Thursday, April 16, 2020

Product Review: Nabee Socks 🧦

Disclaimer: I received a pair of Nabee Socks to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!


If you know me, you'll know I'm a huge fan of wearing crazy socks especially when I'm out running. I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to test out a pair of Nabee compression socks as a BibRave pro and I'm excited to tell you what my experience has been trying these bad boys out.



This cheerful pink, blue, and white design is called Celebration and I absolutely love the color scheme of this design. It's just so bright and makes me feel so flashy and fun when I'm out running with these on! I think that's one of my favorite part about Nabee - there are so many fun designs to choose from to fit any kind of mood and style! I'm newer to the use of compression socks, so I wasn't really sure what size to order, but Nabee has a really great size chart to help you find a size that fits right.  I'm a women's 8.5 in shoes, so I went with a large and they fit great! See the chart below:


As a newbie to compression socks, I was curious to see how they would make my legs feel when I wore them out on a run. I gotta say they definitely helped me stay focused on the run and not necessarily on how my lower extremities were feeling. The longest run I wore my Nabee socks on was a 7 miler and I felt so great throughout the entire run. I even was able to capture my fastest mile of the run at the very end, so clearly my legs were feeling great the whole time!


One thing I absolutely love about this company is that is was founded by nurses, for nurses. The founders of this company know what it feels like to be on your feet for a long period of time, so they know what's needed in order to make sure your feet and legs feel good. At this moment, Nabee is running a campaign where if you buy a pair of socks, they will donate two pairs to the health care heroes that are on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. I LOVE that they are doing this and that just gives you another great reason to support this great company!


Overall I've really enjoyed my experience with Nabee compression socks. I totally see the benefits of wearing compression socks on a run and during recovery, so I will definitely be incorporating my pair of Celebration Nabee socks throughout all of my future training plans. 

Want to try a pair for yourself?
Use code "BIBRAVE20" for 20% off your order!

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

I'M IN!!!: Run for the Zoo Virtual 10K 🦁🐅🐻

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the Run for the Zoo Virtual 10k to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!


I have to say, so many races out there are doing such a fantastic job pivoting their plans in this weird time. It can't be easy to be a race director right now having to balance between keeping your runners happy AND safe at the same time. I definitely appreciate all the hard work folks who manage these major events are putting in, especially folks who are converting their events into virtual races! I was thrilled when the Lincoln Park Zoo made their Run for the Zoo 5K and 10K virtual and knew I had to join in when the opportunity was presented to BibRave Pros! 🦏


I think the coolest thing about this race is that it directly supports the Lincoln Park Zoo and allows the facility to stay free and open to the Chicago community. While I don't live in Chicago, I'm all about funding free resources for the public, especially those that manage their facilities in a thoughtful and positive manner. Now that the race is virtual, anyone can support the Lincoln Park Zoo by participating from anywhere in the world! The Run for the Zoo has two different distance options - 5K and 10K - and they also have a Safari Stampede to encourage kids to express their inner animal! 🐯 I'm personally going to participate in the 10K. Gotta get that mileage in! 

You'll also get some pretty cool swag when you sign up, including...



  • Mailed race packets with themed tech shirts (with a brand new logo for 2020 - see above!)
  • Commemorative Supporter medals for qualifying participants (see below!)
  • A special virtual race bag with incredible deals from our partners
  • Weekly motivational communications
  • Digital commemorative participant bib and finishers certificate

I think running this race is a great option for the majority of us who have had races cancelled over the next few months! It supports a wonderful community facility, it encourages us to get out in nature, and you'll get some pretty cool stuff for signing up as well! If you're interested in joining in, head over to the link below and register today!

Registration closes on June 7, 2020.
Complete your run & record your time before June 21, 2020!
Use code "BIBRAVE10" for 10% off your registration!

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

The Week I Didn't Run + What I've Been Doing Instead (We're Moving!)

Sometimes life is just too much to have any motivation to do anything else but exist. That was me this past week. A couple weeks ago Brett and I came to the decision that it was definitely time for us to move out into our own place. This is something we've been thinking about for a while and a direction that we wanted to move in for a really long time. We haven't had a place to ourselves since 2013, and even then we were living on a college campus, where we both worked, so it still didn't feel like we were truly on our own. We've been together for 7 years now and it's finally time that we found a place that belongs to just us. No roommates. No work obligations. Just us.

The next few days after deciding it was time, we reached out to a few different apartments to set up viewings. I gotta say - it's weird apartment hunting when there's a global pandemic going on. It's a risk interacting with new folks while maintaining social distancing and a risk looking at new places that aren't your own. Luckily, this apartment hunt did not take us too long. The process to find the apartment we ended up going with went like this:

Tuesday → Contact the landlord to express interest
Wednesday → View the apartment
Thursday → Submit an application, get approved, sign a lease

And boom, we had a new apartment.

