I had another 20 miler this weekend. I was pumped about it all week, ready to nail it and was even hoping to do better than my last 2o miler. For some reason my legs had been feeling heavy all week long but I tried to push that out of my mind. I’m a pretty positive person and I felt like I would just kill this run for some reason.

Things change once you start running.

I got out the door and started with my gus, my filled bottle and my new pouch. I took my phone because I wanted to take pictures along my route like so many people do to share with everyone of where I was running. Mile one was rough but usually mile one is rough when I’m running in the morning because I’m still a little tired. It just never got better though. I think I hit the proverbial wall once I stepped out the door for my run. Not a good sign

I ran a few different loops, didn’t calculate my run correctly and ended .5 of a mile away from my house. Usually this doesn’t make a difference to me during a run, but after 20 miles of playing mind games with yourself, when you are done you want to be home. There were some failed things about this run that were totally my fault. I didn’t take my ipod. GIANT FAIL. I had nothing to entertain me, I was incredibly bored and didn’t run far enough ‘out’ in my first loop so I was doing weird loops to make up for distance and that’s how I got confused and miscalculated.

Each mile I tried to think of different people. I thought of Aron, Maritza, Tara, Alisa, Julianne, Maggie, and all the girls that will be in SD, I thought of some random twitterers but I just never got in the zone. I tried to distract myself by taking pictures, and looking around me, but there weren’t too many people out when I started and when I hit the wall BIG time at mile 10, there were people out probably just wondering what in the world I was doing. I was gimping, running fast then slow, I just couldn’t pull out of the funk, but you know what I realized during this wonderful long run? That sometimes it’s not about being the fastest. It’s not about the best time, having the best day, feeling great and totally nailing the workout, it’s about running. It’s about getting out there and doing it. I didn’t want to run at all on Saturday, but I still did it. Looking back yea, it was a crappy way to spend three hours, but at the same time, I’m pretty proud of doing yet another 20 miler. It’s just that you have to believe in yourself and do it. Then you can do it, then you can basically do anything.

Then my spirits were cheered a little when an older hot dadish type ran with me for about .5 of a mile. We chatted for a while, I told him I was training for San Diego Rock and Roll. He told me
“Well girl, you look good so don’t even worry!” I smiled but then his measly nine miler was done. I trudged forward.

Even though it was one of my worst runs ever, It taught me a lot of lessons. I knew I couldn’t stop. I knew I had to keep going. I knew that this would be like what the marathon felt like. It’s not the best idea to do every one of your runs alone, but that is what I do.

I laughed at the pictures I had taken, felt bad for the two dead seagulls I saw, smiled at bikers and even hummed to myself. I was pretty cuckoo on this run, but I knew I had to finish. One point I even resorted to tweeting, which oddly enough, I think I was running the fastest all day when I was tweeting.

So you want to see the photo tour of my 20 miler? Wait no more…. It was quite interesting to say the least, but hey, I’m glad I can run, I’m glad I completed it, and I’m glad it’s done with. Now I can taper, even though I think I’ve been tapering for over a month…

I tried to take a picture of myself during my run, this was the best I could do.

Then I run past the Queen Mary on a pretty regular basis. It was still a little bit cloudy but there she is!

There’s the beach path that I started on and mostly what I run every day when I am training. It’s flat and gorgeous. There’s even the Belmont pool in the background! For those of you who are looking at possibly doing The Long Beach 1/2 Marathon or Full Marathon, that is the 1/2 Marathon course!

I recently found this, it’s a boardwalk path and I love running on it. The wood is actually very nice to run on and the houses are HUGE and fun to look into. Usually I catch myself staring in all the windows and get embarrassed when there are people inside and catch me looking at them! :)

I realized after my run, that I really liked my new pouch, I wore it on the front to stop the bouncing of the water bottle and disperse the weight more evenly. Then I realized where I was wearing it all day made it look like I was wearing a loincloth or worse trying to hide something. Wha-wha.

On top of the bluff above the beach path. There are always characters up here and I sometimes run up here to switch things up a little bit.

Hi, I’m ChicRunner and I want to DIE! This was on my walk home. So tired. So sore. So far away from my house. Oh well, whatever happened happened.

Then instead of wasting money on ice for an ice bath, I just decided to walk back out to the beach and went in the ocean for my ice bath. It was cold and dirty, but I waited it out and then went home and took a shower. Hooray for my last 20 miler before the full marathon.

