Virginia is for Lovers 14k!

As many of you know, I just started training three weeks ago. So racing anything fast wasn’t really going to happen. So what’s that leave? A day to run, have fun and RUN PRETTY! So, I am posting a video of after the race and as you can see my make up really hung on. And the weather was crazy! It was freezing, so what probably happened is the makeup just froze to my face. But seriously, I have never tested anything in snow and everything held up pretty well!

The race was great, good course, good set up, good food (Yeungling and Moes!!! Yuuuuummmmmmmyyy) and even with the snowy weather a sold out day! There were good sports that even chose dressing up in the Valentine’s spirit over warmth and that kept us all admiring and laughing at the great costumes through out the course.

Swim, Bike, Run and Live Pretty!

Virginia is for Lovers 14K

IronPretty Gets Goggles

So after two years of having the same pair of goggles, it was time. I posted on here and on Facebook about my goggles leaking and leaving marks and I got so many responses from women out there with the same issues! So, I got a new pair per my friend Nicole's recommendations. Speedo Women's Vanquishers.

Lets see how they do!!

Swim, Bike, Run and Live Pretty!!

Estee Lauder Double Wear- how did it stack up?

I think that Estee Lauder did a great a job on this foundation, however, it did have some problems. First off, this stuff does have GREAT staying power. And I’m guessing this is because it is THICK. It applies pretty well, but it is a heavier foundation and you do need to blend it relatively quickly so it doesn’t dry in smears. The container is the old school glass bottle, which as I mentioned before I just hate. It’s much messier and you have less control of how much you get on your finger. It did give me great coverage, although while wearing this foundation, I do feel slightly more “made up” than with other foundations, probably due to it being a thicker formula. I had no big issues throughout the day, although I felt like I got more T-zone shininess using this product. It made it through swims, bike rides and runs, but I did have some cakiness in the chin area as well as anywhere I used it as cover up on occasion. This happened particularly after hard (sweaty) runs and swims..
But, it did in fact last, although not as nicely as I would have hoped. Estee Lauder does make a “Light Double Wear Foundation” that I am going to try next. It wasn’t part of test originally, but I feel it would only be fair to Estee Lauder to see if the lighter version can stay cake free.

Swim, Bike, Run and Live Pretty!

Yes, leaky goggles do suck…

I posted the above comment on Facebook after a swim recently and boy did I get a lot of commentary. I came to one conclusion after I read the posts and spoke to some ladies about it. Girls hate goggles.

And, it’s not tough to guess why we hate them. We spend our lives trying to cover up bags under our eyes and dark circles and prevent eye wrinkles and what do goggles go and do? Give you the biggest, baggiest, purplest nasty under eye circles you have ever seen! We get marks on our faces that last 24+ hours and then get accused of being hungover at work, or severely depressed or just tired and sick looking!

After my first time in the pool learning to swim I clearly remember being in the locker room and after I changed, I went to a mirror to brush my hair.

Dear Lord, I was a MONSTER. It was like someone had applied some serious suction to my eye sockets. I had no idea I was going to be so hideous. That was coupled of course by the fact that my mascara was also smeared under my eyes. Would this ever go away I wondered?? I had no idea…

Was I doing permanent damage? Would I slowly but surely give myself gigantic under eye bags with every single swim??? I was horrified. And not to mention that after I thought about it, I swear my eyeballs kinda hurt. And my biggest thought was someone please tell me they make a cream for this!!!

In retrospect, I was so terrified of the water at the time, that I spent less time in the pool worried about the deformities I was making my eyes into and just focused on not drowning. However, now that I can swim and no longer fear that a great white is going to break through the grates in the pool and eat me, the eye suck, well, SUCKS!

My friend Nicole swears by Speedo’s Women’s Vanquishers. And since the goggles I have are 3 years old and just don’t “suck”, maybe it’s time to try something new. The ones I bought were for surviving in the pool and I had no idea what I liked or what was comfortable. Now I do.

Here is my other dilemma. I have HUGE hair. If you have seen me at a race or at the pool, you will notice that my head, with a swim cap on is, like, well, like two heads smashed into a rubber casing. My mass of hair forms this giant ball that makes it really hard to get my whole head under water without swimming on the pool floor (ok, slight exaggeration..) But seriously, most of the time, my goggles are too tight because once I wrap the strap around my two heads they are super tight and smashed to my face.

So, lets just say finding a pair that I like, might be tricky.

So I invite any of you that have a photo of yourself after a swim and looking like a raccoon, please post them here!

My last quick note for you swimmers (I can’t help myself). Wet your hair first with fresh water before you swim and smother it in conditioner and then put on your cap. It’s like you are getting a warm, deep conditioning treatment every time you swim and will keep your hair in great shape. And if your under eyes are gonna droop down to your knees you better keep something lookin good!!!

Swim, Bike, Run and Live PRETTY!!!

Training Week One

So I got through week one of training and it went pretty well overall.

Two things happened: I gained 5 pounds. I realized I do in fact have 3 swim speeds. Except they aren't, Warm up, Sprint, VO2 Max and steady state which is what is on my training schedule per super coach Diane. For me, it's more like, floating, swimming and drowning.  But hey- I get credit for trying right?

And the 5 pounds... my hubby says it due to my muscles retaining water. Geez I hope so. If I was trying to lose weight this would be so disheartening!!

