Dev on Running

I lost track of when I bought the sports bras that I’ve been wearing for a long time, but a peek through the blog archives shows me it was April 2011 — more than four years ago! Yikes.

They are inexpensive Champion bras from Target, and they’ve worked perfectly well for most of those years. But over the past year or so, I noticed they had stretched out and weren’t as supportive as they used to be. They’re also thin and don’t have any padding, so when it’s cold, watch out. (So embarrassing!)

I had bra-related chafing issues while training for the Eugene Marathon last summer, so I impulse-bought a new bra online — the Lululemon Bitty Bracer — and wore it for the first time during the marathon. It was a risky gamble, but one that paid off! I didn’t experience any chafing, even though it was hot and miserable. 

Remember this photo?? I ditched my shirt somewhere along the way due to the heat, so the Bitty Bracer was featured in most of my race photos. Interestingly, the photos from this race are actually pretty good, despite it being my worst race by far. (I still need to write the recap! Soon.)

Anyway, the Bitty Bracer is a great sports bra. Nothing moves when I wear it. But it appears Lululemon discontinued it shortly after I bought it! (The equivalent bra for big-chested ladies, the Ta Ta Tamer, is still available.)

One downside to the Bitty Bracer is that its removable padding is super thin and kind of a nightmare to reinsert after washing. Ladies, isn’t it frustrating when removable padding just folds and wrinkles and looks all wonky? I wound up just throwing the pads away. Again, when it’s cold, watch out!

Recently I decided it was really time to find new sports bras. Target doesn’t carry the exact same Champion bras anymore, and the selection I found at my local store seemed to be an odd mix of hyper-supportive bras for big-chested ladies and light-support bras for low-impact activities.

I got a Lululemon gift card for my birthday, so I checked out their in-store selection and found tons of light-support bras for yoga, as well as the Ta Ta Tamer. Noooope.

Next, I checked out Lorna Jane, a fairly new store to the mall in my area. They had a ton of sports bra styles in all kinds of fun colors, and a sales associate set me up with a bunch to try on. I like really basic sports bras that don’t have anything that might chafe, like adjustable straps with those little slider things, so she avoided those. She also told me that every sports bra Lorna Jane makes offers either medium or maximum support, so anything in the store would work for running! Now we’re talking.

After a marathon try-on sesh, I chose the Molly bra, which is pretty similar to my Champion bras, but with fun mesh details and bright colors. The website says the outside of the bra is red, but in person it looks like hot pink.

I also really liked the Acrobat bra because of its v-neckline and unique, airy back. They didn’t have my size in-store — the sales associate told me they were selling like crazy — so I planned to order it online (in black, which looks like it’s not available anymore).

I also liked the Criss Cross bra, but figured I’d limit myself to two new bras so that I’d have three total to rotate through. Lorna Jane bras ($66-$70 each) are even more expensive than Lululemon bras ($42-$58 each), so I was not about to go wild buying a ton of them. Yet. A-hem.

It turns out Lorna Jane does that thing where they offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount, and of course I had to buy more than just one bra to get free shipping. I wear a sports bra nearly every day, and I had some birthday cash to spend, soooo why not? I wound up buying the Criss Cross bra as well as the Acrobat. Try not to do the math on how much I just spent on sports bras, people.

The good news is that I’m loving these bras after a few weeks of wearing them. I feel supported and stylish, and the removable pads are thick enough to easily pop back in after washing — a first!!!  As a smaller-chested individual, I also appreciate the extra shape the pads add, whereas my Champion bras pretty much flattened me. Plus, no embarrassment with cold temps. Hallelujah.

Anyway, this unnecessarily deep dive into my sports bra situation is in no way sponsored by Lorna Jane or any other company. There are no affiliate links either. I just wanted to share my new finds, especially since Australia-based Lorna Jane is new-ish to the U.S. and you may not know about it yet!

Three things to note, though: (1) Lorna Jane only makes exchanges or gives you store credit, so make sure you really want anything you buy! (2) The care instructions on my bras say hand wash only, so if you’re not down with that, look elsewhere. Using a lingerie bag on the delicate setting of the washing machine may work fine, but I’m not sure. (3) A fellow Tumblr just let me know that her Lorna Jane bras have stretched, so perhaps size down if you are in between sizes. Both small and medium sizes felt comfortable to me, but I went with smalls for more support, so hopefully stretching won’t be an issue.

I’m pretty sure anyone can find a sports bra that will work for them at Lorna Jane, since they currently have 69 different styles online! (Lululemon currently has 22 styles, half of which are more suited for yoga than running.)

