My favorite protein bars are on sale at Ralph's and it got me thinking about what runners like to fuel with. I really like Promax bars. I think they taste great and have a good texture. Double fudge brownie may be my favorite. Luna protein bars were also on sale, and it made me think of my friend Heather www.runningwithsass.com, as the Luna cookie dough flavor is her favorite. I have tried that and was definitely not a fan.
I like to eat half a promax bar and a banana before long runs and races. They sit well in my stomach. I usually eat the other half when I get back from my runs, along with a glass of chocolate milk.
I kind of laid off the protein bars when I was pregnant, and still am not eating them excessively, since I am still breastfeeding (woo hoo! 9 months and counting down to 12). I don't know if it affects that at all, but probably better to be more natural.
Well, less than 4 weeks until the Disneyland half! It will be fun to run it not pregnant, although I have to admit, doing it last year at 34 weeks sure was a lot of fun, too...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Brand Loyalty
I've always considered myself fiercly brand-loyal. For example, I always wore Nike shoes. I wouldn't even consider anything else! It was Nike or bust. When I started training for my first half-marathon, I went to get fitted for shoes. I went to a place that had Nike shoes, of course. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Asics fit me better! I was extremely torn. Do I go with the beloved Nikes, or the better-fitting Asics? Needless to say, I went with the Asics, and my brand-loyal nature slowly started to change.
I always thought that Nike was the best in everything else, too. Sports bras, running tops, golf apparel, etc. I wouldn't even consider going somewhere like Target! Nowadays, the Target C9 brand is my favorite! Aside from being incredibly affordable, the sports bras and singlets are very comfortable.
Another place I feel very loyal to is runningskirts.com. Their skirts are by far my favorite! I wear the running skirt style, as you all know, and the fit and comfort are superior to anything else I have tried. However, sometimes you want more coverage than a brief. I have tried the athletic skirt style, and am sorry to say that it just does not work for me. The shorts ride up on me despite sweat and body glide. I have also tried the commitment from skirtgoddess.com, and it is a little better. I am happy to say that I have found the ULTIMATE awesome running skirt with shorts underneath. See my previous post for SparkleSkirts sparkle tech running skirt! I was so incredibly impressed that the shorts don't ride up! Give it a try, and I'm sure you will be impressed, too!
Needless to say, I'm now open to trying gear and other things from brands that I may not have tried in the past. You never know when you might find something obscure that you love!
I always thought that Nike was the best in everything else, too. Sports bras, running tops, golf apparel, etc. I wouldn't even consider going somewhere like Target! Nowadays, the Target C9 brand is my favorite! Aside from being incredibly affordable, the sports bras and singlets are very comfortable.
Another place I feel very loyal to is runningskirts.com. Their skirts are by far my favorite! I wear the running skirt style, as you all know, and the fit and comfort are superior to anything else I have tried. However, sometimes you want more coverage than a brief. I have tried the athletic skirt style, and am sorry to say that it just does not work for me. The shorts ride up on me despite sweat and body glide. I have also tried the commitment from skirtgoddess.com, and it is a little better. I am happy to say that I have found the ULTIMATE awesome running skirt with shorts underneath. See my previous post for SparkleSkirts sparkle tech running skirt! I was so incredibly impressed that the shorts don't ride up! Give it a try, and I'm sure you will be impressed, too!
Needless to say, I'm now open to trying gear and other things from brands that I may not have tried in the past. You never know when you might find something obscure that you love!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
2010 MLB All-Star 5K
At pretty much the last minute, I decided to run the 2nd Annual MLB All-Star 5k. It was at Angel Stadium in Anaheim during All-Star weekend! I got up early and went down to register before the race. The traffic trying to get into the stadium parking lot was insane! Luckily, I was texting my friend and she was giving me updates on the line to register, where to go, etc. I finally parked, and rushed over to registration. I was impressed with how they did it. They had a bunch of laptops set up. You swiped your ID and it populated your entry form. Then you swiped your credit card. Done! It told me my bib number, and I went to another line to get my bib, then another to get my t-shirt. A quick trip to the car to drop off the t-shirt, then it was off to the start line.
