Instead Softcup Challenge - The Jogging Jawa Review (and a giveaway!)

For those of you with more delicate sensibilities - menstruation talk ahoy!

I signed up for the Instead Softcup Challenge through For the Love of the Run in October and I have certainly had more than enough time to test it out - so here's my loooooong overdue review.

I think I managed to keep it on the low-squick factor side of things so don't be too scared about encountering horrifying levels of personal detail.

Bloom County by Berkley Breathed
Img via http://www.thecomicstrips.com/subject/The-Female-Comic-Strips-by-Bloom+County.php

As much as procrastination figured in, I'm actually pretty glad of the extra time I have taken to write this because I think after one or two months I would not have given it the same review I'm giving it now. I've been using Insteads on and off for the last six months and I think I've got a pretty good handle on their place in my monthly repertoire.


This was actually not my first time trying Instead Softcups. Way back lo these many years ago in the olden days I like to call "college" I learned that there were environmentally and body friendly alternatives to the usual cloth/paper based disposable feminine products and started researching which would be the best for me. I considered the mass market menstruation products available extremely uncomfortable and wasteful (not to mention of dubious health benefit), so finding that there were alternatives out there opened up a whole new world for me.

I was pretty sure I wanted to get a product called the Diva Cup because it has low environmental impact and unlike some other reusable cups it is silicone (and hence sterilize-able) but at that time a $30+ investment was a rather a big hit to my miniscule college student-type bank account for a completely outre left-field totally weird hippie granola thing.

img via http://www.yumyucky.com/2009/10/healthy-hippie-natural-food-store.html

If I remember correctly Instead Softcups were a fairly new item at the time, and were being talked up on various message boards as a good test run product if you were looking to get a reusable cup but were not sure. It doesn't require a big initial investment to try it out so I figured I'd give it a shot. I got a sample package and tried it out for a couple of months. While I found it a bit too uncomfortable (and disposable) to be my first choice product at the time, it did give me the practice and confidence necessary to believe that a reusable cup could be the right choice for me.

Shortly thereafter I got my Diva Cup and mostly forgot about Instead Softcups for my purposes, though I did recommend them to other people looking to test out a menstrual cup without the initial investment. They're are definite differences, but it'll give you a good feel for using cups. I've been using my Diva Cup fairly happily since. Menstruation is now MASSIVELY cleaner, cheaper, more comfortable, and far less of a hassle then I could have ever imagined using tampons and disposable pads.

Fast forward to 2012 and my discovery of fitness bloggers (notably including For the Love of the Run).

I saw a few posts about the Softcup Challenge and thought to myself that there probably weren't too many other people doing this from the point of view of a long time dedicated menstrual cup user; so why not sign up?

I received my sample package and while I can't say they will replace my Diva entirely, they have definitely been worth having around. I fully expect I'll keep them available for regular use in the future.

They are apparently more compact this time around and DEFINITELY seem more comfortable then the last time I used them, though admittedly a good part of that may simply be due to increased familiarity with the product type. Either way Insteads have gone from something I can see someone that wasn't me using, to something I found really helpful and plan to use with some regularity.

A big limitation of the reusable Diva cup is that you have to have it on hand. Unless you buy a backup there's only the one available and it has to be properly cleaned, so it's not really the sort of thing you can toss in your pocketbook at the beginning of the week like a tampon and grab it to run to the bathroom just when it's necessary. You also can't take an early lunch break to run out to the nearest drugstore to pick up a nice sanitary individually wrapped Diva Cup if you happen forget it on the day you need it.

There's only so much predicting one can do when it comes to menstruation so having the option of tossing a sealed disposable product in my bag for when I need it has been a GREAT help. This freedom alone has made this whole challenge worth it for me.

If you've ever had the thought that you were literally throwing your money in the garbage for products that leak and chafe and can potentially cause serious illness you may want to think about trying out a menstrual cup.

Instead Softcups are not for those who are ultra squeamish about the functions of the human body, but this is not exactly that crowd. If you can deal with all the sweat, blood, chafing, blisters, trail squatting, and *ahm* potential for stomach upset that goes hand in hand with regular running it follows that most of you are a fairly hearty lot with few illusions about the day to day details of human bodies.

There is a bit of a mess factor but... how to put it nicely... it's a bathroom mess (hence easily cleanable) as opposed to a laundry mess (hence get out the bleach and cross your fingers that your favorite pants/sheets/whatever are salvageable - because you know it's ALWAYS your favorite).

I'm the Jogging Jawa, and I approve of this message. Even though I received this product free of charge, the opinions expressed in this blog are 100% mine. Feel free to ask topical but terribly personal questions in comments. I will try to answer as frankly as I can.

So here's the part where those of you who bothered to read all the way through get to come in.

I coincidentally happened to win a giveaway via From the Love of the Run at the same time that I signed up for the Instead Softcup Challenge so I actually received TWO packages of Instead Softcups.

As much as I'm a little tempted to keep them all for myself it would be pretty unfair of me to hog all the freebees, so anyone who posts to say that they are interested before midnight of June 1 will be entered in a giveaway for a free sample box of Softcups to be chosen in some highly unscientific randomized way. This will most likely involve one of my cats or possibly a dart (but not both - my cats are stabby enough all on their own thank you).

Gentlemen this includes you too, but I'll leave it to you to figure out what to do with them or how to explain them to whoever you pass them along to.

img via: http://www.spabeautyschools.com/blog/mens-holiday-gift-guide/

Evidence of Liking my Facebook and/or pimping the blog may get you extra chances/brownie points/ and maybe a sparkly sticker or two if you're the winner.

Jawa needs a new pair of shoes!

The Saucony Progrid Hurricane 15s are coming out so the 14s are starting to go on sale! I have a little bit of mad money available right now so I am going for it while the going's good.

I currently have this black and orchid version of the 14 with close to 200 miles on them.

