Last week, I learned a few new things. I may be an “old” dog but I’m always up for new tips or lessons!
1) No matter how new your swim cap may be, always have a spare in your swim bag. Swim caps rip. They are not made of a special material which will last forever. They do not care that you hold a sentimental attachment to them because you just recently finished their event. Swim caps rip.
2) While swimming, your sinuses will discharge. If you want to avoid constantly wiping snot off your face while you swim, maybe use a nasal rinse before getting into the pool We will all thank you for your extra effort. 
As an added benefit, this will help with your allergies and flush any germs from your nasal passages that may help you avert the sniffles.
3) Read reviews of products you own. No matter how well you think you know your gps watch product, somebody might know something you don’t know. Last week, I learned that my Nike+ Sportwatch GPS was waterproof up to 50 meters. Hmmmm, news to me! This was actually the only complaint I had about my watch, the fact that I couldn’t swim in it. Well, I was wrong, I CAN swim in it and I did so last week. Watch still works perfectly!
4) If you take your bike out and it’s loose, dropping screws and you feel generally unsafe, pack it up and go home. Things will not end well.
5) Along the same lines, if your bike isn’t handling well, it drops a water bottle on you because your cage is loose & you just hit a monstrous bump, maybe unclip BOTH feet before rolling down a concrete dip to retrieve the dropped bottle. Once again, things “may” not end well. See above photo.
6) If you haul your kids out of bed before dawn to go run 1 mile with the F’N Running Club, make sure you don’t look like you are going to run just 1 MILE. Own that mile in celebration of a new beginning as we kick injury to the curb, albeit very slowly. 🙂
Yes, I did go to the grocery store like this afterwards!
“Run”Way Fashion: 2011 Chicago Marathon swag shirt, RunningSkirts.com stars & stripes triathlon skirt, Zensah Compression Sleeves in Stars & Stripes. This is the first time I’ve tried the Zensah brand of compression. I must admit, my love for the stars & stripes pulled me in and I fell instantly in love with the look and feel. I wore the compression sleeves for a short run (1.6 miles), a .5 walk/run with the kiddos, play time on the playground and then hit the grocery, so probably for 4 hours total. Yes, people stared at me in the grocery. If you don’t want people to stare when you wear workout gear in public, maybe go with something less amazing a bit more traditional.
So far, I really like the sleeves, not too tight, not too hot, not too boring. Just right. I’ll definitely be wearing these a lot more as I begin to rebuild my mileage.
Amanda – TooTallFritz ** amanda@tootallfritz.com
TooTallFritz 
Hey try a silicon swim cap–it not only lasts longer but doesn’t pull your hair out like those latex ones do. And gosh I love running wtih a skirt—but it’s the compression socks that always get the cooky comment afterwards. Love that skirt! 🙂
Latex breaks down over time, especially with exposure to UV light. So…not surprising they eventually tear. Tri-gal suggests silicone cap and that makes sense to me!
Your not an old-dog and you can learn new tricks….your posting them all the time!
Ouch…fall on bike. Did you ever consider wearing knee and elbow pads like those roller-bladers sometimes wear? Think it would be a good thing to do on training bike rides cause a real bad spill on the bike could cause some serious trauma to the knee that might take you out of running and biking for a long time. You don’t have to wear them in the races…just training. Right training is just training…you need to stay healthy and injury free to get to the race. Think about knee pads at least. Ya…it might crimp your pedaling a bit…but it is just training!
Last time I tried those sensa compression sleeves, it caused swelling down by the ankles. Got to wear full-boat compression that include the foot up to the calf. Pay attention to that for those of you into compression wear. If you don’t have issues with venous circulation, then sleeves work equally well as the full socks. The sleeves are good on the arms in colder weather.
I like that stars-n-stripes theme for the skirt and compression sleeves. So think about running Tinley Stars-n-Stripes 5k next 4th of July!
I get looks in the grocery or any store wearing run gear or not. Probably the long hair and all the tatoos. Don’t worry about the stares – they just wish they looked as good as you and/or had the physique to wear what you do in the store! So think of those stares as a compliment!
Yay….TTF back to the run game! Don’t fret or push it too much early on….your former self will come back fairly quickly. I know cause I was off for almost 6-weeks after Boston and when I returned to running…it was so tough and oh-so slow going. Felt like I would never regain any semblance of former self. But…after 4-weeks of persistent, slow-run base-building, finally hanging with my former training guys-n-gals at speedwork. So…it comes back…just be patient.
peace sister!
God knows with all the swim meets I have been to I have seen it all. Goggles breaking while stepping up on the block. Swim caps tearing all the time. I have seen two swimmers have to use the same pair of goggles during a relay race. Kids forgetting goggles, caps, and yes even swim suits. But the best thing is you know your buddies will all have back ups. Standard procedure these days is the swim bag packed with 3 caps and 3 pairs of goggles and 2 suits for a meet. There is a reason they make those swim bags so damn big.
Great tips on the bike and clothes. I figure as long as my privates are covered I am doing fine in public.
Poor thing!!! I’m so glad you are taking all of this in stride!
Reading the product guides are good as well, I learn something new pretty much every single time!
I missed it. I know I read the product guide because I got the watch on the pre-order and received it early. I was super excited and thought I read everything. I missed this though.