pumped up kicks

And on the topic of pumped up kicks, I haven’t had a shoe post in awhile!

Well first off, a warning out to those who love the Adidas Adioses as much as I do.  I heard awhiles back that the “upgrade”-the Adios 2′s-would be more of a lightweight trainer and less like a racing flat.  Not wanting to deal with having to deviate from the perfect racing flat, I immediately stockpiled a few pairs, which should last me til next year I think?  And it was a good thing, because I actually got to try out the Adios 2′s a coupla weeks back when an Adidas rep came to our workout.  My suspicions were confirmed-felt like a totally different shoe…more substantial and not as flexible.  (of course, this was also 2 days post-NYC Half…)

And my marathon shoe?  Well even though I talked about the Brooks Launch here as being my marathon shoe…i dunno, for whatever reason I fell out of love with them.

Enter the Brooks PureFlows.

I had heard very good things about Brooks’ PureProject line, and I actually had my eye on these shoes even before NYCM (but figured it was too late to switch then)  These felt awesome from the minute I tried them out-like how they had the feel of a racing flat but are substantial enough for a marathon.  And yes, these will be my Boston shoes.  Well not this pair exactly…as I had to get a fresher pair for the big day and so I had to go with the color update…

I guess these shoes won't clash with the hot pink socks?

And of course, one of those shoes will be wearing my lucky Yankee charm on race day

Shifting to running fashion-I got to give a shout to lululemon for my new favorite shorts-their Shorty Shorts.

yeah, this obviously ain't me.

These have the stamp of approval to be my marathon short-I wore these on my Palisades 20-miler and they worked liek a charm-I had wanted a pair of fitted shorts with pockets, and these have 5!  (well actually 7, but I don’t quite trust the 2 on the front of the legs)  Plus they did not ride up once (thanks to some grippy silicone at the bottom.)  So I got the shorts and shoes-jury is still out on the pink socks-if it’s warm I may ditch them, just gotta decide on the top.

And I have my post-race apparel all ready to go…right now just hanging up in my closet, waiting 12 more days to be worn

too tired to think of a title

but just felt like writing down my random thoughts before i forgot…

• purple running tights are a major fashion don’t. on that note, purple head-to-toe is a major running fashion don’t. The Barney look hasn’t been in style since…has the Barney look ever been in style??
• it is never a good idea to laugh and make fun of runners. because, ya know…you could be some dude dressed up in green in the midst of st. patricks day. and in your drunken stupor, drop your phone and wouldn’t you know it…one of those runners you made fun of found the phone and graciously returned it to its rightful owner.
• it truly sucks to tell someone something in confidence, and then find out that information is used as ammunition at another time.
• it sucks more for the other people who unfortunately took the brunt of the abovementioned.
• but sometimes, a rave review pops up when you least expect it.
• sometimes the phrase “hope for the best, expect the worst” makes sense.
• and yes, i am being cryptic. for a reason

vanity has no place in cold-weather running. or does it?

yeah yeah yeah we’ve come across the first real cold snap of the year. (not hard, considering this is the first week of January.) I’m sure yesterday, NYSC and other assorted gyms across the NYC metro area were filled with more than just the “resolution” people.

Me, I debated going for a run outdoors-specifically for that reason, I’m sure I’d have to wait forever for a cardio machine, or that the spinning classes would be full, etc…so I went to Engineers Gate to see if any other Flyers were showing up for the group run. If there were, great, if not-or if the ones there were planning on going too fast for me, at least I had my iPod so I can just continue on as long as I was out there.

Thankfully, a couple of fellow bloggers were there and we did the lower 5 nice and relaxed. It was actually a very nice night to run (despite both thermometers near Columbus Circle reading less than 20 degrees)…

…and I do partially have the apparel to thank for that!! Looks like the layering job I did was just right-and actually looked pretty sharp too This Sugoi jacket (in red) and tights (both of which I got on sale-especially the jacket, no way was I paying full price for that!!), and under the jacket was this top in black (I got that majorly on sale too-thanks to being a Flyer) and a black long sports bra, also wore my Mizuno gloves and I decided to pull out my old Midnight Run 2004-2005 black fleece cap And that combo was almost perfect-might have been able to use another layer on the bottom, but I dealt with it.

For good cold-weather pieces, I always look for good deals on the high-end gear…it’s so worth it. Shop around, both online and in the stores…some of the NYC are especially kind to the local runners and give discounts!!

and now, for the running fashion portion…

it’s crazy, with fall fashions out in the stores now and I buy more running clothes than street clothes. I guess that shows where my priorities are

But I tried out an awesome new find yesterday…I was quite annoyed during a long run last weekend when my trusty RaceReady shorts (the ones I wore in the marathon, no less!) kept riding up and chafing the hell outta me.

