Changing shoes

2 watchers

HermanBloom Jan 2014 11:45am, 24 Jan 2014 4,217 posts	0 HermanBloom Ok. Veeery tempted now. They do feel a bit roomy but they are the only shoes not to give me blister issues past 10 miles. So I am very keen to get some more. I just have no clue as to what .5 of a size really equates to when it comes to stuff like this.
DeeGee Jan 2014 11:46am, 24 Jan 2014 15,270 posts	0 DeeGee Dooogs: The mesh at the toe end is split into 3, with a strip of leather between. The size and location of the splits vary cosmetically depending on which iteration of the shoe you are wearing.The strip of leather is more prominent in the +14 than any other iteration. On the 14 the leather strip corresponds exactly to the location of a blister I used to get every time I ran over16 miles with a strong effort. I run several marathons a year so this was a big issue for me.
Dooogs Jan 2014 11:54am, 24 Jan 2014 3,639 posts	0 Dooogs Ah - my blisters have all been on the underside of my foot, actually. (that said, I've never done more than 13.1 miles in one go!). I'll have a look at the mesh tonight. Either way, I'm not tempted to get more Nikes next month...
Ahote Jan 2014 1:00pm, 24 Jan 2014 212 posts	0 Ahote HB I'd say go for it as long as your current shoes aren't too baggy as Dooogs says. According to Pete Larson in Tread Lightly a full shoe size is equivalent to about a third of an inch, so a half size as far as I can see is negligible.
HermanBloom Jan 2014 1:01pm, 24 Jan 2014 4,218 posts	0 HermanBloom Ok, that's good enough for me guys. Will go ahead and order. Thanks for the help (and sorry for the hijack Rev!)
Brighouse Boy Jan 2014 1:38pm, 24 Jan 2014 966 posts	0 Brighouse Boy I used to suffer from regular calf strains until I obtained advice and appropriate treatment from a good physio. This was nothing to do with shoes, but it was revealed that I was effectively running out of alignment. This was cured over several months through a routine of stretching, plyometrics and core strengthening work. It must have accounted for something because I have now been injury free for almost 5 years! I attend a weekly Pilates class which keeps everything in place. Changing shoes every 300 miles sounds insane to me and is more likely to simply hit you in the wallet. I guess the trick here is to find a style and type that you are comfortable with and give you a good usable life. I buy a new pair of road shoes every 500 miles but keep the old ones going for 200 more, but for shorter distances only.
RevBarbaraG Jan 2014 10:30pm, 24 Jan 2014 1,430 posts	0 RevBarbaraG I have a voucher for a new pair of shoes... but obviously need to wait till I can run again before I can get fitted for them. The day before this second strain, I had been to the gym. During the evening I was getting twinges in my hamstring, in fact I was a bit worried about it when I went for my run. And having been out shopping today and done more walking than the past couple of days, I have again been getting niggles from my hamstring - in fact, I can feel that more than my calf. Can't help feeling it's related.... I've had tight hamstrings for a while.
Craig_ Jan 2014 10:49pm, 24 Jan 2014 837 posts	0 Craig_ Rev, I read a few pages back you were doing heel drops - I would certainly consider replacing these with something like resistance band calf stretches (sitting on the floor) as you have a lot more control over the applied loading. I know heel drops are common but I've always found them risky as you're basically eccentrically loading the calf with full bodyweight and it's just too easy to over cook it.
RevBarbaraG Aug 2014 9:46pm, 31 Aug 2014 2,800 posts	0 RevBarbaraG An update... When I saw a physio about my calf strain a few days after the above, I took my shoes along. He looked at them, prodded, poked, and said I needed a new pair. I had done 326 miles in them. I replaced them with an identical pair, and also bought another pair of a different make. I've been alternating between those two ever since. A few weeks ago - as I got past 300 miles on the replacement identical pair - I bought another pair of the same, but have been waiting to use them. Last week I had a sports massage, and as I told her about my various niggles she said "I'm sure you've been running long enough to know when you need to replace your shoes." I wasn't sure that I did - but when I ran the following day, I thought about how my shoes were feeling.... and they felt very "thin" under my feet. So I've just tried on the old and the replacement pair - one of each at a time, and my goodness, the difference is enormous! The new ones feel soft and springy, the old ones feel as flat as a pancake. So, the old ones are officially retired - they will be used for going to the gym and general wear, where cushioning is not really required. The new ones get their first outing tomorrow.