Looking at my friend's post-race pics, I saw that Jillian Michaels and Gabrielle Union were at the start line cheering people on. I completely missed that. Oh well. My goal for this race was to come in under 30 min. I was pretty sure that I could do that. Once we crossed the start line, though, it looked like it might not happen. The course was packed for pretty much the whole race.
I spent a lot of time weaving in and out of walkers. Despite that, Garmin was telling me I was keeping a good, sub 10 min/mile pace. I stopped to walk a few times, and there was a water/gatorade station, too! As we approached Angel Stadium I was feeling like I could really do this! Then, we entered the stadium. I knew that all hope of a sub 30 was out the window. We practically came to a halt as we entered the stadium! It was really cool to run around the warning track of the field, but people were really going slow. At that point, I should have just walked and took pictures, too! Oh well. We exited the stadium and I booked it to the finish. Official time: 31:41. Not bad for all the slowdowns, but disappointing nonetheless. I had a great time, though, and a nice morning with friends!
Looking at my friend's post-race pics, I saw that Jillian Michaels and Gabrielle Union were at the start line cheering people on. I completely missed that. Oh well. My goal for this race was to come in under 30 min. I was pretty sure that I could do that. Once we crossed the start line, though, it looked like it might not happen. The course was packed for pretty much the whole race.
I spent a lot of time weaving in and out of walkers. Despite that, Garmin was telling me I was keeping a good, sub 10 min/mile pace. I stopped to walk a few times, and there was a water/gatorade station, too! As we approached Angel Stadium I was feeling like I could really do this! Then, we entered the stadium. I knew that all hope of a sub 30 was out the window. We practically came to a halt as we entered the stadium! It was really cool to run around the warning track of the field, but people were really going slow. At that point, I should have just walked and took pictures, too! Oh well. We exited the stadium and I booked it to the finish. Official time: 31:41. Not bad for all the slowdowns, but disappointing nonetheless. I had a great time, though, and a nice morning with friends!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Sparkle Skirts - sparkle tech skirt
I took my new sparkle skirt out for a 2 mile stroller wog today. First of all, let me tell you, it totally lives up to the hype. The legs do not BUDGE! You all know my issues with shorts riding up, well these did not go anywhere. The shorts are also the most compressive I’ve felt in a skirt! The skirt is swishy, not a-line. It actually kind of looks like a dance/skating skirt. The holographic “sparkles” are super cute, too! I’d say that my only issue with this skirt is the slight “muffin top” I get at the waist, but that is totally not a deal breaker, as I do not go out in just a sports bra anyway. LOL It’s very comfortable, and although I only went out for a short wog, I don’t think there will be any chafing issues. The pockets on each leg are fantastic! I put my blackberry in one and a pack of Chomps in the other and they didn’t bounce or anything. The front zip pocket is good for flat things. I wouldn’t load it up like a SPIbelt because then you’d have a big lumpy belly. I put my house keys in it and it was totally fine! Car keys are too lumpy. LOL
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Gear Review!
A few notes about my gear's performance at the half:
running skirt
Well, you all already know how much I love my floral running skirt. The sizing for runningskirts.com's new prints are a tiny bit off. I am normally a size 2 in the running skirt, but in the new prints I had to size up to a 3, as they did not have as much stretch as the older solids. The briefs were also cut a bit differently...they were a bit more...brief. No matter, it still worked well for me with adequate coverage and no wedgies.
Tek Gear basic tank
My new favorite running top! These are soft and comfy like cotton, but are moisture wicking! Also comes in short sleeve, but I prefer to run in sleeveless. I'm really excited to see that they are coming out with more colors too! I think I may even just wear these as regular shirts in the summer.
Moving Comfort Fiona
This sports bra was highly recommended by all of my "gifted" friends, so I decided to see if it would support my milk jugs. I am pleased to report that it is an excellent sports bra for breastfeeding mothers. You can undo the velcro straps so you can feed or pump before you run!