I figured I should get a new pair so I can start alternating to spread out the wear. I think it's pretty safe to assume that at current mileage this will give me a good two to three years before I have to buy another pair, and then I won't have to be going straight from one dead busted pair to a brand new one.

I'm generally bad about trashing possessions  that seem like they might still have even the tiniest bit of use, so I'm hoping that with newer shoes for comparison I'll actually be able to feel when it's really time to retire the old pair.

That's the theory anyway.

There's a certain point when you look at an old possession next to its new counterpart and the petulant seven year old inside voice changes from "but these are COMFORTABLE" to  "but I don't WANNA use the old one!" and that's an important moment to pick up on. Over the last few years I've even started following through that realization with "so I... don't need to keep them anymore!" and once in a very great while I throw something out.

So I'm clearly totally cured of the hoarding thing!

Yup. totally cured.

http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Shirt-Hoarders-Juniors-T-Shirt/dp/B006R6028Q

*ahem* Anyway...

I was thinking about poking around at different brands, but really between my beginner status, preference for pavement, tendency to over-pronate, and need for the maximum in toe wiggle room, (all of which are particular strengths in the Pro-Grid Hurricane) it would be pretty silly to push the luck I have had with my current shoes.  

With that in mind I just scored this pink and black version of the 14 via kellysrunningwarehouse.com for $80 with free shipping.  

Mine, all mine!

Honestly, the colours on the new 15s are ATROCIOUS, the pricetag is eye-twitchingly high, and the functional changes are pretty minimal so I can't say I'm too terribly upset about getting proven shoes on sale instead of something all Exciting and New.

That's right, I went there.

The 15s come out this month so most sites are still selling the 14s for full price (around $140-ish). The designs are so similar (and yet somehow uglier?) that I don't see the price dropping much on the 14s for a while. Even so I will be keeping an eye on things and I figure if I can score at least one more backup pair within the next year and a half-ish I will be SET.

I really would have preferred to get some sort of aqua, green, or blue as I'm a touch pinked out at the moment. I literally just got rid of the pink hair yesterday so I'm back to a nice subdued bombshell platinum! But based on the yawn level of everything they have in blue that must be the designated "safe" (BORING) colour in the Saucony line and green is... apparently only for boys?

I'm still mad I can't get the same glorious highlighter chartreuse they have in the men's line.
Seriously, this would be my JAM

Oh, hey wow... uh hi!

Hey, sorry everyone! Apparently I got a little wrapped up in the holidays.

So let's see, what has happened since last we spoke...

The Garmin/Nike+ converter thing I mentioned in my last post got fixed a couple of days before Christmas so I was able to upload almost all of my data to Nike+. In the process I figured out that I was less than 10 miles away from running 150 miles for the year so I made that my goal by New Years day.

I had the week off so I decided to put 5k to 10k on a bit of a break so I could do some outdoor running without any particular limitations. My one structured run during this stretch was a 2.6 mile Virtual run for the victims of Sandy Hook which I did on 12/23. I liked Running on Candy's twist and so I did 2.7 miles with the extra 0.1 honoring the memory of Nancy Lanza.

I slacked for pretty much the entirety of the rest of the week though to be fair there was a LOT going on and it didn't feel like much of a vacation. On the 29th I did an easy 5k run and tried out a screaming pink Underarmor shirt I got for Christmas. The weather has finally settled into the freezing range here and it was actually drizzling on me the whole time so I have been VERY thankful for the various pieces of cold weather gear I got from my boyfriend.

The pink Underarmor shirt went quite nicely with the cotton candy pink hair dye job I had gotten the day before. *grin*

The 30th was my birthday so I figured it was pretty reasonable to take a rest day.

That left the 31st to finish out my 150 miles for the year. I only needed 2.6 miles and had attended a pretty kickass party for a friend's birthday the night before so I didn't expect to exceed that by much or push it too hard speed-wise. Famous last words. Instead I found myself hovering around 10:00 for most of the run and finished out the year with new 5k and mile PRs!

Bringing in 150 miles for the year with a PR (and a snazzy new cold weather running jacket)

I took another few days off after that and then resumed the 5k to 10k plan back in the gym on Thursday. I also finally picked up the Zombies, Run! app as it is apparently half off again, though I haven't tried it out yet. I ran in the gym again on Friday and did another long run outdoors today beating my previous distance record.

Running in 2013

I don't have an specific "Resolutions" for this year, but I have come up with a few goals with regards to my running.

While I'm not planning to specifically run a mile a day, I'd like to run a mile FOR each day so that I hit 365 miles for the year. Seven miles per week is well within my current abilities so I don't see this being a problem by any means. I'm probably lowballing with 365 but it's a nice solid number and there's nothing saying I can't run more (aiming for double digits per week would be pretty cool I think).

Another goal is to run a sub 30 5k though really I'd love to see how close I can get to 28 by the end of the year. I wouldn't call that a goal so much as a mirage-like twinkle in the distance.

Once I finish 5k to 10k I plan to start half marathon training with a goal of not dying or hurting myself too badly at the Diva Half Marathon this coming October.

Clearly races are not a big thing for me (more to the point getting up early on the weekends is not a big thing for me) but I would like to hit a few more this year. The only one I'm specifically psyched on right now is the Color Run but I'm sure I'll find more as the year goes on.

