A blog about running, and thrift shopping! The first Thursday of every month I post my latest thrifting finds. I also post race reviews for the DC and Baltimore area.
Judging from how it feels like we went from winter, to rain to summer in about a month I may want to find a new reservoir for this sooner rather than later! Perfect for summer training. Camelbak Flashflo LR: Originally $60, paid $4.
Yay for more comfy Pink sweats in my favorite color! Originally $45, paid $5.
I could always use more tankini tops, and it's fun to get separates since now the trend is to wear bottoms or tops that aren't necessarily in the same pattern. Athleta Tankini top: Originally $59, paid $6.
I don't know what it is, but all the good fitness brands I like seem to be out of the Pacific northwest. Oiselle, Brooks and Title Nine are all from Washington State. These are an older pair of Title Nine training pants that are just the perfect length! Originally $75, paid $6.
I've got this exact sweatshirt in another color and love it, so when I found this one I had to grab it! Lucy Sexy Sweat Half Zip: Originally $79, paid $7.
Be sure to scroll down to my next entry where I reviewed my latest race, the St. Michaels Half Marathon! Who's racing this weekend? Anybody racing the Baltimore 10 Miler next weekend?? With the Memorial Day weekend quickly approaching there are some amazing sales right now! Anybody find any great deals??
This year I was a race ambassador for this race since it was recommended by another blogging friend, Gracious Warrior Princess, and the race organizers also put on the Across the Bay 10k (another great race! Use the code AMBFRENCHH16 for $5 off registration. Have I mentioned I'm an ambassador for that race too? Anyways!) So I figured, why not give it a shot? From everything I had heard, it was a nice flat race out on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and pretty scenic.
Well, the flat part was right.
The rain that I had been dreading most of the week kinda messed up the scenic part to some extent. I wore a baseball cap for the race so a lot of my vision was focused on the road in front of me, mostly to avoid puddles.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I had booked a hotel room about 20 minutes from the starting area once I knew I was doing this race so we could get there the night before and hopefully get there before a lot of the traffic. I ended up skipping the expo the day before the race because my husband tempted me with stopping at Red Hot and Blue in Annapolis for dinner. I love that place. Growing up it was a tradition to stop there on the drive back from Bethany Beach every summer.
We checked into our hotel and soon after I put out all my clothes for the next morning to triple check that I had everything I needed ready to go. I had decided to try a slightly different game plan than usual and instead of drinking a water bottle with Nuun before the race, I would save that for after and get my caffeine from a Picky Bar called "Smooth Caffeinator." (Which was pretty tasty by the way!) I figured it would get breakfast AND that first boost of caffeine out of the way. (I've eaten plenty of the bars so I knew it wouldn't upset my stomach and I trust them because they were created by athletes to be easy to digest.)
A photo posted by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on
Thankfully, getting to sleep was at least a little easier than it was for the Frederick race. I had a busy day and with driving to the hotel I was pretty sleepy. Before bed I had a little glimmer of hope that maybe the rain would hold off. At one point I woke up in the night and excitedly checked the weather again. Nope. Well, we had travelled all this way. I kinda had to run the race! So I rolled over and fell back asleep until my alarm went off. I immediately checked the weather again and saw this and all my hopes for at least a slightly dry race quickly went away.
The next morning my husband and I left the hotel around 5:30, just as the rain was starting. I was armed with a different rain jacket than my last rainy race and was hopeful that this one would work out. (Spoiler alert: It didn't.) We ended up parking about a mile away from the starting area, but it was a nice walk since it was raining only lightly and along the first part of the race and it gave me a quick preview of what to expect for the first mile. Our first stop once we arrived in the starting area was packet pickup in a huge tent. I got my bib and shirt quickly and after a stop at the portajohns stayed under the tent until race organizers started to ask us to start lining up at 7am for the first wave that started at 7:15. (I was in the 4th wave.) I ran into my blogging friend, Gracious Warrior Princess, talked with her a little bit then said goodbye to my hubby. When I saw him again with the other spectators just past the starting line I yelled to him "Are we there yet?" And I quickly turned my focus to the puddles ahead of me.
At about mile 4 my shoes started getting sloshy and my rain jacket had given up too. And I was thinking a bathroom stop would be nice when something magical happened. I looked up, and there it was with NO LINE!! So I waited for the people who beat me to the portajohns and I killed about 3 minutes of my time, but it was totally worth it because I was fine for the rest of the race.
