Time for new shoes

I love shoes!! My husband calls me Imelda Marcos, for obvious reasons. (See post here.)

My favorite shoes. If only I could get my husband to buy them for me. (Size 38, hint, hint.)

But this is a running blog, so those aren't the shoes you probably care to see.

You are probably pretty familiar with the relationship a runner has with their shoes. When you find a make and model that works for you, you stock up on them when they go on sale. My husband recently informed me: "You have SEVEN pairs of running shoes sitting by the back door."
Me: "How can that be?!"
I took a look and he had counted correctly. Well, almost.
Me: "Hey, here is a pair that needs to be retired. I really only have SIX pairs here."

How do you know when it's time for a new pair of running shoes? I try to retire shoes after 400 miles. But it's hard to keep track of the mileage because I am always alternating between 2 pairs of shoes, and I can't remember how many miles I have on each pair! Besides, shoes always look to me like they have a lot of life left in them--the sole isn't completely worn away.

I recently learned, the hard way, that even though shoes may look like they could go a few more miles, they shouldn't. A week ago I put on those shoes that needed to be retired. After 20 miles, I was feeling pain in my left Achilles and right hamstring, and pretty much everywhere else. At that point, I changed into a new pair and all the pain disappeared for the rest of my run (another 21 miles).

Lesson learned. I am keeping a log near the back door of the mileage on each pair of shoes now. I will be replacing them before going over 400 miles from now on!