Thrifty Thursday for February!

Wow.  That was the longest January ever, and now it feels like February is going by SO FAST!  Winter finally arrived so I've been keeping an eye out for all the warm, cozy pieces of clothing to stay warm. 

I love a big sweatshirt that I can just wrap myself in while reading the newspaper or watching a movie.  This one is the perfect weight with a ton of fabric to wrap up!

Under Armour Studio Wrap:  Originally $100, paid $7

Athleta casual wear is amazing.  Sure these pants are missing the drawstring, but they always stick out funny underneath t-shirts.  (Also, super easy to replace with a visit to the sewing notions section of any craft store.) However with the drawstring missing I have the option of lowering the rise by flipping over the waistband.  And check out this hidden feature...

What's this?

It's a reflective cuff!!  I might not every use it, but it's definitely an interesting feature meant for bike commuters.

Athleta Midtown Ankle Pant:  Originally $79, paid $4

It might be a minute before I wear this one.  The fabric is super lightweight, but super comfy!  I came across this mostly by luck.  I was going through the rack and saw the super faint patagonia logo and took a closer look and found it was in my size and cute so why not?

Patagonia Glorya Wrap:  Originally $79, paid $5

Here's another big sweater to wrap myself in, but this one is a lightweight wool knit.  

Icebreaker Bliss Wrap:  Originally $150, paid $6

I've never had wool tights for running because they're a little pricey. I  thought these would be worth a try at a low price point and still in great shape!  (Even if I don't wear them for running, they would be cute under a dress or great for layering under jeans.)   

Smartwool 250 Baselayer Tights:  Originally $100, paid $4

I  don't wear corduroy often, but when I do I go for a quality brand like Prana!  I have a few pairs of pants from them at this point, and the sizing is pretty consistent and for someone who's 5'3'' the short inseam is perfect for me!

Prana Autumn Stretch Pants:  Originally $89, paid $4

Any good thrifting finds this month?  Any good races coming up?  I've got my first race coming up on March 1st!  It's the Bigfood Endurance 10 Mile Trail Race.  It'll be my longest trail race ever, and I'm super excited.

2019 Women's Distance Festival 5k by Howard County Striders

First off, it feels like this recap will be SO fast because in comparison I ran so many longer distance races in 2019.  (This was my second and final 5k of 2019, even for a race in early June.)  My focus wasn't really on the 5k, it was on PR'ing the half marathon.  After the National Women's Half Marathon, I was feeling defeated.  I wanted an easy, no stress race to remind me why I love a road race again.  I had noticed some friends talking about this race in a Facebook group, and I knew the race was later than I like to run competitively but I started researching.  Howard County Striders had a course map up so after taking a look, I decided to sign up and go try the course.

I  did my trial run a couple days before the race after going to OrangeTheory.  I  took it easy, and just wanted to know what to expect when running the race.  I  started a little ways from the official start, but since it is on a loop I  still had a good idea of what to expect.  It seemed like a "normal" course for Columbia, so not super hilly but there were a couple of unsuspecting ones along the way.  (They show as merely a blip on an elevation chart.  In person?  They felt like big blips.)  But after running it, I felt confident that I knew what to expect.

Packet pickup was super easy, and the shirt was kind of cute too!

On race day, weather-wise we got somewhat lucky because it was overcast and in the low 70s, but that also meant there was a lot of humidity.  The 10 minute drive to the start made me remember why I like racing close to home.  (And not having to worry about parking either was amazing!)  And added bonus?  REAL BATHROOMS!  Since the race started and ended at the community college, they opened a building so we could use the bathroom.

The race itself wasn't super crowded which was nice after running so many big races.  It was still definitely hot and between just one water stop and my usual pre-race Nuun it was not enough.  The hills definitely got to me even though a couple days earlier they hadn't felt that terrible.  (I still ran faster than during my trial run!)  The course goes through a neighborhood so it's not necessarily scenic, but to be honest I wasn't really looking at my surroundings much.  There wasn't much crowd support, but a few people in the neighborhood came out to cheer, and there was someone riding alongside the course on a bike encouraging runners.

When I crossed the finish line and felt defeated.  I crossed in 31:32.  My sub-30 was still elusive and I was so upset.  Whenever this happens, I always try to give myself some leniency--it was hot.  I had not been training for speed.  I hadn't really done much training to make it a goal race.  It wasn't the easiest course.  It wasn't my best time or my worst time, and later I found out it was only 11 seconds slower than the BAA 5k two months earlier in better conditions AND blind because I had forgotten to charge my Garmin.

As I took my cold towel, water and post race snacks (watermelon, cookies and chips), I tried SO hard to figure out what I could learn from this race.  I came to the conclusions that I should still be happy with the outcome since I was focusing on distance at a slower speed than a sub-30 5k, I still got out there and I finished.  I also need to find a more flat race for my sub-30 at a cooler time of year.

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Signed up for this morning’s 5k a couple weeks ago. The weather was great (for June) and the course wasn’t easy but not terribly difficult. sub-30 is still elusive, but after looking at the elevation chart it’s not terribly surprising. This morning is *definitely* my last race for a couple months while we get through the oppressive heat of the summer. The sub-30 will come. Just have to strategize courses and training a little more intensely. . . #runnersofinstagram #balegaimpi2019 #balegabestsocksever #impilove #impipride #balega #balegasocks #balegalove #lovemybalegas #hshive #rungoodr #goodrflamboyance #goodr #nuunlife #teamzensah #sweatpink #sweatpinkambassador #oisellevolée #oiselleteamdmv #flystyle

A post shared by Holly (@thethriftyrunner) on Jun 9, 2019 at 3:13pm PDT

Overall, I would recommend this race if you're local to Howard County.  It was worth the low registration fee and nice that it was so close but if I had to drive 30 minutes or more away I don't know if it would be worth it.  Definitely keep in mind it's at a weird time of year where the weather could do just about anything.  The race is small and inexpensive enough that it's pretty low stress.  Also with it being a local race, it's really nice to be able to actually run on the course to prepare.  The shirt was cute, but I still don't know if I'll wear it (I don't wear a lot of my race swag.)  I  do think it could be a good first race if you want one that will be low stress.