Minneapolis-Star-Tribune-runningkellometers

Run-ning? What's that? Oh yeah, the reason why I created this blog in the first place! So, let's talk about running for a change. I got the chance to run with the FNRC last night. Looking at the calendar, I hadn't had the chance to run in almost 2 weeks. Oops! I guess that's what happens when you're busy working part time while being a mom. (I don't know how I'll do it when I'm back at work full time. I guess I'll have to figure it out!)

Bathroom Selfie (the only area with a light)

Amanda and her boyfriend Derek slowed it down and hung back at my pace during the run. I have been feeling that my pace is about 11:00-11:30 these days. I don't really like to focus too much on pace on my Garmin at this point, but I thought it was funny that my average pace for the run was 11:09... Right on target with how I was feeling. Little by little, I'm getting back into shape. I'm enjoying the journey along the way! I'm trying to get back into the habit of taking photos of myself (instead of just the baby). I finally got the chance to test out my Oiselle Flyte top on a run. (I bought it while I was pregnant and I've been looking forward to wearing it!)


And just for good measure, here is an adorable Patsy photo of her in her pjs... complete with bunny slippers.

I said before that I thought I was having a boy, but Patricia has totally rocked my world! I absolutely love picking out her outfits pajamas included) every day.

For those of you that aren't from the Chicago area (or perhaps have been living under a rock), the Chicago Marathon was this past weekend. I DVRed the race and recently finished watching the coverage. Seeing the course and all the people running it, it brought back some strong emotions. (I may or may not have shed some tears.) I have a lot of history with this race over the years, both spectating and attempting to run it.

Helping my cousin cross the finish line 2009

Marathon Expo 2011

Running with Maggie in 2012

My history with the marathon is a long and bumpy one. I also had plans to run the Illinois Marathon in 2013, but my little nugget decided to exist so I put my marathon plans on hold. (Totally worth it, obviously.) Every October I get the itch to run the Chicago Marathon. This year was no different and I'm thinking that 2014 might be the year I cross the finish line. I plan on doing things very differently than the first time around (I plan on hiring Coach Britt again.) I'm hoping that the extra motivation of little Patsy will help me with that extra push to break through the wall and cross the finish line! Registration will open in February or March and there are rumors that the registration system might be changing, but we'll see how it goes. If it is meant to be, it is meant to be.


This year, I did get the chance to meet up with some amazing Oiselle teammates that were in town for the race from both Illinois and all over the U.S.! They were all happy to meet Patsy and were very accommodating. It was so nice to actually meet people that I've been following on Twitter and Instagram in real life! Also, I had no idea we had so many local team members (the team recently expanded, including more team members in IL). The wheels are already turning to plan another local Oiselle event. I am excited! Stay tuned!

Over a year ago, I stumbled upon my first Oiselle purchase after hearing the brand name vaguely around the internets. I fell head over heels in love with the brand. (Well, the shorts first.) Since I was already blogging about my love for the brand, I thought it would be a great time to investigate into their ambassador program. I applied and was accepted (which was far beyond my expectations). I was super excited as my blog was less than a year old at the time and I was excited to share my Oiselle love with the world (or at least those that follow my blog and social media feeds)!

Today's guest post comes from Yo Momma Runs. Special thanks to my fellow Oiselle teammate who put this together for me. :) Enjoy! :)



Hey y'all! Kelly and I met through team Oiselle (or team Weezy, as my brother likes to call it), and we got the chance to run together up in Chicago when I visited last month. You're reading this blog because you already know how awesome she is, so I will just confirm that in real life she's just as nice as she comes across in blog life. If we didn't live twelve hours apart, I would make her run with me every week.

Maggie from Mag Mile Runner already detailed why Kelly is a great BRF (best runner friend), so I'm going to give you some tips on how to find your own BRF wherever you live.

One of the things that I didn't have when I first started running in 2011 was a regular running partner. I had just moved to a new town, so I was forming regular friendships and hadn't even really considered yet how important running friendships would be. I ran at the gym a lot because they provided baby sitting, which helps when you have four kids, and I ran outside on the weekends when my husband was home. I spent a lot of running hours soul searching and fine tuning my playlists while I marathon trained, but after a year of mostly solo running, one of my goals for 2012 was to finally make some runner friends or make my friends into runners.

