Tag Archives: lululemon

Shiny New Running Outfit

2 May

There are only four days until the Flying Pig Marathon and my emotions are everywhere. One minute I’m excited, and the other I’m so nervous because of this IT band issue. Excited is currently winning out and I think it’s because of this:

My new Lululemon marathon top

Yuppers, I got myself the Lululemon no limits tank in hot, hot pink for marathon day. I ran my first marathon in a no limits tank (in a different color) and had absolutely zero issues with chafing or the shirt riding up so I think I’m safe running in the same top without having actually taken it for a long test run. I will, however, wash the shirt so I don’t bleed hot pink (though that may be cool). I think the color is perfect for Flying Pig, don’t you think?

A couple of weeks ago I got the crops in the photo. They are the run: a marathon crop, also from Lululemon. I’ve done a couple of runs in them (one long run and one short) and they were great: the bottoms of the legs didn’t ride up and the top is higher wasted and didn’t ride down. And they passed the very-important-for-all-tights-bend-over test (when I bend over the pant does NOT get transparent). Perfect!

On a side note, it will be toasty on Sunday:

Expected weather for 2012 Flying Pig Marathon

However, I can’t run in shorts. My lovely Spanish thighs engulf shorts and I end up chafing and pulling my shorts down all run. So that’s why I’m usually in tights (unless it’s my Lululemon running skirt that I can use for anything shorter than 10 miles). It’s a good thing that my shirt opens up on the sides for some fresh air. 🙂

Yesterday I read this post by Meghann of Meals and Miles and it made me chuckle. I am in complete agreement with her when she wrote “I’m a big believer that a big race deserves a new outfit, sorta like a big date requires a new dress – am I wrong?” Nope, not wrong at all.

If you’re running your first half or full marathon, I would recommend you buy your new outfit a month before your race and wear it during a shorter long run. If it passes the test (no chafing, riding up, etc.) then wear it for your longest run. It’s amazing how a few miles can alter the wear of your running outfit. For example, I have a singlet that I wore in different colors for all three of my half marathons without any problems. However, when I wore one of them for an 18-mile run, I was surprised to see severe chafing on the inside of my arms. It was so bad I was bleeding! Needless to say, those are now restricted to runs 13 miles or shorter.

I consider this running outfit quite the splurge, but I’ve worked hard the last four months (and seven months before that training for Disney) and I like that I’m at a place where I can reward my hard work with a splurge like this. In my future I’ll have kids and a home to worry about and these days will be long gone. I’ll enjoy it while I can!

What do you do for your race-day running attire? 


Yesterday morning I went for a 3-mile walk with Emily, one of my group leaders. She’s running Flying Pig with me so it was nice to catch up and do some race day strategizing. Afterwards I rushed home to start my day with some yoga. I took it easy with this Yoga Vibes class, focusing on the outer hip and IT band.

Four days until the Flying Pig Marathon!

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My First Yoga Experience

1 Mar

I’ve been saying that I was going to try yoga for quite a long time. But the thing about me is, I’m scared of new things. So I kept putting it off… And putting it off… to the point that it was starting to get ridiculous.

Earlier this year I made it a goal to get my butt in gear and make it to a class. Lucky for me, Carolina from Peas in a Blog let me tag along to a yoga class with her last night.

Two very important things:

  1. I didn’t fall flat on my face, though there was a point when the instructor thought I would break my arm if I didn’t correct my posture stat.
  2. I loved it!

The Huffington Post recently published this post about what to expect during your first yoga class. It was a perfect read before my first class.

Carolina also suggested I wear “wear clothes that won’t show anything when you’re upside down.” Easy enough, I wore a pair of Lululemon tights and one of their tops that I use for running. They were perfect for yoga too!

Lululemon... perfect for running AND yoga!

I brought a mat, a towel and water and met Carolina around 7:15 PM at Full Circle Yoga in Winter Park. They have an intro rate of 3 classes for $25 (must be used in one month) so I went with that option. Our class was a Hatha level 1 class, which was really great for a beginner like me. Our instructor Suzie, was really great at explaining the different positions and kept me from breaking my arm. Bonus points for her!

The class really was more than I expected. It was challenging, yet somehow relaxing. It required strength and balance, but stretched my entire body. And believe you me, this runner’s body was in need of some serious stretching!

The only drawback is that I somehow tweaked my back so I had to skip this AM’s run. With a really long run (16-18 miles) planned for this weekend, I decided it would be best if I let it rest. I’m sure that with time my back will get stronger and I’ll be more mindful of my poses, so I won’t let this deter me.

Final verdict: I’ll be at the Hatha 1 class next Wednesday night. 🙂

What’s your favorite type of yoga and why? I have so much to learn!

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A Short Run and New Favorite Top

11 Nov

It’s been a busy week. After missing my Tuesday morning run, and sleeping through my Wednesday makeup run, I slept in Thursday morning as well. So when I came home from work last night, I was making no excuses. I had to run!

As soon as I walked in the door, the couch was sitting there looking at me, enticing me to join for just a little while. I ignored the taunts and went to throw on some running clothes.

Which brings me to the topic of my new favorite running top. I’ve been eyeing this scoop neck tank from Lululemon. I even tried it on and admired it’s perfect fit, but at $52.00 I couldn’t justify it as I was already buying a running skirt from them that was similarly priced. So I had a very grow- up, disciplined moment and put the top back.

A few weeks ago, my friend told me that Old Navy was having a sale on their active wear. I really didn’t have many expectations when I went, but Old Navy is almost across the street from me so it was at least worth a quick look. Imagine my surprise when I saw this look-alike compression tank top on sale for only $12.50. Again, I grabbed it to try on, but was sure it would have a weird fit or have a short torso or something. But when I tried it on, it fit well.

So last night was my first run wearing it. Here’s a lovely self portrait:

My new Old Navy tank

Don’t judge the fact that I have on eye makeup please, I went running directly after work. 🙂

So after my run, my prognosis is: I love it! The tank had a long torso, so even though it did ride up a little bit, it never rode up above my waistline. I even ran into a friend at the lake and she complimented it.

Which brings me back to my run. It’s been a while since I’ve run laps around Lake Eola so I headed over there in my car. I can run there, but I wanted to run with music and didn’t want to worry about cars. On my drive there I wondered why I didn’t just wake up in the morning… I wanted nothing more than to sit on my couch and veg out after my long day at work.

In the end, I only ran 2.35 miles (three laps around Lake Eola). My calves were so tight! All week I’ve been rolling my thighs and hips to avoid IT pain and totally neglected my calves. So I finally gave up and went home to stretch and roll my calves for a good hour.

I did snap this pic of the lake before leaving:

The new fountain in Lake Eola

The Lake Eola fountain was broke for what seemed to be forever, and running around the lake just wasn’t the same without it. I’m glad it’s back, and much more colorful!

Which do you prefer? Wake up early to work out or workout after work?

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