Clothes and Couches.

Clothes

Our care group is having a little BBQ this Saturday and since it’s supposed to be 84 degrees, I’m planning to wear my new dress:

I LOVE this dress. It’s so comfy, casual and for some reason, I’m smitten with the orange/tan color combo.

As for the trendy vs. timeless pants, longevity and comfort are the winners this time.

The skinny jeans fit me well… standing up.

But they’re a little iffy for bending over or sitting down, meaning I’d always have to wear a belt. And since I don’t like being limited like that…

Dress pants it is.

The dress pants are the Aubrey cut from Gap (a quick Google search shows that they’re either only available at Gap outlet or have been renamed). They’re the perfect size in both the waist and hips (hard to find!), perfect length to wear with either heels or flats, and they’re machine washable. Best part, I got them for 50% off. I feel like $30 for nice dress pants is a very reasonable price.

After much contemplating, I mailed my “marathon shirt” back yesterday. I did exchange it for a large and while it fit better, it was still really long and a little tighter than I would prefer:

One of my friends is an amazing seamstress (I was going to write “sewer”, but somehow that didn’t seem right…) and I was thinking about asking her to shorten the shirt 2-3 inches. But the more I thought about it, it’s just not the right shirt. So back it went, much to our wallet’s delight.

Speaking of our wallet, I have not bought and am no longer planning to buy a Garmin just yet. A new pair of running shoes had to come first (somehow, they seemed more essential) and our Alaska trip has pretty much eliminated any wiggle room beyond that in our budget. But it’s a small price to pay for the trip of a lifetime.

So what am I planning to wear for the marathon? Well, after way too much thought and deliberation, I’ve (almost) decided to go with this short-sleeve shirt if it’s a warm day:

 Malibu Half 2010

Or this shirt if it’s chilly:

On the bottom, I’ll wear my pink running skirt over my 2XU compression tights. The other bottom option I’ve been thinking about is my running skirt over my Aspaeris compression shorts (just in case compression tights would be too warm) but then I’d want to wear compression socks and not only would that be more $$ to spend, I’m not sure it would be any cooler than the tights in the first place. I’ll probably change my mind 10 more times before the race and end up bringing along 5 different options anyway. Le sigh. #firstworldproblems

Travis laughs whenever I bring up the majorly important and hard decision of what I’m going to wear during the marathon. “When I ran my marathon {Twin Cities 2006},” he said, “the night before the race, I realized that I didn’t have a drifit shirt. My roommate said he had one I could borrow, and that’s what I wore.”

Boys.

Couches

We are LOVING our new couches that we got from our friends who just sold their house to travel around the country:

You almost can’t even see Charlie on the loveseat… but she’s there. All. the. time. Luckily, besides a minor mishap (looking at you Katy) in the first 36 hours, the couches have remained intact. But the dogs still lick them every chance they get. ?!?!?

Running Shirt Dilemma

I got my new running duds in the mail last week. I absolutely love the skirt. It’s the perfect (modest) length, it’s nice fabric but not too heavy, the pocket on the back is big enough to actually be useful, and it’s pink.

I also really like the shirt – it’s soft and actually an extremely light teal, which makes it even cuter. Here’s my dilemma though – the medium I ordered is tighter than I’d like in the stomach. So I had the thought of exchanging it for a large. But the other issue is that the shirt is 50% polyester, 50% cotton (it says that on the website so I wasn’t surprised). I’ve never had a running-specific shirt involving cotton but Travis doesn’t think that would be good for running long distances. And since the whole point was buying a cute shirt for the marathon, I’m torn.

And I’m turning to my lovely readers. Do you have a 50/50 running shirt? Would you return the shirt for a bigger size or look for another cute, 100% polyester shirt to wear with my pink skirt?

I also just got some new sports bras. Doing a quick Google search for good running bras, I’m sure you’d come up lots of raves about Moving Comfort bras. I had ordered some last year when I was looking for a good bra to wear in my Olympic triathlon. I bought a couple of Moving Comfort bras but to be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed. Just recently, it dawned on me that I might have ordered the wrong size. And since I’m still wearing sports bras that I had in college (doubled up with others I bought more recently), I thought I’d test out my theory.

