Runner Skincare and my Sawyer SPF 30 StayPut Sunscreen

Disclaimer: I received Sawyer SPF 30 Stay Put Sunscreen as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

Hello you all! I’m back with another review and this time it’s of the Sawyer SPF 30 Stay Put Sunscreen. 🙂

As I’m getting older, I’m beginning to understand the importance of skin care. Wrinkles are more or less permanent so if I can delay the presence of them, I’m going to try. Also, skin cancer is bad and I obviously don’t want that.

As a runner, I spend hours pounding the pavement under the hot sun and so if I don’t protect my skin, it’s going to burn, age more quickly, and ultimately deteriorate. For skin protection, I wear trucker hats/visors to shield my face, sunnies to shield my eyes, and sunscreen to shield everything else. 🙂

Finding the right kind of sunscreen is also super duper important. You don’t want one that is super greasy (or maybe you do), has an overpowering smell, or that comes off within minutes of movement, right? At least, I don’t. I want one that feels lightweight, has a very light fragrant smell to it, and stays on for longer. Sawyer’s SPF 30 Stay Put Sunscreen literally all of that.

Lightweight – Many sunscreens will say that they have a lightweight feel to them, but really don’t. My boyfriend is super picky about his sunscreens. If it feels at all greasy, he doesn’t want it on his skin because it just sits on his skin and he feels uncomfortable the entire time. I was SHOCKED when I put it on and it felt SUPER smooth. I liked it so much I used way more than I should have because it had this nice lotion feel to it without it being greasy or sticky once applied. I was even more thrilled when I put it on my boyfriend and he was not bothered by it. WINNER WINNER! 🙂

Smell – The Stay Put sunscreen has a nice light fragrance to it. It’s not overpowering in the least and I’m pretty sensitive to colognes/perfumes.

Application – Most of the sunscreens I use leave white streaks around my elbows and behind the knees. This one DOES NOT.  Normally after I run, all the sweat causes the sunscreen to travel to my creases leaving these white streaks. However, when I ran with the Stay Put sunscreen, I didn’t get any streaks at all! Sawyer’s proprietary bonding formula has a longer lasting effect on your skin. The sweat and water pass over the sunscreen without wiping them away, which makes it ideal for runners and possibly swimmers. 🙂 Once applied, it takes a few minutes to bond and then you’re off. This bonding technology is kind of great. I also have an issue with sunscreen getting into my eyes when I sweat and oh my, the burning sensation is great. I don’t have that issue with this sunscreen. Hallelujah. 🙂

So there you have it, my review of this freaking amazing sunscreen. They currently sell it through various avenues and of course through Amazon. 🙂 If you’ve ever tried it, please let me know what you think. I will probably never go back. LOL.

For more reviews, see what my fellow BibRave Pros had to say below.

Alastair – Ken – Brenda M. – Lissa – Vanessa J. – Danielle – Whitney – Amy – Virginia – Nicole Nicole 

Question for you? What do you do to protect your skin from the sun? 🙂 Any creams you recommend? I’m not getting any younger. LOL 

 

 

 

 

 

FriYay – A Getaway to Exuma, Bahamas

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Exuma Half Marathon as part of the BibRave Bahamas Getaway package and for being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own.

It’s only been 2 weeks since my last racecation and I’m thrilled to let you all know that I already have another one planned (LOL) because honestly, why not, right? I might have mentioned it before, but back in graduate school, I met someone who’s goal was to make out to a new country every year and since 2015, I’ve been trying to make that happen and make up for lost time. So far, I’ve been to Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Canada, France, and Spain. I’ll be heading off to Taiwan in October and in November, I’ll be headed to the Bahamas for the Exuma half marathon!

The Deets

Dates: Thursday, Nov 7th through Monday, Nov 11th, 2019

Race distance: This race has distances from ranging from a 2k to a 50k and since I wanted to actually be able to walk around post-race, I opted in for the half marathon. It is my favorite distance after all.