The big list of runs I haven't told you about

12-11-12 5k to 10k wk3 d1
1.74 miles with an average pace of 11:30
20 minute "steady" run

12-20-12 5k to 10k wk3 d2
2.22 miles with an average pace of 11:16
10 minute steady run +5 minute tempo run +10 minute jog

12-21-12 5k to 10k wk3 d3
3.52 miles with an average pace of 11:21
40 min steady run

12-23-12 2.7m Virtual Run for Victims of Sandy Hook
2.7miles in 29:22 with an average pace of 10:50

12-29-12 Outdoor 5k run
3.1 miles in 33:40 with an average pace of 10:51

12-31-12 Outdoor 5k run PR!
3.1 miles in 32:07 with an average pace of 10:21

1-3-13 5k to 10k wk4 d1
1.79 miles in 20 min with an average pace of 11:10
20 minute "steady" run 

1-4-13 5k to 10k wk4 d2
2.5 miles in 30 min with an average pace of 12:00
10 minute jog + alternating 2 minutes each of fast running and jogging (three times) + 8 minute steady run

1-6-13 5k to 10k wk4 d3 distance PR!
4.16 miles in 45 minutes with an average pace of 10:48

As a holiday bonus for those of you who slogged through to the end, here's a pic of me getting ready for the 12-29 run looking like a chewing-gum-themed superhero with my ultra sexy cotton candy pink morning hair!

We must, we must...

I've been wondering for months, what is with all the padded running bras?

I think I may have finally found my answer.

When I started running all I had in the way of sports bras were a fairly well aged three pack of Hane's cotton sports bras. These were pretty functional for yoga and belly dance practice, but as you can probably imagine not too awesome for running. The elastic had seen better days and the cotton held on to sweat like someone was gonna sell it on the black market afterward.

I replaced those early on with a pair of bras from Old Navy (this style in the colour shown and in a light purple with salmon accents) which I have been using regularly. I also bought a pair of bra core active tanks (this style but in black and grey - respectively) but for a couple of reasons I have not found them terribly useful up until, well actually today.

All of the Old Navy items came standard equipped with removable bust pads - which I promptly removed and shoved in the back of a drawer along with all of the pads I'd removed from my swimwear over the years.

source: http://www.wikihow.com/Wear-a-Bra-as-a-Male-Crossdresser

I've always been on the *ahm* petite side. Think J-Lo-esque... without the firming benefits of all the personal trainers and professional dance background and oodles of money and stylists.  While I admit I haven't always been utterly thrilled by that fact, eventually I stopped being a self conscious teenager and embraced the positive aspects of my figure. Either way I've never seen much point in artificially altering it. The American over the shoulder boulder holder industry apparently thinks we are all yearning to let loose our inner Christina Hendricks, but a) variety is the spice of life and b) I REALLY LIKE that I can wear slinky backless dresses without resorting to uncomfortable and expensive hidden scaffolding.

I got what I got and if you don't like it feel free to look elsewhere. Nyah.

That goes double for workout clothing. I try not to look too much like a schlump in any context, but by the same token amorous interest is just about the last thing I want to deal with while working out in the gym or on the street. I'm there for MY benefit so I don't see the point of advertising, much less false advertising. In truth the Old Navy stuff has about as much "padding" as the average tee shirt bra so given the compression the effect is pretty neutral, but still the idea of it bothered me. Anyway running is sweaty work, why add extra layers between me and the air?

A couple of weeks ago I found out that I had won a giveaway from For The Love Of The Run and part of the giveaway was a bra from a company called Handful. I chose their adjustable style bra in purple size XS (I typically wear a 30 or 32 band size) and received it by mail a few days later. It came with a lovely matching mesh washing bag and... matching removable bust pads! In this case the internal pockets do make a great deal of sense as they are approved as mastectomy bras but I opted to yank out the pads as with my other bras. The pads are slightly thicker than the Old Navy ones but again with the compression effects of the fabric the sum effect on my figure is pretty much nil.

I ran with the new bra last Sunday and didn't notice anything in particular about it, except that it's cut a bit lower than the Old Navy ones so in warmer settings I'll probably layer it with higher cut tank tops in the interest of modesty. I'm so swaddled in layers for outside runs at this point I can't say one way or another how good the sweat wicking and drying properties are until I get a chance to try it out at the gym. The colour is however LOVELY.

I did notice a funny thing earlier this week. I did my first run at the gym Tuesday wearing one of my Old Navy bras and I don't know if the bra has sprung, if I've lost that much weight, or if I was just feeling self-conscious enough to notice for the first time; but either way I'm glad those bras have a lot of coverage because the effects were positively... seismic. I can't say as I've ever cared about what my boobs were doing while I run, but I was AWFULLY aware of it then.

It occurred to me that the only way to salvage the situation without buying more bras may actually be to put all of the padding back in and hope it provides a bit more structure to keep things in place!

Structure overkill? source: http://organicarmor.com/

I've experimented with running padding-in for the last two runs, but to be honest I think running outside is too distracting (and swaddled) to compare properly so I think my next treadmill run will tell me more of what I need to know.

What about you?
Do you care one way or another about padding in your sport specific structure garments?
If you have a favorite sports bra brand; is it padded and do you think the padding adds to the function of the bra? 

Saturday's run - 5k to 10k wk1 d2 -street run
2 miles over 23 minutes at an average pace of 11:33

5 minutes warm up/cool down
10 minutes of running at an "easy conversational pace"
3 minutes "tempo" run (challenging but not exhausting pace)
10 minutes of running at an "easy conversational pace"

I aimed for 12:00 as the easy pace and 10:00 for the challenging pace and pretty much hit it, though I was keeping closer to 11:30 for the second set of 10 minutes. I think I could have even pushed that 10:00 a bit more but I'm not going to sweat it for now.

The run overall felt pretty good, however I did have to do a very sudden stop to avoid a car that apparently wasn't terribly interested in stopping at a stop sign, and that torqued my outer right shin a bit. It was fairly tight throughout the run but calmed down shortly after I finished.

Sunday's run - 5k to 10k wk1 d3 -street run
2.48 miles over 30 minutes at an average pace of 12:75 minutes warm up/cool down
30 minutes of running at an "easy conversational pace"

Again I aimed for 12:00 and did not have ANY trouble keeping my pace that slow since my right calf was still pissed from the hard stop I made Saturday. By the time the endorphins had kicked in enough to ignore the discomfort in the muscle I was already kind of gassed out and it was dark enough for me to full on collide with the end of a large invisible tree branch sticking out of a refuse pile. Based on the initial impact marks I expect a spectacular bruise by morning.

