Victoria's Secret Sports Bra

Yay! So exciting!

I received this Victoria's Secret sports bra and socks to try free of charge. I was not compensated for my opinion but cool free stuff is still cool free stuff, and thus, I must declare it. So, yay for my free stuff. I also received a free cat-approved box, but I don't think I have to declare that. Opinions are my own.

Kitteh approved.

Awhile back, I signed up at Influenster and then promptly forgot about it. A few weeks ago, I received an email survey from them and found out that I was eligible for the Victoria's Secret voxbox. Um, yes please!

I have a long history of wearing craptastic sports bras. I used to actually wear a regular bra and then a sports bra over it because I couldn't find sports bra that was supportive enough to keep the girls from bouncing all over the place.

During the Disneyland Half Marathon last summer, I had to buy a sports bra at the expo because I completely forgot to pack any. I lucked out and managed to find an amazing one, but I have yet to find another.

So I was pretty excited to get this pink package in the mail!

The socks were a cool surprise.

I would have had a hard time writing a glowing review of this product if I didn't like it, so thank God this is a really excellent bra. I wore it running over the weekend and it was great. I won't horrify you by posting a picture of me wearing just the bra because no one should be subjected to that.

Even the picture looks like it is sweating. Welcome to the desert.

This particular model is the Incredible and I genuinely like it. The true test was wearing it to ride my horse. I will definitely be purchasing another one because good sports bras are really hard to find when you have *ahem* a larger chest. There's an underwire and I was a little concerned about that because I thought it might chafe out this one didn't. Huzzah.

I'm not a huge fan of the yellow color because, well, I just don't like yellow. I checked out the Victoria's Secret website and they have a bunch of cool colors and patterns.

The socks are really cute, soft and stretchy. I don't know if I would really recommend them for running. They felt a little slippery in my shoes, so maybe they would be better for yoga or something. (Do people wear socks to yoga? I don't even know...) They're on the thinner side and I typically run in a medium weight running sock. If you prefer thin weight socks, check them out. They come in a lot of cool colors. I have a thing for socks, especially crazy, brightly colored socks. I'll try them on another run to see if I get used to them.

Thank you, Victoria's Secret and Influenster for letting me try this bra. I love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sucker For Swag

You know what I hate? Any sort of run where you get messy. I was all about doing the Warrior Dash but then the whole jumping into a pit of mud and swimming under barbed wire obstacle happened and I was suddenly not a fan. Your only options afterward are to A.) let the mud dry on your skin and try not to ruin your car on the ride home or B) get doused by icy water from a fire hose. When I did the Warrior Dash in 2011, I opted for the icy water. Not a fan...regardless of how good looking the firemen were wielding the hoses.

The same goes for that soapy run thing where you run through foam and the increasingly popular color runs. I have less than zero interest in doing one of those color runs. They look fun for about a nano second and then you're messy and gross and no one wants you in their car.

But then I stumbled across this.

That bag. I need it.

Yes, suddenly I feel compelled to do this race because there's a free bag involved. Never mind that I have a zillion free bags and would likely never use this one, but now I must have that bag.

This is not a new thing for me. I'm pretty sure that I ended up signing up for the Goofy Challenge 2013 at the RnR San Diego simply because I had to have one of the runDisney sling bags. That bag is currently in my hoarder room (you may refer to it as my guest room) and I have never used it. I ran 39.3 miles in two days because of that stupid thing that I could have just as easily purchased on eBay, which is where I found this picture.

Totally not even a cool bag.

To this day, my favorite race swag is the cool PanAm bag I got from the expo at the Inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon. They were handing them out at the ABC booth. I love, love, love this bag and still use it all of the time.

Best bag ever.

I've also become a sucker for really great race shirts/jackets/hoodies, etc. The sole reason I dragged my sorry ass out to the Hot Chocolate Race in December the morning after a crazy Christmas party was to get the hoodie. The chocolate was great, but c'mon. I was totally there for the hoodie.

I did it all for the hoodie.

I'm convinced that if I was going to actually buckle down and try to qualify for Boston, the jacket would be the motivating factor. But not in orange. Gross.

Orange. Ew.

I can just see it now:

Runner 1: I ran Boston for my father/mother/hairdresser/therapist that survived cancer.

Runner 2: I ran Boston because it's a huge accomplishment.

