SeaWheeze 2015 - Best yet or Biggest Bust?

This past weekend, runners flocked from all around the world to Vancouver to take part in Lululemon's 4th annual SeaWheeze, and this year, I didn't.

You can read about my first half marathon at the 2013 SeaWheeze here.

And my repeat performance at the 2014 race here.

If you read those two posts, you'll see that clearly I loved my time at both races, even despite chafed thighs and blistered heels. Plus throw in some post run heat stroke.

And clearly I love just about everything to do with Lululemon.

Plus why not go for a three-peat?

Well I made my decision not to run the 2015 race shortly after crossing the 2014 finish line. And why?

Well because registration for the August 16 race went on sale almost a full year earlier on Sept 10.

Based on my experience registering for the 2014 race, I assumed correctly that registering would be a nightmare of wait screens and long loading times. If I was lucky to get through and purchase a spot (at the non-trivial price of $128 dollars) before all 10015 spots sold out (which they did in less than 8 hours), I'd have to commit myself to traveling to Vancouver for the race weekend a year later.

Turns out I was right to assume it was better not to commit to something like a race so far in advance, as I ended up invited to a wedding for that same weekend, 4 provinces in the wrong direction.

However, for  2374 people who paid there $128 dollar dues, turns out they may have committed too soon. All they have to show for it? A pair of limited edition shorts mailed out a couple months before race day.

That's right, according race results posted at sportstats.ca, only 7641 people embarked on the race this weekend.  That's down by nearly 600 from 2014, and by over 2500 from 2013.  For comparison's sake the 2014 race registration opened (or tried to) in January, as did the 2013 registration, although it didn't sell out until a month later.

You see, for a race targeted at young women, registering 6 months before race day is probably reasonable. That far out, you likely have received save the dates for weddings you want to attend, any major vacations are if not planned at least in the works, and you should probably know whether you're not going to be 8 or 9 months pregnant on race day.

Plus 6 months out, in chilly January, is enough time before race day to get you but off the couch and start a running plan, but not so far in advance that you will be over the idea of running such a long distance before race day.

So it's no surprise that so many runners just didn't make it to the starting line on race day. With 11 months between registration and race day, that's plenty of time for some pretty legit reasons to not run to pop up, and that's before you factor in sheer laziness.

And furthermore, it's not surprising that Lulu is holding off on announcing registration for the 2016 race. With race day attendance dropping at this rate, they may need to shake things up.

But will they really?

Let's look at it from a business perspective. Lululemon essentially managed to sell a $54 pair of shorts to 2374 people for $128 bucks. Meanwhile, an event staffed and prepped for 10,015 people, only needing to serve a little over 3/4 of that, well you can damn sure bet those runners who did attend had a better experience than if all the race day line-ups were 25% longer. So surely they all went home raving about the SeaWheeze.

Maybe Lulu should just ride the hype of this years race (like they did last year), to sell out next year's registration spots (which have I mentioned? Are non-transferable/or refundable), as soon as possible. With any luck, only 5000 runners will actually make it to the race course.

Wonder what they did will all those left-over finishers medals? Maybe they ended up on eBay, along with the contents of the "exclusive" SeaWheeze pop-up store.

Yep, there they are now.


At the end of the day tho, I do really wish I could have run this year, the race day/weekend in fact is a blast. So who knows, maybe next year things will pan out differently and I'll run. One's things for sure, I won't be registering, and then not attending, and then paying some $40 - 150 (seriously if someone buys that one I'll die!) for a medal so I can make pretend that I did.

Until then, I'll leave you with some of that addictive Lulu crack that we all know and love, here's this year's SeaWheeze Race recap!

Runners Questionnaire

So as these questionnaires tend to make their way around the blogosphere, I found this one over at Living Mint Green, and thought, that looks fun.