Frederick was all about the endurance and physical stamina because of how hilly it was. This race however was all about mental toughness thanks to the rain. I hate rain. (I think after how much we've gotten here in the DMV, pretty much everyone does.) I went into this race thinking "If it's going to rain heavily, I'm not doing it." But then it was "Well, I'm here anyways..." and then once I had started running it was "Well, I can't turn back now!" It was all about embracing the suckiness of the weather conditions. I knew I could run 13.1 miles in under 2:30. But could I do it in the rain? I feel like I totally earned the finisher's medal just for being a total badass for running that far in progressively heavier rain. (Added bonus: I no longer fear running and entire race in the rain!) At times the rain reminded me of the scene in Forrest Gump when he's in Vietnam and it started raining.
"One day it started raining, and it didn’t quit for four
months. We been through every kind of
rain there is. Little bitty stingin’
rain…and big ol’ fat rain. Rain that
flew in sideways. And sometimes rain
even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night…"
One thing this race has going for it is that it had plenty of water stops, but there weren't many portajohn stops. (I was really glad that I stopped at the one I found because I didn't see any for the rest of the race, and towards the end there were definitely a few people going off course to go into the woods.) I also thought the race course was also pretty scenic despite the adverse weather conditions. It was fun seeing a different part of Maryland that I had never been to and the town of St. Michaels was also very cute! Lots of cute storefronts and restaurants line the first mile or so of the race and then you head through a couple of subdivisions, then some wooded rural areas before heading back through the neighborhoods in town. The course is super flat (although there is some grading to the road so I definitely recommend staying towards the middle if you can!) There are also free pictures (with an unobtrusive logo in the lower right corner), and I think despite the slight blurriness they turned out great. (It's definitely hard to take pictures in low light conditions like a rainy day!)
There really weren't many cons to this race, the biggest being the rain. It was really no fun being wet for essentially the entire race. I thought the swag was a little boring, but they seem to be improving on it every year. I'll still definitely wear the shirt and I really appreciate my medal simply for being proof of my badassery for running a half marathon in the rain.
After I grabbed my water, banana and peanut butter and jelly sandwich portions (probably now my favorite post-race snack!) I met up with my husband and I stretched outside of the car a little bit then once I sat down I took off my shoes and socks and wiped my arms, legs and feel off with some paper towels. I then slipped on my wool socks and traded my jacket for a big hoodie and I felt like I could finally start warming up a little bit (but still soaked since I still had on my race shirt and pants.) When I got home I found out that one thing on me stayed dry the entire race.
It was my little squirrel coin purse from Blue Q that I started using this race season to hold my id and cash during races. So if I'm going to recommend any gear from this race--it would be that little $2 (or $4 depending on your design preference) coin purse. And for those of you that are fans of sustainability, it's made out of 95% recycled materials!! I still can't believe that my cash and driver's license were completely dry.
Overall, I would do this race again. For one thing, I feel like it really needs a chance to be appreciated without the horrible weather conditions. The course itself is scenic but nice and flat so I think you can really look at what's all around you rather than concentrating on whatever hill is coming up. (But I can also see where some people would find this boring--I started running in a similar but very hilly area, so I'm fine with having lots of houses and trees to look at!)
I love Pink sweats. They are ridiculously comfortable and come in a lot of fun colors. Victoria's Secret Pink Half Zip jacket (with a front pocket!): Originally $46.50, paid $9!
I got these intending on trying out a couple different ways to keep shorts from sliding up. (Don't worry, I'll post what I end up doing in another post!) Definitely cute with a couple different pockets. Brooks Motion Skort: Originally $56 paid $6.
With it (eventually) getting warmer out, I might as well start finding some new capri pants! Brooks Viva Capri Pants: Originally $58, paid $7.
I love looking for new flower pots while out thrift shopping. They can be pretty expensive brand new (pots similar to this will set you back about $40), but I paid $6 for this pot that is 9'' across and 7'' tall.
I've mentioned before that I'm definitely a Brooks girl (love my adrenalines!) and if the skort and capri pants didn't make it obvious...when I found this cute shirt I had to have it! Sure, they were free for their Run Happy Island promotion earlier this year...but I'm fine with paying $2 for it! I also love the conch shell logo on the back.