As we're about to wrap up this year, I cannot believe how much my running world has changed in just a year. So the 2012 Find Some Friends For Running Experiment was a complete success.

Here's what I did:

1. Make friends where you work out most. Because I spend a lot of time at the gym, I needed to make friends there. For some reason, all of my regular friends go to another gym, so my normal plan of making friends go to the gym with me for various classes or to treadmill next to each other would not work at this gym. So I finally just started talking to people who were there at the same time as me every day. Most important, I scoped out who the runners were, and, surprise, surprise, those people are now my gym BRFs. What makes them great is that they know my schedule, and if I don't show up, they worry that something is wrong with me. So on my lazy days when I'm just feeling it, I can very easily get motivated to get with it by a text from my gym BRFs.

Here are my gym BRF and I. Bonus of treadmill dates: you can all run your own pace but still be next to each other for plenty of chatting.

This can work for you if you run trails or your neighborhood. If you start seeing familiar faces who are often out at the same time as you, start to slowly get to know them. A wave and some small talk might be the start of new running relationship.

2. Start a blog. I started Yo Momma Runs in January of this year to help with my 2012 goal of getting out of solo running. I wanted to connect with other runners, and I knew the blogging community had lots of support to offer. The hard part about blogger friends is that they aren't always local, but I eventually started meeting local runners through the blog as well. I made one of my first local blogger friends a few months after starting the blog, and then she introduced me to her local runner friends. So it was like a chain of happiness and friendships that started with the blog. Also now when I travel, I can almost guarantee that I know someone in that area who I can connect with for running, even if it's just someone I can message for tips on where to run. Occasionally I get lucky and actually meet up with those people for a run.

3. Convert regular friends to running. By being an obsessive runner and talking about it constantly, you can begin to figure out who has a slight interest in running. Some signs are if they don't roll their eyes or look at the floor when you talk about running again. If you spot a slight interest, start talking about possible races you could prep for together. Last year, I had a group of a few friends who were vaguely interested in running a half marathon. They told me the parameters (how far they would travel, how long they wanted to train, whether or not they wanted to try and have a baby), so I went home and performed lots of Google searches until I found the right race for us. Four girls ended up running that race, so add four new BRFs to my tally.




4. Race locally. Eventually you'll start seeing familiar faces. I have several local runner friends who I only know because I talked to them before or after a race. This is a great way to find people who are similar to your pace because you end up near each other during the race.

5. Join a running club. Mine is the Birmingham Track Club. I originally joined because they had a discount at my local running shoe store if you were a track club member, but when I became dedicated to finding runner friends, I knew the club was a hotbed of potential. They also host my current long-run group that has completely changed my marathon training. Provided water stops and tons of people who run the same pace as me for three hours every Saturday morning, sign me up.

6. Look for runner meet-ups sponsored by local businesses. Do your local running stores meet for group runs? We have three stores in our community (Alabama Outdoors, Fleet Feet, Trak Shak) that host free weekly runs. Also, my local Lululemon store hosts a free weekly run. If you are nervous about these, invite one of your current running friends to go with you, and you can figure out the scene together.

7. Encourage relatives to run. I'm lucky to have a brother who lives in the same town who runs with me a lot. He's definitely my ultimate BRF. Here we are at the Mercedes Half Marathon in February.



If you have some family members who might be interested in running, start small and non-obligatory. At this year's Thanksgiving, I invited everyone to join me for a 5K (not a race, just a run) on Thanksgiving morning, and to my surprise, ten people showed up for the run.

Here we are laced up and ready to go.



The key to all of these, except maybe the relatives one, is that you can't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and talk to people. We moved a lot when I was growing up, so even though I was a very shy child, I was forced out of that at an early age. You may be shy and not care about having BRFs, but if you are shy and care about having BRFs, just start small. And if you're not shy, well, get out there and start converting future BRFs. The more runners who exist, the better our chances of finding our ultimate BRFs.

Where did you meet your BRFs? 