This is not to say Lorna Jane or Lululemon are the only places one can find good sports bras; they’re just where I found ‘em. I totally would have bought more bras from Target if they had what I was looking for! I’ve also read good things about sports bras by Moving Comfort, which is owned by Brooks, and Oiselle.

Here are some round-ups of good sports bras that other ladies have written:

• Best Sports Bras for Small Chests
• Sports Bra Recommendations for Busty Ladies

I won’t be buying new sports bras for a verrrrry long time, but tell me: What’s your favorite sports bra?

So, what am I even doing after the Big Sur Marathon?

NOT training for another race, thank you very much!

Marathon training can be all-consuming, and I’ve learned to limit myself to one marathon per year to avoid feeling burned out by the training. I also don’t really like half-marathons, as they somehow feel more difficult to me than marathons, and I have zero desire to pay money to race a 15K, 10K, or 5K because I know I’m not fast enough right now to update my PR in any of those distances.

That leaves me exercising with only the goal of maintaining and building fitness, and doing fun things like trail running!

My non-training plan to stay happy and healthy looks like this:

Monday: Yoga
Tuesday: Weights
Wednesday: Run
Thursday: Weights
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Run
Sunday: Run

Notice there are no time or distance requirements for those activities; I just do whatever I feel like on a given day. Typically I do an hour of yoga, about 30 minutes of weights and core work, and runs of at least 3 miles.

This view is found less than 3 miles from our place. Not bad, huh??

I’ve always wanted to try trail running, but I’ve been afraid to start while training for a race in case I sprain my ankle (again) or something. Well, there are no excuses now!

I met up with Aaron after his morning mountain bike ride at a local trail two weekends ago so he could show me the ropes. My concerns aside from spraining my ankle were: (1) getting lost, (2) getting run over by mountain bikers, and (3) getting eaten by a bear or cougar.

Aaron rode behind me (as he has many times before, sweet guy) and educated me on which paths went where and how to interact with MTB riders. Technically, MTB riders are supposed to yield to hikers and runners, but I’m prone to just jumping out of the way and waiting for them to pass, especially if they don’t yell “rider up!” in plenty of time to alert me to their presence.

Side note: Don’t wear headphones on trails. You need to be able to hear and communicate with other trail users for everyone’s health and happiness.

Anyway, we went 2.5 miles out and back for a total of 5 miles. The out part was up, up, up, but the back was almost all downhill, which was really fun. I realized the trail wasn’t that confusing, and mountain bikers rode slowly enough for us to peacefully coexist. Plus, I didn’t see any bears or cougars, and Aaron says he’s only seen “the outline of a bear” once. (WTF, that’s still scary!)

Aaron made a serious face, but he had fun, I swear.

The next day, I incorporated another part of the trail into one of my regular running routes, and still liked in. So this past weekend, I did even MORE trail running on my own and looooved it. (I’m still concerned about wild animals, but I’ll probably get over that at some point. Maybe.)

What a fun new world! I find myself wanting to run farther and farther just to explore the trail. There are also tons of other trails nearby that I can check out.

Aside from running, I’ve also tried to increase my non-exercise activity since I’m not doing intense mileage anymore. After our trip New York, I was inspired by all the walking we did and decided to embrace the walkability of our area. I stopped driving to the park-and-ride and now walk a few minutes to a bus stop for a short ride to the park-and-ride, then catch my bus to work. In the evenings, I walk home from the park-and-ride, which takes about 15 minutes. Seattle’s weather has been A+++ lately, so this is quite an enjoyable stroll! (I would walk in the morning, too, but it’s mostly uphill and I would be a sweaty beast before even starting my day.)

I also walk up three sizable flights of stairs instead of taking the escalator in the downtown Seattle transit tunnel. I’ve noticed a big difference in my stair-climbing stamina after a few months. Plus, it’s good for the legs and butt!

Anyway, that’s the update around here. Oh, plus I recently splurged and replaced an entire part of my running wardrobe with new gear — I’ll share all about that next!

P.S. I post to Instagram far more frequently than I do here, so follow me there if you like!

Every other marathon I run is completely terrible.

Given the disaster that was the Eugene Marathon, I was due for a good one.

I’m happy to report that the Big Sur International Marathon delivered!

With those incredible views, how could it not?

My best marathons (Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas and Chicago) were all about having fun, so that was my goal with this one. I just wanted to enjoy the scenery and have a great race — not stress myself out by gunning for a PR. 

Big Sur is hilly, with a monster two-mile climb up to Hurricane Point between miles 10 and 12, and then rolling hills all the way until the end, so I really focused on hills rather than speed in my training.

