Wear the shirt. Drink the gatorade. Eat the cookies. (Not really a race report.)

I spent all last week trying to forget that I had a race on the calendar for the weekend. Anytime someone would mention it, I'd act surprised. Oh! A race! It's this weekend? Gosh, I don't know about that. I haven't been running with my bad foot and all. Also, the water sounds cold. It's so far away, we'll have to get up early. I should probably do a long ride instead. I don't know. I might skip it.

I kept giving myself mental outs. You don't have to go. Who cares. It didn't cost much. It's just a practice race, and you can't even finish the full run anyway. The thought of spending that much time in the car after a long road trip the weekend before didn't help.

Part of me was on board with bailing, since no one really cared if I went or not and I clearly just didn't want to deal with it. The other part of me, the cheap part, thought, Geez. You paid for it. Go do it. Get your money's worth. Wear the shirt. Drink the gatorade. Eat the cookies.

The tipping point was an email from my friend Kimberly. She offered to DRIVE. Gah. The nerve. I said ok.

I still wasn't mentally in the game Friday night when I threw everything I could think of into a giant bag and put it by the front door. Just because I packed didn't mean I had to GO.

When I woke up, I sat on the bed and considered texting Kimberly that I was sick or that gosh, it looks like it might rain, or that my foot hurt. Those were all lies. I just didn't want to go.

I confessed to Kimberly about an hour into the drive that I had no desire to go do this race. She about killed me. Apparently she felt the same way. We laughed and considered turning around.

Why was I so grumpy about this whole thing?

We got to the race site super early and picked up our race numbers, chips, t-shirts and socks. We got back in the car.

I turned to Kimberly, "We don't have to do this you know. We can still just go home."

But neither of us really wanted to go home. We didn't feel like racing, but we didn't want to leave.

Finally we had to get moving. Bikes, helmets, shoes, drinks, garmins, caps, goggles, wetsuits, and various snacks all packed up and headed to transition.

I overheard a lot of "This is my first race! I don't know what I'm doing! I'm so nervous! This is freaking me out!" I saw a lot of race wheels and aero helmets. I realized my friend Jen was on my row. I had forgotten how much I missed it.

"This is so cool," I thought. "What on earth was my problem?" I wondered as I set my socks in my bike shoes and put my race belt underneath my running shoes so it wouldn't blow away. I turned my Garmin on, grabbed my wetsuit, cap and goggles and left. My bad attitude was gone. I  was finally excited.

By the time I got on my bike, the song that settled into my head on repeat was perfect. Over and over I sang

The sun goes down, the stars come out,

And all that counts is here and now,

My universe will never be the same

I'm glad you came, I'm glad you came

Cheesy or not, I was glad that I was riding my bike, glad that I had defeated the don't wannas to get into a 65 degree lake that morning and glad that I was going to run after my bike ride. I remembered, finally, why I keep doing this. It's because I love it.

Rice? In the morning? {The Feed Zone Cookbook}

Food actually bores me. I like it ok, and I eat it a lot, but when you are seemingly always hungry, food gets boring. Oh, hi, look, another banana. Great. What's for breakfast? PB and J? Again? Fine. Oatmeal. Fruits. Veggies. Chicken. Ice cream. It ALL gets old. I even threw away 10 cupcakes once because they went bad before I could eat them. I didn't eat them because they weren't interesting to me. That is just sad, you guys.

RIP, cupcakes.

The other problem is that eating crap all the time doesn't produce the best sporty results and can leave you dragging, tired, and crabby, so eating plenty of good for you foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats and brownies is essential. When you are training for a long race, your food is your FUEL.

Great. So, healthy foods then? I hate cooking. Like, really hate cooking. A lot. I hate making a mess. I hate cleaning it up. I hate chopping. I hate mixing. I hate taking things out of the oven. I hate tupperware. I hate measuring things. {Note: I don't measure things.}

The only thing I like is knowing there is a freezer full of food when it's all I can do to carry my bike back up 3 flights of stairs, drop everything and put something into the microwave before I fall on my face from hunger. So, cook I must. {I've often said I'd like a nanny. My mom is like, but you don't have any kids! And I'm like, MOM. You are missing the point. I want a nanny for ME.}

I had long been hooked on Rachel Ray and her easy 30-minute one pan meals but they weren't always quite as healthy as I would have liked. A bag of cheese? Ok, if that's what the recipe calls for! I'm still hooked on a lot of her recipes and have a bunch memorized. There's a cous-cous, broccoli, chicken dish that is out of this world (and healthy.) (and only requires one pan to clean!!) She's got great stoups (not as thick as stew, but thicker than a soup) that are perfect for freezing and reheating. I'm not abandoning Rachel. It's just that I found a new love.

New book! Still wrapped in plastic!

Enter: The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes. It's written by Chef Biju Thomas and Dr. Allen Lim. They both have experiece working with professional cyclists, including Lim's work on Team Radio Shack and Team Garmin-Transitions. Thomas also developed menus for successful restaurants in Denver and Boulder, CO.

I went on a quest for this book after a fellow morning computrainer classmate brought in some of the rice muffins made from one of Lim's recipes. They were interesting, because, rice? In the morning? Who would have ever thought of such a thing? But, also, they were good, and filling and, hey, maybe this Lim guy is on to something. If he can properly fuel Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong, probably there are other good ideas in there. I was, surprisingly, excited to cook.

As promised, the recipes are easy to make, good to eat, and perfect for someone who does a lot of sportz. I even sampled one of the recipes out on the girls of The Off Season Tri.

Rice cakes w bacon, anyone? #Yum

My recent foot injury provided me with way too much free time freed up some weekend hours to spend some quality time in the kitchen, so I decided to use that time wisely. I think I spent around $150 at Giant and 4-5 hours in the kitchen one Saturday. I came away with 3 pots of soup, some quiche, a pan of chicken fried rice and a batch of cookies. Not bad for someone on the bench! I'll post some more reviews but here are some of my favorites. 

Veggie Quiche. I think I heard my mom's mouth drop open when I told her I made a quiche from scratch. I quickly explained: bread crumbs, lots of eggs, mini veggie chopper, some shredded cheese: bake. She recovered. One quiche went directly into the freezer for a brunch a week later (where it was quickly gone.) One was cut into bite sized pieces and put into a tupperware for mid morning post workout snacks. APPROVED.

There's cheese in there, too!

