Well, I went and saw the local "authority" on running shoes today - Jane at Soccer Warehouse. Seems that everyone in town has seen her for a custom fit for running shoes. First, she had me walk away and towards her, just in socks. She knew immediately that the shin splints are worse in my left leg, just from watching me walk! I have a very narrow foot, with a high arch, and typically wear out shoes on the outside of the heel, before anywhere else. I figured that I did not have an overpronation problem. By watching me walk, she did confirm that I do overpronate a little bit. She had me try on three different "stabilizing" shoes, and then watched me run in them out in front of the shop. (That was fun - people to left were pigging out on lunch, and people to the right were snarfing down ice cream, and here I was running up & down the sidewalk - hee hee!). Anyway, her first-choice of shoes for me are the ones I ended up buying. So, I will be giving them a try on a real run tomorrow night, and hopefully those nasty shin splints will be gone, gone, gone!

Oh, and the answer to the original question: It is okay to walk in your running shoes. They'll just wear out a little sooner.

~~~~~TrekChick