So I ordered the Fiona and Helena bras from Sierra Trading Post in one cup size smaller than I normally wear. My theory was correct. These bras actually did hold the girls down. I’m not a huge fan of the Helena (so I’m going to exchange it for another Fiona) because the band size is too small (even though it’s technically the same as the Fiona?) and is doing my underarm fat no favors. It also has very thin fabric across the front, which is not good news if you tend to get cold, ahem, after running.

But the Fiona is wonderful. It’s comfy, supportive and has thicker fabric to minimize the, ahem, coldness.

It’s also cute. That’s the main reason I have refused to try Enell bras – they look like something my grandma would wear. (Sorry, but it’s true). The other thing I like about both bras is that they fasten in the back like a regular bra. The other Moving Comfort bra I bought (the Juno) still goes over your head like a regular sports bra and fastens in the back – which is sometimes tricky to do when you’re already wearing it. I use my Juno bra for shorter distances – 10K or less – but I think that’s more because I didn’t buy the right size, than anything to do with the bra itself. I definitely plan to use my new Fiona bras for marathon training.

Short story long, if you’re looking for a supportive sports bra, Moving Comfort bras are great – you just might have to experiment with sizes.

Please give me advice about my running shirt dilemma! And if you have any ideas about where to find cute running shirts, you get bonus points!

My Work Day in Pictures

I’m out of here, y’all.

What was the highlight of your day? My highlight was my morning coffee. It was especially good (and needed)! I went to bed at 9 and still woke up completely exhausted. Tonight, I’m going to bed right after dinner. No excuses. No exaggeration.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Bright.

That’s how I would define my new Brooks running jacket and Aspaeris compression shorts.

In the words of Elf, That’s shocking.

But colors aside, I think my new running gear is going to be good. The jacket fits snugly but a good snug. The bottom black part is elastic so it stretches across my booty and the jacket is roomy enough in the chest and arms for me to fit one or two thin layers underneath. I’m not sure I’ll need to though, since this jacket clearly states that it’s designed for “40 degrees and below.” The jacket is thinner than I expected but when I put it on, I do feel warmer. According to the tag, the “lightweight aluminum membrane retains your heat so you stay warm without adding layers.” For $110, it better live up to the hype. Now I’m wishing for Colorado to cool off so I can try it out.

I really like the reflective details on the jacket – you can see the vertical one at the bottom in the picture above (there’s another one on the right side). There’s also a reflective logo on the left sleeve, and on the back, there’s a reflective logo at the top and then another reflective piping strip along the vent in the middle (never mind the black specks, those are mascara smudges on the mirror that I can’t get off):

And never mind that you can see the stripes of my underwear through the red shorts (buyers, beware). I also like the left inside pocket for holding your mp3 player or phone (the gray mesh part is also a bigger pocket, on both sides):

And the thumb holes:

The black fabric, which is just from the cuff down, is really soft. I’ve never had a jacket or sweatshirt with thumb holes before but I think I’ll like it. At the very least, it’ll force me to not obsess over my pace because I can’t get to my watch!

I’ve wanted the compression shorts because SkinnyRunner raves about them, I don’t like my other tight running shorts, and I’m in love with all shapes and sizes of compression gear – but I couldn’t stomach the $60 price tag. The minute I heard they were 50% off with the code cooleronline (in support of SR’s Ragnar team – I’m not sure if it still works but give it a shot), I snatched them up. And in red. Why not? It’s actually a very pretty red, IMO.

The shorts fit really well – they’re definitely tight and hard to get on, which is the key to compression gear. If it slides on easily, it isn’t compression.

I also like that they come up higher so I don’t feel like my belly is hanging over them or getting some muffin top action. That’s never good. In case you’re wondering, I ordered a medium in both the jacket and shorts. It’s a rare day that I’m not a medium!

But it’ll be a couple of days until I can try these things out – or try running in general because I ended up getting sick. Boo. I started feeling sick on Wednesday but didn’t feel sick enough to stay home so I went to work that day and Thursday. Finally, Friday I felt crappy enough to merit starting the weekend early staying home from work.

