Running Happy (even while injured)

Disclaimer: I received free pair of Brooks’ Ghost 14s 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 folks! It’s been awhile and if you follow me on social media, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet on the running front. I’m still running, but my miles have decreased by over 50-60%.

Why is that?

Well, it’s because I’m injured. It seems that I’m destined to be forever injured these days, but I’m still optimistic that I will get better. I was diagnosed with proximal hamstring tendinopathy back in January and raced the Big Sur marathon with it. I know. I know. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but Big Sur was a bucket list race and I had to. Fast forward to almost 3 months later and I’m still plagued with the injury.

For the past month or so, I’ve decided to reduce my miles significantly and focus on strengthening my hamstring. It’s been hard to not run as much as I used to, but I’m grateful that this injury doesn’t prevent me from running some miles.

Luckily, I received a free pair of Ghost 14s from Brooks Running. I’ve run in the Ghost line for almost 8 years and I’ve got to say that they are absolutely my favorite shoe. Whenever people ask me what kind of shoes to recommend, I always tell them to of course, go to a running shoe store and get fitted to see what fits, but also let them know that I wear the Ghosts and that they’ve served me well. The fact that I’ve owned over 10 pairs of the Ghost line is proof that I love them!

The Ghost 14s are actually Brooks’ first pair of shoes that are carbon neutral. Their goal is to minimize the emissions they produce in manufacturing their shoes and I’m all for it. We need to be kind to our planet and Brooks has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040. If you want to learn more about that commitment, head over to their blog post on it.

Theses shoes are actually my second pair (I have a problem, I know) and I just love how cushioned they are! I’m a gal who does not like feeling the ground beneath me. No thank you. Haha. The cushioned underfoot allows for a more seamless transition from heel to toe, which makes my run feel a little bit easier and as an injured runner right now, an easier run is exactly what I need. Yay!

Despite my tendinopathy, I’m still happy I get to run a few miles here and there and I can’t wait to get out there and put more miles in in the years to come.

Let me know if you have questions about the Brooks Ghost 14s. I’d be happy to answer them. 🙂

Challenging, but Worth It – My Big Sur Marathon Recap

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Big Sur Marathon 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!

I DID IT YA’LL! I completed the Big Sur Marathon on 4/25/2022 with a time of 4:44:55 and I couldn’t be happier. So many thoughts flooded my brain, but the main one was OMG, I am never doing this marathon again. LOL I kept repeating it over and over again to my boyfriend as he kept telling me how proud he was of me for crushing the distance. Haha.

That being said, if anyone is considering doing this race at any of the distances (5k, 12k, 11 miler, 21 miler, marathon), I’d still recommend it for the views. If you can keep up with the time limits, I think it’s 100% a race worth running at least once in your life. See below for my race weekend recap. 🙂

Two days before the race: My friend who was racing the 21 miler, my boyfriend, and I drove up the PCH from Southern California Friday morning. I had never driven up the PCH and my boyfriend thought it’d be a good idea to see the views and I could also preview the course. It was a fun trip, but if done again, I would have broken it up into two days to give us more time to make pit stops and explore. We did stop along McWay Falls, which was beautiful. The trail itself was mainly closed off, but we got a glimpse of it and the stop was worth it.

Day before the race: We headed to the expo at the Monterey Conference center, picked up our bibs and our collapsible cups (to reduce race waste), ate brunch, and walked around to explore. There is a pier near the Monterey Coast Guard where all the sea lions and on occasion, sea otters like to hang out there and we were able to see a few sea otters frolicking in the ocean. We even saw one eat a crab. Best part was that it was free. 🙂 Shortly after sightseeing for a bit, we went back to our AirBnB and called it at night at 7 pm.

