Product Review - North Face Women's Stow-n-Go High Impact Sport Bra

Otherwise known as the best long distance running/race sports bra EVER!

Ever since I've been a distance runner, when I ran long or raced, I've worn a long sports bra with gel pockets in the back to carry my fuel. I can't wear a long sports bra without another shirt over it, because I'm just too self-conscious.  The two layers works perfectly when it's cool outside, but when it's hot, a long bra plus another tank is just too much. This results in me getting a lot of chafage because I'm shoving gels in my sports bra, or carrying them, which just gets annoying after 10-15 miles.

While walking through the North Face store in Chicago Saturday afternoon, I stumbled across this bra:

If you look closely, you can see the separation in the most exterior layer and the layer that sits against your skin. The ENTIRE front of the bra is a giant pocket!! I instantly fell in love, and then pulled the trigger on defying one of the cardinal rules of distance racing. I decided to wear it for the first time, the very next day, for the Chicago Marathon.

Race morning I lubed myself with tons of body glide to avoid chafage that the new bra might cause. I was simply giddy as I was loading myself with my 17,000 gels that I anticipated using during the race, and they fit PERFECTLY in the pocket. Sure, I'm sure during the race it may have looked like I was groping myself, but small price to pay to run the race carrying nothing.

Performance-wise, it worked like a gem. Granted, I'm not very well endowed (a small B cup), so I can't speak to it's performance in bigger chested women. However, for me, it was awesome. I was able to get my gels out very easily, didn't get chafed at all, and was totally comfortable. The pocket is totally flush with the inside layer, so it's very tight and not distracting. I also had zero issues with the bra when it got soaking wet during the race.

I hope more companies follow suit - it's a great idea for endurance athletes!

I wasn't asked or paid by North Face to write this review - these are my own thoughts and opinions. 


Happy Training! 

Closing A Chapter...

Chicago feels like the close of a huge chapter in my athletic life. It's the closing of the past two years steady declines in performance due to lack of proper training, nutrition, and recovery. I've reflected a lot since Sunday, and there are a lot of conflicting emotions. I'm not ready to put them all on the internet, but I'll share a couple.

There was no way I was going to PR on Sunday -my body was still too damn tired. Lets not forget in addition to everything else, I also completed a 70.3 just 4 weeks before the marathon. Did I race it hard? Nope. But I was out there swim/bike/run for 6 hours - my longest training day ever. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for one of those special days in Chicago where it all magically comes together. That didn't happen, and I'm at peace with it at the moment. I did what I set out to do, which is collect data that will allow me to become faster in 2012. I also finished the race feeling good - as of Tuesday, my legs felt totally fine. It's a blessing, but also a reminder that I didn't push these legs as hard as they can go.

I'm hungry - I want to be faster than ever before. I want to start ticking off PR's, one at a time. I don't want anymore "have fun" marathons - or big races for that matter. I want to start every goal race fully tapered and mentally ready to put absolutely everything I have out there. I love to compete, and I want to get back to that place where the smiles come from passing people on the roads.

I look forward to 2012, it's going to be the year of the comeback for this girl. I can't wait to get back in the saddle, train hard, and see results. I'm ready to sweat a lot in 2012, and put in more miles than ever before. The difference is that next year, I'm going to do it the right way. And I'm so damn excited.

I'll leave you with a couple more pictures from Chicago - thank you everyone for your support!

Up next - the best marathon sports bra EVER!! And yes, I bought it in Chicago on Saturday - I broke the cardinal rule of not trying something new on race day and it was awesome!! ;)

Happy Training!

Chicago Marathon - Part 2 - Is it August or October?

I checked the weather on the walk to the start, which was probably not smart. It was already in the mid 60's with 82% humidity. This would be lovely, except for that fact that I run my best in the low 50's with some rain. I immediately pushed the Africa hot thoughts out of my head and focused on the task at hand.

Note: Not a cloud in the sky..

As we began running, my Garmin kept losing signal. I'm sure it was because we were winding through the city, but had I been running soley on pace alone, I would've been freaking out. Instead I just focused on my heart rate numbers and my perceived level of effort. I tried not to elbow my way through the crowd, or expend too much energy weaving around the other runners. I knew it would thin out, I just needed to be patient.

Oh, and I needed to pee! Bad. I mentioned this to Kristina at the start, and thought it would go away when I started running. It didn't. I had to make a decision - let it flow, or stop at a port-a-potty? I've peed myself plenty in previous marathons, but they've been rainy races making it easy to hide. I tried to just pee anyway, but I couldn't do it. Dammit!! Since when does MY bladder get stage fright??! I was so uncomfortable. My bladder made it to Mile 5, and then I gave in - I ran to the side of the road and peed. It was the quickest, messiest pee of my entire life because I was so worried about getting started again. Done and done - man did I feel SO much better afterwards! Looking at my data, it cost me about 50-60 seconds, so not awful I 'spose. I need to work on the bladder stage fright though..

