Running shoe addiction confession thread ;-p

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  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited April 2017
    7lenny7 wrote: »
    I have a similar situation as @7lenny7. Lots of miles of shoes left and a desire to switch to low/zero drop minimalist/barefoot shoes. First, I have to burn through these, all of which are officially in rotation, though some used more than others:

    Brooks Glycerin 13 - 167 miles
    Brooks Glycerin 13 - 95 miles
    Brooks Glycerin 13 - 90 miles
    Brooks Glycerin 14 - 35 miles
    Brooks Glycerin 14 - 15 miles
    Brooks Ghost 8 - 137 miles
    Brooks Ghost 8 - 112 miles
    Brooks Ghost 8 - 42 miles
    Brooks Dyad 8 - 36 miles
    Mizuno Waverider 19 - 52 miles
    Hoka One One Challenger - 32 miles
    Hoka One One Stinson - These shoes will die a horrible fate for injuring me on their first mile.

    All told, somewhere between 2500-3500 miles worth of shoes left.

    @WhatMeRunning you rotate five pair of Glycerins!!! and three pair of Ghosts! I have to admit, I'm baffled at that. I
    could see two or three pair of the same model if that were all you were running in, but I don't get five of the same model (or three if the Glycerin 13's are significantly different than the 14's), particularly when you have several other models going at the same time.
    I owned those 3 pair of Glycerin 13's when the 14's came out late last spring. I bought my first pair of 14's to try them out planning to fit them into rotation if they did. Thus 4 pairs of Glycerin. The 5th pair was simply due to a sale on Glycerin 14 at my local running shop that I could not pass up.

    The Ghosts were first tried last year when I had those 3 existing pairs of Glycerin 13's and they became my favorite, thus why I bought 3 pair, to switch between them and those Glycerins. At that time I was primarily rotating through those 6 shoes, running 200+ miles/month with plans to continue at that volume through the fall. The Mizuno's were for occasional short runs only (I don't like them but don't hate them either), same with the Dyad's. The Hoka Challenger were for trails only and have only seen low mileage due to finding I can run on the trails in my Glycerin just fine. Believe it or not, those Challengers are already having the soles come loose at the front of the shoe with that low of mileage. I am 100% convinced that Hoka is the most *kitten* brand in the universe, overpriced pure garbage that is overhyped by a few select "running celebrities".

    Since getting injured, starting back up again, and deciding I would like to go to different sorts of shoes altogether, I simply run through the entire stock. I don't see any benefit of having some on the shelf. They're all going to get used.
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Since getting injured, starting back up again, and deciding I would like to go to different sorts of shoes altogether, I simply run through the entire stock. I don't see any benefit of having some on the shelf. They're all going to get used.

    True, in the end you get the same miles overall. But, if you don't duplicate models in the current rotation, you'll get rid of individual pairs sooner, and have fewer pairs you need to keep handy because you run in them once every two or three weeks.

    Also, you could, hypothetically speaking, hide the reserve pairs in one big box which is stored in the back room in the basement, hidden by the stack of furnace filters. Hypothetically speaking.

    I suspect, though, that your wife is already on to you.


  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    One thing I've come to realize that it's easier to hide new pairs of the same model if they are the same color as the pair they are replacing.

    If I were concerned about hiding my shoes, that is.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited April 2017
    One reason I started going through all of the shoes was that I read about shoe deterioration with age. I had a long down time with a stock of shoes planned for lots of running during that downtime. Complicated by having to build up mileage again later. I figure if some of them start deteriorating early due to age at least I can get some mileage on them. I have a marking system on the tags inside the tongues to keep pair together. They are all the same color because I wear wides, and Brooks only makes their wide models in a single color scheme (those *kitten*). So I had to do something to avoid confusion. I just take a sharpie to them and make a unique mark on each one, then track them in Garmin/Strava by Brand/Model/Mark. I keep them all piled up in a toy shopping cart that the kids used to have. Sometimes I ahve to dig around to find a matching shoe for a pair I have not run in for some time. It's part of the fun of rotating them though. That and making sure I log the correct shoe. Keeps me sharp. Or that's my excuse.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    7lenny7 wrote: »
    One thing I've come to realize that it's easier to hide new pairs of the same model if they are the same color as the pair they are replacing.

    If I were concerned about hiding my shoes, that is.
    My wife is the undisputed champion at hide and seek. I don't know how she does it sometimes. So I just play the idiot husband who is overly zealous about his hobbies and take my licks. Luckily she likes me a lot.
  • RespectTheKitty
    RespectTheKitty Posts: 1,667 Member
    Well, I think I am starting to develop an addiction as well...