Red Lentil Stew. I like curry. I wasn't so sure about lentils, but they seemed harmless, and it's the #yearofGeorge, so I figured what the hell. Yadda, yadda, yadda...I made a second batch this weekend. Topped w a bit of salt, some greek yogurt and fresh tomatoes, and...APPROVED.

Greek yogurt goes on everything, amirite?

Chicken Fried Rice. I know. It doesn't *sound* healthy, but really it is. This one is perfect for the freezer. Aside from the fact that I try not to handle raw meat, like, ever, this is another one of my favorites. I'm going to make another pan of it this weekend. APPROVED.

Giant bag of frozen veggies FTW.

And, right on cue, now I'm hungry. Any favorite quick, healthy recipe sources to share?

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Last Tuesday, I returned to the doctor to see how my foot was healing. (I almost typed heeling. That would have been really funny, right? But, not, because it's not my heel that hurts.) It had been a week in the funny shoe.

I mean, I knew it was getting better, but it wasn't quite better yet, and when someone with a diploma and an x-ray machine tells you that you should keep wearing a funny shoe, it's a lot easier to swallow than when you admit to yourself, "Self, I should keep wearing this funny shoe."

So, off to the doctor's I went.

Returning to the doctor to reassess a healing injury is a bit like groundhog day isn't it? You are all full of anticipation. Will the sun be out? What will my x-rays show? Will there be a shadow? Does that spot on my foot really hurt or just kind-of-sort-of hurt? Am I a hypochondriac? Maybe I'm fine? Or am I lying to myself so I can start running again? Will there be 6 more weeks of winter?

Long story short, the shoe remains, but I did get authorization to add some biking back in. And add some biking back in, I did.

Easy ride around the neighborhood Tuesday: Check. All systems go.

Computrainer workout? Check. Wednesday I had the best ride in a while. Probably because my legs aren't trashed from running. Hmph.

Spin around Hains Point after work in the sunshine? Check. Thursday. Perfect weather. Intervals. Friends. Tour buses. Pollen. The usual. Awesome.

One more computrainer workout Friday? Check. Crushed it.

Rock'n Roll Half Marathon Bike Course Lead? Check. Filed under, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em (or something like that.) I signed up because I thought it might be kind of a cool way to see the race and participate since I couldn't actually crush those 13.1 miles myself. This was So. Much. Fun.

I suited up with lots of neon, an all access pass on my bike and suckered my friend Catherine into joining me.

We clipped in just in front of the start line and headed out with a crew of rowdy bikers to lead the runners, check the course for any problems and report some splits back to the announcer.

Rowdy.

I got assigned to the lead females for the half marathon. We were instructed to follow the timing trucks out the first mile or two and then find the 2nd place female in the half and stick with her, feeding her splits back to the finish line.

I don't usually get to see the timing trucks. They are cool.

After she finished, we looped back by the DC Tri tent along the course for a pit stop, some high fives to our fast friends who were finishing up the half marathon and then we headed out along the marathon course to try to find our friend Janie, who was gunning for a PR. We had lots of good cheers in our heads that we needed to share, such as:

Yay Janie!
Good job at running!
You are running a marathon!

See? Proof. She was running a marathon. Also: she is really tiny.

Woop!
Keep running!
Holler!
Way to go, keep it up!
Well done, Janie!
Stay on course!
Don't go on 395!

Wrong way.

Good job at sportz!
Keep running the marathon until you finish!

I'm almost certain we were why she finished so strong. If I were her, I would have wanted to kill my two friends on BIKES when I was running a marathon, but not Janie. No, she LOVED seeing us ride bikes in loops around her.

Inspired by Janie and hopeful for a recovering foot, I'm going to try to go for a walk tonight. In real shoes. Probably in the direction of pollen and tour buses. I know, I'm really living on the edge. Hopefully someone out there along the course will give me a "way to go, keep it up!" I'll report back.

IM Training Casualty #2: Get a book or something

My foot had been bothering me for exactly 9 days before I saw the doctor. I thought it was going to go away, that running had bruised it or inflamed it and that something strange but minor had happened. So I self assigned myself a week with some anti-inflammatories, some ice, and no running.

I made sure to fill any time not spent running with extra biking and swimming, because that's obviously a good idea. My food must not have gotten the memo though, because it wasn't getting any better (so mysterious!) I was grateful to be going to see a doctor. Pains worry me, not because of the actual pain, which doesn't bother me very much, but because pain means something is WRONG.

The doctor I found is very nice, and is conveniently located 1 block from my office.

When I told her I had initially noticed the pain building during a run, she asked me if I was planning to run the Rock n Roll Half in a couple of weeks. I said ideally, but it wasn't looking so good. {I'm wondering if she's gotten an influx of crazy people with strange foot problems in the last week or two. Probably.} 

She was unable to come to a specific diagnosis, but there are a couple of things that might be causing the pain. She said considering I'd like to be able to run again like, tomorrow soon, she is going to take a conservative approach. She wanted me to wear this lovely stabilizing shoe for the next week anytime my foot hit the ground and to rest it.

These boots don't match.

Her: So, wear this terrible stabilizing shoe, try to limit walking, and add the anti-inflammatories back in twice a day. Ice if you feel like you need it. It can only help. Mainly, rest it. Do you have any questions?

Me: Can I swim?

Her: I think so, just don't push off the walls and if it bothers you when you are kicking or anything, stop.

Me: Can I bike? I mean, define "rest."

Her: (Laughing.) How about no biking for a week. How about, get a book or something? Rent a movie?

Me: Ok, you drive a hard bargain, but I agree to your terms, since you are so nice.

Her: Good, come back in a week and we'll see how you are doing.

I'm pretty sure that it's all in my head, but I have to say, my foot is feeling So Much Better after being out of real shoes and not bending much for a solid day (also: drugs.) I'm hoping she's on to something. I could still possibly run the race on the 17th, right? Maybe?

Crush It: Why I ran maybe a little too fast this morning

I'm bad at technology. Don't believe me? I still own 2 VCRs in working condition and yes, I use them. Before I bought myself a Garmin for Christmas one year, every piece of cool equipment that I own had been given to me as a gift. You name it: walkman, stereo, portable CD player, programmable thermostat for my house, cell phone, DVD player, mp3 player, ipod, blackberry, all of it. It's not that I don't like that stuff, it's just that whatever I was using before it wasn't broken and I didn't have the brainpower or desire to learn something new. (I might also have a problem with change, but that's a bit of a different topic.)