I think this might have actually been my first time running two days back to back. I'll have to check back through my past runs.

Interesting side note: my boyfriend decided to take a walk at the same time as I was running but due to the lateness of the hour (running was a very last minute decision) he ended up pretty much keeping up with me the whole way to make sure I was safe. He doesn't normally run so he was wearing his usual dark wash jeans, dark jacket, black gloves, and black stocking cap.

Apparently no one in my neighborhood thinks anything of a small woman out in fluorescent orange running gear being followed at about 20 to 50 feet by a man in all black, so that's good to know!

Very slow and very steady

That's what she said!

*ahem*

I used a treadmill for the very first time on Wednesday. Hooray for not getting launched off at any point!

I have seen enough of The Biggest Loser to recognize the unending shame of being launched bodily off of a treadmill so I decided to take it as slow as I needed to until I knew I was truly comfortable.

I started out at pretty much dead minimum pace and clicked up the speed one notch at a time until I was thoroughly bored of walking and knew I could safely run.

I felt a little silly moving along at a snails pace for as long as I did (I literally "warmed up" for about 25 minutes and only covered a mile) but the way I see it one day of feeling a touch silly in front of strangers totally beats wasting a year's worth of gym membership because I'm too mortified to ever go back.

Once I decided it was run time I started day one of the 5k to 10k training program app I got for my iPhone.

5k to 10k wk 1 d 1
5 minutes warm up/cool down and  20 minutes of running at an "easy conversational pace".
1.5 miles over 20 minutes at an average pace of 13:28

I started out the run section holding on to the handles but quickly realized that it was really uncomfortable and messing with my posture something fierce, so I let go of them as soon as I (again) was reasonably sure I wasn't going to launch myself.

I ended up starting out much slower than I expected (between 13:00 and 14:00) and struggled a surprising amount for about the first mile. I think in retrospect the newness of the situation and a bit of social anxiety (am I breathing to loud? is everyone watching? NO DON'T LOOK AT THEM, THEY WILL KNOW YOUR SHAME) may have had me breathing more shallow than I normally would. By the end I was able to up the speed considerably and I think I got up to running at a bit slower than 11:00 at one point, but the treadmill readout was not very conductive to tracking that sort of thing so I don't have exact numbers. I had the treadmill at the recommended 1% rise to make the run feel more properly outside-ish.

The treadmill was (as advertised) insanely boring and the lack of wind in your face seriously sucks. Next time I'm putting on the TV - even if I don't listen to it - and positioning myself as close as possible to the giant fan. I am VERY glad I remembered my towel this time. That was gross.

image from http://mastercowfish.blogspot.com but props to Douglas Adams

I do not see myself doing my weekend runs indoors unless I absolutely have to.

I received my Garmin footpod yesterday and after some fiddling I got my watch to notice it. If you get one make sure you're moving while pairing, it took a number of tries and more than a few Google queries to work this one out. I'm really excited to try it out because it annoys me a great deal when I can't functionally upload my runs to the various run sites and trying to read the pace for that split second it shows up on the treadmill readout when you change the speed was awful. I don't understand why you can't toggle between the two if it's obviously programmed in anyway.

Sassy!

I was going to hit the gym tonight in the hopes that working out would fix the unrelenting skull-in-a-vice headache, but I fear running with the unrelenting tummy blahs will have a different ending.

The usual sick rule (above the neck - suck it up, below the neck - go take a nap already!) makes a lot of sense to me with colds... would you say the same line applies to other body systems?

Push it real good!

I think maybe I pushed it a little too good?

Salt n Pepa got nothing on Jillian Michaels!!!

Friday afternoon I went back to Retro Fitness to test out the gym by taking advantage of their free personal trainer session offer. I figured that would give me the best overview of the place and make it a little less awkward to be running around looking like a spaz.

Garrett and I started with a rough overview: my diet, experience, interests, goals, body fat % (I think it was 24% which is apparently the upper end of "fit"?) and a very general idea of how they structure their programs. He pretty much went out of a binder on this part which was admittedly not terribly impressive but I suppose they can't all be Bob Harper.

We got going with a few minutes warmup on the elliptical and then moved on to body weight exercises in their TRX Training area. This basically worked out to doing immensely awkward movements while holding onto a pair of wall mounted straps. Oh, and sweating a whole lot. This is the sort of thing I think most people are going to want to do with some sort of live instruction as the body mechanics are not terribly intuitive. Looking like a spaz achievement: UNLOCKED!

See how effortless they look? Now imagine THE EXACT OPPOSITE.

After that we bounced between a few machines sort of whirlwind style. My favorite was the assisted pull up machine because a) I miss being able to do pull ups b) I had to really climb to get on to it (I'm five foot two) and c) I had to climb off three times for him to adjust the counterbalance to be lighter because I was stuck on top of the arc like the small kid on the see saw.

I was very sweaty and felt terrible that I did not have the opportunity to wipe the equipment off as we were going through. Proper hydration is so overrated. I have a towel ready for next time though (actually I had it ready for that time, not sure why he suggested I leave it with the rest of my stuff). I feel this was an excellent object lesson in wiping off machines before I begin.

We finished up by doing intervals on an elliptical and I got to show the trainer how whacked out my heart rate is!

During the intake we were talking about intervals on the cardio machines and he said something like "you would do say a minute at an easy pace and then maybe a minute at a hard pace, aiming for say a heart rate of 150..." at which point I laughed. He looked at me quizzically and said "I'm a hummingbird, my heart rate runs fast". He asked how my blood pressure was (insanely low, for the record) and said "well as long as you don't have that in combination with high blood pressure it shouldn't be too bad".