Me: I totally ran Boston for the jacket.

Swag. I haz it.

Anyone else know of any great race swag that I MUST acquire?

 

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Do Or Do Not. There Is No Try.

Just trying is cool, too.

Yeah, just kidding. There's all sorts of things where I 'try' to do something, but you could also call that half assing it. I'm the queen of half assing. Or not even trying at all. Whatevs. I do what I want!

Why am I quoting Yoda, then? Because I signed up for the Star Wars Half Marathon like all of the other crazy, rabid runDisney fans out there. I managed to use restraint and not sign up for the Rebel Challenge.

After doing Goofy, Dumbo and Glass Slipper, I was #SoOverRaceChallenges. Especially after GSC. The weather was so humid and I just did not have fun. I think I'd rather try for a PR than slog my way through a challenge. I'm pretty sure I will be dressing as Darth Vader. No Princess Leia for this girl. It gives me an excuse to wear all black and not look as if I am a goth teenager in mourning. White just isn't my color.

I don't recommend googling "sexy Darth Vader" while at work. Apparently, topless female Darth Vaders is a thing.

I will NOT be wearing this.

I also found this. Hello Kitty meets Darth Vader? So weird.

 

I'm pretty excited to do the SW Half because the weather in January in Anaheim is perfect. Much better than the bipolar weather of Orlando.

In other news, marathon training begins for the NYC Marathon this weekend. I'll be honest, I haven't run in a month. Why, you ask? Because I still have a nagging hamstring strain and it's effing hot already. At least I won't begin training on fatigued, over trained legs. Of course, under trained legs suck, too, so there's that.

I also want to take up yoga solely because I want to buy this shirt and wear it everywhere. I don't actually want to do yoga.

 

 

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Distance Versus Time

In chatting with my trusty travel buddy, Tara (who really should start blogging again because she's hilarious), I was reminded that when we trained for the NYC Marathon in 2012, our coach taught us that maybe we should focus on time rather than miles when training.

You can't?! How am I supposed to let the world know I'm awesome?

Most marathon training plans consist of running certain miles on certain days, with long runs of increasing distance until you reach about 20 miles and then a taper. The problem is that if you are a slow runner, that means numerous runs over three hours. Apparently, once you've been running for 3 to 3.5 hours, you're no longer helping or training your body, but actually doing damage with excessive wear and tear.

Answer: Both. Simultaneously.

Before we left for NYC in 2012 for the marathon that would ultimately get canceled, I had done one long run of 16 miles and one 18. Even though it took me 4 hours to do 18 miles, I still felt that I needed to hit that distance to not be completely freaked out about the idea of being able to finish.

Marathon training doesn't officially start for me until June, but I'm trying to wrap my head around exactly how I want to approach it for this year. Mind you, I have already completed one full as part of Goofy, so I'm not a marathon virgin, but I'm curious as to how others approach their training plans.

I'm all ears to the pearls of wisdom anyone wishes to share! Also, cross training? Any advice there?

 

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Calming The Crazy

Is anyone out there good at meditating? I've had way too many people tell me that I need to meditate. Is that weird? I assume this means that I give off some sort of crazed anxious vibe that gives people the impression that I should maybe chill.

When someone says to me that I should meditate, I have no trouble translating their true meaning, which is something like Dude, your crazed, incessant worrying and blabbering is making me insane, so either get yourself medicated or meditate, which is really just a nice way of me telling you that I would like to play an adult version of the "quiet game" with you.

Maybe I should exercise more...ya know, or run, since I'm a runner in training for a marathon. Official marathon training begins in June but I'm steadily working on my form and speed during shorter distances so that going for a 15 miler doesn't actually mean being out in the Arizona sun for like 4 hours.

Oh, I also had a brief moment of insanity where I considered signing up for the 2015 WDW marathon. No challenges, mind you, because I've decided that shit sucks and I don't want to do them anymore...at least until I find my rose colored glasses and convince myself they're a blast and I should do Dopey.

Whew, that was close.

We'll just see what happens when the marathon is 95% full. I may not be able to stop myself.

 

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Injuries and Candy... I Haz Both

I've managed to hurt myself. I somehow managed to strain a muscle that is in a weird place. I think it's my quadricep but it hurts into my inner thigh. It's in such a weird place, that it's really hard to even stretch it out. I have to put my leg up on a step (or on my desk at work, even though my boss doesn't appreciate that) and lean into it to feel it stretch at all.

