December 2016 Running Challenge

Rest day for me yesterday. Planning a 5 to 8 mile blustery run tonight. Mid 20's and 20mph winds.

Strandbergm wrote: »

I'm curious how often everyone replaces their sneakers? Is it by mileage, time, wear?

@strandbergm and @alipsie19, wear isn't a great indicator for the end-of-life in a pair of shoes, if by wear you mean how the shoe looks or how much the tread has been worn down. The important functions of a running shoe are support and compression, both of which can be compromised by use without the shoe looking worn out. Don't use wear as an indicator.

The conventional wisdom is that a pair of running shoes should be replaced every 300 to 500 miles, though with that broad of a range you need a better idea when to replace them. I use 300 miles as a reference. When I get close to that point I take note of how I feel after a run. When I feel more sore after a run then I'd expect, I toss them. This is hard for a new runner to judge but eventually you'll the feel for it and you'll just know.

When a shoe starts to lose it's cushion and support, I gradually get more pain in my knees. Sometimes the affect is so gradual that it's hard to even notice a difference from run to run. A great way to judge the condition of a shoe is to have at least two pair in rotation. I like to time it so that I start using a new pair when my older pair has about 200 miles on them. By alternating shoes with each run, I can easily compare how my knees feel from run to run. With some shoes I can get nearly 400 miles (Brooks Glycerin), and some I quit using at 275 miles (ASICS Gel Cumulus, and I won't buy those again).

The reason for 200 mile difference as opposed to 150 miles (half of 300) is that I prefer to use my newer shoes for my longer runs and my older shoes for my shorter runs so I'm getting more support and cushion on my long runs. With the new shoes used for longer run, they'll eventually catch up so that when the older pair hits 300, the newer pair has 200, roughly.

There are a couple of other reasons to alternate. First, it gives the first pair more time to dry out and decompress between uses which will make the shoe last longer. I can't say for certain if this is truth or myth, but that's what *they* say. Second, if you're using a different model of shoe, there will be subtle difference between the two pair which will provide a subtly different set of conditions for your body, subtly working the muscles a bit differently which spreads out the stress to your body, helping to reduce overuse injury. This I tend to believe though to what extent it actually works I can't say.

My last point, and this is important...is that it does not cost any more to buy a second set of shoes (or third, or fourth, etc) because you're still going to get full mileage out of each pair. In fact, you may even get more mileage be letting them rest as you alternate. So really, it could be argued that buying more shoes SAVES you money! This point is important if you need to justify your purchase to a spouse.

Tracking your shoe mileage is very simple if you use an app like Garmin Connect or Strava. I'm sure other running apps have a similar function. You enter the shoes in the app when you start to use them, set a mileage limit, and you can even set a default shoe. When you track a run it gets credited to the default shoe. If you use a different shoe it's about 3 clicks to change shoes. Strava will give you a list like this:

The names look weird because they have you enter in the make & model, as well as a nickname.


@virkati, good luck with the job!!

@ddmom0811, ouch! I'm impressed you went back out and finished!

@katharmonic, great pic! In that photo you look like you're in your early 20's.

Ahh, a few days away and I miss eight pages! I may go back and read later, but for right now I'm just jumping in with my update.

My family and I ran the Jingle Bear 5k on Saturday. It was 32*, no wind, and over cast - pretty darn nice for a December morning in Minnesota! I started out trying for a PR, but just didn't have it in me. I missed my PR by 1:14, but it was my fastest 5k this year and fastest since 2014. Finishing time was 33:17.

However, my husband PR'd, his third in a row. This is the first year he ran more than 3 times in the year - this year he ran 7 times! But, he's been mountain biking, which has been huge for his running. Sadly, he'll be able to catch me soon :-( Our son (he's 12) has beaten me the last three races, but he should - he's got youth and a lower body weight on his side!!

Anyway, week #2 of marathon training is complete!