Does anyone in your family run? 

Have you converted any of your regular BFFs to BRFs?

Today's guest post comes from Andrea at Born and Raced in Chicago.

To find out more about Andrea, you can follow her at any one of the links below!
Blog - Born and Raced in Chicago - http://www.bornandracedinchicago.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/mrshallberg

When I heard fellow Oiselle ambassador and blogger Lisa at Yo Momma Runs was coming to Chicago for a few days, we decided to plan a run together! Since she had never been to the city before, I knew we had to do it up right and made plans to head to the lakefront path. (Those of you unfamiliar with the path can check out some great photos on these blogs here and here.) Due to my short "lunch break" time frame, I jogged to Lisa's hotel and we headed to the lakefront from there without much haste. (I wanted to get the most out of the run.) It was so nice chatting about life and some of the differences between the south and Chicago. Once on the path, it was not at all crowded so we really got to experience the view of the lake and the city in some of the best ways possible. She's thinking about doing the Illinois Marathon (which I helped Amanda run earlier this year) so I gave her some ideas about the course, etc.

When setting up the self timer on my phone, we realized we had on the same capris... I guess that is what happens when you run for the same great brand! :) On the way back, my navigating skills were not as great as the way out so thankfully Lisa had remembered a short cut from her explorations earlier in the day. (You can check out some of her explorations here.)

I know I've said it before but I'm really lucky to be an ambassador of such a great organization and I get the chance to meet other runners and bloggers from across the United States!

Speaking of other bloggers around the United States, a ton of us from the Illinois/Wisconsin area will be running the Zoom Women's Half Marathon (and 5k) this weekend. I'm really excited to spend a whole weekend talking about running with some of my favorite internet pals IRL! So excited, in fact, that I was (procrastinating) packing on Monday night... I had to make sure I laid out all possible outfit ideas for all possible weather conditions.
You never know how it could be on race day morning, especially if you're racing away from home! Thankfully I've already packed most of the things on my checklist! :)

Have you done a destination race? Do you tend to overpack (like I already know I'm doing)?

I knew I would be excited for my friends running the marathon this year, but I didn't think I'd be this excited... A chill remains in the air. Banners are up throughout the town. Street closure warning signs are posted. Plans for the expo are coordinated. Marathon fever in the city of Chicago is in full swing and I'm soaking it all in. I have to admit, it is really nice to be on the spectating/support side of things. (My previous marathon regret has passed with all the studying I've been doing these last few weeks.) This time of year always gets me excited! I have to admit, I fully plan on wearing my GR Marathon tee to casual Friday.

Yes, it is lime green and may be a bit much but I don't care. I am a member of the "finisher" club and I will be wearing my shirt with pride. :) When walking to work this morning and remembering the course, I got a little choked up. I guess this will always be an emotional time for me, until I'm able to tackle and finish the Chicago Marathon. In the mean time, I'm suuuper pumped to cheer on my running friends as they tackle this beast of a distance!

Do you ever get emotional thinking about a certain race? If you live in Chicago, are you sporting your marathon gear this week?

My guest bedroom has been completely taken over by running gear. Outfits and necessities are laid out for both Saturday and Sunday.

Thankfully the guest bedroom is rarely used so I can lay out all my running stuff and not feel guilty about it! :)

So, my strategy for the 5k on Saturday is to take the first mile easy-ish, and get progressively faster so my last mile is faster than my first (this rarely happens for me, so that is what I'm going to work towards). Pepper and Toph may be there to cheer us on! Yahooo!!!

On Thursday I had lunch plans with Kim at our favorite go-to place, Native Foods Cafe. When we started discussing it, some others caught on and it ended up being a huge group! The food was delicious, and the company was fantastic!

L to R: Amanda, Maggie, Amanda Thanks for the photo Kelsey!

After our meal, the waitress was kind enough to take our photo. If you've been on my Facebook page, this may be old news.