I think one of the main problems with receiving a shiny new piece of technology is that you now have to learn how to use it. I'm a read the owner's manual before you start pushing buttons kind of person and let's face it, that's work. For someone with strict rules about when work is and isn't allowed (I, for example, don't do math after 5pm) that's just a huge pain in the ass, and yet another reason why I subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy.

Despite knowing exactly where the owner's manual for my Garmin IS, I still have yet to program that wonderful little computer to recognize my different bikes with their different wheel sizes, I don't know how to use the "virtual partner" which would be INCREDIBLY helpful to my "gooutreallyfastandhopenottodie" running style of late and I for some reason have yet to set up the fairly simple auto pause feature, which pauses the workout when you - you guessed it - pause, so the watch keeps recording my run or bike while I'm stopped at a stoplight. Not all that incredibly helpful.

But that's just data. One of the fun things about running is listening to whatever songs you are loving at the moment. Listening to Eminem while driving is fun, but you can't always go the speed that the music dictates, or the city would resemble a bumper cars ride at a fair and not a city street. WOMP! OH, my bad! I'm listening to "Till I Collapse" and it was a fast part!

The problem with this is of course that downloading songs requires work, which I try to avoid at all costs, especially after 5pm, math or no math. Enter Rock My Run.


rockmyrun.com

I found them on twitter (@RockMyRun). They make running mixes with fast songs. It requires no thought. Imagine! One hour of pumped up running tunes done for you. I was beyond excited. I found it a few months ago and have been trying out the mixes during my runs. I can't even describe how happy they made me. Fast beat? Check. Music I like? Check. Easy to download and drag over to iTunes? Check.

The only complaint I might have is that I can't listen to the fast mixes during my easy runs or I end up at race pace instead of recovery pace, but really though, that's more user error than anything they've done wrong.

Want to try a mix? I might be a little biased because I helped behind the scenes on this one, but my current favorite, the one I ran maybe a little too fast to this morning is Crush It.

There's some Eminem of course, but there's also some Corey Heart (no I'm not kidding), some Flo-Rida, some Queen, some Rage Against the Machine, and some Florence and the Machine to kick it off. It's one of the best mixes I've heard in a while, (it's getting great reviews!) and I'd be selfish if I didn't share it.

So, go. Download. Drag. Play. Run. Just don't start out too fast or you'll be mad at yourself later when you upload your data.

IM Training Casualty #1

The top of my foot is hurting me. It started on Sunday around mile, hmm, I don't know, two? It was a pinched feeling right on the top of my foot like my shoe was tied too tight, right where the bow was so I, uninterestingly, loosened it. It helped a little bit, but it hurt again and I shuffled my foot around some and kept going. By mile, hmm, I don't know, 5? I had to stop again. I guess I was trying to avoid stopping, because I was having so much fun running and I was feeling good and fast and whatever else happens when you have fun running, but it was a mistake.

When we got back to our start point, Kate and I were going to add on another loop over the bridge to get up to around 10 miles or so. We all took a quick break and said goodbye or ate a gel or, in my case, took the laces out of the loops of my shoes and retied my shoes all weird. It helped, but by the time the run was over, the top of my foot hurt and the opposite lower shin hurt from running all weird.

I did Tuesday's run in the pool, to be super careful about my shin, since that keeps getting angry when I want it to be happy and to let the bruised top of my foot heal. I am smart this way. [Unrelated: (Well, somewhat related): Pool running makes me want to pee almost immediately upon getting in the water. What is this about? And not just a little bit, like, oh, that can wait. No, this is a constant, 'oh wow I can't wait for this to be over so I can go to the bathroom without risking losing my lane for water running in a very crowded downtown pool after work' feeling.]

With only some swimming, biking, pool running and yoga since Sunday, I was pretty sure that running this morning would be Just Fine. This morning's run was a lot of things, but Just Fine does not properly characterize it.

Freezing cold: check. I could barely feel my fingers until I was 2 miles in. Once my hands were finally warm I realized that I was having trouble talking because my face had gone numb. There's a good chance I sounded like I was drunk.

Fast: check. It was speedwork after all. We used the mall like a track. It was a genius idea. Far better views than a track and a lot more real estate.

Fun: check. I had not actually been looking forward to this one. I know what it feels like to work hard. It feels like hard work. It's hard. It hurts. You get tired. You keep going. You have to. Well, you choose to.

What makes it fun is seeing yourself getting better, even if you aren't very good at executing workouts properly. So what if I was completely destroyed by the time we got through a 1600 and a 1200 and started our first 800? Live and learn. Thankfully, I could mentally check out and just try to keep up with Kate for the last few rounds. Yeah, I drafted. I'm ok with this. (Thanks Kate!)

Freezing, Fast, Fun, and lots of stretching after. I just wish I knew what the hell I did to the top of my foot. Anyone ever heard of that? Pinching a nerve or bruising it or something with a too tight shoelace? I am officially filing this stupid injury under "IM Training Casualty #1."

When Can I Do That Again? A bike ride story

An email today inspired the following memory of a bike ride I did recently with my friend Jen. It was just us two out there, with only each other and our bikes for company. (Which makes it sound a lot more ominous than it was. I mean, we were in Montgomery County for godsakes, not out running the Western States course.)

 

Editor's Note: An important piece of background information for understanding a couple of parts of this story is that I was once lost on Georgia Avenue. Hopelessly, horribly, lost. Except that I wasn't actually lost, I just thought I was lost and far, far away from where I should be. Nothing looked familiar. I couldn't make heads or tails of which direction I was running, which way the Capitol was, where the Armory was, and I panicked. It made absolutely no sense to panic though, because I was in fact in the middle of a RACE. All I had to do was keep following the *thousands* of people in front of me and I'd get back to my car. And I think that is a good place to start this story about another time I was so happy to see my car.

 

These are the bikes that we rode. This story is the longest caption ever.