Though the process was quick (it was only about a week of searching), it was stressful and sadly, without going into detail, we're moving again because of a not-great living situation. This is twice in a row that we've felt we had to move quickly because of our living situation being negative, and it's always stressful. Because of this, my motivation to do anything outside of the minimum was at a zero. Add in the fact that it was gray and rainy everyday last week, I had absolutely no desire to go running or exercise.

So, I didn't run last week and I don't really have a training update for you for this week. 

BUT!

Now that our new lease is signed and we have plans to start moving in to our new space next Monday (!!!). Brett and I are both feeling so much better and are truly excited to start this new chapter in our lives together. Physically moving into our space will, of course, be taxing, and it will take a while to get used to, but we're ultimately so thrilled to finally have a space of our own. 

I'm also excited to get back to training this week! Now that this part of my life is figured out and we have some next steps in mind, I'm feeling like I have the mental capacity to get back to my training plan. Rock n' Roll just postponed their San Diego race weekend which happens to be the weekend before Seattle, so I'm really not feeling confident that Seattle will be happening as scheduled. 

With that in mind, I'm going to be tweaking my training plan based on how I'm feeling. With the stress of the COVID-19 outbreak and the additional stress of needing to move, I feel like I've fallen a bit behind what my usual marathon training schedule would look like. That would typically stress me out, but because I'm fairly certain that Rock n' Roll Seattle will be postponed, I'm feeling like running the mileage that feels good to me while still working in my usual 2 mid-distance, 1 short, 1 long run schedule and keeping up my general fitness will be the best for my mental and physical health. I'll keep you posted with my actual runs on a weekly basis!

Here's what I've been doing *instead* of running:


Reading up a storm! As you know I'm participating in the OWLs readathon this month and it's been great to make time for reading each day! This isn't part of my OWLs TBR, but I have a collection of Flannery O'Connor stories that I've been trying to read from every morning when I wake up. It's kind of nice to start the day with a short story and I'm excited to continue reading this. My goal is to read a story each morning until I finish the whole collection. It's been sitting on my "Currently Reading" shelf since last march so it's about time it gets the attention it deserves!

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Geocaching! This is something that I've been wanting to try for ages and over the weekend I finally tried it out. It is SO much fun! I found two things on my first hunt and I can't wait to go on even more hunts as the weather starts to warm up. I'll be sure to update you on my geocaching adventures on my socials, and probably right here on the blog as well!


Following CDC recommendations :P I barely leave the house these days except to go to to grocery store (which I try to limit to once a week) or to run/walk outside. This weekend I had to go to laundry and since the CDC recommends wearing a mask in public places to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (this is more so in the event I have it and I don't know it, I won't accidentally spread it to someone else, and not to prevent myself from getting it) I wore a buff to the laundromat. I felt like a huge weirdo because no one else was wearing one, but I want to do my part as much as possible!

All in all, I'm thankful that Brett and I have our health and we have each other in this time. Moving is going to be a huge time commitment and I'm sure it will bring its own set of stressors, but we're excited to finally be in our own space together and I'm sure there are many happy memories in our new home to come. 💙 Updates will of course be shared so soon! 😊

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

OWLs TBR 2020 🦉✨

Happy April & Happy OWLs, y'all! 
For a third year in a row I will be participating in the OWLs Magical Readathon! This year I am hoping to pursue the Hogwarts Professor career as it's the magical career that it closest to my current role of working at a university. For OWLs, I need to read 7 books: a Defense Against the Dark Arts book, a book of the subject that I wish to teach (I'm going for Care of Magical Creatures!) and 5 other subjects of my choosing. During this time of social distancing, I have a lot of free time on my hands so I think the 7 book minimum for this readathon is totally doable. Here are the books that I'll be reading!
The Lifeboat Clique by Kathy Parks
Subject: Defense Against the Dark Arts
Prompt: Set at sea/on the coast
Reverie by Ryan La Sala
Subject: Care of Magical Creatures
Prompt: A creature with a beak on the cover
The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
Subject: Ancient Runes
Prompt: A heart on the cover/in the title
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
Subject: Astronomy
Prompt: Read the majority of this book when it's dark outside
The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
Subject: Charms
Prompt: A book with a white cover
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
Subject: Herbology
Prompt: A title that starts with an "M"
Startup by Doree Shafrir
Subject: Muggle Studies
Prompt: A book from the POV of a Muggle