1. Would you rather run along a beach path or along a mountain trail?

This is a tough question, because in my mind, beaches are for sand and sun and swimming. And a mountain trail, well that's hiking not running right? (and I know, you can trail run, but I'd rather take it slower and take it all in). But I do love running alongside water, particularly fresh water. Here in Calgary I mostly run on the river paths. The photo above shows the water front in my home town, Sault Ste. Marie, where I ran a 10 km last summer, alongside the shores of the St. Mary's River.

2. If you could choose the flavour of Gatorade at your next race’s aid station, what would it be?

Water, the flavour I prefer is water. In fact I steer clear of sports drinks in general. As for the most part our bodies are actually incredible at maintaining hydration through quite a lot of exercise. If you're interested, CBC Marketplace did a great evaluation of sports drinks and the 'need' for them last year. (read about it here) And found that generally your kidneys are great, and although you might lose water volume, your blood electrolytes and glucose don't change at all during about an hour of heavy exercise. In fact they found in an elite cyclist, it took over two hours of intense cycling before there was a measurable drop in electrolytes or glucose. Add to that the fact that most sports drinks have more sugar than soda and more salt than french fries and no thanks! So if I'm running 15 km or less, it's just water for me, thank you very much. And when I've done my two half-marathons? I grabbed a half banana from the halfway point aid station.

3. If I gave you a $100 gift card to a running store, what would be the first thing that you would purchase with it?

I'd take it to Lululemon for sure.... even though I clearly don't need anything else from there.

4. Do you prefer to follow a training plan or wake up and then decide how far and fast you want to run?

I wish I could sit down and follow a training plan, but I haven't managed to commit seriously to one yet. So I am for sure more of a just go out and run kind of runner.


5. Would you rather start your run with an uphill and end on the downhill or start your run with a downhill and end with an uphill?

I usually prefer the uphill to be in the middle of my run, if it's right at the beginning, I may not be warmed up enough, and I may push too hard, and then the rest of the run goes to crap. If it's at the very end I just want to cry. So the middle is very good.

Here I am smiling despite have just trudged up the hill behind me on km 9 of a 10 km run.

6. When you can’t run, what kind of cross-training do you do?

Yoga. I have flirted with kickboxing/martial arts in the past as well. And what ever workouts Kevin puts me through at the gym, which usually leave my body feeling like jello the next day.

7. What is your preference – out and back, point to point or loop runs?

Loop runs for sure, and the running paths along the rivers here and Calgary are perfect for this. Run down one side, cross on one of many pedestrian bridges. Run back along the other side. It's almost like a there and back, but the paths are different on either side.

8. If you could recommend ANY running related item to a new runner, it would be…?

Oh my Body Wallet from The Running Room for sure. It's simple. there's no velcro to fiddle with, it stays in place and it doesn't get too sweaty and gross. I hate having things on me when I run, and usually never bring a phone or ipod. But just before my first half, I new I wanted to run with music, and with a 10 min/1 min timer, so I needed something to keep my ipod on me. And this is the perfect simple solution. Plus just throw it in the wash after a race!

9. Do you ever see wild animals while out for a run?

Of course, Alberta's dog-sized jack rabbits are everywhere in this city.

10. Ever gotten lost while out on a run? 

Not a chance.... no picture for this one either.

11. If you could have one meal ready and waiting for you each time you got home for a run for the next 30 days, what would that be?

(image source)

Oh a smoothie bowl for sure, with some added protein and tones of granola on top!

12. Capris or shorts…what do you run in most often?

I do wear my shorts to run quite a bit....even tho I have to admit, I do get chafing between my legs....so you know that's fun.

13. At what mile (or how many minutes) into your run does your body start feeling like it’s warmed up and ready to go?

Once I get past the first 2 km, I get into a grove. Sometimes that first km makes my body cry out with "you could be sitting on a couch! why are you doing this crazy thing." You just have to get past that, then it feels great.

Yeah this picture has nothing to do with this question, but I'd rather sit there than on any couch, no matter how comfortable.

14. What do you do with your key when you run?

Sometimes in my pony tail, sometimes in my bra, sometimes in a pocket... but only if I know I can trust that pocket.

