for a couple of months, i’ve had an on-going issue with my hip flexor muscle. it was not happy and letting me know which was cramping my running style. normally, when you run into a repetitive stress issues you try to take some time off. i tried. really, i did. i resolved to take a month or more off from running but the reality was that i’d take a week or so off and go for a run and realize it was the wrong decision.

turns out my “just so story” is that the problem wasn’t so much a repetitive stress problem with my hip flexor, but rather that i put 500 miles on running shoes which was too many. for reasons that a sports physiologist can better explain, putting too many miles on my shoes caused my calves to tighten, which led to running just a wee bit flat-footed, which led to my irritated hip flexor muscle.

new shoes, running a little slower, focusing on my form and working on loosening my calves has worked wonders. i ran first 12 mile run in months. felt great! whooooooooo!

many people have different opinions about when the best time is to switch out shoes. over thousands of miles of running, 300 miles seems like best time for me. i can get away with 400 miles, but 500 is too many.

hopefully i don’t forget that. again 🙂

if you’re a runner, how many miles to you put on your shoes?