Ghost 4 review

I've got quite a few reviews to come both on shoes and equipment, but since the Ghost 4 are my most recent purchase, I'll go ahead and review those first. I've got 125- ish miles on the shoes, so not awhole heck of a lot, but enough to get past the first impressions.

I've heard a lot of people say "If you like the Ghost 3's, you'll like the Ghost 4's." Yes and no, but mostly no. The Ghost 2's were some of my favorite shoes, and the switch to the 3's were like a different line altogether. The 4's sizing is a lot like the 2's. Whereas the 3's felt about half a size longer and a size wider than the normal Brooks last, these seem right on. They're either a touch longer than the Ghost 2's or my feet shrank, one of the two. Either way, I would order your standard Brooks shoe size for these.

To me, the 3's just felt cheap, e.g. the cushioning wore out quickly and it was almost as if the shoes weren't made to be a daily trainer. The 4's are a change to that in that they feel like they were built to last. The cushion feels as good today as it did the first day I got them. That said, there's a fine line between cushioning and responsiveness, and Brooks may have crossed it. Now, I'm used to running in flats, so take that worth a grain of salt. Its not all bad though, because running in them I feel like I can run forever.

The downside to that of course is the energy return just isn't there. I usually run in the 7:20-7:30 range while training in flats, and you can slide that whole range up 12-20 seconds in these. But like I said, no surprises there. Its about a thousand times more responsive than the 3's, for comparison's sake. The upper is perfect. The midfoot wrap does its gob wonderfully, and the shoe really hugs the foot, again a difference from the Ghost 3's.

Bottom line, these shoes are exactly as marketed. These shoes will get you from here to there in style and comfort, even if there is two states away. If you are debating between the 3's and 4's, get the 4's no question. Its a little closer call between the 4's and 2's, but the upper is much improved on the 4's. a major selling point in my eyes.

Phase 2

Phase two is almost over, and I couldn't be happier. I've been biking all week. Well, actually, I shouldn't give myself that much credit. I've biked three days out of the last five, but I'll let myself off the hook a little bit because I worked 12.5 hours on Monday, one of the days I skipped. I still have two days left in the week though. In other news, my butt hurts. Seriously, if I could put my own saddle on one of those bikes I'd go out and buy one today; the ones they have on the bikes are worthless. Whatever though, only two days and I'm running three days the next week. I'm pretty excited- the Ghost 3's I ordered from the Brooks ID site came in the mail the same day I bought some Shay XC 2's. The best day ever, only I couldn't run. Obviously, I'm going to have to build my mileage up slowly. I'm thinking one mile Monday, two Wednesday, and three Friday or Saturday. I'ma do all those runs on a treadmill or indoor track at an easy 8:30 or 9:00 pace. After that, I'm still planning to go up a mile a day, but go four days a week outside. I'll just go like that until I feel overly good or end up running all seven days. There, I have to say that or else I won't follow my own advice.

In other news, I went home for the weekend, and went to a Twins game for the first time this year. My dad got some work tickets in the Champions Club, which is basically the first 20 rows and three sections in front of home plate, plus an exclusive, buffet style fancy restaurant under the stadium included in the ticket. Its pretty cool because there's a panel window into the Twins batting cages where they hit when they can't take on- field batting practice. Its pretty cool, we sat maybe 10 or 12 rows up from home plate, and it was just unreal. I'll never be able to afford those tickets in my life.

In other news, I've just been getting fat and drinking Lipton Green Teas. I've gained 11 pounds since I stopped running by the way, I'm now a whopping 128lbs. I don't know how I feel about that.

I'm currently listening to an episode of the Marathon Show about the Rock' n' Roll Marathon series. They're currently preaching the goodness of the so- called "running buffets" and keeping courses open for 6, 7,8 hours so everyone can be a runner. I'm going to do a post on that subject if I ever get bored one day, but let me just say this: I ran a 4:28 marathon and am not proud of it at all. If I would have got to the finish line and everybody would have packed up and gone home, I'd have been okay with it.