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All smiles 
Hey everyone! Here are a few pictures from my latest run. It was this past weekend at the Forks and was a charity event fundraiser for the Salvation Army. The 5km course was two loops starting from the Scotia Bank Stage, across the Provencher Bridge, down Tache to the other Bridge leading back to the Forks and finishing just in front of the Scotia Bank Stage. I was very impressed (and slightly jealous) when I realilzed that many people had dressed up in their festive run gear BUT then I realized that I had some pretty wicked warm, comfortable and snazzy gear on too! I felt like I was the only runner or walker that had any lululemon gear at all and I was caught up in a sea of drab bland Running Room clothes. I stayed very warm in my Run:Outward Bound pants and layered on the top with my ultra soft Run:Dash longsleeve (the one with the cute ruffle on the back) and the Run:Alpine Pullover on top. I chose not to wear an outer shell layer because it wasn’t very windy and I really wanted to see if these two layers would be sufficient for a 5km run in -12 degree C conditions. Guess what? Much to my surprise…it was! The Outward Bound pants have panelling on the front with DWR finish…durable water repellent that doubles as a wind break as well. On the back of the pants is a warm and moisture wicking tech fleece layer, much like micro fleece except with the sweat wicking and stretch properties of luon. The flat wasitband was very comfortable however I didn’t like how there was only one pocket. I love having the secret pockets in the waitband of my other lululemon pants and was missing on these for my trusty iPod. Check out the link to view these great winter running pants in the run section online at www.lululemon.com or pop into Polo Park and try a pair on yourself! There are wishlists there to write the size and colour that you need to make it easy shopping for your family and friends. New colours came out for December too! Extended mall hours Monday to Friday 930am-930pm, Saturday 930am-930pm and Sunday 12noon-6pm. This Friday is Moonlight Magic open until 11pm!My tip for this week for staying warm is to make sure that you are wearing a good pair of socks that aren’t too thick for your shoes. Make sure you can still wiggle your toes around to keep the circulation going. Also, the best thing to do after an outdoor run in the winter is take off your sweaty clothes and put on some warm ones with micro fleece, keep your head covered with a toque and warm your insides up with a much deserved hot chocolate or coffee beverage of choice!Keep up the running and remember, every training day is different, it’s sticking to it that is going to make the difference.:) Kristin
Hey everyone! Here are a few pictures from my latest run. It was this past weekend at the Forks and was a charity event fundraiser for the Salvation Army. The 5km course was two loops starting from the Scotia Bank Stage, across the Provencher Bridge, down Tache to the other Bridge leading back to the Forks and finishing just in front of the Scotia Bank Stage. I was very impressed (and slightly jealous) when I realilzed that many people had dressed up in their festive run gear BUT then I realized that I had some pretty wicked warm, comfortable and snazzy gear on too! I felt like I was the only runner or walker that had any lululemon gear at all and I was caught up in a sea of drab bland Running Room clothes. I stayed very warm in my Run:Outward Bound pants and layered on the top with my ultra soft Run:Dash longsleeve (the one with the cute ruffle on the back) and the Run:Alpine Pullover on top. I chose not to wear an outer shell layer because it wasn’t very windy and I really wanted to see if these two layers would be sufficient for a 5km run in -12 degree C conditions. Guess what? Much to my surprise…it was! The Outward Bound pants have panelling on the front with DWR finish…durable water repellent that doubles as a wind break as well. On the back of the pants is a warm and moisture wicking tech fleece layer, much like micro fleece except with the sweat wicking and stretch properties of luon. The flat wasitband was very comfortable however I didn’t like how there was only one pocket. I love having the secret pockets in the waitband of my other lululemon pants and was missing on these for my trusty iPod. Check out the link to view these great winter running pants in the run section online at www.lululemon.com or pop into Polo Park and try a pair on yourself! There are wishlists there to write the size and colour that you need to make it easy shopping for your family and friends. New colours came out for December too! Extended mall hours Monday to Friday 930am-930pm, Saturday 930am-930pm and Sunday 12noon-6pm. This Friday is Moonlight Magic open until 11pm!My tip for this week for staying warm is to make sure that you are wearing a good pair of socks that aren’t too thick for your shoes. Make sure you can still wiggle your toes around to keep the circulation going. Also, the best thing to do after an outdoor run in the winter is take off your sweaty clothes and put on some warm ones with micro fleece, keep your head covered with a toque and warm your insides up with a much deserved hot chocolate or coffee beverage of choice!Keep up the running and remember, every training day is different, it’s sticking to it that is going to make the difference.:) KristinIf you haven’t noticed…Winnipeg has had its first decent snow falling of the season. Ask yourself…is the snow going to stop you from lacing up your trainers and getting a few km’s in before work in the morning or after dinner at night? Let’s hope not! The winter Run: line has arrived at Lululemon (Polo Park and via www.lululemon.com) and I have to say that I am impressed with the innovations they’ve made and I cannot wait to hit the snow in the new gear. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to actually try out the new warm and fleecy runwear out in the elements but as soon as I had a fit session in the store, I was sweating. The new line includes pieces lined with Tech fleece (both tights and long sleeves), merino wool (which is inherently moisture wicking, lightweight and warm…perfect baselayer) as well as some non-technical fleece to keep you warm in transit post-workout. As soon as I can, I will let you know how everything fits and what kind of weather it is appropriate for. (I’m wearing the Run:Balance Base Layer made from merino wool right now and I’m loving it – doesn’t feel as scratchy as normal wool would feel).
