new shoes = new beginning

I keep forgetting that your running or workout shoes start breaking down at some point and cause all sorts of pain. I've read anywhere between 300-600miles your shoes begin to breakdown and the cushioning is no longer as cushy. I went through this last summer and felt like I had discovered some new concept by buying new shoes! *gasp*

This past December I had the same issue but I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my worn out shoes were the cause of my shin splints. But they were.

On Saturday I deceided to go to the local running store, The Naperville Running Company (voted best in the nation by someone). I thought it might be busy but I was helped right away by a nice lady who knew all the right things to say. She had me take off my shoes and roll up my jeans and then watched as I walked up and down the store. She didn't see any issues so suggested we start with a neutral running shoe. I had also brought in my running shoes from the fall and she determined they were also neutral but broken down to the point that would cause me pain.

She brought down about 9 different pairs of shoes. I tried on two different pairs at one time, the New Balance on the right and the Nike on the left. She asked me which one felt 'lighter' and then the heavy one was taken off. We did this through all the shoes until I got to a pair of Saucony runners.

After we had chosen those shoes, she had me run on their treadmill for about 20 seconds while she videoed it. again no problems, she showed me how my ankle and foot were straight up and down once i set my foot down and that I had a little drag on my left side. Yes that's where I had my hamstring injury. I guess that won't fix it self with new shoes.

Things I learned:

•  I need to wear a size 10.5 women's even though I've been wearing 9.5.
• If you can bend your shoes at the ball of the foot long ways, then there's not enough cushioning. (ie: toe to heel long)
• my stride is not bad, i just need to get new shoes every 350 miles or so
• The darker/black the colors on the sole of the shoe, the stiffer the sole. sales lady says you don't really want a stiff sole where the ball of your foot is since you want it to flex when you run.

So I happily left the NRC and the next day took my new runners to the gym for my workout/cardio class and ran the track a bit. They felt great on the track. I could feel the pressure in my shins where my shin splints act up, but they didn't hurt like they used to. Plus I was able to run two laps during my class and not die. That made me so happy. I do think I'll need to bring two pairs of shoes to the gym since the runners don't work so well on the bosu ball. Since I have extra space in the toe and my feet are narrow the shoes kind of slide around a bit. I have another pair of NB that work great in the studio.

Lets see how long these shoes last. I'm not looking forward to spending $90 every 3 months but I don't want painful legs either.