Looking after your trainers

You may have seen my recent posts about my new trainer excitement?

Well got me thinking about my trainers and how to best look after them to firstly keep them clean an looking good but secondly to get the best out of them in terms of training and performance.

I have decided to try to monitor the mileage I do in my new trainers to get an idea of when I should change them and also to see how they deteriorate through the miles. 

Running outside is dirty business, especially if you are running off road on tracks and trails and even more so in the winter months when its wet and muddy.

Any running gets your trainers grubby though as after one 6K run on roads my trainers are already starting to fade!

I found some tips from Asics on how to give your trainers some TLC with a footwear pedicure to keep them at their best:

1. They recommend you wash the sockliner or insole separately from your actual trainer to keep them fresh, I suppose its quite easy to do this fairly regularly and it will help keep that horrible smelly trainer smell at bay. Same goes for the laces as they can easily be cleaned or changed, I somethings change my laces to either make my trainers look newer or to freshen up their style after all you spend a lot of time looking down at them so its nice to have some variety!

2. You could Use an old toothbrush or nail brush with some warm water along with some kind of soap or cleaning product to really show your trainers some love to clean off any dirt and grime . This should leave your trainers really clean and shiny and looking well looked after.

3. Their recommendation is to always let your trainers dry naturally and not near a radiator as the heat could affect the shape of the shoe. I usually try to leave mine out in the sun if they have got wet in the rain or have been washed after getting really mucky. A great tip is to fill up your trainers with newspaper or maybe old towels or rags to try and absorb some of the moisture out of them.

 Its a great idea to vary your training between two trainers especially when they are likely to get wet and muddy so if one is too wet to be used you have another pair to hand.

Leaving your trainers wet and muddy will accelerate the deterioration of the fibres of the material and make your trainers less strong and stable. 

Some people will say to never put your shoes in the washing machine as it damages the actual structure and shape of the shoe. I personally don't think its a good idea to do regularly but sometimes it is the best if only option such as when they get into the state as below!

My main advice would be 'love your trainers and they should love you!'