It hurts and defies logic, really, to shell out $100 or more for new shoes when your current pair still looks good. You can probably get away with holding onto dress shoes a little longer but clinging to an old pair of athletic shoes too long can cost you plenty.
The American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine reports that if runners don’t replace their shoes every 350 to 500 miles, they face a potential litany of injuries, including stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, shin splints and heel spurs. Exactly how long shoes will continue to provide the needed level of protection depends on individual size and weight.

Average runners pound their shoes on the ground around 700 times per mile so it doesn’t require an active imagination to see how shoes lose their shock absorption rather quickly. And once that occurs, it can change your stride and alignment, meaning pain and possible injury are just down the road.

So whether you’re a marathoner or you just like to take a spirited walk or light jog around the neighborhood, here’s what to keep in mind when you shop for new shoes:

Anatomy of a Running Shoe
The heart of running shoes is EVA, a polyurethane material that makes up the midsole, says Daniel Hortoin at Cincinnati’s Bob Ronker’s Running Spot, named the nation’s top specialty running store in 2008 by the Independent Running Retailer Association. The part of the shoe between the hard outer sole and the insole, the midsole delivers the protective spring and cushioning that keeps you running smoothly. It’s also the first part of the shoe to wear out, as its ability to rebound diminishes with miles logged. Hortoin explains that it’s the technical midsole or EVA upgrades to shoes that separate a manufacturer’s introductory model found at many big box chain stores and the higher-end shoes sold by running specialty stores. "Each brand has its specific technology and strategic placement of cushioning (like heel and forefoot gel pads)," says Hortoin, adding that plusher insoles with additional cushioning are a distinguishing characteristic of upper echelon running shoes as well.

Securing the Fit
To find the right shoe for you, Hortoin urges runners to take their old shoes with them to the store. Specialty retailers with knowledgeable sales associates will want to analyze your old shoes for clues to how you run.

"There is an ideal wear pattern we like to see that’s central as possible part in the shoe’s forefront with wear on the outside of the heel which is part of natural outward/inward roll as you run," he says. "If we see certain wear patterns that aren’t ideal, we can suggest a specific type of shoe to help correct it."

One common condition Hortoin and his colleagues at Bob Ronker’s see is excessive rolling or over-pronation, a potentially serious problem that frequently plagues runners (or walkers even) with flat feet. Pronation is the natural inward rolling of the foot as it strikes the ground, but when it’s too pronounced, it can lead to painful plantar fasciitis or long-term joint issues in knees or ankles. "If we see over-pronation patterns, we can suggest a shoe that adds stability and more rigid materials to the medial or inside to help control the motion."

Hortoin adds that when they measure feet for length and width, they look at arches because that can also dictate style and fit. "Some brands and models offer more arch support than others, and we also offer aftermarket inserts that provide additional support," he says of Bob Ronker’s, which has been selling running shoes since 1981.
Once you find a pair you like, the AAPSM suggests spending at least 10 minutes walking about the store in your new shoes and even running a block or two outside -- most good stores don’t mind. And once you make your purchase, resist the temptation to run a marathon in them, to avoid blisters and other race-day disasters. Break them in with a few short runs first to make sure they’re going to work for you.

Thickness of sports socks also can affect fit, so bring the socks you normally run in with you shopping. Synthetic fibers that wick moisture are recommended to avoid blisters.

Price Can Matter
Hortoin says that Bob Ronker’s generally stocks running shoes in the $80 to $150 range, and a pair that will work well for most runners can be found somewhere in the middle. "Price levels generally are a good indicator of quality in running shoes, and most runners should be able to get a good shoe at the $100 level."

Got the latest music phone? That’s so 1998. If you’re keeping up with the ever-increasing multimedia processing power of cell phones, yours should be streaming movies by now. But if you’re watching your favorite flicks on a tiny touch screen … sorry, dude, you’ve fallen behind again. The big trend in mobile phones now is size: screen size, that is. The perfect movie phone is still a work in progress, as you’ll see in our reviews, but here are our top five picks of the big-screen babies currently -- or soon to be -- on the market.

