Be Healthy and Relax

Have you ever thought about how old your running shoes actually are?

Or, do you just purchase new workout shoes when you notice that the tread is wearing down?

If these questions sound even slightly familiar to you, it might be a good time to learn a little more about the lifespan of running and workout shoes. We may think that they are great until the time our toes see sunlight, but this is never the right way to judge when to replace your old “kicks”. Without a simple understanding of how much use our shoes actually get, you could be leading yourself down a very painful road to injury.

This past year I participated in three half-marathons and faired, well, we’ll say average. Having never ran this amount of distance before (13.1 miles), I did not exactly know how to gear up for the race. At this time, all of my runs have been no more than 7 miles at the most, and all using the same Asics 1120′s that I’ve had over 6 months. That may not seem like a long time when you think of shoe age, but that would be about the equivalent to pushing 80 years old for someone who runs and uses them consistantly. This, unfortunately, I did not know and paid dearly after completing the 13 miles. After the blood began to calm down throughout my body, I felt my knees aching more than I’ve ever felt before. I spent the next week icing and heating them two or more times daily. Not until later did I find out that my problem was my shoes.

Up until this incident, I judged when I should purchase running shoes by how they appeared. If my shoes were not too mangled and somewhat resembled the shape in which I remembered buying them, I would not spend the $80+ to replace them. Now, knowing just a few qualities about running and exercising shoes and implementing a few tricks, I am able to avoid injury and feel much more healthy as I workout and complete my future half and full marathons.

Here are a few quick things to keep in mind when it comes to your shoes:

• The MAXIMUM lifespan of a shoes is roughly 400 miles or six months.
• Switching between two pairs of shoes during workouts will increase their lifespans.
• If you replace your shoes before a race or event, allow at least three weeks to break them in.
• Keep a journal of how many miles you run during the time you use your shoes.
• Purchase inserts for your shoes to help with stability and comfort.
• Don’t judge when to purchase shoes by the wear of the tread. The tread doesn’t normally wear much until you need to buy new shoes.
• Save change in a jar or set up a shoe fund for every six months.
• If your previous shoes have treated your body well, stick with ‘em!

Photo credit: Matt Wolfe (These are his shoes, the most frugal man in the world.)