Brooks Launch

A very quick review...




I am in love with this shoe and think I will be forever. So, hear me Brooks - please do not change a thing!

These are very light weight. Cushioned without a bunch of medial support. Even when a shoe is proclaimed "neutral," there still always seems to be something built up on the medial side, or there's just a weak lateral side, making the shoe worthless for we rare supinators. Not so with the Launch. Just look at the above photo and see that nice lateral edge. No rolling over the edge of my shoe. They feel fast and springy. They also feel lower to the ground, but that might be imagined.

Since receiving them from the nice Brooks rep, I have not worn anything else. Not even my beloved Cascadias. I've put about 40 miles on them in the last few weeks on pavement, gravel, and trail. My feet did get pretty wet during a rainy trail run, but I expected that. I'd probably still use my Cascadias on several trails just because the Launch doesn't have much for tread.

Last, they look great too.
10 month update on injury: This week's follow up appointment was positive. The tear is healing; there's less scar tissue to work on each time. I haven't had much swelling or pain in several weeks and very little after my A.R.T sessions. I'm able to work out 1-2 hours several days per week. Never a true cross trainer, I've finally become one. Usually two rides, either road or mountain bike, per week; 3-4 runs of 45-75 minutes; 2-3 strength training sessions; and walking on my rest days. The walk breaks during runs have pretty much been eliminated. The biking has been amazing. My hips and glutes are much stronger and are now fully engaged when I run. The weight is come off slowly and my clothes are fitting again. I'm hoping to have dodged the surgery bullet for good, but we'll see how it is next summer at the 18 month mark.