When should I replace my running shoes?

Anyone who has run for a while knows the importance of a good pair of running shoes. Once you have that, the question is.. When should I replace them? Provided you have a pair that you like and fit well, you should get anywhere from 300 - 700 miles out of them. So how do you know? Not sure for others, but I can feel the shoe starting to break down especially on my long runs. My legs will feel the pounding a little more in the later miles, I may feel the shoe roll to one side a little more than normal. One other thing I have noticed is I will have to tighten the shoe laces or quick ties periodically as the shoe seems to lose its tightness and fit around my foot. Today I bought a new pair of shoes and decided to calculate roughly how many miles I got out of my last pair. For me the number seems to be about 550 miles. Let me know what your number is?

Count Down to 1st IM

Not long now before my first IM race, things are going pretty well, just finished off a good week. A fast ride or two early in the week with some shorter but faster tempo work on the run and some solid pool work. The weekend was my usual long ride on Saturday which ended up being a tough 85 mile day. Only a few guys showed for the ride so I pulled a lot and the wind made for some excellent ME work. I was going to do a short brick after the ride but I was pretty tired and decided to save it for Sunday. Sunday's long run turned out to be 18 miles. Started getting a few stomach problems around 16 and finally called it a day at 18. This week the plan is pretty much the same then I start my taper . After doing a few long runs and long rides you really start to learn the value of that training and just how important it is not to miss those workouts. Long runs and rides teaches you a lot about how your body works. You can be running along just fine for 10 or 12 miles and then go through a rough patch and you learn to just push through. Sometimes the rough patch requires a quick stop and some additional nutrition and then your back moving again. Long rides can be the same, one minute you are suffering on the back of someones wheel and the next you are pulling off the front with people having a hard time holding on to your wheel. Sometimes I think the mental aspects of endurance sport are tougher than the physical .

ALS update, most of you know I am now an ALS Warrior; so I wanted to do some things to help out with ALS. Currently I have a few ideas brewing and irons in the fire. Come back and look for updates to this story in the next few weeks.