Asics Gel Nimbus
The Nimbus has not failed me yet! No blisters, but I think I need to buy a new pair. I wore this pair while pregnant so those extra 38 lbs compressed them down, I think! They are on Nimbus 12 now (mine are 10's). I'm just not quite ready to dump another $100+ on shoes...
Nathan Speed 2
Again, great belt, no bounce, held enough water to supplement the water stops.
Amphipod Pocket
I didn't have my Nathan small pockets with me, so I had to order a new pocket. I didn't want another Nathan, so I tried the Amphipod. It fit on my belt, but was pretty snug. My camera fit perfectly, even though I ran the entire race with the camera in my hand.
GU and GU chomps
Can't go wrong with a GU product. They just work the best for me. Flavors for this race were chocolate mint GU and blueberry pomegranate chomps.
running skirt
Well, you all already know how much I love my floral running skirt. The sizing for runningskirts.com's new prints are a tiny bit off. I am normally a size 2 in the running skirt, but in the new prints I had to size up to a 3, as they did not have as much stretch as the older solids. The briefs were also cut a bit differently...they were a bit more...brief. No matter, it still worked well for me with adequate coverage and no wedgies.
Tek Gear basic tank
My new favorite running top! These are soft and comfy like cotton, but are moisture wicking! Also comes in short sleeve, but I prefer to run in sleeveless. I'm really excited to see that they are coming out with more colors too! I think I may even just wear these as regular shirts in the summer.
Moving Comfort Fiona
This sports bra was highly recommended by all of my "gifted" friends, so I decided to see if it would support my milk jugs. I am pleased to report that it is an excellent sports bra for breastfeeding mothers. You can undo the velcro straps so you can feed or pump before you run!
Asics Gel Nimbus
The Nimbus has not failed me yet! No blisters, but I think I need to buy a new pair. I wore this pair while pregnant so those extra 38 lbs compressed them down, I think! They are on Nimbus 12 now (mine are 10's). I'm just not quite ready to dump another $100+ on shoes...
Nathan Speed 2
Again, great belt, no bounce, held enough water to supplement the water stops.
Amphipod Pocket
I didn't have my Nathan small pockets with me, so I had to order a new pocket. I didn't want another Nathan, so I tried the Amphipod. It fit on my belt, but was pretty snug. My camera fit perfectly, even though I ran the entire race with the camera in my hand.
GU and GU chomps
Can't go wrong with a GU product. They just work the best for me. Flavors for this race were chocolate mint GU and blueberry pomegranate chomps.
Monday, May 3, 2010
A new PR!
In a last minute change of plans, I was able to do my half without stroller and baby. I was a little worried, because I hadn't adhered to my normal pre-race rituals since I figured I was going to be taking it slow anyway. I had beef, fried food, and dairy the day before! Oh well. I was not planning to PR this race anyway.
The kid and I went to the expo on Saturday to pick up my bib and goodies. We also stopped and visited the runningskirts twins at their skirt booth. They loved him!
We then went to a birthday party on Saturday night (hence the bad eating). By the time we got home and ready for bed, it was around 11:30. I was not excited about getting up at 2:30am...
I thought the tech shirts were pretty nice. This race gets HUGE props for having both men's and women's tech shirts! I got a small women's and it fits great!
My alarm went off at 2:15 and I believe I may have turned it off. When I finally woke up it was 3:17!!! OMG! I was almost in a panic. I wanted to leave by 3:30 in order to give myself enough time to get down to the OC fairgrounds, park, pump, use the restroom, and get on a shuttle to the start. I was allowing myself 45 minutes to get there. I made a last minute shirt switch, so I had to re-pin my bib. I filled my water bottles, packed my GU and chomps, grabbed a banana and promax bar, and headed out the door. I left the baby sleeping, as my mother in law was going to watch him (she was in the next room). It was almost 4 by the time I was on the road.