Fast forward back to the actual intervals, I'm chugging away and he's standing off to the side so that he can reach the controls but isn't really watching the readouts too closely. He ups the difficulty and I'm going at a pretty good clip, sweating and expending effort but not feeling too badly (still conversant but a bit out of breath) and I look at the HR readout which reads 195. I point it out and he blinks at it a few times and says "I... I don't even know what my body would be doing... wow".

The trainer session was neat and I'm glad I did it, but in the "pitch" part of the session at the end I found  that their cheapest deal is the Black Friday special which involves a mandatory full year signup with a minimum of ONE SESSION A WEEK.

The DISCOUNTED price of $20 a session comes to just over a grand with fees (keeping in mind that membership for the entire rest of the gym is only $240) and the internet indicates that their trainer sessions are even harder to cancel than their memberships.  

Overall it was pretty enjoyable though I feel bad that the trainer went so deep into my potential training possibilities pretty much entirely for nothing.

The next morning my legs were doing surprisingly well (a bit of quad soreness but not terrible) but my upper body was PISSED. I got to do everything T-Rex style for about three days because my arms pretty much refused to do anything useful.

http://www.604republic.com/prod/epic_duel_t_shirt

My left biceps was so tight I couldn't straighten my arm for most of the weekend. I feel good now but after Sunday's run I actually got stuck getting out of a new blinding orange mesh jacket (Low light visibility issues you say? Solved!) to the point of requiring assistance. Removing my sports bra for showering involved many curses, a couple of popped stitch noises, and possibly bending space very slightly.

Regardless of what my upper body felt about physical activities I ended up running Sunday and decided about a mile into it that I would keep things easy pace-wise but aim for 3.5 miles instead of my usual 3.1. This made it my longest non-stop run ever.

3.5 miles at an average of 11:05 per mile -  total time of 38:48, max pace of 5:24 (???)
Avg HR of 193bpm

Overall I felt good and while my pace was sort of all over from minute to minute, my splits were extremely consistent. My quads were still a touch sore to start but I think running actually helped work a lot of that soreness out. The inside of my right foot was complainy for a bit but otherwise it felt great!

I'll be doing gym sign-up tomorrow, though ironically I'll probably do a road run since I have the day off. I plan on testing out a new Handful Adjustable bra I won in a giveaway from For The Love of the Run (I've only tried it on standing still so right now all I can really say about it is "SHINY PURPLE!" and "ooh, bonus matching mesh laundry bag!").

I've decided to hold off on the half marathon training for a bit and will be doing some sort of 5k to 10k training program in the meantime, but I haven't decided which yet.

I'm leaning toward getting the same brand of app I used for C25K, but I'm not sure how well it will work on the treadmill.

Technical difficulties - Please run by.

Wednesday's run was not the most awesome time I've ever had, I wouldn't call it bad exactly, but some technical difficulties made the evening noticeably more challenging than usual.

I had a couple of loose goals in mind when I set out and I was surprised to find at the end that I managed to hit them!

I can't think of anyone but Patton Oswalt when I see this kid.

Now that I've finished C25k I don't have any specific goal with running in mind beyond "not kill or embarrass myself overmuch at the upcoming Freaky5K". I am not looking to torture myself particularly and I'm nowhere near what one might consider "competitive" physical condition, so my main aim at this point is to find the point where things are challenging rather than punishing, and to start pushing that point back as far and often as I reasonably can.

I'd like to start doing that with heart rate training, but clearly my calculated heart rate is not appropriate for me or I would be pretty much keeling over from exhaustion every time I run. According to my Garmin I'm consistently averaging just about 100% of my max calculated HR, which should mean I'm completely 100% exhausting myself at the top edge of my output... for 35 minutes at a time? Don't think so.

A max HR test pretty much involves repeatedly pushing yourself as hard as you can and recording the highest HR. Doing that on a grumpy ankle is probably not the best plan, so a more personalized measurement is going to have to wait for happier joints. I figure hill work will probably be a good way to work that out.

The Good:
I decided that my main run goal for Wednesday was to keep as close to 12:00/mile as I could. Since my average pace was apparently 11:55 I appear to have rather soundly nailed that one. My secondary goal was to see if I could get negative splits again, or at least not terribly positive ones (since I was trying to hit a specific overall pace I wasn't too overly concerned about that) and very much to my surprise I managed that too! I averaged 12:08, 12:06, 11:45, and 9:40 (respectively) for each "lap" of the 3.1 miles (broken up by mile).

I can feel that I'm getting more consistent with my breathing and making a point to count footfalls during each breath not only does a LOT toward keeping me aware of how I'm pacing myself but it also satisfies a bit of my minor OCD tendencies. This provides an awfully handy mental distraction from the less pleasant things my body is telling me about what it feels like to breathe that intensely for that long

The Bad:
My attempt to solve the wandering belt problem backfired on me in a couple of ways. I tried out an active Old Navy bra core tank top I've had for a while so I could put the belt on over something smooth. The top is a bit overly long and fits everywhere but on my hips so it had a tendency to crawl up on me (especially when I first started running and it was a bit tighter everywhere), so I usually just go with a sports bra and a large trapeze shaped tank top. I have about five of these tops and I like that they are very open at the top, and loose enough to camouflage any muffin top and/or cans of mace I happen to have strapped to my hips.

I folded up the bottom of the active tank, fitted the belt to my waist, tossed on the rest of my usual gear, and went out. I was going pretty good until about 1.5 miles in, when I realized that there was a stinging pain occurring in the top of my left arm, right up by my armpit. I think the underarm area of the active tank to must come up higher and tighter than my usual bra and so my skin was squished out in what must have been an insanely sexy show of armpit cleavage, which was then rubbing against the flesh that was squishing out above my armband. I was approaching one of the higher traffic areas of my run so I had to wait it out until I was in a place safe enough to loosen my armband. I am noticing more of these little raw spots from various seams and buckles, so I suspect it's time to suck it up and cough over the cash for some Body Glide. Luckily I caught it before I really rubbed the skin off, but it's still a bit raw.