 

Sometimes when you are out riding with Jen, it's all fun and good times and you stop for coffee and you are trying to decide what to do next and she's like, "Oh! I have an idea," and "Just follow me!" and you are all, "Well, it IS the #yearofGeorge," and "Jen's a pretty reliable person" so you do, and then the next thing you know, you are on a highway and you beg her not to make you take the entrance ramp to 270 and you DON'T, thank god, but there's a MALL and still you are on this highway and you are riding as fast as you can and you miss a light and there she goes, getting smaller and smaller up a giant hill and good bye Jen! and you aren't sure where you are, but it's NOT Georgia Avenue at least and thank goodness Jimmy recommended that 12-27 and all of the sudden, boom, you are crossing Rockville Pike and look! there's Beach Drive! but, not so fast, because she turns LEFT to go up the enormous hill towards the Mormon Temple and gosh, at least it will be fun to go back down the hill! but no, she makes you take a scary windy backroad somewhere and you are lost again and thankful it's still not Georgia Avenue, and poof! you are back on Beach Drive, but now you are regretting not going pee when you were at Starbucks so you whine a little bit and decide the best course of action is to hammer back down Beach Drive towards Rock Creek Park and some bathrooms and finally you find a bathroom and it's one of the best sights on earth but after she's all, "OK, NOW we'll climb another giant hill and it will be fun," and it IS fun, but gosh it's kind of hard and you are getting pretty tired and then she's all, "Just go down Nebraska and at some point you will know where you are and then your car will be like right there. Simple." and that's that and you part ways and don't realize that her directions were sort of an understatement and you finally realize that you've bonked because you have severly underestimated the number of calories you've burned and you find yourself standing there on Connecticut Avenue wondering if it might be best to just go find the Red Line and see if maybe Amanda might give you a ride back, but then some douchebag guys honk at you and wave and you are like, "Stuff it douchebags, I'm a hard core biker," and you pound some black cherry shot blox, drop into the small ring and keep climbing. and then, finally, like a mirage in the desert, you see the sign for the bank on MacArthur blvd, and you've never in your life been so happy to see that bank, and you make it back to your car and you are alive and you are Just Fine and you think, "Wow - probably that was one of the best bike rides I've been on in a long time," and "When can I do that again?"

 

 

The Year of George

George : It's not working, Jerry. It's just not working.
Jerry : What is it that isn't working?
George : Why did it all turn out like this for me? I had so much promise. I was personable, I was bright. Oh, maybe not academically speaking, but ... I was perceptive. I always know when someone's uncomfortable at a party. It became very clear to me sitting out there today, that every decision I've ever made, in my entire life, has been wrong. My life is the opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have, in every of life, be it something to wear, something to eat ... It's all been wrong.

( A waitress comes up to G )

Waitress : Tuna on toast, coleslaw, cup of coffee.
George : Yeah. No, no, no, wait a minute, I always have tuna on toast. Nothing's ever worked out for me with tuna on toast. I want the complete opposite of on toast. Chicken salad, on rye, untoasted ... and a cup of tea.
Elaine : Well, there's no telling what can happen from this.
Jerry : You know chicken salad is not the opposite of tuna, salmon is the opposite of tuna, 'cos salmon swim against the current, and the tuna swim with it.
George : Good for the tuna.

( A blonde looks at George )

Elaine : Ah, George, you know, that woman just looked at you.
George : So what? What am I supposed to do?
Elaine : Go talk to her.
George : Elaine, bald men, with no jobs, and no money, who live with their parents, don't approach strange women.
Jerry : Well here's your chance to try the opposite. Instead of tuna salad and being intimidated by women, chicken salad and going right up to them.
George : Yeah, I should do the opposite, I should.
Jerry : If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.
George : Yes, I will do the opposite. I used to sit here and do nothing, and regret it for the rest of the day, so now I will do the opposite, and I will do something!

( He goes over to the woman )

George : Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice that you were looking in my direction.
Victoria : Oh, yes I was, you just ordered the same exact lunch as me.

( G takes a deep breath )

George : My name is George. I'm unemployed and I live with my parents.
Victoria : I'm Victoria. Hi.

(Credit: http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheOpposite.htm)

I decided that he might be on to something. Isn't there a saying about doing the same things over and over and expecting different results? Anyway, I'm trying it. Not always, not every day, but sometimes, when appropriate (and hopefully sometimes when inappropriate) I'm going to go off the reservation, go outside my comfort zone, go do something that doesn't seem to make any damn sense to me. It's the year of chicken salad on rye, untoasted! It's the Year of George!

This week in the Year of George:

-I ordered a salad with BEETS. I was pretty sure I didn't like beets, but they really aren't that offensive. Plus, my friend Jen said she'll make me really good beets with goat cheese to prove to me that I could in fact like them. I consider this a win.

-Finished a swim set on a -50. As in, I did 2650. That just makes no sense to me. Finish the 100! End on an even number! Or not - sometimes the workout is over when it's over and that extra 50 isn't going to add much. In fact, it gave me an extra minute to do some stretching. (And earned me a high 5 from Janie.)

-Ate lunch somewhere I'd never been. I've walked past this place many, many times but had never been in. What I expected: really expensive, ordinary turkey sandwiches. What it actually was: probably one of the best sandwiches I've ever gotten from a downtown carryout. And it was only $6. Not only that, but there is a crazy long list of wonderful sandwiches all involving Boars Head brand turkey and various wonderful exciting vegetables like spinach and roasted red peppers and basil and pesto and there are paninis, and whoa! Just like that, I have a new favorite sandwich place.


Spicy turkey w a side of fruit punch nuun, complete with a swim workout post-it

 If this seems like a slow start, that's because it is. But hey, George started with a sandwich. A start is a start and I can assure you, there will be plenty more to come.

Year of George!!!!

The hard part

I'm in the elevator down to the pool. It's not yet 7am. I've been up for an hour, but I'm still essentially asleep. I haven't really had to interact with any other human beings other than a wave to my garage attendant and a "thank you" to the friendly desk staff at the gym. I'm just on auto pilot. Must.Go.Swim.

On the elevator with me are 2 of the gym's maintenence staff, who tend to always strike up conversations in the elevator. [I don't know why. It can't be just me, because me in the morning isn't the person you see and think, Oh! I'll just start a conversation with her. She looks friendly.]

The maintenance staff guy smiled at me and said good morning and then he said, "So, are you going to swim like a mile or something?"

And I laughed and I said, "At least! I'm planning a bit more!"

And he said, "Wow! That would make me so tired!"

And I said, "Oh the swimming isn't the hard part! 2pm sitting at my desk, that's when I'm tired."

And it got me thinking. There are actually a lot of hard parts to all of this training I do. They range in levels of difficulty, but they can all get in your head and mess with you. Like, mornings, for example...