Morning of the race: This year, the race started a bit earlier than other years with a start time around 6:40 am. This meant that our bus pick up time was 3:30 am. That’s right folks. 3:30 am. It takes a little over an hour for the buses to pick you up and drop you off at the start line for the marathon and then they need to get out of the course so that the staff can set up the finish line. The course is windy and it’s dark so the buses need that time to safely navigate their way to the drop off point. Thank you bus drivers for keeping all of us safe. 🙂 Anyway, the takeaway from this section is WEAR WARM CLOTHES AND CHECK YOUR GEAR IF YOU DON’T WANT TO DISCARD THEM. I don’t know where my brain was at when I decided to just wear a few layers on top with my capris and that I’d be fine. It is COLD in the morning (low 50s) and we were waiting about an hour and a half until we started. I luckily had brought those packets that warm up when exposed to air so I held those in my hands to keep them warm until the start.

The race: The start of the race is fairly quick. There were 5 corrals and each of them were dismissed within 2 minutes each. The marathoners start downhill, which is really nice, but also misleading as the rest of the course is not that downhill. LOL. Once you hit the 5 mile mark where the 21 milers start, the elevation starts to increase. At mile 10, the climb up to Hurricane point, the highest point of the course, begins. It’s practically a 2 mile climb and it’s intense. Part way through, there are Taiko drummers who encourage you to keep going. If that doesn’t help, the views should keep you going. It’s so beautiful out on the course and there are parts of the course that just open up to these views where you can’t help but stop off to the side and snap a few or ten photos. I should know. I took several and I’m not usually one to stop for photos. After you reach Hurricane point, you start to head back down towards Bixby bridge and a mile out, you’ll hear the lovely sounds of the piano player that’s always there. It’s like he’s greeting you with his song. 🙂

After Bixby bridge, it’s honestly all kind of a blur. This year’s winds were grueling. We had lots of headwind and as we were making the climbs up those hills, the struggle felt never ending. Towards mile 21, I started feeling tight and I had to dramatically decrease my pace and start a run/walk method. Whatever gets you to the finish line, right? 🙂 Despite this race being one of my most difficult races, I feel like it was the most rewarding because it was challenging.

Post race: Honestly, I was in so much pain and after whining to my boyfriend that I’d never do this again, I picked up some post race snacks that the volunteers gave us and headed out. I did really appreciate that there was a quick exit and that I could reunite with friends so soon after rather than go through a maze to get to the exit.

That’s my recap folks! If you have questions about this race, please let me know. If you’ve run this race before, let me know how you did!

Full of Jitters – Big Sur Marathon Race Week

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Big Sur Marathon 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!

It is the week of the Big Sur Marathon and I am just full of jitters.

Why am I full of jitters?

1. The Big Sur Marathon will be my 3rd marathon in an 8 month span. Prior to these 8 months, I would plan for 1 marathon a year. The months of marathon training takes a toll on my body and I need a couple months to recover between each training cycle. Due to all the COVID19 race deferrals, it just happened that Berlin and CIM were 2 months apart and I could not pass up my chance to run Big Sur so here I am questioning my life choices leading up to this. 🙂
2. With all 3 marathons being so close together, my body hasn’t had time to recover and I’ve been plagued with varying injuries. I’ve been working closely with my physical therapist and he’s been able to get me to finish line of the last 2 marathons and I’m hoping he’ll be able to do it a 3rd time. Proximal hamstring tendinopathy is what I’ve been currently plagued with and it is no joke.
3. Let’s be real for a moment. The Big Sur course is not easy. It is absolutely GORGEOUS, but, the elevation gain is 2,182 feet and as I’m primarily a road runner, I’m not used to this kind of gain. I have done the 21 miler in the past, but tacking on that additional 5 miles is a little daunting for me.

With all that being said, I am looking forward to going up to Big Sur and tackling this full course. It’s been a few years in the making and I’m so excited to check it off my bucket list. Stay tuned for my race recap next week and wish me luck! 🙂

2022 – A New Year and a New Attempt at the Big Sur Marathon

Big Sur Marathon Attempt in 2022

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Big Sur Marathon 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!

On December 19, 2019, I last wrote about preparing for the Big Sur Marathon in April 2020 and on February 22, 2020, I did my last 18 mile long run for the marathon. We went into lock down shortly after and most if not all races were cancelled or deferred to another year.