As far as sickness goes, it’s been kind of bittersweet. I have hardly any sinus congestion but I have a major headache that I can’t get rid of (even with acetaminophen and lots of water) and some major chest congestion and a hacking cough. Which means I feel well enough to read, bake and take the dogs on slow walks, but I can’t run or do anything that would get my heart rate up. I’m a little bummed because I was looking forward to running this weekend but the smart thing is to rest until this blows over. (I’m pretty sure I’d hack up a lung running anyway and I need to keep what little lung I have.)

I am thankful that I can mostly enjoy being forced to take things easy, instead of being in a Sudafed-induced coma. I’ll live vicariously through reading about all of your runs.

Hope you’re having a good weekend!

One of those days…

Today has seriously been the longest day EVER. I knew it from 10 am this morning when I had already done what I felt like was a lot of work and only an hour had gone by. ::sigh::

BUT!

I have this waiting for me when I get home:

My new running gear! Even though I probably won’t try it out until I wash it (never mind the fact that its 60 degrees today), I’m still excited.

I’m also pumped about tomorrow night. While Travis goes to play broomball, I am going to Target to spend a gift card from my MIL and then hopefully work on a racing scrapbook.

And now I’m going home to get my run on and stop wanting to poke my eyes out from boredom. Have a great night!

New Running Gear!

Even though my family is wonderfully generous and I got lots of great presents for Christmas, I didn’t get any running stuff (which was secretly what I wanted the most, but it’s also the hardest to buy for someone else so I totally understand why they bought other things).

So after thinking long and hard about the running gear that I would most like right now, and shopping around for the most reasonable prices (I think I can only handle spending $100 on running tights once in my life), I bought the following:

Underarmour Coldgear Compression Tights – $49.99

For every run I’ve gone on that’s been colder than 40 degrees, I’ve worn Smartwool long underwear under my regular running pants. It works but the long underwear doesn’t stretch at all and I don’t like having to wear 2 layers. So hopefully these will solve my dilemma.

I bought a medium because that’s almost always what my size is, but according to my waist/hip measurements and their size chart, I would be an XXL. So I’m crossing my fingers that they’re the ones on crack, not me.

Nike Windproof 1/2 Zip Jacket – on sale for $29.23!

I’ve been wanting a running jacket for a while but am so cheap that I almost pass out every time I look at their price tags. {Side note: What happened to me?!?!} This jacket is cute, on sale, windproof and water resistant (which is all I need because I don’t usually run when it’s pouring outside). I also bought a medium in this.

I’ll let you know how I like them after they come and I have a chance to try them out.

I haven’t tried out my new shoes yet because I was a big lazy butt last night and this morning. I watched Sweet Home Alabama on TV (love that movie!) and then slept in until 7. I’ve just been so tired this week – I don’t know what my deal is. Usually, I’m wide awake once I get up but this week, I get up late after getting 8+ hours of sleep and still want to go straight back to bed.

Anyway, I’m going for my run after work today. And I’m actually excited because it’s supposed to be about 45 degrees and almost all of the snow we had has melted, which means no more slipping, sliding and accidentally stepping in ankle deep puddles.

What is the most important thing for you to have/wear on cold runs?

How to Pack a Carry-on Suitcase

Since my husband is a savvy traveler and refuses to check anything but a box of meat (which we just did on our trip to Minnesota), I have learned to pack in such a way that I don’t have to check a bag either. And the amazing thing is, it’s not as hard as I thought it would be.

I have a Leisure suitcase that I bought from Herberger’s (a department store like Macy’s). It looks like the smaller upright suitcase in this picture (except mine is a bright cerulean):

So for those of you who are traveling for the holidays, here are my tips to fitting all your stuff for a 4-5 day trip into a carry-on suitcase:

1. Roll your clothes.

You’ve probably heard this tip before, but that’s because it’s true. Not only does rolling your clothes save space and prevent wrinkles better than folding, it also makes getting clothes out a breeze (no unpacking to pull out something from the bottom!). I pile all of my clothes rolls on one side length of the suitcase, leaving about 10 inches in front for my toiletry bag and shoes.

