Category Archives: Reviews

Couples Tri Race Report (2012)

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This was my second time doing the Couples Triathlon, but my fourth time doing this particular course (with varied swim and run distances).  The full sprint course (with the 5k loop rather than 2mi loop) is really quite the pain in the ass! :) No, really. My butt muscles hurt today.  I PR’d the course by 10 minutes, but didn’t go as fast as I wanted.

As noted in the last two blog posts, I tried a few new things with nutrition, and think it didn’t do well for me. I’m planning my attack for Jack’s Generic Tri – no gluten or dairy for at least 48 hours before the race, longer if I can.  And, some kind of potato and salad for dinner.

Now, for the dirty details!

The Swim

Couples has a long swim for a sprint – 800m. I didn’t swim all week last week, because I kept getting rained out, but I was feeling pretty confident since my last open water swim the week before was REALLY fast when I learned how to draft off of a teammate. My goal for the entire race was based on the swim, and that goal was to find someone to draft off of.

The waves are different in Couples since we compete in “Couples” – so for the wave we were in (Married ages 70-94 Combined), men and women started together. I thought it’d suck, but it was awesome. I was able to “latch on” to my hubby for a while, and when he took off, I was able to find another dude to draft off of for a while.  I think I drafted for maybe 50% of the entire swim, and when I did I tried to relax a little but it was hard.

The benefit to drafting – you do less work. The downside to drafting – you’re at the mercy of someone else’s sighting. So, if you’re a really good sighter like me, it kind of drives you nuts to go off course. About halfway, I decided the guy I was drafting off of was going too far off course, and struck out on my own.

Those lines should be much straighter.

I figured I was doing well when I started passing the breaststrokers and slow swimmers from the 2 waves before.  I got out of the water and saw my friend Shannon who came out to cheer, who yelled at me, “Go catch Kyle! He’s only 30 seconds ahead!” .. which was kind of 50% true. He finished a minute faster than I did. That’s huge progress!

Previous PR Pace: 2:28 / 100m
Last race pace: 2:28 / 100m
Goal pace? No “goal” pace, but goal to draft.
Couples race pace: 2:24 / 100m

The Bike

This is a hilly course, and I’ve cycled it many times. I’ve done better on it before in training, but this was my best time in a race on it. I had a really hard time getting my heart rate down from the swim this time around. I started off taking a gel (that I think didn’t do me well calorically) The first three miles or so went by in a blur, and I remember telling myself to chill out, but I forgot that as soon as I got to “that turn.”  It felt like the cones were laid out sharper than usual, and a girl ahead of me was taking the ENTIRE freaking lane! I yelled “on your left!” a little too late, and lost my momentum to get up Big Tard (steep m’fer).  I got about a quarter up it before I had to drop gear and stand up, which is way too early. I dodged the people who were walking it, got up, and again.. fought the high heart rate. I powered through the rest of the hills on the course and made it out OK, but the last hill on 130 was definitely slower going than normal. My legs were feeling a little heavy.

Overall, I didn’t do bad at all on the bike. This was where I thought I’d do a little better than expected, though, and I didn’t. I think it was because I was having a hard time with getting my heart rate under control, and I was feeling a little hungry.

Can you tell where the hills are?

That just tells me I need to get out on the hills more often. I’ve been doing lots of sprint workouts, but not nearly as many hill workouts. I’ll have the opportunity Wednesday..

Previous PR Pace: 17.6 mph
Last race pace: 17.6 mph
Goal pace? 16.5 mph
Couples race pace: 16.5 mph

The Run

I hopped off the bike, ran in and got my trail shoes and hat on, and took off.  I spoke to Coach Jen before the race, and she reminded me to watch my ankle on this run – its a trail run, and it rained last night.  I took it easy at first to get my heart rate under control, and it STILL wasn’t working. I kept feeling an arrhythmia, so I stopped to walk a little bit and calm that down.

