Am I a fish or a runner?

I get enjoyment out of the little things in life. Most days it's wearing the most annoying colour combination while running. :-) Today it was a red shirt with lime green shorts. TeeHee!

I started out with a short sleeve shirt on and those shorts. It was 61 degrees so I figured it was a good outfit. First time wearing this shirt. I got it from the 8k I ran a few weeks ago. I ordered a small but the sleeves nearly came down to my elbows! And it was waaay baggy on me. Must be a small unisex. I couldn't get comfortable in it today though.

I had decided to run about 40 minutes total. I pushed myself hard the first bit. I knew I was running WAY fast. But I realised that 40 minutes is still 40 minutes no matter how fast/far you go. That's the difference between running miles & minutes. 4 miles will be different times depending on the day. So I tried to slow it down but I couldn't tell exactly how fast I was going. I MISS PHIL!!!

About 10 minutes into my run, things got hot. I pulled up the front of my shirt and tucked it under my sports bra. Then about 10 minutes later, I couldn't take it any more and I took my arms out of it but left it around my neck and tucked it under the shoulder straps of my sports bra. So then I was just running in my sports bra pretty much. By the end of my 40 minute run, my back was DRIPPING. It was a little misty out but it wasn't that. I'm pretty sure it was sweat or moisture from the air. I got home and checked weather.com. Yea, 95% humidity. Wow! No wonder why my lungs felt like I was swimming out there. And that's why I got so hot so fast. I only passed 2 people on the course and actually one of those came to the meeting that I'm going to talk about now.

This Saturday my running group, NITRO, is putting on their very first race! A 5k & 10k plus a kids race I know that I've mentioned it before but just wanted to get one more plug in. There's still time to sign up or you can do race-day registration for a few bucks more. Anyone wanna join in on the fun?? :-D

What's gonna be even better is that I'm also volunteering (I am in the group after all!). They put me in the most awesome position EVER. Beer Server (or as 2 people called me tonight Beer Wretch! HA!). I'm the only one so I'll be pretty busy. And it's gonna be easy, I just need to take their ticket and check to see if they have their hand stamped (to prove that they are over 21). Luckily, it'll all happen after most people are done with their run so I don't need to push and practically kill myself to finish fast. Which is good cause I don't think I could. I'm guessing I'm gonna go 57-58 minutes. I wish I could say 55 minutes but I haven't done that in a 10k since 2007 when I was training for my first half. I was in super-duper shape then.

I also got to talk to someone before the meeting about heart rate and the difference between anaerobic and aerobic. I can read that stuff all day long but it won't stay in me head. But when someone TELLS it to me and explains it, then I'm fine. That's why I SUCK at online classes. I need to hear it rather than just read it.

I don't know if I'll do anything tomorrow for exercise. It's too cold to do any cycling (um, Mother Nature you DO realise it's the end of May right??) and I can't really run since I'm getting a tattoo tomorrow afternoon. I shouldn't run immediately after getting it. I probably shouldn't run on Saturday either but I'm getting more Yes' than No's on Google so I'm gonna do it.

Categories: clothing, NITRO, tattoos, volunteer

Clothing

Top: my shorts (and 1 running skirt); right: shirts, short-sleeved, long-sleeved & sleeveless; left: running tanks (and a few cotton ones in there too!); middle: sports bras.

Two of the running blogs I follow (the marathon mama & Run To Finish), have now mentioned their stinky running clothes. And another friend has mentioned her running clothes. So I figured I would follow suit as well.

When I first started running, I only had a few shorts & a few sport tanks. They're expensive items to buy. Especially bras, why & how they can charge $20 for a bra, I don't know how (more on that later). I bought a lot of my items at Wal-Mart and a few at Target, the upper-class version of Wal-Mart. Luckily, they did have some "wicking" products so I bought those mainly in the shorts. However, my bras & tanks from Wal-Mart were cotton. Not quite wicking!! More like sucking and staying!

Because I only had a few, I would only wash them on the weekends but that meant I would run in them the outfits two times. No more than two, however. I didn't run that much or that long so I never really stunk them up so bad.

However, then came the longer runs and more frequent runs during the week. The clothes started staying stink. Even after washing them, I would star running & immediately smell my stink at the YMCA. I knew something had to be done.

