Day 226, 139 To Go

August 14, 2013

If you read yesterday's blog, you may remember that I didn't remember yesterday.  Today, which is really tomorrow, I remember, uh yesterday, which is supposed to be today.

Got it?

Anyway, Honey ran with me today. Her knee was barking at her again today.  You see, she has been using the same pair of sneakers for like, I don't know, 5,000 years.  Seriously.  Well, we have been married for almost 6 years and this is the only pair of sneakers I have ever seen her wear.  She has about 50 pairs of high heels...and I mean HIGH heels, but sneakers?  Just the one pair.

This brings me to rule #19 from The 25 Golden Rules of Running from Runner's World magazine.

19. The New-Shoes Rule
Replace running shoes once they've covered 400 to 500 miles.

"But even before they have that much wear," says Warren Greene, Runner's World gear editor, "buy a new pair and rotate them for a while. Don't wait until your only pair is trashed." Consider shoes trashed when the spring is gone.

The Exception: A shoe's wear rate can vary, depending on the type of shoe, your weight, your footstrike pattern, and the surfaces you run on.

I have to admit, I am a bit of a cynic when it comes to this rule. Sure, there is some truth to this, but you have to be a little suspicious when it is running magazines, whose biggest advertisers are shoe companies, are the ones telling you this.  Now, shoes do wear out.  If you are a 225 pound male, you shoes may wear out after 200 miles.  If you are a 125 pound woman, you can probably go well past 500 miles.

You will also see this rule stated that you should change your shoes after 500 miles or 6 months.  The 6 month rule is even more ridiculous.  What if you only run 20 miles a week or only 15?  That would only be 360 or 270 miles.  So which is it?  500 miles or 6 months?

You need to examine your shoes.  If your tread is wearing out or the cushioning is getting hard or the sole is starting to crack, you should change your shoes.  If your feet are starting to hurt, you should change your shoes.  If you see a new stylish sneaker that you just HAVE to have, you should change your shoes.  If your knees or ankles or any other part of your body starts to hurt, you should consider changing your shoes once you have examined your running load and all the other variables.  It could be your shoes.  It could be that you are wearing the wrong shoes.

If you wear minimalist shoes like mine, you can kind of tell this rule to go screw itself.  You don't have to worry about mileage or time.  When they wear out, you change them.  Period.

Anyway, here are our numbers for today:

Time: 25:00

Distance: 2.09 miles

Pace: 11:58/m

Max Pace: 10:42/m

Calories: 223
Avg HR: 111

Max HR: 122

Now Honey does need a new pair of sneakers.  They are wearing out, her knees hurt and they are older than dirt.  Three good reason to buy new shoes.  So hop on that Honey!!

Run for Life!!