One of my latest injuries left my right calf, ankle and foot very weak, sometimes I feel like I can't control their movement well so that when I spotted this ad in which they were touted as a surefire way of strengthening your calves I soon rushed to grab a pair...two actually...one for walking and another one specific for running. I soon slipped them on in the hopes of strengthening my foot, the left one got quickly accustomed to them while the right one tended to tighten up with even a few steps...on the occasion of a trip abroad I wore them all the time hoofing it to the spots that I wanted to visit after my early morning runs...my legs suddently felt like they were made of lead, especially my hamstrings..."well it means that they work" I thought....back from my trip I rested few days then went for a 30 km off road run along a rather hilly path, I couldn't control very well the movement of my right leg which tended to freeze, on the following day I went for a 18 km fast run...O.K., perhaps this was too much I know but my left leg felt strong and in perfect shape...just toward the end I started experiencing cramps on my left harmstring too...needles to say in the evening I felt completely maxed out...now, after resting for two days my left leg is back in shape while my right quad (which is recovering from an old injury too) tends to...it's like I couldn't relax it completely when I'm sitting but it's O.k. when I walk while my right foot just "drops" when I walk as if it was disconnected from the rest of my body. Yesterday I was browsing and reading posts about these shoes, some people were completely stoked about them while others said they'd caused them pain in the back (mine is O.K. in spite of all the kilometers that are adding up) and feet....but no comment was posted by any runner so I'd like to know if anyone of you has ever walked in them and for how long or if anyone has ever tried running in them, I got the ones for running too but I haven't tried yet as I first wanted to master walking in them. As a matter of fact both my parents got those shoes too (on my suggestion) and are stoked about them especially my dad who suffers from varicose veins says his legs have never felt so good...so, are shape ups good just for people whose legs are not taxed by other heavy work outs? Should I nix them or limit their use to few hours a day or a brisk walk once or twice a week? gimme your feed back please!!!

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I'm not exactly working toward a particular finish time...one year ago I was still sadly convinced that my many injuries had forced me to hang up my sneakers forever...then I started jogging again and thought that was great, that I could at least still enjoy sweating outdoors rather than hitting the weights all the time...and yet I couldn't forget the way running a marathon pumped me up...but it wasn't until June that I suddently decided that I absolutely wanted to be part of that world again...I started building up the distance again and it was easier that I expected...here they call people like me "diesel", we struggle to tweak our speed, but once we've settled at an easy pace we just go..like robots! ...anyway, as I don't have taken part in any race recently I don't know what to expect from myself....sometimes I race other runners in the parks and the results are encouraging...what's more I don't have injuries now (when I ranked third in a local marathon I was already suffering from both an inflamation of my inguinal tendons and plantar fascitis which had been caused by a pair of bad arch supports and the things got worse over time because I stoically went on working out and racing instead of allowing my body some time to recover)...since I nixed my shape ups my hamstrings have bounced back to normal, my right foot is still a tad weak though, so I would say that at the moment my main goal is still to strengthen it, once I've made it I'll start doing fartlek and tempo runs. I've always detested repetitions, I tend to lose count of the loops, I hate making the calculations to work out my pace, when I run I wanna unwind...the thing is, being a diesel I've always a hard time pushing my pace, it requires a big mental effort and the longer the repetitions are the more grueling this mental effort becomes. That's why the only reps I can put up with are 200-400m....perhaps 1000m but certainly no longer than that....no 3000-5000m....but I do enjoy short uphill reps even though I've never reaped any benefit from them. In addition to my dislike for repetitions consider that I always work out on my lunch break...(no matter if the temps are pushing 35C!) and there's no track in the surroundings of where I work! Years ago I benefited greatly from taking part in shorter runs because the competition gave me the adrenaline shot that I needed to push my otherwise slow pace.... Posted by: Grisou on Aug 17, 2010 at 01:27 PM