I made it to the fairgrounds in great time (there is no traffic at 4am on a sunday morning). There was no line to exit, and I got a pretty decent parking spot. There were real restrooms a few rows over, which was great (I hate port o potties). I utilized those, then went back to the car to pump. I gathered all my stuff and went to find the shuttles. When I reached the line for the shuttles, it was pretty long. There were about 5 schoolbuses, though, so I got on one quickly and we were off to the start. This race was a point-to-point course, hence the shuttles. When we got to the start, there were not a lot of people there yet. The port o potty lines were pretty much nonexistent! There were UPS trucks there for personal item storage, too. It was pretty cold, so I held off as long as I could before dropping off my jacket and stuff at the UPS truck. I don't know why I didn't take any photos of this pre-race area.
My co-worker and her husband were also running this race, and were being dropped off by a friend. They finally made it and we hung out around the corrals.
The national anthem was sung, and we were off! I tried to keep a decent pace, and garmin reflected a 10:30-45 average. Hmm, I wondered if I could keep this up? 3 miles passed and I was still hanging on to a sub-11 minute pace. I thought that if I could maintain that, I would PR! I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I had a new goal for this race now. GU at mile 4. I hit 5 miles at 53+ minutes and was still feeling pretty good. Around 7 miles I started to feel it a little bit. I fueled again at mile 8. There was a really nasty hill around mile 9 that just about knocked me out. I really started to feel my legs protest at mile 10. Garmin said my 10 mile time was 1:51...hey, not too bad! I just needed to maintain a 12 min/mile for the remainder of the course and I could PR! I took more walk breaks than normal in those last 3 miles, but garmin tried to keep me on track. I hit mile 12 and knew that I would be close. With 1/2 mile left, I tried to pick up the pace, but my legs were done. I felt like I was shuffling rather than running! At the 13 mile marker, garmin said 2:25. I was going to make it! I plowed through the last .1 and finished strong - official time 2:26:16! A new PR! My previous PR was 2:29:39. I was really excited to PR a race that I initially just wanted to finish. My co-worker finished in 2:35. Great time for a first-timer! Got several bottles of water, banana, croissant, and Snickers marathon bars at the end. I picked up my bag from the UPS truck, went to buy a mug, then slowly walked back to my car. I very nearly fell asleep driving home! I was happy to have run a great race, but would have been equally happy to have run a slow race with the baby. Maybe next time!
Some photos from the race. It was a very nice course! We ran through the neighborhoods of Newport Beach and through the Ecological Reserve. The weather was perfect! Not too hot and not too cold. In fact, it was more on the cool side, which was nice! The water stops were sufficient, although I always carry my own water too. Also wanted to give 2 thumbs up to my fabulous floral running skirt! I think it helped me to my PR!
I did it!
Bling
The kid and I went to the expo on Saturday to pick up my bib and goodies. We also stopped and visited the runningskirts twins at their skirt booth. They loved him!
We then went to a birthday party on Saturday night (hence the bad eating). By the time we got home and ready for bed, it was around 11:30. I was not excited about getting up at 2:30am...
I thought the tech shirts were pretty nice. This race gets HUGE props for having both men's and women's tech shirts! I got a small women's and it fits great!
My alarm went off at 2:15 and I believe I may have turned it off. When I finally woke up it was 3:17!!! OMG! I was almost in a panic. I wanted to leave by 3:30 in order to give myself enough time to get down to the OC fairgrounds, park, pump, use the restroom, and get on a shuttle to the start. I was allowing myself 45 minutes to get there. I made a last minute shirt switch, so I had to re-pin my bib. I filled my water bottles, packed my GU and chomps, grabbed a banana and promax bar, and headed out the door. I left the baby sleeping, as my mother in law was going to watch him (she was in the next room). It was almost 4 by the time I was on the road.
I made it to the fairgrounds in great time (there is no traffic at 4am on a sunday morning). There was no line to exit, and I got a pretty decent parking spot. There were real restrooms a few rows over, which was great (I hate port o potties). I utilized those, then went back to the car to pump. I gathered all my stuff and went to find the shuttles. When I reached the line for the shuttles, it was pretty long. There were about 5 schoolbuses, though, so I got on one quickly and we were off to the start. This race was a point-to-point course, hence the shuttles. When we got to the start, there were not a lot of people there yet. The port o potty lines were pretty much nonexistent! There were UPS trucks there for personal item storage, too. It was pretty cold, so I held off as long as I could before dropping off my jacket and stuff at the UPS truck. I don't know why I didn't take any photos of this pre-race area.
