New shoes for sore ankles

On and off since spring, I’ve woken up with sore ankles. They were particularly sore the past few weeks ago. I tried treating the symptoms by stretching them out with a foam roller, or squatting less. After thinking and talking about it, I realized the most likely factor was my shoes. On average, I’ve walked over 7,000 steps per day since I bought these shoes last autumn. Factoring in that I wear boots for a couple of months during the Canadian winter, that’s around two million steps. I must’ve worn them out along the way. There were other possible factors, and I decided to focus on this most apparent one. I needed new shoes. I put it off for a little bit (wasn’t in the mood to shop, default reluctance to spend). One night, I had enough and decided I was going to buy a pair immediately. I settled for the same brand (in spite of qualms that the pair only lasted a year), and bought the best pair that I could find online for a good price that night. The relief was almost instant: within…