So I always think it’s interesting to kinda see where folks come from. Do they have siblings, who did they grow up with blah blah. This is my younger sister, visiting me from Charlotte. Her visit forced me to bump my long run to last Thursday, and now, I’m basking in the relaxation of not having 18 miles hanging over my head.
So I was teaching my Zumba class today and out of the corner of my eye, I see someone popping and locking. It’s Debra. Ladies and gentlemen, Debbie Armour.
Made you look!
Now I’m not sure, how in all of my posting about running, I managed to overlook the important topic of support! (Sorry fellows, if you’ve continued reading, you may want to bow out here. I don’t think I can offer you anything in this post. Sorry!) But I received a message the other day from an old friend of mine, Sam Zelin, asking me to post a little more in-depth about the topic of support. Thanks, Sam! Let’s do it!
Ladies, let’s chat about boobs. If you’re going to be active – whether it’s running, Turbokick, Yoga, or Zumba, and whether you’re small-chested, or not, you need support. Not having adequate support is not an excuse to not get active, especially when there are options for every lady out there. And there is absolutely nothing more painful than when you’re driving down the street. You look to your right and there’s a girl running. And her breasts look like they’re fully prepared to give her black eyes. That’s not good at all.
So the first step? Identify where you fall. Are you small-chested? Middle-of-the-road? Larger chested? Breastfeeding? Just had a baby? Once you identify this, get a real bra fitting to get your actual size. Not the size you think you are. About 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size. Sometimes, me included, because I can’t seem to let go of some old bras. But get a real fitting for a real bra. THEN take yourself down to the local running specialty store (Fleet Feet ain’t a bad start!) and let the uber-qualified ladies meet your needs. Whatever you do absolutely DO NOT, do not, DO NOT run down to Target, or worse, Wal-Mart, and grab one of those nasty Champion/Danskin bras off their bra table. What will happen is your boobs will flop around everywhere as you exercise, unless you put two on. Which is stupid. You should not have to layer bras to get a sweet exercise situation poppin off. At any rate, here’s a little guide to help you when you get down for your first official sports bra fitting.
| Bra | |
| Small Breasts | You actually can get away with one of those Champions, but it’s not the best option. Try Moving Comfort’s Alexis, Phoebe, Vixen, or Charity for a little bit of compression, as well as some high-impact support. |
| Medium Breasts | You may need a little more support than some of our smaller-chested friends. Try Moving Comfort’s Vixen, Juno, Fiona, or Jubralee. |
| Large Breasts | This is where I fall. I was always convinced that there wasn’t a bra out there for me, but there is! For us ladies, try Moving Comfort’s Fiona, Maia, or Juno. |
| REALLY Large Breasts | Ladies, don’t fret. There is definitely a bra out there for you. For you ladies (bless you!) try Moving Comfort’s Maia. Also Enell makes a great bra called the Enell Sport. It’s not pretty, by any means, but it will do the job. |
Honorable mentions: Nike makes a super decent sports bra with adequate compression and shape, so that’s not a bad route to go. If you’re looking for something cute? Check out your favorite running sneaker company, and look at their apparel. Usually they’ll have a decent bra to match whatever new outfit you have.
Now this list is by no means exhaustive, however, Moving Comfort really changed my approach to working out. Instead of having to put two bras on, one Fiona got me through countless summers teaching fitness to teens at camp. In addition, spend money on your bras! If you pay $14 for a bra, what the heck do you expect your boobs to do?
The weather turned absolutely gorgeous today in North Carolina. When I pushed off this morning just after 11, it was nearing 60 degrees, so I popped on a tank, some Norts (if you’ve been following along, you know what Norts are), and hit the road for a naked, headphone-free run.
Mid-run I realized something. I didn’t do a gut check before I left. And I haven’t done a gut check in forever. What is the gut check, you ask? The gut check is the practice of lifting up your shirt, checking your gut region, and analyzing it from each angle while lamenting everything you’ve eaten/every day you haven’t worked out for the past week. Usually it’s followed by some pretty self-deprecating thoughts, swearing off all junk, and trolling celebrity gossip websites for bikini pictures of Mila Kunis.
I also realized that Target has some of their bikinis out and I’m not freaking out. And I came to this – exercise makes you feel so good about yourself, there’s really no need for the pre-summer freakout, or the New Years Resolution/Spring Break workout fest, followed by a crash. I remember (especially being an undergraduate student with a little tummy pudge), feeling awful about my body. Freaking out when it came to bathing suit time, feeling fiercely jealous of girls who actually worked out with great bodies, and not really knowing what to do to make the changes I wanted to see in my body and in my confidence.
Going from being mean to myself to caring about myself and actually being confident didn’t happen overnight, but I’ll say this. I’m perfectly aware I’m not a supermodel, and that a career as Naomi Campbell may not be in the cards for me. However, the more/harder I work out, the less worried I get wrapped up in what I look like. I’m doing the best I can, my body is looking pretty fierce, so there’s no need to freak out or complain.
So if you’re one of those ladies (or gentlemen) constantly finding yourself doing the gut check, asking your significant other if you’re fat, or comparing yourself to weekly bikini pics in InTouch Weekly, chill out! Commit yourself to an enjoyable regimen, and the self-destructive comments and humor will seem a silly little thing you did in the past!
Don’t get me wrong, marathon training certainly has its perks. It’s forcing me to eat a little healthier, go to bed earlier, and to be more regimented and disciplined, which is spilling over into my real life. Plus, people seem to be, overall, pretty positive about the adventure I’m taking with this marathon, and have been wishing me luck both left and right. I’ve been far better about budgeting, cleaning, and crosstraining, but its also served to take my inner nutjob and magnify it by 1000. I’ve never run a marathon, but is this normal? It can’t be, right? The following are examples of how training for this marathon is turning me into a nut.
1. I’m constantly hungry. In my regular life, Cheri + hungry is a terrible combination. When my blood sugar plummets, so does everyone’s fun, and all I can do is fantasize about slapping or saying really mean things to those around me. Because of this, I’ve adopted the concept of second lunch. I split my lunch in half, and eat second lunch around 3 or 4. That way, my blood sugar is never too low, and no ones life is in danger when I become too hungry to be around.
2. Toward the end of my long runs, I’ve literally started talking myself through the final like tenth of a mile or so. I’ve been “WOOING” as well. Additionally, I actually did a victory dance after yesterday’s seventeen. I stopped when I realized it could be viewed as insane by passers-by. As I entered my apartment, I kept dancing until I felt that it was time to stretch.
3. I’m a little more anxious than usual. And that’s not cool at all. What am I anxious about? Oh snap, time for another indentation, this one gets its own sublist.
Lucky for me, I work with a boatload of folks who have done this already, and my dear buddy Jerry directed me to this website which sort of eased my mind.
You guys heard of this? McMillan Running Calculator dohickey?
As I was thisclose to having a full-blown marathon-related meltdown at work, Jerry directed me to this site. You put your 1/2 Marathon time in, and it calculates from that a reasonable estimate of where your pace should be, and where you should be as for as your miles times and such. Jerry and Co. looked it over and remarked that I was right where I should be! ::sigh:: Okay.
I recognize that my marathon-related fears are unreasonable and relatively non-issue-like. And it certainly doesn’t help that I probably haven’t slept a full night since I graduated in 2011 (that’s another story for another day, lemme tell you what). Taking that into consideration, I am going to do like they used to tell us in the early mornings during Residence Life training and choose my attitude. Tomorrow, I’m going to choose to view this stuff as insane and unreasonable as it is, and not allow these ridiculous thoughts to creep in and sabatoge my marathon. I certainly didn’t invest all this time, money, and effort, to let my fear that I haven’t packed enough for lunch, for example, ruin the great weekend we’re gonna have in Virginia Beach in a little over a month!
I didn’t bother posting yesterday…we celebrated our national holiday, the Beyonce Bowl, and you guys couldn’t care less what I have to say. But how dang good was that halftime show? Let me say that if the power had gone out during the halftime set, I may currently be hospitalized. Onto the good stuff!
I ran my long run yesterday, 17 miles.
I was kinda nervous since 16 didn’t feel so hot. But I think it was partially because I didn’t bring my Camelbak with me, and dehydrated muscles perform like a car with just a teensy bit of gas left. Also, I think 16 is the point where, if my blood sugar isn’t quite where it’s supposed to be, my body is like ::side-eye:: “Nope, Cherisse, not gonna happen today”.
But I started early, took a few Powerbar Gels and some Clif Shot Blocks with me, and settled in for a long ride. So the key to the 17-miler is…
–Katy Perry Pandora
-Pull out all the advice people have given you. Yoga Kerri told me just settle in and understand you’re going to be at it for a long time. While some folks may be snug as a bug, you’re going to be freezing your tush off, eating caffeinated gummy snacks. Embrace it.
-Pre-run compression (pictured above from the night before) is where it’s at for me! Compression isn’t just for post-surgery folks, runners have jumped on the bandwagon. Calf cramps, ugly swelling, and hopefully clots, in some cases, are banished with these guys. They don’t just look cool, they actually have a function!
-A whole lotta sweat. All that dark on my shirt? 17 miles worth of sweat. Which means a whole lotta water. Seriously, don’t skimp on the water. You will feel like garbage and that ain’t cute.
–Essie, “Go Overboard”.
Next week is 18 in my marathon training, and I feel a little better about it since 17 went so well. I seriously did a little victory dance there on the side of Glenwood as I finished. Workin’ on my moves for next week!!
If you’re anywhere on the East Coast, you know that it was 70 degrees earlier this week. I completed my long run in tights and a short sleeve, and sweated like a cow. And now, the North Carolina weather can’t make up its mind, and has reverted to freezing and windy! Just in time for me to take a rest day! Here are a few of my friends bundled up for this chilly weather! (Look underneath each photo for a cute description of each person!)
Today is the last day that I’m fundraising for Mercy Corps. Every mile I’ve run, all the posts I’ve written, all the networking I’ve done, has all led up to this.
I am blown away by the response I’ve gotten from you all. And I’m not just talking donations (even though they’ve been really really nice). I’m talking the messages, emails, news stories, features, and willingness of everyone to chip in and lend a hand. I just say thank you for all your help and support.
I’ll keep this short, and say that I’ll top off today with a short 4-5 miler to finish us out, and then we’re done with this project.
And by popular demand, the blog will live! I originally had intended for it to wrap up like the project, but let’s face it, I’m dang good at what I do 🙂
No really, I really just like doing this and would be honored if you’d keep reading. Thank you again, folks. Xoxo.
But feet are sort of important when you’re running. And pedicures should be part of everyone’s marathon training.
Weird things can happen to your feet when you’re training. Warts (ick, from the gym!) Blisters. Callouses. The dreaded bunion (and women are like 70% more likely to develop a bunion than men are…so unfair, right?).
So long story short, it’s super important to care for your feet. Getting a shoe fitting at a legit store (not a big-box sporting goods place) is invaluable. And I wouldn’t necessarily trust those sites where they tell you to enter your info in and they generate a shoe. You need to have someone fit you, and it’s important to try things on, to let a trained staff member evaluate whether you’re in the right shoe, and take it from there.
In addition (and read no further if feet make you gag, okay?)….
If you’re training for something, whatever it may be, treat yourself to a pedi. You can ask them to leave the callouses you think you’ll need, but it’s nice after a long run to have someone else rub your feet. (And check out this color! Ain’t bad, right?)
I ran my long run yesterday, which was 16. Ouch! Everything felt pretty good until the last two miles. At that point all I could do was literally talk to myself until I finished.
Anyhoo, it was about 50 degrees out, but my hands still did their Raynaud’s thing. (Raynaud’s is this thing I have where my hands and feet lose circulation all the time. Very painful, and very annoying. Regular people can get it, and it can also sort of be “induced” in patients with Lupus or who’ve been through chemo. I am lucky that this is not the case for me. I was just born this way.) So if you look in the pic, you can see the partition almost where the blood has just decided it’s not going to flow. I combat this with a lot of fish oil, warm clothing, and windmilling my arms whenever possible!
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