Getting back on track for Reading Half Marathon and testing GearBunch leggings

It was really nice to be back running at Southampton parkrun. I’m feeling stiff, tired and unfit, so I decided to do my best to enjoy my run. I know my fitness will come back when I get into a more regular programme of exercise.

About 500m in, I caught up with my friend Sergio who was running with his daughter in a buggy. We’ve known each other for several years and got to talk quite a lot when we were in Wales for Long Course Weekend. We’ve not spoken much recently, so I took the opportunity to settle into a conversational pace. We had a great time chatting and I didn’t look at my watch, so I was OK with my time:

After running, we headed over to the Bellemoor for a cuppa before running home.

Update on Thule Chariot Lite

As you can see, I was running with a different buggy. Last year I blogged about using Thule Chariot Lite, and I have to say that after using it at least twice daily 4 times a week for 5 months, I’m still enjoying using it. It is easy to convert, although I invested in a Thule Axle- Mount EZ Hitch, as I was having problems with my quick release undoing every time I removed the trailer. We also bought a second one, so that Stu could have one on his bike. We also bought the Thule baby supporter, which just gives M a little bit more padding. I couldn’t afford the Thule footmuff, which looks really cosy as it has a hood. I had a spare cosytoes, so we put that in. It’s not the easiest to do up as M sits in a more upright position than in her buggy, but it helps to keep her cosy as it’s been icy in the mornings recently.

Cycle commuting

M’s nursery is next to my workplace, so I cycle with her every morning. Unfortunately, it’s really awkward for me to get into the bike shed with the trailer, so I go to the nursery and detach the trailer outside. I then store the trailer in the nursery’s buggy park. I could convert it, but as it’s just a short walk through the building, I save time and leave it as a bike trailer. This also saves Stuart time. He collects M in the afternoon, so he’s able to hitch the trailer straight back onto his bike.

Anyway… we’ve enjoyed being able to cycle somewhere with M and then convert the trailer into a stroller, but really we’d like to get back to cycling to parkrun, so we bought the jogging kit. It uses the VersaWing system, so is really easy to install. The only minor frustration that I have is that the documentation all shows the Thule Chariot Cross. It shows how to store the jogging kit. The Chariot Lite is slightly different and I haven’t yet work out how to store the jogging kit when using it as a bike trailer. If anyone knows the answer, please let me know!

Thule Chariot Lite as running buggy

We had originally intended to cycle to parkrun this weekend as there are major roadworks and road closures near to where we live. Then we remembered that we had offered to transport various bits of parkrun kit. It would have been awkward to put take the kit on our bikes, but with a bit of juggling (and some tolerance from M who had a couple of bits stored in with her!) we were able to run down to parkrun. This had the added advantage of adding to my training miles as I’ve really not been doing enough running for Reading Half Marathon recently.

Stu and I took it in turns to run with the Chariot. It feels significantly different from running with the OutNAbout Nipper Sport. An advantage is that it’s easy to see the front wheel, but a disadvantage is that I can’t see M at all when running. She seems very happy in it as the side windows give her a better view. Also there is plenty of room for her soft toys and a couple of books as well as snacks and a drink… and with the front flyscreen down, she is unable to jettison anything!

The large wheels mean that it rolls smoothly and the adjustable handle height meant that Stu and I were both able to find comfortable positions, although we agreed that the shape of the handle meant that we weren’t quite sure where to place our hands. The Chariot is heavier than the Nipper, which is an advantage when going downhill (as long as it’s not too steep), but makes going uphill a more challenging workout. I’d love to have a go with a Thule Glide as that’s often recommended as the best running buggy on the market, so I’d like to know how it compares with these two.

Gorgeous GearBunch leggings

You can also see that I was wearing the GearBunch leggings that I mentioned recently. I’ve now run in them a few times and have been really pleased with them. I absolutely love the colours and am pleased that I can wear almost any t-shirt with them. There are so many hues in them. I slightly prefer the colours on the back (the front is more lime greens and blues). Each leg is made of a single piece of fabric, so although there is an inside thigh seam, there is no seam on the outside.

The fabric is soft and silky. It’s fairly lightweight, but feels reasonably supportive. I think these GearBunch leggings are fine for spring/autumn activities. They probably wouldn’t be warm enough for really cold weather (although I tend to run in shorts all year round). I didn’t think my legs looked too bad in them, but I think that if you have bad cellulite then it might be visible in these leggings. There is no drawstring, but I found that the elasticated waist was enough to hold these tights up. I also thought the length was perfect for me (I’m 5’5″/166cm). These tights have a front seam and no gusset, which has the potential for ‘camel toe’,  but they have a reasonably long body, so shouldn’t need to be pulled up too high.

The designs

GearBunch have an amazing selection of designs and colours. If you’re interested in skulls/Day of the Dead imagery, then there is plenty to whet your appetite. There are also lots of themed leggings for events such as Valentine’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Chinese New Year and so on. There are also some realistic human muscles leggings. I’ve seen these in ‘the flesh’ and was a little freaked out by them! Here are some of my favourite GearBunch designs:

Some of the designs made me feel a little uncomfortable, such as the religious ones (Christian and Hindu). Wearing religious icons on sportswear just doesn’t seem right to me:

I’m also not keen on political allegiance and lycra. I’m guessing that’s common with Brits as there were no Corbyn/May leggings in the GearBunch collection. There were various American political figures such as George Washington, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. There didn’t seem to be the option to buy Obama tights!

What are the most unusual leggings you’ve seen?

Sunday slow run

After running 11km on Saturday, I met up with Liz for a run on Sunday. Liz is known as Queen of Selfies, but we both failed to take any photos on our run. Probably because we were too busy chatting. I ran down to The Common to meet Liz and had M in her buggy. We meandered around the Common and its environs, managing to cover 14km (8.7 miles). It wasn’t as far or as fast as I’d hoped to be managing at this point in my training. I have this week off work. As well as catching up with blogging, I’ll be aiming to rest, eat well and get some quality training in. I’ve managed 25km in the past couple of days, so that doesn’t seem too bad.

What are your plans for this week?