2. Plan a wardrobe, not outfits.

If you have a thing about re-wearing clothes before washing them, then this tip is not for you. But for the rest of us, this is a great way to save space, while still looking cute. On this most recent trip when I was packing for 4 days (not including the first day of travel), I brought 2 pairs of pants, plus the one I was wearing. I brought a shirt to wear with the vest I had on, plus 3 other top combinations. I brought 2 pairs of shoes – 1 pair of brown flats and 1 pair of black flats, and wore my snow boots (which, it turned out, I needed more in Denver than in Minnesota). As a general rule, I mostly bring solid color basics that can go with multiple things and then jazz things up with a tank or t-shirt (because they’re small) or jewelry (also small).

3. Bring the beauty basics.

I bring travel sizes of shampoo, conditioner, body wash (when I remember to buy it), toothpaste, face wash (even though it isn’t my normal brand), body lotion, and perfume. I also bring my regular toothbrush, regular makeup bag, ponytail holders/barrettes, comb, hairdryer and either a straightener or curling iron. But the rest of the beauty products I use normally? I leave them at home. Luckily, my skin isn’t very temperamental and I can get by without my normal products for a short trip. I realize not everyone is in the same boat but even then, you can get travel-sized plastic containers to hold the amount of product you need on your trip.

4. Choose the least bulky items.

Given the choice between two sweaters, bring the one that takes up the least space in your suitcase. As much as I love my chunky wool sweaters (and definitely take advantage of the opportunity to pack them in our biggest suitcase when we’re driving back), if I’m trying to pack a carry-on for a flight, they’re not coming with. If you just can’t handle the idea of leaving your precious item behind, then make sure to plan the rest of your wardrobe so that you have a few different outfits you can wear with it. Same thing goes with shoes – if you can, pack flats or heels over boots (though I did bring back 2 pairs of boots in October and still carried my suitcase on the plane). Better yet, plan to wear the bulkiest items when you’re traveling, so that you don’t have to worry about packing them at all (like I did with my vest and snow boots for this trip).

5. Pack fun jewelry.

A fun necklace can take a regular long-sleeved shirt from daytime to nighttime and it takes up hardly any room in your suitcase. To keep dainty necklaces from getting tangled in travel, I hang them all on my hand and tie a twisty tie around the top, banding all the chains together. Then I gently lay them in an empty Altoids box, cover with tissue or toilet paper so that they can’t move around at all. I do the same thing with earrings (minus the twisty tie, obviously). For bulky necklaces, I put them in individual plastic baggies. All my jewelry goes into my toiletry bag, which also helps them to not move around much.

 

What’s your tip for saving room in your suitcase when traveling?

The giveaway winner is…

Based on the order of comments and random.org’s selection, the winner of my 400th blog post giveaway is…

One Bad Mamma Jamma!

Please email your address to me at specialkkluthe [at] gmail [dot] com and I will send you your prize! Thanks to all of you for commenting!

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A few of you asked me to talk more about what gear I like for running. It’s really not that exciting but since you asked…

Shirts

I’m pretty boring and cheap because I usually wear the tech shirts that I have gotten from either races I worked last year or done myself. My favorite shirts are the ones I got from the Heart and Sole Half Marathon last year, Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll this year, and the Steamboat Springs Oly this year. The main reason I love those is that they’re a women’s size – usually races just offer unisex sizing and the smalls are still too big. But with the women’s sizing, a medium fits perfectly. So if you’re looking for tech shirts, or doing a race that offers women’s sizes, go for the women’s if you like a tighter fit.

Of the few shirts I have actually bought for running, I really like the Under Armour shirt that I bought last year when training for the Malibu half marathon:

It’s so cute that I wear it around even when I’m not exercising and the length is perfect so that it never rides up. It’s also a wicking fabric and dries really fast, which is good when you’re hiking in the Smoky Mountains and look like this at the top:

(I was dry by the time we got back to the car.)