Now that it’s 2022 and vaccinations have been made widely available, I will be attempting another Big Sur Marathon training cycle.

Details

Distances: Marathon (Lottery drawing), 21 miler, Marathon relay, 11 miler, 12k, and 5k

Date: April 24, 2022

Time: 6:45 am PST

Time limit: 6 hours; Officially ends at 1 pm

Since my last attempt, I have raced a virtual road 50k, raced my first international marathon (more on that later), and raced a second marathon 2.5 months later. In that second marathon, I broke my marathon personal record by 11 minutes. 🙂 Despite those accomplishments, I’ve also rolled my ankle numerous times on random flat sidewalks (LOL) and have experienced tendonitis a few more times than I’d like.

All smiles post long run ^_^

I’m about 16 weeks out from the marathon so I guess I should start training. Sigh. LOL. I do love running, but getting out of bed to get those long runs in are exhausting. Hah! Anyway, before I leave, I did want to mention that I came across a Sarah Marie Design Studio crop top that said “Kinda rude how running a marathon requires months of training, but ok” and thought it was very fitting for me recently. 🙂 Happy New Year everyone!

Another Missed Sub Two Attempt at the San Diego Craft Classic Half Marathon

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the San Diego Craft Classic Half marathon 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!

The Craft Classic Half marathon in San Diego occurred this past weekend and I could not be happier by my performance. Here’s how it all went down.

Friday

I headed down to San Diego to go to PT (more on that in a later post) and I kid you not, an hour before my PT appointment, I roll my ankle WALKING on the SIDEWALK. Yes, read that again. I ROLL my ankle TWO days before race day while walking on a FLAT sidewalk. I quickly text my PT, let m know what happened, and I came in and he checked my ligaments to make sure nothing was damaged. He ended up massaging my very tight calf, taped me up, and send me on my way. He was confident I could race. I was not. LOL. I legitimately almost cried after rolling my ankle. I’ve been dealing with so many injuries the past year that I thought I wouldn’t be able to race.

Leaving my PT’s office, I hoped for the best and headed off to packet pick up at Road Runner Sports, met up with another Bibrave Pro, and caught up with fellow runners at the store. That night, I end up dunking my ankle in an ice bath and HOLY MOLY, how does anyone do this? I could not keep my ankle in the ice water for more than 5 seconds without screaming.

Saturday

My ankle was still a bit tender. Walking around felt okay, but I wasn’t sure if I could run and I didn’t want to risk injuring it further by trying to run Saturday so I held off and hoped it’d be okay for race day. Laid out my flatrunner and dropped all of my essential race gear in a bag that night and passed out.

Sunday – Race Day

The race started at 6:30 and this year, we were parking near the start line so I was able to sleep in until 5 am. LOL. I was out the door by 5:30 am. Parking was at a high school and we all walked to the start line. The race was a bit smaller this year, but as we are still in a pandemic, I was pretty happy with how many people came out. The weather was also much better this year than in other years. It was much cooler and had a lot of cloud cover. Runners were released in waves and I headed out with a friend of mine and as soon as I took that first step, I felt stiffness in the front of my ankle. I honestly wasn’t sure if it’d be smart to continue, but when do runners ever listen to reason. I told my friend I’d try to run a bit more and see where it went. Luckily, she doesn’t like to run fast so we took our time and ran together for about 3 miles.

At the finish line

At that point, she and I parted ways and my ankle was feeling a lot better and I decided to continue forward. As I wasn’t chatting with anyone, I was able to pick up my pace and realized that I might make a sub 2 cutoff if I pushed. I’ve run this course 2 other times and both times, I’ve missed the sub 2 cutoff. I have raced a sub 2 before, but it would have been nice to have a sub 2 for this course. In the back of my head though, I was also absolutely fine with missing it because I’d rather finish and not be injured than try and race faster and be injured before my fall marathon. I conservatively ran an 8:30 to 9 min/mile up until mile 10. Most of the course at that point is downhill. (YAY). Then came the king of the hill that crushed my dreams. It’s about a 300 ft elevation gain across maybe a half mile or 3/4 mile and my legs were not having it. I managed a jog/walk up it, but by the time I got to the top, I knew I’d miss the cutoff. Funnily enough, that’s when I felt a weight lift off my shoulder. With that pressure removed, I was able to take more walk breaks and enjoy the last bit of the course. Don’t get me wrong, the course through the back part of the city was pretty with the trees on either side of the course, but the pressure of running faster was always in the back of my head. The last bit of the course is a bit deceiving. Once you reach the top of the biggest hill, you head back down and you turn the corner and there’s one more hill and then you turn the corner again and there’s another hill. LOL. You just silently or not silently curse to yourself as you’re running it. At least, I did.