My co-worker and her husband were also running this race, and were being dropped off by a friend. They finally made it and we hung out around the corrals.
The national anthem was sung, and we were off! I tried to keep a decent pace, and garmin reflected a 10:30-45 average. Hmm, I wondered if I could keep this up? 3 miles passed and I was still hanging on to a sub-11 minute pace. I thought that if I could maintain that, I would PR! I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I had a new goal for this race now. GU at mile 4. I hit 5 miles at 53+ minutes and was still feeling pretty good. Around 7 miles I started to feel it a little bit. I fueled again at mile 8. There was a really nasty hill around mile 9 that just about knocked me out. I really started to feel my legs protest at mile 10. Garmin said my 10 mile time was 1:51...hey, not too bad! I just needed to maintain a 12 min/mile for the remainder of the course and I could PR! I took more walk breaks than normal in those last 3 miles, but garmin tried to keep me on track. I hit mile 12 and knew that I would be close. With 1/2 mile left, I tried to pick up the pace, but my legs were done. I felt like I was shuffling rather than running! At the 13 mile marker, garmin said 2:25. I was going to make it! I plowed through the last .1 and finished strong - official time 2:26:16! A new PR! My previous PR was 2:29:39. I was really excited to PR a race that I initially just wanted to finish. My co-worker finished in 2:35. Great time for a first-timer! Got several bottles of water, banana, croissant, and Snickers marathon bars at the end. I picked up my bag from the UPS truck, went to buy a mug, then slowly walked back to my car. I very nearly fell asleep driving home! I was happy to have run a great race, but would have been equally happy to have run a slow race with the baby. Maybe next time!
Some photos from the race. It was a very nice course! We ran through the neighborhoods of Newport Beach and through the Ecological Reserve. The weather was perfect! Not too hot and not too cold. In fact, it was more on the cool side, which was nice! The water stops were sufficient, although I always carry my own water too. Also wanted to give 2 thumbs up to my fabulous floral running skirt! I think it helped me to my PR!
I did it!
Bling
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Stroller miles...
In preparation for this weekend's half marathon, Kenji and I did a couple of long runs in the stroller. The terrain out by our house is flat, so it was not too hard to get in some distance. We did 6 miles one week and 8 the next. Never made it to 10, but that's ok. Now I may possibly be taking him to the race with me! They allow strollers and the course limit is 3.5 hours. I'm very confident that we will come in around or under 3, even though we have not done that distance. :)
I had a pretty good lunch run of 4.34 miles yesterday, averaging around 10:30/mile. I think if I am able to run the half without the stroller I should be able to come in between 2:30-2:45. I'm kind of looking forward to a stroller half, though. I love being out on a run with my little guy...
I had a pretty good lunch run of 4.34 miles yesterday, averaging around 10:30/mile. I think if I am able to run the half without the stroller I should be able to come in between 2:30-2:45. I'm kind of looking forward to a stroller half, though. I love being out on a run with my little guy...
Monday, March 22, 2010
5k in the books!
Kenji and I successfully completed our first official post-partum 5k! I'm really bad about blogging, but here is our race recap:
I woke up bright and early at 5 or so. I figured that I would need the extra time to get Kenji and myself ready, but didn't think that it would take us too long to get to Dodger Stadium. Boy was I wrong! Getting to Dodger Stadium for an event (like a game) is pretty bad anyway, so I should have anticipated the traffic, but it was horrible! Parking was even worse. The 5k started at 8, and we were still trying to park at 8! Luckily, the start was delayed, so we did not miss the start.
There were a lot of strollers out on the course! Some were joggers, some were regular strollers. We started off and passed a lot of walkers, then came to our first decline. We were keeping a pretty good pace but then...the hills! Dodger Stadium is on a hill, so the surrounding Elysian park roads go up and down. I was not prepared for those steep inclines!