My workouts went well though, I say well instead of great because I am OUT OF SHAPE. It's gonna be a long road I tell ya. And it's freakin freezing around here so that doesn't help. Is it just me or when that sharp cold wind whips in my face I can hardly catch my breathe? But I got through it. My runs were slow and my legs hurt like I just started running. My first bike ride felt decent, but adjusting to being in that seat and with your back curved into aero position, well... it sucks.

During my training for B2B 70.3 I HATED the bike. Hated it because I hated the seat. I got fitted over and over again, I did everything I could and I was still miserable. Then I discovered (now imagine some background soprano going "AHHHHHHHHH") ADAMO.

Let's take a look at this little miracle.  This is the one I have. It's the Adamo Typhoon.

My husband loves these too. He has the Adamo Racing Saddle and swears by it. He says, "It made my long rides (5 hours++) possible when a regular saddle wouldn't."

Funny looking, I know, but if you have a chance to try one of these, you should. They aren't more expensive than most nice saddles. Brian, my husband thought it took more time to get used to. But not me, to me it was a glorious, welcome relief. 

Why is this even important? Well, in my opinion it is tough to focus on your ride and the workout when you are completely caught up in being uncomfortable. This is the most comfortable seat I have ever been on!

So, at this point I'm still just getting used to riding, but this baby really helps. Get one.

My First Test Foundation-Merle Norman's Luxiva Long Lasting Foundation

WOW. There is a reason I have worn this foundation for so long. IT ROCKS! I always liked it, but I never paid attention to its performance under specific conditions, like a full day of work, a hard run at lunchtime and swim in the evening.


Let's recap what I'm looking for:


1. Coverage, heavy, light, does it cover blemishes, dark circles etc?
2. Application, how does it apply? What's the container like? Does it dry quickly, too quickly?
3. And of course, does it make it through the workday? A Run? A Swim? A Bike ride? If it come off, how does it come off, evenly in patches, where glasses or goggles rub? Does it crease or get crusty? And how much of it is left? Am I even close to presentable when I'm done?


This baby has great coverage, and although its mat, it glides on smoothly and seamlessly. It has wonderful "concealer like"  coverage (I used it on some scars I have). It does dry quickly but not too quickly, plenty of time to smooth it evenly all over your face, dot it on blemishes and have time to go back and blend them. I do use some nice concealers, but this worked well as cover up.  I like that it matches up nicely with my skin. It comes in a nice tube so it wasn't messy to use.


Now, did it stay all day? IT DID! And it stayed nicely I might add, even after my swim, it did a great job of still maintaining my blush in place. It did fade a little but it faded evenly enough that it didn't look funny. It didn't smear, cake, crease or crust. On my runs, it didn't budge, in fact it stayed pretty gorgeous throughout the run and even hours after it was over. It didn't give me greasy spots or stick in any dry ones. It didn't coagulate in any of my "wrinkles" either, which is a bonus. So- outside of the goggle marks, I looked pretty good after an entire day of work, a lunchtime run and an afterwork swim. Merle Norman's Luxiva Long Lasting Foundation is a winner!

And the training begins....

February 1st was a big big big day. I started a new job (the coolest job EVER!).  My husband and I put a contract on a home and it was accepted (our dream home I might add!) and I STARTED IRONMAN TRAINING!!!!!

Technically I started Sunday January 31st. My awesome guru coach Diane gave me my training plan and I had a bike ride in there that was optional- so I went ahead and hopped on the trainer and did my ride. It felt great.. I had the usual soreness, shoulder and neck and "other stuff" but it felt great! But boy can i tell how out of "bike shape" I am.

Due to some crazy unexpected weather here in VA Beach, I wasn't able to get to an open Rec Center to  get my Monday swim in, so Ill be doing it this weekend.

Tonight- I did a Fartlek. Shuga say what?? Yes- I said Fartlek, for all you none runners reading this, it's isn't as gross as it sounds. It is basically a running workout were the intensity varies. Due to the snow, I hit up the YMCA and it went by pretty fast actually. For example, I ran a 1 mile warm up followed by 5 minutes hard and then 4 minutes easy, then 4 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy.. and so on... I watched the Wendy Williams show which is about the WORST TV ever, but it kept me entertained. Anyway- it felt great!

So... what about the makeup? This week I am going to test my personal favorites of long lasting products. I have used Merle Norman's Luxiva Lasting Foundation for a while now,  but never really paid attention in a test such as this.

So- here is what I'm looking for:

1. Coverage, heavy, light, does it cover blemishes, dark circles etc?
2. Application, how does it apply? What's the container like? Does it dry quickly, too quickly?
3. And of course, does it make it through the workday? A Run? A Swim? A Bike ride? If it come off, how does it come off, evenly in patches, where glasses or goggles rub? Does it crease or get crusty? And how much of it is left? Am I even close to presentable when I'm done?

I will giving each item a full week of testing to see how it does and get an overall feel for its performance.

I won't be making any changes through out this experiment to my face creams or any other makeup other than what I'm testing in an effort to eliminate any variables.

So, let the games begin! Please post suggestion, comments and ideas!

And lastly- for all of you interested in what this kinda training can do for your body. I have weighed and measured myself and will post by percent what kind of changes I made.

                                                Live, Swim, Bike and Run Pretty!!!