Posts Tagged "robie creek"

Give the Running Skirt a Try!

Posted on Apr 30, 2015 in Gear Review, Guest Blog, Uncategorized

Give the Running Skirt a Try!

Enjoy this guest blog from Boise Bettie founding member, Maria Morgan.  She wanted to try something new, but was smart to try the change before race day.  Her trial and error is comically real and will probably bring to tears as I was, in laughing so hard as she relayed the story.  Read on for a good laugh, because really, we’ve all been there!   Many of the Betties trained for the 2015 Race to Robie Creek half marathon, where this year’s theme was the Running of the Bulls.  Because so many Betties were training for the race (about 15 members), my teammate Samia thought we should get outfits to go with the theme- she loves the Robie themes!  Emily teamed us up with Lululemon and we were outfitted with Run: Swiftly Tech Tank in white- with the Boise Betties and Bandanna Running logos, of course- and white Pace Rival running skirts. I had never worn a running skirt before, nor did I have any desire to do so.  I do not have the body shape of someone you think of when you think of a runner so I was a little nervous about running a half marathon in a skirt.  I opted for the tall-sized skirt in hopes that the slightly longer shorts under the skirt would help me avoid the dreaded “chub rub.”  For those of you not familiar with these terms, chub rub is when chubby thighs rub together which can lead to chaffing.  I usually wear long shorts or capris to prevent this very uncomfortable side effect of running in shorts that are too short. A week before Robie, I gave the white running skirt a trial run at the Micron FABulous 5K.  I had recently invested in some Body Glide which I liberally applied to my inner thighs just in case the shorts on the running skirt rode up during the race.  It took all of 0.25 miles for the shorts to ride up on me.  Luckily, the Body Glide did its job and I didn’t have any chaffing.  whew!  However, I did not have enough experience with Body Glide to know if I could trust it to work for 13 miles.  If the Glide didn’t work, the already grueling race would be miserable.  I had just a few days before the race to come up with a solution for my skirt dilemma.  With three young children to care for, I didn’t have a lot of free time to shop.  I looked for a solution in my closet. First thing I found- Spanx!  The form fitting, suck it in, keep it there spandex intended to go under your clothes to improve the fit.  I gave Spanx a try. This particular pair of Spanx was nude colored with mid-thigh shorts and a tummy control waist the went to just below my chest.   I thought, “If Spanx can prevent chub rub all-day in a dress, it can work under the running skirt, right?”.  It may have the added benefit of hiding my belly a little.  So, I gave the Spanx and white running skirt combo a test run in my neighborhood. I set out on my a 5-mile run feeling fast and thin with these Spanx holding everything in.  All was fine until about two miles in to the run.  I started to run up a pretty big hill and I suddenly realized that I couldn’t breathe.  The tummy control part of the Spanx was restricting my breathing! I couldn’t make it all the way of the hill like this, so I turned around.   As I ran down the...

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Race to Robie Creek: I Fought the Hill (Or The Heat?)…

Posted on Apr 30, 2015 in Guest Blog, Racing Report, Uncategorized

Race to Robie Creek: I Fought the Hill (Or The Heat?)…

Still mulling over Robie Creek?  Maybe it was a great day, maybe you walked more than intended.  What I am hearing is more of the latter; the warm day forced many to their Plan B.  After training for months, it is disappointing for a strong influence on your race to be so outside of your control.  One Bettie’s report captures the emotion I heard from so many.   My Robie Race Report AKA “I fought the hill and the hill won! ” Or maybe it should be called “I fought the heat and the heat won!” And what is the point of being half Egyptian if I can’t run in the heat, anyway?!?! I started the day with high expectations.  I was hoping to beat my time from last year (which was 2:09 something) or maybe even do as well as 2:05.  I felt like I had trained well.  I had trained harder and more for this Robie than any other Robie: more mileage, more speedwork, more hill repeats, more time on the course, more weights, more core work, more cross training.  I think my fitness level is in a better place than last year, so I didn’t think I’d have an issue beating my time.  Plus, on my long runs, I actually *ran* to the summit.  It was a slow run, but I was “running.”  And that’s something I had never done before.  So I hoped to be able to do that in the race too. I covered my watch hoping I’d be able to go off of effort and not be distracted or discouraged by pace as it slowed towards the summit, as I had in previous years.  I felt okay the first couple of miles.  On the first hill I told myself I would not pass anybody.  That would my way of keeping my pace in check.  However there were some people that stopped to walk and others that were just running at a slower pace than I felt I wanted to be running so I did pass some people.  When I got to the 3 mile marker I saw it and thought something along these lines: “Oh s@#$!.  Only 3 miles and I feel like I am running out of gas already. I must have run the first 5k too fast.  I effed up.  I am totally screwed.  I want to quit.  I am never going to make it to the top.  I am not even at the dirt yet and I am hot.  And I feel sick.  This sucks.”  Totally self defeating thoughts.  Not exactly what you want at mile three of a half marathon.  Or any race really.  I thought when I looked at my splits for the first 3 miles I was going to see that I had run them ridiculously fast or something.  When I saw the splits I don’t think I had run them too fast.  I think it was just the heat that got me.  The heat got me last year too.  I got too hot too fast. After that point I started walking through each water station.  I’d grab two cups of water and drink one and pour the other one over my head.  Once I got to the dirt I felt a little better.  I like the dirt better than the pavement.  And by a little, I mean just a little.  I was still pretty miserable and feeling sick.  I saw Ashley pretty early on in the dirt passed her and told her good job.  It made me so happy to see another Bettie!  I was pretty sure she’d be passing me...

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