Running

Are carbon-plated shoes worth it for a HM? I'm hoping to run it sub 1.40. I ran my first HM last year (1.46) with Nike Zegamas (I know, not road shoes). I now run with Cloudmonsters

I found them to be very useful at paces below 4:15/km. For slower paces the difference is negligible because the running movement (at least for me) is different and they don’t bend in the proper way.

Golden. I plan to run it at an increasing pace so I'll hit below 4:15/km. What's your favorite brand?

ASICS Magic Speed 2 or 3. 
On the 2 I’ve crushed all my 10yo PBs, the 3 still to be tested, but my friends say that are better than the 2 😉