Though yesterday isn’t my favorite day in the world, I had a good day with my roommate’s mom and family. We rented a boat and cruised around the bay, drinking mimosas and eating cheese and crackers and strawberry shortcake. YUM.

On another completely unrelated note, Kymberli from Webbed Foot Photography and I are doing a photo shoot this weekend and I’m ecstatic. Almost as ecstatic as when I found a new HUGE Forever 21 right down the street that I didn’t even know about this weekend. I can’t wait and I will be sharing some wonderful pictures with you guys as well. :)

Can’t wait to catch up on all the Race Reports and every one’s weekends. I am thinking that I’m going to be posting some reviews this week and next week everyday for a week I will talk about running and the many things associated with it, like gus, ice baths, training, and starting out. I am no genius but I will offer my thoughts and ideas on the topics and address some of the questions I’ve gotten recently.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!

xoxo

So finally I ran a 20 miler. I didn’t know what to expect, and to finish was not what I expected at all. I still can’t believe I actually did it. Part of me thinks that little Claude was lying to me, like my nike plus used to, the little cheater, but alas 20 miles down in the books. So I don’t want to toot my own horn and I know some of you run this all the time, but it was a big first for me, and there were a lot of things that happened on the way that I knew I would HAVE to share with you guys.

The night before I just kept telling myself that I could do it. I wasn’t scared of it, and I knew if I had to walk, crawl or slog my way through it, I could at least try. I got up at 6 am and wanted to take off at 6:30. I had a muffin, three shot blok and got my fuel belt ready. I packed in three bloks to have at the 4 miler make. It started off great. I was really amp’ing myself up over it. I kept telling myself that I COULD do it, and I WOULD do it. Repeating something in your head is really helpful. I was going to run an 8 mile loop, a 4 mile loop the opposite way, and then the 8 mile loop that I ran earlier. Each end of the loop was going to pass by my house because I hadn’t had time to get the extra pouch for my fuel belt yet so I was just going to grab my gus from home.

The farthest I’ve ever ran before this weekend was only about 17.6 miles, and there were a lot of breaks in between since I ran the 10k and ran to the starting line and home after. I started off wearing my arm warmers, shorts and a t-shirt. I felt very good for the first 7 miles. I didn’t look down at Claude to see my pace, I just let myself go, and enjoyed the fresh beginning of a new day. I was instantly in the ‘zone’ and every mile ticked down I just though to myself, “Okay, that’s only 18 left, now 17 left, now 16 left.” I ate shot bloks at mile 4, this was of course when a nice old guy was running by me and he said hello. I was half chewing, half choking, half trying to breath and I mumbled/drooled out a hello back. He probably thought I was some crazy freak.

It was during this time when I started to imagine myself running a full marathon. I started to think of what I was going to wear on race day, what it would be like to cross the finish line. I started to think about all the girls I’m going to be running with from San Fransisco and Oregon, and how excited I am to see everyone and what a great weekend it will be. Then I started to think, well this is my FIRST marathon, I feel like I should dedicate this to someone. I thought about making a shirt that said, “In memory/honor or something along those lines, of my Mom.” I thought about putting a picture on the shirt, what I would want it to say. Then I started thinking about this more and more, and I thought about well if I ever make it to Boston, I would much rather dedicate that race to her, or the race I BQ at to her, and I don’t know if I want a shirt with her picture on it, or people to feel bad for me, etc. etc. Then my thought process changed to something else and I forgot about that.

Once I got to 8 miles I had to RACE to the bathroom back at my house. I realized this could be an issue, we are going to have to work on that. Then I got three more shot blok and took off again. While at home I also took off my arm warmers. I felt good on the 4 mile loop still and kept counting down the miles. For the first 8+4 loops I didn’t listen to music and just enjoyed my run, not caring about my pace. There was one spot where it smelled like a heap of dead fish, and another where it smelled so strongly of bacon. I realized I cannot smell things on my run or they make me gag. I thought I was going to throw up during these smelly points. There was a huge 177 mile relay race going on and I would smile at the racers walking or running by and sometimes encouraged them with something random like, “Way to go!” I’m so original, I know. They were running from Santa Barbara to Dana Point in relay teams. That was kind of exciting.

