Yesterday, I ran my longest run since returning from my injury.

I ran just shy of five miles along the East River.

And today, I feel completely beaten up.

My legs are sore and tired.  I have been foam rolling, stretching and trying to stay loose.

When I began to wonder why, it occurred to me that it was likely time to switch out my running shoes.

The general rule of thumb is to replace running shoes every 400-500 miles.

I tend to keep pretty good track of where I am in the lifespan of my running shoes because I tend to run around 25 miles per week.  Based upon that, I typically transition to a new pair of shoes every four months.

However, with my injury having taken me off the roads for a couple of months, I haven’t kept the best track of my current pair.

But here is the truth of the matter:  I broke them in in September, wore them through peak marathon training in October, ran the marathon in them, continued to train in them through November and sporadically in December, and for the past month I have been wearing them for about 10+ miles of training per week.  So basically, they’re toast.

Fortunately, I planned ahead and have not one, but two, pairs ready to go.  Tuesday’s tempo will be a first run in a new pair of shoes.

I look forward to the long road ahead.