Difficultly level 5: The first moment you have to actually get out from under the covers in the morning. The moment you decide, ok, let's do this thing. Especially if it's dark outside (which is always now.) Or cold outside (which is almost always now.) Or you are tired. (right.) Or you are warm (well, geez.) Or you are just not interested in what you're getting up early to do (sigh.)

Difficulty level 3: The first 5 seconds of a swim - those seconds you have to submerge yourself into water that's colder than your body and your heart kind of jumps for just a second and you realize that you have to swim now, and that's fine, but gah, could the water be a little more polite about it?

Difficulty level 8.5: It's 2pm and you've just eaten a nice lunch full of protein and carbs, (probably certainly followed by something chocolate) and a nice bottle of water and there's not much going on at work, so you are reading the news and keeping up with emails but really every ounce of your body just wants to sleep and so you start thinking of ways you can go and do that, including sneaking downstairs to your car in the garage and putting the seats down and closing your eyes. That's one of the worst feelings.

Difficulty level 1: Keeping enough clean sportz clothes on hand.


#somuchlaundry

 Difficulty level 6: The only food available in the house is uncooked or frozen and while 20 minutes to prepare a nice dinner seems like a reasonable amount of time for a normal person to wait to eat dinner, it's entirely unreasonable to your post workout self because you need food rightnow, because you are starving, but also because you need to immediately unpack and repack a gym bag for tomorrow's sportz, and work clothes (and not forget a bra), shower, and go straight to sleep so you don't fall asleep in your soup. So, some weird dinner appears, with Cinnamon Life cereal and cheese often make appearances, but rarely together.

Difficulty level 4: Breaking out in a cold sweat when you think about the workout you are assigned, because you know you are going to do it, but man, is it going to be hard, and gosh, so many things can go wrong, and worst of all, you are going to have to be inside your own head the whole time, telling yourself, "You've got this! You can do this! You are a tough guy! People have told you so! Other people can do this, so you should be able to do this! You like doing things that are difficult!" and other ridiculous motivational phrases. Except, in the end, you know it's true, that you like doing things that are difficult, because that's what's fun, and man, after it's over it's like, WHOA. That was awesome. I am awesome! Everyone is awesome! I love this stuff! SPORTZ!!!

Difficulty level 10: Changing a flat tire. I know, that's terrible. I'm just bad at it. Give me a break. I always get my little sister to handle mechanical problems for me. Unfortunately, she lives too far away to be of any use to me on a day-to-day basis, so I'm left changing my own flats.

Difficulty level 7: Choosing healthy foods. I *know* the right things to eat. I don't always do it. I've been really beating myself up about this one lately. [For the record: I had a turkey burger, greenbeans, and potatoes for lunch. +1. I immediately followed it by a piece of cake in the break room. -1.]

My sister might change flat tires, but she also makes me eat cookies.

Difficulty level 2: Feeling bad when I don't execute workouts properly. I've been having some trouble lately with a particular bike workout that I can't seem to master. It's driving me crazy. I'm often in all sort of disrepair after because I am indeed working as hard as I can (Zone 5 Sportz FTW!), but I sometimes feel like a bit of a failure because the numbers are not quite right (Data is fun!) and my method of pedaling is more akin to weight lifting than smooth graceful biking. In a way, it makes me sad, but in another way it makes me want to keep doing it, and figure out exactly how to CRUSH it.

Difficulty level 9: Not overtraining. I soooo want to check stuff off of the training plan, get in all kinds of great workouts, do strength training, do yoga, do all of my PT exercises, get better, faster, stronger, and go out and play with my friends, that every once in a while I get to the breaking point. I've fallen asleep in meetings before, I've bonked during afternoon swims, I've forgotten to pack a bra in my gym bag, I've cancelled fun events that I've looked forward to, and it's usually because of too many sportz. Sleep is good for you, and sometimes it's hard to figure out the fine line between loading the necessary miles and recovering to be prepared for more miles.

But I do it. I do all of it. I don't usually whine or anything. (Although that is sort of fun.) If I say that I'm tired or I'm hurting or I'm broken or I haven't got any clean clothes or enough food in my house, it's really just me stating a fact like, hey, it looks like it's going to rain. While rain may be kind of annoying, it's not really commentary, it's just what's happening right now. So, the fact that my legs spmetimes hurt and I'd seriously love a nap and I've gone through $100 worth of groceries somehow in about 4 days and this morning I couldn't find a clean sports bra...those are all just facts. But it's all worth it because...

this stuff is fun!

Look at me! I'm doing an Ironman!!!

JtFM: HC15KRR (Subtitle: An unnecessary acronym to lighten the mood.)

*JtFM: HC15KRR= Just the Facts, Ma'am: Hot Chocolate 15K Race Report

If you are a member of the DC sportz community, friends with anyone on Facebook who is a DC runner, follow runners on twitter, were anywhere near the bridge between Old Town Alexandria and Oxen Hill MD today, or tried to drive down RT 210 in MD this morning, you are well aware that there was a running event today at the National Harbor. You may also know that it did not go off as smoothly as it could have. Or, could it have? Was it doomed from the start? Let's examine some of the facts.

1.  One of the major problems for this particular event was transportation. Washingtonians are wary of crossing bridges, and for good reason. A bridge is a limitation - a narrow passageway that takes you one place. You can't bail out, you can't reroute, you can't do a U-turn, and they quickly get backed up when everyone is going the same place. A lot of people try to avoid this potential disaster and take public transportation. And here's our first problem. There WAS no public transportation to this event and on top of that, a majority of the racers were coming from VA and had to cross the bridge into MD, all onto the same exit, all funnelling into parking lots and limited garages.

Classification: Doomed from the start. The math on this is quite simple. There's no way 20,000 racers, plus spectators, plus race staff, plus volunteers, not to mention hotel and restaurant staff for the area were going to be able to get into this little village by the river this morning in a reasonable time frame, even witht he shuttle bus option. I actually got there quite easily, drove to Crystal City (which I did NOT have to pay for, despite their attempt to charge for it - I sincerely hope no one paid them for that), parked, walked outside and boarded one of probably 15 shuttle busses ready to roll out. The buses did hit the same gridlocked, bumper to bumper, miles upon miles of traffic that the other vehicles were in, but we took what I think was the HOV lanes across the bridge, drove past the Harbor and came in a back way. Very, very smart. So: if you left your house at an early hour and took the shuttle you were there with plenty of time to spare.

