To wash or not to wash

After my last post debating whether or not it is a good idea to run shirtless in a race and let it all hang out, I got to thinking some of the reasons mentioned in favor of doing so. 

•The fact that no one actually cares that much about you as a stranger and your decision to go topless. 

•The whole aspect of feeling more comfortable in the heat- closer to naked on hot days = feel cooler.

•Less clothing= less laundry to do. YAY!!

The last point got me thinking. Is it ok to wear running attire more than one time without washing it first?

For Tuesday's run I wore the same shorts I wore for Mondays run. Is that bad? I mean like I don't think I smelled or anything. 

The shorts were still white as snow and didnt have any noticeable odor. I just wanted to test them out in a faster session to see if they would cause chaffing- I'm contemplating wearing them for the Chicago Women's Half this weekend and sad to say I've owned them for over a year and had never worn them.* 

Verdict:

Post 3x1 mile repeats for a total of 6 sweaty, speedy, sticky miles, I don't think I smelled any more like a deli sandwich than had I worn fresh shorts. And the people in the gym weren't complaining about me- so maybe this time it was ok? 

If my sports bra, shorts whatever smelled or got too sweaty the day before, then certainly I wouldn't wear them again without washing first.** I just want to avoid doing a whole load of running laundry at the end of the week- 5 shirts, 5 shorts, 5 sports bras + all the regular clothes add up to a lot of stuff!

What do you think? 

Should running clothes be washed before the next workout, or can you get an additional wear out of them before they head to the cleaners?

Im going to evaluate the clothes on a "case by case" stink basis this summer. 

-Underwear should never be worn more than once without a wash. Just saying. 

*They are special Track & Field brand shorts from Brasil (Thanks L!) T&F is like the Brasilian equivalent of Lululemon except way cuter & way more color/style choices- but still just as $$$.

**In the winter I'll wear the same tights-sports bra-base layers multiple times because you don't sweat when it's 20 degrees out, right? Ha

Itsy bitsy teeny weeny

Not a yellow polka dot bikini, but instead a totes adorbs* Nike sports bra..

When it's hotter than hell out and sweat is dripping down your face, do you keep your shirt on?

In all my years of running I've never gone "shirtless" until last year while training for the marathon during the summer. It felt a tad cooler to not have the extra bulk of a shirt on while cruising up and down the lakefront.


So I bought this Nike sports bra today with a Macy's gift card that's been burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas and it got me thinking should I ever just wear a sports bra and shorts for a race?

Asides from the insecurities of letting it all hang out and my uncanny resemblance to the female version of the Pilsbury Dough Boy, I don't feel badass enough to roll up to the start in booty shorts and a sports bra. I'm not in the same league as those super fast ladies... Yet. Nor would I want to give the impression that I am totes badass...


I have this Brooks D'lite mesh tank which is kinda see through and super breathable. I love it.

BUT as the number of super cute sports bras in my wardrobe increase along with the temperature, I can't help but ponder if I should go "topless" for a race**

Guys and ladies- have you run a race shirtless?

Would you?

*Generally I refrain from the usage of totes, OMG, adorbs etx but felt it was the correct terminology to get my point across on how I feel about the cuteness of the sports bra.

**I cringe to think of how the race photos might turn out... But should I even care if I feel more comfortable?


- xaar

102

Only 102 more days until I run the Fox Valley Marathon for the 2nd time!!!

Yes I'm counting...

To say I'm excited is an understatement.

Next Monday starts the 14 week training plan Britt has put together for me. We had a lot of success Last year so it was a no brainer to ask her to be my coach again.

The joy I felt in my heart that day in mid September is something I cherish and think of often, and chokes me up each time I remember that race and the training leading up to it.

Being surrounded by friends and family on race day was the icing on the cake of a near perfect day.


As I dive head first into training for Fox Valley, I'll remember the pure bliss I felt last year and how freaking awesome it was to celebrate 14 weeks of focused hard work.