For instance, I one trusted this pocket to my two keys, and it took then about 2 km to wear a hole in the mesh and fall out. Which I didn't notice but luckily I was running on a busy path and a nice lady grabbed them and stopped me.

15. If you could relive any race you’ve done in the past, which would it be?

   
Maybe color me rad... because it's only 5 km, and all just for fun, and you can drink in the beer garden before and after your race, and then throw coloured powder at people, and have purple snot, and there was a band too. So maybe next summer, especially if I can get Kevin to do it with me.

Besides, I already have the fanny pack.         


That's all for now folks! Happy Thursday, the weekend is so close now!

Black Friday Shopping Spectacular

Well really it wasn't that spectacular, but I did get a couple good deals (and paid full price for something too).

First off, can we take a second to reflect on how ridiculous Black Friday has become here in Canada. I mean we all know its bat sh!t crazy in the States, and pretty much has been since the dawn of time right? I mean isn't the tradition that the Native Americans brought corn to the hungry pilgrims and then everyone camped out in front of Walmart with their pepper spray, and little Billy got trampled in the rush for a play station the next day. And that boys and girls is the history of thanksgiving.

But in Canada we celebrated our turkey day ages and ages ago! We don't have a last Thursday in November holiday. But we do apparently have Black Friday now.

And it didn't always used to be this way.

I grew up in a boarder town (shout out to the Soo), and ever since I was a little kid, Canadians by the bus load (literally, they arrange buses for these shopping trips) would cross the boarder on Black Friday morning, and go shop the sales at the outlets in Birch Run and West Branch (oooh Michigan). My mom and her friends go down every year, although often a week before or after, when there are still good sales to be had, but significantly less risk of bodily harm.

But in the last 3 years I watched Black Friday in Canada go from "Yeah some stores are going to have sales, especially places the sell electronics." to "malls are all opening early, even the teashop has a sale going on, and hold on to Billy's hand because things are about to get crazy."

Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I mean this year we had a pretty gross bit of snow storm and rough road conditions and the mall was at least twice as packed as it was last year.

But there you have it, I was definitely at the mall (despite my should have known better instincts) and made some purchases and observations.

Shopping list this year included:

-New Laptop
-New winter boots
-New winter coat
-Lululemon .....well just because

The new laptop.

My hunking 3 year old Toshiba, originally purchased regular price $300, so you know it was a quality computer, crapped out this summer. We tried to revive it, and got it working again, but it's been running in a 'I might just die completely at any second' way since. So I decided I'd go out on the Monday before Black Friday to shop around, so if there seemed like there was going to be an awesome deal, I'd be ready.

And that's how I found out about VIP at Future Shop. The sales rep in the computer department took down a list of the computer's I was interested in, along with my price range and phone number. He told me that if any of them went on sale for Friday, he'd call me when he saw the flyer on Wednesday, and we could make a VIP appointment on Thursday so I could buy it without the crush of the crowds or waits in line.

Long story short, I got the Lenovo Yoga I'd been coveting for the last year, for a $180 off, and I love it already. (It's still on sale through December 4th online).

Isn't it fun? it runs Windows 8.1, has a touch screen, and hinges all the way around. Plus it fits in my bag, and doesn't weigh a tonne.


New Winter Boots and Coat

My old boots and coat combo were a Christmas gift from my mom in 2009, right before moving to Calgary for the first time in January 2010. The Sorrel boots and Roots jacket have gotten me through some pretty cold winter days since then, but it was finally time for replacements.

 

 

For the boots of course I went back with Sorrels, the beautiful Joan of the Artic's in slate grey.

 

For the coat, well this was a tough one, you see I have a theory about winter coats. I think that because people have gone nuts and started spending 600-700 bucks on Canada Goose Jackets on mass last winter, this year all good winter coats are suddenly crazy expensive. I picked up four or five that I liked that were at least $400. Yeesh.

 

Finally I settled on this one by Columbia, which was marked down $100 bucks off to a comfortable $200 price range.