2. Something else that really upset racers was the very poor communication from race staff. Let's start off early this morning with the race officials announcing on facebook (and possibly over the loud speakers, though I didn't hear it) that an accident near the exit was contributing to the delays for the vehicles attempting to enter the Harbor. No one has been able to substantiate this claim. Either way, the traffic was clearly backed up for miles (it was easy to see) and it was ON the 5K race course. Yeah. This meant the 5K race, and therefore the 15K race was going to be delayed.

Lucky for me, I had friends with a car strategically parked in sight of the start and finish lines, so we waited, and listened, and watched, and checked facebook, and used the portapotties and waited some more. We first heard that the 5K race was going to be delayed for 15 minutes. We heard that several times. I think both races ended up going off an HOUR late.

There are a lot of other stories that I've read online that seem to be pretty ridiculous if they really happened, but I hate to put anything down that I didn't personally see. There are enough though that it seems like there wasn't a lot of cohesion from the race team.

Classification: Ugh. Don't lie to your customers. Not to say that other markets aren't, but DC folks are quite savvy and we have very little patience for bullshit. We know how to find out about traffic accidents (uh, follow DC EMT on twitter? ever heard of Dr Gridlock? WTOP Traffic Radio?), we know how to organize (there's already an angry facebook page set up - talk about grassroots organizing), and we know how to lead a good PR campaign (it's already a news story on one website, how long before the other healthy living news reporters pick up on it?) So, yeah, just a word of advice, play it smart in DC, because it's got the heaviest concentration of  type-A's on the entire planet. True story.

Also: Don't even get me started on the stupid Fun Fact Friday emails. How about a subject line of "Important Parking Information" or "Expo and Packet Pick up Details"? See above re: savvy, no patience.

3. But the race itself, how did that go? Oh the RACE! That's why we were doing this! That was fun! Well, fun for me. Remember, I was sitting in a warm car right up until the race start. We weaved our way into Corral B (our rightful place) and - after a few mins wait, boom, were off. Yeah, the course had some odd twists and turns, and yeah, there were way too many people on a far too narrow course which resulted in many people running into orange barrels and tripping over cones, but yours truly managed to avoid them since, after all, they were in a straight line so running in a different  straight line avoided the problem. (Math again!) While the first several miles were less than scenic (along a highway) and my vertigo didn't really care for the streams of people in each direction and cars everywhere, I was running a good pace, the weather was nice and shouting thank you to the cops and volunteers always makes me happy.

Here are some things the race did right:
-Each mile was marked with a clock (yay!)
-The volunteers were great and there were plenty of them.
-There was plenty of water and gatorade at each stop.
-Once you got on the back half of the course there was great spectator support and a much nicer view of the water and the Harbor neighborhood.
-There was a truck at one of the turnarounds blasting good music and a string of volunteers along the last long miles encouraging everyone and thanking them for coming out.

Here are some things the race did very wrong:
-The 5k point was on the back of an out and back. The timing mat was on the out part. So, we all have 2.2 mile splits instead of 5k splits. JV.
-The finish chute wasn't a chute, but a huge cluster f of people standing around just past the finish line. There was no fencing to speak of. This is not a complicated problem, just put up some fucking fencing. Also, fellow racers, get the F out of the chute after you finish racing, you KNOW BETTER than to clog that area. When people finish, they need a water and to walk around a bit, not to come to a dead standstill because people are all over the damn place and because the water bottles are not opened out of the plastic packaging yet. JV.

Classification: Barely passing grade. While this course was far to narrow for the number of runners (and shoot, in addition to the regular no-show percent, there were plenty who bailed out bc of traffic, so imagine if the actual number of registrants had shown up to run!) I personally had no problems. I was in the first 15% of people across the line though, so I am not sure how things went for the rest of the runners. I've read a lot of varying complaints, some of them are stupid (like, really, really, really stupid) and some of them are potentially valid, if they are true. All I know is what I saw. This race was oversold and that is a really stupid business move, espeically for a first time race in a new market.

4. Let's talk for a minute about hot chocolate. First of all, it was delicious. Second of all, it was hot. Third of all, they had plenty of it, and there were no lines. Win, win, win. Same goes for the fondue. They had prepared a tray with a few items for us to dip in a scoop of hot chocolate fondue. It was a good post-race snack, and plenty of chocolate for one person. The volunteers again were excellent, friendly and hard working. My problem was that the hot chocolate distracted me from the shuttle line. Remember how I had no problem getting to the race? Well, I was about to come face to face with a major problem.

The line for the shuttles back to VA slowly but surely wrapped all the way around the post race area, and started snaking around back into a spiral. I was wet, cold, and ready to get some dry clothes on and sit down. After all, I had been up and at it since 6. Thankfully, buses are large and I figured the line would roll along pretty quickly. After all, getting back out of the Harbor didn't present the same problem that getting in did. Right?

Wrong. An hour and a half and 3 new friends later, I was at the front of the line, where I was lucky enough to speak with a member of the race team. We chatted him up about the bus situation and a lot of other things. Turns out, he owns the race. Wow, now that's a guy who had a BAD DAY. His company is being bashed left and right online, on facebook, on twitter, and in media reports. He was very nice, and was doing a good job of managing the shuttle situation to the extent possible.

Classification: Just added insult to injury. We heard via the DJ and a staff member who walked through the line that the shuttle busses were all tied up due to an accident on the beltway, and that they were being rerouted, but it was like a cruel joke. Really, again? Another problem? I have to say, everyone was quite patient, well humored and agreeable during that added bonus 2 hours we got to hang out together. Cold, tired, and hungry for some real food, we stood, stretched, hopped around, chatted and tweeted.

The owner of the race knew there were a number of things that went wrong and he knew he was in big trouble with the DC race community. He told us several things:
-National Harbor wasn't his first choice for venue
-DC wouldn't let the race in for it's inaugural year
-They were originally told there were 10k parking spots onsite, but then the number changed to 5k

Here's what I wish I had asked him: WHY did you sell 20,000 spots to your race, knowing the parking situation, realizing the transportation scenarios and walking through that race course? You aren't new to this, far from it. Didn't you KNOW this was going to blow up in your face for about a million different reasons?

