Brooks Inspire Daily Program

A few weeks ago, I applied for the Brooks Inspire Daily Program - a grassroots community aimed to promote the Brooks line of running shoes and apparel by the people who know and love the products - the runners themselves. I myself run in Brooks Adrenalines on a daily basis, switching out only for my Infinitis. The only time I dare to not run in Brooks is on the trail, where my Vasque Blurs are my shoe of choice. I have not had the opportunity to try the Brooks trail shoe as of yet.

Now for me, shoe shopping is a bit traumatic. I have a somewhat narrow foot; it is nearly impossible to find a pair of Adidas or Nikes that will even come close to fitting. I have worn a Mizuno (though I had a disastrous 1/2 marathon in a pair on a canted road that ended up as tendonitis for 3 weeks), but all the others get tossed aside as I try on shoe after shoe just to make sure that I have the one that works best.

But I always come back to the Brooks Adrenaline. I guess it was eight or nine pairs of shoes ago that I was first introduced to this fantastic shoe. I remember clearly the salesperson recommending I try them on because 85% of the women who tried them could wear them. Now that's a high percentage of people choosing those shoes at a running store!! Have you seen how many options there are? But sure enough, I slipped it on and I could feel that it was built correctly for my foot. I can also attest to the wide variety of friends that love these shoes as well - from the walkers to the high mileage runners.

Happily, Brooks has stayed true to that shoe in the 2 or 3 versions they have released since that first time I found them. Nothing makes me crazier than a shoe company that tweaks the build of their shoes (I used to love running in a pair of Adidas that they completely changed one year. No more!)

I am looking forward to trying out their trail shoe, the Cascadia, to see if it will fit as well as the Adrenaline. I may also try their lightweight trainer now that I am running track workouts on Tuesday nights. And I am definitely excited to see their gear - oh, how I love new running gear.

I don't think that I will have any problem sharing my love of the Brooks shoe line with my running friends and new people that I meet. But I have realized that I am going to have to start blogging about my running again, in addition to all of the work I am doing with the runningrelays.com blog! Whew. That's a lot of writing and running! But still, I am doing what I love, and as long as it keeps me from having to get a "real" job, I'm good.

On Falling

I discovered this post from August of last year, and I couldn't believe that I had written it then. This idea about switching to trails has been brewing longer than I even remember.

I could feel the rock on my toe before I saw it. The collision reverberated through my shoe, and as I fell, I could see the fine detail in the dirt, the excruciating awareness that this fall was going to hurt. Stinging pains shooting through my knee - it's not enough to fall, but I have to fall on the rocks...

It had been such a beautiful trail run. 900 feet of elevation gain in a mile or two, beautiful canyon vistas, a babbling creek and deep green forest cover. And now it was going to be a painful trail run, blood streaming down my leg and my knees swelling with deep bruises.

This is how I run on trails.

I don't know why I feel called to run through the forest, but I do. I am not particularly good at it. My gait is what one what call "shuffling" - I do not expend a lot of extra energy picking up my feet. Consequently, I frequently stumble on low rocks, especially when I am daydreaming. But I feel such peace when I am out on the trail that I cannot help but hear its siren call. I want to run long on trails.

I feel an interior shift happening. I have been thinking so much about speed lately - going faster and faster - that I am getting burnt out. I want to run for fun - to have no idea about how far I've gone, only that I've gone for an hour. I want to relax and let go of the competition, which for those who know me probably sounds pretty ridiculous. But it is true. I do not like that competitive side of myself. It never lets me relax and go for the ride.

Enough of that. It is time to let go of the old ways and to find some new, more joyful ones. I am done with accurate mileage counts, with pace, with precise workouts that focus on results.