Comments (16)

By kilax, August 29, 2009 8:40 am

I’ve been craving a new wardrobe lately. I think this is a fall thing. Yeah, it’s not “fall,” but we’re definitely having fall weather here. Plus, I am going to Washington D.C. soon for a work trip. I’ll be in a conference all week, and my logic is – “I NEED A NEW OUTFIT FOR EACH DAY!” Uh… these are people I have never met*. How would they know if my outfit was new or not?

The bummer is, I am on a total spending freeze and have been for a few months. I’m only spending money when it’s in gift card form.

But, that doesn’t mean I can’t look! Here are some of the tops that have caught my eye lately. They all seem to have a fun detail to them – which probably means they will be dated in a few years. Oh, and they all seem to be somewhat similar to clothes I have NOW – another reason I don’t need them!

From New York & Company:

Looks like the mustard color is still in style!

From Ann Taylor:

From Banana Republic:
(actually have a large gift card to here, but need to lose weight – their clothes are too expensive to buy in a bigger size – I’ve gotten burned that way before)

Actual Gift Card Buys:

And here are my actual gift card buys. The first one is from JCPenney. I got that top in that design (but in purple, not blue) and in black. The second two tops are from Kohl’s. I bought those with a pair of pants. I didn’t like the top at first, but then saw that the mannequin had it on with the flyaway cardigan, and it looks really cute together.

What are you lusting after these days?

*Except for the one coworker I am going with.

Comments (17)

By kilax, August 2, 2009 10:17 pm

Welcome to week 7 of marathon training! If you click on the activity links after the dates, it will take you to the Garmin connect website for full stats.

Day 43 | Monday, July 27: Cross-train for 40 minutes

Why did biking 4 miles take me forty minutes? I can run faster than that! I must have had the resistance set very high, because I really worked up a sweat and felt sore afterward!

Bike Time: 39:34 mins | Distance: 4.0 miles

Day 44 | Tuesday, July 28: Run 4 miles/Run 7 miles

4 miles at the office gym during lunch… 7 miles at the park in the evening.

My body DID NOT like that.

I tried to save some time later in the week by combining my Tuesday and Wednesday runs. The first one wasn’t so bad – my left shin just hurt. I iced it after.

The second run was just bad. My legs felt like garbage. Bugs were sticking to me like crazy. The park smelled. My bra was digging into my back*. My hydration belt was digging into my side. My left side itched so I pulled my earphone cord out of my shirt and all it did from then on was get caught in my elbow.

I was so angry.

The good news is, Steven ran 3.2 miles of the second run with me, after doing P90x Ploymetrics. That’s awesome. Oh, and I didn’t have to poo during my run. Woo hoo!

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 37:31 | 1: 9:31 | 2: 9:23 | 3: 9:23 | 4: 9:14
Distance: 7.00 | Time: 1:07:16 | 1: 9:45 | 2: 9:45 | 3: 9:37 | 4: 9:46 | 5: 9:30 | 6: 9:27 | 7: 9:20 | 8: 00:02
*I think I have discovered which bra is giving me issues, so that is good.

Day 45 | Wednesday, July 29: Run 4 Miles

My shin was so sore on Wednesday, I was limping all over the place and people kept asking me what was wrong. The only time the pain felt better is when I was moving “fast” – speed walking or running slowly.

I ran these 4 miles with my neighbor, Fritz, and his daughter, Maya, who was in the stroller. We took it nice and slow. At one point, Maya said, “Move Daddy, move!” Ha ha. He said, “We are, honey!” Ha ha. It was nice to run with Fritz. He distracted me from the pain in my shin, and offered to give me a massage later if I need it (he and his wife are licensed massage therapists).

So… I think I am chafing on my back and under my armpit. I have some nasty sore spots. Time to start using the Body Glide!

Wonderful chafing by my armpit. Hurts more than it looks!

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 41:36 | 1: 10:16 | 2: 10:28 | 3: 10:30 | 4: 10:19 | 5: 00:01

Day 46 | Thursday, July 30: Rest

Day 47 | Friday, July 31: Rest

Day 48 | Saturday, August 1: Run 7 miles at marathon pace

My dad rode his bike with me while I ran these 7 miles. I lubed up with the Body Glide before hand, so I didn’t have any chafing issues. Woo-hoo! And, my shin didn’t hurt too much (I still iced it after, just in case)! I think the two days of rest helped.

But, I was pretty slow for a “race pace” run. I averaged under 9:10 a mile. I think I should adjust my race pace to about 9:15 miles. When I was running with my dad, I told him the only way I would be able to keep up a 9-minute mile during the marathon would be if I lost about 15 pounds. We’ll see about that! Ha ha!

It was fun to run with my dad. I don’t see him often, and rarely get him all to myself, so it was a nice hour for me to blab.

Check out the new running outfit my parents got me for my birthday! Isn’t it cute? I haven’t worn it running yet, but I love it. It’s from Kohl’s. I am surprised how nice of running outfits they have.

A new running outfit from my parents!

Distance: 7.00 | Time: 1:04:00 | 1: 9:06 | 2: 9:01 | 3: 8:57 | 4: 9:00 | 5: 9:10 | 6: 9:19 | 7: 9:22 | 8: 00:02

Day 49 | Sunday, August 2: Run 14 miles

My longest run ever (both distance and time-wise) but also my slowest MOST PAINFUL run ever.

The shin pain came back with a vengeance, almost as soon as I stopped running Saturday. It usually only hurts when I am moving, but it actually hurt while I was sleeping Saturday night. Of course, I still got up to run in the morning anyway…

My dad came along on his bike again. I am not sure if he knew what a long, slow bike ride he was in for!

We ran from my parent’s cabin to the downtown area and back. It was such a slow, hot, long, painful run. I stopped 4 or 5 times to go to the bathroom and get water. Every time I took off after running I limped for quite a bit. I really expected the limping to go away, but it took a long time.

We ran along the Mississippi River.

We ran by the Lock & Dam No. 10.

My dad carried all of my junk for me in the child carrier on his back. I wish he could ride with me along the marathon like that. It was really convenient. For me.

I look like I am running faster than I really am. I felt like I was walking, more than running, during this 14-miler.

Every muscle in my body felt sore when I was done. I hurt just taking my clothes off to take a shower.

Thanks for sticking with me, daddy. I love you!

So many things were wrong with this run. I was up too late. I woke up too late. I ate crap all weekend. It was too hot. I was dehydrated. My shin hurt. I just WAS NOT prepared. As a result – major run FAIL. I am sad about this run.

Distance: 14.00 | Time: 2:33:48 | 1: 9:58 | 2: 10:15 | 3: 10:58 | 4: 11:03 | 5: 10:35 | 6: 11:04 | 7: 10:58 | 8: 10:49 | 9: 10:52 | 10: 11:06 | 11: 11:21 | 12: 11:42 | 13: 11:57 | 14: 11:03 | 15: 00:01 

Week Summary: 36 Miles

This week was… hard. My body (shin) is in a huge amount of pain. I may have to cut back to running 4 or 3 days a week, and slower, until it gets better. I plan on buying/ordering new shoes right away, but I don’t know how much that will help. I am not sure what to do.

I’m feeling really bummed about my pain and my slow running.

Comments (19)

By kilax, April 2, 2009 6:32 am

It’s happening again. When I walk past Ann Taylor** on my way to work, when I read InStyle, when I run an errand at Sears during lunch… I am noticing dresses and find myself wanting to try them on!

I finally did go to White House | Black Market in November to check out that dress I had been eying. I was with my mom and grandma, and we were at Water Tower Place in Chicago. We went in to the store and I feel in love with every dress, but tried nothing on. I didn’t need one. I just wanted one!

Of course, my mom didn’t understand this, so for the rest of the shopping trip, she kept pointing out dresses to me, then bought me a very pretty one for Christmas. Love my mom.

So, now it’s happening again. I see dresses I want to try on. I usually resist the urge for two reasons – I have no need for a new dress, and I have very muscular legs… that don’t always look so great in a dress. Plus, I do have some cute dresses at home already (example one and two)! They may be too big for me now, but I should at least try them on before I go shopping.

Or maybe I should just say “what the hell” and try some new dresses on anyway. It can’t hurt. And there’s that wedding we’re going to in July…

Here’s a small sample of some of the dresses catching my eye now:

Hey, does that one in the middle remind you of Miranda’s dress from the Sex in the City movie?

I really love black dresses and also ones with big floral prints!

*Day dreaming only. My actual dreams last night were about a client. I won’t go into details, but if I am up and can’t sleep because I am dreaming about a client… that’s not a good sign.
**Someone, please explain the difference between Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor LOFT. Diane…?

Comments (19)

By kilax, March 28, 2009 8:34 pm

Has anyone else noticed that all of the women’s exercise clothes this season seem to be pink or green?

Good thing I like pink and green!

I was at Kohl’s on Friday, and decided to buy some of their Nike workout clothes to try during my practice runs, in hopes I can wear them at the half marathon. I showed them to Steven tonight, and he had two comments – “White? You’re very brave,” and “That looks like a soccer uniform.”

Ha. I am not surprised about the last comment – that is what attracted me to the white and green tops in the first place – they reminded me of shopping for soccer jerseys. I played soccer for a few years in high school, and my friends (okay, FRIEND) and I were really into it. We loved to go to Scheels, our local sporting goods store, and look at all the cool soccer gear.

Maybe someday I’ll get back into soccer. Maybe there’s still hope that I could actually become good at it!