Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9 Review

Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal concerning the lovely Miss Kara Goucher talking about her viewpoints on catching up with the dominant African long distance runners. Basically, it talks about Americans being overanalytical about training, and most non-Westerners just tend to run hard and not worry about computer readouts/diagnostics/etc. Makes sense, I think it is good to have some structure in training, but it does tend to get monotonous having every single run scheduled out during a long training segment. When training for the St. Patrick’s Day, Ben from Big River Running put me on a training program that had 2-3 workouts per week with me filling in the rest. Was kind of cool to go into a day not knowing what to run, but do how I felt that particular day. Ken is employing that strategy this time around for Chicago this fall – hopefully it works out best for him!

Now, onto the shoe review - here are my thoughts with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9:

-Brooks Adrenaline felt good around my foot - a lot of room to maneuver, toes felt free. No issues with the front, plenty wide enough. Feet felt really snug, but still have plenty of space.

-Cushioning was AMAZING. Never had support like that on any shoe before, and highly doubt durability will be an issue. Seriously, like running with sturdy pillows tied to your feet!

- Brooks Adrenaline is by far the heaviest shoe I have ever worn. Billed at 11.4 oz., I could feel every extra ounce by just walking. It’s not that it was heavier that it would take away from my performance, just I can feel the extra weight. Typically love wearing light shoes, this is the 2^nd pair of Brooks I have run in (Brooks Defyance last year), and just really heavy. The shoes are sooo comfortable though, so I overlook that aspect on the training runs but would not particularly be my first to choice to race in them. However, was able to execute a great tempo run in them last week, and did my 18 miler last week in them – quite frankly, I think this shoe is better for a long distance trainer, where I can shorten my stride and have a more consistent turnover.

- Brooks Adrenaline is a stiff shoe in my opinion, but may need to work them a bit. Tried bending the shoes a bit to test the flexibility – very stiff, but also these shoes have less than 100 miles in them. Can feel in my turnover and foot strike, not impeding anything but just feels different.

- Color scheme for the shoe is a little bland for my taste, but a plus is I can wear these shoes anywhere whether it be running or to the grocery store.

Overall, enjoy running in the shoes on training runs, but highly doubt I can race in them. The cushioning and support are like no other, and am extremely pleased to say I have not had any issues physically while running in them. I probably need a heavier, sturdier shoe to run with because of my pronation problems, but I just feel more comfortable racing in lighter shoes – could be a mental thing too. I will most likely buy again and incorporate them into my training rotation.

Enjoyed not having to run last night (because of early AM run) and able to relax a bit! Tonight, doing easy workout with Crystal and Stacy, scheduled 5. Top Chef Las Vegas season premiere starts tonight, so we are having a little party to celebrate!