I am not looking for a refund (which so many people are asking for) but I'm just curious to see how they are going to handle this enormous PR nightmare. Still, I ran fast, I saw my friends, I had some chocolate and I took serious notes for the race that I'll be working out there in August of next year.

That time I did a 100 yard dash

Thanksgiving is a big race day for runners, walkers and people who are into avoiding cooking, cleaning or setting the table. Runners all know that the local Turkey Trot is a good way to burn calories in advance of the big meal, get some sportz in for the day, and, you know, get out of doing chores. People who are into avoiding cooking, cleaning and setting the table should buy a pair of running shoes and sign up online. (You're welcome.)

Knowing I couldn't miss a chance to head south and see my little niece for the long weekend, I posted on Facebook to figure out what the race situation was in Raleigh. With multiple recommendations to do the Ridgewood Turkey Trot, I was sold. The RTT had the added benefit of three different distance options: 8k for people who wanted to sweat, a 1 mile fun run/walk for people interested in something a little less scary and best of all, a 100 yard dash for people 7 and under.

With her parent's permission, I signed my 1 year old niece up for her very first race. #hugewin

Thursday morning we put on our best running outfits and headed out. The 1 mile event went first, followed by the 8k run and then the kid's run. Not wanting to miss any of the fun, I decided the 1 mile walk would be a warm up for the 8k. 

We headed off into the fray with my niece in her stroller, cheering and waving her cowbell at everyone. My sister Nicole mentions to me that she can run one mile at her gym in 10 minutes. Big mistake! I had no idea she was interested in speed! 

"You'll never be able to run this in 10 mins if you are pushing a stroller!" I told her. 

"You're right," she said. "Kevin, she's all yours."

Her husband took over the stroller, but we were still moving a bit too slow for her 10 minute mile and as we approached the half mile turnaround, I offered to take over the stroller. I really never expected them to run, I just thought it would be fun for the crew to head out and get a bit of exercise...but with the stroller off their hands, and only a half mile to go, neither one had any excuse, so - I took off! 

I kept looking back over my shoulder to see how they were doing, and they were running! Side by side, and a bit behind me, so I slowed down a little to let them catch up. Once they were within shouting distance, I picked up the pace again and we ran it in. So. Much. Fun. We crossed the line in a little over 11 minutes.

I told Nicole we can definitely break 10 next year. We should probably shoot for 9!

Next up was the 8k. With some last minute encouragement from my fans, I was off.



Pre-race high five

I'm not sure how, but this was the fastest race pace I've ever done. Probably the super fun warm up. To top it off, I was met by screaming fans and a decorated parking lot with a huge chalk GO KAREN! Awesome.

Finally, after the race course cleared, bananas were consumed, trucks were played with, mulch was dug in, and we ran away screaming from some people dressed as turkeys (kind of scary if you are small) it was time for the 100 yard dash.

Pinning on her first race number

I had no idea how this would go off, but it was great. Once the kids figured out what was going on, even the really little ones started running. My niece ran with a handful of mulch (good luck charm?) and waved it at all her adoring fans cheering and screaming along the way.

Some little kids would just randomly stop and sit down in the middle of the course. They'd then hop back up and run a bit before sitting back down.

Please note the children behind us in this picture. One is sitting down and another is going the WRONG WAY. They have a lot to learn about racing.

We didn't stop (though we might have paused a few times) and she definitely sprinted to the finish as the crowds got louder and she heard the word RUNNING shouted a lot - she knows what that means! Not to brag, but she did a sub 90 second 100 yard dash. 1:29 and change. AND, she got a medal - which she quickly explained to us was actually a necklace.

The mulch made it all the way to the finish line.

It went great with her purple sparkle hooded sweater and pink legwarmers. It was a pretty amazing day.

So this kid has done her first running race and she got swim lessons at the YMCA from me as her birthday gift this year. Can anyone guess what she might be getting for Christmas?

Not my problem.

I am one of those people who happily gives directions to tourists, holds the door for people, lets courteous drivers into my lane (but not cabs, never cabs) {or people with Duke stickers on their cars}, helps newbies with sportz questions, loan things to friends, shovel snow out from old ladies' cars (not that they should be out driving anyway) but you know, an upstanding member of society. However, there are also plenty of times when I'm happy to just say, whoa, that's so not my problem, and walk away. Usually it entails people being jerks, people being loud and offensive, people being manipulative, people taking advantage of a situation, and did I mention people being jerks? But sometimes there's a gray area.

I read a post yesterday on Endurance Isn't Only Physical that got me thinking about something. Tricia wrote that she had once been overweight. Ok, actually she said this:

      "But I was obese. I was morbidly obese. I was dying from being fat."

She said she wished someone had said something to her. Ok, actually she said this:

      "Did I need someone to tell me? Emphatically yes!"

Also, she said this:

     "The dirty little secret behind being morbidly obese is you don’t get that way simply
     because you like food, you get that way because you're hurting over something. You
     aren't feeding your body, lord knows you don't actually need that much food, you're
     feeding your hurt. I know that better than most. So while weight is a symptom, I’m
     really addressing the hurt."

Wow. I've never had to deal with this. Not yet, and hopefully never. I definitely keep an eye on my weight in terms of how my clothes are fitting and reign in the candy corns when my pants get tight. Training for endurance races means you're pretty much always hungry, so what you choose to stuff your face with matters. But that's not even the point of this post.

The question I have for people who read this is: what do you do, if anything, if you see someone who is the opposite of obese? Someone who is clearly destroying their body by NOT eating? I mean, I guess the answer depends on how well you know the person. Which, in my case, although it's someone I see almost every day, is not at all. There's a girl who goes to my gym. She's always there when I am. She's usually doing a variety of sportz. She's not just thin, she's skin and bones.

The reason I really started to notice her is because we swam side by side one day and, I hate to say this, and I really don't mean it in a rude way, but she smelled funny. Not bad like Dude, take a shower, but just sort of off. Her body was clearly angry with her. I know it's none of my business, and I don't know her, and there's nothing I can do, but it's hitting me in the head and in the heart somewhere between "I really should sneak the phone number for a therapist into her locker" and "Not my problem."

Football and Feats of Strength before 7am

I'd like to say I'm going to go with the flow and do a Wordless Wednesday post, but I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. In fact, sometimes I have to type stuff out and delete it. But then I can't even leave it at that, I have to TELL people that I've typed stuff up and deleted it. You know what your mom said, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

But these pictures ARE something nice, and so was my run and even though there's absolutely no need to explain any of these photos captured along the route of my morning run, I am going to.

