Thursday, October 13, 2011

Run #8.1 - The Dress Test

Did you succumb to temptation a couple of weeks ago when Skirt Sports had their Deal of the Day e-mails? I certainly did. Not once, but twice .... ending up with two race belt skirts and a running dress. Monday my dress was waiting at my backdoor, so for my first run post-Portland Half Marathon I decided to take it for a test spin.

The goal was 2 or 3 miles, to be determined once I got running. As I think back, this is the earliest after a half marathon that I have ever run. I know some people recover fast - I do best with a 2 day gap before a race, and usually 3 or 4 days after  race. My legs certainly noticed that a) I was running earlier than normal and b) the last time they ran they got me a PR. I was TIRED! I just felt like lead. I did the Galloway run/walk/run method again, and had to pause 1 mile in to massage my left calf muscle. So damn tight!  In the end I did 2 miles in 21 minutes with this new method - I certainly will NOT complain about that, especially since it felt like I was moving a lot slower. I'm glad I only did a short run though - I don't have any desire to get repeat injuries, so if that means shorter runs now and then, I am A-Okay with it!

I could have fit another person in that shirt!
Let's talk about the dress! First off, I may have ordered a size too big? I don't like tight shirts when I run, so I went with a bigger size than the normal Skirt Sports skirts I have. Also, for 30 years now I've "known" I am fat. So I think I just always end up getting bigger sizes because I think I am bigger than I am. I mean my tummy is so far from flat that I guess wrong and just seem to end up in ill fitting clothes -- let's take another peeksie-poo at the Portland Half shirt disaster, shall we? I mean I actually had to keep pulling it back into proper alignment because it was sliding off to the side. With all of that said, the dress was really comfy on me! Because I am not endowed in the boobie region at all I still wore my own sports bra underneath. It has a built in bra, but it wouldn't have really done me any good.

I almost turned around to change clothes before even getting 3 houses away from my own. Under the dress I wore some really "fancy" compression-ish shorts I picked up at Target for the purpose of getting muddy in at Warrior Dash. They felt totally fine and comfy. No irritation at all - of course I only ran 2 miles, so who really knows - but then they were fine at Warrior Dash, too. The problem was the dress and the shorts together. As soon as I started running the dress was creeping up - like shorts when your thighs try to devour them. So now I am all self-conscious that my skirt is going up and the world is seeing my shorts. I ended up holding the bottom/side of the dress so it wouldn't keep riding up on it's own. When nobody was around I just let it go. I also used the cleavage alley pocket to carry my iPod. It didn't bug me, but my earphones did - not the fault of the dress.

Next time I'll try shorts of a different material underneath. And then I'll try some capris. If it always rides up this running dress will officially be a lounging/wear to work dress. I hope it works though. It was really cute and VERY comfy to run in - if you ignore the fashion faux pas!


**Oh, and round #8's training is for the Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon on October 29th!**

9 comments:

  1. I would never have thought to run in a dress...but hmmm...now I'm thinking about it :-)

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  2. super cute dress and yay for you for having the confidence to give it a shot!

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  3. The dress does look cute on you! Hooray for Runaway Pumpkins!

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  4. Oh my, I sputtered on my iced coffee with the line about thighs devouring shorts. LMBO, seriously. I am SO not a dress girl, but it looks cute on you! Have you found running shorts that thighs DON'T devour yet? I found my Monster Mash costume and need a pair of black shorts underneath it, capris won't work.

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  5. That dress is super cute on you!!!

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  6. so i know what you mean as far as ordering too big. I'm 5'10, i've been 5'10 since I was 13, so large or xl is very familiar to my vocabulary. I get so nervous when I'm ordering things online and according to their sizing charts I'd be maybe a M or S--- doesn't seem right, so I get what i'm comfortable with and then i pay the price. At least things are bigger vs smaller!

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  7. Cute dress! I bet it would work over capri's better. hopefully it will stop creeping.

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  8. Cute dress. I have never tried one. Hmmm...might have to one day!

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  9. Oh my gosh! I was such a sucker for Skirt Sports daily deal! That is a super cute dress.

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