Once I started running the majority of my body was shockingly happy in the cool weather, but I apparently vent heat from the belly like a Care Bear because having something tight around my torso was driving me MAD. This tank (actually I have two, but that's not important right now) might be a good layering piece when it starts getting cold, but for now I'm going stick with my old setup and find another belt fix. At the very worst there's always safety pins.

This is a 100% accurate portrayal of my experience, note especially the expressions of horror.

The Ugly:
My ankle was doing pretty ok, but my left knee got pretty pissed and is still grumping especially on down staircases. It was never bad enough to stop me or change my stride, but I was awfully close a few times. I think I will switch back to wearing a brace for a while, though I'd like to see if a patella strap will do the job. I don't know if I was just under rested - but my legs were definitely tired and kind of fighting me the whole time and that is very unusual for me. Occasional joint tweaks aside my legs are typically among the the last things I notice while running.

Who knows, maybe keeping my pace more reasonable meant I felt "well" enough to notice more about what my legs have been feeling all along? Somehow I doubt it though.Whatever it was I came home and effectively shut down for a while, my brain is usually scrambled for a bit after running, but I think the only thing that kept me awake after my shower was a DIRE need to go to the laundromat and acquire foods (mmmm chicken bacon ranch pizza, I did NOT need to find out how tasty that stuff is). I know I say this constantly, but I really need to sleep more (says the woman typing the blog at one in the morning).

I wish this was a 100% accurate portrayal of the rest of my evening.

We will not even get into why I ended up getting out of bed at one in the morning yesterday to bathe a part of the kitten in the above picture (a good sense of smell can be both a blessing and a curse, and I'll leave it at that) ...and again at three in the morning to chase him away from my suddenly growling other cat, who was attempting to sleep behind my knees. It's a good thing he's both gorgeous and insanely affectionate.

******
My Wednesday run: a 5K run plus 5 minute warmup and cooldown walks.
Negative splits throughout
3.1 miles at an average of 11:55 per mile -  total time of 37.02 max pace of 8:34

A farewell to flip flops (for now) and some neat lacing tips

I have a shoe problem.

While I only have one functional pair of running shoes at the moment, my general shoe collection is... prodigious. I own innumerable flip flops, a few pair of boots, a lot of peep toes and sandals, some kicky flats, and more than my share of "how do you even walk in those?" stilettos. I'm especially fond of 50s retro mules, T straps, and Mary Janes.

My boyfriend is *ahm* supportive of this collection.

And, of course, sexy lady-pirate boots.

Oddly enough I also have a problem with shoes. Unless I'm dressing up I really hate wearing them.

I have been fighting against ingrown toenails all of my life (it's genetic, the natural shape of my nails is overly curved) and if I am not very particular about the style even "sensible" flats can get intensely painful for me. I rejoice when it finally gets warm enough to ditch the constrictive shackles of footwear, and spend as much of the year as I can totally barefoot or in open sandals. I don't really mind a fair bit of heel as long as my toes can move freely.

Part of the reason I love my running sneaks so much (Saucony Hurricane 14s) is the lovely giant open toe box. As much as I was into the idea of running it gets so painful to wear the wrong shoes that I put off even trying for a long time. I honestly wasn't sure I would be able to really run at all until I found them.
I think it's pretty safe to say that my early (read as: injuriously premature) interest in minimalist running shoes comes directly out of this barefoot love. Unfortunately, as much as I loved the idea, my knees REALLY did not. On that note: anyone looking for a lightly used pair of size 37 (i.e. 6.5/7 us) Vibram Bikila LS in grey/blue? I do dig a good barter, heck I'll even wash them!

Despite what my earlier swollen ankle post might lead you to believe I take pretty good care of my feet and a large part of that is letting air get to my skin, moisturizing with all natural products (petroleum doesn't breathe!), and avoiding the constrictive deforming effects of closed shoes whenever possible.

I spent most of my youth getting yelled at by my dad to put on some shoes before I stepped on or in something, but to tell you the truth one look at his feet was all it would take to settle me right back in my barefoot ways. I'll take the occasional cat barf or sharp rock encounter over scary man feet any day!

I also step on/trip over my cats way less when I'm barefoot, which I think we all appreciate.

Unfortunately however I don't deal well with cold at all, so in the Fall I cling to the last days of sandals tenaciously. I ignore the fact that my feet are turning alternately red and blue in the autumn chill until the day I am finally forced to pull out the more sensible kicks along with the hoodies and scarves. Today was sadly, that pivotal chilly fall day.

I was a teen in the 90s, so my baseline casual shoe is (but of course) the low top Converse All Star.

These are my faves. The chickens which say "blah" make it that much more OK to be wearing shoes.

In honor of today's Abandoning Of The Sandals I offer you a set of pretty darn useful links. I dare you to try out at least the first technique for a week and see if it doesn't change how you tie your shoes forever. All it took was one good trip up on a busy street to convince me that better knots are worth a few days of learning awkwardness.

The first is a TED talk entitled "How to tie your shoes".
You  might think this was sort of a given but I suspect that you (like me) have been long suffering under the delusion that a bow, was a bow, was a bow.

Not so, there is a better way! This appeals to both my desire to not fall flat on my face AND my OCD-ish desires for non-cockeyed shoe lace bows.

So far it's been working out well for me, but just in case you needed extra convincing or weren't sure it was applicable to running... here is an article from Runners World dealing with the same knot.

If that wasn't enough mind blowing revolutionary shoe info for you, Running off the Reeses posted this neat tying tweak on Friday showing what to do with those random extra holes a bit further back on the ankle of your shoes. I always wondered what those were but never thought to look it up.

More toenail protection via a more stable tying method? Yespleasethankyou!

I only tried this for the first time Monday so I can't speak to how it will work out in the long run, but after the initial, "Whoo, this is different! Firm!" reaction it certainly didn't seem to hurt anything, so I for one am going to continue with it.

Any neat feet tricks?