My crazy friends

I had a really strong finish though where I clocked in at about a 7:30 min/mile meaning I could have pushed if I had wanted to. I finished in at 2:03 and some change and didn’t roll my ankle again and it was my 31st half marathon! I also got to see a lot of friends I hadn’t seen in over a year and a half and it felt fantastic. I gave my friend my free beer ticket and they cashed it in for a Green Flash Beer since that’s where the race ended. 🙂 After dawdling a bit, I headed back to the shuttle that took me back to the start line parking lot.

My 31st half marathon medal

TLDR? I started out with a rolled ankle and finished my 31st half marathon with a time of 2:03.

Have you raced in person since the pandemic started yet? How did it go?

A Week Out from the San Diego Craft Classic Half Marathon

Disclaimer: I received free entry to the San Diego Craft Classic Half marathon 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!

From the title, you can see that I’m exactly one week away from my return to an in person road race and in all honesty, I am a bit nervous about it all. It will be my first in person road race since the pandemic and I haven’t been in such a large crowd in some time. It will definitely be an interesting experience.

I’ve also just been having a few more injuries than I’d like this year. I won’t bore you with the details, but I have Posterior Tibial Tendonitis. The tendon that’s affected is the one on the inner side of the ankle. It also happens to be the same ankle that I’ve rolled over and over again in the past 6 months. Coincidence? Probably not. Since being diagnosed with it a few weeks ago, I have been working with my PT to try and find the root cause and nip it in the bud. After all, (spoiler alert) I am also in full swing of marathon training and I can’t get more injured or else I won’t be able to make it to the starting line.

I have been feeling a bit better about the training though and although my tendon is sometimes angry with me, I think this will be a good race. I’ve been training on a lot on hills (this race has one major hill) and my PT has helped me improve my running form.

We are however, experiencing a bit of a heat wave at the moment, but I do see the weather trending towards being colder in a week so fingers crossed it’ll be colder or at least we’ll have some cloud cover before it gets too warm. Luckily, there are 7 aid stations throughout the half course so all I have to do is make sure I drink water at all of them if it gets too warm. Heh. Wish me luck!

Discount Alert: Also, if you want to plan a last minute trip to San Diego and run this half, you can use the code “BIBRAVE20” for $20 off the half registration. They also do have a 5k if you just want to run much less and still earn a free beer. You can use code “BIBRAVE10” for 10% off the 5k registration.

Big Sur Marathon 2020

“Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Big Sur Marathon 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!”

In 2018, I ran the 21 miler (read the race report here) and after crossing the finish line of the 21 miler, I knew that I had cheated myself. The full would have been an additional 5 miles and those 5 miles would have been through the beautiful Redwoods of Big Sur. So after much contemplation, I decided to opt into the full Big Sur marathon for 2020.

The marathon is unfortunately a lottery and the drawing has already happened, but there are other distances available. If the hills of Big Sur are too daunting, but you still want to try running along the scenic waters, try the 12k, 5k, or even the 3k. Unfortunately, at this time, the marathon relay, 21 miler, and 11 miler are already sold out, but if you have your heart set on these distances, make a note on your calendar for the following year to sign up early. That’s how you know this is a good race. Despite not having the crowds come out to cheer you out on course, the race still sells out almost every year because it is that beautiful.

