Asics Gel Cumulus 15 Review

So true!

At the end of February I had determined I needed to switch out my Brooks Ghosts 6's as my left side of my foot kept really hurting after my runs. The outside of the shoes still looked brand new. Even the bottom tread was not too bad. It was the insides that started wearing down. These were my first pair of actual running shoes that I had gotten fitted for at the local running store. I have never experienced wearing down a shoe from the inside out. I'm estimating I had put around 400+ miles on them. It is recommended  that you retire your running shoes between 300 and 500 miles, so it was time.

I will admit it was a little hard retiring my Brooks Ghosts 6's. They carried me through many personal distance records including my first half marathon race. They are still sitting in my closet in a shoe box. I figure I can wear them just walking or when I do obstacle 5K races. -- Anyone else have an attachment to your running shoes? Hehe

Back to the new shoes-

Again I went to my local running store Off n'Running to get fitted for new shoes. I had a different sales person this time which I was happy about as I wanted to see if she had the same recommendations as the last guy I had consulted with. She analyzed my gait and came to the same conclusion. I have a normal arch with neutral foot alignment. So the shoe that they recommend for me is Neutral. Which is a nice cushioned shoe.

Asics Gel Cumulus 15

I had gone to the store half expecting to come out with a brand new pair of Brooks Ghosts 6's in maybe a new color. However, I was open to trying anything that they recommended. I tried on probably 5 pairs of shoes including the Brooks Ghosts 6's. I actually found I liked the Asics Gel Cumulus15's the best. They felt really nice. I especially liked the cushioning around my heels. So I went ahead and bought them for around $115.

I immediately took them out for our first miles together.  I ran a nice easy paced 5.44 miles. Overall the shoes felt pretty good. I did notice my toes felt like they were rubbing from underneath which I had never experienced with my other shoes. This went on for a couple of weeks and usually happened towards the end of my runs. Just when I wondered if I should take them back and try something different it stopped.

First time out of the box and hitting the asphalt

I'm glad I am reviewing them now because I think it took a couple of weeks to really break them in. I have about 150 miles on them now and I have absolutely no issues with them. They are very comfortable and have fantastic ankle support. The colors are fun and bring me back to when I was 5 and my favorite colors were pink and purple. My 2 year old loves them and when she sees me wearing them she says "Oh, pretty mama." I would definitely buy them again.

I just completed my 2nd half marathon race with these and have another race in a month that I will wear them in. Before I know it, it will be time to retire these. Who said running is cheap?!

I give these shoes 5 out 5 stars after 2 weeks of breaking them in. They get a 3 out of 5 until broken in.

I did it! 13.1 Miles

I woke up on Saturday feeling excited and a little nervous. I was more worried about the cold as it was around 28-30 degrees when I woke up. The week prior had been a gorgeous 60 degrees. So I had not trained in colder weather and I was nervous about what I should wear.

I ended up wearing:

• C9 by Champion® Women's Compression Tights from Target
• C9 by Champion® Women's Premium Skort from Target
• My Kudzu Green Sport Tek T-Shirt from work
• Oiselle Running Women's Solid Arm Warmers from Amazon
• My green light weight jacket with the thumb holes
• My Brooks Ghost 6 from my local Running Store Off n' Running
• Armpocket
• Ultimate Direction Access Waist Pack

I thought I'd end up shedding the jacket but it was just too cold and I ended up being very comfortable with it on.

The week before the race I started becoming very nervous about the hills. I had trained on some hills but I was not sure I had done enough. Luckily they ended up not being so bad. I tried to not focus on them and instead would pick runners near me that I wanted to pass. It became a fun game and with every runner I passed the more confident I became and the faster the miles went by.

Greensboro Half Marathon Elevation Map

Race Map

My goal going into the race was to finish in 2 hours 15 minutes. Which would be a pace of  about 10 minutes 18 seconds per mile. Which was very reasonable from my training and gave some extra time for the hills.

I ended up finishing in 2 hours 6 minutes and 43 seconds! I was super proud of that finish. I did have a secret dream of doing it in 2 hours but hey this was my first and you always have to have goals. Plus the hills definitley were a factor. Although I will say I did a pretty good job of keeping a consistent pace even with the hills.

According MapMyRun my race splits were:

Distance	Pace
1 Mile	09:37 min/mi
2 Mile	09:38 min/mi
3 Mile	09:42 min/mi
4 Mile	09:50 min/mi
5 Mile	09:24 min/mi
6 Mile	09:12 min/mi
7 Mile	09:31 min/mi
8 Mile	09:16 min/mi
9 Mile	09:29 min/mi
10 Mile	09:43 min/mi
11 Mile	09:44 min/mi
12 Mile	09:47 min/mi
13 Mile	09:37 min/mi
13.3 Mile	08:20 min/mi

One of my favorite parts of the race was having my family there to cheer me on. My In-laws were visiting and came a day early so they could make the race. That meant a lot to me. My husband and daughter were of course there. I saw them at the start, around mile 6 and at the finish. Most of the pictures were taken by my husband.

I was also surprised at the finish line by my boss and his daughter. I veered over and gave him a high five right before crossing the finish line. It felt awesome to have all the support.

A highlight for me was around mile 7. I was running along when all of a sudden I was passed by the winner of the marathon who was followed by a cop car. For him it was around mile 20. It was so cool seeing him fly by doing twice the distance I was doing. The marathoners started 45 minutes before the half marathoners. He won the race doing the 26.2 miles in 2 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds! It was amazing to watch the elite runners. Eight Marathoners finished in under 3 hours.

The winner of the half marathon finished it in 1 hour 12 minutes.

I have to say it was a pretty perfect experience. All my training paid off as I had no problems completing the distance. I felt great the whole time. I was able to beat my original goal. I had a great cheering team. The weather was cold but ended up being a nice temperature for racing once I got going. The event had a lot of wonderful volunteers. I'm so glad I committed to doing this.

Here were my finial results:
Finish percentile is top 41%
Age group percentile is top 37%

What's next? I'm thinking the Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Half Marathon with a goal of 2 hours :)

New Kicks

I finally broke down and decided to get some new running shoes. Other runners kept telling me that I should go to a running store and get fitted for the right pair of shoes. I finally decided to give it a try after my 7 mile run last Monday. My left outside of my foot hurt afterwords and my left foot kept getting numb.

So on Wednesday I went to my local running store Off n'Running. They had me run up and down the store and video taped it. Then they did a gait analysis. For those that don't know a gait analysis is an examination of the way your foot falls as you run. It was determined that I don't run in a funny way so I just need a shoe with good cushion and they sized me for an eight. Normally I buy a 7.5.

I ended up getting the new Brooks Ghost 6. I was prepared to buy comfortable shoes no matter how they looked. I was not going to buy them on how cute they are (which is how I normally buy). I was pleasantly surprised to not only find these comfortable but they are also cute too.

 I have ran about 19 miles on them so far. Overall I'm pretty happy with them. I still have a little pain on my outer right foot but I think it is just healing from before. My left foot still gets numb around mile 3-4, but I find if I take off my shoe and sock and put them back on it goes away. Not sure if my foot just swells a bit after running for awhile and my laces are too tight. I'm going to get some new socks to see if that will help. At least I have time to try and see what works.

Any suggestions?

The Brooks Ghost 6

The Brooks Ghost 6