almost perfect

as previously mentioned, I took the running skirt out for a stroll today. it was absurdly nice outside... sunny, mid 60's, and just generally beautiful. the executive summary? 14 miles, 9:37 average pace, and I love the skirt. absolutely love it.

basically, I got dressed, slathered on a lot of sunblock and bodyglide (especially since I wasn't sure how the skirt would perform on a long run, with the chub rub factor and all...) and headed out to KMP. I planned to do an out and back because the hike/bike trail was supposedly "closed" for a section (basically torn up) and I didn't know if they were going to be working on paving it so I just wanted to avoid that stretch. so I head out and am feeling great. I realize I should slow down the first mile because I was going really fast, but otherwise everything was great. I was content in my skirt and wasn't getting any weird stares, just some big smiles from the old women walking the path. second mile I'm pounding away and I see a superfast looking woman up ahead of me. you know how you can kind of gauge (usually incorrectly) whether a runner is really fast or not? this girl just kind of looked fast, really tall and lean, but she was wearing black running tights and a black long sleeve shirt. weird, especially since it was so nice out. as we approach the huge ass hill in this mile, I realize that I am gaining on her and I think about how sweet it would be if I passed her up the hill... It would be a like a metaphor for how evil and mean things (represented by the girl in the dark clothing) always looses to happiness and joy (represented by me, of course, in my supercute, bright skirt). and then I passed her. and it was awesome. and I felt like I was on top of the world, because a great song was playing (Guster's "What You Wish For") and I was feeling great. I got to the top of the hill, spit, and then took a huge swig of water, thinking that life couldn't get better. AND THEN IT DID. coming up the other side of the hill? was a dog (leashed by an owner, of course). and the dog? looked exactly like Pippin. I was so excited.

ok. so the rest of my run was really not nearly as exciting as that second mile. I didn't really get any funny looks or comments about the skirt, so that leaves the total at 0 still. people are just used to other people wearing odd shit out exercising, I guess. There was one girl who was about my age that smirked at me (in the totally non-friendly way, too) and I was mentally thinking, "oh yeah, how many miles have you run today, girl who is wearing capri running tights out walking? because i've done 12 so far."

anyways, I started having a little difficulty breathing around mile 7, and by mile 11 I had decided that I would just cruise the last few miles in comfortably, because I was really not doing very well on the breathing front. I have exercised induced asthma, and it gets pretty bad when it is coupled with seasonal allergies (which I also suffer from). I try not to let it affect me too much, because whining about allergies is annoying (it seems like half the world suffers from allergies, doesn't it?!) and there are methods for treating it. I was just clearly stupid this morning and didn't check the pollen count (when I got home I checked and it said, "Very High")... note to self... don't be stupid... take your allergy pill. Anyways, so I cruised in the last few miles between 9:50 and 10 minute pace. I didn't mind all that much because I was supposed to do 11-12, and by that time I had gotten in a solid 11. And the slow miles still left my overall pace at 9:37, which isn't too shabby. Faster than I ran my 13 miler in two weeks ago, so I'll take it.

The skirt? is awesome. it was breezy out today, which was nice because I could feel the skirt swishing against my legs, but I never felt like it was going to fly up or anything. The "spankies" underneath did ride up a little bit, but I have a feeling that was probably because of the larger size that I purchased. If I had gotten the medium I think they would have stayed in place. But the skirt was comfortable. and absolutely no chafing. I don't exactly have the skinniest thighs in the world (which I am totally willing to admit... see the "I have thunder thighs" post I posted earlier. women's thighs are supposed to touch, right?) so I was waiting... waiting... waiting... for the mile when things would get uncomfortable. I even packed a tiny tube of aquaphor that my mom had left over from radiation therapy, just in case. I totally didn't even have the slightest problem with chafing. So until my "go-to" nike tempo shorts (you know, the shorts that you expect to be perfectly comfortable on every run, regardless of distance) provide such comfortable, non-chafing running (unlike they did during my pace run on thursday), I'm sticking to my skirts for long runs.

so that's that. roommate and I are chilling on the back porch right now (thank God for wireless internet access), drinking some beer. life is pretty damn good. so I'll leave you all with the required "Go Pistons!" Have a happy weekend!