Morning run and Style consultation

This morning I went out for a run. I was up late last night, tidying up for the style consultation today, so I took a while to wake up this morning. Fortunately, I was able to have a bit of a lie in while I waited for the sun to rise.

It's amazing how much easier it is to get dressed when your clothes are neatly put away. My drawers were one of the things that I tidied up last night. I found all sorts of things that I'd been making half-hearted attempts to find, such as black socks.

I decided to run along the bike path towards Dickson. I hadn't felt all that well when I woke up so I told myself I'd just run according to how I was feeling. I figured that the important thing was to get out there and that it didn't matter how fast I ran. My aim was to be out there for about half an hour, to run as much of that time as I could, and to be kind to myself if I stopped or decided to cut the run short. After five minutes I took a walking break. I was in the middle of berating myself for not doing better when I remembered my vow to be kind. I stopped the negative self-talk and started running again when I felt ready. I ended up really enjoying the run. As I'd hoped, I was out there for just over half an hour. I ran for about 25 minutes of that. I managed to spend 7 minutes stretching when I got back home.

My knee was fine while I was running, but I did feel a slight twinge when I started to run up a short steep hill. I'm wondering if it's the hills on the way to work that are tiring it out rather than the fact that I jarred it slightly. I'll have to pay attention. I actually chose to run up the steeper side of the street! Even I'm having trouble believing that I'm making choices like that.

I used to announce every once in a while, when I did something a little too healthy or sensible, "Now I'm officially crazy". When I first started running I often made that remark to my family when telling them about my runs. I've noticed that I don't say it any more. I think it's because I've done so many things that I once would have thought were crazy, like voluntarily choose the steep side of the street, that there's no point commenting on my sanity. I passed "officially crazy" months ago.

I have some news on the bra front, seeing so many people are waiting to hear what I think of the Enell. With running and Body Attack classes I'm struggling to have my most supportive bras washed and dried before I need them again. I can't see myself being able to justify the expense of another Enell or two just yet. Wearing two of my regular sports bras works really well, but the extra laundering is going to wear them out much faster. I decided to see if I could find a cheap crop top bra to wear over my sports bra. I found one for $20 in Target yesterday and I tested the combination out on my run this morning. That little bit of extra support made the run much more comfortable. If the Enell is as good as everyone says I'm sure I'll buy some more over time, but this is an affordable solution in the mean time.

Style Consultation

It was terrific fun, every bit as good as I'd hoped. My wardrobe now looks incredibly neat. I’ve really only been using half the hanging space, and now I’m using all of it. My coats are in one section, my business jackets, skirts and trousers are in another, all my sports gear is together and my tops are sorted by type – sleeveless to long sleeved.

The style consultant (SC) was fabulous. As well as helping me to get rid of a few disaster items, she also put everything on the hangers the right way and then sorted my clothes into groups. I can see that I’ll save heaps of time putting outfits together – provided that I can keep the wardrobe organised.

One of my sisters has helped me to learn how to shop for the new me - the transition from plus sizes to normal sizes wasn't easy - and I was relieved that SC was endorsing so much of my sister's advice. SC explained why some things worked better than others and showed me some combinations I had in my wardrobe that I hadn't seen. Isn't it funny how when you buy a top to wear with a particular pair of pants you think that you can only wear it with those pants? I was concerned that she'd not approve of my favourite top but she absolutely loved it, and found even more ways I could wear it.

At the beginning of the session, before looking at any of my clothes, SC took me through a series of questions, looked at my veins to work out what colours would suit me best, measured my face, checked out my bones, and talked to me about my fashion needs. She made a list of things for me to think about buying and she's taken it home to prioritise and send back to me.

I'm doing the shopping session with her next Thursday morning. I have to work out how much I'm willing to spend, but I think I'll be buying shoes, jeans with wider legs, skirts and trousers, makeup and accessories. I have plenty of tops but I've pretty much been getting by at work with two pairs of trousers and a pair of jeans on casual Friday. I haven't bought new shoes for 18 months, so I really do need them too.

Some of the advice she gave me had me thinking "Doh!" I have a close-fitting ruby red that I love, but I have to be feeling really confident to wear it because I look "busty" in it. SC suggested adding long black beads to draw the eye away from my chest. I never think of simple inexpensive things like that and now I know I'll get much more wear out of it.

I had my makeup done again. I was going to go to the gym after the session, but I decided that I'd give the gym a miss so that I would still have the makeup on when I got to Trivia. It's great fun having it done. I don't think Trivia really did it justice.

Tomorrow I have to transfer some of my clothes and shoes back to work. I made sure I had them all home for today's session, but I need them at the other end if I'm going to keep up my running commute. I won't be running to work again this week, but at least this way I'll have everything ready for next Monday.

I've long had a goal to run three times in a week, and I've never managed to achieve it. I have two runs done so far this week, so I only need one more. I've booked a run with my nephew on the weekend, so this goal is definitely on its way to being crossed off the to do list. Now all I have to do is make it a habit.