As for my training this week, I’ve clocked up 7km. My goal for the week ending Sunday is 12km so I’ve got 5km to run this weekend. My first 3km run was inside on a treadmill – I know I know..supposed to be outside right? I was in a terrible mood because I couldn’t find suitable pants in my wardrobe to run outside in but at least I got a run out of it. I wore a pair of Adidas run shorts, a Lululemon Flow Y Bra with a circle mesh cool racerback on top. Good all around gymwear to keep me cool and somewhat dry. Thursday night I had to run outside, no excuses, it was run club night. I decided that I definitely wasn’t going to wear shorts since it was -6degrees and dropping with blowing snow. Ultimately I opted for my warm and snow/wind resistant Dog Whisperer pants. I was throughly please that they were warm enough, possibly too warm for my run but the pants are way more functional for walking and hiking. Not a run pant, but you can get away with it if desperate. Main reasons being that the pockets are too low to be functional, no reflectivity and I spent 5 minutes trying to get my waist drawstring back (now I appreciate the continuous drawstring). Luckily i had my trusty bright senorita pink Run:Inspire Jacket to hold my iPod as well as be seen with its awesome reflectivity strips. Same same top layering as last week, Run: Swiftly longsleeve, Run:Inspire Pullover, Brisk Run Gloves and Brisk Run Earwarmer. Definitely time to think about a neckwarmer, especially in the blowing snow. Sorry no pictures this week, had to keep my ‘cuffins’ on for the whole run. (Cuffins are the extra flap on many Lululemon Run: pieces and used to ball your fists up in mittens).
My question for the week is….I would like to know your favourite winter run gear is…what shoes are you wearing when its icy? Mittens or gloves? How many layers? Does wool work for you? Let me know!
I’ll leave you with a good piece of advice a friend gave to me this week when I was getting stressed out and frustrated…..Remember, how other people treat you is their Karma, how you react is yours. (Thanks Dre, really helped me out:)
Happy running!
Kristin
So it seems that the fall weather has officially arrived in good form and is deciding to stick around. Is the colder weather and shorter daylight hours going to stop you from running outside? Make the commitment to saying yes to continuing or even starting to run outside through the winter months. There are two very small obstacles to overcome when running during winter….they are warmth and visibility. The key to staying warm throughout your run is definitely layering with good quality technical pieces. You are going to want pieces that are moisture wicking (I guarantee you are still going to sweat your pants off even if its -20 degrees C) so it’s all the more important to have some moisture wicking pieces. For warmth, technical fleece is a good choice as it is warmer than your average tight or track pant but also has moisture wicking properties. Where might you find these items? Well lululemon athletica of course! lululemon has a wicked RUN: line that is made for athletes by athletes, meaning that the pieces are functional for the activity they are meant for whether it be yoga, running, dance, gymwear etc.
Let me tell you about my running activity…. This week I have so far logged about 16km. I wore the same technical pieces for both of my runs. As you can see from the photos above, I chose to wear my Run:Dash crops (see older posts for description) on the bottom and layered with a Run: Swiftly short sleeve, Run:Inspire Pullover and my hot senorita pink Run: Inspire Jacket on top complete with the Brisk Run Gloves and Brisk Run Earwarmer. Wednesday’s 6.3km run was at 5pm with no wind or precipitation and I feel that I didn’t need the outer inspire jacket shell. It was 5degrees C outside but I kept very warm throughout the run. About 4 minutes into the run, my jacket was unzipped and I had taken my hands out of the thumbholes. This was the first run that I actually noticed the little tiny space between my socks and the Dash Crop that is nearly a pant, but not quite there. Choice music for this run was an interval workout mix with Lance Armstrong as the coach purchased from iTunes…check it out for some added motivation and inspiration by the 7-time Tour de France champion!