Ha, ha well yeah, I get the chocolate cookie thing. Not exactly the "breakfast of champions" but sometimes a girl has gotta do what a girl has gotta do. You know, I am not a running coach and as I said, certainly not an exercise physiologist - all I know is what I have read and lived...and I've read a lot about training. It just sounds to me like you could really benefit from mixing it up, allowing yourself some easy days without consistently pushing the mileage. Going this route has caused you injury before, so it seems to me it would be worth taking a slightly different approach. I don't blame you for wanting to run the trails...it is a completely different experience, and a beautiful one. I want to ask you, are you following a particular training program? Are you working towards a particular finish time in the marathon? You might want to check out one of the Hal Higdon programs for advanced runners. Take a look at : http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/advanced2/advancedII.htm. Notice how he includes short runs and tempo work every week - one full day of rest and one long day. What do you think? Posted by: bmoore on Aug 16, 2010 at 06:30 PM

Thanks for your post on trail running, lately I've been doing a lot of it, all my long runs, I mean 20 kms or more are trails, sometimes I wonder if I should hit the sidewalk for longer runs too as I reckon that all these trails are slowing me down...or it's overdoing the distance that's slowing me down. Yesterday I ran those 30 kms, today I "limited" myself to 25... and the first half is all running uphill...I keep on saying to miself that that's good to help me build up strength and endurance...maybe...perhaps it's just that I enjoy the landscape, the silence, the fact that there are no cars...the marathon is 3 months away so I keep on putting off any serious speed workout on the grounds that in 2005 (what I call my golden year) I would work out mainly that way (focusing on the mileage)...true...but as a matter of fact I would also take part in a lot of 10k races and half marathons. After all my injuries and above all after leaving my old team to follow a friend of mine to another team (which fueled a pre-existing rivalry among the local teams) I've been shying away from the races, now I'm on no team which makes things a tad more difficult because people who don't have a team membership are not accepted in all races. As to eating on an emty stomach this morning I woke up so ravenous that I gave in to a package of chocolate cookies dipped in milk....sometimes my sweet tooth spins out of control ;-) Posted by: Grisou on Aug 16, 2010 at 04:32 AM

Oh, that makes me feel better. You are doing a lot of Ks, and you've got to be sure that you are wearing the right footwear to stay safe (and sane). On the eating thing, I am also one of those people that doesn't like to eat before I run, however, If I am going to be running in excess of 1.5 hours, I do try to do a handful of raw almonds and a half a banana - and properly hydrate at least 1/2 hour before I get started. Everybody is different, but its probably not a great idea to do very long runs (2+hours) without doing any nutrition or a gel or something. Check out these suggestions for pre run eats: http://www.traxee.com/posts/962-what-to-eat-and-drink-before-during-and-after-your-race. Posted by: bmoore on Aug 15, 2010 at 05:04 PM

Thanks that's what I wanted to know.... I steered clear of my shape ups for two days and rested, this morning I went for a 30 km run and even though at the beginning my legs felt a tad heavy eventually they felt good, of course it was first the left which felt better the right one took a longer time! P.S. I've read in some magazines that running in the early morning on an empty stomach is good for long distance runners because it teaches your metabolism to burn more fat thus saving up on sugars, but there are people who say this is not true at all. I tried it, at the beginning it was really hard as I was someone who wouldn't lace up her running shoes unless her blood was like honey but once I got accustomed to it I'm no longer experiencing any disconfort....and it has also helped me curb my mid-morning and mid-afternoon sugar crash Posted by: Grisou on Aug 15, 2010 at 04:57 AM

Ok I am going to weigh in here and tell you that you absolutely should NOT run in these shoes. They are not biomechanically suitable for running and you really risk (further) serious injury trying to train in these. We did do a post in Traxee a little while ago (see this post: http://www.traxee.com/posts/858-cellulite-reduction-a-firmer-butt-exercise-shoes-promise) about these shoes and the general consensus was that it was all gimmick and no substance and in fact, the way these shoes alter your posture, stride and gait - it makes sense that you are having discomfort. I'm absolutely not a doctor or exercise physiologist, but the symptoms you describe - like your left foot feeling like it's dropping could be an ITB problem. I would definitely nix these shoes completely and in fact, you might want to try some light barefoot workouts to see if that has any effect on the problems you are having. You are putting on the miles so it's really important that you have a training shoe that fits your running style. Have you every had a analysis done by a physical therapist who specializes in running? It might not be a bad investment. Any one else want to weigh in here? Posted by: bmoore on Aug 14, 2010 at 06:26 PM