I also have three long-sleeve tech shirts (yes, only three) – one is Nike (and has taken a beating!), one is Alpine Design from Sports Authority (I’m wearing it in the Denver RnR picture below, along with a fleece vest that is literally falling apart), and another is from a race we put on last year (and it’s bigger, so it’s my least favorite but it still works).

Something I will be intentional about looking for on running clothes in the future is reflective detailing. My New Balance Capris (below) and Alpine Design shirt both have reflective elements and when I was wearing them on a little-too-late run with Travis the other night, it was nice knowing that I was more visible to cars.

Shorts/Pants

The bottoms that I wear most often for running are spandex shorts and pants – like the Adidas shorts I wore for the half marathon above (similar to these) or the 2XU compression tights I wore for the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll.

There are a few things that I’m not thrilled about with the shorts and tights – the shorts don’t stay completely down (they would need to either be tighter like tri shorts or have elastic at the bottom of each leg) and the 2XU compression tights, while amazing and worth the money, are a little short. Instead of being full-length pants, they’re about 5 inches above my ankle. Not a huge deal, just a little annoying. But both options beat the feeling of shorts riding up! And there’s much less chance of chafing when you’re wearing form-fitting clothing for long workouts – always a good thing.

My latest obsession is the pair of New Balance capris I got for my birthday.

I love those capris. They’re perfect for fall runs in the 40s and 50s where you want something more than shorts but don’t quite need pants either. There is a pocket on the inside front, as well as the back outside. I stored my car key in the back pocket for a run once and it actually worked really well.

I also have a pair of Nike DriFit pants that I found on clearance when I first started running in 2006 (they’re still good!) and a pair of Puma running pants that I got out of lost and found last year (hey, no one had claimed them!).

Shoes

My mantra with shoes is “Don’t mess with a good thing.” So for the past 3 years, I’ve worn the Nike Zoom Structure Triax. These were the blue ones I had before I got pink ones:

Now the shoes are all fancy.

Sports Bras

As far as sports bras go, I am still in search of one that actually impresses me with how well it holds the girls down. I’ve heard raving reviews of Moving Comfort bras – to the order of “They don’t bounce at all!” Well, I beg to differ. The Juno bra that I bought did do more than an average bra, and I did wear it for an Olympic triathlon and do fine but still, there was bounce-age. I tried on the Fiona bra as well and it was laughable how much it didn’t do. For $52, you think they could do a little better than that. One day, I might check out the granny bras from Enell. But that day is not today.

Heart Rate Monitor

The heart rate monitor I have is the Polar F6 Green Tea.

I’ve been very pleased with it – my only regret is that I can’t record splits. If/when I get a new heart rate monitor, I will make sure to get one with that capability.

………………………………………

Anyway, if you haven’t noticed, I don’t spend a ton of money on running gear… I would like to because Nike and Under Armour have some seriously cute stuff. But I only have so much money to divide between race fees, racing equipment, and athletic apparel so I have to look at my running wardrobe as something I accumulate over time. The next thing I would like to get is a jacket for running in the fall, winter and rain.

So now you’re up to date on my running gear. Did I mention Body Glide is a runner’s best friend ever? That stuff is awesome. Buy it. Use it. You’ll thank me later.

What’s your favorite piece of running gear? 

And the marathon winner is…

Since work is still pretty slow, I used the majority of last Friday to compare, via detailed spreadsheet, every marathon I could find in the months of March, April, May and June of next year that fit my criteria of being either a big race (5,000+ marathoners) or well-supported by spectators, and being in a location that could double as our 5-year wedding anniversary trip. So I looked up airfare, race reviews, course information, number of participants and local attractions. The (most likely) winner?

The Eugene Marathon on April 29.

Eugene, Oregon, is about 2 hours from Portland and even though it’s a smaller marathon (about 2,000 finishers last year), the race drew 8,000 athletes with the other events and since running is so popular in this city nicknamed Track Town USA, a lot of spectators come out to support. The course is flat and beautiful from what I’ve read. And Oregon is a state that neither Travis nor I have ever been to, but always wanted to visit. I mean, how can you not get excited about the food cart craze?