I read online and saw that some used white vinegar to get rid of the smell. I tried that. I didn't notice a difference at all. Then I read on Runner's World of a new detergent that is supposed to help get the smell out of runner's clothes. It's called WIN. I was shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods, saw a bottle and immediately bought it. I've been using it and after my first bottle ran out, I picked up another one! I haven't noticed the stink anymore, even after running!!

There is another brand out there at the time called Sports Wash. When I was in St. Louis I picked up a sample of it for .99 and used it for a load. Smelled the same when they dried.

Then now I see that one of the blogs above, compared Pro Wash to WIN. Another brand of sports detergent. She says that they both got out the stank but felt that Pro Wash made her clothes softer.

I don't know what drying does to these wicking clothes but I have never dried mine in the dryer. I always get out my laundry ladder thingie (there's another name for that but like hell if I can think of it now) and dry them on there. Only takes overnight since they're so lightweight.

I also have another thing to mention about these running clothes. I am tall. And I actually have a longer torso than legs unfortunately (my mother once said that I probably wouldn't show in a pregnancy until the 6th month). So when I buy my sports tanks, they usually ride up on me and show off my little belly pooch. I have YET to find a tank that will stay low. I thought I found it with a Nike tank on clearance. It looked really long! I was so happy. But when I bought the small and ran in it, it's actually too small! I can still wear it but the bottom rolls up on me.

This happened when I bought a Nike sports bra. I have 2 Under Armor sports bras and I love them, in a size small. So I bought Nike the same size. It's very tight around the chest. The same goes for the shoes, remember. Size 11 in Asics but 11.5 in Nike! I'm thinking that the Nike brand just runs small.

Speaking of bras, as I said I have 2 Under Armor sports bras and 1 Nike sports bra and a cotton Wal-Mart bra. I really like the silky wicking feel of the Under Armor. I went looking for sports bras when I was shopping the other day and unfortunately, could not bring myself to buy one at $20 a pop. I looked online last night for some deals, even on eBay but nothing I thought was good enough. Luckily, my sports tanks have a sports bra built into them so I can get away with have 3 and a backup.

Recently, I have gotten to like my legs and how I look in the Nike Tempo shorts. They aren't as baggy as my no name shorts from Wal-Mart. I have yet to buy those compression shorts and run in them. I don't know if I ever will have the guts to do that! Especially in the gym while on the treadmill and everyone can see my ass cheeks bouncing up and down. *shudder*

I have also received twice now, a catalogue of running clothes from a place called National Running Center. Since this winter has been pretty harsh in terms of temperature and I can't go outside to run when it's below 25. I am looking at getting another pair of winter leggings to wear over my Under Armor ColdGear leggings and to wear under my bright blue jogging pants (which are cotton lined so they can get drenched pretty fast. In their catalogue they have a pretty neat legend of Base layer, Thermal layer & Outer layer and which items work best where. Also which temperature their COOL, COLDER, COLDEST works best in. My next running purchase will be something from this place, that's for sure.

The shorts have a built-in panty in them which is nice & convient since I then don't have to wear cotton undies and get them all sweaty. Some of them are old now so the elastic has run out and not quite as staying on or around my butt cheeks any longer. However, with the leggings, I do have to wear undies as I haven't quite gotten to the commando with them yet. However, I have seen wicking undies on Skirt Sports and this National Running Center. I'm really digging the GirlShorties on Skirt Sports. And even the regular Shorties too. That's also on my list!

So there ya have it. My running clothing blog post. A lot more detailed than I thought I could make it!

Categories: clothing

New kicks!

I got my new trainers tonight! And they fit B-E-A-UTIFULLY! WOW. I put them on and I could not get over how good they feel. Plenty of room.

Now they're unusual for me. They are size 11.5 and Narrow. I normally wear size 11, normal width in Ascis but I guess Nike is different. I was afraid with them being Narrow that I was gonna notice it and feel it but alas, I didn't! YAY! I didn't get on their treadmill but tomorrow I'm going to give them a spin. Best news is that since they're Nike's they have the Nike+ built right into it so I can slip my sensor right in the shoe! Not it really does any good, the calibration is off but once I can run outside again, I'll recalibrate it with my Garmin to match up. I own the Nike+, I might as well use it.

