Goodbye to a Favorite

I have faithfully run in Saucony's Shadow 6000 for about 15 years.  I buy two pairs at a time and rotate them between each run.  They usually last 300-350 miles before I notice wear and know it's time to replace them.  The last couple of times I have bought them, it's been a different story.  I have noticed considerable wear/break down after only 200 miles.  Not good.

I headed out for a run yesterday.  My legs were fresh and I wanted to go about 8 miles.  After about 4 miles my right knee started hurting.  I took a walk break while going up a steep hill.  I looked down and saw my right foot was pronating big time!  I could see the inside of my foot leaning in like this:

No wonder my knee hurt!  Alignment issues are no joke.  I cut my run short, went home and told Les, "It's time for new shoes!"  I noticed that Road Runner Sports is no longer carrying the Shadow 6000, even as one of their "classics" or "endangered" shoes. I headed to our local Saucony outlet to try a different model.  I chatted with the saleswoman and she said Saucony is no longer making Shadow 6000 and any that are still available are probably pretty old.  Meaning the materials have started breaking down before they even leave the store.  No wonder I wasn't getting good mileage on them!

I ended up with the Ride 4.  There is a newer model, Ride 5, but the heel drop is 8 mm instead of the 12 mm of the Ride 4.  My old Shadows were also 12 mm.  Since my injury trend is usually due to old shoes, I don't want to switch to a lower heel drop.

 

I took them for a short test run this morning and could definitely feel better support.  I wanted to run a half marathon tomorrow, but I'm not sure that's a good idea with new shoes and I still have a little pain in my knee.  It will probably be a game day decision.

Goodbye Shadows, you have served me well!