Hurricane Point was the one I was worried about, but the little hills turned out to be much more difficult! I’ll get to that in a bit.

Aaron and I stayed at an Airbnb in Pacific Grove, just a few minutes away from Monterey. We arrived on Friday night and hit the expo early on Saturday.

I was so excited to run across the Bixby Bridge for real!

Later, I did an easy two-mile shakeout run along Asilomar State Beach, then just relaxed, had a delicious dinner out, and hit the sack at 8:30 to prep for a seriously early wake-up time.

I hopped right out of bed when my 2:30 alarm sounded, eager to begin my ritual of eating a hearty breakfast, chugging water, applying sunscreen, and — fingers crossed — pooping all the poop there is to poop.

I ate bacon, eggs, and avocado that I snagged from a restaurant on Saturday morning and kept in the fridge of our Airbnb (it came with potatoes, too, but I couldn’t stomach those). Unlike Chicago, where I ate practically the same breakfast cold, I was able to microwave it and add a bunch of salt to help me retain water through the race. (This was my first time trying extra salt, believe it or not, and it totally worked!)

At 3:45, Aaron dropped me off at the school buses lined up near the expo location. Runners must take an hour-long bus ride backwards along the course to the start line — you can’t get there by car — so there’s a good reason for that early wake-up.

You’d think the bus ride would be a good opportunity to scout out the course, but it was totally dark and the bus windows were foggy from all the mouth-breathing adults packed into a vehicle designed for children, so I just closed my eyes and almost fell asleep! Ha.

We arrived at the start line around 5:00 and had plenty of time to kill until the 6:45 start. I found a spot to sit on a curb, chatted with fellow runners, drank water, ate a banana, and used the bathroom multiple times. I was nice and warm, thanks to the fleece-lined sweatshirt and sweatpants I bought at Value Village.

This is a professional photo shot right before I ditched the magical sweatshirt. You are welcome.

Soon enough, it was time to line up, and we were off!

The first five miles are a gradual downhill through a redwood forest and farmland, so I was really conscious of not going out too fast. 

My first mile was pretty slow, but I was OK with that — I knew I needed to save my quads for the hills later. That was actually the mantra I repeated to myself for all the downhill portions of this race: Save the Quads.

Mile 1: 9:57
Mile 2: 9:34

I finally settled into a pace I felt like I could run all day, which was my other mantra for the flatter and uphill portions: All Day. Don’t go nuts; just run a pace you feel like you can maintain all day.

Mile 3: 9:24
Mile 4: 9:24
Mile 5: 9:21
Mile 6: 9:21
Mile 7: 9:23
Mile 8: 9:20

I was really happy with the consistency of my splits as the miles ticked by. Allllll dayyyyy. Around mile five or six was the first time we could see the ocean, which was really exciting.

Oh, ALSO the wind started blowing something fierce, which felt good because it made the sun not feel as warm. I did have to hold onto my hat several times throughout the race to keep it from blowing away, though!

Mile nine was the first slight uphill, and 10 was a little faster with a downhill. Hurricane Point loomed ahead — you can totally see the huge climb ahead of you — so I made sure not to bomb down too quickly.

Mile 9: 9:29
Mile 10: 9:13

And then it was time to climb! See that nice hill in the middle? Luckily, the Taiko drummers were stationed right at the base of the hill, and their intense rhythm was so motivating.

I was so pumped to feel strong going up Hurricane Point. I didn’t have to walk, and I passed quite a few runners who had probably passed me earlier. It made all those hilly training runs feel so worth it.

Mile 11: 10:11
Mile 12: 9:46

Reaching the top of Hurricane Point was euphoric! The view of the ocean was incredible, and I had an awesome downhill ahead of me (although my Save the Quads policy was in full effect), and I knew the iconic Bixby Bridge was waiting below.

Michael Martinez plays the grand piano on the bridge each year, and I could hear the music even before I could see him. I don’t remember what the song was, but it was beautiful and made crossing the bridge feel completely surreal and stupid-happy.

Here I am crossing the bridge with a few of my friends. Pretend I am leading the race!

The 13.1 mark is just at the end (or slightly after?) the bridge, and I crossed the timing mat at 2:06:19. I thought maybe I could negative-split the race, so I picked up the pace slightly for the next several miles. This was my new All Day pace.

Mile 13: 9:13
Mile 14: 9:16
Mile 15: 9:15
Mile 16: 9:09
Mile 17: 9:11

Miles 18-22 are where I’m wary of hitting the wall and/or not being able to stomach Gu anymore, based on past experience. I had been steadily drinking Nuun from my fuel belt, and eating vanilla Gu every four-and-a-half miles (4.5, 9, 13.5). Mile 18 is where eating usually starts getting tricky, but that Gu went down just fine. I had a golden stomach day! 