Have you tried these knots and if so did they do anything for you?

These hips don't lie... flat

I didn't takes official weights or measurements when I started running as I did not have any specific goals, but I have lost about seven pounds and the better part of a pant size off of my hips and waist.

While I'm not ready to enter any bikini competitions yet, I have noticed both a considerable reduction in my abdominal squishitude and a definite upward mobility in my gluteal regions. While this is AWESOME when it comes to my wardrobe it has made using my running utility belt pretty much intolerable.

When I first started using the belt I could sort of cinch it down tight low across my hips and trust in the awesome power of my muffin top to hold it down in place while I ran.

September 25th was the first time I ran 5k all the way through and not incidentally, the first time I got a friction burn from a piece of my gear. The belt popped up over my hips to settle around my waist and I quickly forgot about it... until I hit the shower and the confusing burning sensation started.

No, not THAT kinda confusing burning sensation. Get your mind out of the gutter, sheesh!
I got a small friction burn on my back from the belt which I couldn't see until the next day. I'm pretty brain dead for a while after running so I just couldn't make the connection.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but I realized today that it's been a pretty much continuous fight with this thing during every run since that day. It doesn't matter how tight I cinch it or how often I yank it down, it starts slipping upward within seconds of starting to run which gets distracting to the point of near danger when you consider the busy roads. It's a minor miracle I haven't fallen flat on my face or been run over by an inattentive SUV driver as it is. Not for lack of their trying though, driveways are fun!

I've tried turning it around to the front, making it tighter, making it looser, putting it directly around my waist, putting my shorts on over it... and yet nothing seems to work any better.

Why do you vex me so?

I've actually gotten to the point that I'm considering breaking out my belly dance costuming skills and either installing snaps (or some other place holder) on all of my shorts, making it into a solid fitted belt, or constructing a fitted belt from scratch to serve the same purpose. I'm loathe to just buy a new one as a) I have one, duh b) there are so many other pieces of gear I want to buy and c) my vet bills are through the roof lately (stupid cat).

Incidentally, my solution for this evening at least was to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Take that disappearing muffin top!

How do you carry your keys/mace/Batarang/running essentials?

Do you have gear mobility problems?

Any recommendations for design tweaks?

******
My run today: a 5K run plus 5 minute warmup and cooldown walks. Negative splits throughout!
3.14 miles at an average of 11:35 per mile -  total time of 36.24

My Garmin claims that this is my fastest 5K so far, though my Nike+ thinks this was the 25th.

My ankle has been pretty good since Saturday so I figured as long as I was mindful of what my body was telling me it was worth it to try a run. I was aware of it a few times but it was never painful and at no point did I feel I was changing my movements to favor it at all (which is my hard line "stop running and go home" determiner). I definitely did not have as much of the mile two doldrums either, though I do still have the most problems maintaining an even pace then. While I certainly wasn't sprinting to finish I was still able to speed up considerably at the end and spent most of the last half mile between 8:00 and 10:00 per mile.

Not only did I do really well in terms of running, but I managed to get my heels to touch the ground in Downward Dog during my warmup stretches. This is the first time I've been able to do that in years! I am a bit stiff overall in my lower legs now (especially my right shin, which is a bit achy in a shin-splint-ish way) so I feel like I probably need to step up my cooldown stretches a bit.

Couch to 5K? CHECK!

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

My run today: C25K week 9 day 3  - LAST ONE - BOO YA I MADE IT!!!!
3.43 miles at 11:39 per mile.

Per Nike today was (again) my fastest 5k so far at 36:00 (including about 5 minutes of walk time during warmup) and my fastest 1K so far at 6'40"

I managed to get the Garmin working how I wanted this time and only recorded the time that I was actually running.

My actual run was 2.71 miles in 30:06 minutes with an average pace of 11:06, a best pace of 5:38, and an average HR of 184 bpm

I was going to get myself this Bondi Band in celebration, but my boyfriend is getting it for me instead. We consider our mutual love of Batman to be the catalyst of our relationship, so what more fitting reward?

Na na na na na na na na HEADBAND!

Cheaper than a dinner out and way more helpful in the long run.

I was mildly disappointed  in the Couch to 5K app for ending with pretty much no fanfare whatsoever. They can take the time to add in the "Halfway done"s "Almost there"s and "Just keep going!"s but they can't add in a final "You did it!"???

I know finishing the C25K program "should" be reward enough, but I was really hoping for some flying Kremlin type action.

 

Why yes, I do REALLY like Tetris.

My next run will be an attempt to actually RUN for a full 5K.
We'll see how that goes!

******
Signed up for the Great Pumpkin Race Virtual 5k/10k run which benefits the The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training via RunningInSanity. That will be on or about October 13th. I appear to have missed out on the option to get the orange and white polka dot Bondi Band along with my medal but hopefully she'll get some more.

******
September Blogging Challenge Day 23 - How many hours do you sleep at night?

Ugh. Even reading this question is depressing. I REALLY do not do well with less then 7 or 8 hours a night, yet I am an extremely nocturnal person with an 8 to 4 job.

It is a continuing problem.

I can be pretty functional on six hours a night, not happy but functional; five hours is my dead minimum. Anything less means I end up so tired I have to slap myself every couple of minutes in the car in order to get to work alive, and spent the majority of the morning wanting to vomit all over my desk. If I try to balance things out with coffee you can add a healthy splash generalized anxiety in to that mix.

(Photo: Jupiterimages)

Given that my alarm is set for seven am on weekdays that means functional Jawa bedtime is officially one am. What I find is that I naturally want to hit the sack approximately 1:30 to 2:30 in the morning (later if I'm in the middle of a project); so keeping my own hours is a no-no.

Luckily(?) I'm usually sleep-depped enough that when I go down I go down HARD, so insomnia is NOT an issue.

I do however do my best to make things up on the weekend and will do whatever I can to get a minimum of eight hours of sleep, but as I am still nocturnal that often means my day doesn't even start until well after noon.