After four miles, I stopped at home and went to the bathroom yet again. I made sure both my ‘home’ stops were only three minutes. I took yet another gu and took off to finish this run. At this point it was pretty hot out so I decided to brave the elements and run without a shirt. That is the only way I’m getting back in shape. If I run without a shirt then I feel like I have to do extra sit ups. :) I grabbed my ipod for this last loop of the run as well because I knew this was going to be where I needed distractions. I took off and was into my run about 13 miles. Then in the distance I saw a huge crowd of walkers on the beach path. I knew this wasn’t just a random group of walkers, but it had to be yet another organized event. I was interested to see what it was again. I got closer and closer, and realized it was the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. After a little research this morning I realized it wasn’t the actual walk, but a Training Mock Walk, but still everyone was wearing pink and excited to be out and walking and raising awareness to breast cancer on this Saturday. It looked like it could be the real walk there were so many people.

Unexpectedly, I all of a sudden felt my heart start to burn with a familiar hurt, and my breathing was hard. This is when I lost it. I started crying. It was mile 14, I had 6 more to go and I was crying while running next to these walkers. My nose was sniffling and I was just looking down and reminding myself to keep going. To keep putting one foot in front of the other one. They were walking against the route I was running and all saw me crying while running along. Though I had my music on I could hear my breathing and it was weird like shallow wheezing.

I had done the Avon 3-day walk when my mom was still alive my junior year in High School. I had worn the pink gear, I had walked the 60 miles, and my mom (and entire family) were there supporting me through the entire thing. It was a great experience and seeing these women walking was just inspiring and it reminded me so much of my mom it turned me into a wheezing/running/crying mess.

I kept telling myself to suck it up and stop crying, but I couldn’t. It was a weird weird mile. I hate crying in front of other people and I just took some deep breaths and kept running. I remember feeling a tear go down my cheek and I thought to myself, really, REALLY you are seriously CRYING?! Then, just as quickly as I started choking up, I stopped crying and was okay to finish the run. The last 6 miler were good. It was once I got to mile 17, I was hurting, my butt was killing me. I have never even felt pain in my butt when I run at all. I got back to my house and thought about my run. I had completed it, I had broke down in the middle and still kept going. Sometimes that’s all you need to keep going. I took an ice bath and then showered and laid in my bed for some time watching the Penn Relays and the NFL draft.

I think it reminded me so much of my mom and how she would be so proud of me for running a full marathon. It reminded me so much of how many people are affected by breast cancer, and how many people we need to find a cure for. I’m sure people were like WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THIS GIRL. When you are tired, and running, and crying, it’s hard to breathe.

Doing this run brought so many emotions out, looking back on it now, I would have NEVER expected that something like that would remind me of my mom, none the less make me cry and break down in the middle of a long run. It also made me realize that I can run a full marathon. I was beginning to get nervous and I know the brutalness of a full marathon doesn’t even come until the 20th mile, but you know what, bring it on. If you go in with the attitude that it’s going to be too hard, that you won’t like it, that it’s going to stink, that you’re hurt, that you can’t do it, guess what…

It is going to be too hard, you won’t like it, it is going to stink, you will be hurt and you won’t be able to do it.

I’ve played this mental game with myself, and almost got caught up in it again last night. Sunday after the 20 miler was my scheduled rest day and last night when I got home it was cold. I was exhausted and didn’t want to run, but decided to go out to ‘loosen up’ I planned to run a four miler but when I started I was incredibly sore. I didn’t even realize how sore I was. I told myself that I HAD to do four miles, and that if they were slow or fast they were going to get done, so I ran 2 miles out away from my house so I couldn’t go back after two miles. After the first mile, I had gotten rid of my sore stiffness and was chugging along and knew that I would be fine for four miles. So fine that my last mile was 7:45. I had to allow myself a chance for success.

The two weeks leading up to my 20 miler, I probably put in about 8 miles in each of those weeks. Believing in yourself works wonders. Running is hard, it’s just a mental game of pushing yourself to your personal limit. It’s not easy, but no one ever said anything that was worth it was easy. Allow yourself to succeed.

xoxo

So I signed up for all my races through March yesterday. That left a little dent in the wallet to say the least, but here they are:

January 10 (as in this weekend) – Kaiser Permanente 1/2 in Irvine, CA
February 1 – Huntington Beach 1/2, CA
February 7 – Chili Trail Run 4 miler in Irvine, CA
February 21 – Race on the Base 10k in Los Alamitos, CA
March 8 – Malibu Creek 9k, Malibu, CA
March 29, Wine Country 1/2, Paso Robles, CA

So as you can see, this weekend I’ll be running a 1/2. I figured I needed to put in miles and just getting out there will be good for me. I have no insane goals because I know I’m not completely ready to push myself to the limit just quite yet, but it will be fun to race and I know the mileage will be really good.

