Ditch my orthotics?

Another easy run this morning. Tried to use the ADEO GPS personal fitness companion with my son's iPod Shuffle. The shuffle worked fine, but I think I messed something up with the ADEO so I'll try it again tomorrow on a not-so-GPS friendly trail.

I'll probably lose the shuffle because although the ADEO integrates well, I'm not a big fan of listening to music while running.

I've never gotten use to holding a music player and dealing with the wires to the headphones. Wireless headsets via Bluetooth make a lot of sense here. Also in my case, I think there's a stigma attached to running while listening to music that goes all the way back to when I ran in college.

One of my former track teammates was always critical of athletes listening to music while warming up for their event at meets. He use to say real runners don't do that and would call them joggers in disdain. I guess that must have stuck with me all these years.

On the topic of sticking with something for all these years, I've been wearing orthotics for more than 25 years since I had some foot problems while competing in high school. My current pair (see photo) are 1/2 length and made of hard plastic.

Once the original Spenco insole cover wore out, I decided not to replace them and now I just slip the uncovered orthotics in my shoes on top of the original insole. Helps in fitting shoes too so that for most brands I can just move up 1/2 a size and they'll fit with the orthotic (i.e. size 9 1/2 without orthotic and 10 with).

Since going the minimalist route and training only in racing flats, I've been injury free for almost a year. I'm now thinking of taking the next step and ditching my orthotics as well. I know of a number of folks who have gone this route without experiencing any serious problems so I'm willing to try it out.

I already have a pair of 9 1/2 Mizuno Revolver 2 flats that I use only for racing sans orthotics (my current orthotics do add weight) so I'll probably put them to the rotation once or twice a week for recovery runs on softer surfaces (i.e. grass and trails)...