Getaway package: BibRave has partnered up with Grand Isle Resort and the Exuma marathon to provide this all inclusive package, which includes the following:

• Welcome Cocktail Reception
• VIP Registration on Property
• Pre-Race Pasta Dinner
• Race Day Shuttle

• Race Registration and Entry Fee
• Post-Race Celebration Dinner
• Breakfast included daily
• $200 resort credit

If you’re concerned about cost, honestly, convince a bunch of your running friends to go with you and make a vacation out of it. 🙂 They have VILLAS at the resort. I’ve never stayed at a villa so excuse my excitement. LOL.

To book it, you can go here.

Flights: Oh this was a tricky one for me. Coming from the west coast, it’s not extremely easy to get to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights into the Bahamas, but I definitely found a ton that go into Florida and then you’re only an hour and a half flight out. If you’re based on the east coast, this is such a easy racecation spot to get to and if you’re on the west coast and really want to go, do your research and book your flights early. My flights ended up costing around $650 RT, but for the perks of being in Exuma, it’s worth it.

Other perks of racecation-ing in Exuma? SWIMMING WITH THE PIGS! Honestly, I’m probably most excited for this. I mean, how cute are these little piggies? Don’t you want to swim with them? I know I do and I’m going to try my very best to see them and even swim with them if I can. I’ve also never snorkeled before so I’m pretty excited to do all of the things. Feed iguanas, island hop, swim with the pigs, and maybe even visit Thunderball Grotto because again, why not? LOL. I was never a YOLO type of girl growing up, but as I’m getting older, I can see why people live by it. I mean, I’m not going to go out and sky dive. That’s not going to happen, but I’m going to try and enjoy life a bit, while I still can. 🙂

Soooooooo yeah, I’m excited. 😀

Question for you: Have you been to the Bahamas before? Any thing I must see or do? 

Beating the Blerch

About a week ago, I beat the Blerch and boy was it glorious. If you haven’t heard of the Blerch, you may be scratching your head wondering “What on earth is she talking about?” Well, according to the Oatmeal’s comics, the Blerch represents all forms of gluttony, apathy, and indifference that plagues one’s life. It also happens to be in the form of a fat little cherub who follows people when they run. If you haven’t read this comic, please do. It’s hilarious.

So anyway, this comic inspired the Oatmeal to create the “Beat the Blerch” 5k, 10k, half, and full marathon. 🙂 It’s been on my bucket list for years and two weekends ago, I crossed it off my list by doing the half. Hooray! Here’s how the race went down.

The race is in Carnation, WA, about an hour or so away from Seattle. The race started at 9:30 am so my friend and I leisurely made out way out with a half hour to spare. From start to finish, there were so many things that made us smile.

In the waiting area, there was a burritoughnut station where you got a tortilla, a donut, and a lot of toppings (chips and sweets) to put into your burritoughnut. LOL. I had to pass as I did not trust myself to not throw up mid race. 🙂

At the start line, they were volunteers throwing out candy and I kid you not, they opened up a bag of chips and started tossing them out. LOL. After crossing the start line, turmoil ensued. The race announcer had mentioned that rights were our friend and that on the course, we were to turn right. She either failed to mention that the first turn was a left or none of us were listening. I actually think it was possibly the latter. We were a chatty bunch. 🙂

Soooo, as my friend and I are turning right at the first intersection and running along the path, we see about a hundred runners coming back at us and there was just utter confusion. We tried turning onto a different path onto a bridge that definitely was not meant to support 30 people running on it. And after running a bit, someone said “Hey, umm no one is behind us.” LOL. So we immediately back tracked until we saw a volunteer to set us on the right path. They even told us that if we wanted to restart, we could head to the start and they could reset our timers, but I wasn’t running this for time so we just headed off to catch up with the other runners.

The course was beautiful – full of nature (trees and things). It was warm, but the trees shaded us and there was a nice consistent breeze. We even saw some chickens along the route. Then, there were the aid stations. Oh the aid stations were the best. Each aid station had a Blerch…chilling on a couch, with cake and nutella sandwiches. Each Blerch we encountered was great. They kept telling us to slow down and to have a nice sit-down. LOL. I couldn’t stop laughing as I passed them.