L to R: Kelsey, Kim, Katie, Erin, me, Maggie, Amanda, Amanda

Friday was an extremely busy day so I wasn't able to do anything but work, and I went to bed early in preparation of my long Saturday morning run. The main group was doing an 8 miler (as prescribed by Hal Higdon) but I decided to do 10 miles instead. The temperatures were perfect and a 9:30 pace was easy and comfortable. I'm getting ready for the random miles I'm going to be running next week. There will be more to come on that later this week... I really am loving these fall temps. I ran in capris, a short sleeve, and my Oiselle arm warmers. The outfit was perfect for the temps! Annnnd let me just tell you, I am in love! The arm warmers are my new favorite fall running accessory. They stay up, are breathable, and very comfy. The first run with them I was a little apprehensive, but on the 2nd and 3rd runs, I like them more and more (much better than my other arm warmers).

I know I run for Oiselle and talk about them a decent amount, but their products really are awesome. I just feel really lucky to be an ambassador for them and their company! They are a little bit more expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for! (Not to mention, you're also supporting a small, woman-owned, business here in the USA!) If you don't have any pieces, feel free to shop directly from their website, or they do have items available on Amazon and Running Warehouse for a little cheaper.

In other news, I officially signed up for the Zooma Half Marathon over the weekend. We (lots of Chicago area running bloggers) are making it a weekend trip full of lots of blogging and running-nerd-ness. I can't wait! If you live near Lake Geneva or just want to come and cheer us on, the event is on October 20th and there is also a 5k option!

It seems as if fall has finally arrived. Temperatures are cooler, it is getting darker earlier, and the pumpkin flavored things are everywhere! I don't know if I would put away the running tank tops just yet, but it sure feels nice to run in capris! Fall running clothes are my absolute favorite. Arm warmers, light jackets, long sleeves, capri pants... Another reason why I am oh-so-thankful to be a runner for Oiselle: their fall kit. I received it a few weeks ago but temperatures have been too warm to wear any of the gear. The past two weeks I've been able to break in and wear a few of the pieces and they are amazing, as expected!

I pretty much LIVE in the Onyx jacket and wear it to work almost every day instead of a normal jacket. Can we say runnerd? Probably. (But that is nothing new...)

The Run Tee is also my new favorite "Casual Friday" office outfit.

If you'd like to purchase any of the Oiselle gear shown here, check out their website! If you're a first-time purchaser, use code "RUNTODAY" at the checkout for 10% off your order. Some of their stuff is also available at Running Warehouse and Amazon.

It has even been cool enough for Pepper to once again join me for a run! Our first run of the season was on Sunday with the FNRC. We went 4 miles and she did really well. She was a little hard on the leash as there were a lot of rabbits and squirrels on the trail, but I know she'll get better once we are back to our old routine.
I'm really excited to be running with Pepper more! She may even start to occasionally join us on our Thursday runs!

What is your favorite running season? Are you also as excited about fall running clothes as I am??

Ah Labor Day. It was the last weekend of the summer, and mother nature wanted to remind us. It was a hot one and my previous post about marathon regret seemed far, far from my mind. I ran a leisurely 3 miles on Saturday morning in the hot and humid sun instead of 18 or 19 miles. My weekly schedule has been off because of my work and study schedule. I planned to do my long run on Sunday and then Monday but neither one of those ended up happening. I chose to study and drink margaritas instead of running. I regret nothing.

Although running didn't fit into the schedule, we did go out on kayaks for about an hour. We went a mile out down a small creek to get to a mini retention dam. We took lots of photos but they are still on a camera (and not my camera). On the way back, my husband's little cousin wanted to join me on my kayak. I accepted and moved that little extra 60 lbs back home without any problems. I thought my arms would feel like jello afterwards, but they didn't. I guess that means I wasn't paddling hard enough. Haha.

Yesterday I had a vacation day where I planned on sleeping in and having a productive day. Well, sometimes the best laid plans don't always come to fruition. I was feeling some guilt for having not run all weekend so I got up super duper early to run 6 miles with some of my FN Runner friends. After I got home, I stretched and then went back to sleep for a few hours. I felt much better the 2nd time around and was able to get some studying done. Unfortunately, the laptop I was using completely died so I wasn't able to do all the review problems that I wanted to. So I watched an episode of Rizzoli and Isles instead. And since I was off work, I got a chance to run with the Tuesday night FN Runner group that I never get to run with. Even though I ran in the morning, I decided to also run at night too. I mean, I am running Ragnar 2013. Why not start prepping now, right? :)

Evening run outfit. My lavender Oiselle Lori Shorts matched my socks and shoes perfectly.

