Holiday Gift Guide: Runner Edition

Good morning and happy Tuesday!

I have a special holiday-themed post for you today…

Gift Guide: What to get the special runner in your life.

Running shoes– new running shoes would be a welcome gift for any runner, but beware, runners are very particular about their running shoes. What works for one runner, may not work for another. I’m a Brooks girl- specifically these or these. If you are unsure what your runner prefers, take a peek in their closet.

Running clothes– A runner can never have too much running clothes. If you’re unsure of sizing, a giftcard to their favorite specialty run shop (like Fit2Run!) would be perfect. I’m not picky about my tank tops and will often buy whatever is cheapest, but I do enjoy these. For shorts, the biggest thing to consider is: brief or no-brief. I love my shorts with a built-in brief, and really prefer these, these, or these.

Socks– Want to put a smile on your runners face, get them nice running socks. My faves are Feetures and Smartwool, but the few times I have forgotten to bring socks and had to make an emergency Target run, I have turned to these, and actually really love them.

GPS running watch– ALWAYS a nice gift! You can’t go wrong with a Garmin.

Gym bag– A nice gym bag to lug all of a runners’ gear from point A to point B would make a very nice gift. I switch between this and this to get me from work to run.

Running belt/something to carry keys/phone/fuel– For shorter runs I use my Nathan running belt, and for longer runs I love my Nathan hydration pack.

Road ID– Peace of mind is always a great gift. Last year, I got everyone in my family a Road ID bracelet. Each bracelet comes engraved with name, in-case-of-emergency contact, and medical history.

Recovery tools– CEP compression sleeves or a new foam roller will earn you major brownie points.

Headphones– I love my Beats by Dre, but didn’t love the pricetag. Runners go through headphones a lot; I think a couple cheap pairs of brightly colored buds/clips would make a great stocking stuffer.

Magazine subscriptions– I’m kind of old-school and love print magazines. They are convenient to throw in a gym bag. Runner’s World and Women’s Running are my faves. Most local running shops carry Competitor, which is a free running mag; you could pick up a copy to include in your runners’ stocking. Save them a trip to the store! 😉

Gift subscriptions– A gift subscription to Audible or Oyster Books would make a great gift for the runner who likes to read.

Race entry– Know of an upcoming race your runner would like to participate in? Gift their entry!

Ipod– Upgrade their music-listening with a new Nano or Shuffle.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas:

Fuel– your runners favorite fuel would bring cheer to any stocking. I’m a fan of GU packets. You can pick up singles at a local speciality run shop or at Sports Authority.

Nuun– Staying hydrated can get boring; Nuun doesn’t.

Clip light/flashlight– Safety out on the road is nothing to be taken lightly; a nice clip light to see and be seen makes all the difference. I love my Nathan Orion. But, also some cheap mini flashlights would make a great gift.

Itunes giftcards

Antibacterial wipes– I’m a runner. I get sweaty. Wipies are where it’s at!

Body spray

Hair ties– they are constantly disappearing, so a runner can never have too many.

Question of the day

What’s missing from my list?

 

It’s Friday! Let’s have some fun!

Good morning and happy Friday!

We made it to Friday! Yeah!!! My weekend is going to be crazy- good- but crazy.

I’ve got 18 miles, followed by the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5k walk, and then a bachelorette party…and that’s just Saturday.

But before I get to that, let’s catch up…

Wednesday was the breast cancer awareness fun run at Fit2Run. It was so much fun, and everyone looked so great in all their pink gear.

CEP Compression came out and brought plenty of socks/sleeves for us to demo.  
 Is this not the greatest photobomb…? 

 
It was my mom’s birthday on Wednesday, so after the run I crashed the dinner date my brother took her on. 😉

I also did some retail therapy. I’ll likely be eating Ramen for the next month, but it was worth it. 😉 Ann Taylor Loft was having 50% off so I picked up some work pants, and then I couldn’t decide between two pairs of shoes at Clarks…so I got both. 

For speedwork yesterday we had Ladders on the schedule. This was a descending ladder of 800m x2, 600m x2, 400m x2, and 200m x2.

I felt good, but there was some heavy wind not playing nice on the way back in for every distance. And you can totally see how much it affected my times:

• 800m: 4:31
• 800m: 4:51
• 600m: 3:22
• 600m: 3:44
• 400m: 2:07
• 400m: 2:12
• 200m: 0:55
• 200m: 0:51

Once home, I jumped in a very very cold bath, showered, and iced my knees while elevating my compression-sleeve covered legs. I’m looking at you, 18-miler.

Question of the day 

What are you most looking forward to this weekend?

Weekend ReCUP!

Happy Sunday!

I hope you’ve been having a great weekend! Mine has been very good- even if it went by a bit too fast.

Let’s get to the ReCUP…

Friday

For lunch I had steamed veggies and brown rice with a giant Polar Pop of Nuun! Yes, my new favorite thing is to get a 59 cent Polar Pop, fill it with nothing by ice and water and drop in a Nuun tablet. It is 44 ounces of pure heaven! The Boy thinks I’m crazy for getting so excited over a cup of ice, but I don’t care. It’s delicious!

For dinner, we went to Crazy Cafe. I know, big surprise! 😉

We then spent a relaxing night at home so that I could prep and pack for my Saturday long run. I’m curious, does anyone else have a pretty intense pre-longrun routine?

Saturday

It was an early morning. I had plans to meet Cydney and Lisa from the training group in Hyde Park at 6:00. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the time, I was pretty excited to wake up to this…

We had 15 miles on the schedule. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful run.

I really really enjoyed having some good company for those long miles, and will definitely be running with these girls again.

After we finished I was in need of all the coffee. YES! All of it! We stopped at Starbucks for coffee and eats.

Back home, I immediately put on an Icy Hot knee sleeve and my compression sleeves and settled into Legs Up the Wall. And yes, I know I have style.

Of course, I put all of this on before realizing that I wanted a Polar Pop. So to the gas station I went. 😉

This is kind of weird (especially for me), but Nuun was about the only thing that sounded good after the run. My Starbucks wrap wasn’t doing it for me; I didn’t even finish the entire thing. Back home, I tried a few other things but nothing sounded good until I remembered I had some hard-boiled eggs prepared. That with a little Sriracha and I was good to go. It really is a yummy snack!

For dinner, the Boy and I met up with my parents, Bubba, and Megan at the Spaghetti Warehouse. The Boy and I opted to split the Ultimate Feast for Two. It was very yummy and just what I needed.

There was also sangria. And no I didn’t drink the entire carafe. Promise!

We stopped by Kohl’s on the way home and then spent the remainder of our night watching Sons of Anarchy.

Sunday

I had a brunch date with my good friend Kat. We met up at Mimi’s cafe, where I thoroughly enjoyed some lemon poppyseed pancakes.

Later in the afternoon, I met mom at the mall for some light shopping. I found a couple super deals on shirts. For the Boy. Why don’t I ever find 5 dollar work shirts for me?!

For lunch, we went to Wow That’s Fresh! I’m telling you, this place is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

After a nice workout at the gym, we ran by Target to grab a few supplies for the work week. The remainder of my night was spent relaxing and catching up on some projects.

Question of the day

What was the high and low of your weekend?