Do we really need all that shoe technology?

In the six years The Running Place has been in business, we have heard from very knowledgeable sales reps about how shoes provide the much needed cushioning and stabilization to protect soft tissue and joints from impact forces and the stresses of running and walking.  But, is this protection really what we need?  Some runners and coaches believe shoes might be “over-engineered” resulting in footwear that isolates the tissues from the many forces and movements of running. Since muscles and tendons need to be stimulated to adapt and grow stronger, a shoe that dampens the stimuli will result in weakening the feet and ankles– the “use it or lose it” principle.

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WHAT IS VO2MAX AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

 It’s a safe bet you’ve heard the term “VO2max.” The definition goes something like….. the amount of oxygen in milliliters per kilogram of body weight that the body can use per minute. But what exactly does that mean? 

We move our limbs, blink our eyes and perform countless other functions when two muscle proteins, actin and myosin, slide over one another causing the muscle to shorten and, as the proteins release, lengthen again.  The shortening and lengthening produces movement, which requires energy. This energy is supplied by “factories” contained in our muscles.. Raw materials for the factories are fat, carbohydrates and oxygen. Fats and carbohydrates are stored in the body but oxygen must constantly be delivered to the factories.

We breathe oxygen into our lungs.  Healthy lungs allow the air to go deep into all the little crevices where the O2 is picked up by red blood cells.  Our hearts pump blood and thus red blood cells through a vast network of highways.  When the red blood cells reach working muscle cells, the oxygen hops off and is delivered to the waiting energy factories.

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HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY SHOES ARE TOO OLD?

 Generally speaking you can expect your shoes to last 400 running or 500 walking miles.  Of course, some people get lots more miles out of a pair of shoes while others get less. So how do you know when your shoes are too old to wear?

It would seem logical to look on the bottom of the shoe -- if there are holes then the shoe needs to be replaced. However, most manufacturers reinforce the bottoms with a combination of blown and carbon rubber (the same material used in car tires) -- it’s pretty hard to wear out.  Further, the “heel strike zone” is reinforced for even better wear.  Shoes can actually be quite old and hardly show any signs of aging on the bottom.

The upper is not a good indicator of shoe age either.  The nice white mesh can get trashed the first time you run on a muddy path or dusty road.  Even the little holes your toes make in the soft mesh are not a good indication of shoe deterioration.
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