Being a Woman About Town - Running Routes

When I moved back home from DC, I had to get used to running down country roads rather than through the big city. Although the peace of my little neighborhood in Mint Hill was pretty conducive to getting your zen on, I much prefer running in an urban area. I think it has something to do with accountability. No, those poor souls leaving the office at 8pm don't care that you're running, but I use each person I pass as a reason not to stop... especially if you're one of the creeps catcalling as I'm sweating like a 400lb man. Being an uptown girl, I'm somewhat limited in the route department, but some popular favs are listed at the bottom of this post.  

Things to keep in mind:

Crosswalks. Nothing is worse than hitting the wrong intersection at rush hour. This is both a timing and route-mapping issue.
Pedestrian traffic. You don't want to have to bob and weave too much and no one wants your sweaty body rubbing against them on their commute... well, some do... and for them, we have pepper spray.
Safety. As much as I love my tunes, make sure you can still hear your surroundings and that you are also visually aware of the people and cars around you.

Travel. Don't be shy about getting in your car to drive to a fun new route. You have to keep yourself interested and your body guessing!

Modify. Don't like a certain leg of a route you want to try? Change it! It's your run, you're the boss. Combining routes and changing them to suit your needs is a great way to change it up.

It's worth waking up a little early for a sunrise like this! Morehead in front of the Dowd YMCA.

All of my maps were created with RunningMap.com. The blue flags are mile markers and the red bubbles are points of interest.

Uptown(-ish):

Uptown Proper: It's pretty easy to crisscross through uptown and make up your route as you go. I started to make a map for this route, but it was plain stupid and I have much greater faith in you than to post a loop through Uptown's grid. Have fun with this one and improvise!

Dowd YMCA: Adding a pit stop to your route can be a game changer! Don't think you can run a full 6-miler? How about trying two 3-milers with a short break? I use Sgt. Roy's Total Strength or Heather's Barre class as my breaks if I can. (2.25 miles, one way)

Like, Sports and Stuff: Train like a pro while you run by all of Charlotte's major sports venues: Panther's practice field, Bank of America Stadium, BB&T Ballpark, and Time Warner Cable Arena. (3.29 miles)

Dilworth: The Scott Ave hill is one of my most and least favorite places to run. Expletives usually cannot be helped at the top. This route is light on stops at crosswalks. (3.39 miles)

The Rail Trail: Gets a little crowded, but a great "back-and-forth" route, nonetheless. Again, I won't insult your intelligence with photo of a line through South End. This route follows the light rail.

Around Town:

Montford to Freedom Park: I did this route for my beer run post and loved it! Any Charlottean worth her salt knows Freedom Park can be a little slice of Heaven. (4 miles)

Little Sugar Creek Greenway: passes the Metropolitan. Resist the urge to stop at Target. This Greenway is also a part of the Montford route above if you want a long run.

4 Mile Creek Greenway: Asphalt and boardwalk trail in Matthews. Guess what?! It's 4 miles.

Toby Creek Greenway: Links to Mallard Creek Greenway in the University area. Parking at 235 E Mallard Creek Church Road (Mallard Creek Park) or the Harris Teeter shopping center at the other end of this route on University City Blvd is a breeze.

Out of Town:

Running to The Battery in Charleston, The Loop in Wrightsville Beach, or around the monuments in DC are my personal favorite routes on vacation. Make sure you plan carefully when you're in an unfamiliar place, though. Don't be afraid to stop and explore a little either!

What is your favorite route?

Fabletics Review

I went through about 4-6 gushing iterations of "Y'all, OMG" titles for this post before I settled on the super creative "Fabletics Review"... I figured that I needed to conserve my energy because, Y'ALL. OMG. This site is amazing. 

Fabletics offers awesome deals on activewear you'll actually want to wear... and maybe even be active in (I see you, chick in the running leggings at bottomless mimosa brunch)! Kate Hudson is also a co-founder- c'mon, what better endorsement could there be than the most svelte little lady in Hollywood?

Getting started with Fabletics: 

1. Take a quick lifestyle quiz.

2. Fabletics creates a virtual closet of picks just for you based off of your quiz. 

3. Choose an outfit and checkout as a regular member or join as a VIP (fo' free) and get $25 off of your first outfit!

At the beginning of the month, Fabletics VIPs get new outfit choices sent to their inbox and you have by the 5th to either choose one for the discounted VIP price or pass on that month at no charge. WHERE ARE THE STRINGS? I can't find any reason why you wouldn't join this service. Here are my favorites:

1. Palm | 2. Gulf | 3. Field | 4. Ocean (not pictured: adorable open back)

Not loving the blue? No problemo! You can customize your outfit with different color options. This is "Ocean" with my personal twist:

My favorites of my favorites are #3 and #4, so naturally I couldn't help myself and they are now resting peacefully in my closet. Sorry I'm not sorry!

A word on sizing:

I had to exchange the shorts and top from #3 because I ordered a small in both and they were too large. However, the small leggings in #4 are comfortably snug. The sports bra in #3 is great and true to size- I've already run in it and it offers great support with a TO DIE FOR keyhole back. Although sizing is a little wonky, don't fret, Fabletics offers a no-sweat exchange policy with free shipping both ways. For real.

Fabletics for all!

Baby's first 10k

Ok, so this is intimidating. I'm a fairly outgoing and personable gal, but something about putting my thoughts in writing for all to see (read: judge mercilessly) makes me want to crawl under a rock. This fear is compounded by the fact that I'm doing something I never thought I would actually do: run a half marathon. I thought I'd write it on my bucket list and give it about as much thought as I've given the other items on that list: exactly 0 minutes. I'm thankful this bucket list item has come to life and hope it pushes me to check off a few more, though!

Any runner out there knows the odd mix of camaraderie and competition in the running world is enough to make Regina George seem genuine (for those that don't get the reference, you can't sit with us). BUT, it's real. In a race, you mark your competitor, try to keep pace, and ultimately push yourself to cross the finish line before her, all while rooting her on and hoping like heck that she finishes well too. At least I do, I'll admit it. It's messed up, but it's fun! 

Before the OrthoCarolina 10k Classic with my high school sweetheart/training partner, Skylar.

This is a no BS sport and your success or failure ultimately rests on you alone. No one drops your perfect pass or lets a defender get to you, it's just you, your two feet, and the ground. Having people around to tell you that voice in your head saying "You've maxed out, let's just walk a little" is a big fat liar makes all the difference in the world. My training partner and I give each other grief (she knows my Nike+ activity better than I do myself), but we also give each other goals and guidance. We just raced our first 10k together and finished with 1 second between us. At one point she turned to me and said, "One more mile. You know I'm about to make you cry, right?" Now that's a friend.

Mom, dad, and Ali, my cheering section.

2 injuries, 91% humidity, 6.4 miles, 0 breaks, and 64 minutes... Then 5,867,465 crab legs at brunch.

Army captain bars from my godfather. My family calls me Captain- I'm a tad OCD when it comes to organization.

In February I will be running my first half marathon and will blog my training journey here. I will also raise money along the way for a fabulous organization, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit that raises money for suicide prevention. Donate here.

Finally, I recently lost my baby brother and will dedicate my training to his memory. He was one of the fittest, most positive people I have ever known, and I like to think he keeps the big fat liars away while I'm running. Thanks, bro.