I also felt perfectly hydrated. Thank you, salty breakfast.

Mile 18: 9:20
Mile 19: 9:16
Mile 20: 9:27
Mile 21: 9:12

The hill during mile 22 was what threw me off my game. My legs were pretty tired by this point, obviously, and I was just not loving the uphill. I decided to walk up the hill to take a little break, and then run down.

I know that looks like a sad picture, but walking felt AWESOME. Unlike the times I walked in previous marathons, I was 100% cool with it because it truly made the experience more enjoyable. 

I felt better taking a break, and my legs felt good when I started running again, so I continued to walk uphill and run downhill and between hills. I also paused at a water station to completely refill the bottles in my fuel belt.

Mile 22: 10:44
Mile 23: 10:27
Mile 24: 10:49

The second-best highlight of the race, after reaching the top of Hurricane Point, was getting to the strawberry table in mile 23! I’d read in others’ race recaps that these were the best strawberries ever, and sure enough, they tasted like heaven. I grabbed three and gobbled them down throughout miles 23 and 24. Thank you, golden stomach, for allowing that to happen.

The strawberries must have revitalized me since I picked up the pace a bit after that.

Mile 25: 9:37

It was pretty hot out by the point, so I dumped a few cups of water over my head at an aid station. I was ready to be DONE.

I really wanted to finish the last mile strong, but there was a rude hill that I just couldn’t muster the strength to run up.

Then, once I’d walked up the hill and started running again — thinking I was home-free — disaster struck! My calves seized and cramped big-time, and I had to pull over to the side of the road to do sort of a downward dog and stretch. It was really frustrating to be so close to the finish, thinking I would easily come in under 4:15, and then have to completely stop!

The 4:15 pacer actually pulled over and massaged my calves for 15-20 seconds as I stretched, bless her heart, and that helped quite a bit. She had to run off to continue leading her group, but she yelled, “Try to walk it out!” as she left. I started walking, and then was able to run again, thank goodness!

Mile 26: 11:56

I still wanted to finish under 4:15, so I gathered everything I had left and went for it. 

I caught the 4:15 pacer, passed her (while thanking her profusely!), freaked out with happiness when I spotted Aaron screaming for me on the sidelines, and crossed the finish line for an official time of 4:14:12.

SO HAPPY! The announcer said my name and hometown as I crossed, and I even got a high-five from Bart Yasso right after I got my medal! Can’t beat that.

Aaron captured my drunk runner’s high face as I left the food tent, where I had collected amazing things like fresh fruit (more strawberries!!), orange-pineapple juice (I drank three cans — ah-mazing), and giant cookies.

I got my body horizontal on the ground ASAP, and Aaron massaged my calves and feet when they started to cramp again. He also fetched me a cup of minestrone soup when I started feeling nauseous, which helped so much.

He catered to my every need until I was good as new! What a good husband. 🙂

I can’t recommend the Big Sur International Marathon enough. Aside from the stunning course and iconic features, like the Taiko drummers, it’s a great challenge. I recommend incorporating hills at the end of your long runs to prepare for those late rollers! 

And get ready for some competition to get into the race: It’s so popular that they’re implementing a lottery system for 2016. There are only about 3,500 spots, which makes for a nice, uncrowded race and a well-organized experience from start to finish. Give it a shot!

The strawberries alone are worth it. 🙂

Yesterday was one of those days when I really, really didn’t want to run. 

I had eaten a bunch of candy at work, I felt tired, and it was cold and rainy as I walked home from the park and ride. For the entire walk, I debated just skipping my five-mile run and spending the night cozied up on the couch with Aaron and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. 

Somehow I convinced myself to go. I think it was because I promised myself I’d take the easy route that goes down a big hill instead of up it. 

But by the time I left, I figured if this was going to be a miserable run anyway, I might as well embrace the discomfort and take the uphill route. 

As I ran the first few miles toward the base of the hill, I thought about discomfort. I hate it because I feel like it means I’m not fit enough to complete all my runs with ease, to lift weights with perfect form every time, or to do all the moves in barre without taking a break. 

Discomfort means I’m not good enough. 

Then I remembered a pair of women I saw running on the Lake Sammamish Trail last week. One woman was on the bigger side, and the other was clearly coaching her through the run. They were taking a walk break, then started running again just as I passed them. I heard the coach-type woman say, “Sometimes you have to be uncomfortable." 

And it’s true. It’s easy to think that someone who runs faster than you has it easy, that they never feel discomfort. That they or you shouldn’t feel discomfort. 

