Feetures! sock review

I splurged on some wool socks the other day at our local Fleet Feet store.  I never thought I'd be the person buying socks for $15 a pair.  Oh my goodness are these socks beyond amazing!  Right out of the package I put them on my feet and headed out the door for a 10 miler.  It was about 35 degrees and raining.  My feet are usually quite chilly--often purplish gray by the time I finish my runs in the winter.  

 The socks are extremely soft and kept my feet warm and dry.  I took my shoes off and my socks didn't even feel wet but my shoes were quite damp/wet.  My feet didn't feel too hot or ever get cold during my run.  I am going to have to head back to the store to get a second pair of these for my long runs in the winter since I have about 2 runs over an hour in time each week.  Thinking the other pair will have to be "taller" since my ankles are now the part that I feel the chill from the weather.  Below is a photo of the socks on my feet.  I stood on the edges of my feet so that you could see the design of the sock a little better and how they wrap around the arches and are specific to the foot.

Do you have any favorite cold weather running apparel that I should try out?

Gu's... what works for me

Having quite a few weeks of long runs and tough workouts I figured now would be a good time to try out a few different flavors of energy products.  I have found some new ones that will work for me as well as some that will be ok for sometimes (aka I have to be in the mood).

Salted Watermelon.  Delicious but very sweet.  I didn't mind this too much as it was about 40 degrees outside and made me think of summer.  I am not sure I would feel the same about the sweetness of this for a longer race.  I'd have to take this early and be in the mood.  Overall, tasty and I like it.  

Vanilla Bean gets 2 thumbs up from me.  It is sweet but not over the top.  It is like canned frosting but not as sugary sweet.  This went down easy for me and I didn't need to chase it with a lot of water to get the taste out of my mouth because it was "too much."

If you love Caramel sauce on your ice cream this is for you.  I love this flavor but it is a little strong and needs quite a bit of water to get washed down.  I can eat caramel by the spoonful and this was just like that--delicious!  If it is a chilly day I recommend that you "knead" the packet to get it warm and gooey before eating.  I had some the other day when it was cold and it was more difficult to swallow since it was like a the caramel sauce that was in the fridge.  

Pinapple flavored Gu.  This was decent but would only be a flavor for me in the summer.  I am not sure I could stomach this in the cold as it doesn't fit your usual cravings based on the weather.  I love soup in the winter but not so much in the summer--hence pineapple falls in the love in the summer but not high on the list for winter.

Race Dots

I don't know about other runners but I was kind of over the whole safety pinning race bibs to my clothes.  If it is a costume or shirt I don't plan on wearing again that's ok with me but many of my clothes are ones I wear on a regular basis and the pins put holes in my shirts.  Through social media I found out about racedots and figured I'd order a set and give them a try.  

First off, the package was a pain the behind to open, but then again so are all plastic packages.  I ordered online and had them in my hands about 3 days later--fast shipping.  The magnets were STRONG!  I could fairly easily pull them apart when they had the cardboard they came in separating the front from the back but without that cardboard good golly that was tough.
I wore them for a local 5k and was quite pleased.  It took me a while to get them situated on my bib and  to position my bib how I wanted but I am sure with some practice I will get better at putting my race number on with the racedots.
The front and back of the magnets are designed to "interlock" with each other.  The fronts have a bump on the back that sits in the holes where the pins usually go.  The backs look like a washer or "O" and the bump from the front kind of nestles into the "O."  So happy that I ordered these and am looking forward to many more pin-free races.

Half Fanatic #9040

I officially qualified for Half-Fanatic status after the Diva's half in early October.  The idea of becoming a half-fanatic has been like a little flicker in the back of my mind for quite a while and the timing was right for my races so I decided, "why not."

To officially qualify you need to run 3 half marathons in 90 days or 2 within 14 days.  I was close to the 2 in 14 days one but Rochester half and Diva's half were borderline in my opinion and my Shoreline half in July eeked in for a qualification of something like 78 days if I remember correctly.

Now that I am a half fanatic I am trying to figure out how I can "moon up."  That's just a fancy way of figuring out how many races I can cram into certain time spans to be of higher than "entry level" fanatic.  Plus, I can read about many small races that may have never been on my radar before that I might have an interest in as I travel.

Now that the flame is burning and not flickering on my half-fanatic status I've started thinking about Marathon-Maniacs-- 3 marathons in 90 days.  Yeah, I've officially crossed into Beyond-Crazy status.

Scarecrow 5k

So the weekend after Diva's half I ran a local 5k in my fantastic Rock City skirt.  Amy from Rock City skirts sent me the skirt free to try out and I loved it.  Although I received the skirt for free the opinions about the skirt are my own.  It was the perfect little touch of sass and fun for my costume.  If I didn't want to run dressed in costume but wanted a cute skirt there were plenty of other options as well.

 The skirt has a thin elastic band that is comfy and fit nicely over my leggings.  I could have easily worn shorts under the skirt but it was quite chilly out for a mid-October morning.  I added my Mouse ears and some white gloves to complete the look.  The Rock City skirt made my costume easy-peasy.

 Since it was a race where costumes were encouraged the local MRTT group that I am part of decided to dress as super heroes.  They all looked great and I thought about other "costumes" for my skirt to keep in mind for future races.

 Our local Fleet Feet did another fantastic job as the timing crew of the event.  They did not host the event, just provided timing services.  The course was mostly out and back along the canal with a small portion on the road for the start.  It was a little narrow for most of the race but I had a fun time and just kept cruising at about 7:45 miles for the entire race.

 After I crossed the finish line I spotted my mom and she could pick me out of the crowd fairly easily with my skirt and ears.  Too bad my sneakers weren't yellow!

 Other costumes I came up with for the Minnie skirt are ice cream scooper gal.  Yup, standing outside with an ice cream scoop.  You could plus it up with a paper hat and a ice cream logo shirt or foam ice cream cone.

 Add a little apron and instant baker.  I would also opt for a chef hat if I had one.  A little waiter inspired too with some "be our guest" type service theme.

 Or, embrace your own super power and create a cape and be "super-you."  It could be the sock match finder, boo-boo kisser... whatever it is that you do and your family thinks you rock at.  Basically make up your own super hero.

 Rock City skirts made pulling together a last minute costume super easy and cute with the few things I had sitting around my house.  Can't wait to try out some other skirts and see what I can create.