My watch was somehow off, and was telling me I was running 10:30′s. Mid-way, I pretty much wrote off the run. The trail was full of mulch that they laid down to absorb the water and generate less mud.. and it worked, BUT it had a lot of easy opportunities to roll an ankle. At the first turnaround, I saw teammates Vince, Kim, Elle and Joanne ahead of me, and I thought, “WTF! I need to pass these mo-fo’s! I’m the stronger runner!” and really, the only one I *needed* to pass was Vince since he was in my wave. I forgot the others started 12 minutes ahead of me on the swim. I was still fighting my heart rate, and I didn’t go as red as I did on the bike, but it was still pretty bad:

Thats the weirdest HR graph I've seen in a while.

 

I caught Joanne and Vince in mile 2 (my fastest mile), and Joanne was super sweet and yelled a lot of really positive things at me (I was clearly in need of them). I caught Vince, warned him of Quadzilla up ahead, and took off.  Just after mile 2, I passed Elle, told her that if she catches me she needs to push me up the hill (and she laughed at me :P ), and then caught Kim when I hit Quadzilla.

Quadzilla isn’t as bad as I remembered it. It’s still a steep hill, and I run it most of the time… but I didn’t really have it in me. I stopped to talk to Kim, who was walking it, so I heard about her race (which really was going badly – she had 2 flats), and tried to get her to run with me up the rest of it, but she wasn’t having it. Haha. I picked up my pace to hit the finish line, and saw my time was 1:35:34. Well, I beat my last Decker time! Not by as much as I wanted to, but I’ll take it.

Previous PR Pace: 9:10 / mi
Last race pace: 9:10 / mi
Goal pace? 9:30 / mi
Couples race pace: 9:53 / mi

The After Party

High Five Events throws the BEST races ever. Seriously. After having done tris in three different states, nothing really measures up. There is after party food (substantial food!) from My Fit Foods, free ice cream, a beer tent (with New Belgium beer, yum), and tons of fruit/sodas/chips/water around.  Kyle and I hung out in the beer tent for quite a while, and caught up with a few friends, teammates and coaches. Its always great to hear everyone else’s immediate race stories, and I had a bitch-fest with one of my teammates on the run course. Haha. It made me feel a little better. ;) We stayed there socializing until the last finisher came through the line – and everyone stopped to cheer her in – and the awards started.  Three friends placed! It was a lot of fun.

Presta Line Observations (Lulu Cycling line)

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Oh, bother. I was soooooo excited about the Presta line when I saw it earlier this week! Such potential it had!

Alas, it was a bust for me. I went and tried a lot of it on yesterday, when I went to exchange my Stuff Your Bra bra (it had a quality defect with the strap construction. boo! I ended up exchanging it for a pair of Shorty Shorts). Here are my observations on a few of the pieces:

The Presta Packable Shirket:

This is the item I was the most excited about, I think. It actually is really nice. I felt the material, tried it on, and loved it.. BUT.. I’m petite. This jacket on petite ladies goes a little too far down on the butt, and therefore is impractical for me. Imagine trying to dig past your butt to get a Gu shot out of your pockets. Womp womp womp. Also, that means its got more potential to drag and slow you down. It should be fine on taller ladies, though. I had the same issue with the Presta Jersey. Bummer, because I actually need jerseys!

The Velo Vixen Shorts:

SO SO STINKING CUTE!!! They fit TTS, and were adorable. Do you see that ruffle on the bum? its made of luxtreme, too, which is guaranteed a good wick. BUT… BUT….. the chamois!  Lulu, you failed me on the chamois! Its teeny tiny! They did describe on the product page that its minimal and good for spin class and/or short rides, and I’d agree with that assessment. The chamois is really unsubstantial. That, and the price for something so unsubstantial is too high. If you compare these shorts to a higher quality cycling short (not top quality, mind you) – they really, truly don’t measure up. The price does, however, measure up to tri shorts that would be this quality. However, I’d be wary of getting that chamois wet and running in it. It might be just absorbent enough to act like a diaper.. and I am not going to pay $74 to find out.

Velo Vixen Sleeveless Jersey:

Again.. no. I really wanted to love this one, too. And I do love the back. I think its ill fitting because of my itty bitty shoulders, but it might be a cut thing. I chose this pic above to show one thing – the arm holes. I put this on, and my bra was literally hanging out of the top. A size down didn’t work well either, unfortunately.