	LG Thrill 4G The 4.3-inch, 800-by-480-pixel screen on this one is a good start. But what makes the Thrill, well, thrilling, is that it provides 3-D visuals by overlaying a “parallax barrier” on the screen -- in other words, you don’t have to wear wonky donky glasses. In addition to exclusively integrating YouTube 3-D, the Thrill can capture high-def movies in 3-D, and the dual-core 1GHz processor means 3-D games don’t get choppy or laggy. There is a catch, though: The screen design needs your head to stay in its sweet spot for the 3-D effect to work. In other words, forget catching the latest Harry Potter on a jolty road trip. LG.com
	HTC TITAN HTC phones were already pretty hot before the TITAN came along. But with a 4.7-inch and 800- by 480-pixel screen, the aptly named TITAN takes the crown. It’s a bit of a lump in the pocket, sure, but nowhere near the oversized Dell Streak or Samsung Galaxy Tab. And on top of great visual real estate, it offers an 8MP camera, high-def video recording (at 720p) and the new Windows Mobile 7.5 OS, all backed by a speedy 1.5GHz chip. The downside? Windows Mobile is still lagging way behind Android and iOS for apps. For movies, though, this one’s a blockbuster. HTC.com
	Samsung Galaxy Tab Straddling the divide between the phone and the tablet is the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The 7.4-inch, 1024- by 600-pixel screen means there’s a huge and bright high-resolution display for Web surfing, movie watching and other multimedia munching. But don’t try making a call on it unless you’re going for laughs; it’s strictly for use with a hands-free headset or inline mic/earbuds. While it would be a tight squeeze to fit this device into your jeans pocket, it’s full of features, which include loads of movie codex support (including DivX and Xvid) and great n-level Wi-Fi as well as mobile data options. Samsung.com
	Samsung Galaxy S II With a 4.5-inch screen and 800 by 480 pixels, there’s not quite as much resolution on this one as there is on the iPhone 4 (see below), but the Galaxy S II has pretty much dominated sales of smartphones in Europe and the Far East. That’s because it hits the perfect balance of features (8MP camera, 1080p HD recording, 3G/4G and Wi-Fi, etc.) in a long-lasting, beautifully compact, well-designed Android package. It certainly isn’t the ultimate movie phone, if you must munch popcorn on the subway. But it’s probably the current frontrunner for the title of “ultimate do-it-all device.” Samsung.com
	Apple iPhone 4 The iPhone remains one of the best all-around smartphones in the business. Though its screen, at 3.5 inches, is not the largest, its bright, clear Retina display is the best on the market, boasting an 800:1 contrast ratio and a 960- by 640-pixel resolution. So it’s pretty damn great at playing movies. But it’s also great for all the other stuff too, because the iTunes Store remains the most stuffed for justifiably popular apps and games. Of course the wireless elephant in the room is the iPhone 5. While the launch has been long-rumored, current projections are that it’ll land its big hoofs sometime in October. Buy an iPhone 4 before then and you may be obsolete soon after. Apple.com

Are you sick of winter? Then think back to when you were a kid. The most fun you ever had was shredding through the snow on your Flexible Flyer, right? Well, we have news for you. Sledding -- the national pastime of prepubescents everywhere -- is just as much fun for postpubescents. Face it: Your life is going downhill anyway, so you might as well enjoy the ride!

One of the cool things about not being a little kid anymore is you can afford to buy your own sled. These are our top five picks of the sleds and toboggans on the market today. These babies fly, so to give you a fighting chance of getting to the bottom of the hill in one piece, we also included a couple of pieces of safety equipment.

THE SLEDS:

Flexible Flyer PT Blaster

That’s right: The brand of your youth is using adult technology to throw you off a cliff at breakneck speeds. (We said it was fun -- not necessarily safe.) With a three-ski snowmobile design, this sled shreds like no other. It comes with a spring-loaded break system and handlebar steering for improved control and handling. It’s 45 inches long, 18 inches high and 20 inches wide, so it can handle the big butt of an old Sasquatch like you.

Price: $77

Buy It Here

Avalanche Snow Disc

 

For the sledding “fun”-damentalists. The old garbage can lid blueprint has been upgraded with lightweight plastic to reduce friction and increase speed. Not exactly NASA-level technology, but this baby takes off down a hill like a flying saucer. Admittedly, it doesn’t quite handle like the Space Shuttle Columbia. Once you’ve been launched, the piloting is out of your hands and you start spinning like Kim Kardashian’s press agent, heading any which way the Avalanche takes you. But you do it fast, and that’s the fun!

Price: $12

Buy It Here

 

Mad River Rocket Killer B Sled

If sledding brings you to your knees, then this is the one for you. To ride it, you place your knees in the foam pads, buckle in your thighs and steer with your hands. (Not for the text-messaging nuts in the crowd.) The black shell, constructed from recycled plastic, is extremely sturdy and able to handle difficult terrain. Give yourself time to learn how to handle this mother so it doesn’t handle you.