While doing some shopping, I noted another style of RaceReady shorts that I hadn’t really seen/considered before…I tried them out and wouldn’t you know it, no chafing, no riding up!! (And they actually don’t look half bad on me either…I usually try to shy away from tight shorts like those.)

And I’m about to test out a new running skirt…stay tuned, I will be writing my own running skirt roundup shortly

a brief clothes shopping rant

please ladies, let me know if I am imagining things here…

so i wanted to do some clothes shopping…primarily, I wanted a new pair of jeans, as I have seem to have outgrown some of my older pairs…

and I went to Express where I tried on a pair of jeans-in a style that I already own and fits perfectly…so I tried on the same exact size…and they did not fit at all. Needless to say, I was so disgusted I left the store empty-handed.

Is it me, or are the clothes manufacturers fucking with the sizes again?

And why is it that the only styles of jeans or pants I see in stores are “slim fit” or “skinny fit”? (which neither would fit since I am neither slim nor skinny…even when I weighed 20 pounds less than I currently do, my hips and thighs were always a problem area.)

I just find it frustrating…yeah, it’s great that fashionistas want to ban too-thin models from the catwalk to set a better example for us all…but what the clothes manufacturers do-only designing clothes that don’t fit a majority of the population-feels like a little bit of a slap in the face. Stop confusing us, please!!!

red is the colour of winners

look what i got in my pretty little hands tonite during tonite’s Flyer exec board meeting…

i was the first Flyer to order our new red-hot singlet (or actually, “throwback” may be a better term-we did have a limited edition red singlet long before my time and we decided to give them a revival in ’06) so only fitting (no pun intended) that i’d be one of the first to receive it…

can’t wait to model this at the next points race (the Healthy Kidney 10k) in 2 weeks.

i’m such a clotheshorse. i get way too excited about new fashions, be it street clothes or running wear

now playing: “if you could read my mind” ~ stars on 54

skirt mail call!

i had a nice surprise in my mailbox when i got home yesterday, my SkirtSports running skirts had arrived!! i couldn’t wait to try them on…

and since i promised a review, here it is.

both styles looked great out of the envelope…the all-black color looked very sleek and the material was very nice too-kinda silky. in terms of sizing-i had gotten a medium in both, since with my New Balance skirt-i have a small and a medium in that, the small fits but the medium fits a little better.

first I tried on the MarathonGirl…was quite short-maybe a teensy bit shorter than my NB one?-looked cute but the “spankies” underneath (which are kinds like the liners in running shorts-except more fitted) did not cover quite enough…there’s no way i’d feel comfortable running in this. i know the website says that the black skirt runs small, but still… (is the assumption that all girls that run marathons have no backside to speak of? :-p ) this one will be going back.

next, tried on the GymGirl…much, much better!! length was perfect, shorts underneath fit well, looked very cute with covering just enough. plus, it goes perfectly with my Flyer singlet-i think i may actually wear this skirt to my race on Sunday…if so, i can give a first run report then

so there you have it, ladies (and any interested gents.) what to wear, and what not to wear.

the skirt is back

in celebration of today’s loverly spring weather, i took my New Balance running skirt pictured here out of winter hibernation for tonite’s group run. i think i had only worn it running once-as i had first gotten it just as i was sidelined, and then it got too cold to wear it. but it got good mileage when i was playing Flyer cheerleader anyway, it’s just as fun to run in as it is to wear not running.

as a little gift to myself, i decided to get one of the SkirtSports skirts-since I didn’t have the luxury of trying them on, I decided to get one of each style-the GymGirl and the MarathonGirl-and just return the style I don’t like (I got the all-black one-figured that would coordinate best!) they’re due to ship Saturday, hopefully I will get next week (and of course will post a review)

today was a fun, easy 6 mile loop with the Flyers. then after the run, we ran into a bunch of other Flyers finishing doing speedwork, others finishing their own runs and chatted for a bit…that’s one great thing about the nicer temps, no rush to get inside!!

so, the weekend long run plan will be 13…since Saturday looks to be rainy, an idea I had was possibly to do a loop before the Scotland Run on Sunday and then bandit that…or run in the other direction to cheer the others on… But this is all providing I wake up in time, especially after having to lose an hour sleep due to “springing forward…” I also have the option of the afternoon since Sunday looks to have nice weather as well…decisions, decisions.

(btw-the song i’m currently listening to is awesome…i heard it in spin class the other day and had to download it…it’s definitely going on my mix for the queens half. 9 1/2 minutes, but worth it!)

now playing: “estoy aquí (extended club mix)” ~ shakira

just the right shoe…

What is it about the power of shoes? Sometimes they can make or break an outfit, but sometimes they can make or break you. The former being the 2 3/4″ black heels I mentioned wearing to Club Night. I remember the first time I wore them was to our company’s client party 2 years ago. I don’t know what it was about those shoes…but man, I just remember strutting around like I f*cking owned the place. And maybe…I did a little of that this latest time I wore them?