So there you have it. As a triathlete and cyclist, the Presta line fails to hit the mark. I’m really sad about it, too. Maybe if they had just come out with some petite length versions…

May 2012 Splash and Dash

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The third Tuesday of every month in the Summer (April – Sept), Pure Austin and Jack and Adams put on a Splash and Dash. What is that, you ask?

Well, you splash… for 750 meters around The Quarry in North Austin.
Then, you dash.. for 2 miles on the trail around The Quarry.

You get a timing chip, and free food (usually hot dogs and chips) and most of the time, BEER at the end! Its great fun, and a great way to benchmark your performance month over month.  I hadn’t done one since 2009, so honestly? I forgot what a GREAT workout it is!

We had a guest appearance at this Splash and Dash.. Lance Armstrong! You know, that local turkey who just shows up and wins local races. Ha ha. Just kidding (really)!

Check out the Results. he’s #Juan. Juan Pelota.

We figured this out while I was standing around in the water (making fun of my fat, no less), when my friend Red starts saying, “really? is that him?” and he turns around and says, “Yeah, that’s him…” and everyone has a chuckle. Especially me with a handful of flab. :p  But nonetheless, it wasn’t too disruptive. He wasn’t the only pro on the scene, and it looks like the other locals gave him a run for his money. He won by about 20 seconds (a decent spread at the pro lev) at 20:09.  The man averaged out to a 1:17/100m swim, and a 5:15/mi run pace. Wow. He was cooling down as many of us were starting our first lap, and one of my former Coaches ran along side of him for a bit. According to her, he said it was harder than he thought it would be!

Well, that makes me feel better.

No really, it does. As I mentioned, there was more than one local pro at that race. One thing I forgot – this is a mid-week race that the fast people do. As in, I was seriously in the last 3/4 of people out of the water and squeaked into the top half finishers with my run. I’m not a turtle, but I feel like I am at Splash and Dash. It ain’t for sissies.

My total swim time was 20:52. If you do the math – this means Lance was done with his race (and 3rd place was crossing the mat) when I was just getting done with my swim.  The time DOES include your transition time (where I accidentally put THE WRONG SHOE ON THE WRONG FOOT…), so while the pace is broken down to about 2:49/100m, It was probably more like 2:40. That’s a tad bit faster than my swim at The Rookie. That’s not a terrible thing, either, as it’s more than twice as long. At least I’m consistent!  I was really beating myself up over the swim. I’m still 15 seconds slower than last year.

The run, however, gave me an unexpected boost. I ended up at an even 9:00/mile pace (surprise!!!).  This is the first run I’ve had (on a TRAIL no less!) since my injury that I felt strong enough to “book it.”  I passed a lot of team mates, sprinted that last lap at an 8:45 pace, and felt pretty… tired. My time overall: 38:54. Alas, I was happy with it overall. I can’t wait to see how I do next month!

And yes, I skipped the chips and hot dogs. :P

Its time to get faster in open water swim.  I’ll quote The Relay Runner – “That OWS. Its a Motherfucker.”

OH. and I almost forgot.

At the end of the race, a Trizoner I didn’t know came up to me, and started CRYING. I was like, “OMG, what what??” and she introduced herself, then told me that her Goggles had broken right before the race, and so had attached herself to my swim. She couldn’t see a GD thing except for… my ankle brace. She followed me and my ankle brace for the entire 750 meters, being super thankful that I was at a good pace, was consistent, AND knew how to sight. She was crying this huge, cute tears and thanking me for swimming with her (without me knowing it). I gave her like two hugs and was super happy that I unknowingly helped. That made me feel better about the swim, for sure.

Tom’s Love Part Deux

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I got another pair of Tom’s ballet flats for my birthday! Since I can’t wear heels for the time being, I was pretty happy about this – I have several pairs of flats, BUT, the colors I have are pretty limiting. I don’t have many “basic” colors, but more “fun” things like leopard print. So, I decided to go with a gray color to tie in with my professional wardrobe. Gray is fantastic – its “in” right now, and can go with my black pants or jeans pretty easily.