There’s a piano player on Bixby bridge and you can hear the music miles away. There are Taiko drummers at the top of the highest hill pounding away. It’s honestly a once in a lifetime experience. The Big Sur route only closes for this race so you only really get this experience during this course. Sure, you’ll be able to drive up and down it, but to really take it all in, you’ll need to go at a slower pace. I don’t want to be redundant so if you want to know more, head on over to my race report where I recap my 21 miler experience.

 

My BibRave Exuma Getaway Experience

Disclaimer: I received an entry into the Run for Pompey Half Marathon and received an amazing resort package 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.

Hello all! I’ve been having quite an adventure since the last time I blogged. If you’ve been following me on social media, you’ll know that 4ish weeks ago, I visited Taiwan for all of the food adventures. I then came back to the states for 5 days and then jetsetted to the Bahamas for 5 days for an amazing and relaxing adventure.

I swear I’ll get to my Taiwan adventures, but since the Bahamas are fresh in my memory, let’s start with that. 🙂 Disclaimer: This will be LONG and I am sorry, but there was just too much to talk about that it would not be genuine to leave things out. I broke it down by subject and included pictures to make it easier to read.

For those of you who may not remember, I was going to Exuma in the Bahamas as part of the Exuma Getaway package that BibRave helped host. That package is described in my earlier post.

Flight

Let’s start with the flight. It’s not an easy flight out of the West Coast. I caught a red eye and had a 4.5 hour flight out of LA to Ft. Lauderdale, a 5.5 hour layover, and a 1.5 hour flight finally to Georgetown in the Bahamas (Georgetown is a city on the island of Exuma). After landing in Ft. Lauderdale, I was delirious. I had some flight schedule changes and I pulled up the wrong itinerary and thought I was going to miss my connecting flight. Well, a panic attack and a sprint down two terminals later, I realized my flight was 4 hours later. Oops. LOL.

My first impression

That frown turned upside down the moment I started seeing glimpses of the Bahamas from the air. The water was gorgeous and I was beyond excited to finally land. LOL Once I landed, I quickly got through customs and the Grand Isle resort ambassador was there to help me arrange a taxi to get to the resort. Once at the resort, fellow BibRave Pro Chris and I checked in and was given the tour of our villa and oh my goodness, it was beautiful.

Grand Isle Resort and its many amenities

The Grand Isle resort consisted of villas, two pools, a spa, fitness center, and various restaurants (La Palapa Grill, 23 North, and one other location I cannot remember the name of). All villas are two stories and have a maximum of 3 bedrooms. The villas all come equipped with a kitchen, some kitchenware (pots, pans, eating utensils, fridge, freezer), a laundry machine, air conditioning, and amazing views from the 2^nd floor patio. I could have honestly just stayed in the villa for the entire stay, but the beach and pools were calling my name. Also, I had to run a half marathon so there was that. 😛

The resort is right next to Emerald Bay and oh my goodness, I didn’t know salt water could be so beautiful. I had a blast swimming in the waters. Beware of sand fleas (aka noseeums) though. They will nip at you and you will be itching for weeks. I didn’t think to put on water proof insect repellant and am paying the price. I have about 15 bites and it is not pleasant. So if you go, make sure to wear insect repellant. That is an absolute must.

I stayed at the resort for most of my stay, with a trip to the convenience store to grab snacks. The receptionist at the resort can arrange either taxis or a day long car rental ($75/day). You could even arrange to swim with the pigs from the receptionist and I was even scheduled to, but due to unfortunate weather and my schedule, I couldn’t make it work. The tour groups will pick you up from the resort as part of the package, which is super nice. So instead, I took advantage of their spa services and got a super relaxing sports massage with my first ever manicure.

The Bibrave Perk of the Exuma Getaway

As part of the Exuma Getaway, BibRave gifted those who signed up with an awesome pair of Aftershokz Aeropex. (Note: If you haven’t tried them, I’d highly recommend them. They use bone conduction technology so even the hard of hearing can experience music/audiobooks with ease). As part of being a BibRave Pro, I was also gifted things that really helped me get through the Bahamian weather.

