New Year= New Shoes

Hello! I'm back, after traveling around Wisconsin and Minnesota for the last 2 weeks. Not much running involved, but lots of good food :)

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. The last few months that I have been running (actually since last may) have been a little painful. I would finish running and the arches in my feet were sore. Then I would wait a few days, try again and it turned into an endless cycle. I was a little concerned about it, and didn't know what it could be from. So instead of going to lady footlocker I decided to try going to a small locally owned running shop to see what they had to say.

A lady in the shop, who is also a personal trainer had me take off my shoes and do 3 squats. Then she pin-pointed where I was hurting. I was amazed. I figured it was going to be something where I had to purchase expensive arch supports or see a doctor but all she said was:

"How old are your shoes?" as she looked over at my dirty, tattered up shoes..... I told her 2 years, with 2 races in them... bingo!

Now I own a new pair of shoes, (asics, newer version of my old pair). I went for another run and surprise no pain! She said I should ice my feet and take some ibuprofen and I should be feeling 100% in no time. It's amazing what a new pair of shoes can do for the body and mind.

Just wondering if anyone out there has a rule of thumb on shoe purchasing, how often do you purchase new shoes?