Thursdays run was a totally different run all together. It’s exactly 10km from my house to St. Vital Park and back via the Bishop Grandin Greenway. I had a running buddy this time and for every 1 stride he takes, I take 2 or 3 so for him the 10km run was more like a leisurely 10km jog at 8pm in the dark. To combat the naked space between my crops and shoes, I wore extra long socks (they are meerkat socks from the San Diego Zoo, turns out they aren’t just cute socks!) and the Inspire Jacket was necessary as it was both windy and lightly snowing out. The extra zipper on the jacket around the neck is very handy to zip down when you need just a little bit of air but not so much that you are getting a chill. I cannot stress enough how important being seen is when you are running outside during the day or night. Both the Bishop Grandin Greenway and St.Vital Park are very poorly lit and I found out quickly that the paths also get icy when its 0degrees C, but you just can’t see it. I would not run alone on these paths at night for safety purposes to take a buddy along to enjoy your run together. There is heaps and heaps of reflective pieces on the Run:Inspire Jacket and the Run:Inspire Pullover on both the front and the back and there is a little bit on the crops. You can easily see the reflectivity of the jacket as well as the logo on my earwarmers in the pictures when taken with a flash on.
My goal is to run 10 more km by the end of Sunday. I have also officially signed up for the Hypothermic Half Marathon in February, the 5km Santa Shuffle on December 4th and the 5km Resolution Run on JANUARY 1ST!!! The Resolution Run is pretty sweet because you get a bright orange jacket from the Running Room with your entry fee…what a great way to start off 2011!
I’ll leave you with an easy question…..Are you going to run throughout the winter? If not, what is stopping you? Leave a comment with your running goals and start right now!
Stay warm and stay visible!
Kristin
The autumn weather has certainly arrived and I have found out the hard way that running outside in shorts just isn’t going to cut it anymore, especially on runs shorter than 5km where you finish the run before you get warmed up. It’s time for tights, layering around the torso as well as some thin gloves and a headband. Check put all of these functional fall run items at Lululemon on the 2nd floor of Polo Park. The running touques for women have a spot to let your ponytail free and the running gloves have some brilliant features allowing you to still keep your pace with a space for your watch even a little hidden ring to hide a key. The best feature about the gloves is the little slits on both thumbs. What is this for? I’m glad you asked! If you are like me and like to run with iPod or a touch screen phone, you will already be aware that yuo have to take off your gloves to operate the device. What really sucks about this is it’s cold outside! I don’t want to take my gloves off and have my fingers go numb! Basically, the little thumb slits allow you to change playlists, set timers and call for a ride if needed without removing your gloves. Genius.
Now let me tell you about my run last night. I have been overseas in a warm climate for the past 5 years so this was my coldest run ever…at 4 degrees C. Silly me, I even had my sunglasses on my hat but obviouslt didn’t need those (I’ll hopefully remember for next time). I wore Run:Dash Crop on the bottom and layered on top with two of my favourite pieces… a Swiftly Tech longsleeve underneath a Run:Inspire Pullover. The Run:Dash Crop is decieving because it is longer than your average crop. I’m 5’6” and I can get away with wearing them as a tight. There is the full Run:Dash Tight but I haven’t given them a go yet. The Swiftly Tech longsleeve is brilliant because it is very lightweight and made of SilverExcent fabric which is anti-bacterial and anti-static…..it doesn’t stick or cling to things (thumbs up!). I decided not to wear gloves because I wanted to check out the cuffin feature on the Run:Inspire pullover which really worked out because after about 10 minuntes my hands were cozy warm and I could take them out of the cuffins. The brushed luon inside also kept me snuggly warm. I promise to take better pictures next time
This run: 3k m run in 17minutes 10 seconds at 6:45 pm, 4 degrees C, around the Chancellor/Pembina/Markham area.
Next run: mileage TBA Sunday morning 8:30am meeting at the Pembina Running Room.
Cheers!
WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!
