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Wearing shoes down too fast. (Read 1209 times)


Future running partner.

    Seems like no matter how much money I spend on shoes lately I can only seem to get barely a 100 miles out of them before I am down to the mid sole. I way about 175, I have flat arches so I try to wear either a stability or motion control shoe. The place wear i seem to get a lot of wear is on the outside parts of the heals. It seems to be worse with shoes that are very anti pronation where the arch side of the mid sole is very firm and the outside part is very soft. Examples would be the Brooks Trance 7 or the Saucony Hurricane 10. I'm thinking of trying a more neutrally cushioned shoe despite having flat arches to see if I get better mileage out of them. My fear is whether the shoe will still be supportive enough to prevent injury. I typically run about 35 to 55 mpw, so it doesn't take long to wear out a pair of shoes. If i wear to buy a new pair every time I was supposed to, that would be at least 1 pair per month. I'd like to find a shoe that I can get about 300 miles out of before I have to replace them. Anyone else have this problem?
      Wow, do you shuffle or scuff your feet when you run (or perhaps run on a belt sander)? What kind of surface are you running on? This is much more wear than I've ever heard of in a shoe. Your log shows all of your shoes over 200 miles, with one over 400... is it up to date?

      -------------------------------------
      5K - 18:25 - 3/19/11
      10K - 39:38 - 12/13/09
      1/2 - 1:29:38 - 5/30/10
      Full - 3:45:40 - 5/27/07

        (or perhaps run on a belt sander)
        I was kind of thinking the same thing.......that's pretty fast to wear down shoes.......was going to ask the same thing - what kind of surface do you run on??

        Champions are made when no one is watching


        Future running partner.

          I usually wear my shoes well beyond the point that they wear down to the mid sole, which is why I have more than 200 on most of my shoes. What happens when my shoes wear down is my hips start to hurt when I run. I can usually run through it for a while. But once it gets bad enough I break down and get a new pair. Then the pain goes away for a while. I do most of my running on pavement/sidewalk. I'd run on natural surface more if I had the time to drive out to those trails but I can only do that on the weekends, if I have enough free time.
            Wannabe -- I don't know what to say to you... Most shoes last a little longer then yours - so it 'seems' to me that you 'must' be doing something in your foot strike that's causing them to wear down that quickly... IM NOT AN EXPERT BY ANY MEANS (Just want to throw that out there)... Is there a running coach or club or do you know a top rate runner in your area that could check out your run/stride and foot strike......cause you ought to get 300 MINIMUM out of most shoes and really they ought to go to 500 for most people..... Maybe a friend that makes 50 MPW or someone like that that could watch you run on the track......... There is something that seems not right -- and my hope is that you can get someone else to look at it with you....

            Champions are made when no one is watching


            Half Fanatic #846

              Where do you buy your shoes? Go to a running store and ask for some hints and/or gait analysis. They should be glad to help you solve this problem if they can. BTW, IMHO running a lot on concrete is similar to running on sandpaper, but that's still way too much wear... Shocked

              "I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk.         "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt".                  I ran half my last race on my left foot!                                  


              Future running partner.

                I think I'll start running with a group in the area and perhaps they see what's going on. When I run it feels pretty natural. I don't feel like I'm bouncing much but my feet are not dragging across the ground either. I've been getting my shoes from a local Athlete's Foot. I may have to go to a fleet feet to see if they may have a better idea of what's going on. Thanks for the ideas. Smile
                  I think you ought to get a gait analysis. You may not be an overpronater. I have flat feet, very low arches but am a neutral runner and do best in neutral cushioned shoes. It could be that you are the same and would get more mileage from neutral shoes. I'm a mid-foot striker and wear my shoes down there first but get easily 500 miles from a pair.

                  Once a runner . . .

                    I had the exact same problem for years. I call myself a heal "shaver" instead of a striker. I've switched to wearing much more minimalist shoes (currently running in racing flats 100% of the time) and it's helped quite a bit. If you read about mid-foot striking, it can also be healthier for you. In a nutshell, my foot was trying to land properly on the mid-foot and - like the wheels of airplane - the heel was getting shaved off in the process. There's definitely a transition period involved, but I'm healthier now and going through shoes less often. There are essentially two views on support: buy a shoe that does it for you or buy a shoe with so little that your legs do what they were designed to do. For years, I chased the former idea, but now chase the latter and have been very pleased with the results. In fact, after a long winter of training in racing flats, I bought a pair with a little support and had pain within a week - ditched then and went right back to the racing flats. As always, your mileage may vary and take it slow, but I'd suggest going down in support and using the new shoes in rotation w/ your old.

                    Go to http://certainintelligence.blogspot.com for my blog.


                    Future running partner.

                      Thanks for the suggestions. That's whats really vexing. It doesn't feel like I come down all that hard on my heel. I am going to have a gate analysis done tomorrow to see what the problem is. I am willing to guess that I either supinate a lot for a flat footed guy, or I am more of a mid foot striker. It also may depend on the paces I am generally running at. My easy runs can very from a very slow 12:00/mi or a relatively quick 9:00/mi depending on whether I choose to run by HR or by feel. When I run slower I maybe shaving a lot more off.