I feel like these races are all very different from one another and most of my previous races and I’m really excited to try out the few trail runs I have signed up for. I think I will really enjoy the trail running aspect and I’m excited to try out my new shoes!

As for training, I talked about it with Mr. R, and he told me, “Look, you know how to run already, you should really think about strength training more.” I agree with him because strength equals speed. So therefore I am going to put in decent longer runs, but also work mostly on getting stronger, at least for right now. I know having a strong body for running is important and I know I could possibly have the weakest upper body around. My legs are good and strong from my miles, but my arms are about as useless as a T-rex’s arms.

So therefore in order to get stronger I’m going to do weight training twice a week, and then possibly take a class or do a video Pilate’s or yoga once a week, and cut back my running to three or four days a week, and just run more miles during these runs. I know if I get my core strong and upper body and my back to be strong I will be a much better running in the long term. I was also working really hard at sit ups, but during the holidays I kind of let that fall to the wayside. I know that the sit ups were really helping me so I want to get back to that and also I want to work hard at doing more push ups to make my back stronger.

This weekend, my goal is to finish in between 1:50 and 2:10. I know it’s a broad range, and I won’t be disappointed if I don’t hit that, but I’m also going to enjoy the race and just view it as a long training run with supporters all around me and free water and snacks! Another one of my goals this race is to practice running and drinking. The last half I did I had a big problem with the handling, sipping, the throwing, then the dodging of others cups. It was all just a little overwhelming so I’m really going to work on drinking during the race and I’m going to even try to eat a gu while running, which I’ve also never done before, and see if I can see a major difference. Of course I’ll be downing some delicious shot blox before the race like candy as well.

As for the other races, as they come near I’ll be posting their specific goals, and they will be much more precise and better than this weekend’s goals. 2009 is going to be a year of training and excitement! Even though I signed up for a lot of races, I would encourage you guys to sign up for races and get a race calendar going. Whether it’s a run/walk, a 5k, a 10k, or a marathon, just having a goal to complete that race is so motivational. It’s fun to count down until the day, and working out with an upcoming race also gives you a purpose to work out.

Having a workout plan is the best way to tackle exercise. Today since I’m talking about training, I wanted to share a great site with you guys.

It’s a great site that was started by Wes and Allyson Felix. Yes, the Allison Felix that just won the gold medal in Beijing for the Olympics. Oddly enough, Mr. R even knows Wes and he’s also a super legit runner. The website is full of great training tips and tricks that you can do on your own that really help tone and promote an overall healthy lifestyle. The best part about the website is that there is a free email newsletter that is created specifically for women. Once you sign up, you receive workouts in your email three times a week that were created by a personal trainer. It’s a lot of different ideas and stuff to target special areas, which is really great. They also have a fashion section on their website, with SUPER cute gym clothes and where to buy them, and also a health and then of course the fitness section. They also have great food, music and fashion sections, and a fun and upbeat blog that motivates and has great articles about everything in life.

I signed up for the site, and have been nothing but blow away by their ideas and getting the emails with the workouts is nice because it gives me the ability to mix things up. At the least I would encourage you to go over and check out what they have, it’s FREE after all. What more can a FREE workout in your email hurt?

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and have a great day! Tonight I’m going to be putting in a five miler at the park by Mr. R’s house before we watch the BL! If you haven’t watched Biggest Loser before, tonight’s the night, get hooked!

xoxo

So I have gotten lazy, the holiday cheer has seem to have gotten me in a fog and I had forgotten how much I love running. So before we get to today’s lovely gift I will tell you about a glorious excursion. Last night I decided instead of the tedious half hour on the dreadmill while I huffed and puffed at the hot gym getting dirty looks signifying that I had used a machine for more than the allotted 20 minutes, I would hit up the park by Mr. R’s house, (it’s biggest loser night and we always watch it together) while he was still slaving away with his football team at work. Some nights they like to keep the football players late into the night running who knows what into their heads. This keeps Mr. R at work till 9 pm. Boo-hoo, I know, but alas, I find it works perfectly to fit in my run and then I hope and pray he brings me dinner and golden spoon! (Another sad admission, we have a ritual of eating golden spoon frozen yogurt while watching the biggest loser. We are jerks, I know)