Photo by Kim

I've half-assed too many races to count. Sure, running a race is fun but seeing results because of putting in a dedicated effort is so much sweeter and satisfying. Running is my hobby and in the grand scheme of the running world, I'm mediocre at best. With that being said, I strive for excellence in nearly every aspect of my life because to live any other way and "coast" through life and be mediocre is not for me. I always want to be improving and growing.


Zooming towards the finish with a huge ass smile on my face. Pure bliss. FVM 2012

I've got a goal for Fox Valley 2.0 which is part of an even larger goal. The only thing holding me back from achieving and surpassing these goals is me. Only I can run the miles, put in the effort and reap the benefits of what I sow. If I make excuses, the goals won't happen and I have no one to blame but myself for failing.

Monday is the beginning of the next journey where I push the boundaries of my comfort zone and I couldn't be more excited.

•The registration for marathon #8 is complete.

•The hotel has been reserved.

•My daad's plane tickets have been booked so he can spectate again.

All that's left now is to run and enjoy every freaking step over the next 14 weeks.

102 days to go!

- xaar

13.1 Chicago half, Spectating Edition

Woke up early and decided to go run to the 10kish mark of the Allstate 13.1 Half marathon to spectate.  I was sooo happy L and CB decided to go too :) We saw so many running blogger friends out today!

 The leaders at mile 6. 

L and CB :) My Boys...

 Britt @ Chicago Runner Girl

 Pete B of The Lakefront Trail Blog

 Erica @ Erica Finds

 Amanda @ Too Tall Fritz

 Liz @ Blue Elf

 A Joggler... Damn Impressive

 A lady came up to us and asked what the event was. I explained it was a half marathon. And then she asked (in reference to the sign above, "Who is SHE?") FACE PALM....

 Emmers @ Out and About, did not disappoint with her spastic pose!

Congrats to everyone who ran today!  You all looked so happy!!!

*I'm starting to think I should give up running and begin photographing the runners instead... :) [Just Kidding!!]

-Xaar

I'm a Duck

I always thought I was a patient person... Until moving to Chicago. These days I go from calm to rage way too freaking fast.

Why?

Because I am always aware of how my actions are affecting others and expect people to do the same.

Because it seems that most people lack good manners, respect, and common sense.


One example of many: people walking 3 abreast makes it hard to pass these slow walkers on the busy sidewalks of Chicago.

I started writing this post Friday but never finished. It's been on my mind a lot because

•I've almost been hit by cars in the cross walks too many times to count by idiot drivers paying more attention to their cell phones than the road.

•Almost running into someone while walking home because they stopped suddenly to look at their cell phone.

•The clueless tourists who do the same thing to take a photo or simply block the sidewalk while looking lost looking at a map.

•Some of the marathon training groups running too many across making it difficult and dangerous (with the cyclists zooming by) to pass.

•The people who just stop or cross the lakefront trail without looking both ways for traffic. Incredibly dangerous.

It was like a sign

On Friday while I ran with CB I spotted this graffiti:


It's a duck. Quack quack.

I squealed with delight when I saw it (and probably scared the pot smoking teens who were nearby).

Little did I know that this "sign" would be a reminder for what was to come Saturday morning.



I ran 16 miles Saturday. it was my longest run since the Chicago marathon last year. The weather was nice and warm and the birds were singing (and the red winged black birds were holding meetings plotting their future attacks).

The Avon Walk was happening on the lakefront. Several thousand people were walking 10+ abreast blocking both directions of traffic on the path. The cyclists and runners were getting stabby at the participants and it provided for some tense moments on a day where we should all be enjoying ourselves. At one bottle neck, the cyclists and i were saying "on your left please move over" and the participants were saying "we're only out here 2 days deal with it." This rubbed me the wrong way so I shouted back "share the path." They didnt move.


Entitlement

This is a post for another day. But seriously, why do people feel entitled to do as they please without regard for others? Can't we all get along?

For the rest of my run I channeled my inner duck and felt less aggressive.

