This morning I took a look at you, Old Shoes, and with a rush of nostalgia remembered all the good miles we had together, the storms we weathered and the hills we climbed. But you are flat, falling apart and, frankly, you don’t fit that well anymore.
So I tossed them.
And went out and got myself a new pair.
The shoes I tossed were a pair of ASICS that I had for almost two years that I would occasionally take out for a shorter run, but I finally got rid of them to make space for something new. The new pair is actually the second pair of Nike Zoom Vomero+ 4 that I bought this summer. I still have the first pair, in blue, which I bought in June – but they are rapidly reaching the 300 mile mark and will probably only last another month. I am pretty sure that this is the fastest I’ve ever gone through one pair of running shoes. So it looks like the new red pair might be what takes me through the marathon in November. I already took them out for a few miles this afternoon just to give us a chance to get to know each other and I think we are going to make a good match.
It may be sad to toss an old pair, but there’s a sense of accomplishment that comes with it – those shoes represent hundreds of miles that I ran on my own two feet. And the new pair represents hundreds more that I will run in the coming months.
One great thing about running is that it’s a fairly inexpensive sport – but the cost of shoes can be painful in these tough economic times, especially if you are putting on some serious mileage. Do you have any advice on how to be a Running Recessionista? Any tips on recycling old shoes? Feel free to comment.
Seth
RUNemployed 
Posted by Jake on September 9, 2009 at 10:45 AM
I definitely get emotionally attached to my shoes. Love buying new ones, love breaking them in, and hate throwing the old ones out.
To save money on shoes I have a few tactics:
– I run them into the ground. I don’t keep track of how many miles I’ve put on them, I just run until they make my knees/feet hurt. Don’t tell the shoe companies that!
– I try to buy last year’s model. Especially if it’s a model I really like, I’ll wait until the next version comes out and then scoop up an extra pair or two of the old guys at a discount, even if I don’t need them yet. Earlier this year I bought some Asics Gel Cumulus 11s at $80 (down from $100), and some Speedstars at $65 (down I think from $90ish)
Posted by Scott on October 13, 2009 at 5:47 PM
My only advice is to buy two pair and rotate the pairs each day. I’ve never done it, and it takes some cash up front, but the theory is that each pair gets a 36 to 48 hour break after each run. Supposedly the shoes will last longer this way. If it works, I don’t know, but I like the logic behind it.