Shoes and Mileage (Read 1523 times)

Hee! Spaniel said Beasts and concrete in the same post. Was that intentional? 

I guess not, because you lost me...

started actually keeping shoe mileage log near end of last year because of my own curiosity & people talking about shoe mileage here on RA.   have 4 that I rotate all Brooks & based on the Adrenaline line.  st4 racer (races, speedworkouts), asr (Adrenaline trailrunners) & currently 2 pairs of Adrenalines gts 10.   older pair nearing 500 miles but still in good shape, use them now just for shorter runs 2x/week.  newer pair just broke 100.  have 2 gts 11 in boxes.  one pair of the gts 11 have worn couple times for few hours at work for initial break in period.  looking forward to using these as they have been getting great reviews, but will be awhile.  As I have gotten lighter & improved on form I think that I am getting increased mileage. Instead of guessing around 350-400, now s/b up to 500-600 (??).    wife & I have been slowly going through stuff to get rid off (yardsale/donations) & I threw 5 pairs of old Adrenalines into the pile.  Fortunately I get great deals on these through my work (so I buy 2 at a time).  5"7"   145-150 lbs.

I've always found it interesting that some folks toss out shoes because they no longer have that "new shoe" cushy feel, while others buy minimalist shoes because they don't have all that cushioning.  To each his own, I guess.

 

I used to believe the 300-500 guideline and got new shoes then, thinking I was avoiding injury.  But, dang, those things are expensive and I've come to learn that I can go much, much longer without problems.  My current Asics are at about 800 miles and doing fine.  YMMV.

My legs actually hit the ground harder with more cushioning. I had switched to Nike Free for awhile,, and one day I thought I'd try my ol'  trainers with the cushioning and the plastic, splinting stuff on the bottom. I hopped on the treadmill and "boom-boom-boom!" with each step, I couldn't control it either. I took the shoes off and put my Frees back on and the difference in sound was like a man pounding on a door (the cushy trainers) compared to a boy lightly rapping on it (the Frees). After, I did some research and found a study out there that showed the more cushioning you have, the harder you hit the deck. Supposedly because the body can't judge or sense the surface correctly. It was true in my case. Can't say it would be with anyone else.

When I switched to the Nike Free, it came with directions to gradually introduce them. It took a few months or so before I was using them all the time. They wanted a slow introduction because the muscles and joints were being used and affected in a new way, and you could experience some soreness and possible overuse if you switched too quickly. This might be the case with someone using a trainer where, after 700 miles,  the cushioning flattens out;  the legs are being tested in a whole new way. It's not the lack of cushioning causing the symptoms of overuse, but the introduction of too much load too quickly. Just a possibility. It would be an interesting experiment to take a cushioned trainer with shot cushioning (and little wear), take them out of rotation, then gradually work them back in, as one would do with a Free. But who has time for that? I know I'm not available for that one. 

The 300 mile rule about shoes is like the 3000 mile rule for oil changes---both are myths with the same inevitable result for the seller of the product.

--Jimmy

This seems to be a default recommendation in a lot (not all!) shoe stores.  I stopped sending new runners into stores blind with instructions to have the store fit them after like 8 in a row came back with Beasts....which also look to be on the pricier end...hmmm...

 

Now I give them concrete recommendations of where to start.

 

One problem with motion control shoes is that they are trying to force you to do something you do not want to do.  So you will not land flat in them and there will typically be a corner that wears unusually fast.  When I was young, poor and ignorant I once bought a pair of NB motion control shoes because they were on clearance.  They were heavy, felt bad, and I was through the sole in one corner in 150 miles.

Everyone said the folks in this running store know everything, and in my naiveté, I stayed with them through five pairs of shoes (4 Beasts, 1 Asics Gel Evolution).  The wear on the soles seemed even enough, but that was compensated by uneven wear on my knee joints.  I'm so happy to be rid of them.

I think the 300-500 rule is just fine if you feel you need something beyond your knees/legs/feet to tell you, or if you're a running store owner/employee.

Me?  I don't have a pair in my current rotation with less than 430 miles, and my current favorite pair (which still feels great) is over 700 miles. 

What does everyone use to judge when a pair needs to be replaced?

I wear through the tread.

And yes, sometimes shoes which previously felt cushy now feel like I'm running barefoot on stone.  Apparently that works for some people, but not for me.  Running is supposed to be fun.

Really, the less shoe that I have - the more miles I get out of them!  I have a pair of Nike Free 3.0s with about 800 miles and still a lot of miles left in them.

So in this case (for me), "less  is  more"...which didn't happen overnight - I spent a year or so comfortably acclimating my feet to more minimal footwear.  I only did this in desperation to overcome some chronic running injuries.