Did you find anything good while out thrift shopping this week? Is anyone racing this weekend? I'm supposed to be running a rainy half marathon on Saturday, so it should be interesting!
First, the expo. I was expecting something huge because the only other expo I've gone to from this racing company was for the Baltimore Running Festival, and it is GINORMOUS! This one...not so much. My husband and I walked through it in just a few minutes since it was mostly merch for the race and local businesses (podiatrists, chiropractors, etc.) so it took my husband and I maybe 15 minutes to get my bib in one building, get my shirt in another, then walk through all the exhibitors.
Afterwards my husband and I went and checked into our hotel for the night (we live less than an hour away, but I thought it would make race morning easier.) I then took the time to lay out my outfit for the next morning to make sure I had everything.
A photo posted by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on
Then we went to check out the Flying Dog Brewery and get a tour of the facilities. (I definitely recommend making the time for it! It was pretty fun and really interesting to hear some of the history of the brewery and see the process.) While we were there my husband and I each got a sample of beers that they had on tap (I had house rules, an extra pale ale, and my husband tried Ella, a single hop imperial IPA.)
A photo posted by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on
While we drank our beers, we started scouting out a restaurant to have dinner and decided on a sandwich place we passed on the way to the brewery called AKA Frisco's. Their sandwiches were HUGE!!! I had a Haight Ashbury, which was turkey, salami, sprouts, provolone, and their wicked wolf sauce along with a small helping of their exploded potatoes since all the reviews raved about it. (They were totally justified--they were delicious mashed potatoes with just about everything you would put on a baked potato.)
Once we were done stuffing ourselves we did a dry run of the drive for the next morning. The hotel was about 5 minutes away from the starting area, so it worked out perfectly. My husband was going to drop me off then head back to the hotel and since he signed up for text alerts when I passed timing mats he would have a good idea when to come back, see me finish and then meet up.
I was so happy when I started yawning around 9:00. (I normally don't get to bed until midnight, but usually later.) I got ready for bed and finished a book on my kindle (I am Malala) and rolled over to go to sleep. I laid there for awhile and just couldn't fall asleep. I think overall I may have gotten about 3 hours of sleep, tops. I ended up turning off my alarm before it was scheduled to go off at 5am. The plan was to leave the hotel at 5:45 so I could arrive in time for a picture with my Moms Run This Town/She Runs This Town running group and then my first picture with the Oiselle Volee group and the usual couple of pre-race portajohn stops.
Other than my issue with sleeping, everything pre-race went off as well as one could expect. My husband and I left the hotel just as my 5:45 "GET OUT" alarm went off, he pulled off on a side street a block from the starting area and I hopped out of the car. I looked around a little bit while drinking my usual cherry limeade nuun, ate my peanut butter and dark chocolate luna bar and checked out the finishing area and the portajohns. (The lines were fairly short, so I went ahead and got in line.) Afterwards I ran into one of the women from my MRTT/SRTT group and we walked over to take a picture with the rest of the ladies in the group. I got a picture with the ladies in our county group then met up with the Oiselle Volee ladies.
Afterwards I thought it was time for one last bathroom stop. Naturally, all the lines I encountered were ridiculously long. With 20 minutes till gun time, I was totally nervous about missing the gun. So I kept walking. And I found a magical bathroom: Indoor plumbing, there was a heater, AND I was third in line! After finding this oasis, I did a little bit of a warmup run to the gates leading to the starting area.
Based on recent race paces I seeded myself at the 11:00 pace sign, right between the 2:20 pacers and the 2:30 pacers. The pacers were totally easy to keep an eye on, and I caught up with (and at one point passed) the 2:20 pacers. The pace felt nice, and then around mile 6 or 7 I dropped back and lost sight of them.
Fortunately the race itself was fairly uneventful--just the usual weaving around people and looking at the surroundings. I stopped at the water stops every two miles and after the fifth mile I started eating my caffeinated limeade honey stinger chews for the sugar (but mostly the caffeine.) The course itself was generally pretty scenic--through neighborhoods with old craftsmen A-frame houses, the historic downtown area, and through open areas with farms in the distance. In terms of hills, it was fairly hilly with the hill right at mile 11 being the worst of them all, and my pace reflected that.
After that large hill, it was hard for me to get my pace back to where it was, but I was still happy since usually by that point I'm running 14 or 15 minute miles. When I saw that we were getting back to Patrick street and then the fairgrounds, I sped up a little bit. Then once I hit the gravel of the racetrack I walked one more time for about a minute, then ran alongside someone that was going at a comfortable pace.
