Saturday, September 24, 2016

Charles Street 12 2016 Race Recap!

Training this summer was rough.  It was hotter for longer periods of time and the humidity and dew point did not help that at all.  But suffering through the weather was totally worth it for this race.

This was my second year running the Charles Street 12, and I must say this year I enjoyed it even more.  (Check out my race review for the 2015 Charles Street 12 here.)

As usual packet pickup was a breeze, and I was SO excited to get my B3 premium for making it to the third race in the series.  This year for women it was a gray Under Armour wrap up full zip sweatshirt with the race series logo embroidered on the front.

On the back on the right hip there is an embroidered Charm City Run logo.

Then for the Charles Street 12 both men and women received an Under Armour streaker quarter zip pullover.
The women's pullover is purple with a Charm City Run logo on the front.

And a ginormous Charles Street 12 race logo on the back!

Race morning was minimally stressful.  I used Parking Panda (use the link to get $5 for your first reservation) to purchase parking in advance in a lot close to the finish area, so that morning I just had to worry about getting to the garage and scanning the QR code for entry.  After getting my car in a spot it was just a short walk to the shuttle buses that take you to the Shops at Kenilworth, which was about a 15 minute ride.  I arrived at around 6:30 and before gun time I had the chance to use the portajohns twice before running into a few of my running friends and chatted with them before lining up.  And naturally had a chance for a pre-race selfie.

I was so excited to be rocking my Oiselle singlet for the first time!  (It was super comfy and worked well for the race.  In order to get one you have to join Oiselle's Volee running group.  Enrollment is open a couple times a year, and you can sign up to be notified when it opens.)

Soon after we lined up to get started.  (It started a little late this year because the announcements took a little longer than usual.)  I aligned myself right next to the 2:10:00 pacers and kept up with them for the first few miles.  Soon afterwards I lost sight of them and just accepted that I might catch up with them at a later point (which happened a couple of times.)  This year I focused more on enjoying the course and trying to beat the previous year's time.  In general, the course is pretty hilly with the worst hill being at the very beginning and at mile 2.5.

I usually run intervals, and made it a point to try and time them to walk up the hills.  (This is how I ended up losing the 2:10 pacers.)  I didn't take many pictures of the scenery despite the weather conditions being near perfect compared to last year.  It was in the upper 60s/lower 70s and the humidity and dew points were both low making it quite comfortable.

I managed to get a (somewhat blurry) picture of the Washington Monument.

(Remember folks: Don't take pictures while running.  It does not end well.)

By the time I had taken this picture I was starting to feel ready to be done.  (The Washington Monument is at about mile 9.75.)  I began thinking of the race in terms of "I've run 3 5k's and I have less than one left!!" and that helped get me a little extra motivation to keep pushing to the finish.  I also thought of the race in terms of my previous time (2:22:20) and realized I was well on my way to crushing it.  But by how much?  Thinking in those terms helped me push to the finish and made the promenade seem so much easier than the previous year.

This is the only other picture I took since it's one of my favorite places in all of Baltimore--the aquarium!  I definitely paused for this one.

When I crossed the finish line I immediately stopped and looked at my Garmin in shock.  It said 2:10:06!!  (My official time ended up being 2:10:03.)  I had absolutely crushed my previous year's time...but where were the pacers?  I had lost them long ago and somehow they managed to get seriously ahead of their stated finishing time!  (Sometimes this happens, which can be nice if you're able to keep up with them.)  Either way, I'm definitely not complaining about finishing a full 12 minutes before my 2015 time.

Afterwards I grabbed water, my medalS (one of the perks of doing the B3 race challenge is the extra medal), a box lunch (a turkey wrap, apple and cookie) and waited around for my friends to finish.  Soon after running into another Oiselle runner, I ran into one of my friends who knew where to find everybody else.  Soon we all waited for the final person in our group to finish and I mostly hung around to kill time since I knew traffic was going to be a mess.  In the meantime we caught up with one another and checked out some of the vendors since it was a gorgeous morning.  (I stocked up on lip balms from Horizon Plumbing since they're always awesome and they seem to offer different flavors at each event.  This time it was cherry!)


Overall, I really enjoyed this race again.  Charm City Run really knows how to put on a good race and the attention to detail is amazing.  There were tons of water stops (although like last year, they need to spread them out a little more evenly) and the on course support was great.  The race has a lot to offer runners in the way of amenities--bag check, pacers, an amazing premium and medal, ample portajohns pre-race, and after the race the food and water are easily and readily available.

I totally recommend this race.  It's challenging but doable (as you could see from the elevation chart above) and it goes through a lot of scenic, lesser known areas of Baltimore city (the college campuses you run by are gorgeous) and you get a great look at the Washington monument as you run along the cobblestone streets.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Bondi Band Compression Socks Review!

For those of you who don't know, I'm an ambassador for Bondi Band.  (Use the code THRIFTYBONDI10 for 10% off your next order!)  They recently sent me a pair of compression socks for free to review in exchange for my honest review.

Bondi Band is essentially known for their crazy designed headbands that are wide but really do a good job wicking sweat away.  I made my first purchase of the headbands at the Baltimore Running Festival Expo when I was there for packet pickup for my first half marathon, and since then I've been hooked!
My first bondi bands!  (Yes, I still wear these.  I love wearing the trick or treat one at the MCM 10k since it's usually the weekend before Halloween, and the Marines get a kick out of it when I get my medal at the end.)

The company's compression socks are no exception to their crazy patterns.  This is the first pair I got (I'm between sizes, and they were very big on me.)

I loved them but I was heartbroken that they didn't fit.  So after emailing their customer service, I was able to get another pair that fit me perfectly!


That being said, I recommend that if you are between sizes, choose the smaller size.

One thing that I noticed when first putting them on, it was super easy!  Sometimes with compression socks, they're so tight that some people will roll them up to make putting them on easier.  This one I didn't need to do that at all!  The socks still offer a good amount of compression, but for some reason they were pretty easy to put on than others I've tried.

Another thing I noticed is that the socks don't offer a lot of cushioning, which is what I usually look for in running socks.  (I normally wear balega hidden comfort or contour, or sometimes I'll wear their enduro socks.)  I took them out for a short run (a 5k on the treadmill) and they felt totally fine.  It didn't rub weird or anything.  I definitely plan on taking these out for a longer run, or at least including them in my post-race routine.  (I like wearing compression socks or sleeves after a race to help with circulation, and it might help me with any potential muscle cramps.)

These socks cost $45 ($40.50 if you use the code THRIFTYBONDI10) on Bondi Band's website.  Still not sure?  Bondi Band products are sold in a few retail stores, and they can be found at most of the larger race expos.  (You can count on them being at bigger expos like the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Baltimore Running Festival, and the Marine Corps Marathon.)