 

 

 

I even tested it this weekend (with the boots) when I walked to Tim's for breakfast in the feel's like -30 weather. Nice and toasty warm without sweating under your layers.

 

Lululemon.....Just Because

 

Lulu does a respectable amount of marking down on Black Friday (in store only I think?) It's like the hoard a months worth of regular mark downs and then put them all out on one day. This year however, it was pretty clear they produced merchandise specifically to be marked down on Black Friday. And most of it looked a little sad, like it was not quite up to Lulu standards. This included a pair of all black (waste band included) astro pants marked down to $49. Half of what they usually cost. So even tho I didn't need them I tried on a pair. But I'm going to be honest, the fabric didn't feel quite right. It was heavier than usual, and felt stiff. Maybe this is just status quo since all those issues with see through black pants, but I suspect this was just an example of lower quality merch produced to be put on sale. There were also some ugly sweater jacket things, and these flimsy wrap shirts that I had no desire to try on.

 

But do not doubt the might of the Lululemon marketing machine, because the night before Black Friday, this went up on their instagram

 

 



And I was all like, Lululemon and sparkles!!!!! Yep, I want that. And so I bought something at full price, on Black Friday, and that's what I have to be thankful for.

Lululemon SeaWheeze 2014

On August 23rd I ran my second half marathon, once again the Lululemon Seawheeze, and I finished it over a full minute faster than my first one.

Today I'll share some pictures from the race, and all of the great times I had along the way and tomorrow I'll share my reasons for not signing up for round three (and none of those reasons include the fact that it sold out in something like 18 minutes).

I ran this year with my older cousin Krista, and we put some serious effort into our matching Bruce themed race outfits. Apparently you can apply iron on letters to Lulu's 105 singlet no problem. We flew into Vancouver the afternoon before the race and hit up registration and the SeaWheeze store with no line ups at all at 2pm.... mainly because hordes of people had already reduced the store to a measly handful of racks and almost nothing in a size 6.

Then we waited in line for about an hour to get our hair braided for free, and although we missed out on the yoga class in front of Lulu's new Robson Street flagship store, we did swing by there to do some shopping.

Lining up for the start, this year the colours people were wearing were a bit less homogenous (I guess the black and white race shorts match with more things than the bright ones last year) but we still pretty much looked like a Lululemon army, 10,014 strong.

Our moms and Krista's husband and one year old came along to be our cheer section, moving to a couple of spots along the race route, so I actually have pictures of me running this year. And running this year was rough. I didn't do nearly enough training, race day was a lot hotter than the year before, and my right hip felt all kinds of painful through the last 4km. So I was shocked to finish ever so slightly faster than last year, coming in at 2:23:07 (last year 2:24:23). So shocked (or dehydrated) that I had a touch of heat stroke after the race.

With our medals after finishing, you can't tell in the picture but I feel like I'm about to be sick. Good thing Lulu gave out awesome hats at the finish line to get the sun off my head.

Krista's husband Brian made us this sweet sign, with really creepy giant heads, and I felt terrible because I don't think I even noticed it while running. My mom brought signs and balloons too!

After the race we got all dolled up (relative term I guess) to head to yoga and the sunset festival, the tattoos are by Balsam and Vine, Boho Marks, based out of Vancouver, and are a tonne of fun! I'll share some pictures from Yoga in Stanley Park later, but since they managed to get the whole park turned into one giant beer garden this year, needless to say the yoga, led by Blissology's Eoin Finn, was a pretty good time.

Overall the run was great, and I'm glad that I did it. Even having not prepared for it, it's good to know that my baseline these days (well maybe not this week) is healthy enough to let me keep a 6:47min/km pace for nearly 2 and a half kilometers and not die. Part of me is sad I won't be going back next year, but mostly I'm ready for some new challenges and adventures.

You can read all about my road to my first SeaWheeze here.

And the debacle that was registering for the race this year here.

