Brooks Marathon Training Shoes

So I am less than 3 months away from my 1st marathon and am getting up there in distances.  I did 18 miles yesterday which was 3 miles longer than any run I have ever done.  My question is about shoes since it is all about the shoes.  I am loyal to my Brooks brand, and love my Adrenaline GTS 12.  However, I was wondering if any other Brooks runners knew of possibly another shoe under their label that might be better suited for the distance training?  It's not that my Adrenaline's are giving me trouble, but as with running in general I am looking to always improve.  If there is another Brooks shoe someone finds better for marathon training I'd love to hear about it.  Or maybe the Adrenalines are the best and I will just stick with them.  I am throwing this out to all of you.  Thanks in advance for your help/advice.

The Runner's High A Gateway to the Running Addiction

I had always heard about the ‘runner’s high.’  It is that point in a run when the adrenaline takes over and the endorphins give you a feeling that is hard to describe.  That feeling is what keeps a lot of runners going.  I know that after the first time I felt that rush I became addicted to running.  It was the hunger for that rush that kept me going through injuries, it still does. 

For me it usually happens on a slower run about 7-8 miles in, during a faster run I might get the runner’s high during Mile 3.  The reason I know this is because I am very aware of that feeling now when it comes upon me.  It is like someone flips on a ‘happy switch’ in my head.  Does the runner’s high give you that sort of feeling?  Are you able to notice when the endorphins kick in?

It is the runner’s high that much like any other drug leads to addiction.  Granted, a running addiction is far healthier than most other addictions, but it is one nonetheless.  I have been fortunate enough to not suffer a major injury in my running time.  That being said, I have had injuries which have forced me to the sidelines for a few weeks.  The running addiction really shows itself during that downtime, it’s like suffering from withdrawls. 

My most glaring example of the running addiction is the following story.  Last June I had a bad case of jumper’s knee, along with a sore Achilles in my opposite leg.  Common sense said to rest, the running addiction said to find a way around the pain.  I bought a brace specifically for the jumper’s knee which didn’t help.  Then I bought a regular knee brace to use along with an ankle brace which doubled as an Achilles brace.  I padded that with a sock on the inside, the brace, and a sock on the outside.  All I kept thinking was how Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling had the sutures put in to keep his ankle tendon in place during the 2004 World Series.  Obviously my injury was not that serious, but I was doing all sorts of odd remedies to speed up my recovery.

I would run slowly warming my legs up and slowly picking up speed just so I could feel that rush.  It was just so I could satisfy that addiction.  Part of me thinks that the addiction actually helps me heal faster because I am willing to do whatever it takes to get back to running full-time.  Do any of you find this to be true?  Do you enjoy that feeling of the runner’s high so much that it in a weird way helps you recover from injury faster?

I love that moment that I realize that the endorphins have kicked in.  I was running in Hull, Massachusetts, an hour from me on Cape Cod, last week and was able to pinpoint that moment.  It was just over 7 miles in and I was running back to the beginning of my 9.5 mile loop at Nantasket Beach when that ‘happy switch’ was turned on in my head.  I couldn’t stop smiling and enjoyed waving to a bunch of little kids playing at a playground too.  I often wish I could bottle that feeling.   

I am sure that every runner is different as far as how long it takes to get that feeling or whether you can pinpoint when it happens.  However I am pretty certain that it is the runner’s high that leads to the running addiction.  It is an addiction I don’t ever plan on getting help for!