I made it! And it feels absolutely amazing…..well I feel great but my knees seem to be taking a few days off but I suppose that’s what I get for putting them through 22km of sand, tall grass, mud and gravel without training. All in all, I’m pretty impressed with my time…2 hours and 14 minutes and I’m proud of my wonderful amazing boyfriend who ran every step of the way with me as well as Debbie and Dre from Lululemon Polo Park that took part in the last Try A Trail Manitoba race.
About the run….The 22km started and finished at the Birds Hill Park Ranch and followed a few trails around the area. The trails were a mix of sand, packed gravel, loose gravel, grass, tall grass and a few mud patches near the end. The tall grass section was definitely the hardest part to get through not only because there wasn’t really a clear path but also because it was in a wide open field and the wind was a bit crispy cold. We didn’t walk any of the run except for when rehydrating at the water stations. My body felt really good throughout the race with exception of my knee joints which really hurt from 6km to 18km but I pushed through the pain. Listening to music really helped. My playlist included Rise Against, Shakira, Rob Zombie, Metallica, Default, Three Days Grace, Fall Out Boy, Snow Patrol, Coldplay and lots of other stuff that kept me going.
My outfit….this was a toughie because it’s the first morning run I’ve done where it actually felt like fall weather so shorts and a tank top alone weren’t going to cut it in under 10 degree C weather, especially at 9am. From Lululemon, I wore one of my favourite pieces…the Run Swiftly Tech short sleeve (with the Silverescent) and a pair of the Run Speed Shorts. Over top of the Swiftly Tech tee I wore my Under Armour Cold Gear long sleeve compression and underneath my shorts I wore a pair of SKins compression tights. These two compression pieces are frickin amazing and my muscles wouldn’t feel as good as they do today without them. I’ll have to give some feedback to Lululemon so they can work out some cold weather compression gear for those of us who live in an ice box several months of the year. I haven’t had a chance to try out the Lululemon Ultimate Running Sock but my Running Room socks with the double layer worked fantastic as I did not get a single blister. I usually get blisters running 5km so I also put bandaids on my ankles as a precautionary measure. Awesome.
Race Summary: 22km trail, 4-10 degrees C in the A.M., completed in 2hrs 14mins at 6:07 min/km pace.
Cons: poor preparation – my knee joints hate my life, had to work afterwards
Pros: pancakes and bacon at the finish line, no blisters!, a bowl of chocolate Lucky Charms and coffee for breakfast was perfect (or at least I thought it was a good idea)
I hope the video and pics work!
~Kristin
A (very) little bit about myself…..I’m a born and bred (and proud) Winnipegger that has grown up playing every team sport possible. I hated anything to do with running unless I was chasing after something or being chased after! It took 5 years of being overseas to really appreciate Winnipeg as a beautiful and culturally diverse city. Now at 24, I’ve decided to stray away from team sports for the winter and make the commitment to participating in the Hypothermic Half (February) and the Manitoba Marathon (June) next year (2011). So yes, this means running….a lot….outdoors…..in the winter which if I remember correctly is cold and bright at the best of times and cold and dark at every other time. Since this is my first winter in a handful of years, I would really love to keep as warm as possible without overheating or tripping over my pant legs. Ultimately this means I’m going to be needing the right combination of technical running gear for running in all sorts of fun outdoor conditions…..soooo……what better place to find practical, fun and inspiring run gear than Lululemon?!?
Goals: I have run the Hypothermic Half and Manitoba Full Marathon by February and June 2010 respectively.
How am I going to do this? By committing to running at least 2x per week outdoors with indoor training sessions as well. I will train in lululemon run gear and blog once per week about how my training is going, the different running routes I’ve taken in and around Winnipeg for the week as well as giving feedback on the lululemon gear that I’ve been training in. I want to let you know what works in what conditions and what doesn’t so that you are prepared for your running and training and also so that you have no excuses for getting out there and hitting the snow covered pavement in the winter!
I’ve been running semi-consistently for the past couple months, more so now that I have a sweet new iPod (thanks Mom:). I completed the Downtown 10&10 (10km) as well as the CIBC Run for the Cure (5km) and next up is……the last race in the Try A Trail Manitoba series and is….tomorrow! Yay! It will be a tough one for two reasons…the last time I ran on a trail I was being chased by a black bear and the second reason is that this will be the farthest I have run in one go ever….22km. Wish me luck! I’ll tell you all about it afterwards.
Until then, remember that hard work pays off!
~Kristin
