I was getting nervous about driving up to Brighton by myself--an unfamiliar area, rush hour, and driving in the dark is a combination that made me uncomfortable. Jerry wanted to take the kids to see Star Wars again, so he looked to see if there was a theater near the running store, and there was. The timing worked out perfectly for us to drive up there after the kids got out of school, and the boys would see the movie while I attended Ladies Night.
I always feel socially awkward when attending events where I don't know a single soul, but I've gotten more comfortable over the past couple of years from attending a number of blogger events, so I was excited to go. When I got there, they had a nice food spread and even beer and wine!
I introduced myself to Renee, the woman from Running Lab who had invited me, and she was super nice. I took a little piece of dessert and a glass of wine, and sat next to a couple of women. They didn't know anyone either, so we started chatting about how it is that we were invited and what we do. I had assumed it would be all bloggers, but I actually ended up being the only blogger there. There were running coaches, fitness instructors, and people just very passionate about helping others get into running.
Once everyone was there (probably about 20 women), we went around the room to introduce ourselves. This was my favorite part of the evening, because it was really fun to hear from everyone about how they came to be runners or how exactly they help others with running. After the introductions, we heard from a Brooks representative for the Moving Comfort sports bras.
That was actually the first I'd heard of Moving Comfort--I have very small boobs, so I've always just used cheap sports bras. The Brooks rep said that our sports bras should come second only to running shoes when it comes to quality of sports apparel, and that they should never see a birthday (meaning that they need to be replaced before they are even a year old). She suggested replacing them when we replace our shoes. I was embarrassed to admit that I have sports bras that are about five years old, haha.
She said that she'd be measuring each of us and giving us a nice sports bra! I was glad to be measured, because after dropping these last 10 pounds or so, I swear my boobs have gotten even smaller. When I was measured at Victoria's Secret not too long ago, I was a 36 B. At the Running Lab store last night, I measured a 36 A! I know a lot of women might not like losing their boobs, but I happen to prefer small boobs. Being an A cup is totally fine with me ;)
I tried on a couple of bras and ended up choosing a cute black one with pink straps. One of the benefits to having small boobs is that I don't need the "straightjacket" type bras (the Brooks rep called their most supportive bra a straightjacket, haha).
There was a Saucony representative there as well, and she spoke about the importance of finding the right running shoes. Running Lab offers gait analyses at their store, which is really great (I wish the store was closer to me!). They have a treadmill at the store, and during a gait analysis, they will film you running on the treadmill, and then watch it in slow motion to see if there are any issues with your stride. I had a gait analysis done by my physical therapist last year, which showed that I have a weak left hip.
Last night, the Saucony rep told us that we'd be getting fitted for shoes, and given a pair of Sauconys! How awesome is that? Saucony is a brand that I've never actually worn before, so I'm interested to try them. Over the last year or so, I've gotten less attached to any particular brand/model. (For five years, I was wearing Brooks Adrenaline; but once I tried Altras, I really liked those. Then I tried the Brooks Ghost, and those have become my favorite. I rotate several different shoes now.)
Renee measured my feet, watched me walk, asked me to do a few things with my feet, and then brought out a few options to try on. My feet were measuring an 8.5, but I ended up getting a 10 (all my running shoes are 9.5-10). I ultimately chose the Saucony Triumph, which feel lighter and more flexible than what I'm used to, but very comfortable. I'm excited to go for a run in them!
In all, the evening was very fun and I met some great ladies. I left with some seriously awesome swag (a nice Running Lab jacket, t-shirt, Feetures! socks, a few samples of gels, and the shoes and bra).
I also got some gift cards for Running Lab, which I'd like to give to those readers who mentioned my blog to Running Lab (as a thank you--if you hadn't done that, I never would have been invited!). So, if that's you, please send me an email and I'll send you a gift card for the store :)
Tomorrow, I'm running a 5K race. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it until a couple of days ago (I wanted to watch the weather). I'm going to run my hardest and see what my current 5K race pace is--hopefully I'll have seen some improvement from the Turkey Trot. My time was 27:00 for the Turkey Trot, which is a pace of 8:41/mile. That was on a hilly course, and tomorrow's race is super flat.
If I have a perfect race tomorrow (feel really good, no issues at all), I'm hoping to finish under 25:00 (an 8:03/mile pace, the same that I'll need to run the 10K in April). But I think that more likely, I'll finish around 25:30-25:45 (8:12-8:17/mi pace).
Interestingly, my current 5K PR is 25:44. I've run 5K faster than that in training (24:04 was my best); but in a race, the fastest I've finished is 25:44 in December 2012. So it will be nice if I can get an official PR tomorrow!
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