Price: $160

Buy It Here

American Traders Deluxe 8-foot Toboggan

This 8-foot-long retro rocket -- made of traditional thin wooden planks with thicker side slats for extra strength and speed -- brings back warm memories of youthful mass casualties. Weighing in at 28 pounds and measuring 18 inches wide, it meets U.S. National Toboggan Championship standards.

Price: $299

Buy It Here

Airboard Softboard Inflatable Sled

This arrowhead-shaped inflatable raft has hard plastic ridges that help keep you from killing yourself while you break speed records in the snow. This is, without a doubt, the fastest ride on the ridge: It can hit 80 miles an hour! At that speed, you’d better make sure not to hit anything else. The good news is that the plastic runners provide good handling with a simple shift of your body weight. (You ride lying head-first like on an old Flexible Flyer.) Developed in the Swiss Alps, this snow raft inflates in less than three minutes with a hand pump and delivers the ride of a lifetime.

Price: $140

Buy It Here

THE SAFETY GEAR:

 

Shred Ready Forty 4 Helmet

Every year, more than 20,000 sledders hit the emergency room after hitting the slopes. If you don’t want to join them, wear a helmet. This one uses in-mold expanded polystyrene (EPS), an energy-absorbing foam. It also has an easy-to-use one-handed buckle, along with a removable and washable liner and ear pads. Don’t abuse your head; use it and buy this hard hat.

Price: $80

Buy It Here

 

Ice Bird Snow Goggles

You can’t sled if you can’t see, so keep the wind and snow out of your eyes with these double lenses with anti-fog coating. They’re anti-scratch and break-resistant with 12 layers of protective coating that provide both protection and better visibility. Plus, the comfortable form-fitting foam padding on the inside will keep your face from taking on a permanent raccoon outline -- a nice feature if any cute snow bunnies happen to be on the hill.

Price: $45

Buy It Here

For you, getting nicks, bumps and ingrown hairs from shaving is as much a regular fact of life as the sun rising in the morning and Lindsay Lohan getting arrested sometime after it sets. The good news is, your shaving problems aren’t necessarily caused by your skin, hair or genes. Instead, the culprits are often just poor tools and technique -- which are simple to remedy. Here are the five most common shaving problems, along with advice from skin and hair experts on how to make them disappear. Too bad Lindsay Lohan can’t work the same magic with her police record.

Problem No. 1: Razor Burn
These are the patches of red, irritated skin that appear within minutes of shaving. They’re extremely sensitive and really hurt when you’re working up a sweat. Eliminating razor burn is simple; you just need to soften the skin before taking razor to face. “You should always shave after you take a shower,” says Martial Vivot, owner of Salon Pour Hommes in New York City. “The steam softens the hair and makes it stand up and softens the skin.”

Problem No. 2: Nicks
Wouldn’t it be nice to throw out that styptic pencil forever? Gushers are actually easy to avoid. The keys: Use a sharp razor, glide the blade gently across the face without applying too much pressure, and take as few passes over the face as possible. “The more passes you take over a spot with the razor blade, the worse it is for your skin,” says Ben Davis, owner of the Gent’s Place barbershop and spa outside of Dallas. As for your razor cartridge, Davis advises replacing it weekly. “You can’t use a cartridge for more than a week, or else it’ll get too dull.”

Problem No. 3: Ingrown Hair
This is when hair grows inside the follicles and beneath the surface of the skin. Doctors call it pseudofolliculitis barbae, but you just call it a pain in the neck. Literally. Preventing ingrown hairs is a many-step process. The preshave shower  helps quite a bit, along with always shaving with the grain of the whiskers and not against it. Davis also suggests using a shave brush (preferably made from badger hair) to apply shaving cream: “It acts as a natural exfoliant, brushing away the outer layer of dead skin. And when you use circular motions, it helps push the hairs on the face out and creates a better lather for the shave cream.”

Problem No. 4: Barber’s Itch
These are the red bumps that look like a rash or even infected pimples. Sometimes they’re caused by ingrown hair, but often they’re from staph bacteria that enter the follicles or the skin through small cuts on the face. Davis recommends the following: 1) Rinse your razor thoroughly with hot water before you use it; 2) Apply a citrus-based preshave oil to your skin before the shave cream, to act as an antibacterial agent; 3) Use an aftershave lotion when you’re done “to seal the pores so nothing enters your bloodstream.”

Problem No. 5: Dry Skin
Simple solution: “When you’re done shaving, always use a moisturizer,” says Vivot, adding that you should reapply it at night. “You’ll find that it will make your shaving easier in the morning.”