Yet, I really suck at taking my own advice.
Late this summer I found myself in the position of having one annoying, nagging, stupid injury after another. My hip was wonky, then my piriformis, then, about 5 miles into a planned 8 miler, I finally felt something that most of us dread. A foot issue. Not just a numb toe or a blister. More of a snapping, "oh crap, what the heck just happened" sort of sensation. It was enough for me to immediately hit stop and quit my run.
In the back of my mind I had been thinking, "Hey dummy, your shoes probably have 400 plus miles on them. You might want to consider replacing them" but that was always met with some excuse not to spend $125 or go to the running store. I'm busy, you know.
But when "The snap" happened, I knew that over-running on my sneakers had led to something not-so-awesome.
Because I'm the queen of playing "Dr. Google" I had myself diagnosed with 17 different foot injuries by bedtime that night. Yet, ironically enough, I hate nothing more than seeing an actual physician, so I took my issues (hips, butt, and foot) to my chiropractor.
The instant I laid on the table he knew I was completely off balance and out of line. He also let me know that my foot/ankle issue was becoming pretty significant. Hello Achilles Tendonitis!
A week of no running, lots of icing, new shoe shopping (I have two new pairs now, thank you!), and KT Taping did some magic. I was able to get back out and enjoy my long runs again.
I think that it's really easy for us to make 17,000 excuses not to replace our running shoes as often as we should. For me, I need new ones every 200-250 miles. I know that. But because I'm a mom, I always put the kids first and me last. Which is really stupid. Because had my achilles actually snapped, the kids would be up a creek without the Mother-Ship to take care of them.
So learn from my mistake, shoes...are really important. Don't make excuses on replacing them. If your shins start nagging at you, or you're feeling a little off...the $125 and 1 hour trip to the store is well worth it!
