon fiber plate shoes because I feel like I'm not in control anymore and I'm riding the shoes. Do you think long-term it actually can hurt a runner's tenure? I think you mean maybe longevity by disconnecting from the road and relying on the plate technology too much? I have said in the past that I think too tall a stack height can impact how you run and your gate cycle. That's why I was really concerned about really anything over 40 millimeters or definitely that 50 millimeter mark, right? I hear what you're saying. It is a different feel. I don't think it's necessarily gonna cut down on only because I think some stack height protection from the pounding is actually a good thing. Now, how rigid, how rigid the carbon fiber plates become and what they end up doing with the design of the carbon fiber plates in let's say three years or five years from now, that might impact your foot strike a little bit. Like, yeah, it's a tough one. I'm not giving you a good answer, but I write at this point, like running like 10 marathons in five years in a shoe that's more of a minimalist shoe, like 20 millimeter stack height more or 25, kind of like the Adidas lineup with the Audios lineup, you're pounding and you're hitting your joints and you're not absorbing as much of that impact. So, oh, TJS, I'm gonna leave it there. It's a good question, but obviously we're so new into this, we don't have the answers. And yeah, maybe that's a little scary, but people are gonna keep running in them. I guarantee it, I guarantee it. Okay, Barry asks, how much can a carbon fiber plate really help a slower slash mid-pack runner? For example, I'm around 840 a mile for the half marathon and nine minutes a mile for the marathon. Barry, I've gotten this question a lot and I actually, I think the shoes can help. Here's the deal, I like to think that I'm more of a four-foot striker, but for a marathon race, you get tired and you get your leg, your barking, your legs are barking and you start, I start to drift back and that's where I start to slow down when I'm not up on my toes as much and I'm not leaning forward. So, I think the benefit of the carbon fiber plates I think that they can benefit, bottom line, I think it can benefit everyone. Now, the magnitude as to how much benefit, I don't know the science between a nine minute a mile and a five minute a mile, right? Gosh, actually, let's just open it up. Please comment down below if you have more of like a physics background than I do. Let us know your thoughts if you have a science background more than I do, but my opinion is that at any pace, the shoes are gonna help, but maybe not as at the magnitude or at the amount as, let's say, a kipchogi. So, okay, moving on from Fredrick, to Fredrick, what distance is, would you say benefit from a carbon fiber plate? I'm assuming sprint distances does not, but I want to get a shoe for a 5K race. Fredrick, correct me if I'm wrong everyone, what is it called? It's not the ViperFly. Nike is releasing a carbon fiber plate-esque sprint spike, for the Olympics. So it's coming, Fredrick, and I would say some people have raced in the 4% and the next percent on the track for a 10K. I'm gonna say anything under 10 miles. I would prefer a more streamlined shoe with less of a midsole, or sorry, a leaner midsole, but again, no, is it the ViperFly is the next, that their tempo shoe? Oh man, there's so many shoes being released that the names are jumbling, but anyway, Nike is releasing some other shoes as well that are carbon fiber plates that are geared for shorter distances. So if I think of the name, or if I remember the name, I'll try to put it on the screen right now, and let me just make sure that we are still rolling. And Maj asked, here we go, do you think the new Soccany carbon plate will compete with the next percent? Ward, Jared Ward wore the shoe at New York and was able to beat out a lot of Nike sponsored competitors. So Maj, I think it will compete. I don't know if it's gonna be as light as the next percent, and at the end of the day, Maj, you know the drill, it's all about the grit, it's all about the training, it's all about the hard work, it's all about the determination and the natural ability of these runners that wins these races, like a Jared Ward who has a real good shot of making that Olympic team in two weeks in Atlanta. So that's my approach to these carbon fiber plate shoes. They're fun, but they don't replace the athletes. All right, here we go. E. White asked, hey Seth, do you feel as though the carbon fiber plate shoes could possibly have negative effects on the average runners using them in terms of injury from overuse or slight changes to the gait or foot strike that could lead to injury in less conditioned runners? So I've kind of talked about this a second ago. E. White, and yes, I do think negative effects could happen. Some people train in the carbon fiber plate shoes all the time. And I think this is a question down the line, but I don't like to do that because I like to save the, I like to save them for the races more. So I will wear them maybe three times in a 14 week training block. But then when I put