Once I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a couple bottles of water and some snacks (the usual granola bars, pretzels and bananas, but they also had a good variety fruit and Utz chips--a Baltimore staple!) I then looked around a little bit and texted my husband so we could meet up and he took my picture in front of the PR bell!
A photo posted by The Thrifty Runner (@thethriftyrunner) on
I couldn't believe that I beat my previous half marathon time by 11 minutes and I was so excited to tell my husband! (My previous time was 2:37:33 at the Hokie Half and my time at this race was 2:26:17!!) Once we checked out the vendors (and I decided against getting my two beers--the line was crazy!) I was surprised (and really happy) that my husband managed to get a super close parking space by the Finisher's Village. Afterwards we went to the Fractured Prune to get donuts. And they were awesome.
My husband's picks are on the left--blueberry cobbler, French toast and cookies n cream. Mine are on the right--peanut butter cup, dirty banana (banana glaze with crushed oreos!), and s'mores. We quickly gobbled down two donuts each and headed home.
Overall, I really enjoyed the race and highly recommend it. Getting to the race was really easy--traffic was a breeze and there was still plenty of parking when we got there before 6am. (Post-race traffic was great too because there was hardly any at all!) The expo was nothing special so next year I'll probably get my bib at one of the remote pickup areas and my shirt post-race (and so I can sleep in my own bed the night before!) But the race itself was great--the hills really weren't that bad (except for at mile 11), and the scenery was fantastic! On course support was great too--neighborhoods turned out to cheer us on and there were plenty of water stops (pretty much all of them had both water and gatorade) and later in the race there were a few stops offering gu and chews. The race is also pretty small with the cutoff being 5,000 runners, but this year's race only had around 3,600.
Did you run this race? What was your experience like?
Perfect timing since I just ran the Frederick Half Marathon this past Sunday (race review coming soon!) Saucony Milestone Tee: Originally $35, paid $5
I love these Athleta Hana 2-in-1 shorts. Why? Because of the leg grips at the bottom of the more form fitting pair underneath the top! (I only wish they came in more colors, because I have a feeling I will be wearing these a LOT once summer arrives.) Originally $56, paid $6
Lucy Long Distance Singlets: Originally $49, paid $9 for each top!
One of my tips for when you have a big trip coming up: Find your souvenir shirts BEFORE you leave!! I found a great Oahu sweatshirt before my husband and I went to Hawaii last year for a fraction of what it would've cost on the island. I've been to Disney World a few times (including my Honeymoon) and I'm hoping to go back again soon and this shirt will be perfect. Originally $30, paid $3
Athleta Pavitra Tank Top: Originally $49, paid $3!
One other great thing to find at thrift stores? Flower pots! Check out this cute set I found...
All four of these pots together were $6.
I usually grow plants from seed then transfer them into little pots before transplanting them outside. A lot of gardeners recommend letting plants get acclimated before they have to be outside permanently. Baby plants are extremely fragile and can benefit from starting outside in the shade for a little while, then indirect sun before being planted outside for the season. (It also buys you some time for the final frost to pass, which in theory should have happened by now.) I also like having my tomatoes in containers permanently.
Any good thrifting finds this week? Anybody racing this weekend? I've got this weekend off from races, but next weekend I'll be running the St Micheal's Running Festival Half Marathon! Registration is closing soon, but if you use the code AMBFRENCHH16 you can get $10 off registration fees!
More great finds as usual and a word about jeans towards the bottom of this post.
Gray Abercrombie and Fitch anorak jacket: Originally approximately $100, paid $8!
Lucy Endurance Skirt Capri: Originally $70, paid $6!
One tip that I haven't mentioned yet about thrifting is to buy jeans at thrift stores. There really is no reason to pay retail for them when you can try on pretty much any brand on the market at a thrift store. Most thrift stores also have dressing rooms to try on jeans so you can see if they're worn in a strange way or even not at all! Case in point:
Gap Always Skinny jeans: Originally $80, paid $6.45. Seriously?! Why would anybody pay almost $80 for a pair of jeans when you can just go to a thrift store and buy them at a fraction of the cost? Most thrift stores have at least one or two racks of nothing but jeans (the ones I frequent have more!) Still don't believe me? Check these out.