Go Sili’s Straw Cup and straws– It’s a silicone cup with a lid where you can store your liquids in and it’s light and durable. Pretty nice for traveling and it won’t break during the shuffle.

Nuun Rest – Nuun’s newest line of hydration specifically designed for resting after a hard day of work or running.

BUFF’s Running Cap – Super lightweight and easily packable. The brim is crushable and the upper panel has UPF protection. Really nice to run with.

KnockAround Sunglasses – I’m a San Diego girl and love this local sunglasses brand. It also really helped shield the sun when I ran.

Vooray’s Pulse Active Backpack – A lot of nice pockets and straps that you can clip things to. I clipped a small sunscreen bottle to it, some hand sanitizer, and chapstick. There are two spots for bottles on the sides and held all the things I needed for a day of sightseeing.

The Entire Race Experience

With the getaway package, there was a pre-race pasta dinner and boy was that a carb loading experience. I wish I had run the marathon so I could have eaten even more pasta. It was sooo good. It was a choose your own type of pasta ordeal. They had pesto, alfredo, and marinara sauce along with several different types of pasta and protein (Grouper or chicken).  After eating my fill, speeches were made and the race directors let us know that the race was able to provide scholarships for students to attend college and due to the hurricane this year, they also donated to those affected. It was definitely a nice way to end the night.

Getting to the race was a breeze. We took the race day shuttle at 5:15 am and arrived shortly before the race at 6 am for the half marathon. The marathoners had already begun at 4 am. In its 5^th year, there were 3 ultra marathoners (50k), 3 marathoners, 11 half marathoners, and a LOT of 10k, 5k, and 2kers. There were also cash prizes for the longer distances – $500 for the first female and male finishers. So if you were a marathoner or an ultra marathoner, you had a really good chance of winning. In fact, my fellow Pro Chris won the marathon and smashed the course record by an hour at 4 hours and 35 min.

I do not do so well in humid and warm weather so I ran a moderate 2:28:04, which actually put me in 10^th place. The temperature when I finished? 83F. The course starts out around a lake and with the sunrise, it’s a beautiful sight. You’re running along the streets and it is not blocked off from traffic so staying to the sides is important. There were also some wildlife (ie stray dogs) that made the course a bit more interesting and definitely kept me on my toes. For the half marathon, there were 7 aid stations, which were greatly appreciated. I grabbed an ice cold water bottle at every station and kept it until I got to the next one. We had great cloud cover for the first half of the race, but on the second half, the sun came out and I more strategically did a run/walk to get me to the finish.

In all honesty, I didn’t think I could finish this half. I had done a 3 mile shake out run around the resort the day before and melted. Running 4x that amount in the weather was beyond what I thought I could do. But I did it. I ran it and I completed my 30^th half marathon. At the finish line, they called random bib numbers for giveaways and their grand prize was actually a week long stay at the Grand Isle Resort. That’s a $7000 value. Sadly, I did not win, but I did get a really cute swimming pig medal from the race along with a cute pig plush pictured below.

Post Race

Another perk of the package was a post-race celebration dinner and boy did I get my grub on at 23 North. Their tempura was amazing and I’ve never had tempura as good as I had it here. 23 North is an Asian fusion restaurant at their resort and their food is delicious. After dinner, I called it an early night. As my swimming pig tour was cancelled, I ended up treating myself to a nice sports massage the next day. The masseuse knew exactly how to get my knots out. I finished the massage feeling extremely relaxed and my hands looked real cute after the manicure. I spent the rest of the day swinging on the beach because why not have swings on a beach? LOL

Leaving Exuma

After 4 amazing nights, I left Exuma with great memories (and some bug bites LOL). The resort staff was super top notch and very sweet and accommodating. The race was one I never thought I could finish, but mind over matter, right? It was a one in a lifetime trip and I’m glad I got to experience it.

TLDR?

The resort was amazing from its staff to its food and its accommodations. Bring bug repellent. Emerald Bay is BEAUTIFUL. The race was challenging, but definitely teaches you to run in hot weather. 10/10 would do again. 🙂

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 

 

 

 

 

 

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.