the shoes on on race day and they do have that extra little spring to them, it's just a nice feeling. I must say, you know, it's nice mentally, it's nice physically. I think it does help save your legs a little. Is it making you faster? Again, it gets back to that discussion, but I think it's saving your legs a little bit for later in the race. But I do think overtraining in carbon fiber plate shoes, I don't like it. I just think, especially like, you know, you've been running around barefoot and running in running shoes for your entire life. And then to just go cold turkey into carbon fiber plate shoes, we don't have enough data in science. I don't think, because they're so new to really be able to determine how it's impacting the general population of runners. E. White, there you go. Daniel asks Seth, do you think you ran your 106 half because of the carbon plate shoes you were wearing? Run on, and that is from Daniel. Daniel, I was chasing butter. So no, I don't think it was because of the shoes. Because I ran in those carbon fiber plate shoes here in Denver, but it was altitude. Daniel, I was fit and I had a good pack to chase. Those four guys, I was chasing and I was excited. It was my first marathon. And honestly, I think I said this before, the 106 53, it felt easy. Like I honestly was holding back. Now in retrospect, that was, I think I could have broken 106 if I was running just a half marathon that day. But what I wasn't ready for obviously was to do that twice. It was too fast for doing it twice. But honestly, that pace at that distance, it felt, I was cruising. That's why I stuck with those guys. So, and I didn't lose them actually till it was like mile 15, maybe 15 and a half. It was another two and a half miles after the half marathon that I held on. And then the wheels came off. Okay, moving on. I think we got a couple more here. Hi, Seth. I usually only use my Nike Vaporfly 4% for marathon races plus one or two tempo runs a few weeks before the race. My theory is that I am feeling more the carbon plate effect and it gives me a mental boost on race day. I know I forgot to write your name down. I apologize. 100%, just like what I just said, I love saving them for race day. But I use them for my threshold days leading into the marathon. I love it. I love the approach. Okay, moving on to Stefan. Last one, in a previous video, you mentioned that some elite runners use almost exclusively carbon plated shoes during their training. So do you think it is better to use these shoes regularly during the training phase to be more used to the shoe and gate cycle or only on race day for mental boost? It's kind of what we just talked about. And Stefan, those guys, and I'm talking specifically about the Africans, the Ethiopians and Kenyans, they're always training in carbon fiber plate shoes from what I can tell. Okay, this is all speculating. This is like pictures and video that gets leaked out of their training camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. Like it looks, from what I can tell, I always see them in carbon fiber plate shoes, but it's a little bit of speculation. But they're running fast and they're training very hard and they run hard, hard, hard. And I guess it's maybe the approach of any little benefit they can get aerobically and anaerobically from the shoes, helping them. Man, I don't know, Stefan. It's just not my approach. And listen, a lot of them stay healthy, but at the same time, we're talking about the best of the best in the world. So it's a different class of runners that we, like it's like, we mortals, we just try and survive sometimes through our training. So Stefan, that's not a great answer, but yeah, I'm gonna leave it there. Yeah, I like saving them for race day and just using them a couple of times. Okay, once again, here's the carbon fiber plate shoes and then I'll get you the question of the day. Socconee Endorphin Pro, Nike Alpha Fly Next%, Adidas Audi Zero Pro, Skechers Go Run Speed Elite Hyper, Asics Meta Racer, Brooks Hyperion Elite and New Balance Fuel Cell TC and I think RC is coming down the road. TC is available right now, just so you know from NewBalance.com. Question of the day. What questions do you have for me about the US Marathon Olympic Trials, two weeks from today? When you're watching, if you're watching this on Saturday, whatever the day is, two weeks from today, I'll be there filming. What questions do you have for me about the process of qualifying, about the race, about the course, about, yeah, anything. Anything about the event in Atlanta, Georgia, let me know and I know it's an American event but obviously like, I don't know, I think it's gonna be a big event for people around the world to watch. So, all right everyone, that is it for today. Thank you for watching. Thanks for being here. Another Q&A in the books. All right, we're gonna toss it back on the right too. Last week's Q&A all about trail running shoes on the right and then road running shoes that'll be on the left. I think that was from two or three weeks ago. That'll be on the left. All right, see beauty, work hard and love each other. See you tomorrow.