357 Miles of Running

Topic: Time for new shoes
Key Words: Ragged out, Cheating on my brand, Pray for my feet
Word Count: 588
Tomorrow's Likely Topic: The Things I Do For a Free Running Shirt

Man does my left knee hurt! I suppose it might be because I jumped into to long of a speed workout yesterday after not doing one in about a month ... or maybe it's because it is time for new shoes.

Do you run? Has anyone ever asked you how many miles you've ran over some amount of time? No one has ever asked me that, which sucks, because I actually know. In a stroke of supreme anal-ness, I know the exact mileage of my running shoes ... both pairs.

I've just clocked my 203rd mile on my "training pair" of shoes. You see, I bought that pair in October because my old shoes "felt a little old" (aka, we were getting to the nitty gritty of training, and I wanted some new, comfy kicks). I knew they would be close to ragged out come the marathon (200 miles is the low estimate on when kicks do like your Uncle Bob, and overstay their welcome), so I started tracking all my miles, and planned to buy a new pair to run the marathon in. So come December, new pair bought, new pair broken in to the tune of 30 miles, marathon ran in new pair. Since then, I've been alternating the pairs when I run, which is actually supposed to increase their life (gives the midsole more "time to heal" .. who knew a shoe could heal?!?).

So with 203 miles on one pair (now my "biking and casual wear pair") and 154 on the other pair, I realize that I've ran a good number of miles since October 31, 2006 ... 357 to be exact. As this is the first year I did the Austin Half after the Houston Marathon, and certainly the first year I did much Spring training, this is probably the most number of miles I ran in any six to seven month period. Which explains why ...

I'm kind of broken. Left knee, left hamstring, right Achilles ... lot's of stuff aches. This may be due to my mileage, but I think if I'm going to beat Oprah, I have to actually run more; that's the only way I won't break down physically once I get over mile 15 in Chicago. This leads me to wonder if it's time to switch to a new kind of shoe? I've ran in New Balance for the entirety of my "running career" ... feels dirty, like I'm cheating on my brand to consider "someone new". Still, some of my ailments are traditionally associated with problems that certain styles of shoes can fix. Last time I switched shoes, I might as well have wiped my tush with that $90, because my body soundly rejected them (that was the only race in which I've cramped up!). I said I would reveal one of my secrets to beating Oprah, and I suppose this is one of them. If new shoes can squeeeeze a few more comfortable miles out of this old body, it would certainly help in getting under 4.5 hours.

I'll be visiting the shoe store tomorrow for our Thursday evening run. I may be the anxious, but proud owner of some non-New Balance kicks come tomorrow night. Pray for my feet!