So here’s where my attention to detail failed me: I looked on their site for a Grey color, and I went for the Katia Chambray Flats.  They look pretty grey in the picture, but what I didn’t notice is that they’re actually kind of denim colored!  However – it is a grey denim rather than a blue one, so it still works really well.

Cell phone pic, in flourescent lighting. AKA, work lighting.

Uh, so yeah – I honestly can’t tell the difference unless I look pretty closely.  As this is my second pair, I can finally answer some of the questions I’ve gotten about Tom’s ballet flats:

 
- Are they consistent with their sizing across the board, even though we know we need to size down?
Yes. I typically wear a 6.5, and ordered a 5.5 in both of my pairs of Ballet flats – they both fit well.
-Do Tom’s Ballet Flats strech out?
Yes, but just as much as any other shoe would. It will definitely mold to your foot if its a teensy bit tight. I noticed that my new pair is a bit more snug than my old pair, and I expect that’ll change with regular wear.
- Does the padding stay squishy?
Not really. I was surprised at how bouncy these new ones were in comparison with my old ones. I still feel a little bit of the padding on the old ones, but the new ones kind of have me walking on a small springboard! :)   But really. that’s pretty normal.
 
All in all, I’m really happy with their flats and definitely think they’re worth it. I’ve bought flats at DSW for maybe $35-$40 and they’re always a disappointment with either fit or support. These are solid with the foot support, and I’d actually say they’re a bit cuter, too.
 

The Rookie Race Report (5/6/12)

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I almost didn’t do this race… twice. Really. I’m really glad I did it!

First strike – This race has a trail run, and my sprained ankle is still healing. I think I’m six weeks from injury, and this one typically takes eight to heal.

Second strike – There was a LOT of lightning the night before!  We had a freak thunderstorm in Austin that evening, and we awoke at around 12:30am to Abby dog panicking. Naturally, that means sleep was very much lost on both K and I that night.  We were worried that the roads would be too slick (it hasn’t rained in oh, seven weeks..), and we’d be fighting bike wrecks like mad.

Add to that.. I have a HORRIBLE track record with The Rookie. I’ve only done it once, but the first time (my first tri ever) I wrecked my bike within the first mile, and finished.. but with blood running down my legs and lots of road rash. Oh, and did I mention that this year’s race number was 666?

Devilishly Grinning at Packet Pickup

We got up and went out to the race site anyways. It turns out, there was some more thunder and lightning throughout the morning. With that, the race start was delayed for 30 minutes after last t-storm activity was heard.  Transition stayed open, and the guys at High Five Events did a GREAT job with graciously delaying and providing athletes with water and gatorade (and music!) while we waited.  It was muddy and a little chilly, but everyone was really in great spirits. Hey, it was the first race of the season!

So, I’ll prep you with my results. I finished in 1:14:58. My paces were – 300m swim – 8:09 (2:43/100m), 11mi bike – 41:38 (16.1 mph), 2mi run – 20:13 (10:08/min mile).  I’m not displeased for several reasons: the ankle is weak, it was a wet bike course (and I’ve been averaging a 15mph pace recently), and I was REALLY careful and slow on the run on purpose. I did NOT want to push it. The last time I pushed it before I was ready, I got two sprains in 12 hours. My goal going into the race was under 1:20.

The Swim

After what felt like an hour of waiting (it probably was), my age group was up.  I got into Decker with the rest of my wave, and off we went! And you know what? For the first time.. I kept up with the crowd. I was neck and neck with one girl almost the entire time, didn’t lose sight, and got to draft a little bit here and there. I did find it slightly more claustrophobic being around so many people, but I know it does help you out a bit.

Keeping up with the crowd was odd to me, for a few reasons. My swim was slow for “me,” so its not that I improved. The racing scene in NC is much more hardcore, so while I sucked ass at swimming over there, I keep up OK over here.  I do have to note, though, that my pace for this race - at 2:43 – is WAY slower than last year’s pace. Last year, I was averaging around 2:30′s. 15 seconds per 100m is HUGE in a swim! That equals out to almost a full minute at this race lost in speed over the last year.  A MINUTE!