<Unlrelated Tip> If you really do need to do an easy run, bring your camera (or your phone) and take pictures of stuff. It makes it difficult to go too fast when you are running, phone in hand ready to snap anything nifty or awesome that comes across your path. </unrelated tip>

Lucky me. I have an amazing morning run route. I get to go past all kinds of wonderful things that people travel from all around the country just to get a glimpse of, take pictures of, and experience. My run starts off with this view of the White House. The Monument is just peeking out from behind. Pretty cool. 

I headed down 15th street and got to see the Washington Monument just as the sun was just coming up. No words needed.

When I got over to the mall is when the fun began. Look at these dudes doing feats of strength. Shut up! They are carrying heavy things down the mall. This is so awesome for so many reasons. What you can't quite see is the guy on the right is holding something really large and presumably heavy over his head as he walks. The guy in the middle has 2 rather large kettlebells. RAR! I love feats of strength. They make me happy.

This is the merry-go-round near the Smithsonian. I didn't realize how sad they were if they weren't on and spinning around and playing music and kids weren't dancing around and laughing. Don't worry, merry-go-round, you will see some action this weekend. I'm sure of it. It's going to be another one of those super busy, lots of stuff going on, people everywhere, beautiful Washington, D.C. weekends.

Morning sportz! These people were playing football right in front of the Capitol. This also made me happy. Football! At 7am! In front of the Capitol! Imagine! I love it! Good job, footballers!

Here's the Capitol. Watching the game. Quietly glad neither team is "skins".

This guy wins for best running outfit, possibly ever. Neon orange arm warmers. Tattoos everywhere (you can't see them, but I promise they are there.) [And, I know tattoos aren't technically an outfit per se, but I am counting them as part of his ensemble. Because it's my list and I can.] Sort of camo, sort of weird patterned cargo shorts. Blue headband. Compression socks. Guy, I hope your run this morning was as awesome as your outfit. You win.

Why I can't get closer to the Washington Monument right now. (You probably can't read it but it's still shut down from the EARTHQUAKE, aka, when I saw my life flash before my eyes because I was on the 12th floor of a building that shook like crazy and I knew, just KNEW I was a goner.) [But everything was fine.] {Well, except for the Monument.}

But it's still looking pretty good. And all the flags are doing their job representing. So I took another picture. Mostly because I love America. Especially this morning.

That was fun. Who knew that phone cameras would be able to take such clear pictures of wonderful things? Happy [Non]Wordless Wednesday, people. I tried. Well, not really.

Friday Fashion Facts

I've seen a lot of bad fashion this week (well, I guess there's a lot of bad fashion every week, but this week stood out.) This always happens when we're sort of in between seasons. It's chilly in the morning, and everyone hopefully wears their adorable tights and sweaters and then by the afternoon, it's sunny and warm and everyone is sweating. You just can't win. I've been wearing a lot of generic, boring, noncommittal outfits in an effort to stay under the fashion radar.

In my best effort at giving back, I've consolidated a list of Friday Fashion Facts to share with you. I feel ok admitting that some of these fashion disasters were of my own making. On the other hand, there are a couple of genius ideas in here, so it's turned out to be a very Seinfeldian (new word?) Even Steven kind of list.

The GOOD:
Guess what I got in the mail this week from a one Ms. Ali on the Run?

If you guessed an I HEART SWEAT shirt, you guessed right. This shirt is proper for every occasion. Warm out? Wear it with shorts. Cool out? Wear it with arm warmers. Cold out? Wear it over an Under Armour shirt. Race day? Perfect. Training day? Also perfect. See? You can't lose.

Be glad that you can't smell this shirt, friends. I have already broken it in, and pulled it out of my laundry for this photo op.

• Friday fashion fact: I HEART SWEAT shirts work like a charm to help you negative split your run. I knew those shirts were awesome, but I never dreamed they could help me with pacing. Thank you, Ali!  

The BAD:
I issued a PSA this week after I drove into the city for a pre-work spin class. It's obviously dark at that hour, but people (like me) are still out there getting their sportz on.

Trust me when I say I'm all about sportz at all hours, but you guys, wearing all black when it's dark out is a recipe for disaster. See this guy running down the sidewalk in my neighborhood?

No? My point exactly. He's wearing all black. In the dark. #notgenius

• Friday fashion fact: Wear bright colors for sportz in the dark. Better yet: wear a LIGHT. Thank you in advance.

The Not That BAD:
I heard about Pilates in the Park this week from @washwellbeing . I easily convinced a couple of sporty chicks to join me. It was weird and wonderful. We were working our core in the middle of the rush hour chaos taking place around Farragut Square.

It was free of charge, but for some odd looks from passersby. There was one woman who walked through the park pointing and laughing at us, while she smoked a cigarette. Um, lady, you are SMOKING and we are doing sportz. 6 pack abs > lung cancer. #wewin

Scissors, anyone?

 However, the grass is itchy, and running shorts are not built for pilates.

•  Friday fashion fact: When doing pilates in the grass with strangers during rush hour, wear tights.  

The UGLY:
Whenever possible, I ride my commuter bike. I usually don't *need* to ride it, DC is quite walkable or metroable or (my personal favorite) bus-able. But, riding a bike is going to be the most fun option, and that's all I really need to say about that.

The main problem, of course, is that work clothes aren't usually condusive to biking. Still, I've ridden in the rain (and had to dry my work pants with a hair dryer before a meeting), I've ridden in a skirt (and realized that non-stretchy pencil skirts are not built for straddling bikes) and I've changed clothes in my garage to avoid the two aforementioned bikerideFAILS.

But today I came up with a truly genius way to keep my work pants out of my drivetrain:

•  Friday fashion fact: Animal print binder clips make great pants clips for bike riders wearing work clothes. Reaow! Am fashion genius!
• Related: Nikes look great with black work pants.

The GENIUS:
I had an epiphany this week while dealing with the after effects of a run and sporting some really awesome compression sleeves under my work pants. They were kind of peeking out of the bottom, and I really didn't feel like dealing with questions from my always curious co-workers. I had just ordered some new boots online and ...you see where I am going with this, right?

• Friday fashion fact: Those fashionable, fun, fall boots that we all love? They hide compression socks beautifully. You're welcome.

Hope your weekend is filled with sweaty spandex!