Yay happy things


I was happy with a Caramel High rise from Caribou post run.


Puppy kisses always make me happy.


Kelsey, Kim the Cat, Emily CB and I

Spending time with friends post run at the Veggie Pride Parade. I'm not vegetarian, but I like to swing both ways and have the best of both worlds.


CB even made a new friend!!

Later on Saturday between the storms, a gorgeous rainbow appeared.


And on Sunday L returned from Berlin with a huge stash of gummy bears for me.


So many things to be happy about!!

So why a duck?

Water rolls right off of duck feathers and metaphorically speaking I'm going to let all the things in the world that annoy me simply roll off of me. Ive come to learn I can't expect people to have the same standards of decency or common sense that I have. So when faced with clueless rude people, I will ignore them and walk away instead of getting full of rage.

After all, I'm a duck. Quack quack.




- xaar

Soldier Field 10 miler

1:17.33 (avg 7:45/ Mile) for 10 miles
and a 6 minute PR over the 2011 Soldier Field 10., my last race of 10 miles.

57 of 1614 AG (3.5%)
256 of 7167  Women (3.5%)
1204 of 12505 Overall (9.6%)
181 Avg HR, 192 Max HR

Three words to describe this race:  relaxed, controlled, joy.

With temps in the low 40's and the fact I had some of the coolest, boldest, loudest capri pants ever, I made the decision to channel my inner Rainbow Brite.

My goal for this race was simple. HAVE FUN. Another goal was to average less than 8 minutes a mile*.  I havent been doing any structured training while building up my mileage, (i'm just running all the miles) so pinpointing an exact time goal was a crap shoot.

*I also wanted to beat the time my Daad  predicted for me of 1:17:52 Needless to say I was doing complex math in my head at each mile to make sure I would!
L and I walked over to Soldier Field from our place and arrived around 6:30. I dropped my bag off, said our good byes, and we headed to our corrals.

Before the race started, there was a moment of silence for the Boston Marathon tragedy, there was also a ceremony to give an american flag flown over Soldier field to the family of a military member who lost his life in the war in Afghanistan  This soldier had run the Chicago marathon last year and was supposed to come back home in July. His family members ran the race today in his honor. I was in tears.
When the gun went off I realized very quickly I should have made a portopotty stop pre race. FUC%@*$!!! I tried to run through the feeling of having to go, but it was consuming my mind. The first aid station around mile 1.4 had portolets and no line. Less than 45 seconds later I was back in the race. Thats what I get for drinking too much coffee pre race & having a nervous bladder. Damn. 

Other than that snafu and adding 45 seconds to my time, the race went by as uneventful and wonderful as I possibly could have wanted. One foot in front of the other, control my breathing, drink water from my small bottle, and admire the view of the skyline from the south which I dont run down to most of the time due to it not having as many water fountains as the northern section of the trail.

The course was changed from previous years so that the 5 miles south on Lake Shore Drive had no vehicular traffic whizzing by. That was an awesome change!

Right after finishing on the 50 yard line of Soldier Field!

Oh mile 2... the first freaking time i've had to stop during a race in over 2.5 years.


The rest of the race felt controlled and relaxed. I could have kept this pace for many more miles and that excites me going into marathon training.


It was nice seeing Erica cheering at mile 9! Seeing a familiar face gave me a nice boost to kick it in to the finish :)

Inside of Soldier Field

I love that this race is a tribute to service men and women. It is because of them that we have the freedom to participate in events like this. And there is no other fitting place in Chicago to have this race than Soldier field  and on Memorial Day Weekend.

Service men and women handing out the medals

I love this race:

Starts in downtown Chicago outside of Soldier Field

Scenic course along the lake with beautiful views of the skyline on the return trip.

Extremely well organized. Start corrals each held a couple of minutes to ensure no congestion

Plenty of aid stations and a Cliff gel zone

Tribute to service men and women

A unique race distance of 10 miles

Finishing on the 50 yard line of Soldier Field

The AWESOME medal

Soul Asylum as post race entertainment

Sweet post race refresh bag with pop chips, Cliff bar..

