Weekly training reports used to be my favorite to write.

1. They’re easy because you don’t have to think of a compelling topic and how to write about it – Just elaborate on your training log and maybe put some words on a headless picture of your legs in compression socks and running shoes and call it a day.
2. I happened to be routinely kicking all my workouts’ asses and it was fun to brag about write about success. “’nother track workout, crushed my goal times! tempo, shmempo, coulda gone faster! booyah bitches!”

Cocky, fast* Sarah was easy to chronicle but kind of a cunt.

*relative. always relative

In these days of battles to get out the door instead of battles to see JUST how far under goal pace I could run, I think a head report is due. Check in with the medulla oblongata. We’re only five weeks out from Eugene, after all.

I think the tiedyed shirts were for volunteers – we were walking through the expo (last year) and two girls sitting at a table packing up were like, “want one?” and we’re all “heck YES” and now it’s perfectly broken in and my favorite shirt. good story.

After last week’s 5K and its pivotal AHA!-I-found-my-competitive-spark-again moment I can say my mindset towards running has improved drastically. Do I bound out the door every day and beg for more miles? No. But I’ve never been a real JAZZ HANDS SO EXCITED RUNNING IS THE BEST EVERRRRRR [glitterbomb] runner, so that’s fine.

What has changed, is my approach to each workout. Let me give you an example :

[set scene : leaving work to drive 50min through rush hour for 8x800 at the track]

old sarah : “Barf. It’s going to hurt and UGH I’m so out of shape no way I’m going to hit my goal times how depressing remember how fast you were last year and how much you loved 800s and the track? You suck – go home and have a beer and feel sorry for yourself instead.”

new sarah : “So maybe you’re slow and it’ll feel harder than it should – get over it. You won’t get any faster and they won’t get any easier by skipping. Once you’re there you’ll feel better. Put the Mo Money playlist on let’s go.” (‘go get em, tiger’ self-administered butt slap)

grumpasaurus vs reasonable, non-homocidal Sarahs

Not a complete 180, but the switch from whiney quitter (oh jk you can’t quit if you never start…) to a stern yet stable voice of reason seems to have made all the difference. Nobody’s trying to say you have to put on a bubble costume and chase a unicorn down a rainbow to make a turn in ‘tude. Just approach each workout like it’s there for a reason, it has a purpose, and is getting you one step closer to your goal.

Just a little self-medication I’ve been force-feeding myself that I thought I’d pass on.

The mental is coming along, and with it was a tough physical week. I had a few small ‘niggle’ scares (hamstring and calves) that I think were compounded from the hilly 5k course and finally running workouts hard again, but I’ve been TLC’ing and trying to manage that fine line of sore-pain and pain-pain. Lord knows the last thing I need rattling my fragile brain is a kinda-sorta injury to freak the fuck out over.

This has gotten off track. I’m not injured, I just need to stretch before I’m sore and foam roll before things hurt. Prevention and smarts.

so dependent and needy. ugh fine I need you, too.

So onward we go into the final few weeks of this cycle. Finish up strong and who knows what I’ll pull out of my ass up in Oregon. There is magic in the air up there, remember…

Sarah OUaL

I have something pretty cool coming up this week that will hopefully get you excited about spring and the sun and I KNOW most of you are still covered in snow the end is near I just know it and seriously that sucks.

I know it seems like just yesterday I was parading around a new short-short haircut (that woops a few of you scorned me for not blogging about), but it was actually February 11th. 5 weeks ago! Here’s what it looked like since I didn’t share then :

The bad news about chopping your hair into a seemingly ‘low-maintenance’ cut is that when it starts growing back it’s pretty noticeable. “IT” being a shaggy neck blanket and loose floppy layers none of which are advisable when trying not to look like an eight year old boy with tits.

ps letting your husband wield scissors to your head is a sign of complete trust and also mental instability. also, NOT approved action per my hairdresser.

So I went back this weekend and did a little “you know, a little less here, more like, choppy here, maybe this part a little different…” until my hairdresser said,

“so, more pixie-ish”

And I agreed and now this is what I look like and I love it and PLEASE JUST STOP GROWING FOR A WHILE!

Anyone in the market to trade free haircuts for bestfriendship and Nuun cocktails? It’s ironically expensive to maintain having very little.

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Speaking of tits (?), the Oiselle bras – amaze, no? Total boob heaven. If you haven’t ordered, want to order more, or just need an excuse to drop some mid-day retail therapy, Oiselle is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $50 today. Happy spring, indeed.

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Once again Nuun is putting together teams of lady bloggers to run the e-word Hood to Coast relay this August. I’m not allowed to enter because I ate all the trail mix and farted itoo much in the van last year (kidding – they want fresh meat) so you should apply and let me live vicariously through you. Their announcement and application deets HERE .

Maybe you’ve always wanted to run a relay but don’t have enough crazy friends for a team. Or you love Nuun and want unlimited access to as much as you can possibly drink for a weekend. Or you just want to see if Seattle (where Nuun HQ is) really looks like it does on Grey’s Anatomy.

Here’s my submission from last year for some creative inspiration (and also because I love an excuse to pimp it out and get some more ROI on the time I spent on it)

((hahahahaha it’s a funny joke because ROI = $$ which OUaL does not make))

seriously, PLEASE APPLY. incredible experience.

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Lastly, on a slightly more serious note, I have to admit I was a little nervous being all feelings’y about Sunday’s race and re-finding my competitive spark. Historically those type of posts elicit two types of responses : “ohmygod I feel ya girl thank you so much for sharing!” or “get the fuck over yourself seriously just quit if you hate running you suck. – love, anon”

I don’t write to seek out validation or advice or sympathy. I write what I do because 1) I can, and like to, and 2) because maybe someone can relate and will get something out of it.

