BolderBOULDER 2011

Oh my goodness, I'm not sure I fully understood the term "time flies" until this past school year came and went oh so quickly. Needless to say, I have been more than a slacker when it comes to blogging. It's not that blog-worthy things haven't happened in the past couple months (because they most certainly have)...it's more about the lack of time I've had as of late to actually get on here and write about them. Good news though my friends, summer is here and I'm back at it! I'll start with a quick update to follow my last post:  my friends Zac and Jered MADE IT TO THE FINAL 5! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you don't have to scroll far...just read my previous post!) Whhhhat?!! I'm so excited for them...they will be heading to NYC for a week to explore the city, perform their jingle in front of a panel of judges, and hopefully win the whole thing!! Good luck y'all! 
Now, on to one of my favorite events of the year, the BolderBOULDER!! The BolderBOULDER is a 10k road race that takes place in beautiful Boulder, Colorado and draws over 50,000 participants every year. This year the BolderBOULDER was voted "America's Favorite 10k" by Runner's World Magazine, which is a pretty exciting award. The BB takes place every year on Memorial Day, meandering through the streets of Boulder and finishing on Folsom Field in the University of Colorado football stadium, which is awesome because there is practically a stadium full of people cheering as you finish the race. The race is followed by a Memorial Day tribute complete with paragliders carrying a flag to represent each branch of the military and a US Air Force jet flyover. While everyone is waiting for the American Flag to descend, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" plays over the loudspeakers (it's not cheesy, I promise!) If you are ever in Colorado on Memorial Day, you have to come to Boulder even if you don't run/walk the race...it is a sure to be a great time!

Running + Dresses

Let me just start out by saying that I love running. I know it's not for everybody, but its definitely for me. I could talk about so many reasons that I love running, which I'm sure will appear in future blog posts to the point where you may even get tired of hearing about it! Now another thing I love are dresses. I love a good summer dress, a good cocktail dress, a good bridesmaids dress, a good wedding gown...I just love dresses (I also have an abundance of reasons for this...future posts people, future posts)! So as much as I love these two things independently, one thing that I'm sure I do not love are these two things together: running dresses. Yes, you heard me correctly...companies are making and marketing dresses, for running. I'm not sure why someone thought that was a good idea but I'm here to tell you that there are hundreds of cute running outfits out there that are equally or more comfortable, functional, and fashionable than the running dress. So please, if you see these in a store, although you may admire the cute colors or patterns of the garment, quickly keep walking to the shorts section and get a pair of these instead. Otherwise, when I pass you running in a dress, I will probably have a hard time taking you seriously. You know, kind of like those runners that take GU gels and Sports Beans during a 5K?! So save the hydration belts for the marathon and save the dress for anything other than running! The first picture is of an actual running dress currently for sale at a popular women's athletic retailer and the second is a picture of what I like to think are the best running shorts ever, the Nike Tempo Track Short. These shorts are the perfect length, come in an abundance of colors (yes, the neon colors did hit the market this season and yes, I did score a pair of neon orange ones!), and will comfortably get you through training runs and races of any distance. Happy running!