Two pairs of shoes at once (Read 243 times)

I just bought a couple pairs of Asics, because I could get last year's model in an unpopular color for under $45 each. I've heard it's helpful for the life of the shoe to rotate them, rather than just wearing one out and starting in on the next—something about the shoe drying out or relaxing or some such. Anyone have any experience with this, or a recommendation about the best way to go about it?

I think it must depend on how you run. I've tried rotating shoes but I've never seen a real benefit from it; I grind the soles off of my shoes long before any cushoning or upper wears out so maybe cycling will help for you but don't count on seeing a huge benefit.

Cheers!

I rotate shoes but I can't answer in regards to extendeding thier life. I have heard the same thing you have said and I generally run 700 - 1000 miles in a pair before turning them out to pasture...or lawn mowing duty so to speak.

My reason for rotating is that I keep neutral and light support shoes in the mix, as well as newer and older shoes so I'm not running in the same type of shoe each day. Supposedly for injury prevention but I have been fighting a knee issue now since Dec. So I don't know if that works either.

FWIW I am blaming a bicycle crash during a race for the knee.

fwiw

I had heard that rotating shoes does help  the life of the shoes because   rotating gives the midsoles time to recover & helps the compression to rebound so to speak.  So I've been doing a little experiment the last 2 years & have been recording the mileage.  One of the 1st things that I can tell that my shoes need replaced is lower back pain.  I can also tell by how my calves feel with a particular shoe.  And of course the actual wear on the outsoles of the shoes. Before rotating I used to get somewhere around 450-500 miles on a pair of  Brooks Adrenalines,   Since rotating I now have 650+miles on 2 of them.  I still use them on occasional short easy runs.  They are  just about out to pasture now but I still can add more mileage on them as they don't give me any problems on the shorter runs.  My "newest" ones are now close to 300 miles.

Of course this is still one of those famous "experiment of one" type things & there are so many factors involved its still difficult to know 100% how much rotating can help. Some of the factors are:  I've lost weight & less stress on shoes,  differences between model years, switching over from a pure heel striker to striking on ball or front of foot (yes, this can be done with stability shoes), & 3 more years of running experience & hopefully more efficient stride/form.

So does my experience prove once & for all that rotating running shoes will add life (more mileage) to the shoe?  of course not, but I

believe it does.  I'm not exactly a rookie at this running thing (nor anywhere at all near an elite) & have now "run off" a string of 45 straight months of 100mpm.& have spent very little $$'s on my shoes.  (also mix in Brooks pure cadence, 3 different trail running shoes-all Brooks).)

I rotate a lot of pairs.  Since I started rotating, I noticed that the life of my shoes has extended.  The rest I give them between runs has helped too.  I also notice a difference when I go on vacation and use the same pair during that timeframe.

I always have 2-3 pairs of shoes in rotation. If i do a long run one day, i like to use a fresh pair the next. Like others, i think it helps to extend their life.

I am now getting 400+ miles compared to 200-300 before.

I have 3 pairs in rotation. I have been moving to a more minimalist shoe (most aggressive right now is a pair of Brooks Pure Connects). Rotation what I use to transition without going cold turkey to a shoe with less support.

I'll definitely plan on rotating them. I've had really good success with getting high mileage out of ASICS before—the last pair I had, I ran up to almost 925 miles before I retired them. My current pair of NBs started giving me trouble spots here and there on longer runs in the upper 400s, but I've been running in them up into the 600s (where I'm at currently) because I didn't have money set aside to get new ones until this month. I think my first pair of ASICS, which I retired just shy of 500 miles, probably had a good bit more in them; I retired them mostly on others' advice that one shouldn't go past 500 miles rather than anything in how they felt. Given how the next model performed

I'm actually thinking about leaving the NBs in rotation for some of the shorter runs where they're not giving me any problem—it's really only been runs over 7–8 miles that they start giving me trouble. Since the ASICS I purchased have a slightly lower drop than these NBs, that should help with the transition, too, I think.

Other than just wear and "feel" are there any particulars to watch out for in terms of shoe wear? On my first pair of ASICS, I never had any problems. On the second pair, I started getting shin issues from time to time. On these NBs, I've found them increasingly uncomfortable around the ball of the foot on long runs as I hit 450+ miles. What other signs are there?