The Bike

As I mentioned.. it was a wet day. And really, truly.. I forgot how hard this course is. Even if its called The Rookie (or Danskin, or Trek), and is marketed to Rookie people.. its not a Rookie bike course. It had some HILLS! I knew about “The Wall” (the hill that everyone struggles with, even the seasoned cyclists), and the hill up 130.. but I forgot about the other six. No joke. As I was going up the hill on 130, I was seriously wondering why I do this. I had to keep reminding myself that “this is the year of the bike!” and “No pain no gain!” and “This is a RACE, cabra! STEP ON IT!!!”

I did get passed a couple of times by the next age group, but all of the ones who did pass me were on tri bikes and obviously in REALLY great, fast, shape. I saw a few trizoners pass by and gave them a little cheer.  I did a lot of passing myself – I lost count, but I definitely flew by a few of my age groupers and a couple of men on slower bikes. As much as I bitch about hills.. I’m really not that bad at them. I was better at the end of last year, so I know I can do it – I just need to get my butt back on the bike!

It felt like I was going my typical 15.4 mph – and I would have been happy with it if I had. When results were posted, I got to see I made it to 16.1! Not bad for a hilly course! :)

The Run

I got out of transition a little slow – I had to put on my socks, trail shoes (with REAL laces.. not EZ laces), and make sure my ankle brace was secure. I got out there, and surprisingly felt OK running. Well, minus the fact that I haven’t been running much and was kind of out of breath, anyway. My ankle seemed to be holding up well. I tentatively pushed myself a little bit, but the trail was muddy and full of mulch. I did not want to misstep on all of that much, so I was dancing around here and there on the trail.

I got passed by a girl or two, and a few fast looking men. I caught up to one of the girls who passed me and asked her if she thought those skinny dudes were Rookies – YES! she said. Or they better be!  We ran together for a while, and after mile 1, I felt a secure enough to push the pace a little bit harder. Off I went until we hit the last stretch that turns into gravel, and off I went a bit faster this time!  I sped up a bit when I could see the finish line, and ended up with a 10:08 pace. I expected to end up at around that pace, I knew I was being careful because I don’t want to reinjure myself.. but its still disappointing to see a pace that slow these days. I’m over it. I’M OVER IT!!

K & I, courtesy of Tammy from Tempo Multisport

All in all… 666 wasn’t a bad number for me after all. The track record with The Rookie was broken. It didn’t take long for me to start looking forward to the next race, next month!

The After Party

..was AWESOME.  Seriously, I forgot how great Texas Tris are. They’re FUN! We got free food from My Fit Foods, all kinds of fruits, chips, peanut crackers.. and BEER. I had 2 different kinds of beer from the New Belgium brewery – Somersalt and Lips of Fire (or something like that). I looooove somersalt. Lips? Meh. Weird aftertaste, but I’m not going to complain.

I got to catch up with a lot of my triathlete friends, and hear a lot about the gossip and things that went down while I was away. It was a great race, and a fun time!  I’m going to spend a lot more time on the bike, and do some more bricks to get ready. I’ve got the bug again.. watch out! My age group is really competitive, so I think this will be the best place I see all year (18th).  Hopefully, this ankle thing will finish its healing quickly so I can go full force again!

Little S40 Update

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So remember that I mentioned my car smelled like mold after flooding?

Well, I took her in for an oil change a week ago, and asked for an estimate on getting the item fixed and the car cleaned. That’s going to total up to an $800 repair, yo. Seriously!  Why is that?  Well, they’re doing some small things with line and sealing the leak, but on top of that they have to remove all of the seats, the carpet, pull up all of the foam under said carpet (which was what smelled like mold), pressure wash all of it, and let it dry. And they’ve had the car for a full week and its still going to take a couple of days.

