Just wondering what type of shoe would be best for me as I do my sprintwork and plyos in a grassy field. I was thinking maybe some soft/rubber cleats (turf type football cleats)? My main concern is slipping on some moist grass and blowing my knee out, which is how I blew it out the first time. Any suggestions? thx
Don’t train on moist grass. Don’t wear cleats. Don’t perform circus act plyos or cutting cone drills in cleats on wet grass.
Running shoes are fine.
You shouldn’t be training on grass when it’s moist, that’s dangerous no matter what you wear. You should look into a good training shoe and orthotics or a specified sole because if you’re anything like me and you naturally put more weight on the inside or outside or whatever of your foot it puts more stress on your knees, hips and muscles. That can be prevented with the orthotics or a specified sole.
Well, I try to avoid moist grass, but it’s a field where there’s soccer leagues/flag football leagues, etc. so there’s always a chance of a wetspot here and there. U really think normal running shoes are optimal for training in the grass? I’m just paranoid I guess, certainly don’t wanna go through another knee surgery. I think I might still get some turf shoes or possibly even some cross country running shoes.
Do you have no access to a track at all? Even a gravel track would be better.
Come on guys…Get REAL here…We live in a world where it CAN and DOES rain…so if it rains he shouldn’t run on the grass!!! The amount of sessions I’ve done here in the UK on grass when its rained or has been raining are more that when its been dry. Koartist, just take extra care when slowing down thats all. As for trainers for grass runs I’m a massive fan of the Nike Free’s (low version) and the Mayflys.
I would agree on missing grass plyo’s on wet grass though. Hope this helps man…
Why not just cross country spikes? Arn’t they designed for grass?
I actually have an old pair of flats and put about 10 hex slot screws at the bottom each shoe. The treads are no longer than 3/8" as not to feel them through the shoes. I find they give me great traction on grass as well as dirt trails.
Malik
What Malik has done works great as does a cross country spike.
Cheers,
Chris
There should be a very serious reason not to run on grass! If you’ve got it, use it!
Not sure about spikes when it comes to tempo -if that’s what the above posts mean- but whatever works for you! It should be better vs. living on the track all the f***ing time! (sorry, :o )
I’m with you, if I didn’t train on damp / wet grass I would miss about 6 months a year :eek:
What I talking about aren’t spikes … there regular running shoes (Mizuno Wave Legend to be precise). I don’t even notice them when I’m running (except when I walk on hard surfaces).
The reason I put the screws in was because of a wet soccer field where I do tempo. I kept slipping on the wet field all the time, and didn’t want to run in cleats. I found a web site that talked about attaching screws to your shoes to give you traction on snow and ice, so I tried it out. Haven’t slipped since … even when the grass was still a bit snow covered.
I’m with you on not spending your life on the track. I don’t do more than 2-3 track sessions per week. The one Chris and I train on is pretty hard on the body, so the I try to do 1-2 on trails or hills.
Malik
Malik,
I am not entirely familiar with what you are describing, but if it works for you, that’s fine, of course. I thought it might be a modification.
I was referring more to tc0710’s comment.
But as I said before, even if this HAS to be the case, it won’t be a long-term solution and in any case, grass should better vs. track for low % days -provided you haven’t twisted your ankle in the session before that… :rolleyes:
Sorry … I misunderstood 
thanks a bunch everybody. I’ll probably look into some CC spikes or some of the Free’s (they actually look just like the old Nikes I had for college football training that were really comfortable w/ great traction.) I would try your suggestion Malik, but the image didn’t post so I’m still a little cloudy on what you did. Can u hook me up w/ the picture and/or website you were talking about? thx
Here’s the website where I got the idea from. Since I run on the ball of my feet, I put more screws in the front and less in the rear. Hope that helps :).
http://www.sqrr.org/photos.html
Malik
Malik, how long are those screws? did you have to shorten them?
I LOVE training hills/tempo on grass. Synthetic track work more than 2 times a week kills me.
cheers,
Chris
No, I buy 3/8" length screws. That’s just long enough to grip the soles, but won’t pierce through to the foot. When I’m running on grass or on dirt, I don’t feel them. Only if I run across hard surfaces (i.e. concrete, asphalt), I may feel them just a bit.
Malik
well, this was about 2 years ago…and the new place I just moved to has a nice big grassy field right next to my house, so I think I’ll be back to doing some grasswork.
have any new shoes/ideas/etc. come out in the last couple years for grass training?
thanks