I need to get going on the long runs again. Soooo... I'm hoping to go to the Y tomorrow morning and get my run on. A long run on. I plan on going early and being honest with the people behind the desk in the workout room. That I would like to get at least 6 miles in. That's 1 hour of running. That's my goal but more would be best; maximum of 10. I will leave if I need to, as in if all the rest of the treadmills are full but otherwise I'll just stay until I get kicked off.


Anyway, after I got the shoes (which by the way were FREE!! thanks to a gift certificate from a raffle at a local race), I decided to run to Dick's Sporting Goods and buy new running clothes. I have decided that I needed new shorts mainly since the elastic in the liners of my current shorts are losing well, they elasticity. Not fun trying to not get a wedgie while you're running. All the clothes I bought were on Clearance. 2 Reebok shorts, a Nike Tempo short & a match shirt. I have the same Nike outfit but in pink and I like the feel & texture of them so much that I wanted them again. Wasn't that much of savings however. I plan on wearing the black shorts tomorrow to test them out.

But I'm excited about my run tomorrow. In fact, I think I'm gonna hit the bed now and read a little bit more of Once A Runner by John L. Parker and get up early for a long run on the treadmill. Windchill advisory tomorrow.

Categories: clothing, shoes

I'm hardc0re

OK, so maybe not. Just because I ran in the snow, wind coming from the north at 17 mph and a temperature of 25, does not make me hardc0re. But I think it does make me a little certifiable. :-) (The picture's blurry cause of the falling snow and while it was in my pocket during the run, it was getting warm and fogging up a bit when I brought it out in the cold.)

I got home last night from the bar at 12:30a. The roads were horrible. But I was pretty sure that the run was going to go on anyway. So I set my alarm for 6:00a. Was out of bed by 6:15a and got dressed in my bathroom (smallest place that could heat up fast). I looked at my Garmin and it only had 32% battery life yet so I decided to hook it up to the charger while I was getting dressed. Well, I went and left without it. A half mile or so, I realised that and turned around to go back & get it. Luckily, it didn't make me late.

I found out where the place was by following another person there (that I actually didn't know was going until he turned into the park). Got out and one guy, Dennis, remembered me. There were 2 other women and another man in the group. Dennis helped me put on my YakTrax and a few minutes later, away we all went.

We started out really slow, 1st mile was 11:14 but that was fine since I wasn't sure of my footing and my YakTrax. But the wind was fierce. We were heading east and the wind was from the north. The snow was still falling too and coming in sideways. Cutting into my eyes pretty strong. A snow plow went by us and we said that he probably thought we were crazy. We also watched one woman try to get out of her uphill driveway. When she made it, I threw my hands up in a victory sign and when she drove by us, she smiled and waved.

At 2.5 we stopped for Gatorade. One woman's husband tailed us in his SUV. That was pretty cool. Making sure we were alright, not falling or injured and then gave us a supply of drinks. When we stopped, I didn't have my Garmin set so that it would stop the time when I stopped. So it just kept on ticking while we were waiting. But it was very hard to get going again. I was using the SUV for a shield and to get back out into the snow & wind was pretty harsh.

At 3 miles we turned around and Dennis and I got ahead of the group. At mile 4, my YakTrax started to hurt my feet. Like the balls and then my arch too. Not a good feeling. I complained at 4.66 miles. But I sucked it up to keep them on til the end.

We ended and waited for the other three to come on in. They were all going to Panera to have coffee but I was thinking of heading north for some skiing. But one of the women said that the Winter Advisory was supposed to be cancelled at 6a had been extended until 1pm. So after hearing that and knowing how the roads were this morning, I decided against the trip north. Maybe tomorrow.