Sunday Morning Free Yoga at Lululemon Market Mall: Barre Body

Yesterday I attended my first Free Yoga class at a lululemon store. I guess I decided that I spend enough money there, I should start taking advantage of some of their perks. So I rolled up my mat and headed to Market Mall before it opened. Only I didn't quite realize that it wasn't going to be a Yoga class this week. Instead, Marlo from Barre Body Calgary lead us through a tough/amazing class aimed at toning our arms and glutes... Needless to say she had my muscles shaking before the hour was out.

I might just have to give Barre Body a try sometime in the near future. It was a great mix-up for someone with past ballet experience like me. The plies, especially in 2nd position really brought me home and made me work. The arm series tho, it was a challenge to say the least, I think I had my arms collapsing to my side about as much as I could keep them up. But then maybe that's an indication that I should start working them harder on my own?

Has anyone tried a Barre class, or Barre Body  in Calgary? Let me know what you thought about it in the comments.

Fuel Belt Revenge R2O Review post 15km run

The Lululemon Sea Wheeze Half Marathon is less than 7 weeks away. So it's time to seriously step up the training. Yesterday I hit the Bow River Path for a 15km long run, and took my new fuel belt along for the ride.

I picked up this belt, the Revenge R2O in Hybiscus Pink at the race expo for the Calgary Marathon last month, and yesterday was my first time trying it out. My route, 15km along the Bow River, up a trail to Spruce Cliff, down through Edworthy Park and back along the North side of the Bow.

My GPS watch needed charging so I mapped the route on Map My Run. The 122M elevation gain both sucks and is empowering (especially when you manage to pass a couple people on bikes).

As for the Fuel Belt? This was a new experiance for me. I am usually the type of runner who can't stand to bring anything along with me. I've only just gotten used to running with my ipod. Usually I just take my house key in my bra. But for long runs, you need water, and fountains seem to be few and far between in Calgary (I did find one in Edworthy Park to refill midway through my run). So a fuel belt like this one seemed like a good idea.

I carried the two full water bottles with me, and put my blackberry, credit card and keys into the side pouch.

To be honest, the first 3km running with the belt were a bit of an adjustment. The woman at the Running Room booth advised me that while men can wear it around their waists women should strap it round their hips. So I strapped it in place, and adjusted the belt a couple of times, but it still wanted to slip up and jump around.

So I thought I wonder if I can kind of roll the top of the waistband of my shorts down over the top of the belt. And poof, it stayed snug and didn't move for the rest of the run. The belt was lightweight, even with the water's full and I was certainly glad to have it with me. I highly recommend trying one out, and will be using it for my future long runs!

As for the run itself... it was a bit slow and tough... I walked the full last kilometer, not so much because I needed a cool down, but more because my body was just done. I made it home round 8:30, and crashed pretty hard (was asleep by 10pm! pretty good for a Saturday night). The 15km distance puts me a couple weeks ahead of the Sea Wheeze Tacklebox, so I think I'll repeat this run next week (hopefully improving the time).

Until then, I'm off to try a free yoga class at one of the Lulu stores in town, and then head in to the lab for a bit....maybe hit up stampede later tonight. How's you're weekend treating you?

A quick word about registering for races

Today I registered for the Calgary Marathon Centaur Subaru Half Marathon on June 1st, 2014. From start to finish, registration took about 4 minutes.

Last Thursday I tried to register for the 2014 Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon on August 23rd. Notice I said tried. I literally spent 3 hours (longer than it will take me to run the race) struggling to get though a website that could barely load and repeatedly crashed, before Lulu closed the whole thing told us to check back in a couple hours. Then told us to check back the next day. Then told us they'd reopen it in 2 weeks.

You can imagine I was frustrated. And tweeted out my feelings. You can find those tweets here (#seawheeze)

Having done the Seawheeze last year (read all about my very first half marathon) and enjoyed every second of it (right down to the blisters and chafing), despite my frustration I am still eager to do it again this year. In fact, I want to take a full 25 minutes off my time and come in under 2 hours (I just need a strategy to do so!).

However, with a limited number of spots for runners and a years worth of hyping, I just hope I'm able to grab a spot when the registration opens up.

