Exercise
Bras With No Blah’s!
Gotta keep the girls happy. And these days it’s so much easier than ‘the olden days’! I actually ran track and played field hockey in high school while wearing a regular old blah bra. The biggest problem was keeping the straps from falling off my shoulders…oh, and the incredible lack of support. In college, my roommate used to laugh at me for the number of bras I would wear to track practice. I give myself high marks for figuring out my own darn way to keep the girls stabilized!
These days, thanks to a number of awesome companies led by women who actually ‘get’ it, there are many, many fabulous options. My all-time favorite is The Frog Bra from Title Nine for the no-bounce effect. I also really like the CW-X Sports Bra for a less flattened look…although getting it off after a long, sweaty run is an exercise itself! I have also heard amazing things about the this Donna Karen bra, which will be my next sports bra purchase.
And if you are going for a long run, no matter what bra you are wearing, I highly recommend Body Glide under hot spots where bras can rub over the many miles. I swear by the stuff.
Here’s to happy girls!!
Of Energy Chews, Gel Blasts and Other Goo
I have a favorite energy chew. It’s the tart, moon-shaped, pomegranate-flavored Luna Moons. I have a others that I like well-enough…the Power Gel is good for bike rides and a super-easy-eating goo of a snack…Clif Bloks are flavorful and in a much easier-to-use package these days. But for long weekend runs, where I can stop and take a few moments to enjoy the flavor and texture, the Moons are the best.
Always on the lookout for something better, I like to try new things when they appear on the market. The options are pretty endless and I’m sure I’ll have a new favorite some day soon. In the meantime, it’s fun to sample.
Today’s test was the PowerBar Gel Blasts. I’ve heard they are easy to digest and easy to chew…both pretty important on a long run or ride. Let me just say Mouth Full of Bubble Gum! I felt like each and every bite was comparable to putting a big, not-so-fresh piece of Hubba Bubba in my mouth and took me a few good chews to feel like I could even keep it in my mouth. The flavor was okay, but the chewiness factor was very high!
So back to Luna Moons I go…preferably Pomegranate as I’m not very fond of the Strawberry…and the Blueberry is okay, but not fabulous. The Clif Bar Shot Blox and Power Gels will hold their second place slots…at least until someone comes up with some incredible new chew - which is only a matter of time.
Tour de Force
I watched the last leg of the Tour de France while folding laundry yesterday. Mundane task: exciting tv…keeps me from falling asleep! I have always loved to watch cycling. I love to ride - always have. I love to push myself - and it’s fun to watch amazing athletes push themselves so very hard!
The last few laps of the race were absolutely incredible…such amazing speeds, tight, cobblestoned turns, and seemingly endless lung capacity and muscle output. That kind of incredible athletic output over those last four laps was just riveting to me. The power generated is just such an amazing force…a tour de Force!
And Cavendish with his all-out, no-one-in-sight sprint for the finish…unbelievable. To ride that hard, and still have anything left inside those fast-twitch muscles was awesome. It made me want to go get on my bike and ride hard - which I did this morning. Thanks, guys!
Inspired!
Your Groove Thing
I love hitting your groove with something. It can be at a job, as a Mom, in the pool or as a runner. What that groove is differs for each person, and from day to day for any one thing.
Over the years I’ve had some amazing grooves as a runner. Truly amazing seconds. Truly amazing workouts. They will always stay with me…motivating me to find the next good groove. When things just click and everything seems magical. When you feet aren’t even touching the ground. I likened the feeling once in college to flying…everything is so right that you feel weightless!
I’ve just hit another groove…nothing stellar in the world of running, and really nothing super-new for me. But it is a place I haven’t been in a long while.
Today I hit the running consistently groove. I’ve been running consistently enough that I feel like I can hold my own on longer runs and that feels so great! So today I’m enjoying that groove thing feeling! And I’m hoping you are hitting your groove this summer too…whatever that may be for you.
Ah, Summer! What’s Your Pace?
I love the slower pace of summer! Less kid activity, less school activity, warm weather and more time during the day to do the things you want to do. And, this summer pace also applies to running.
During the school year there is always something to get back home for…a conference call, carpool, someone’s soccer game…but during the summer, I’ve found the running pace can be a bit slower since there is a touch more time to actually enjoy the run itself as well as getting the benefits of the exercise.