After the pee-fest, I settled in at my prescribed heart rate, and the miles were coming decently easily. I knew the pace would be harder to hold as the miles ticked by, and the heat rose, so I just just focused on one mile at a time. The water stops were a full block in length, so I made sure to take some at every station, and also dumped a cup over my head to stay as cool as possible. It was getting so damn hot.

I managed to get through the first half at a pace that had me wanting a sub-4 bad. I know, who aims for 20 minutes off their PR right? But given the state my body is in, it would have been a huge win for me mentally. Yet, I needed to stick to the plan. How would I get the data I was looking to get fast moving forward, if I didn't stick to the plan? It was about this point in the day that I 100% fully committed to the plan, no matter what the pace on my watch said. Besides, this is the first marathon in forever that I didn't go out like such an idiot that I was left hanging on for dear life from mile 13 onward. I started doing fuzzy marathon math, and knowing that I had a little over 2 hours to run the back half of the marathon and score a sub-4. I also felt the heat rising, and my legs slowing. I tried to stay positive, put my head down, and focus.

My heart rate really started to creep up around mile 15 - I knew I needed to be careful, or I was going to be doing the death march that last 10K. I backed off the pace, which was extremely hard for me. I knew if I pushed, I could make it to mile 20 at a decent clip before completely blowing up. Yet, I had committed - so I slowed. I think I was visibly sulking when I slowed down- I definitely let out a giant sigh. I stopped looking at pace at that point because it was just making me upset. Holding a decently high heart rate, yet watching my pace slow significantly every mile just served as a reminder of how my body hasn't completely recovered from the summer's nightmare training.

Running while behaving had it's positives - I ran by mile 18 without questioning whether or not I would finish. I passed a TON of people in the high teen miles, just because I was moving/shuffling in a forward direction. I was able to high five little kids, and fist pump a little to get the crowds fired up. I was the least grouchy I've ever been during a marathon on Sunday, which was a nice change.

Chinatown - Mile 21.. Still Smiling..

I kept catching glances of pace on my Garmin, and it just sucked. I had been passed by the 3:45, 3:50, and 3:55 pace groups at this point, and that was wearing on me. I belong in front of ALL those groups, yet here I was, hoping to eek out a sub-4.  Again. And when glancing down at my watch at mile 25, I knew that unless I threw down a 5-6ish minute mile, I wasn't breaking 4 hours. I just couldn't channel my inner Kenyan enough to pull that off.

Here's the crazy thing about the Chicago course - it's pancake flat, EXCEPT a hill at mile 26. No, really. Is it a big hill? Nope, not really. But after running 26 miles of flat, flat, flat, it's cruel. I can around the corner, saw the hill, and just laughed. I don't think anyone around me saw the humor in marching up a hill after beating your body for 26 miles. I charged up the hill like the bad ass I am, and through to the finish. Marathon #10, in the books.

Up next.. Post-Race Feelings...

2011 Chicago Marathon - The Race Report, Part I

What a great weekend - I love Chicago! I had so much fun in/around the city, and cannot say enough incredible things about this event. The way the city embraces the swarms of runners and families is second to none, and at no point leading up to the race did it "feel" like there were 45,000 other participants in this race. From the expo to gear check to getting corralled appropriately, it was all so seamless and clean. I have no doubt I will be back to race Chicago again and again!

For me, the problem with travel races is this: I like to play. I didn't want to spend a GORGEOUS weekend, in one of my favorite cities, holed up in my hotel room. So we played. And walked. A lot. No regrets, but how the legs felt on Sunday let me to the "shouldve/wouldve/couldve" mindset for a little while when dissecting my race on Sunday night/Monday. I did make sure to eat dinner early, get back to the hotel early, and put the feet up for awhile Saturday night. I was hydrated and ready to give everything my body had to give.

Pre-Race: Race morning I was up at 4am to ensure I got all of my fuel in before heading to the start line.  Sara and I decided to fuel up in the hotel lobby. Let me tell you, I don't remember the last time I saw such debauchery. I wish I had brought my phone/camera to document the mess - the amount of drunk people we saw walking into the revolving door, stumbling through the hotel lobby, and dancing up the escalator was way more than one would think when staying at a nice downtown hotel on marathon weekend. No complaints here though - I ALWAYS struggle to get in food before a race, yet the distraction race morning made all of my nutrition go down perfectly!

We eventually made it back to the room to change, and went for the short walk to the race start. A beautiful, albeit warm, morning in Chicago. There was a ton of signage once we were close to Grant Park, so there was never a question as to where to go, where gear check was, or where the entrance to our corral was. An incredible easy morning, especially considering the race size. Huge kudos to the race director on the organization front!