However.. and this is why I might buy another Volvo.. the customer service is fantastic. They provided me with a loaner car to drive while they work on the car.  So I’ve had a 2012 Volvo S60 T5 to drive for a full week (I requested it). I can’t say I mind too much – I’m getting the chance to have an extended test drive on a car I might purchase! And, its FREE!

Vroom...

Say what you will about Volvo being bought from Ford by the Chinese company Geely – one thing that has not been disrupted so far is their stellar customer service.  Have a question?  I’ve got a point of contact who calls me back within 10 minutes. Need a car? Sure. And today, when I wanted to get my yoga mat from the back of my car, the service adviser met me, took me back to check on my car, and get everything I needed from it. And, wow. This is extensive work. The seats were off, the carpets and the dense floorboard foam hanging out in the sun. It kind of hurt my heart to see my poor car in pieces, but it’ll be good to have done that when we sell it.

So far, the S60 is really nice to drive.  Its lower end – no leather, no sunroof, etc – but its still a good base of what I’d get. The one thing I will say is that this car is fast. It is WAY faster than mine (by about 80 horsepower PLUS a turbocharged engine), and has a smoother ride. So far, I like it. I do however, have my reservations and am picking out several other vehicles to test drive. Ok, here’s another – its a good size, too. Its visibility is very similar to my S40′s, with the additional perk of being able to automatically turn down the rear seat headrests (cool!) – but its larger. Tall people like my hubby have more room to breathe.

Lets talk about the cons of the S60:
- Changing gears, if you’re doing it slowly, creates an engine vibration.  I’m not sure if its just this particular car (it IS a loaner – and people are rough on loaners), or all of them. If you’re accelerating fast and utilizing the fast engine, you don’t notice – but if you grandma drive like I do, you know that vibration is going to turn into an annoying noise five years down the line.
- The side view mirrors. You can’t adjust them unless the car is stopped. When you have two people driving the same car, and figure out you need to adjust them, you actually have to wait until the car is stopped to change it. Its a safety feature gone overboard!
- It doesn’t feel as solid for some reason. I think its because its the base model – we test drove a T6 in Raleigh last year, and it felt way more solid than this particular car is. I’ll test drive some others to be sure.

That’s about it. I’ll probably post here about car shopping experiences next!

On Commuter Clothes – Updated!

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So I totally missed the lululemon blogger time frame on their Commuter “Ride On” line (you know, the one where you review items that are brand spankin new so people can figure out if they want to buy them). That doesn’t mean, however, that I didn’t get my booty down there ASAP to check out the line and take pictures of myself in said items. ;)

The line is performing better than I thought it would – I took a trip on down to my local lulu over the weekend, and noticed that most of it is actually gone. There were the Ride On Short and Henleys still available, and some jackets as well. None in my size (though that’s all thats left on the website. I’m tempted to order, except that its hot in Texas).

What?? Stuff happens. Like moves, garden building, SX.. thunderstorms..

So here are my very delayed thoughts on Ride On:

Ride On Short – This was so bad on me, I didn’t take a picture. Sad, too! Its because I have short cyclist legs.

Ride On Crop – no longer avail on lulu’s website – TTS, and not too bad, actually.. but it felt like the wide scooped waistband flattened my rear end, or rather, made it lower. The details on the lower leg are cute, so I suppose as long as you wear longer tops with them, its all good.

 

Torchy's Tacos = muffin top

Note to lulu – Cyclists like longer tops to cover the booty. It’s not a fashionable detail. That circular shape to our jerseys and cycling oriented shirts has NOTHING to do with style, and putting it on the pants is really kind of a waste since it made the line unflattering. This is why cycling shorts are usually higher rise, and all in one piece of cloth.

Ride on Pants – Meh. TTS. Erin Marie was right, it totally granny pants your booty. I’ve got a typically good booty (though I’m admittedly a couple of lbs up with the move and settling into routine), but this does nothing for me. Its not sold out in any size, and that has to be why. Its a GREAT concept, and I’d probably snap it up if it weren’t for the pockets.

