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Monday, February 15, 2016

Knee update

My right knee started bugging me a few weeks ago, so I took off two weeks from running in an attempt to fix whatever was wrong. It felt like run-of-the-mill runner's knee, so I started the usual routine: Squats, leg lifts, and wall sits to strengthen the muscles.
Then I iced it.
Then I put on a patellar strap.
Then I stretched it and did yoga.
It seemed like my knee was just staying the same: I could run on it, but it ached later and I could definitely feel that distinct under-the-knee-cap pain.
New shoes: back to the Kinvara 5

Then I changed my shoes. Ta-da! For some reason, I forgot that very key step. I'm doing much better now, and I guess I have to reassess how long I keep shoes. I used to get 800-1000 miles per pair, but it seems that the conventional wisdom of 500 miles is more accurate: in fact, my shoes were closer to 450 when my knee started hurting. That's frustrating, but I'd rather buy four pairs of shoes a year and protect my knees than buy two pairs and be limping!

8 comments:

  1. 800-1000 miles?! GURRRRL. Once I go over 400, my shoes get retired to short/easy and easy treadmill runs. I can always tell when I've taken them too far.

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  2. Glad it's feeling better! I keep track of miles on my shoes but never really pay attention, and then I always have a couple of days where I'm like 'man my legs feel TERRIBLE!' and it turns out I'm at 450 miles. I'm amazed you got 800 miles out of a pair!

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  3. Yeah, I'm not that bright... but I swear, the old Kinvara 1's had a lot more mileage in them. I ran Boston on a pair with 800+ miles!

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  4. Good to hear that it was just a shoe issue. Try to stock up at the end of the season when the go on clearance.

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  5. Yes, I would stick to the guidelines of 400-500 miles max... it's just not worth it to save money if it's going to put your body at risk! I am glad that swapping out your shoes helped!

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  6. Glad you figured it out. As soon as my legs feel anything odd, shoes are my first move -- I tend to move running shoes into my commuting shoes pile, which is slow, easy, and relatively short miles.

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  7. Easy fix! I'm glad it was something really simple to sort out. You've had enough leg issues to deal with.

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  8. 1,000 miles on a pair of shoes?? That's impressive. I usually switch mine closer to 400-ish, and it's amazing how awesome a new pair can feel. Sometimes you don't realize you feel bad until you remember how good GOOD can feel.

    I sometimes forget the importance of shoes - I need to rotate to different types of shoes more, but get stuck on my old favorites all the time. Just ordered a pair with a different rise, so I'm hoping that will mix it up a bit and keep my body strong.

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