I very often talk about the things I am thankful for – particularly my wife Lisa and our boys Danny & Chris. They are the backbone of my life and the source of eternal springs of joy and happiness. I also write about many other things I am thankful and grateful for.
Since Thanksgiving is on my mind, I thought it would be a fun exercise to make a daily post noting something I am thankful for. Just a quickie, something I know I can do even with the very limited time I have for blogging these days.
Day #1 – My Oh-So Tolerant Feet and Legs
Look at those sorry, worn-out sad shoes above. They are the Saucony Virrata 2s I got with my birthday money back in early April. As I wore them just over a month ago for one of my normal daily runs, I could finally feel it – they were *done*.
But that wasn’t a surprise – I felt early on they wouldn’t last, but then they stabilized and held out really well. In that picture they have nearly 1350 miles on them. Yes, 1350. Given that pretty much every estimate of running shoe life says to change out shoes <500 miles, that is astounding. Most of my shoes have lasted over 1000 miles, with only the New Balance Minimus 2 dying at about 900 miles (ok, they died by 600 but I refused to give up and it was winter and I didn't want to put the weather-wear on new shoes).
These are not amazing shoes – I know many people who get only 400 miles on the Virratas (or Kinvaras or Nike Free and so on). They just work well with my body, and allow me to keep running comfortably long after the initial cushion has flattened out. My body it really great in how it allows this to happen, coupled with what is a pretty solid stride pattern – I am not a young guy, and I have friends who strike their feet away from the center of their body and really feel every mile.
So thanks to my feet and ankles and knees and hips for allowing me to push the life of my shoes without resulting in injury.
How do you deal with shoe life?
Running Around the Bend 
You are really lucky to get all those miles on your shoes! Unfortunately for my wallet I need a lot of support and most shoes only last about 400 miles. But I’m just thankful I found ones that I like to take out the guesswork that can be even pricier.
Shoe hunting can get really expensive … I have been really fortunate to never have gotten a really bad pair of shoes. I fell into the Nike Frees as they were really comfortable, and have done well since. And yeah … I know I am lucky!
I love the idea of finding something each day to be thankful for! I recently read somewhere that listing things you are thankful for often makes you happier in general 🙂
I’ve been running for over a decade, but I only started keeping track of miles on my shoes 2 years ago. I recall the achy, stiff feeling my legs had when I used my Kinvaras for a little too long. Now I tend to retire my shoes (PureFlows as well) around 450-470 miles.
Thanks Amber! Similar story – it was after more than 23 years of running I started tracking miles … maybe it was that many years of inattention that conditioned my body to ‘just deal with it’ or something. No idea … but definitely think knowing the signs from your body is really important.
As I have said before I am very jealous that your shoes last so long! I need to replace mine by 400 miles, sometimes sooner. I have a hard time telling if they need to be replaced until its too late, so it I get to 400 I usually stop running in them and use them for cross training. I always buy my favorite shoes whenever I can find them on sale, so I always have an extra pair or two ready to go.
All of that is really smart, Lisa! It is like the old joke about knowing how tight to turn a screw – turn until the head breaks, then back off a half turn 😉 Don’t want to run on shoes until you get hurt. And I have a feeling if there was a single ‘price tracking’ site for running shoes that tracked brands and sizes and prices at all of the big online shops they would make a killing 🙂
I read somewhere that writing a list of three things that you’re grateful for everyday eventually elevates your general happiness – so I think doing this is a great idea!
Ugh, I’m awful with buying new shoes – I love the process of buying them, there are few things better for a runner but they are just so so expensive.
It’s amazing that you’re able to run so much on one pair!
Thanks so much – I think that taking a minute to appreciate what we DO have can definitely help with our overall outlook! And also totally agree that buying new running shoes is good and bad because of the joy of getting them but the cost and how quickly we go through them … ugh! 🙂
Great idea! Being more cognizant of things we should be grateful for is something I admit needing to focus on. 1300 miles in a shoe?! I am lucky if mine get over 300 these days before something starts twinging.
That is why it is something I am very thankful for! I would hate to be buying shoes every 1-2 months!
Wow, that is a ton of mileage for a shoe. I was only getting about 300 on my last few pairs of Brooks so I changed models to the Ghost (from Defyance) and I think these are going to last me a bit longer. I know once my knees start hurting its time to switch them out!
Yes indeed … and it is funny with a few hundred miles now on my Saucony Kinvara 5s … they are now ‘broken in’ so I know that they will only last so long, but I hate the thought of them dying out. Weird.
I think my healthy legs/feet/body is likely near the top of my grateful list too.
I still haven’t found a “perfect” shoe. I really liked my Nike Frees, but switched to a more neutral shoe when I started upping my mileage. I kind of want to get another pair for my shorter runs. But alas, the shoe budget is pretty shot at the moment.
Yeah … the ‘shoe budget’ is always a problem. Think about it – $100 for $0.20/mile! Even at $4/gallon on a 25MPG car you pay $0.016/mile …
I am so thankful for my body (as I’ve talked about many a time). And I am obviously so careful about my shoes. I’ve learned that the hard way. I am loving my Newtons, but I’ve run the gamut (heheh) and been through all sorts. I ran in Defyances for so long, and they aren’t flashy or anything, they just worked for that time. I don’t need pomp and circumstance, I just need happy feet.
Exactly – happy feet are happy! And really, who are we trying to impress by how minimal or zero-drop or Hoka or whatever trend is currently in fashion we are? Doing what is right for our bodies is right for us.
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