I'm assuming it's my quad because my inner thigh muscles are crazy strong. I've ridden horses competitively since I was 11, so it's weird that the inside of my thigh hurts. Even though I have a nice protective layer of blubber on my thighs, I swear I'm not exaggerating when I say that I can do the thigh machine at the gym on the highest setting.

The stuff of nightmares.

PSA: If you lift 200lbs on the thigh machine at the gym, it tends to frighten potential boyfriends. I don't think they are seeking women that can crush their skulls with their thighs.

It doesn't hurt to ride, either, but it hurts to walk, much less run. Suckola.

In other news, I'm trying to cut out sugar. I've made it 2 days and my coworkers are paying the price. Since I don't like black coffee, I'm trying to substitute hot tea. It's keeping me from completely losing my mind, but it's not nearly as satisfying as coffee with hazelnut creamer. I've been terrorizing my office like Godzilla. I'm hoping this passes soon, because it is not making me popular.

I think this sums up my behavior quite well.

There's candy all over my office and I'm seriously feeling like an meth addict that can't stop. I figure cutting it out for a bit would probably be beneficial. Also, I'm learning that nutrition should only be discussed with certain individuals much like politics and religion. I also warn that the more research one does, the more frightening most of American foods become. There's ingredients in American food that's not even legal in Europe. Because it makes people sick! The problem is that unless you're able to afford shopping exclusively at Whole Foods or local organic markets, how is anyone supposed to cut all the processed crap out of their lives?

What the...?

Has anyone else done a lot of research on illness and food? I'm curious what others think...

 

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Sunday Runday and Randoms

Sometimes, just for funsies, I put on running clothes and pretend to be a runner. This morning, I met my trusty running partner, Lara, at the desert trail. I've been pretty sedentary as of late which I attribute to my Netflix Addiction (and my love of sitting) but I decided it was time to get my ass moving again.

I should mention here that my Netflix addiction has not improved, I just managed to fit in some running. I finished the second season of American Horror Story and let's just say, my dreams are getting weirder. Combine that with my love of Hannibal, and you end up with dreams that involve someone suturing extra body parts to your own. No joke.

Back to running. Surprisingly, I didn't struggle as much as I anticipated. We ran 3 miles out and then back for a total of 6 fairly low key miles.

Lara stopped for yoga.

 

I stopped for a clover.

We were almost back to our cars when we realized that we couldn't find Lara's dog, Juno. So we got to add an extra credit mile to our total for 7 since we had to search for her. I'm fairly certain that she found shade and refused to keep going.

Yep. She's done.

Don't let this act fool you, however. This dog loves to run. I'd guess she runs at least 2 for every 1 mile we run.

If you look closely, there's a horse on that ramp...

This afternoon, I took Louis The Perfect Pony for a stroll around the neighborhood by my barn for an extra mile. That gives me a total of 8. I didn't get a picture because I didn't feel like carrying my phone, but trust me when I say he looks adorbs in his work out gear. I jest, I jest. We left his work out gear at home.

I also continued my search for a gym. I found one really close to my house which is not just a bonus, but a necessity if I'm going to actually use it. If I have to drive too far out of the way, I just won't go. I haven't been by to visit, yet, but hopefully I will get a chance to do that on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I'm really hoping they have wifi, but my main concern is this color scheme. I seriously don't know if I can spend time in here without having a seizure. That is really...electrically green.

Omg, my eyes. They burn.

Shouldn't gyms be soothing with neutral color schemes? But it's close enough that if I felt extra motivated, I could jog there. I'll scope it out and if my brain doesn't ignite from staring at those walls, maybe I will give it a shot.

Gaaaaaaahhhhh

On a side note, a friend of mine wants to set me up with a friend of hers. Even her husband who constantly tells her to stop playing matchmaker thinks it would be a good match. Dating is very nerve wracking for this girl, which may come as a shock because I'm a pretty outgoing person, but it causes me a significant amount of anxiety. He sounds pretty nice, so I think I might just give it a try... At some point. When I work up my nerve. Apparently he's shy.

 

If anyone has had a successful set up before, I need to hear about it before I talk myself out of it. I gotta go, I have to find another TV series to binge on.

 

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