Bra Maintenance

I have a confession to make, please don’t judge me (too much), as of this morning I own approximately ten sports bras and several of them are more than three years old. Yeah, they are seriously old… I know that you are supposed to get rid of them after a significant amount of wear, but I’m the type of person who seems to hold onto clothing as long as possible. Well, in this case I’m finally realizing that I need to make a change.

Last night I was lucky enough to join some other Janes at a Moving Comfort Bra Extravaganza. I was excited as I’ve only been wearing Moving Comfort bras, namely the Fiona, for the past six years. I was ecstatic when I found a bra that fit well for my high intensity workouts. Of course, in speaking with June (the MC rep), I found out that I really should be rockin’ the Jubralee for all my workouts. Check out the website to find the perfect bra for your size and activity of choice.

At the event, one woman admitted that she always washes her sports bras after one wear which means she owns a serious number. June let us know that it is perfectly acceptable to wear a sports bra more than once before washing. To which I admitted to wearing my bra into the shower after a workout to help rinse off the sweat. I was amazed how shocked the other ladies were to this thought. June immediately agreed that it was a great idea and the other gals decided to give it a shot. This allows me to wear it more than once and avoid any sweat/smell from previous wears.

And when you do wash it, remember to fasten the hooks (something I neglected to do for too long). A lingerie bag is also a great idea (for any bra you own). Then it is best to let it hang dry. To help keep the fabric breathing properly avoid fabric softener which will clog the material.

But most importantly June let us know to look for signs of wear in our bras, this will let you know when to move on to new ones.  If you see any signs of a stretched bottom band and straps, faded tags, possible chafing spots, or a less-than-fresh scent, then you should probably invest in a new bra. After it has been worn too long the support is reduced drastically which will lead to bounce-age and, even worse, chaffage.

Thanks to June and See Jane Run I’m tossing out five of my oldest bras. No need to keep them around if they aren’t supporting me fully. And now I’m going to invest in a Jubralee or two. Sorry budget…

How many sports bras do you keep around? How do you keep them fresh?

Note: This post was not sponsored in any way by Moving Comfort. However, I won’t complain if they want to subsidize the cost for the new bras I’m about to purchase…

 

Friend Making Mondays: This or That

Oh look at that, I’ve been out of the blogosphere for a few weeks.  Woops? After graduation I went on a few amazing trips all over the world and haven’t really settled back in quite yet. These days I’ve been crashing with a friend in the South Bay, spending too much time in San Francisco, and actively searching for the next chapter. There are some good things on the horizon (fingers crossed) and I’ll tell you all about them when everything falls into place.

FYI – Burning Man was amazing. I’d love to chat about it if anyone is interested! Or if you have questions about the festival, I’d be happy to answer them.

And with that, I’m getting back into the swing of things by joining in with Friend Making Mondays! Make sure to check out all the other great responses over at All The Weigh.

1.  Meat and potatoes or pasta? I’m a meat and veggies type of girl, although not typically potatoes. I can’t seem to say no to roasted veggies these days.

2.  Do you prefer Apple or Android? I’m an Android girl. In fact, I notice that I’m one of the few PCs around Silicon Valley which I find quite amusing (even Googlers are using Macs…).

3.  Do you kiss and tell, or do you keep it private? It may not be the best habit, but I kiss and tell…

4. If you had to choose one, would you choose Facebook or Twitter? Hands down I would choose Facebook. It helps me feel connected with my friends from all over the world and gives me a window into their worlds.

5.  Christmas or Valentine’s Day? This may sound odd since I’m a Jewess and all, but I’d choose Christmas. For as long as I can remember I’ve gone out and had Chinese food with friends, watched movies, and relaxed all day.

6.  If you joined a band, would you prefer to do vocals or play an instrument? Vocals all the way. And maybe I’d have a tambourine because those are always amusing.

7.  Hot weather or cold weather? I much prefer cold weather. You can always put clothing on, but when it is 100 degrees and full humidity you can never take enough clothing off. (Ask me about my summer travels and how I dealt with that heat.  Oy…)

8.  Calorie counting or tracking points? Eating wisely, does that qualify? Not that I always do it, but I’m trying to be more aware of what I’m putting into my body.

9.  Yoga or kickboxing? Kickboxing! It is a great workout and a good way to get out aggression.

10.  East Coast or West Coast? West coast. I grew up on the east coast and my family is all there, but I have a love for this area and don’t imagine I’ll be leaving anytime soon.

Hope everyone has a glorious Monday! 

Wordless Wednesday – The Traveling Jewess

And I’m back! After four weeks of non-stop international travel, I’ve finally returned to California for a few weeks rest (before my next adventure). I loved my time abroad, but I’m excited to stay in one place for more than three nights.  For those who don’t know, I spent two weeks in Morocco and two weeks in Turkey. I would highly suggest both places and would happily give recommendations for anyone traveling to that part of the world.

I have a few too many stories and more than 1000 photos, but today (for Wordless Wednesday) I thought I’d share a few of my favorites that I took.

One of the gorgeous gates that I saw around Morocco

Beautiful fishing boats by the sea side

A beautiful evening meal overlooking the sunset on the beach

The epic Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Absolutely breathtaking.

One of many cave houses in Cappadocia

There is nothing like sleeping under the stars without light pollution. I saw multiple shooting stars.

Huge, gorgeous amphitheater in Ephesus

A sculpture of the goddess Nike. If you look hard enough, you’ll see the swoosh.

The serene mountainside of Şirince

A Scatterbrained Fitbloggin Recap

It has been an insane week, but I’m finally ready to sit down and mull over the awesomeness that was Fitbloggin!

I arrived in Portland a day early to hang out with the lovely Tasha of Lettuce Makes Me Fat. She took me to a phenomenal Vietnamese restaurant (Luc Lac, go if you are in the area!) and then we explored a bit of the area. Afterward, I showed her one of my favorite past times – hashing. I love sharing this craziness with others and was thrilled that she enjoyed herself . Seriously folks, if you like running, ridiculousness, and drinking, search for the hash house harriers in your city. They are some of the most welcoming and fun individuals.

The next morning I burst into my hotel room to ninja hug Kenlie and Martinus. It was great to be reunited with some of my favorite people (major shout out to my love Pinky who I got to spend a lot of time canoodling with). After catching up, I took the afternoon to explore more of the downtown area before trying out a pyrolates class. I went in a bit blindly and quickly realized why they called it PYRO-lates. Every part of my thighs and abs were on fire by the time the class ended (and for days afterward). It was intense, but fun to try something new. I need to get more burny workouts into my life, nothing proves that it is working like insane soreness the following days. (Is that a good or bad thing? Who knows.)

I set a goal to attend every workout class offered this year at Fitbloggin, but disregarded how tough it would be to wake up at 5:30am each morning… I’ll admit that the workouts were by far my favorite part of the conference. It is great to try out new activities and joke around with friends. This year we got to “spank our bad kitties” again with Jeff of JumpSport. Lucky for me, he teaches a class in San Francisco so I’ll get to do it again sometime. And I realized that yoga isn’t as bad as I had recalled, this might be something I add into my routine.

This year we had a great fashion show coordinated by Emmie and I was lucky enough to be involved. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but I was quite excited to rock my Nux outfit. Outside the room I was overly confident, then as my turn arrived I felt the nerves coming on. I sauntered up to the stage and demanded confidence from myself. I don’t quite remember what I was thinking during the walk, but I do love this photo that was taken of me strutting my stuff. When I look at it I feel so confident and proud, and I think we all need to feel that way more often about our awesome selves. Take a moment to check out the greatness that was Maggie killing it on stage.

Fitbloggin meant a lot to me this year for a multitude of reasons. It wasn’t just an opportunity to spend time with amazing people, but it was a moment to really consider what I’m doing with my health. I’ve managed to make some adjustments to my diet this past month and I want to think about what else I can do in the coming months as I reenter the working world. I want to make smarter decisions in both my eating habits and exercise. This is my year to make things happen, I need to remember that.

Overall I loved Portland. It had a nice urban feel, but it was easy to get out to nature. I’ll definitely be returning to do more hiking, kayaking, and site seeing. Who knows, perhaps I’ll end up in that area some day.

As for Fitbloggin, I’ll definitely be back! I’ve had a great time these past two years and look forward to meeting more amazing people next year.

See Jane Run Half Recap

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of running the See Jane Run half marathon in Alameda, CA. I’d been planning to run this for a few months, but it managed to sneak up on me before I knew it. Don’t get me wrong, I did several long training runs before the day of, but somehow it didn’t sink it (this is a recurring problem for me).

So I set to bed early on Friday and  woke up at 5:45am ready for the day. Suited up into my typical race outfit, capris and a pink top, then dilly-dallyed for some time. Around 6:15am I got into the car to head up to Alameda early as I wanted to grab a bagel before the race. Well, those hopes were dashed when I saw how crazy the parking situation was.

Look how happy we were at the start! Such fools…

After claiming my spot, I rushed to the start area to find Maggie. One quick port-a-potty stop later and she agreed to search for a bagel with me. By the time we returned (with bagel in hand) it was 10 minutes from the start. We sauntered over and took a lovely photo (I actually really like it which is rare for me!). And then, as we were about to start shuffling, Maggie casually asks, “Did you remember to wear sunscreen?” Facepalm…

Packed start line. We were ready to go!

As we get going we were actually quite positive. We realized that, with this flat course, there was a very solid chance that we can set a new PR for Maggie. And we set out to do just that. We started jogging with the other Janes at a steady clip. Mile 1 was a bit faster than I’d have liked (because I’m oh-so-conservative), but it felt good. Then we found ourselves on a completely uncovered straight away.  Apparently Alameda is hotter than San Francisco, I had no idea that the weather forecast for the day was sweltering.

Somehow we unintentionally sped up for the next three miles. Neither of us seemed to notice as we trotted along. We chatted a bit about life and how I’m frustratingly uncertain what I’ll do after graduation. Getting into a steady rhythm.  Once we crossed the pedestrian bridge it seemed to be a touch crowded since the path only allowed for three people across. So we started to leap frog around a bit (probably not our best idea) and we were doing quite well for a while…

But then after eight miles of running in the uncovered heat, both of us became a bit disheartened. We’d been doing great, chasing the pace group right in front of us, but the heat was taking its toll. The time for our ninth mile (and every mile following) was drastically longer than the first eight. I tried to keep our spirits high, with a smile on my face and loudly cheering for everyone we were with. Unfortunately my positive attitude couldn’t get us to push much harder, that heat was killer.

Approaching the finish line we picked it up into a sprint and finished strong. Although we didn’t make our goal of PRing, we finished together and in fairly high spirits. Moments later Katie came applauding over, so proud of our effort. My lovely ultimate frisbee pal Katie had conquered the 5k and was kind enough to wait for us. We immediately grabbed some champagne and took a much needed seat to gab about the day. It wasn’t even 11am yet and I was beat. By the time we stood up again my legs were very confused, but brunch needed to be consumed!

For the majority of the race I insisted on telling people my reason for running – bacon! So I was quite pleased that we made it to a nice restaurant to monch on some. I’ll admit, it wasn’t my favorite bacon, but at that point almost any would suffice. Overall it was a great morning spent with some lovely Janes.

Happy again after a tasty meal

So, would I run this race again? Only if someone tells mother nature to take it easy. I’m not a fan of being active in that type of heat, and most certainly not if I’m in direct sunlight for several hours.  But this is definitely a course I’d run again (in the winter), completely flat and scenic. The field is fairly small but incredibly supportive, which was incredibly helpful as my energy decreased. And the shwag? Awesome. Check out the new medal I’ll be rocking!

Just so everyone knows the truth about why I run

Now to decide if I’ll enter the See Jane Run Triathlon in October…

What do you run for? Chocolate, champagne, beer, cupcakes?