Product Review: Asics Gel Cumulus 15 Lite-Show

When choosing a shoe for a marathon, comfort is your number one concern. About two months before my marathon I went by Fit2Run in Estero, FL to get fitted for new shoes. The staff suggested a shoe with good cushion to support your foot for 26 miles! I tried on the Asics Gel Cumulus 15 Lite-Show and instantly understood what they were talking about! I felt like I was walking on clouds! The shoe had good support and felt nice and snug around the toe box (I know some people like a roomier toe box, but that makes me feel less stable, and I'm not exactly graceful to begin with...). Took the shoes for a run around the store and they felt great! Took them home and the first run I did in them was a 6 mile training run. My feet felt amazing at the end of the run. I had no issues and no pain. I trained in them up until my marathon, alternating them with my Asics Gel-Kayano 20. I wore the Kayano's for the 8K the day before my marathon and then the Lite-Shows for the actual marathon. My feet honestly felt really good until about mile 23. I started to have some issues with my toes at that point and had a little bit of pain. Overall, after 26.2 miles I ended up with two black big toenails and a very small blister on my left foot. That's way less than I was expecting for a marathon! I would definitely recommend these to anyone looking to do distance running! Only suggestion I have, would be to put moleskin on the inside of the shoe at the toes. This would cover up the seam and keep it from rubbing on your toes for 26 miles. That's a very small complaint for that long of a distance!!

 Asics Gel Cumulus 15 Lite-Show

Mile 10 of the Shamrock Marathon in the Lite-Shows

Race Bling!!

So, as many of you know, I'm sort of to the point where I won't run a race unless I get a finishers medal. And for a while, I just had them sitting around in a box. But once I registered for my first marathon, I knew I would want to display them somehow. So, I took to the internet. In case you are curious, there are about a million different sites and ideas for what to do with your medals. And they are all cool and it's super overwhelming. So, I went to Pinterest for ideas. And a few weeks later, I finally found a site that I liked. At this point it was November, so I asked my brother for a gift certificate for Christmas. Here is the final product!!

I got this one from Heavy Medalz and I am so happy with it! They are all really high quality and come with the screws to hang them with! They even included free mints (which was super random, but who doesn't love butter mints??). Overall, really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to add more medals :)

First Marathon!

Well, this has taken me a month to actually sit down and write because I really wanted to make sure I had my thoughts in order. Running my first marathon was very overwhelming, but honestly, one of the best experiences in my life. When we started, the weather was pretty good. My best friend Christina and I were running the marathon together and the first 10 miles honestly flew by. 

 Mile 10 of Shamrock Marathon

That was when things went downhill...we rounded the corner onto the Virginia Beach boardwalk. From that point until mile 14, we had a 35 mph headwind. My energy level went from about 85% to 40% in just those 3.5 miles. That really slowed down our pace and I was starting to get worried about finishing on time. My mom met us at mile 12 and gave us each a Clif Builder Bar to eat. I really wasn't hungry, but knew I needed to eat. I got about half of it down and gave up. When we got to the half way point, we were told that we had just barely made the time cut off and that we had until 1:00 p.m. to make it to the gate at Fort Story, (mile 19) or they would close the gate and we would be transported back to the finish line and not be allowed to finish. This made my stress level go through the roof. Around mile 15 I started to feel really gross. I was feeling light headed and nauseous. I really wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish the race. I told Christina to go on without me and slowed down. And then I got sick...

About 10 minutes later I had basically decided to give up. That was when Paula joined me. She was in her 40's and this was her second marathon. I really don't know if I would have finished without her. She grabbed my arm and said "we are finishing this. let's go." She stayed with me until about mile 18 when I finally started feeling better. At that point I knew I just had to get to the gate and I would be able to finish. I met a mother and daughter duo and told them about the time requirement and we all made it to the gate just in time. We all stuck together until we got out of the base about mile 21. The final stretch I did alone. I think because I got sick early in the race, I honestly never hit "The Wall" that people talk about at Mile 20. Miles 21-25 were just a straight shot down Pacific. About Mile the weather finally changed and it started sleeting. At that point I knew I just had to finish. About half way through Mile 25 I met two ladies who were still there watching the race. They asked if they could run with me the last mile. I told them "Sure!" And they talked to me and kept me distracted while the weather got worse and worse. I finally hit Mile 26 and only .2 was left to go.   

Running through the sleet at Mile 26

The last .2 was glorious. I could see the finish line and finally knew I was going to finish. My mom was on the sidewalk beside me and yelling for me and my two new friends that were running with me said "You got this! Congratulations!!" and stepped over to the sidewalk to let me finish alone. I always thought that I would break down and cry when I finally crossed the finish line. Quite frankly, I think I was too tired to do that! The volunteers handed me my medals (I got an extra one for completing the 8K the day before) and that was when I saw Christina. I had finished just 30 seconds after she did. We were officially Marathoners. 

Post Race Bash on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront

Injuries and Illness - The Mental Game

Well, with any training, there is always the risk of injury. Thankfully, mine is small, but was a big setback. Broke my toe in the middle of the homestretch for Shamrock Marathon Training. I had MRSA when I was training for the Shamrock Half Marathon last year. I'm trying to figure out how I'm really that unlucky HAHA!

But from all of this, I have discovered how much your mindset can change things. While I haven't been able to run like I needed to, I really think that I am mentally prepared for the marathon. And honestly, I think that is the hardest part of marathon training. The moment I registered for the marathon, my first thought was "Holy crap, I have to run 26.2 miles. Can I honestly do that???" And while it was super exciting to think that I was going to be able to officially call myself a "Marathoner", I was totally freaking out. And the self doubt set in immediately. It wasn't anything like when I signed up for my first half. This was totally different!!

I'm ready. I really wasn't sure if I was ever going to get that point mentally. I know that I had to cut my training short and that it's going to be really hard, but mentally, I'm ready for the challenge.

Challenges

So, I have decided to make 2014 my year of Challenges! As I've gone through my training for the Shamrock Marathon, I started to realize how easy the shorter runs have become for me. So, I decided to add the Anthem 8K and do what J&A Racing calls the "Whale Challenge." With the Challenge, you do the Anthem 8K on Saturday and the Shamrock Marathon on Sunday. You get a medal for each individual race and a separate medal for completing the Whale Challenge.

So, in the spirit of challenging myself, I have decided to do as many of the race challenges as I can. I am currently signed up for three! The first will be the Whale Challenge. My next Challenge will be the Patriots Challenge as part of the Run for the Dream in Williamsburg, VA. This challenge includes an 8K on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday. The third challenge will be the Shell Yeah Challenge as part of the Crawlin' Crab Half Marathon. For this challenge, you run a 5K on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday. What challenges will you be doing this year? Sound off in the comments! 

First Medal of 2014!

Excited to say that I officially have my first medal of 2014! I decided to try my first Virtual Race! I'm going to say that I'm a fan. I registered a few months ago knowing that I would be pretty far into marathon training and that a half marathon would be totally doable! I decided to do one through Mom's Run this Town. They are a great group and if they had a chapter where I live, I would totally join (as I am a Mom to my lovely cat Lynx). Registration was free and it was only $10 to order the medal. It came in the mail on Saturday and so I went out and did my 13.1 right then and there! Wasn't fast, but I got the miles under my feet and I'm feeling good for Shamrock!! Take a look at this awesome medal :)

Shamrock Spotlight

So thankful to Beachy Runner and Breath of Sunshine for featuring me as today's Shamrock Spotlight!! Make sure to click on the links and head over to both of their blogs and check it out!!