When I stepped into the corral I looked quickly to my right and saw Kristina! How I managed to bump into her on race morning remains a mystery,  but it was a great surprise. Having someone familiar to chat with before the gun went off was awesome. Oh - and we saw the woman who went on to deliver a baby Sunday night - she was standing right in front of us in our corral - crazy! We heard the signal for the start, wished each other a great race, and inched towards the starting line. Luckily, having been in a seeded corral, our time to the actual start was only about 4 minutes. Not too bad, considering some runners had 30-40 minutes elapse before crossing the starting mat!

The Plan: I was given an "A" plan consisting of the weather being overcast and under 60 (HA!), a "B" plan which consisted on a warmer day, and then the "C" plan, which was laugh about it, and go have a kick ass time running 26.2 miles. The race plan was based on heart rate zones, and this was the first time ever I would NOT be racing based on pace. Scary? Yep! Necessary? Oh yeah. I haven't had a marathon since 2009 where I haven't had to stop/walk/cry/etc. This was my chance to come off a few months of athlete hell to race smart, collect data, and close the books on this horrific 2011 season. The weather was forecasted to be sunny and warm. There was nothing I could do to change the weather, only do my best to stay as cool as possible during the race and watch my heart rate.

Up next.. Committing to the plan..

Race Weekend in Pictures

What an awesome weekend in Chicago - I'm still working on my race report, and reliving every HOT sweaty mile. My time was not what I would have liked, but I executed the prescribed race plan. I gave everything my body had to give on Sunday.

I'm also trying to get back to the real life grind, and haven't had much blog time - please don't think I"m ignoring blogs!

Until my race report is complete, enjoy some pictures of the weekend!

Do I look fast???

Chicago is so beautiful at night..

Compression socks and a skirt? I think so! 

A Chicago sunset... 

Marathon Morning Sunrise..

The start line in the early hours of 10/9/11.. 

Happy Training!

Bring It..

Long distance racing is tough - thats a given. The long hours of training, endless packets of Gu, Gatorade, Nuun, and lots and lots of blood, sweat and tears.

We enter taper ready to collapse because we've worked our asses off so hard. Long runs, tempo runs, fartlek runs, track workouts, ice baths, recovery drinks. Blood, sweat, and so many tears. We've put in our best training cycle ever, our highest mileages to date, and ready to rest for the big day.

As long distance athletes, we put in the months and months of work, and on race day, we can only control so much. It's a gamble we take every time we sign up for a race - you never know what the weather will bring on that day.

Enter the 10-day forecast. Every marathoner I know will click on weather.com 10 days before the big day, in hopes of seeing a high of 55, and overcast skies. For me, add some rain, and you have a perfect race day. Of course, the forecast ALWAYS changes, so we go on weather watch, our emotions roller-coasting with the degrees of Fahrenheit. I behaved myself for the most part this year - I checked last Wednesday, and then didn't start checking it obsessively until this week. My anxiety was creeping up as the highs marched right through the 70's. Oy.

Well documented, this has been my worst performance season to date. I hit consecutive weeks of high mileage, didn't recover enough, and shelled myself day in and day out. I tried to keep up with other athletes around me, instead of focusing and growing myself as an athlete. When I hit rock bottom back in late August/early September, I decided to make a change. I reached out to a friend and fabulous coach who talks mostly in Heart Rate zones. I knew I needed someone who would help bring me back by strictly watching my HR, RPE, and also while acknowledging my level of neuromuscular fatigue and cardiac drift I had going on due to over-training. The exercise physiology nerd in me had taken over. I've had a September full of healing, a month full of great workouts, and a fantastic first 70.3, leaving me full of hope that I could pull off a miracle in Chicago.

My race plan is all HR zone driven, not pace driven. Of course, I'd be lying if I said I haven't gone back to ALL of my Garmin files to figure out where my pace may lie in accordance to these HR zones. As the temperature forecast has risen, I've gone back to the race plan and tried to figure out how it'll effect my Chicago finish time.

I made some decisions last night - I will acknowledge the temperature with a polite nod (or a polite middle finger - either way). I will also prepare the best way that I know how. I will be thankful it's not 100 degrees, which would be a much worse suckfest scenario. I will work through each mile of that race staying focused on doing the very best that I can.

Bottom line? Bring it Chicago. I am going to run the smartest race that I can, controlling what I can control. I'm going to give no less than 110% of what I have, and cross that finish line knowing that I have left every ounce of blood, sweat and tears from 2011 on the streets of Chicago.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

Final Week of Taper..

As I enter this last week of taper, there's a lot less of this:

And

To be replaced with lots of this:

And

Last week of taper, you are MINE!!!

And in six short days. it all comes down to this:

Happy Training (or tapering)!!