Shoes shoes shoes

I am not an overpronator nor do I have high arches. So, I go for stability shoes. I have been through fewer running shoes than an average runner with my mileage, due to periods of injury and inactivity. 2 pairs of ASICS Nimbus 8, followed by an ASICS Nimbus 9, which I now alternate with a Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 10.

It is recommended that running shoes be replaced between 350-550 miles depending on running style, body weight, and the surface on which you run. I generally get a lot of use out of my shoes. I do not chew into them and wear them out the way I've noticed some people do...so, I figured the high end of that range would work for me. However, since I had not been tracking my mileage earlier, I may have squeezed a good 600 miles out of my Nimbus 8's.

It was not till recently that I started recognizing signs of shoe overuse. I noticed some textbook symptoms - aches or pains in bones and joints, muscle fatigue and tightness - and knew without a doubt that I needed a new pair (What else? I should have been expecting this for the last 200 miles atleast!)

I wonder how long the symptoms exist before you start noticing them...resulting in serious damage!

I now maintain a training log on Runners World to track my mileage. I think it's pretty cool. It tells me that so far this year, I've logged 605.4 miles and have run for 4 days and 13 hours. And my highest mileage month so far is July 2008 (142 miles).