And not just one, my cousin will be running with me, as part of her C-Section to Seawheeze goal! (she gifted the world with possibly the cutest baby ever last August). So we're going to need two spots.

So consider this my first post en route to a sub 2hour 21.1km in 2014. I'll be keeping you updated with my training runs (got out on the bow pathway yesterday for my first run of the year), my tortured knees, my highs and lows on the way to the #Seawheeze....provided of course I can get that pesky registration out of the way.

SeaWheeze 2013 : The road to my first half marathon

As the clocked ticked towards midnight on Dec 31 2011, I declared the new years resolution that would set my feet on the path (literally) to my first half marathon, the Lululemon Sea Wheeze in Vancouver, and one of my proudest moments.

I am a huge fan of the reality television show "The Biggest Loser." It really is one of the most inspiring things on TV, and the transformations both in body and mind that the contestants go through are incredible. The first time I told myself I would run a half marathon was during the second last episode of Season 12, the contestants, who only 12 weeks prior could barely move their bodies through a single mile, run a marathon. As I sat there, alone on my couch, probably stuffing my own face with junk food I thought "really Sara, if they can do this, what's you're excuse?"

Mine is not a story of weight loss, but it has been a transformation for me non the less. At the time, I was 23 and minimally active, the only thing maintaining my figure was the determinedly strong metabolism I'd been gifted with that kept me waif-like thin through to college. As I entered my mid 20s, it was beginning to slow down. More importantly, so had I.

I grew up playing every sport I could try my hands at, basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball, track and field, cross country, lacrosse, ballet and jazz dance you name it. I was active all through high school and well into university. However, as my science course load grew heavier with each year, and as I began to spend more and more time glued to my laptop computer, my level of activity fizzled to a stop. While I may have still been thin,  at 23 I was horribly out of shape, and not at all happy with myself.

In Barcelona, Summer of 2011.

So sitting there on my couch, Christmas and a new year around the corner, I told myself it was time for a change, next year I would run a half marathon. I declared it my New Years Resolution, and the first of my 25 goals before 25. I signed up for a Dailymile Account (which I have been neglecting to update lately), bought a membership for the gym in the building where my lab is and got running.

The first mile I ran, after the past few years of inactivity was painful, physically, mentally and emotionally. To distract myself for how badly my body was performing, my friend and I (like us females tend to do) laughed about how one runner flailed her arms as she ran. Ran laps around us that is. However I stuck with it, and by spring was signed up to run a 10km race during the Calgary Marathon. And my new boyfriend Kev (a bit of a fitness junkie) would be cheering me on at the finish line.

Summer running along the Bow River, stopping for a photo with the Peace Bridge.

I impressed myself with that first 10km, and then again with the Spartan Race in August, and a second 10km in September. I signed up for Calgary's last chance half marathon in November, and began working my way into longer runs. More fit than I had been in years, I hit the wall when I began suffering from horrible shin splints.

It was time to face the facts, the half marathon just wasn't going to happen that year. I suppose I could have walked it anyways, but it just wasn't in the cards. I wrote this post, and postponed the goal.

2013 started great, Kevin and I were headed to the beach (Cuba) for a week in March, and we were both determined to be beach body ready. I worked my butt off, kept up with the running, did a 10km on St. Patty's Day in a blizzard and felt great. However, as spring rolled into summer, and my life got incredibly busy with traveling and school I wasn't really working as hard towards my goal as I should have.

But I had paid my registration for the 2013 Lululemon Sea Wheeze Half Marathon in August, and I was not going to back down. In the month before I committed to running three times a week, got in a couple 14km runs (with hill climbing) and one 16km (my longest run ever). Kevin shook his head a me for how little I had trained, he would never commit less than 100% to a goal. A trait in him which I admire and love him for.

I told myself I would give it my best shot, and finish in less than 3hours, expected I'd probably be walking the last 4km. I hoped that the relatively flat race course and sea level elevation would help me get through it.

Before the start, in the 2.5-3 hour wave.