But it’s always a nice bonus when people support what you have to say. I was touched (and slightly relieved) by your comments and am once again reminded that the internet, while filled with unjust bullying and assholes at times, is a mostly awesome place. So, thanks for reading and being rad. And if you suck or hate me, thanks for keeping your trap shut about it.

That said, I’ve been tossing around the idea of disabling comments on the blog. Theory being I don’t want to feel my writing is being manipulated by how I think people will react, and because I want to promote more two-way conversation. I LOVE getting emails, twittering with people, and engaging a topic on facebook, but post comments sometimes feel very… forced? dutied? an unnecessary way to vie for extra love and digital-worth?

I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to chime in, or that OUaL’s self-worth is measured by such. I also don’t want to deter anyone from reaching out if they do have something to say, ask, or comment on. I’m a quick “@sarahoual” or ‘compose new email’ away, and 100% would love for you to totally abuse that power.

I’d ask for you to weigh in but that seems kind of hypocritical. Instead, I’ll say happy humpday I’m going to the track tonight! Wooo!

Sarah OUaL

NEWS FLASH : I HAVE BOOBS.

Pretty big boobs, actually. And my body fat is in the double digits. I am built more like a Labrador than a Greyhound, and nobody will ever ask me for the secrets to my abs (because they are invisible) or yell “EAT A CHEESEBURGER!” as I run by.

Which, you know, is fine, because the beauty of running is you can do it with whatever body you have, so long as it includes at least a leg or two.

I’m pretty confident in thinking there are more people reading this that fall in the “things-jiggle-when-I-run” camp with me than the “Shalane-do-you-need-a-body-double?” camp – and who play the online/catalogue shopping imagination game of “and what exactly will that look like on a normal, non-model body…?”

they let the real models show off the clothes so you’re not distracted by the normal people’s relatable beauty and Tyra-worthy poses, btw. insider scoop.

I don’t know if this ”real-girl jiggle” is why Sally reached out to me about Oiselle’s new sports bras (available THIS FRIDAY!), but I’m going to guess it was and definitely NOT the creepy notes I kept sending threatening to move into HQ until I got my hands on them (the bras, not the birds).

Or maybe they saw my race pics and felt bad for what gravity was doing to my girls and wanted to help out.

Mission accepted, Oiselle. C-cup reporting for duty.

Speaking of C-cup, let’s set the stage here a little to give you an idea what kind of a job these bras had cut out for them…

the stats : above-average, but not as giant as all the midget OC runners make me seem. 5’8″, 143lbs, 34C.

in the Strappy, showing off my 6-pack

the current roster : those Nike Pros you can get for $12 at TJ Maxx (worn inside out to avoid seam chaffing), a few random C9 for Target compressioners, and a brief affair with Moving Comfort until I nearly dislocated a shoulder trying to clasp the back. Usually medium, sometimes small for extra-strength smooshing.

I knew Oiselle would have the colors, designs, and material nailed down – these are just automatics for their products - but I was pretty skeptical of the durability these skinny little runners were going to try and pass off as sports bras. I mean what do they know about under-boob chaffing, strap soreness, or double-bagging the light/moderate supporters? Am I really going to put the sake of my already prematurely sagging tatas in their A-cup hands??

(Sally, did you expect me to burn your team’s chests so extensively when you wrote me? No?)

Oiselle Does Boobs :The C-Cup Wear-Test

First up : the High 10

Good news is this is the least supportive of the line and I didn’t give myself any black eyes running in it, but I’d def recommend it for the small-to-medium crowd. I liked the scoopy vneck cut, simple-but-different back (x-straps instead of traditional racerback), and the overall fit was very comfortable, but want/need something more supportive.

The High 10 has lightly padded cups, but not like those crazy torpedo super shapers I’ve seen from other brands. Just enough pad to prevent unintentional headlighting and for flat-chesters to fake some cleav. I didn’t feel outrageous in it, but it was definitely more chest action than I was use to putting out there.

‘extra boobage!’ vs ‘do I need a PG-13 rating for this extra boobage…?’

I wore a medium which fit well, but if you’re between sizes I’d go down. The support was good but because of the padding I’d suggest this for A-B cups. Unless you’re on a manhunt while on the run - in which case pump those babies up, slap on some lip gloss, and get out there!

Next up : The Strappy

I love this bra, and not just because I came to it with skepticism and low expectations. It’s simple in construction (no padding or hardware) yet eye-catching in design, and just does its dang job. The dual straps (although thin) offer extra support, there’s good compression, and the unique look will break up your standard racerback tan line.

Already Strappy has done easy runs, mid-distance tempos, beach stretching, brunch biking, held up to duffy boat turbulence, laid through a lazy Sunday (yes all of these are important wear-test measurements), and came out of the wash looking good. A+ on run and lifestyle performance.

I tried a medium and a small, and preferred the additional squeeze of the small. IMO I’d recommend this up to a C-cup, but probably not much higher. Unless you’re carrying around some jiggle-less biggens somehow in which case I hate you.

(not tested) : The Lesko

in fact that IS the Lesko of “Lesko Bra” – Sarah Lesko in her namesake at the Totally Trials fashion show (from Oiselle’s fb)

Super excited to get my hands boobs on in this one. The most supportive of the bunch and also I have a girl crush on Lesko so… Yeah. Order will be placed immediately.

Overall Verdict : Sally, you done good, and I happily retract my itty bitty skepticism. (Please apologize to the other HQers for me.) You covered all the bases in both design and function, and have created something for pretty much everyone. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some old bras to figure out what to do with…

Get your tatas ready, ladies - less than 24 hours till Oiselle puts a bird on ‘em…

Sarah OUaL