So I know of this park by his house, it’s a lovely park and I knew it was well lit at night. I’m not a big loop runner, but figured, hey, I’ll put in three miles and see how we do. Now after tonight, I am obsessed with the park. I love it. It’s so nice, super bright, and oh I found the look-a-likes for the Abercrombie and Fitch model soccer teams playing each other there. I swear, there are like a hundred good-looking boys (I wasn’t looking too hard, but they were everywhere, oh! and maybe five girls) playing soccer while I ran the square path around them. It was the most bizarre thing EVER, and I’m sure they’re all the yuppies from Shady Canyon, but still! Entertaining and I must admit, before I knew it I was five miles down! What! I was only going to run three! It was overall a great run, minus my thinking, “I’m going to freeze to death so I’m going to wear my fleece,” and then after two laps, “I’m literally going to overheat and die right now,” issue. I felt so safe, the path was even kind of hilly, and this girl loves hills. It’s not surrounded by houses and the grass next to the path is cut so well, nice and short, so you don’t get lost in it, and it nice to run on too. It’s those runs that I get the feeling like OHMYGOSHILOVEYOURUNNING! I just kept going around and around and around. Next Tuesday we all know I’ll be creeping squares around the park again.

PRESENTS! PRESENTS! Anyways, we all know the saying, “Better Safe than Sorry!” and I practiced my good judgement by running in the well-lit park last night, but these Christmas gifts for the runner in your life, (or you) are all about being safe while on the roads. Hey, we’re all about safety here! We all know the dangers of running at night, out in the woods, and even during the day something unexpected can happen to us, no matter what we are doing. I’m not going to lie, I laughed a lot while writing most of this post, (what are these pictures?! and who knew this stuff was illegal in some states?!) and it does seem a little extreme, but none the less, smart ideas that everyone should partake in.

The first gift is the Road ID. They have two different kinds of Road IDs, which include the Original and the Interactive.

Road ID Original is the “original” or “first” version of Road ID that was offered. This classic ID allows you to personalize up to 7 lines of laser-engraved text. (seen below)

Road ID Interactive allows you to build a fully updatable, secure Emergency Response Profile (ERP) that is available to first responders via telephone and Internet. You can also personalize the first 2 lines of text. (seen below)

They also have Shoe IDs, Necklace IDs (Fixx ID), and Shoe Pouches with the ID inside and replacement ID bracelets. They are pretty inexpensive, and life is priceless. They include all the information that a first responder would need. Being honest, if something happened to me right now out on a run, no one would have any idea who to contact or who I was, but they would get a pretty sweet iPod play list out of the deal. Anyways, that’s not safe! They have other cool safety products on their site too. You can find it HERE, If you order by December 12, you get 10% off, by entering Code PC12128.

What’s a Christmas post without a little pepper? A little pepper spray I mean! (ha ha ha ha ha, I can’t stop myself) Being safe also means harming others! Just kidding, but I’ve found a few different kinds of spray that you can run with and feel safe. Just don’t go spraying anyone and everyone, pepper spray isn’t a joke.

First we have the Jogger’s Pepper Spray. Convenient and effective, Jogger Pepper Spray delivers protection, with easy one-hand operation. It’s the hottest formula allowed by law, to disable (and dye-mark for ID) any lowlife attacker. 3 1/8″ canister, just 13 grams., with 1″ adjustable, secure elastic / VELCRO® brand strap to attach to your wrist. This one is $9.97 and can be found Here!

There might be some Chic runners who like to walk/jog with weights, or are looking to get some light weights to train with. These Jogging Weights are extremely functional. Hidden inside these hand held weights are half ounce canisters of pepper spray, one in each weight. The canisters are removable and can be replaced. Each weight has reflective writing for greater visibility in low light situations. Weighing 3oz each, these will add to your workout and your safety. They are $18.48 and can be found Here!

Cabella’s also has an option for joggers. This pepper spray self-defense device fits comfortably in your hand with a stretch band to hold it in place while you run. It can also be worn on a belt. It’s one of the most versatile self-defense units on the market. Fog spray pattern. 1.9 oz. It’s $14.99 and can be purchased Here!

I also found this and had to post it just because it was too great. If you live in a rough neighborhood and are running for your life this is for you!

That’s right, A STUN GUN. The things you find online. That’s right, if you feel like you are surely going to be attacked, The Stun Master is for you. All Stun Master models have safety switches and wrist straps. Stun Masters shown above use two 9-volt Energizer Eveready Alkaline batteries and The Stun Master has a Lifetime Warranty. Wow. If you feel the need, it’s $35.00 and can be found here!

