Under Armour Love

Now that you all know about my obsession with LuLuLemon, I figured I would give you a little insight to the rest of my running wardrobe. As much as it pains me to admit this, I am not some ridiculously rich person that can afford to only purchase Lulu clothes.  Because of this fact, I do have to buy a few other products. My go to choice other than LuLu is typically Under Armour.

I recently purchased a few new Under Armour tops, for cold weather running specifically. Please ignore the lack of makeup or the ridiculous hair in the following pictures.

One color I usually am not caught dead in is pink. For whatever reason I am not really a pink girl, maybe I wore it too much as a child or something, but I own just about nothing that is pink. I can no longer make that statement however since I bought this incredibly bright pink long sleeve waffle top. Originally I was going with black, but after realizing most of my bottoms are black (and as much as I love looking like a ninja while running), I wanted a little color.

This picture does not do the brightness of this top any justice. You can probably see me coming from about a mile away when I run in this top. I saw it in the store first in black, my usual go to color, and fell in love. The material is so soft and warm that I knew I would love running in it. I also am obsessed with the fact that the neck can go up high enough to cover my nose. I have run in it a few times and am always sweating to death by the end, which I'm happy about because on freezing cold days I know it will really keep me warm.

Another purchase, also Under Armour, was the basic long sleeve top they have. I bought two, one crew neck and one mock turtleneck.

Hard to tell in the light but this is coral

Paul got bored of me writing this and wanted to join in for picture time, I know we're ridiculous

The main question was will I like the turtleneck or crew neck better. I've run in both so far and have found the mock turtleneck to be a little longer on me (and we all know my obsession with long tops) so I may have found a winner in that area. As an added bonus both tops were $10 off making them both only $35. I am aware $35 is still a lot to pay for something you sweat in, but they are much cheaper than any of my lulu tops and I know will keep me warm. Yes I am justifying here but whatever. 

I bought a nice new Under Armour headband to keep my ears warm too when I run outside now. I hate wearing hat's because of my ponytail, and my ears are really the only thing that get cold anyways. Also all these pictures were taken pre-hair dying so that's why it looks the same (and ridiculous).

Happy Thursday Everyone! 

All I want for Christmas is lululemon!

December brings not only Christmas season for me but also birthday season! Of course being a Christmas baby can have downsides, but also has tons of upsides. One is that all stores are out fulling promoting different items as the "perfect present" which I get to take advantage of for both Christmas and Birthday! The top of my list this year is anything from lululemon! 

Side note...I could almost make 4 or 5 posts about my love for lululemon. I'm sure you all would stop reading my blog however, so I will limit it to just one. Be prepared though, this is a long one :)

The first time I ever stepped foot in a lululemon was in California, during spring break my senior year of college. I was walking by and saw a running jacket in this amazing teal color that I absolutely loved. I had no idea what store it was, and ran in the store to check it out. I tried on the jacket and LOVED it. I looked at Carolyn and said "I'm buying this now." Carolyn, not as new to lulu as I was, held up the price tag for me to see. I was shocked! How could it cost so much for a jacket?! Yet I still wanted it so badly. I texted the name of the store to myself so that I could look it up online later... yes I wasn't the brightest and was under the impression it was just a California store.


Now, not even 2 years later, I could not be more in love with lululemon and go into the store all the time in the mall. I will admit I have become some what of a lulu snob when it comes to running clothes. I'll try on other pants and think, why buy these when I can pay a little more and look 100 times better, while feeling 100 times more comfortable. I live in my lulu Run:Full Tilt Crop's, picture below, (and by live in them I really mean that, I'm wearing them as I type).

Here are a couple items from lulu that are on the top of my wish list this Birthday/Christmas! (hint hint family and bf!!)

The Cool Racerback in extra long is the ONLY tank top I have found that I love. (I'm wearing the non-extra long version in the picture of me above, but it still is awesome). It is so long, and I can never find anything that long. I would run in only this top if given the option. By summer I'm hoping to have at least 5 or 6 so that I do only run in this. I never have to pull my pants up or top further down when I am wearing this. Having to mess with your clothes while running is seriously distracting and uncomfortable. This tank top has been perfect and owning another one is absolute top of my wish list this year.

Run Swiftly Tech Long Sleeve. Aka the softest most comfortable top you could ever wear. I was dancing around in the dressing room with this top on. I also am a sucker for the thumb holes in shirt sleeves. It also is super warm, but not overly thick and bulky which makes it perfect for layering. Did I mention how long it is on me too?

The Run Turn Around Long Sleeve. It has thumb holes and a secret hidden pocket. Do I need to say more about why I love this top? I will anyways. Like the shirt above it, this top is also super soft and perfect layering. I love the pocket because I can hide my key or iphone in it. It also is really cute and again really long on me , so yeah I'm in love.

The Stride Jacket, the big birthday present wish of the year. There are too many things about this jacket that I love to even go into all the details. The fact that when you zipper it up, the neck goes up past your chin is amazing. The fact that it has a hood is a bonus, and the zipper (as ridiculous as this sounds) is the easiest thing I have ever zipped in my life. It again is super annoying when you are running and  pulling on zippers to go up and down when they won't go. Not a problem at all with this jacket! Deep pockets, thumb holes, extra length, and comfortable fabric are all included in this jacket! Ok I'll stop gushing over a jacket. 

Another pair of crops and long pants are on the list as well for me. If I spent anymore time on the website or in the store I can promise this list would be even longer. 

So that is my ridiculous obsession of lululemon. Everyone told me that once I bought a single item from there I would be hooked, and they were right. I usually hate to admit when other people are right, but this time I have no shame in admitting my love for all my lulu clothes. Ok I will really stop gushing this time over clothes.

Oh and yes I am aware that all these pictures are either black or gray, I swear I like colors too. 

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

You never regret going for a run

I got home from work yesterday to find the best surprise ever!

On "cyber Monday" K-Swiss had an awesome deal of buy one pair of shoes and get the other pair free!!! Can I stress the word FREE a little more! I already run in K-Swiss shoes and was looking to get a new pair so this deal was perfect! My first run in them will be tomorrow morning and I can't wait.

I plan to change my running schedule a little to not only work with my distance, but also my speed. Three runs a week I want to work on running in general and distance, and then once weekly a run to work on speed. Hopefully this will help with my running over all. It is great for weight loss..(which is awesome in general)...but even better because Paul and I decided to start biggest loser again. Last time we did this, well I stopped and he lost 40 pounds. We haven't decided on a final prize for the winner yet, so let me know if you have ideas! It runs from now until right before the DC race in March.

Running has actually been going well for me lately...I know shocker right? Nobody is more surprised than I am. I was a little worried as the weather got colder if I would still be able to improve my running. The key I have found right now is that my schedule works perfectly for me. My two mornings during a week, (my jobs awesome and lets me go in late), I automatically get up early for a run. Then Saturday and Sunday I run as well.  I can't say I'm always thrilled to get out there and run, but I am getting better about this. I'm lucky to have the bf to help me with this...by help me I mean continue to bug me and nag until I get off my ass and put my sneakers on, but still it gets me moving.

I found a quote the other day that I could not relate to more. This girl has an awesome blog and posted something along the lines of "You never regret going for a run" which is 100% true. I have not once gone out running and thought after, "Damn, shouldn't of done that!" It always is "So happy I got out there and ran!" On the days that I don't totally feel like running, and the bf isn't there too push me, I need to remind myself of that to get myself moving.

Happy Tuesday! ...but really it's only Tuesday?

December Updates!

Happy December everyone! One of my favorite months: snow, Christmas, my birthday...how could I not? Anyways here are some updates!

1. No detox.
----> I have a serious issue with not eating all day and not being able to have coffee. I can't give up both for a day. Long story short, insane migraine while still at work at 7pm with pizza around me, I failed. I did realize though I was being silly. While it is a good way for some people to get back into healthy eating, I think I should have learned from my past fails with it that maybe it's not for me. Here is too getting back into healthy eating by just eating healthy!

2. No Jingle Bell.
---> I know I'm just all about the fails lately! But for real, I didn't want to fail on this one, and my running is slowly picking back up! I think if I jumped into this race and didn't do awesome I'd feel more discouraged than excited.

3. New website obsession.
---> www.pinterest.com ...if you don't love it the second you get there, search puppy and you will. And no I'm not cool enough to have an invite yet, still waiting.

4. My life.
---> On the above awesome website, I found a picture that perfectly describes my life.

5. My hair is a different color.
---> I know I mentioned this before and have yet to post a pic, but that's coming soon.

6. Running Plan.
---> Excel sheet is in the works of my new running plan (Will post when complete!). My idea to run two mornings a week (when I go to work late) and two runs on the weekend has been going well so far. My running is slowly improving, it helps when I have views like this while running!

 

7. I want to wear this some day.

Yes I would totally become a trainer some day if I could. 

8. I think I'm out of updates.

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekend :)

Victoria Secret Fashion Show

Day 2 of "My 7 days of Misery" is, well, its all done. Long and complicated story (short story is I failed, and should know better than to not eat anything all day and go running). I will update you all on this tomorrow. Quickly moving off that topic on to more exciting things.

I have no shame in saying how excited I am for the Victoria Secret Fashion Show tonight! I watch every year in awe of just how much fun the show is and how in shape the girls are. I'm sure I can get loads of crap for promoting this, because it does also promote a lot of unhealthy habits to girls everywhere.

I think for some people it is a nice idea to think "wow people actually look like that, that's awesome." It is when people think "I need to look like that and do everything I can to make this happen" that it becomes a problem. Most people have no idea what these super models do before shows to get ready and get in shape. While I am sure they eat completely differently, and probably cut out all sweets, carbs, etc. the amount of working out they do to prepare is over the top. I give them all the credit in the world for looking as good as they do the night of the fashion show.

I also like the show for the reason of no airbrushing. Everyone knows every picture taken of anyone is photoshopped, airbrushed, and so on. You name it, they have it done to them in the picture. In the show there is no airbrushing or photoshopping. This is what the models really look like, and they all look pretty incredible and in shape if you ask me. I think there is nothing wrong with giving credit to them for all the work they do. The problem is when people take it to the extreme to attempt to look like these women.

Moral of the story, I am so excited to go home tonight and watch the VS Fashion show, after Biggest Loser of course! Happy Tuesday all!