Homeslice pizza = muffin top

Ride on Jacket - I actually really liked it, especially looking back at pictures of myself in it. Maybe just not enough for $168. If it goes on markdown, I’m on it for sure. The size here was a 4, so since its a bit snug I should size up to a 6 in that. The fit is nice, though not perfect, and I kind of wish the top part zipped up the whole way rather than halfway down. However, I just realized that its removable, so THATs a huge bonus! I kind of wish It would had been released earlier in the year. We’re getting to the end of cool weather out here – though it is snazzy enough to wear to work. Hmm.

Mexican Martini = .. yay coverage!

UPDATE 3/22: Wooooohooooooo!  The jacket went on sale at we made too much! :) :)

TOM’s Ballet Flats – Out of the Box

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My husband makes fun of me for it, but I *LOVE* looking at out of box experiences. As for those of us on the marketing/service side of a product, its actually something we pay attention to. In fact, I can tell you that the company I work for actually measured the reaction that people would get as an “Out of Box” experience through surveys. I think its hard to nail down what people actually think of it, but as a result, I find myself paying attention to these kinds of things.

I’ve been mightily impressed by Apple’s out of box experience in the past, which pretty much tells me that I prefer a simple yet impactful package when it comes to my door.

This is exactly what I got when I got my Tom’s Ballet flats today. I actually thought about it as I opened the box – I didn’t actually know what to expect. Typically when you order items like clothes or shoes, its pretty straight forward – boxes, a shoe box, plastic wrap everywhere, and pretty plain packaging.

Tom’s has a lot of good detail going into their package, which is also very simple and clean at the same time. The box the shoes arrived in showed happy kids getting their pairs of shoes (to remind you that its one for one).

The shoebox with the shoes inside shows LOTS more pictures, in color (which in my mind = higher printing costs, but its a REALLY nice touch). I have to say – I was actually surprised that they came in a box. My last retail shopping experience in store with Tom’s had me getting their standard shoe bag, but not a box.  That could be what you get when you purchase from Whole Foods rather than Nordstrom’s, though, so the box was new to me.Along with your invoice is a Thank You letter from the Chief Shoe Giver (also a nice touch), that I didn’t actually read because I was TOO EXCITED to try on my new ballet flats.

Hooray for sustainability!  Not an obnoxious plastic wrapped shoe in sight. They kept it simple with a shoe rod and padding on both ends, but not miles and miles of wadded paper.  Upon unwrapping it, I got to see the cutest soles I’ve ever seen. It looks like burlap! How sweet!  I also got to see the “Made in China” stamp that I didn’t see on my other Tom’s.

All in all – a very good experience. I listened to all of the reviewers and friends who bought the shoe and purchased a smaller size. I’m typically in a 6.5-7 depending on the brand of shoe (and a 6 in regular Toms), so I ordered a 5.5. I might have been able to get away with a 5, as they’re actually just a hair loose – so I’ll just hope that they don’t stretch out much.

Retail Therapy Friday

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Yesterday was MURDER at work, and today was relatively clear, so I made my Friday trip to Raleigh to check out the new stuff at lulu. There were a lot of things that recently came out that I really wanted to check out, namely the stuff that’s new in Aquamarine.

The Switch Back in Aquamarine? My FAV!  I loved it!  Alas… they didn’t have it in my size. Boo. I tried on the one in Black/Grey, and its definitely TTS. The material is so, so lovely. Soft, with lots of circle mesh for venting. It’d be a GREAT pullover for early morning runs in the spring. Its not too thick.  I don’t really need any long sleeve running pullovers, especially since I’m about to move back to an environment with an Endless Summer, so my wallet was saved on that one. Still, sigh. I’m kind of pining over it. I might order it later, we’ll see.

The run: chase me crops?  I came home with these. In aquamarine – though I did try on the Deep Indigo Striped version. The deep indigo?  Well, I tried them on, it actually didn’t look too bad on me!  I was shocked – my booty usually looks obnoxious in striped material, but it the seams were flattering. However, the color is just not that versatile with my other run stuff.

I *love* these tights, as much as my classic inspires. Maybe even more! We’ll see once I run in them. They are a little tighter in the waist and produce a little bit of a muffin top (even in the model up there!), but the rest of it is great.  They’re made of luxtreme, and don’t have any random stripes that are chafey on long runs. There is lots of circle mesh on them, so they’ll breathe really well.

