Yesterday afternoon I went to Fleet Feet to get the foam roller and knee stabilizer that Athletico had recommended for my ITBS, when talking to the staff about my symptoms they immediately asked "How old are your running shoes?" being the unorganized person that I am my response was "not sure, last fall maybe?". I was quickly interrupted by my fiance reminding me that I have not bought running shoes since we started dating which means that my current shoes are over 18 months old! I know, I know... how can I possibly lose track of time like that? Well, I do.
I got fitted again by the staff and I went with a mid stability Saucouny shoe, a newer version of the ones I currently use. Now the question was how do I track the millage on these puppies? Running on worn-out shoes is one of the most common causes of running injuries as they lose shock absorption and stability over time. I am positive now that one of the main reasons of my calf strain and ITBS is the fact that my running shoes had not been replaced when needed.
So how do I know that is time for my running shoes to hit the bucket? Definitely not by trying to IN MY HEAD remember when I bought them as we know where that led me, nor by judging on the looks as that didn't work either. A very general rule of thumb is to replace your running shoes every 300 to 400 miles, of course that depending on body weight, millage, and surface you run on. So how would I know when I hit the millage that puts my running shoes to rest?
Well since now I'm into this social media madness I assumed that there would be a fun way to track my runs... I could mark on a calendar the day I bought my running shoes and figure the millage like that. Boy was I right! I discovered the Daily Mile, a training log for runners, cycling and triathlons were you can share your workouts with social media friends, save routes and track millage.
I was thrilled when I joined and automatically was notified of all my twitter and facebook friends who were using this site. Not only did I start clicking away to add friends but with the click of a button this training log posts my workouts onto the social media site of my choice! It even has a cute little widget to add to my blog.
I proceeded to map yesterday's run, saved it and logged my workout, to my surprise the Daily Mile has an option to track NEW GEAR! It is amazing all the commodities that technology offers, now my only job is to be consistent and log all my runs while networking and having fun doing it.
I hope this was useful information to some of you out there who like me are somehow new to running.
Until the next time and happy running!