Wherein I am thinking about Jason Statham the whole time

Per this page as a 33 year old woman my *max* heart rate should be 177
or 206 minus 29 (which is 88% of 33)

According to my Garmin my *average HR while running today* was 188 (my max was 194). I appear to be knocking it out of the park!!! ...but alas, overclocking is NOT the aim here.

If I am going for 80% of my max HR since the article later posits that "between 70 percent and 90 percent of its maximum is generally accepted as being optimal for improving and maintaining cardiovascular fitness" I should be aiming for a HR of about 140. I suddenly get why SUAR complains about how slow she has to go to stay in target HR. I assumed that because I'm such a beginner I couldn't possibly be going "too fast" for anything but apparently I was wrong!

Sitting at my computer about 20 min after working out my phone had my HR listed at 97. Apparently I'm still in warm up range EVEN AS I BLOG. How efficient of me!

What was that about target heart rate zones again?
Jason Statham - Crank

September Blog Challenge Day 20 List your 5 new-to-you healthy food options

1. Water - hey don't laugh, I've always hated water but I now drink it almost exclusively (my only other regular drink is one daily cup of coffee). I still drink it more like taking medicine then quenching thirst, but whatever, it's working.


2.  Quinoa - I grew up eating a lot of pasta, so having something healthy I can just dump something on top of and call a meal is a REALLY big help for me. Also it's tasty, fun to pick out of my teeth, and reminds me of bug eggs, which is all AOK by me


3. Homemade Greek yogurt - I've been lazy about this the last few weeks but I try to make regular batches and have a few oz with a bit of jam and/or some trail mix stirred in every day. I'm not a big cook so the fact that I take the time to make and strain this is a testament to how good it is. It is a completely different creature than store bought (soooo much better, but be careful because you wont be able to go back) and it really helps me with the lactose intolerance, which is one of the banes of my existence.


4. I feel like I'm starting to reach here, but Clif bars have been a helpful recent addition to my diet. They're still a bit sweeter than I'd like but it's a useful enough way to get something reasonable into your system quickly.


5. Blueberries - My boyfriend (who is, not incidentally, shaven headed, Anglo, muscley, and square jawed... I might have a bit of a type) is SUPER into blueberries and I was never big into them before but they are growing on me (not literally, that'd be awfully Willy Wonka-esque). He does a simple blueberry and soymilk shake every morning and I have to admit it's not a half bad way to start the day

******
My run today: C25K week 9 day 2 (only one more day!!!!)
3.51 miles at 11:24 per mile.

Per Nike today was my fastest 5k so far at 36:20 and my fastest mile so far at 10:47

Pushed myself a bit more today, I was really feeling it in my glutes in a good way and my head was buzzing for a while after I got back. I kept finding myself saying "you don't feel any worse then you did 10 minutes ago, you're fine, keep going" and for whatever reason that worked.

I messed up with the GPS so I only got 1.5 miles recorded but for that portion my average pace was listed as 11:03. Initially I messed up getting it started and later trees were interfering and making it beep constantly. I have to remember that just because it's showing data doesn't mean it's recording it. The signal loss beeping was pretty annoying so I will be turning off the auto pause and just manually starting the run on the watch when I actually start to run.

Have some more gratuitous Jason Statham. Sexypants AND a former world class diver!

It's the most wonderful time, of the year...

Day 19 What is your favourite fall workout?

Hmmmmm, favorite fall workouts, lets see...

Pumpkin picking! Or maybe jumping in leaf piles! Marathon carving sessions!

Seriously, this took about four hours straight. Loved every second of it.

I have more in my pumpkin carving toolbox than most (non homeowners) my age have in their whole home toolbox. Yes, I said pumpkin carving toolbox.

What was that, I should focus on stuff that gets my heart rate up?

Oh, in that case it would definitely be the horror movie marathons and shopping for Halloween decorations. Last minute costume crafting counts too, I think.

Ok, for real though.

I don't honestly know. I'm just too new at this.

Running is the first real "get out and do stuff" physical activity I've done since my teens. I will say as much as I love sort of existing serenely in the hot weather, 90° at 95% humidity in metropolitan NY air quality is not ideal for aerobic exercise. The cooler temps and rustling in the trees are making my runs approximately a bazillion times better, and aside from worrying about hidden tripping hazards I'm REALLY psyched to be running through the falling leaves soon.

******
What active/fitness things did I do today?

Nothing workout-ish, mostly I stuffed myself with random snacks for no apparent reason (though it may be hormonal). I'm not normally into sweets and I've gone for chocolate twice today so something in my system is clearly tweaked.

I did get some totally snazzy stuff from The Cheerleader including the heart rate strap that goes with my new watch, a visor (because she had an extra one and knew I wanted one for rainy days, seriously, how cool is that?), and a shirt from the local running group she has been organizing. 

I don't call her The Cheerleader for nothing.
The woman is a running ambassadorship and enabling juggernaut! (and now you can follow her at RunningOnCandy!)

She and I also share the brain of a twelve year old boy (I keep my half in the work fridge).
We have a sort of immature crudeness based telepathy.

I've decided to go ahead with limiting the Garmin readings to just when I'm running, but I've been a bit stymied trying to figure out what my cutoff pace should be. After digging through a LOT of Nike+ entries I think I'm going to go with 14:00 as I seem to be keeping things up around 12:00 or 12:30 while running with the occasional dip or peak, and I seem to walk slower than 14:00.

I'm also trying to decide if I want to set a minimum pace alarm but that should probably wait until I have a few runs recorded without my warmup/cooldown time throwing the numbers off so I have a better idea of my actual pace.

Tomorrow I start with the heart rate strap!

Did I mention I'm a hummingbird? Per one of the iPhone finger sensor apps I was playing with a few weeks ago I appear to have a resting heart rate comparable to a chihuahua on amphetamines.