As for shoes that can break you-well you know my long saga about finding the right running shoes. That saga continued this weekend as I returned my Mizuno Wave Nirvanas and swapped them for a pair of Brooks Adrenalines. After looking at both side-by-side on the treadmill it looked like the Mizunos were actually a little too controlling. Hindsight-I probably should have known that, as the Nirvanas fall into the same category as the Asics Kayanos and Saucony Hurricanes-neither of those I liked. So…I tried out the new shoes for a loop of the park today and they felt great!! I think these will be keepers. At least til they come out with an upgrade! (BTW-PartyRunner, if you’re reading this, I thought about you and your whole Adrenaline dilemma-as these were the 6′s, so I hoped they’d work better for me than they did for you!!)

As usual, the weekend just went by way too quick. There was a going-away party at Phebe’s last night for a Flyer teammate who’s moving to Cali this month. That was a lot of fun, even the part where a few of us got lemons/limes thrown at us for loudly singing the song that I am currently listening to But a little sad-I’ll miss her, though I know she’ll be back visiting NYC quite a bit.

weekend capped off with a (long) Flyer exec board meeting and semi-watching the Oscars. Man, the time away from the office seems to fly by. That’s ok…my co-worker pal from Miami will be in town this week!! I’m psyched-though we talk every day, he hasnt been to NYC in 2 years. This looks to be a pretty fun week…the resurrection of the “MS and Flygirl Show” (names changed to protect the innocent )

now playing: “your love” ~ the outfield

tempo running

ok, nike gets their share of abuse, but i have to admit, i’m addicted to their tempo track shorts…i’ve picked up quite a few pairs already and it’s not even close to being warm out (though some days can pass for shorts weather!)

on the topic of running apparel and the like, has anyone seen the new Asics Gel-Kinsei shoes? can someone please explain to me why they are worth $165? i don’t get it.

got in a 6-mile loop (plus 1.5 to/from the park) with the flyers tonite that was thankfully not a tempo run!! was also thankfully warmer than this past saturday, where my “long” run got aborted after 8 miles (was thinking of 9.5-10) due to the fact that i could not feel some body parts by then due to the bitter cold-even when being completely covered up (for a change!) but tonite was fun. had some interesting convos about things including job rants and “goatf*ckers.” i guess you had to be there

back to reality…i mean work tomorrow…

now playing: “unwritten” ~ natasha bedingfield

business as usual?

well finally, my pal in Miami partially has his power back after having been without for 2 days due to the hurricane. some things still not working, but it seems for the most part he is back in business. i’m just glad he and his wife are OK. but we had a status meeting earlier this morning to go over everyone’s jobs, and our boss was like “well, this still has to get done, that has to get done”…like he was able to do anything about it. You know-I know you gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done, but I think at times like this, life takes priority. It was the same thing after 9/11-i lost respect for quite a few clients-and a few co-workers as well-they expected everything to be business as usual as soon as 2 days after-when in reality, it was a changed world.

On a more upbeat note, I think I have my outfit for Friday’s Halloween party all picked out…i went to Forever 21 today and got pretty much what completed the outfit…it’s a little daring, I’ll need some balls (and double-sided tape) to pull it off, but I think I can do it…and from glancing who replied to the evite, this will be one interesting nite…

now playing: “runaway lover” ~ madonna

these boots were made for walkin…

OK, so I finally found a pair of knee-high boots that actually fit over my abnormally large runner’s calves…

yes, this very cool pair of NineWest boots…yay, i can wear boots again!!

and yes, my blog got a mini “queer eye” makeover. i stumbled across a template with my fave colours and fave font (Trebuchet MS) and couldn’t resist. Though I had to do some JavaScript debugging with it. But the end result is worth it

now playing: “scandalous” ~ mis-teeq

i *heart* running skirts

Let me just say, I think running skirts are the greatest addition to running fashion since CoolMax. I so adore the look-flirty and functional at the same time. And so versatile-I used mine this summer outside of running…around town running errands, or for picnics and the like in Central Park. I haven’t gotten much of a chance to actually run in mine-but was the perfect attire to play Flyer cheerleader in (as I am modeling here.) The one I’m wearing is the New Balance Andare Run Skirt-which I have in black and in blue. Those sold out quick!! I also love the look of the SkirtSports ones, but a little out of my price range…maybe someday if those go on sale.

A bunch of my 6 am gals got the black one that I have, but it’s sorta become my “schtick” of sorts. One of our male teammates think we should have the Flyer logo branded on it and make it official team wear.

Ah…we’re taking over the world.

now playing: “let the music play” ~ shannon