Kelly Trepp, Author

Hello bloggers, long time no see. I have neglected you, and I apologize. There have been some family health issues and with the race coming up, I have been filling all of my time with running ad family. My taper week begins now! And my first half-marathon is five days away. The weather is projected to be balmy, which is against every thing that I had planned for, but I am really looking forward to seeing the sun. I set out for my long run on Sunday, rather than Saturday, because the weather was closer to the prediction for the day of the half. I wore my Lululemon Run Inspired Crops , Under Armour Cold Gear Fitted Mock Neck Long Sleeve Shirt , my newly acquired SPI belt , and my CamelBak . I decided that the Mock Neck is not going to cut it on race day. As much as I LOVE that thing, it is not made for a 70 degree day. Hence the **Cold Gear** label . I think I will opt for my Under Armour tee shirt instead. 1 mile in, I had to pee. Apparently, using the restroom three times befor...

So I have to admit it. I am known to be a bit of a brand loyalist. When I find something that I like, a brand that produces high quality products that last with great performance, I stick with it. Thanks to a trip to the Under Armour Outlet before Christmas, and the fact that the great majority of running attire sold at our local Dick's Sporting Goods Store is Under Armour, Under Armour has become my most recent obsession. I picked up some running shorts, a tank top, and some compression shirts at the outlet on Black Friday, and have been pleased with the result. This weekend, I went to Dick's and bought some headbands; a mock neck, long sleeve, fitted performance shirt; and a super cute purple tee that was on sale. I figure if I have cute, non-running workout type clothing, I might be more motivated to do better on my cross training days. And by do better, I mean do an actual cross training workout and not just do laundry, vacuuming or house cleaning and call it cross tr...

Okay, so I admit it. I neglected the blog a bit over the holidays. I put down the computer and picked up the pie. Fortunately or unfortunately for you, I'm back and I'm better than ever! I am happy to report that although I gave up the blog for my 12 day vacation, I did not give up on running. I am very blessed to have received most of the gifts on my wish list from a handful of friends and family, which kept me motivated to get a couple of runs in despite the cold weather. I received two pairs of the lululemon crop pants that I had so coveted, and took each pair for a spin, sporting my Garmin 305 . Ahhh, the Garmin 305. This magical, miraculous little watch. Prior to this fabulous gift, I tracked my distance and pace using apps on my phone. I cannot tell you how many times I have dropped my phone while out on a run. It is a miracle the thing still works. Now, I can check my pace while I run, view the total time, distance and time of day, along with heart rate, ...

The basic joys of running are pretty simple. Everyone has the ability to do it, you can do it anywhere, and it is free. That is, until you start signing up for races, putting mileage on your shoes and decide to invest in expensive training equipment. Over the years, the contents of my Christmas list has varied. When I was younger, the N64 was the big ticket item. When I was in college, I wanted a nice winter coat and purse to keep up with the cool rich kids. Now that I am an adult (arguably), my hobbies have changed, and invariably so has the Christmas list. Instead of handbags or Nintendo Wii games, a Garmin Forerunner 305 tops my list this year. Granted, it is not the most fashionable accessory, but it beats carrying my phone to use my Verizon GPS whilst I run through the sketch scene that is my neighborhood. And while we are on the topic of running through the neighborhood, an iPod shuffle would do nicely to cover up the sounds of catcalls from passersby. If ever you feel d...