Last weekend I did a long run — not a super long run, but longer than I’ve gone in a while. I was with two very fast, amazingly talented runners, who’s company I absolutely enjoyed and who’s presence, when they could have been miles ahead of me, I so appreciated. Our pace was slow-ish and got progressively slower as we got towards the end. We were enjoying the conversation, and the slow pace helped ensure I didn’t have to stop and walk, which I do not like to do. Knowing these gals are speed superstars and yet they were humble and happy to go at my pace meant so much to me. Thanks Gals - you made my day! Here’s hoping next weekend I can do the same distance - a little faster!!
Don’t Try This At Home…
Or on your next run. I recently wore a stylish and fitted workout top I found at the bottom of my drawer. Looked hip and cool at the outset of the run….by the last mile I was hurting. And later that day, I looked like this:
Three sleepless nights later, it finally started to heal. I am happy to say I gave the top away, and have heard from a number of runners that Body Glide is a great way to prevent this. I’ve used it with my wetsuit for easy triathlon transitioning, but not thought of this!
Happy running!
Here, There, Running Everywhere
I’ve been running around for the last few weeks, trying to get caught up on a lot of things, up my time in the pool, and yes, do some actual running, including some speed work for an upcoming sprint triathlon. While Ihave been running a lot, I apparently have not been blogging so much!
A few weeks back I ran the relay portion of the Big Sur Marathon. It was a gorgeous, hilly and windy course, peppered with lots of unique, musical talent. There’s the piano player guy (who I heard about, but didn’t have the pleasure of running past), the fabulous steel drum playing band and of course, the Sambahemians…that’s the name of their group…think big feathers and lots of drumming. While my contribution to the relay was very small, I left feeling the post-race buzz and happiness of being a part of a great relay team who worked hard together! The race was a really fabulous way to spend time with amazing running women and get inspired for lots of fun races ahead.
While my running base feels back to solid (finally!) I’ve been trying to get some speedwork in as well as some brick workouts for the tri. * Brick: two components of the tri done back to back - last week we did bike to run - and also a great name for what your legs feel like when you are done with said workout.*
And speaking of tri’s, two of my kids did a kids tri this past weekend and had a ball! It was burning hot outside, but they embraced the fun, swam hard, biked well and ran super-fast! They make me so very proud and incredibly inspired!
I Run Because I HAVE TO
Really and truly, running is a part of my genetic coding. I have pictures of myself running the track as a third grader. I knew running before my husband, my kids, my career and most of my friends. And when I get to a place in my life where things seem too intense, or overwhelming, too much, not enough, too loud….I have to run.
Yesterday was one of those days when my husband sent me out to door, despite my protests (things to do, kids to pick up…) and told me not to come back for a while.
What generally happens on days like this is that I start running and immediately feel a tiny bit better. I seem to find myself speeding up through the run until I realize I’m sprinting. Then, of course, I have to embrace the sprinting and run until I can’t anymore. Then I walk until I can breathe and do it all again.
I did this sprint workout yesterday. It saved me. I came back home exhausted and feeling in control of things. So as much as I LOVE to run and do it because I enjoy it and the benefits I get from it, sometimes I truly run because I have to.
What Running Tastes Like…And Other Fun
On today’s menu, bugs. Lots of bugs. Big bugs, little bugs, icky, icky bugs.
First up, Mr. Helicopter: something flying fast and with an ample wingspan flew directly into my mouth. Luckily, I was able to get rid of him before he was able to kamikaze down my throat. Not more than a minute went by before I inhaled some other gross thing that I didn’t even see coming and this one tasted BAD! Let the spitting commence.
A few miles went by without further incident, but I did get to enjoy the smell/taste of freshly cut grass which is one of those childhood memories most of us have, but mine is a direct association with track in-fields and field hockey fields ready for some fun.
And, while I’m happy to say I have no idea what this tastes like, I did come across (I am NOT kidding) a guy dressed in a hot pink gorilla suit climbing out of his car. Yes, I stopped. Yes, I stared. And as those of you who know me will of course expect, yes, I had to talk to the guy. Turns out he goes to birthday parties, office parties and does singing telegrams…dressed as a hot pink gorilla. ummm. I think I’ll stick to the bugs part of the run next time!
Loran Wyman
is CEO and Founder
of Snug Bug Bag -
a Mompreneur based business
creating warm, hip and functional
fleece stroller/jogger blankets
