#ReturnAllTheThings: A Not Shopping Post
(note: I'm writing this sitting on the kitchen floor waiting for my chicken to finish cooking and for my eggplant to finish brining, so it's not gonna make much sense)
So ... I promised you guys a shopping post. But I ended up returning most of the things I bought. So not so exciting. Here's a basic summary of all the purchases:
Sunglasses
We already discussed this - I bought the goodr Breakfast Run To Tiffany's sunglasses. They're not bad, but I find my knockarounds to be more comfortable.
Thinking about "DisneyBounding" (not Disney) as Holly Golightly for my next race. The hardest part will probably be the hairstyle.
(PS I love that movie and I haven't seen it in forever)
Non-Running Shoes
Bought two pairs of brown heels from DSW online, planning to return whichever one I liked less (I do this a lot - there's a DSW near me but I don't always love their selection, so I buy online and return in store). I didn't end up loving either one, but kept the pair that fit better. They look not very well made, but so far they're holding up okay. Decently comfortable, but I think I do roll out on the side of my foot when I walk in them. It's the lack of arch support. But the way the shoe is, I can't really put insoles in them for more support.
Non-Running Clothing
I bought three dresses from ModCloth.
One was very poor quality. There were little pills (is that the word I'm looking for?) and strings hanging off it. So that one was definitely getting returned.
The second one I tried on was very creased. I don't have an iron, so I can't really wear a dress that gets that creased that easily. So that was also getting returned.
The third one I liked, but it was super super long (like ... resting comfortably on the floor), and while I love dresses that length, they're not super practical. That one was a tough decision, but I just wasn't sure I'd wear it enough to justify the cost.
... So all three dresses got returned.
(Interlude: Eggplant is out of the brine ... just need to wait another 5 minutes for the chicken to be done, and then I have to get the oven to eggplant temperature and put that in)
Sports Bras
Finally, a running-related shopping.
Or not. I currently have 3 useable-but-not great old sports bras, plus my 2 good ones. I kept wearing my good bras to barre class because the old ones aren't as usable there, but I really would rather use my good sports bras for running. So I decided to buy a cross training bra. Based on some research and a conversation with a friend, I decided to buy the
Brooks Rebound Racer.
At first I bought both the Rebound Racer and the Brooks Juno from the Brooks website. But apparently they're changing their shipping center and the stock was wrong and they had to cancel my order. But they gave me a 25% off code good until the end of the year. I ended up buying the Rebound Racer from another site, but couldn't find the Juno for cheap anywhere.
So ... I tried it. It took me for-freaking-ever to get it on. Such a pain in the butt. The band, which was a size down from my current NB bras (which I did based on the recommendation of a friend who wears Brooks bras), was fine. The cup size, which was the biggest they make in that bra, was not fine. I did not fit. So ... that got returned.
For now I just bought another one of my good New Balance bras from Joe's New Balance outlet. It was cheap. But I think they might have redesigned the bra because it feels a little different than my other two. Or maybe it's just because it's new and the other two are well worn. Whatever.
Anyway ... I also want to try the Brooks Juno eventually, but I'm not in any rush. For now I'll just mostly stick with the three good NB bras I have.
Replacements
So ... two replacements.
1 - Something fell off my earbuds in Whole Foods, rendering one earbud unusable. I emailed JBL/Harman, and once they ascertained what I needed, they said they'd send over a replacement. While I was waiting for the replacement, I tried running without music (hard no ... not for me), a class at Mile High Run Club (not bad, but this was a night class and I think I prefer morning ... and also, this class led to me putting "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" on one of my playlists), and running with one earbud (best option ... and this is also what I do during races, so I don't know why I didn't just start with this option). Replacement came about a week after that no-music run.
2 - Garmin. I was having all sorts of GPS issues, so I wrote to them and asked if they could replace it. I already wrote about this, but long story short ... my options were be without the watch for 2 days or put down a $200+ deposit on the replacement unit. I went with the deposit. Send the old watch back a few days after getting the new watch. The new watch is not any better than the old one (in fact, at first I think it was worse), but it's not too far off with GPS + Galileo, so I'll survive. But this replacement was a terrible idea and I'm a moron and really should have just dealt with the GPS issues.
Plus side is, now my watch isn't gonna be super ahead of mile markers at races - it'll probably be behind!
Whatever.
Still To Buy
- Dresses - I do need dresses. I think I need to buy in person, though. I went to TJMaxx the other day and saw a Lilly Pulitzer dress that I really liked for $40, but they didn't have it in my size. Sigh. I love dresses, but dress shopping is a giant PITA sometimes.
- New Running Shoes - not a super urgent thing, but I will need to replace the 880s eventually. Still haven't even tried on the Zante Pursuit.
- Cross Training Bra - would like to get something cheaper for barre, but if I can get my good running bra for $20 again, I'll just keep stocking up on those
(Final cooking update: Chicken is out of the oven. I really should have remembered to crush the pretzels (it's pretzel-coated chicken, but I didn't sufficiently crush up the pretzels) ... my brain is not attached. Eggplant is in the oven, about halfway done. I'm on the couch in the living room now.)