Ann Taylor Loft Jeans: Originally $79.50, paid $10. In the past I've bought jeans by Lucky Brand, 7 for all Mankind, and White House Black Market, all for a fraction of the original cost and all in fantastic shape. I've even lucked out a few times and found several pairs that have been altered to just the right length!
Have you had any great thrifting finds this week? Anybody racing this weekend? I'm running the Frederick Half Marathon on Sunday morning!
To start, I was nervous about this race because of the weather. All week it didn't look good. I'm not a fan of running in the rain, but I'll do it if I registered for a race. As of Friday night, this is what it looked like.
Rain, okay. I can deal with it. Thunderstorms though? Ugh. That's race-cancelling weather. Not to mention I hate thunderstorms. I've been through a lot of weather events and even natural disasters--tropical storms, borderline Hurricanes, a tsunami (that's a fun story for another time) and a couple of earthquakes. Out of all of those, it's thunderstorms that freak me out.
Then the next morning the weather report looked like this...
Okay, phew. Rain I can possibly deal with on a trail run. I can embrace running in the mud and wet sand. So then the plan was to just finish. Last year's time was 53:38. Still pretty good, and potentially beatable. Either way, I told my husband he could sit this one out. The weather was going to be the exact opposite from the previous year, and I didn't want him to spend his Sunday morning sitting in a car.
The morning of the race was no big surprise--rainy, windy, cold and GROSS! I had dressed the part, decided to more or less "embrace the suck" since I knew I was going to get wet or at least my arms and torso were going to be dry. I had set aside my LSD rain jacket, nuun visor, long sleeved Brooks shirt, and my be-free knickers for the race. I also slathered my feet with body glide to help prevent blisters (I'm pretty sure paper tape wouldn't have held!)
Game face and rain jacket are ON! (This is after a quick trip in the rain to the portajohn.)
About 10 minutes before gun time, I decided it was time to brave the rain. Fortunately I managed to run into the former manager of my favorite running shop who left to become a Saucony rep. I hadn't seen him in a while (since last year's Cinco de Miler) but when I saw somebody dressed in head to toe Saucony, I had a feeling it was him! He came over and we chatted for a little while until gun time.
During the race itself, I feel like I spent more time concentrating on not stepping in all the puddles. Despite my best effort, my shoes were totally sloshy by mile 2. My rain jacket had also failed and I was starting to feel puddles gathering in my sleeves by my elbow. I was able to ignore it until the fourth mile, when I pulled open the elastic at my wrist and pointed my arm down and about an eighth of a cup of water poured out. (Doesn't sound like much, but it was when it was filling up the sleeve of my jacket!) This has happened before with this jacket in light rain when I wasn't running so to be honest, I should've known not to wear it.
The different terrains were interesting to try in the rain as well. During pre-race announcements the race staff said to be careful on the wooden bridges because they were super slippery (they were right.) And just running through the mud, and the wet sand definitely made things interesting.
By the end of the race I was totally ready to grab my snacks and water, change, and head home. I was tired of being wet and now I was extra gross because of the mud and I had sand all over my calves and in my shoes. After getting my super important snacks (granola bar, banana, pretzels and water) I went back to my car and prepped it for my drenched self to sit for the 40 minute drive home. I quickly shook off some of the water from my jacket and tossed it into the backseat then put a towel down on the driver's seat, threw on a big sweatshirt and then changed my socks. However I was still cold and shivering the whole way despite cranking up the heat in my car.
This is how I looked after the race. I was so done being wet and gross.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, it was still a really fun race. (Sorry for not too many pictures of this one--I was concentrating on finishing!) I finished in 51:30, over 2 minutes faster than last year's time of 53:38! I would totally do this race again in a heartbeat. It's great scenery and completely flat so it makes for a great beginner trail race as well.
Seriously, look at that elevation chart! Could it BE anymore flat? (Garmin says it starts out at 10ft of elevation and the peak is 17ft.)
While the weather made it less than ideal, it was still a great race. I learned a lot from running it all over again, like I need a new rain jacket for running, having a roll of paper towels is a great idea (to wipe off mud and sand post-race), slathering your feet in body glide does have its merits in rainy conditions, and like I've said in other posts: Embrace the suck. I was miserable on that drive home, but now I know that it's better to bring too many clothes to change into post-race than to not bring enough.