The truth is: If you are uncomfortable, you’re doing it right. It means you’re pushing yourself to be better. 

Last night, I pushed myself to not only run up the big hill, but to do it without stopping. I started this training cycle having to take three 45-second walk breaks up the hill. Eventually I was able to only take two breaks, and last week, one. 

Running up the hill last night was still uncomfortable, but I told myself that was good. I was doing it right. 

And you know what? I made it all the way up without walking. I had even promised myself I could walk once I got to the top, but found that I didn’t need to. I was ecstatic. It was one of the best runs I’ve had in a while.

I almost didn’t run because of silly reasons: candy, rain, and my cozy couch. I don’t hesitate to take a rest day when I really need to, but I know the difference between when I genuinely feel burned out and when I’m just making excuses. 

It would have been such a shame to miss out on an amazing experience because I wanted to be comfortable. I’ll remember that the next time I desperately don’t want to run.

And I’ll remember the triumph I felt at the top of the hill the next time I feel uncomfortable.

Aaron and I are back from our five-day eating tour of NYC! 

People were confused when I told them we went to visit friends and eat, not sight-see, but it turns out this is a real thing: culinary tourism. Doesn’t that sound much fancier?

Erin is the girlfriend of Aaron’s good friend (and groomsman) Chet, and she’s doing her dental residency in Manhattan. She’s been there nearly a year, and will soon be moving back to Seattle (yayyyy!). We stayed at her apartment on the Upper East Side since her roommate was out of town, and Erin did an amazing job showing us around the city and directing us to the yummiest restaurants and bakeries.

My next post will be about what we ate, but first I want to tell you about the running I did on our trip. 

Aaron and I took a red-eye to NYC on Tuesday night, leaving around 9:30 p.m. Pacific and arriving around 5:30 a.m. Eastern. We were armed with everyone’s favorite non-habit-forming sleep aid, ZzzQuil, thinking we could knock ourselves out on the plane and be relatively rested upon arrival. It almost worked. 

But for some reason, the air conditioning on the plane didn’t quite work, and it was unbearably hot and stuffy for the entire flight. It felt like I woke up every five minutes to toss and turn and curse the useless A/C on this swamp plane. (But we arrived safely, which is all one can really ask for in light of recent events). 

So Wednesday turned out to be more of a recovery day than we’d hoped. I took a solid three-hour nap in the afternoon, and it was glorious. 

On Thursday, I somehow managed a five-mile run between breakfast (pancakes!) and lunch (pork buns and ramen!). I was VERY tempted to skip it, since it was 30 degrees outside and wicked blasts of wind made it feel even colder, but Aaron convinced me I’d be able to fit even more food in my stomach later if I exercised. Well played, sir. 

Erin’s apartment is less than a half-mile from Central Park. I simply ran to the park and hopped on the main running path so I could do a 2.5-mile out-and-back and not get lost. It was a beautiful day, once I got warmed up, and a nice little run in one of the most famous places to run, period.

On Friday, we did a lot of walking, which turned into trudging once snow started falling in the early afternoon. Aaron’s face says it all. 

I figured the snow wouldn’t stick, this being the big city and all, but it stuck around long enough to create a winter wonderland for my 19-mile run on Saturday! Luckily I had a running buddy to help me get through it. 

I’ve read Ali’s blog for a few years, and it was so fun to finally meet her in person! She met me outside Erin’s apartment promptly at 7 a.m. to get started. 

First, we ran to Central Park and did a loop of the reservoir path, which was covered in snow and therefore like running in sand. We continued on to the main running path, which was mercifully clear and salted, and then over to the West Side Highway, which was straight-up icy! So back to Central Park we went, where Ali dropped me off after about 13 miles together so she could go to yoga (she’s doing a hardcore 40-day program). 

It was so fun getting to know Ali in “real life,” chatting all about her upcoming wedding, and about how her fiancé and Aaron are basically the same people (super-competitive cyclists with all-or-nothing personalities and a shared love of black and red). Parting was such sweet sorrow! 

It was harder to finish the last 6 miles on my own when the first 13 had flown by so quickly, but I was surprised by how good my legs felt! Probably because our route was pretty flat compared to my usual long-run route. Sure, my body was tired by the end, but it was nothing compared to how beat-up my legs usually feel. It was pretty encouraging, since the Big Sur Marathon is now less than a month away!

When I got back to Erin’s apartment, Aaron had a bagel with cream cheese and lox waiting for me. IT WAS THE GREATEST!!! I ate it while I stretched, showered, and got ready… to go eat more food.

To be continued!