The finish line also had a Blerch that gave us high fives as we headed in. That Blerch also chased some people in so they had some awesome photos of them beating the Blerch to the finish line. 🙂 OH and the photos were free. What more could I ask for? I got Matthew Inman to sign my ribbon.

If you’ve never run this half before, I highly recommend it. 🙂

Question for you: Have you ever run for food? LOL. I have. It’s the story of my life. 

 

My Seattle Sightings

Oh crap. It’s been over 3 weeks since my last blog post. Whoops! Sorry about that! I’m sure you’re probably dying from not knowing what’s been going on in my life. LOL. JK. 🙂 So this past weekend, I flew to Seattle to have another racecation and this time, I DID IT RIGHT you guys. I actually took a few additional days off to explore the city. (I get a lot of crap from my non-runner friends when I tell them I just fly in to race and then leave LOL).

I flew in on Wednesday with le boyfriend and highlights from the day included the following:

Seattle Bouldering Project – My boyfriend is a huge fan of the Austin Bouldering Project, so when I found out there was one in Seattle, I surprised him by taking him here. Having been to a few other bouldering gyms, I’d say that the ABP and SBP are the best out there if you’re a bouldering fan. It’s a really large gym and even for someone who is scared of heights, I had a fun time finding paths to climb. Highly recommend. 

The Alibi Room – Has such great pizza. We got the Truffle Tre Funghi, which has a bunch of mushrooms on it, and regrets were not had. It is SUCH good pizza and you will finish half of one on your own. LOL. Highly recommend.

Hiram M. Chittenden Locks – We unfortunately arrived maybe 15 minutes before they closed so I can’t say much about this, but if you get here a little after the sunsets, you’ll get some amazing views of the water. Plus, it’s free.

Unfortunately on Thursday, my boyfriend had to fly back home so I dropped him off and went sight seeing solo style. 🙂 Thursday highlights included:

Cafe Banh Mi  – If you’re a fan of Vietnamese sandwiches, this is the place to go. It’s a bit pricey, but that’s because their sandwiches are pretty sizable. Very filling and delicious.

Gas Works Park – Worth a visit if you need to kill time and have little kiddies with you. This area used to be site to a coal gasification plant, but has since been reconditioned into a play area for kids. It’s a rather large area if you also want to stroll around and have a nice view of the downtown Seattle. A lot of yoga also appears to take place here.

Fremont Troll – I’m a sucker for tourist traps. I’ve been here before and honestly, it’s a bit creepy. It’s a huge troll underneath a bridge. You snap a photo and head out. Recommended for millenials who want that nice IG photo.

Alki Beach – Everyone comes here during the summer so prepare to drive awhile to find parking. It’s a popular spot for people to come out to even on a week day to just hang out. During the summer, the sun doesn’t set until maybe 8:30 pm so definitely recommend if you like walking around beaches.

On Friday, having not run since Tuesday, I was on a mission to go out for a shake out run. Luckily, packet pick up was next to Green Lake and boy, did I hit the jackpot on running routes.

Green Lake – The inner route of the lake is 2.89 miles and has such beautiful and calming views of the lake. Most of the route is shaded too, which is a huge bonus. Highly recommend if you’re a runner and need a place to run in Seattle.

Kerry Park – Another tourist trap, but highly recommend anyway. It has the most beautiful view of the downtown Seattle skyline and when I went, there were tons of people crowding around just waiting for the sun to set to take photos.

Shiro’s Sushi – Be ready to drop some money here. Sushi is never cheap and Shiro’s is not an exception. I had some really tasty sweet shrimp and salmon here and would recommend dropping by if you have time. I would come with the mindset to either spend a lot here to get full or try a few pieces and then go elsewhere to get full. Hah.

So there you have it, a recap of almost my entire vacation. Race day shenanigans will be recapped in my next post so stay tuned. 🙂

Question for you: Have you been to Seattle? What is one thing you would suggest that everyone do there?