I decided to run with my ipod (usually I don't) and put together a playlist of songs that would keep me pumped up. I installed a pacing app, and set myself to run the first half hour straight, then do intervals of 10min running 1min walking for the rest of the race. It was me, a pair of running shoes (I wore the asics) and my stubborn determination (for which Kevin always teases me, but I hope also loves) versys 21.4km and an army of 10,014 lululemon-clad runners.

You won't spot me in the video and there are no pictures of me running (our cheering squad was a bit hungover that morning), but I don't need that kind of evidence of my accomplishment that day. My accomplishment became a part of me the second I crossed that finish line.

2 hours
24 minuetes
23 seconds

My left foot was bleeding from a blister, my knees screaming in agony, I had chafing on my thighs and from my sports bra. I was exhausted and grinning from ear to ear. Despite not feeling prepared I rocked that race, and exceeded my expectations by far. I stayed with my pace, no cheating until the last mile. And even then, with the help of the super motivating 2h30min Pace Beavers finished strong and running across that finish line.

I need to thank my running buddy that day, Sarah (@setulk) who set this goal with me, ran with me for the past year and a half and finished strong that day too. I need to thank Kevin, who I called the minute I crossed the finish line so I could share my success with him, and who sees a world of potential in me and challenges me to meet it. I need to thank my family who always supports me. Thanks to everyone who is a runner and tweets or blogs about it, I find so much inspiration from this online community. And lululemon, who despite happily taking more of my money than I should be spending there, put together the most perfect, motivating and inspiring race for a first timer like me. I plan on being back next year, and shaving another 25 minutes off that time!

If you look close, you can see my name in the top of the 'S'

Classy Lululemon Bags: a dificult decision

The past week and a half has been a total wirl wind. I got back from Cuba, well relaxed, and was imediately thrown back into things. With a Talk and a Poster to present in Boston this weekend, a major committee meeting, the last two days of classes for the course I TA, planning the social events for our departmental retreat, and trying to get a little bit of science done. Add to that still having what I'm beginning to believe is tuberculosis (well not really), and you can see why I haven't been posting.

To celebrate getting through everything on my giant list, I thought I'd head into Lululemon, and treat myself to the gorgeous bag I've been eyeing for about a month.

The Vinyasa to Vino Bag, Neoprene, Black

Isn't it pretty and super classy?  This large, zippered bag would be great to carry my laptop, a spair pair of shoes, a sweater and water bottle around in at the Conference I'm attending this weekend in Boston.

However, when I got to the store, they had the Urban Oasis Tote, Neoprene, Black on mark down to $79 bucks! Compared to the Vinyasa bag at $138, I had to consider it. So I put both bags side by side on a table and here's the comparison I made.

Needless to say I went with the Oasis Tote! It's packed full and ready to go to Boston with me tomorrow. I will be there until next Wednesday, then I'm off to Banff for our departmental retreat Thursday Friday. I'm a busy girl, what can I say? Hopefully I'll find time to write some posts while I'm away, if not enjoy your week!

What bag would you buy? Vinyasa or Oasis?

Black Friday Haul

Ok so against my better financial judgment I did some Black Friday shopping... yes we have it here in Canada, but it's way less intense than in the States...for instance noone pulls out pepper spray or guns.

I did pretty well as far as sales go.

Express had 50% from Thursday night till Friday before Noon. And I think they are doing 40% off Cyber Monday right now.

(clearly I need better natural lighting for photos) but I picked up a sweet neon yellow sheer blouse for 25, a yellow clutch for 7ish and an off white shirt (good with leggings) for 15.

Guess marked all their previously reduced stuff an extra 40%.

Picked up the knit dress... super cute and cozy for only $32 after all the reductions.

American Eagle... 40% off the whole store I think? I donno it was a zoo in there.

Doesn't this make for an awesome sweater party sweater... I tried it on in line (since the line was that long) and it even passed Kev's 'is it an ugly old man sweater' test (he says, nope!) I think it was like $20 (I wore it right away and got rid of the tag/receipt)

Lululemon... while they technically didn't do a black friday sale, lulu market mall marked down a bunch of stuff extra cheap and put it all on racks (so you didn't have to dig for it)....needless to say you had to buy without trying on.

