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…

 

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?