Eat Drink Run Woman

I absolutely love the idea of running skorts. I figure if you’re going to be all hot and sweaty, you may as well look cute. Problem is, the two skorts I have — Champion and Adidas — are only good for shorter runs as the shorts creep up (chafing becomes an issue for runs of 8 miles or longer).

I checked out Running Skirts, and while I love the variety of colors, the really cool ones only come with running briefs. The company does offer some with compression shorts, but they only come in three colors: black, navy and pink. Wah!

A couple of weeks ago, while at a heart rate monitor seminar, I saw a couple of women wearing TRiKS skorts (a site I had stumbled upon while doing my research). They both raved about the shorts, saying they truly stayed in place. So I decided to give them a try. Although the MarathonGirl style has briefs, the GymGirl has longer compression shorts. Because I’m also looking for ideas for my Marathon du Medoc costume, I thought it would be fun to order the limited addition zebra design.

I tested the skirt out during our recent 17-mile run, and was absolutely thrilled. Not only did the shorts NOT ride up, they wicked away sweat beautifully. They also include two small pockets for gels, keys, iPod, etc. The skirt fabric is very light and swishy; I felt so girly! It took a while to get used to having the skirt ride so low on my hips, but once I was assured it wasn’t going to slide off, I was fine. Now I just need to find other zebra accouterments to complete my outfit!

(P.S. Leave it to my darling to make me look like Chesty LaRue).

I know, I know — I never call, I never write. But goshdarnitall, I’ve been busy! And yes, that includes marathon training.

After taking a week off after the Fremont 5k (much to the delight of my beleaguered hamstring) I joined a new blogger friend a week ago Sunday for a 15+ mile run along the Centennial Trail, which runs from Snohomish to Arlington (north of Seattle). I’ve been meaning to check it out, but since it’s a bit of drive to get to the trailhead (about 45 minutes), my darling and I typically wuss out and go for the closer runs. This time I decided to quit making excuses.

I awoke to a cloudy, drizzly day; not my favorite running weather, but at least I’d stay cool. However, I threw on a light rain jacket just in case. Jodie, meanwhile, was a bad-ass and ran in just a jog bra.

Although she has never done the run/walk program, she was eager to try it out. Our pace was much too fast in the beginning; I could barely talk without huffing and puffing. Fortunately it was too brisk for Jodie as well, so we slowed to about a 10 1/2 minute/mile pace. Although our goal was to take a walk break after every mile, we often would be chatting so much I forgot! (We were using my Garmin as a guide).

About halfway into the run the rain really started coming down. Okay, so this isn’t as fun. But we slogged through and eventually it cleared up again. My only regret about the cloud cover is the lack of a view; apparently you can get several glimpses of Mt. Rainier when the sun is out.

As we hit the 12-mile mark my conversation got progressively more sporadic. I’m normally not much of a talker anyway, but when I’m tired, it’s all I can do to grunt out single syllable responses. Jodie seemed like she could run and talk forever (then again, she’s run considerably more marathons than I have. Oh yeah, I haven’t even run one) 🙂

The end of the trail finally came into view and we both mustered up the strength to sprint to the finish. While my hamstring held up just fine, I knew I was going to be a bit creaky for the rest of the day.

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As I was doing my arm weight routine this morning I spied a 40-pound weight and decided to try to lift it (it’s what I’ve lost over the past two years). Holy Freakin’ Moley! I could barely lift the darn thing. And to think I’d been carrying that around. I couldn’t imagine walking the 15 feet across the weight room floor with it, let alone carrying it around all day.

Here’s to fitness!

(And in case you’re wondering, the training for my marathon is going very well. Stay tuned for more posts!)

Although I’ve run several races during my running career, the 5K distance is not one I gravitate toward. Sure, I’ve run the St. Patty’s Day dash several times, but it’s not officially a 5K (lately they bill it as “almost 3 1/2 miles” but I think the distance changes over the years). And of course one of my favorite runs — the outside loop of Greenlake — is basically a 5K at 3.2 miles. But a TRUE 5K? Just hasn’t happened. In fact, in looking through my race portfolio, I’ve found just a couple: Fremont in 1996, and possibly my very first race, the Teddy Bear Run in 1990.

Given my insane desire to qualify for Boston some day, I’ve decided to take baby steps and set new personal bests for certain runs. I knocked off a few of my Greenlake PBs a couple of weeks ago, but due to the heat I was unsuccessful in my attempt at a new PB for the half. So my next target was the 5K, and once again, I chose Fremont.

Fremont, which bills itself as the “Center of the Universe,” is one of the quirkier neighborhoods in Seattle (where else would you find a statue of Lenin and a troll under the bridge?) and the 5K truly highlights its eccentricities. The race starts with a briefcase relay — 5-person teams dressed from the waist up in regular business attire carrying a briefcase (each member runs a 1K). The fun run starts immediately after.

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Question: what has two thumbs and looks like a total dork? THIS GAL! I mean, really; could I have strapped any MORE gadgets to my body? Sheesh…

Anyhoo, all geekiness aside, I had an absolutely fabulous time on Saturday, despite not meeting my goal of a sub 2-hour half. I read about the Green River Marathon in the same Runner’s World article where I learned about the Marathon du Medoc (although I feel compelled to make a correction: the article states to not expect volunteers or aid stations at Green River as the race is more training run than actual race. Not true! While indeed there isn’t an entry fee, we were supported by some fabulous volunteers at several aid stations. We could even buy a commemorative t-shirt for just $12!).

I originally had hoped to do the race as a relay with my darling, but he had a photo assignment. So I asked the race director about doing it as a half, and he said “No problem!” I picked the latter half since it ends along Alki beach, which as you can see offers fabulous views of the city (and okay, I also was looking forward to the post-race lunch at Spud’s Fish & Chips). However, given how hot the day was to become, I probably would have been wiser to choose the first half. Oh well!

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My blogger friend Angie expressed her excitement on May 16 about the delivery she’d be getting in a couple of days from Mr. UPS: her new Asics Gel Foundation VIIs. They’re terrific shoes for those of us who suffer from IT band issues (I think it’s a tall girl thing) as they provide a lot of stability and motion control. I’ve been wearing them for the past three months (although mine are the men’s version since my shoe store didn’t have the women’s at the time). Unfortunately Angie’s excitement was short-lived, as her shoes not only didn’t arrive as planned, her package mysteriously went missing. So now she must reorder her shoes and wait some more (I’m assuming that since she lives in a small, rural town she must have to do a lot of online shopping). It’s been almost three weeks, and I don’t think she’s sporting her new shoes yet.

Me? Since my store is just on the other side of Greenlake, I decided to take a recovery walk (I ran a half yesterday; stay tuned for the race report) and pick up some. I ambled along the trail, waltzed into the store, tried on a couple of sizes (they had the women’s shoes this time!) and within minutes I was sauntering back along the trail swinging my shopping bag.

Living in a large city does have its perks sometimes!

Sometimes I get bored just writing about my training schedule (and more importantly, I’m sure you — my faithful readers — get bored as well!). So when Angie posted photos from one of her favorite runs, I decided to steal her idea (actually she encouraged HER faithful readers to do the same, so I guess it’s not technically stealing).

So without further ado, I present to you: