Featured Fit: Upcoming Summer Style Feature in the Star Tribune

This week, my focus has been on the impending 26.2 mile jog quickly approaching on Sunday. I have been watching some motivational videos- videos like this one!


This video may be about the St. George marathon (which we ran in 2012, and it was AWESOME), but it still gets me motivated for Flying Pig this weekend! 

"The marathon is merely the reward!"

Anyways, thankfully, today I had a fun little distraction from thinking about the marathon. And this distraction actually fit in well with the “fashion” part of the blog!

Last June, I won a Wardrobe Consultation with A la Mode Wardrobe Consulting via a Silent Auction at a Share Our Strength Hotlist event. It ended up being one of the best items that I have ever won at a silent auction. I found the closet analysis that I did with Carly, the owner of A la Mode, to be incredibly valuable. She really opened up my closet in such a way that I feel like I have so much more to wear! She also gave me so much advice that I continue to use her tips when shopping a year later.  You can read all about my consultation HERE and HERE. I highly recommend Carly as her work is top-notch!

I have stayed in touch with her over social media and whatnot. A few weeks ago, she reached out on Facebook for “regular people” who were willing to participate in a photo shoot for a style feature in the Star Tribune. I’m a “regular” person, so I jumped on that opportunity.

The photo shoot was today at the Star Tribune office. It included four other women of different ages and with totally different “looks”. The photos will be split into three features- one about how to update the maxi dress, how to style a “crop top,” and how to wear a “soft pant.”

I volunteered for the shoot, not knowing which of the three looks I would be wearing, and I ended up modeling the "soft pant." (Thanks goodness- not sure I wanted to bare my midriff in a crop top for all Star Tribune readers!)

What's a soft pant? 
Well, I didn't really know...Apparently, a "soft pant" is the hot look for spring/summer! These pants are often silky, and they look a little like "harem pants." They are often cropped or tapered.

I got to wear these gorgeous Yoana Baraschi cropped aloe lace pants in black and white (Find them HERE:)

               

I found the same pair online at Neiman Marcus, but Carly pulled them for the shoot from a local boutique called MINQ. MINQ is located at the West End (I wrote about their opening party HERE) and now they have added a location at 50th/France!

For the outfit she picked for me, Carly paired the pants with a black sleeveless blouse from Primp (love that place!) and a white silky jacket, also from MINQ  Carly provided earrings and a bracelet, and I provided the shoes (THESE from JCrew Factory)

Mark Navarro was on site to do our hair and makeup, which was a lot of fun. He worked quite quickly, so before I knew it, it was time for the actual photo shoot. 

Now, I have never modeled before, so I am the first to admit I was way out of my element. I tried my hardest not to look too nervous or uptight, but I am not sure how it worked...

The photographer told me to slightly change my pose after each camera click...well, I only have one pose- the "OC Hip." 

...THIS is the "OC Hip"

Yep, the "OC Hip." It's all I got. 

So...It was a little challenging to change my pose after every click, and I'm worried that my awkwardness might be reflected in the pictures. 

But hey, it was a fun experience to play "pretend model" for the day. I enjoyed seeing the fun outfits that Carly picked for the other ladies as well, and I'm looking forward to each of the features in the Star Tribune. 

What are some of the fun summer looks that you are looking forward to? Have you heard of "soft pants?" Do you have any?  I really loved the ones I wore today and would like to find a similar pair at a price that is a little more in my budget (that pair was $218)

Fitting Remarks: A Reflection on my Training and a Goal...

My 16^th marathon, the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio. is a week from today.

The other day my sister asked me about the course, and I told her that this marathon is really hilly. She said, “oh, so not a PR then?”

(FYI….runner lingo- "PR" is personal record. Some people call it a “PB” or personal best, but I call it a PR)

Back to my sister's comment- "not a PR." 

Well, why not? Why not a PR? Why is everyone so afraid of hills? 

I have trained really hard. I can still PR. I will still PR. 

This is your race. 
This is your opportunity. 
Trust your training

When I reflect back on my running journal, it seems as though my training went pretty well.  I mean, I only missed one long run when we were in Utah on a ski trip, but otherwise I successfully completed every other long run over the past 18 weeks.  There were no issues, no melt-downs, and no failed long run attempts.

I ran on hills. I killed hills.

I ran tempos. I ran track workouts.

I ran multiples times on a beach vacation in Turks & Caicos, when I was tempted to just lounge… 

I ran at high altitude in Park City, Utah. 

I ran A LOT on the treadmill during this terrible winter. 

I ran in temperatures well below zero.

I ran in the snow. I ran in the sleet.  I ran in the rain.

I was healthy. I didn’t suffer any injuries.  Sure, I went to see Dr. Crabtree at Uptown Natural Care a few times for some A.R.T. and Graston on my IT band, but fortunately I stayed on top of that issue throughout the training season. 

I foam rolled, I practiced yoga, I strength trained, I barre’d, I worked my core (remember the plank challenge?)

I am ready.

Of course, there are still 7 days between now and the marathon, and a lot can happen in 7 days.

I could get injured (hopefully unlikely), I could get sick (sometimes pretty likely during the taper. A lot of runners get sick during this time).

Then there’s marathon DAY- the weather could be terrible…HOT, rainy, windy. Or maybe it just won't be my day- I have had that happen many times in the past- I trained really hard, but my hard work wasn't reflected on race day. 

But no matter what happens on May 4^th, I can look back at my training and be proud of myself.

"It's not about having the courage to finish a marathon, it’s about having the courage to begin."

"Getting this far- just getting to the starting line- is a challenge in and of itself. The marathon is merely the reward."

I have to thank my friend Kelly for training with me- we did nearly all of our long runs together, and she gave me a lot of advice (combined with information from the McMillan Training Calculator- if you’re not using this for your training, you should start!) 

On her own, Kelly has run a 3:25 marathon- twenty minutes faster than my goal for next Sunday, so I feel as though she is running this race for me. I want to thank her, no matter what happens on May 4th.

Oh right...I mentioned my goal.

So here are my goals in the order of most awesome goal to the worst.  

If #1 doesn’t happen, then I’m hoping that #2 does.  If #2 doesn’t happen, then I’m hoping for #3, and so on and so forth.

#1. Run a 3:45

#2. Run a 3:4X – anything with a 3:4X something is just fine.

#3. Run a PR (my PR is 3:55)

#4. Don’t run worse than Kelly’s worst marathon (She has never gone over 4 hours. I can’t be her first…)

#5. Finish.

#6. Don’t die

Fingers crossed, my friends. I have had too many "bad" marathons. Its time for a good one.

There will come a time during the marathon when I have to choose how hard I am going to push myself.   How strong will I be when the going gets tough? (because yeah…it will get tough. It will get really uncomfortable...)

Will I be able to look at myself in the mirror on Sunday afternoon, and honestly answer the question, “Did I give it my all? Did I do my best?” I want to be able to say YES. I gave 100%.

Okay, okay, Jess, enough with the #sobrave  #inspirational  #motivational crap, right? 

It’s just a marathon. Millions of people run them every year. And 3:45 isn't even that impressive.

That’s right. It is JUST a race. It doesn’t represent who I am. My finish time doesn’t determine my value as a person…If I don’t achieve my goal, I will get over it. Life goes on.

Even so…that doesn’t make me want to achieve my goal any less!

P.S. There is no runner tracking at Flying Pig, so the fastest way for you to find out if I achieved my goal is for me to tell you, and I'm planning to post the results here first.  So, before I post to my personal Facebook or text anyone, or anything like that, I will post to the blog as to which of the goals was attained- 1, 2, 3, 4,5, or 6.  Be sure to check here first!

Fits Do Race Reviews: The City Trail Run by Gear Junkie

Last night, during a short break in the rain, two of my running buddies, Dustin and I participated in a #CITYTRAIL Race.

This “choose-your-own-adventure” type race was sponsored by Salomon and Gear Junkie. It was also an opportunity to test a new app by Salomon called “CITYTRAIL”- you can download it for free for your iPhone or Android.

This race was 90 minutes long, and it included 9 different “checkpoints” at different landmarks around Minneapolis. The phone app included the map of the checkpoints, but you were on your own to decide how to get to each point. There was a hard deadline of 90 minutes to hit as many checkpoints as you could. For every minute after 90 minutes that you returned to the starting line, you would lose a point. Therefore, we had to choose carefully before heading out to determine our route to hit the most checkpoints via the most efficient route!

Did I mention we got extra points for posting pictures with #CITYTRAIL to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook? You could also get extra points for answering a few trivia questions or by completing a "kettlebell" challenge; the event was definitely more than just running.

The actual running event started at 7 pm at the Gear Junkie headquarters on the Greenway. We were encouraged to arrive at 6 pm to try out Salomon gear, Suunto gear,  and get a tutorial on the app that we would be using.

Before we started, we reviewed the map and the checkpoints and determined what we thought would be the shortest route to hit the highest number of checkpoints in the shortest amount of time.

When 7 pm rolled around, we were off! We started by heading through uptown to Lake Harriet to cross off the checkpoints in that area, and then made our way back towards Lake Calhoun and finally back to the headquarters. We arrived back at 8:29 pm. Just barely squeaked in!

Grabbing one of the "books" at the checkpoint on the Lake Harriet lifeguard stand

 As we hit each checkpoint, our phone would “vibrate” to let us know that we had been “checked” into that point. 

But just in case the app wasn’t working so well, there were books hidden at each checkpoint. You had to tear out the page that corresponded to your number (i.e. I was #76, so I had to tear out page 76 in each book)

We probably didn’t even need the books though, as the app worked just fine for us. In fact, on the quick sprint back to the headquarters, we passed a checkpoint we hadn’t even planned to hit, but our phones vibrated, so we quickly turned around to find the hidden book!

Throughout the run, the four of us stuck together, and treated it as more of a fun run. And fun it was! Searching for the checkpoints made it feel like an adventure and by the end we had completed 9 miles (with lots of stops at the checkpoints).

In the end there were some really impressive prizes awarded to the top 4 finishers, such that Dustin was definitely second-guessing his decision to stick with the ladies rather than run hard for a potential prize!

After the awards there was a raffle for other awesome prizes (Abby won a pint glass, but that was the only win in our group). 

They also had beer and tacos from “Rusty Tacos” restaurant/food truck in St. Paul. It was such a fun event and totally FREE!

This event was held partially to promote the phone app, and partially to promote the City Trail Loppet that is happening May 18^th. The City Trail Loppet is organized by the same group that organizes the Surly Trail Loppet (my friends Kelly and Abby did a guest post about that race HERE). This is the first year that the Loppet group is organizing this City Trail race. It will be different than the “scavenger” hunt type run that we did last night; there won't be any checkpoints or “choose your own adventures” but instead, it will be more of an urban trail run via city streets, trails, railroad tracks, etc.

Register for the City Trail Loppet here: http://www.loppet.org/citytrail-loppet/

I am definitely considering this City Trail Loppet for a fun change of pace. It will only be a few short weeks after the Flying Pig Marathon, so I definitely won’t be running it hard…FUN run all the way!

As for the gear we tested last night, I didn’t really like the Salmon trail shoes that I tried out. They were a little stiff and heavy to me, and the top of the shoe actually dug into the top of my foot in a strange way. Although I am interested in purchasing a pair of trail shoes, I’ll have to keep looking for a better fit.  It was still really nice to have an opportunity to try these ones without purchasing them first.

I believe Gear Junkie is going to organize similar types of “adventure runs” in the future, so if this is something you’re interested in, send an email to amy@gearjunkie.com to get added to the newsletter and to stay up-to-date on all these adventure runs!

Fits Do Race Reviews: Guest Post- The London Marathon

Last September, Dustin and I ran the Berlin Marathon (if you missed it, you can read all about it HERE!) It was our first international marathon. As fun as it was, we definitely can't plan every marathon around such a big trip. In other words, we won't be running international marathons every time. (What? You're saying Cincinnati won't be as interesting as Berlin? Ha!)

Fortunately for you guys, I have a friend who ran the London Marathon this year, and she offered to share her recap with us, so we can live vicariously through her! 

Amber actually shared a guest post recap of the Sioux Falls marathon in fall 2012. You can read that recap HERE. Read both recaps for two very different types of marathons!

So, here you go readers- all you ever wanted to know about the London Marathon, courtesy of my friend Amber! 

"London Calling"

Sometimes you have to go big or go home.  Or in my case, you have to go big or you won’t leave home!  After having twin girls last June and knowing the "joys" of training through a Minnesota winter, I wanted my first post-babies marathon to be a BIG one that I would be motivated to train for no matter what the weather had in store.  Given the winter we had this year, I picked the right race – the London Marathon.  Or, as it is more accurately referred to for sponsorship purposes, the Virgin Money London Marathon.  It is part of the World Marathon Majors.  In addition, it holds the Guinness world record as the largest annual fund raising event in the world with many runners running for charities. As one of the pre-race commentators accurately stated . . . “Get ready, this is going to be one of your life’s grand adventures.”  It truly was.

This year was the 34th annual running of the marathon.  The course itself is a flat course set around the River Thames.  Because of the massive number of participants (there were close to 36,000 finishers), the race begins at three separate points: the Red Start at Greenwich Park; the Green Start in St. John’s Park; and the Blue Start on Shooter’s Hill Road.  The three courses then converge at the 3-mile point. 

How do you get into the London Marathon?
As a non-UK resident, you cannot enter the ballot (lottery) and you cannot qualify with a “good for age entry” (qualifying time).  Instead you must go through a tour company.  I went through Marathon Tours and was not disappointed.  Be prepared to register and commit early though – London is touted as the “world’s most popular marathon” and this is probably the case.  The ballot already filled up in a record 9 hours and 50 minutes for next year’s race.  Going through Marathon Tours, I had to sign up in June 2013 for an April 2014 race.  As a long-time runner and first-time mom, it was both daunting and inspiring to have had the race on the calendar for so long.

The Expo:
The expo was great.  It is a bit out of town at the Custom House (a large convention center), but very easy to get to via the tube and train.  Adidas had a heavy presence.  There were loads and loads of vendors.  One nice offering was that you could pay a nominal amount to have your name printed on your racing shirt.  With the thousands of spectators, I was really glad I did this.  The volunteers at the expo were very helpful, welcoming, and enthusiastic.  They were genuinely interested in chatting with runners about where they came from, what other marathons they had run, and they were very happy you were there to run London.  

Finish Line:
We received an excellent tip from the volunteer who handed me my race bag – meet at the Admiralty Arch.  St. James Park (where the finish is) gets absolutely packed with people trying to meet up after the race, and the Admiralty Arch, at the end of The Mall where the marathon ends, offers a key feature to a tired runner – a patch of lovely green grass to lie down on.  This is where my husband and I agreed to meet and it worked out very well.

How did you deal with jet lag?
London is obviously across the pond so jet lag was a worry that I had.  We arrived on Friday at noon and the race is on Sunday, so I really had two nights to “catch up” on sleep.  Honestly, I’m not sure what impact this had on my race, perhaps fatigue did set in early.  I was able to get some sleep on the flight over.  On the two nights in London before the race (Friday and Saturday), I woke up at 2 a.m. and had difficulty going back to sleep.  I think this was partially due to jet lag and partially due to normal pre-race anxiety and excitement.  I’d recommend getting plenty of sleep in the days and weeks preceding your trip so that the final few nights are not crucial.  I can say that I was so excited on race morning that I did not feel tired.

The Night Before...
Many hotels had “Marathon Menus” on Saturday for the evening before the race.  Hotel offerings through Marathon Tours did, and I considered it a fabulous feature – not to have to worry about a benign pre-race meal. 

Race Day!
The race starts at 10 a.m. which allows sufficient time to get up, have a bite to eat, and prepare for the day.  All of the hotels with Marathon Tours had breakfast available beginning at 5:30 a.m.  The offerings included plenty of “runner friendly” foods.  Marathon Tours also organized coaches to take runners to the start beginning at 8 a.m.  Again, very nice not to have to worry about getting to the start.  I was part of the Blue Start and the area surrounding this start was extremely well organized and there were plenty of port-a-loos.  An absolute bonus to UK port-a-loos – they flush! Much more sanitary and less smelly than the ones around the Minneapolis lakes.  There was a massive television screen so that you could watch the elite and wheelchair starts.  A jovial and comedic commentator kept runners informed of the time, what you should be doing, and when to head to the corrals.  Each start is also organized into corrals based on your predicted finish time with this information marked on your bib.  Volunteers politely checked to make sure you went into the correct corral and the start did not feel overly crowded. 

The Course
The course is nothing short of spectacular.  At around the 10K point, runners pass the Cutty Sark and the crowds are absolutely deafening.  The half-way point is crossing the Tower Bridge.  Again, with deafening crowd support and crossing such an iconic landmark, this part of the race is is nothing short of amazing and truly memorable.  The course then heads east along The Highway through Wapping, towards Limehouse, and into Mudchute in the Isle of Dogs, and then into Canary Wharf.  The final leg of the race passes by The Tower of London, along the Embankment (with views of the London Eye), passing Big Ben, Parliament, and finally Buckingham Palace and finishing on The Mall.  The final section of the route formed part of the 2012 Olympic Marathon Course.  It is definitely one for the record books and one of life’s grand adventures.

It is a fairly flat course and even with the crowds it’s possible to run for time.  You start with runners predicted to finish around the same time and the course is never so crowded that you can’t move up if you’d like.  It is most crowded right around mile 3 when the three starts converge.  I got great advice from a Scotsman at the start who advised that I stay to far right in order to avoid being jostled around when the various starts came together.  I was glad I followed this advice.

The crowd support in London could not be better.  Most of the course is lined 8-10 people deep with spectators on either side.  The crowd was made up of people of all ages and walks of life.  They happily shouted support for runners, offered up high fives, and a hearty amount of enthusiasm.  For spectators traveling with a runner, this is a difficult race.  Because of the volume of runners, it is difficult if not impossible to “cross the course” and get around London to see your runner if you want to meet up at race end.  Likewise, spectators are often standing several people deep on either side of the course, so even with a well-formed plan spectator and runner might not connect.  Knowing this, my husband planned that he would catch some of the race in a pub (lots of festive pub spectating is to be had in London) and then meet me at our preordained spot at the end.  This worked out really well.

At the Admiralty Arch Post Race

I highly recommend this as a destination race.  For anyone who has been to London, running through it and seeing it again is a wonderful and truly exciting experience.  If you haven’t been to London, what better reason to go?  This race and the city itself are festive, energetic, and inspiring.

 Congrats to Amber, who ran an AMAZING time, after having twin baby girls less than a year ago! So impressive. 

And thanks for sharing your recap with us!

Fitting Remarks: #BostonStrong

I don't know about you, but I wasn't really that productive at work yesterday. I was pretty distracted tracking all my friends at the Boston Marathon, and staying on top of all the results!

All of the Calhoun Beach Running Club runners who were there did so well! I'm so inspired and impressed. And it was so cool that Meb won, especially since there hasn't been an American winner since 1983!

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I was feeling pretty pumped about all things "run" yesterday, so it was perfect that my friend Jen had organized a casual group run for our running friends. Most of the girls wore their Boston attire, but since I haven't yet qualified, I just went with my Calhoun Beach Running Club singlet instead. 

 We met around 6 pm for an easy run around two lakes. One of the girls brought her two adorable twins in the B.O.B. for their first run with the girls! So cute.

It was really nice to spend Marathon Monday with some of my favorite members of the running community. I am so thankful that I joined the Calhoun Beach Running Club over three years ago. The friends I have met there are some of the best I could ask for.  But I'm also thankful to be part of the larger running community...in Minneapolis and beyond. Its such a supportive, strong, courageous, resilient group, and I'm honored to be called a runner and a member of the "team".

Love to all my fellow runners today!