Terrible pic I know (but I took these last night at like 11pm...seriously there was no lighting only flash). The two  Run tanks were marked from 52 to $24. The Virtue Energy Pant were marked down from 98 to $59. Then I picked up gloves and a head band full price....cause I needed them. I also picked up a yoga bag.... no pic sorry... for $34 (it was the last one and followed a lady round the store until she put it down and left... so I could grab it....ok maybe black friday brings out the worst in Canadians too?)

Anyways did you shop? what did you get? (and mom when you read this... I know..."Stop Spending Money!")

Dyeing my Lululemon Define Jacket to Hide a Stain

You might have noticed that I have a love affair...with lululemon that is. There's something just magical about being swaddled in Luon, and I've spent enough of my hard earned money there to have a drawer full of the stuff.

One of my all time favourite lulu products is the Define Jacket. I have three, a grey/black one, a red one and a blue one.

I love this jacket for casual wear and running, it's the perfect length, it doesn't ride up, it keeps you warm but not hot and you can stash things in the pockets. In fact I ran 2 10km races this year in my blue one.

Only my blue one isn't blue anymore. Remember the pink pants I wore to the Calgary Taste the Trucks food truck thing (here) well turns out they bled in the wash... and managed to leave an huge pink/purple stain on the back of my favourite blue define jacket.

So I figured, well I've had this sweater for over 2 years now, but I love it (and it represents $100 so I don't want to get rid of it unless I have to) so why not try to salvage it (I mean it can't get any more ruined).

A step-by-step guide on Dyeing your Stained Lululemon

1. Buy your dye, remember you are overdying so the colour you will get will be a combination of the old colour and the new, plus you want to cover the stain. Since my stain was pink and my lulu was blue, I bought a single package of Rit dye in Fushia, hoping for a purple final colour. You can get Rit online, or at most crafty type stores, I picked mine up at Micheals and it cost about $3.

2. Put your lulu into a bucket of hot (but not boiling water) I heated about 4litres of water in a kettle until just before it got to boiling. You want enough water that your lulu is just covered.

3. Premix the dye with half a litre of hot water, this way when you add it to the bucket you get a more even dye. Add it into the bucket by pushing your lulu out of the way and pouring it into the water (do not pour directly onto lulu).

4.Using your hands (in gloves) or a stirring apparatus, you want to mix/swirl/agitate the lulu in the dye for ~15minutes. If you keep it moving you will get a more even dye, if you don't you will get splotches.

5. Add half a cup of salt to half a litre of hot water, dissolve, then add into bucket. This will help set the dye. Again mix/swirl/agitate for about 15min.

6. Add a tbsp of laundry detergent to the bucket. This will also help set the dye. Again mix/swirl/agitate for about 5min.

7.Dump the bucket and lulu into your kitchen sink (or laundry sink, caution the dye can stain sinks and tubs, so that's why you want to go with your stainless steel one in the kitchen). Rinse lulu under warm water until the water begins to run clear (this took many many rinses, that thing held a lot of dye).

8. Hang to dry over the sink overnight.

Now I am going to wash my lulu in a regulalar old fashioned washing machine, by itself, before I wear it, as I don't want to risk having residual dye turn my skin/clothes pink. But I tried it on just to see how it looked!

Now this picture lighting fades the colour, it's actual a bit brighter purple. As you can see the dye won't change the zippers, it also doesn't take on the stitching they use (something to keep in mind when selecting colours). Interestingly the elastic loop on the back dyed much darker, and it has no effect on the reflective lulu logo either.

Overall I'd call this project a success, and I feel like I can wear this sweater again. This is a great thing to try if you've ruined any of your lulu in the wash (or if you've had issues with colours bleeding in general). I'll update this post once I've washed it a few times, and once I've run in it to see if it still preforms like it should.