New Balance Rc1400

I bought these new balance RC1400 shoes at the beginning of the year, before the race season after wearing my old running trainers out. Why did I choose these? Well, I was after something lightweight and that could be worn without socks, and they fit the bill. I'd say they sit somewhere between a racing flat and a training shoe, there is minimal tread on the bottom but this is a compromise between saving weight and longevity! There is some cushioning to the heal but very little, again this is part of the style of the shoe for being a fast 10km racing shoe in a bid to save weight and keep your feet closer to the ground as to not waste energy.
For most of the season this had been my only shoe for both training and racing in, I've ran everything from short mile long sprints to half marathon training runs and they've performed well. The upper of the shoe is made from one piece so there are no seams, this is one of the reasons I chose the shoe as I  could see it would benefit my triathlon running when not wearing any socks, (any seams may rub). When I received the shoes from www.sportshoes.com,  I noticed they were quite tight around the top of my feet and the toe box is quite small compared to my old trainers. I wondered if I had made the correct decision. I persevered and put my elastic laces on instead of the standard laces (for a quick transition) and this immediately relaxed the top of the shoe after around 20km the toe box bedded in and I've not had a single blister from them.

However, the lightweight minimalist appeal to the shoe has also been its downfall for me; with having little padding I have suffered a few foot and Achilles issues and this has been my own doing by only using these shoes for both racing and training duties. I also believe that the lack of support to the top of my foot with having elastic laces may have played a roll with some of my injuries throughout the season.
How do you over come this? 2 pairs of trainers! More specifically a pair of more padded training shoes and a pair of minimalist/lightweight racing flats.

Are they worth the extra outlay for two pairs of trainers? I certainly think so, if every second matters to you when you're racing a pair of racing flats will give you the edge over someone without a pair and level the playing field if they do!