When I got home, I took off my jacket & fleece and my shirt was so wet that I got cold just standing around. My jogging pants were all wet too. I think that was mainly from the snow. After my shower, I laid everything out and took a picture of it for documentation. My core warmed up pretty fast but I was still glad I had on 3 layers. My feet had 2 socks on, my hands had 2 pairs of gloves on. My pants only had the UnderArmour cold weather tights and my jogging pants but I was fine there. I was wearing my new head face mask and a fleece hat. Grateful, I remembered my fleece hat when I got home last night (I laid everything out beforehand). But it was my hands that caused me the most grief right away. My hands were cold because I had my gloves off to put my YakTrax on. When I finally put them on, they were cold; too cold to warm themselves up. My left hand was fine surprising but it was my right hand, fingers, palm and all, that I had to make into a fist inside my glove to try to warm them up. Thumb inside and outside trying to figure out the best way. Finally around mile 3, I didn't feel the stingy pain of them anymore. They're always pretty bad; home, office, driving, doesn't matter.

But for now, I'm just happy that I was able to accomplish my first winter running experience. It's still snowing out now and I think I'm gonna get a hot cup of cocoa and watch some TV and do some laundry.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 867 ft Location: Sycamore, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/10/09 Up/Downhill: [+108/-108] Time: 07:09 AM Difficulty: 2.9 / 5.0 Weather: Light Snow 25 F temp; 91% humidity 25 F heat index; winds N 17 Performance Distance: 6.00 miles Time: 1:05:58 Speed: 5.5 mph Pace: 11' 00 /mi Calories: 644 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 11' 12 +0' 12 5.3 -0.1 +36 ft 2 10' 30 -0' 30 5.7 +0.3 +10 ft 3 14' 40 +3' 40 4.1 -1.4 +13 ft 4 10' 02 -0' 58 6.0 +0.5 -16 ft 5 9' 59 -1' 01 6.0 +0.6 -7 ft end 9' 40 -1' 20 6.2 +0.7 -36 ft Versus average of 11' 00 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Categories: 6 miles, clothing, Great Western Trail, pictures, winter running

With every run, you learn something new

I started my run this morning at 10:51a. Really late. But it was good weather. I wore my UnderArmour long-sleeved shirt and my UA running tights as well. The tights were a good idea. The shirt, on the other hand, not so much.

About 3 miles into it, I wanted to roll up my sleeves and only got to about half up to my elbows. Grrr. It's funny too because the other night I was looking online for some running sleeves. I first saw them on Ryan Hall at the Houston Half Marathon last year. He was wearing them at the beginning of the race but then took them off. After researching this the other day, I found out that his sponsor of Asics does not make arm warmers. So he has to buy some and then spray paint Asics on it to stay within contract. I think that's funny.

Anyway, so I was looking for them online and decided to buy them, cause c'mon when would I ever use them? Well, TODAY. D'uh.

Today's run was 10 miles. Total in 1h37'. Not too shabby I guess. The pace was around of 9:45 for the full thing. I started at 9:18. Then at turn around point of 5 miles, I slowed down to just over 10'. I ran out of Gatorade by that time. With every run I'm learning something. Anything in the double digits I must have all 4 bottles with me on my belt, 2 with Gatorade. And maybe a gel or two with my runs as well. I have to realise that this is NOT my half marathon. I WON'T be done with it in another 3 miles. I will have another 16 miles to go! I have to prepare for that extra mileage.

I'm also looking at buying this as well. For my marathon, I want to have my phone with me but I don't want to carry my ENTIRE water belt with me. It'll be too heavy and since at my marathon there are water stops at every single mile I won't need to worry about doing water between stops. So I was looking at some way to carry it with me. Cause I want my family and Brent to send me messages of encouragement along the way. Then I heard about this belt, SPIbelt, as in Small Personal Item belt. And it looks like it'll be PERFECT for me on my runs when I don't want to carry my water belt but still need my cell phone with me. My father would like me to bring it with me at all times. I got a 10% coupon as well, so I will be buying that soon as well.

Boy, this running hobby sure is getting expensive! :-)

Categories: 10 miles, clothing, Great Western Trail, running accessories

When will I learn?

I don't think I know how to dress for the running. But considering that the weather here has been up and down, everyone is confused!

