That isn't how far I ran, because sometimes I ran in the other pair of Brook Adrenaline GTS 11s I have, or a pair of light blue Vibram FiveFingers, or, of late, a pair of Saucony Kinvara 3s (which I am quite enjoying, by the way). But these shoes saw 675 miles.
I don't really think I need to get rid of them, they seem to run OK still, but mentally it's time for them to go. I can't really say why, it just is.
The matching pair will become my longer-distance shoes. The Kinvaras will be my shorter-distance shoes, and the Vibrams will remain my treadmill shoes. And these will go to the donation bin.
When I took that photo, I sort of thought I'd see more in it. 675 miles is a long way. They ran in the hot heat of August in Ann Arbor. They ran in the moderate winter we had, through a little bit of snow and ice, but not too much. They ran through a warm and muddy spring. They ran with Tim and Reed and Matt and Michelle and Maggie and, once, Kelley. Mostly they ran by themselves. They never tripped, they only led me nearly into a car once. They followed along with the rhythm of Daft Punk and Girl Talk, Kevin Rudolph and Eminem, Bon Iver and Mumford and Sons and MGMT. They finished one race (the Ann Arbor Turkey Trot). Most importantly, they kept me injury-free for all 8 months.
For me, 675 miles is about 54,000 calories, or about 277 bottles of a decent I.P.A. For that, they more than earned their keep.
Thanks, Red Brooks Outside.
p.s. Yeah, this isn't strictly a Starving Heart blog post, but is sort of is. After all, doing this to a pair of shoes as part of running over 1,000 miles in 8 months is heart healthy, or so they say.
Nice! I'm jealous. I tossed 3 pairs of Asics at 300. I have my first pair of Brooks (Adrenaline GTS 12), and I hope to get that many miles out of them. I doubt I will though. (Like you said, psychological limitation...also,I like buying running shoes :)
ReplyDeletehi Ty. :) I hope you like the Adrenalines, I have run in the 9s, 10s, and 11s (and, maybe, the 8s, but I don't remember back that far) and really like them. I'm sure I'll have a pair of 12s before they move on to the 13s.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons for retiring these was the retail therapy that resulted in the Kinvaras and a pair of Wave Riders (about which the jury is still out) - that is, I like buying running shoes, too. :)
Cheers.
--a