Tag Archives: sports bra

Gracie’s Gear at Annapolis 10-Miler Expo

3 Replies

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to volunteer for the ZOOMA Annapolis Half Marathon and 10K because it was not a race that I was ready to run. This coming weekend is one of my favorite Annapolis races put on by the Annapolis Striders, the A10. Unfortunately I missed registration and learned too late about the option to do a “bib swap.” Volunteering was definitely an option but then I was given yet another way to be involved with the event.

long_bra_front_hotpink_whiteI have been a huge fan of Gracie’s Gear ever since I met the company’s president, Gracie Updyke, this spring at the ZOOMA kick-off event in Annapolis and after having had a chance to try out her tops, capris, and shorts. We’ve kept in touch and every so often I work with her on PR projects and she asked if I’d be interested in repping her gear at the A10 event in the Fleet Feet Annapolis booth. So there you go! I get to see yet another side of a run event by participating as an exhibitor in the Expo. What does this mean? Continue reading →

Running Rituals

2 Replies

j0438575There was a fun article in the May 2009 issue of Runner’s World about prerun routines and it shared some tidbits and facts about the various things runners do before a jog or a race. For example, it takes the average runner 6.9 minutes to get ready for a run (according to their RW poll).

RW asked 2, 284 runners what they do before a run, and in case you didn’t see the column, here are some of the fun facts:

  • 85% hit the head
  • 75% drink some liquids
  • 54% stretch
  • 45% have a quick snack
  • 38% apply lip balm
  • 20% apply antichafing product

All this got me thinking about whether I have a routine and as it turns out, I do! I thought I’d share mine and would love to hear if there are any running rituals you have. Continue reading →

Gracie’s Gear Review: The Tops

7 Replies

If you were to dig through my drawer of running gear, you’d either be shocked, disgusted, or entertained by the variety of sports bras in the drawer. I played volleyball in high school and wore only cotton Columbia sports bras probably because that is the only brand I knew of at the time and there are still a couple of them in my drawer, albeit at the bottom of the pile. I like to stick with what works and what I’m comfortable in and for a long time those cotton bras with their now disintegrated elastic served me well.

Around the same time when I realized I should replace those old bras I also started to learn of the alternatives to cotton and the benefits of technical fibers designed for wicking, compression, and performance enhancement. While I understood the need for a better sports bra, I was essentially lost in finding the next best bra. For a long time, years, I was on the hunt for the perfect sports bra and the variety of brands and styles in my drawer is evidence of my search. Continue reading →

The Things We Carry

3 Replies

things_we_carryIn college I read Tim O’Brien’s novel “The Things We Carry” during my junior year when I was participating in Semester at Sea. My English class during that semester read books related to the history, culture, lifestyles, and people of the countries we visited and since Vietnam was on the itinerary O’Brien’s novel was more than appropriate. If you have read the book you know that it’s about the things Vietnam soldiers carried from tangible necessities to items for survival to intangible things like their thoughts, hopes, fears, and memories.

This may seem like a strange segue but at the kick-off to the Annapolis Zooma Run when I first saw the sports bras and tanks that are part of part of the line of women’s fitness gear by Gracie’s Gear, the first thing that popped into my mind was the title of Tim O’Brien’s book. When I met founder Gracie Updyke and heard her story behind the gear it seemed even more fitting that I associated a sports bra and its innovative Power Pouch with the title of a book that is all about survival and human nature. Continue reading →