    I now have five pairs in rotation, although one of them is ready to retire (my very first pair *sniff*, which I keep in my desk drawer at work for my lunch hikes). Three of them are New Balance ten-eighty, one is a ten-eighty v7, and one pair of Brooks Cascadia trail shoes, which may get more use if I decide to go for that 10 mile trail race in July.

    Thinking of getting one more pair to add to the rotation, possibly a Brooks model. The v7s may or may not have contributed to my hip injury so I've been using those mainly for walk/jog only.
  • dudasd1973
    dudasd1973 Posts: 275 Member
    So, as a newb, I feel compelled to ask the importance of multiple pairs of shoes and rotating? I currently just use a pair of Ravenna 7's that only have about 60 miles on them.
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
    dudasd1973 wrote: »
    So, as a newb, I feel compelled to ask the importance of multiple pairs of shoes and rotating? I currently just use a pair of Ravenna 7's that only have about 60 miles on them.

    Shoe rotation is more important for high mileage runners. If I'm only running 15 to 20 miles a week, spread out over 3 non-consecutive days, shoe rotation doesn't seem very necessary. Or I might need at most 2 pair in rotation.

    In reality, I'll run 40 miles a week in the off season, and I'm peaking at 68 miles per week in marathon training. I'm running 6 days a week. Shoe rotations does a few things for me that aren't all relevant for lower-mileage runners:

    - It lets me go shoe shopping less often. I can just buy 3 pair online and forget about shopping again until the 3rd pair comes out of its box.

    - If a pair of shoes reaches end of useful life sooner than I expected, I can still run wearing the other shoes in rotation until the replacements arrive in the mail. Since I wear a size 14, I can't count on my size of the model I want being in stock locally; so I may as well order online for cheaper price.

    - If I'm careful to keep the shoes in rotation staggered in total mileage, I get body clues as to when to retire a pair. If I get odd twinges in my leg, ankle, or foot after running in the highest-mileage pair that I don't get after running in the lower-mileage pairs, it's time to retire the highest-mileage shoes. This helps me distinguish between work out shoes and training aches or injuries.

    - In the summer, I have more time for the shoes soaked with sweat to dry out before I need to wear them again. (This one would be manageable with just one pair of shoes; I park wet shoes in front of a fan until they dry out. That rarely takes more time than I have before the next run.)

    I picked up the habit of shoe rotation from a fellow who was rotating 4 pair of shoes. I reasoned that I wasn't running as much as he did, so I only needed to rotate 2 pair at first, and later 3 pair. Now, I think I'm running more miles than he did when he was rotating 4 pair; but 3 pair is what works comfortably in the space I have for running shoes. So I'm still only rotating 3 pair. At the time I write this, the three pair I have in rotation have 77, 224, and 356 miles. So I could be about to retire a pair, or it could still be a few weeks before I retire the oldest pair.
  • dudasd1973
    dudasd1973 Posts: 275 Member
    Ok, so far now... I'm only getting in 10-15 miles a week and it's usually Mon/Weds/Fri. I should be fine theoretically.
  • dudasd1973
    dudasd1973 Posts: 275 Member
    So follow up time...

    I went to the local running store a couple weeks ago and after the very cool laser scan of my feet, step analysis, walking/running analysis it appears that the Ravenna 7 was the totally wrong shoe for me. I ended up trying on a few different shoes (Adidas, Saucony, Mizuno and Hoka). Ended up in a set of Mizuno Wave Rider 20 with a set of Superfeet insoles to support my high arches. So far my feet and legs feel so much better. Can't believe what a difference this has made.
  • EHollander89
    EHollander89 Posts: 169 Member
    Yesterday I got an email from Nordstrom Rack that they were having a Brooks sale. My new shoes shipped today! I had been planning to get a new pair in the next few weeks and saved $50 with this deal! Not sure how long it is going on, but sizes are disappearing quickly
  • OregonMother
    OregonMother Posts: 1,671 Member
    7lenny7 wrote: »
    One thing I've come to realize that it's easier to hide new pairs of the same model if they are the same color as the pair they are replacing.

    If I were concerned about hiding my shoes, that is.

    I was just going to say . . . Back in the day, I would buy two pairs of the same exact shoe and hide one in my closet. No one was ever the wiser. So yes, I have been known to hide shoes.

    :p
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 5,196 Member
    OK - I know this is a zombie thread but I feel like this is the right place to confess my addiction. I have pairs of shoes in my closet which should probably be donated because they just don't work for me but yet... just... can't.... let them go. It is possible that I need some counseling of course. I do rotate my shoes and once one set bites me and starts a shin splint I know it is time to say goodbye. But it is SO hard.
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