Kenji and I had not really trained for hills, so I was struggling. There was one water stop at around the halfway point. I was glad I had brought a bottle of water. When we hit the final incline, I was more than ready to be done. The remaining .1 mile was all downhill, so we were able to finish strong. I got our medal and then some water/banana/fruit.
We went to the expo afterwards, where I got some Healthy Handles www.healthyhandles.com put on the stroller. I also signed up for the Inaugural LA Rock n Roll half marathon in October!
All in all, it was a great morning out with Kenji!
I woke up bright and early at 5 or so. I figured that I would need the extra time to get Kenji and myself ready, but didn't think that it would take us too long to get to Dodger Stadium. Boy was I wrong! Getting to Dodger Stadium for an event (like a game) is pretty bad anyway, so I should have anticipated the traffic, but it was horrible! Parking was even worse. The 5k started at 8, and we were still trying to park at 8! Luckily, the start was delayed, so we did not miss the start.
There were a lot of strollers out on the course! Some were joggers, some were regular strollers. We started off and passed a lot of walkers, then came to our first decline. We were keeping a pretty good pace but then...the hills! Dodger Stadium is on a hill, so the surrounding Elysian park roads go up and down. I was not prepared for those steep inclines!
Kenji and I had not really trained for hills, so I was struggling. There was one water stop at around the halfway point. I was glad I had brought a bottle of water. When we hit the final incline, I was more than ready to be done. The remaining .1 mile was all downhill, so we were able to finish strong. I got our medal and then some water/banana/fruit.
We went to the expo afterwards, where I got some Healthy Handles www.healthyhandles.com put on the stroller. I also signed up for the Inaugural LA Rock n Roll half marathon in October!
All in all, it was a great morning out with Kenji!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Infant Seat Adapter
I finally uploaded the photos of the infant seat adapter for my Baby Jogger!
It was really easy to install once I figured out the instructions (they were light on details and the photos weren't very clear). I had read a review that said to drill holes in the stroller frame (?). Not so! All I needed was a wrench and screwdriver...
We are ready for the 5k!
It was really easy to install once I figured out the instructions (they were light on details and the photos weren't very clear). I had read a review that said to drill holes in the stroller frame (?). Not so! All I needed was a wrench and screwdriver...
We are ready for the 5k!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Ready for our first post-baby 5k!
I finally signed up for next weekend's NPN 5k at the LA Marathon last night! Online registration ends today, so I figured I should do it. I'm really excited for this! I know that I won't be fast, but I'm really looking forward to taking Kenji on his first race. They allow strollers! It's a run/walk, and they want the strollers to start in the back. My only concern is being stuck behind the REALLY slow walkers. I bet the first mile will be just navigating through the walkers! I hope to wog the 3.1 miles, but if we are really slow the first mile getting through the pack, I might have to pick up the pace! We shall see! The race ends at the expo, so hopefully there will be some good vendors there to check out. I am also hoping to sign up for the OC 1/2 marathon at that time (will do that one sans Kenji, even though they allow strollers too!).
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
3 months today!
Kenji is 3 months old today! I am happy to report that he is a happy, healthy little guy. As for me, well, I'm about 5 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, and 9 lbs from my running weight. All my clothes and regular-size running skirts fit again. It has all fallen off without much effort from me, which is great! In fact, if I did not love McDonald's and sweets so much, I would probably be back at that weight. I attribute it all to breastfeeding. That and being in relatively decent shape during the pregnancy. I really think all that running helped! Sad to say, I've only been out wogging 3 times since Kenji arrived...all in one week and with Kenji in his stroller. It was great! I wog faster not pregnant and pushing a stroller than I did pregnant. I've ordered an infant seat adapter from Baby Jogger for my jogger so we can go out for longer wogs on the weekends. As I am now back at work, this will be our only opportunity. I do think that I will start running during lunch again, though. I need to sign up for a race to motivate me out there. I am thinking something in May will be good...a half marathon perhaps...
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