I also came home with the Get Fit tank, which will be for gym and yoga. Maybe run with a sports bra under it. I thought I’d like it in aquamarine, but I really liked it in the fossil/heathered fossil color MUCH better. Something about the way its constructed makes me look bigger in that color. Thumbs down! I also tried on the indigo denim and black denim looking Wunder Unders, and LOVED the dark ones. I just didn’t buy them because I’ve got enough yoga gear, and don’t really wear tights casually. Yet. I finally caved and tried on the Stay On Course jacket, and loved that too, of course.  I’ll definitely buy one if it goes on Markdown, and will ebay my Essential jacket. Speaking of – ALL of my ebay stuff sold today! Gotta love that lulu stuff holds its value and sells on ebay for good prices!

I’m telling myself this will be my last substantial lulu run in a while – because I have to start buying REAL clothes! haha. Now that I’ll be in an office on a regular basis, I have to start shopping for business casual again.  That, or I’ll just invest in lots of cardigans and blazers and wear them over my lulu tanks. :P   I’m actually kind of at a loss with what to wear these days for work!  I haven’t liked anything at anthro lately, and I think I’ve gotten really used to how well lulu stuff is constructed – whenever I try anything on from Ann Taylor or Express (except Editor pants), I can’t get over how cheap the stitching is and just don’t buy it.

I do like the quality of Banana stuff – but the style and fit are difficult as I’m petite (and their petite section doesn’t carry all of it). We’ll see. I’ve purged a LOT of crap from my closet over the last week. Most of it was ditched with “I’ve had this since college” or “I’m old and married and should NOT wear that” and “too short on the waist!” .. or all of the above, in mind.  I’ll see how far my existing wardrobe can carry me and get an idea of what people are wearing to the office these days when I get back. And, I DO have some cardigans and blazers I can use over say, that Get Fit tank…

Fit: Ebb and Flow vs. Power Y

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So I ended up going back down to Raleigh to exchange the crops I got last week for an Ebb and Flow tank in Indigo.  I tried it on, as well as the pants, and really like the material. The pants, like you hear about, are definitely true to size, and absolutely are the most forgiving pants on the face of the earth!  They totally suck in your muffin top – its kind of amazing. Alas, I have no need for them, so they stayed at the store.

The top however, I came home with.  I actually debated it for a while, and almost didn’t get it – and had I read that Indigo bleeds beforehand, I wouldn’t have purchased it. In retrospect, its such a shame that the dye bleeds, because this is SUCH a nice top!  I went to Yoga today and wore a Power Y, and as I was changing out, decided to do a side by side (with Wunder Grooves on bottom).

I figured out how to use my camera’s self timer.. but still haven’t figured out how to focus on myself.. or run to the camera and pose the same way.

I need to work on those guns.

So. On your left, you have the Ebb and Flow in Indigo (size 4), and on the right, a Power Y in Black Swan (size 6).  I was surprised when I tried it on to see that it fits more true to size than the Power Y – and its a good thing, since all the 6′s in my store were sold out. ;)

Somehow this picture shrunk, BIG TIME – so I’ll try and enlarge it a bit, but there’s a clear difference. I think I actually kind of prefer the Ebb and Flow, and I’m shocked.  Why?

- Less cleavage hanging out.  Its a bit tighter up top, and that works as an advantage.
- More forgiving on the waist. As someone with a chronic muffin top (thanks, wine), this is a huge plus
- Better wicking material – do you like to sweat? I do. This material keeps it off of you.
- The length is a lot longer – and I have issues with Power Y’s riding up in class. This wont’.
- I think it just looks better. I was thinking I was going to get some more Power Y’s – nope! I’m selling my other Power Y that is too small (size 4) on ebay this week, and looking at them side by side convinced me.

I was actually debating just straight up returning it, but the side by side convinced me its a keeper. I’m going to have to soak it in the sink and then wash it with blacks to make sure it doesn’t bleed on my other stuff.