So I have adjusted both my base building and marathon training plans (updated on this page), since this race is a month earlier than the one I thought about doing in Minnesota. It’s a long {and boring} story about why I decided against the race in MN but it involves a wedding, a bunch of hills and a lack of both runners and spectators.

But I’ve encountered a little hiccup in my marathon goal: a lack of motivation.

It’s a bad sign when I can barely muster up enough willpower to force myself out for a 3 mile run. What is going to happen to me when I have to do 8, 9, even 10 miles on a work day? I’m serious. How am I going to manage that?

I’ve thought about running during lunch (although the max there will be probably be about 5 miles, since I’m slow and lunch can’t last forever). I’ve thought about doing 2-a-days and splitting those long runs into morning and evening runs, or lunchtime and evening runs (I think that would work fine because I’d still have my continuous long run on the weekend). I’ve even thought about breaking up the mileage between the track and the dreadmill treadmill at my gym. Because I don’t think I could stand to run a full 10 miles, either in 100 circles or in place.

I need to dip into my reserve of this:

I’m trying to not think about how much I don’t want to go on a 4 mile run after work today. I’d rather go lay on the couch and stuff my face with leftover corn bread. But that’s what I did last night so… I should probably go.

The deal I’m making with myself is that I have to at least get all my planned mileage and weight training in. If I want to skip my cute little cardio workouts, fine. But no skipping runs. And no skipping weights. Because I am not going to get injured this time. Remember?

The cupcake image reminds me of a shirt idea I had for the marathon – Will Run for Cake. Which turned out to not be such a unique idea after all… I’ll have to change mine to say something like:

That’s a million dollar idea right there.

I like this shirt too (from gypsyrunner.com):

I saw a girl at the Malibu Half last year that was wearing that shirt and I immediately thought, “That’s the shirt I need!” But until I saw them at the Denver Rock ‘n’ Roll expo, I had only been able to find the shirt in cotton. Apparently, those who run like turtles don’t sweat.

Remember that you still have time to enter my 400th blog post giveaway!

How do you stay motivated to train or exercise?

Have you ever done 2-a-days?

Nifty Thrifty

For some reason, when we returned from our Labor Day trip to North Carolina, I had the wild hair to go to the thrift store and found some great deals. I kept forgetting to take pictures until last night. Here for your viewing pleasure:

2 pairs of pants, 2 skirts, a dress plus a couple of Christmas decorations = $40.

I wore this to my cousin’s wedding at the beginning of October with a black sequined sleeveless shirt, a 3/4 sleeve sweater that matched the blue/purple color, black tights and black boots.

This I wore to my sister-in-law’s baby shower with brown leggings, brown boots and a brown belt.

These pants are from J. Crew and are my best find of all. They fit me well, they’re comfy and they’re very fall-y.

I also really like these jeans from Banana Republic. They’re wide leg so very roomy and comfy. The only drawback is that they’re a size bigger than I would normally buy so I have to wash them often or else they’re a little too big.

I didn’t take an individual pic of the gray skirt but it’s from Old Navy and hits right above the knee. Nice and modest for work (and who am I kidding, I feel exposed with anything shorter that I wear without tights… I’m getting so old and stuffy!) The dress and other skirt were no-name brands.

Unfortunately, I don’t really have any trick or tips to finding good deals. Except maybe find a thrift or discount store that consistently has good stuff? That’s been my secret. Also, be prepared to comb the racks. Patience is golden.

And my latest find…

Skinny jeans. (worn with a top I also found at the thrift store)

I wore them to work today with my calf-high brown boots – on the outside! First time I’ve ever been able to do that. I don’t feel quite as poser-ish as I had initially thought I would. But I do feel slightly poser-ish. I think, for me, it’s because I would never have bought skinny jeans, except that they practically allow me to tuck my jeans into my boots. Not that I have anything against them – clearly. I’m just not a person who really wears trends unless I really like them. I do like these jeans though – they’re like 18% spandex so they’re very comfy. And good to have for holiday season.

Do you shop at thrift stores? What’s the best thing you’ve found?