The last two times, I under dressed and then over dressed. For today's run, I packed my UA leggings, warm up pants, a tank and then a jacket. That was all. I didn't think I would need a long-sleeved UA shirt. Before I got dressed at lunchtime, I took a quick peek outside and it was cold. Very cold. I immediately regretted not brining the long-sleeved shirt. I almost didn't run then I was told that

But I got dressed with everything and put on the jacket. Once I started running, my arms were warming up. My legs were dandy but my hands were cold. Forgot the gloves (though I found one in my warm up pans) and also forgot to wear my ear headband so my ears got cold.

So I kinda under dressed again today. I have to go by UA or outdoor winter running clothing with my next paycheck!

Today's run: 55*, Windy, kinda under dressed

Categories: clothing, running at work

Lunchtime Run

I ran at lunch today. It was interesting. I got dressed in the women's restroom. Took me about 10 minutes to do so. Then I had to go out into the room to leave the building and our whole building is one big room and the bathroom is in the middle of the building. I had to go to my desk to get my Gatorade, I heard my editor pause in the middle of his sentence and just say uh over and over. Teehee. I think I caught him off guard with my neon green running outfit! Though I did under-dress for the weather. It was supposed to be 57 by noon but felt a lot cooler than that. I only wore my HeatGear long-sleeved shirt and HeatGear tights, plus shorts and a tank top. Gotta get some ColdGear tights. I only ran for 3.1 miles. Took me about 27 minutes, average. And I walked a bit afterwards, did some stretches. Got back inside to change with 10 minutes to spare and got out of the bathroom right at 1p when I had to go to a meeting. Luckily, I wasn't all that sweaty on my face but I could feel my back dripping sweat during the meeting. So I cannot run more than 3.1 miles on Thursdays. I cut it too close. I'm going to do this again on Mondays. I liked it.

It was windy today. I ran the first half with my wind to my back and everything was fine. I actually didn't even know it was windy until I turned around, then BAM! It hit me in my face, my eyes started to tear up and I had to start pushing hard. You could tell where I was when I turned around, I started to slow down a bit. And waiting to cross Peace Road was not cool, took like forever. I also need to bring my snot/sweat rag.

I got to also buy gloves and a hat or skullcap with a ponytail hole. Target had some great long-sleeved shirts that had like fold-over hand cuffs. Awesome idea! They also had a jacket that seemed would be perfect for outdoor winter running. I'm thinking I like Champion stuff now more so than UnderArmor. So wish I had all sorts of money!

Today's run: Peace Road bike path, 57* cold and windy!

Categories: clothing, running at work

Long run: 8.5 miles

Well, I did 8.5 miles today. Lance again congratulated me on my run. He's always so nice.

When I started off though, my left toes were stiff. I crack my toes a lot and I do so by pointing them. So I'm thinking that's why. Also my right Achilles tendon was tight too when starting out, it loosened up though. I didn't quite know what to wear this morning, so I just went with my long HeatWear tights and my HeatWear long-sleeved shirt by UnderArmour. It all worked though I'm wondering if my shirt could have been short-sleeved instead. I wore all 4 bottles of my water belt. Two with water and 2 with Gatorade Rain. I didn't fasten tight enough around my waist, kept moving on me.

I also got 2 war wounds today. At mile 5, I started feeling a blister on my left toe. At mile 6, I felt another blister on my other foot. Great. Then that was all I could think about from those miles on. My other wound was chaffing. Not from my clothes but instead from my arm rubbing on water bottle. I noticed it only once I stopped running and man did it smart. Not so much anymore. I hope that I never have a toe nail fall off from running. Gross.

Though I will admit that I was hurting near the end of my run. My feet were stumbling about. And right before the last leg of the run, I was crossing a road, getting ready to step into the crosswalk, this woman driver wouldn't even slow down and stop for me. I had to stop or I was going to get run over by her. I had three other people stop for me while crossing other intersections. But this woman wouldn't do it even after I lifted up my arm and gave her the stop signal with my hand. That got me hot, I gave her the finger, called her a bitch out loud and that look a lot of energy to get mad like that.

It was cool today but not like that one night I ran and it wasn't raining. I'm thinking rain has something to do with my good runs.

Now off to take care of this blister. Any recommendations?

Another 2 miles, and I will have reached 200 miles on Nike+!

Today's run: 9:45am, bike path, 58°F to 66°F, post-run weight 129.4 lbs

Categories: blisters, clothing, long run