Zoom Vaporfly 4%

Shoe tech peaked at Vaporfly 1 & 2 and Speed 1 & 2. Everything since then has been minor progress at major prices.

Yep - VF4 is basically just a lighter, faster, more aggressive ZF6.

Nope. I'm a relatively experienced runner, and just yesterday in my HM my VF4 destroyed my calves. And I've raced in them before. If you are not used to carbon plated shoes, you are just going to hurt yourself.

You run exactly the same as me. Got suckered into buying some stability shoes. Threw them out. Now riding novablasts and vaporfly on race day. Do some stability weight exercises and buy the shoes that feel comfortable.

Pick up a discounted Vaporfly 4 for tempo/CV type work. I have seen them for like 150 bucks these days and my experience is they last a decent chunk of miles. Heck pick up 2 and have 1 fresh for races. I am sure most brands also have a racer (might be last years model) that is the same boat.

Even better though is to run in a super trainer which has the same cushioning as the plated shoe but doesn't let you run quite as fast (i.e. less load). When the super foams first came out they were a revelation and really helped save the legs. But these days there are so many more options.. Personally I use them all. Things like Vaporfly are pretty cheap (they were like 160 on blackfriday) so using them for intervals isn't some crazy thing. That isn't that much more than a standard trainer. If you are using 300 racers I might understand the arguement for keeping the miles off a bit more but in the end I always sort of feel like in 12 months I am going to want the latest and greatest for a race I have trained 6 months for:)

I didn't plan on a race shoe, but scored some Vaporfly 4's for cheap. I would 100% wear them over my EVO SL's for a race. But I also wouldn't pay $250+ for another shoe over them. There are deals to be had if you are patient and are ready to act when one comes up and aren't 100% set on a specific color and may be flexible on different shoes.