Getting to spend time with friends  and the Chicago Running community!

The 10th Anniversary medal

Half of the brunch crew: Myself, and fellow Fleet Feet Cheer friends Vicky & Marla
Pre Race: -Cheese, Bread, Mortadella, Wine for dinner the night before - Cinnamon crumpet and too much damn coffee at 4am the morning of the race -No warmup. Dont feel this impacted me at all since we speed walked to the start less than 2 miles from our place.
Race: -Temps: Low 40's, overcast, very little wind. Pretty much *perfect* running conditions. -Brought my small green bottle for water. I hate stopping at aid stations. -Took a vanilla gu at mile 4 -Nike tank -Nike crazy Capris -Swiftwick socks -Brooks Pure Cadence 2 shoes. I was super proud of L for doing this race for the first time. Especially after returning from Brasil and 17 hours of airports and flights the day before.

Final Thoughts:

Fleet Feet put on another stellar event and I cant wait for the 11th edition!

A day where you can have fun and enjoy every step is always a great day in my book.

I am so excited to begin marathon training in a few weeks :)

Next up: Chicago Women's Half on 6/23





- xaar

That time I ran a bunch and refinished dressers

This weekend I was busy. Like really busy.

I woke up early Saturday to beat the heat for my long run and then was instantly mesmerized like a child while watching a huge helicopter remove and replace AC units on a building near mine. As a result, the run was delayed 45 minutes. But it was totally worth it!


I ended up running 14 miles in 2 hours- one of my longest runs this year. It was hot. But felt really good to sweat. The path was crowded but not too bad. I took one salt tab around mile 7 and water from the fountains. Gu/carb loading are seriously overrated. (In my opinion). Try running long without carb loading the night before or try not taking any GU during a long run. See what happens, I dare you.


Totem waaaay north of my place.

When I returned from my run, I had one major goal: to refinish my new ikea dressers


I had put the 3 "Rast" dressers together the night before.


After getting a super yummy iced mocha drink from Caribou post run, it was refinish all the dressers time!


my basket of dresser refinishing supplies- Cheesecloth for applying stain, ebony stain, gloves, brushes for the polyurethane, sandpaper, tact cloth for removing debris and paint thinner.

The stain went on easy. It was just time consuming for the 3 dressers and 9 drawers.


After 1 coat.


Every 2 hours I would put another coat of stain on, for a grand total of 3 coats.


after 3 coats


Then I was exhausted. And it was time to let the stain dry over night before applying the polyurethane.

Sunday I took the CB dog on a run. It was hot and we ran/walked. He was enjoying himself immensely. I love seeing my little man so happy!


After our run it was time to finish the dresser project. I had to sand the dressers/drawers and then use the tact cloth to get all the dust/debris off of the surface before applying the polyurethane.


CB passed out and I was jealous.

After applying one coat, I let it sit for a while. Once it was dry, I decided one coat was enough. (Mainly because it looked nice and because I was done with this project!)


The finished product!!


I bought some stainless steel knobs (also from Ikea) to complete the look. But, I didn't buy enough (thought there was one knob per drawer instead of 2) so the final 4 drawers will get their knobs this week when the extra ones arrive.

All in all it was a good project for a weekend. I am very happy with how the dressers came out and am already thinking about more projects like this to do in the future. While this project wasn't difficult at all, it was very time consuming.

Overall cost:

$35 per dresser at Ikea
$60 worth of supplies to refinish them.
$5 per 2 knobs from ikea
Priceless- my time.

The average cost per dresser ended up being around $70.

I wanted these to be simple- dark stain to match our other furniture and better knobs than the stock knobs that came with the set.

There are loads of pages on the Internet devoted to "Ikea Hacks" which show you how to take boring Ikea furniture and turn it into something amazing, if you're into doing a project like this.

- xaar