What more could you ask for people? I give you stun guns here on Chic Runner. :) Have a wonderful day, tomorrow will be more of an organization gift for runners.

xoxo

After my last post I have some clarification. First off, I do not have the body to run in a sports bra. I ran in it based solely on the fact I thought no one would be around, therefore my plans were spoiled with a parade of all things. Secondly, the sports bra I was wearing was over six years old, and I said it was purple, well I would also have to add that it’s very, VERY faded and dirty looking, but it’s my absolute favorite. Thirdly, many of you commented how you would just turn around. Well I have this weird thing where once I plan out my run, I cannot venture off the path. If I’m doing a long run down by the beach and I say I’m going to turn around at the pier, I have to make myself run all the way to pier and back. I had mentally mapped out my run in my head that Friday night for that Saturday morning and sure enough, I couldn’t turn around because that would ruin my plan. I know I’m a little OCD when it comes to planning, you’re not the first to realize this. It bodes well when I work with my special events planner friend, and I do see myself possibly getting into the field again. (gasp, I’ve been planning special events for the past three years!) I get harped on for planning out my schedule weeks in advance and I even plan when I’m running, what routes, everything. So therefore, I couldn’t turn around and had to travel the parade route.

So many of you know my love for the show Biggest Loser. Well last nights episode gave me more than enough to blog about for the next four months. First, I completely understand that it’s TV and they can spin people to look how they want to, but seriously, VICKI and BRADY! Are you kidding me. This family is super mean and totally game playing. I was SO HAPPY that Amy .C. thought for herself and knew that Brady was a bigger threat and voted him off.

First off, I love Phil and Amy, they are so cute, and “seem” super nice, considerate, and caring. No one is spiteful on the show besides Vicki and Brady and Ed and Heba. Vicki and Brady are RIDICULOUS to laugh at Phil when the challenge was going on, and he fell off his stair stepper. Man, I was cheering for Stacy to win, but unfortunately Ed, whom the bf and I are not a fan of either came back to win and get back on the show. The schemers made the whole house uncomfortable and I couldn’t believe that Vicki and Heba were taunting the black team when Phil went home. It might be scripted, but I feel like you can’t get Vicki to say such mean spiteful things for no reason.

It’s funny because I think Heba thinks they would all ‘stick together’ but I know they would all stab each other in the back given the chance to win the money. Oh and by the way, can I please work out one session with Jillian!? Gosh! I am going to get her video and give it a try one of these days, it looks super fun and I know she would kick my butt and I would totally love her 30 day shred. Felice over at the Happy Runner said that they work super good and that she can ‘feel them working’. That is the best feeling ever.

So tonight I’m going to take a class at the local 24 hour fitness, Amp’d Abs. I used to take it often back in college when I didn’t have much to do with my life and I would go to the gym more often. I looked for the class at my new gym and they only had it at 10:30 am. I found a gym by my work and it is at 6:15 pm, so I’ll get off work at 5:45, and head over, ready to get my abs back in shape. The class seriously kills you, but it feels so good. I think then I’ll run for 45 minutes and maybe do a little bit of weights.

Today on Marcy’s blog she showed me the light about the Sports Authority Outlet! So many great deals there! A lot of t-shirts, shorts, anything you name it, they’ve got it, and super great prices. Also her blog is hilarious and today’s was no different with her story of taking her kids to Chuck-e-cheese.

Also I found these funny little bowls for many of you that run with a dog, or have one at home. They are called Slurpabowls and are portable bowls that ensure you’ll always have a container for your pets water or food. Can fit on a leash, in a purse, or in a pocket. It holds up to two cups of food or water and it folds flat and can be reused a few times. It’s also recyclable. It’s 8.95 for six.

You can find these bowls here!

And this could be the sickest thing I’ve ever bought!

The Nike ThermaFIT hatphones. You can move, groove, and stay warm in the Nike® + women’s Soft Shell Therma-FIT® Cap. I’m already obsessed because my little ears FREEZE in the mornings. It’s a comfortable skullcap that features fully functional iPod® Nano click wheel controls through the power mesh window in back, so you can keep moving while mixing up your music. I don’t really think I’ll be doing too much “mixing” but skipping a boring song sounds good to me. Get your own here!
Thanks for all the concern about me actually running into the wall. My arm is healing well! So I’m compiling a post of all things that anyone who runs or exercises should ask for for Christmas. If you have anything that you would like to see on the list or something that has changed your life.. (I.E. the stick :) ) then shoot me over an email at [email protected]