#runlove for sure!

Did you do anything special to celebrate Marathon Monday?

Weekly Recap: Easter and More...

Happy Easter! Did you do anything fun to celebrate? Search for eggs, or give/receive a basket?

Neither Dustin's nor my family is nearby, so we were on our own for the holiday. I did make Smitten Kitchen’s Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms…yum! We paired it with a big fruit salad mixed with peach pie filling…so good!

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In fitness this past week, my mileage decreased by about 25% from last week, which is standard for the first week of the taper. I did squeeze in a few Pilates classes, but I focused on rest and running.

During the taper, the mileage will decrease dramatically, but the intensity should not. We still did some speed work during the taper, but just not for as long.

Monday: 8 miles with 3 miles at tempo pace. I mentioned this run in Monday’s post. It was a really good tempo workout for me- a bit of a confidence booster. It was tough, but I kept a challenging (for me) pace in the middle of the 8 miler.

Tuesday: Easy 7 mile run – my legs were sore from the previous day’s workout, so I took it nice and easy.

Wednesday: Pilates Pro class at Pilates Pro Works. I mentioned in this post that my 8 pack of classes at PPW was about to expire, so I have been going here quite a bit more than I normally would to use them up. Its a good class though, as my core was pretty sore afterwards (which is a great feeling) as well as my glutes and upper body. I am not sure if I will buy more classes at this studio or not- they are pricey, but I do really enjoy the Pilates classes and the location is super convenient to my office…However, I really want to consolidate my fitness classes, as clearly, I can’t keep track of the classes I have all over the city. I hate to see any of them go to waste! I love having a wide variety of options, but sometimes it gets to be too much to stay on top off. I think I will focus on The Barre studio this summer, with kettlebells and yoga as well, but not so many barre and Pilates studios at the same time.

*My friend Kelly told me that legally, studios can’t let your classes expire…if that’s true, then why do so many studios still have expiration dates on class packages? Any legal experts out there know the answer?

Thursday: 8 miles with 2 sets of 1600-800-800, with about 2 minutes easy jog in between. This workout felt harder, even though my paces weren’t any faster than the tempo pace on Monday! My legs probably were just tired. 

It seems like I have one really good workout in the beginning of the week, and then the second workout isn’t as strong….but maybe that's normal?

Friday: Pilates Pro class at Pilates Pro Works  I have usually been using Friday as a complete rest but I needed to squeeze in another class here, before its too close to the marathon.

Saturday: 15 mile long run. We’re tapering now.  This long run in the taper always gets me because it seems like it should feel really short since we did 22 last week! But 15 is still a long run. Next week will feel a lot shorter with only 10 miles on the schedule.

Sunday: easy 4 mile run with Matilda early in the morning, and a lovely hour long walk with Dustin and Matilda in the afternoon. We had such awesome Easter weather today in Minneapolis, so we really wanted to take advantage, so Matilda also benefits, with lots of exercise for her today!

What’s happening in Fitness Fashion?

Not exactly Fitness Fashion, but I purchased another pair of Brooks Ravennas, and I was happy to see that my favorite color scheme is still available! I feel like I might need to stock up on these, just in case they discontinue this color- it’s definitely my favorite so far. 

My previous pair had over 400 miles on them (I track this information closely!). They probably would still be okay for a few more weeks of running, but I didn't want to run Flying Pig on worn down shoes. So, I plan to wear the new pair for the Flying Pig Marathon in 14 days. Of course, I will run in them many times before the race…Even though I’ve been running in Brooks Ravennas for awhile now, I don’t want to make that rookie mistake of wearing new shoes on marathon day!

What’s happening in Fashion?

Remember that awesome necklace I purchased from Oia Jules on Etsy? 

It is definitely one of my favorites, but unfortunately, it broke on me! I was so sad.  So, I sent Oia Jules a message, and they offered to fix it for me, and pay for shipping! It only took about a week for me to get it back in tip-top shape. Yay!

What happened for YOU last week in Fitness, Fashion, and Fitness Fashion?? Try any new classes? Find any cute new fashion?

Please share!