Since we have now moved from winter into spring (ok, so we’re well on our way to summer now), I’ve been taking inventory of my warm-weather running clothes and finding them sadly in need of replacement. My shirts are stained and gross, my shorts tend to smell bad even after washing–even grosser. Because I have spent a lot of money on these precious commodities over the past few years (though I do buy nearly everything on sale), I feel a little grumpy about their degenerated condition. My only consolation: they have been extremely well-used. Some of those shirts and shorts have been with me every step of the way for hundreds of miles of sweat, blood and grime. It’s no wonder they look and smell the way they do!

So I bit the bullet and bought a few new items. Luckily I found some good deals, which made this process a little easier on my wallet, thank goodness! I ended up buying 3 new tank tops ($10.00 each) and two new pairs of shorts ($15.00 each).

Ironically, I can’t bring myself to actually get rid of any of my old running clothes, so the worst offenders actually haven’t been replaced, just relegated to the back of the drawer. I’m sure they’ll still get plenty of use on those occasions when I haven’t done any laundry in two weeks, and I’m desperate!

This whole process has made me determined to take better care of my running gear in the future though, so when I was reading this post from Cori @ OlivetoRun and found some tips for how to make your gear last longer, I took a special interest, and I learned a lot.

I learned that I am guilty of several offenses.

~I use fabric softener.

~I put my tech clothes in the dryer.

~I wash in hot (well, *warm*) water.

BUT I have been reformed! I hung up my wet clothes today instead of throwing them in the dryer! Too bad it’s probably too late to rehabilitate my ruined clothes.

Also, all these tips about caring for running clothes made me curious about how I might be mistreating my shoes, I did a little research and found the following tips for extending the life of your running shoes:

1) Don’t kick off your running shoes when you finish a workout. This wears down the heel counter (the part of the shoe that surrounds and cradles the heel), which is key to controlling the motion of the foot. Instead, untie the laces and slip your shoes off. 
    
2) If your running shoes get wet, take out the liner and stuff crumpled newspaper into the toe box. This will help maintain the shape and size of the shoe. If you let wet shoes dry naturally, they can shrink a little in size. 
    
3) Never put wet shoes in a clothes dryer, on a radiator or use any other type of heat source, including direct sunlight on a hot day. Heat dries out the cushioning inside your shoes and can cause the outsoles (the treaded bottoms of your shoes) to separate from the rest of the shoe. 
    
4) Don’t toss dirty running shoes in the washing machine. Instead, use an old toothbrush or a damp cloth with mild soap to clean them. Follow the previous instructions for drying. 
    
5) You can expect to get about 400 miles of use out of your running shoes, so keep track of your mileage. To extend the life of your shoes, don’t wear them for any other purpose aside from running.

(source)

Once again: guilty.

~I kick off my shoes.

~I let my shoes air dry in the summer.

~I dry my shoes by the wood stove in the winter (even worse!).

My shoes got wet during my run in the rain, so I decided to be good and stuff them with newspaper. Yikes. I honestly can’t see myself doing this every time they get wet. It’s pretty much a daily occurance when you’re a trail runner, especially in the winter! Oh well, I will justify my laziness with the fact that my shoes always last comfortably for well over 400 miles even though I don’t dry them correctly.

Are you guilty of making any of these mistakes? 

Are you going to change how your care for your running gear now?