In other news, my dog got groomed and she HATED it. She has been slightly traumatized since her new haircut but is slowly returning to her old self. I think her face in this photo says it all.

Have you entered my Pro Compression raffle yet? You still have a few days and the minimum donation required to enter is only $2!

As many of you know, the track and field portion of the Olympics started today in London. There are some pretty awesome events that will be aired tonight and this weekend. Here is a quick schedule of some of the events I'll be watching out for. The times listed are the times when you can see them live, streaming on the web (nbcolympics.com). All times given in CST and provided by USATF.org.

Today (8/3)
Womens 10k Final 3:25pm

Saturday (8/4)
Mens 10k Final 3:15pm
Womens 100m dash Final 3:55pm

Sunday (8/5)
Womens marathon 5:00am
Mens 3000m steeplechase Final 3:25pm
Mens 100m dash Final 3:50pm

Tuesday (8/7)
Womens 100m hurdles Final 3:00pm

Thursday (8/9)
Mens 200m dash Final 2:55pm

Friday (8/10)
Womens 5k Final 2:05pm

Saturday (8/11)
Mens 5k Final 1:30pm

Sunday (8/12)
Mens marathon 5am

Some of these events will be played in the evening summaries (starting at either 6:30pm or 7:00pm CST, depending on the day) and some will be covered live (like the marathons). NBC's coverage isn't really clear as they lump all of the "track and field events" together on the website. Don't they know there are runnerds that need to know the exact coverage of all events at all times??

Also, I'm not sure if many of you have been following some of the athletes on Twitter, but there is a lot of controversy around the "blackout" and Rule 40. It dictates when athletes can talk about their sponsors and what sponsors they're allowed to wear at the Olympics, etc. Oiselle did a nice summary of things here as well as listing of athletes and their sponsors. I plan to tweet to some of my favorite athletes' sponsors in the days to come. I really like Oiselle's idea as it isn't aggressive and it still gets the message across. To follow along with my tweets, feel free to follow me!

As the previous winner did not contact me by the deadline, I have drawn a new winner! And that new winner is...

Congratulations Jill! Please email me your mailing info (including preferred size and tee color) ASAP to runningkellometers at gmail dot com so the folks at Oiselle can send out your tee in time for opening ceremonies. Please respond by Saturday, July 28 at 11:59pm CST. If I don't hear from you by then, I'm going to pick another winner.

Through Random.org, the winner of the Oiselle London Calling Tee is....

Congratulations Solana! Please email me your mailing info (including preferred size and tee color) right away to runningkellometers at gmail dot com so the folks at Oiselle can send out your tee in time for opening ceremonies. Please respond by Wednesday, July 25 at 11:59pm CST. If I don't hear from you by then, I'm going to pick another winner.

Thanks so much for all of your participation and special thanks to the folks at Oiselle for donating a tee for the giveaway!

Some of you may have noticed a new badge on my blog a few weeks ago. I've recently joined the Oiselle Team of ambassadors! I already loved their brand and constantly talked about how awesome their stuff is so why not try to be part of the team? :) To find out more about Oiselle's history, click here.

During the track trials in Eugene, Oregon, the folks at Oiselle were promoting their brand and trying to get the word out. They even hosted a contest for 2 blogging friends to win a trip to the trials (being an ambassador, I wasn't eligible to enter--otherwise I would have). They had a few runners competing to be on the Olympic team (including Kate Grace on the far right who made it to the semis for the 1500m).

Source

Unfortunately no one made the Olympic team this year for Team Oiselle, but we have high hopes for the future. During the week long trials in Eugene, Oiselle also hosted a party complete with MC Hammer as the headliner (insert 1990s problems joke here). And of course, the event list wouldn't have been complete without a fashion show. Ummm I want pretty much everything! To see what I'm talking about check out the video below.



All the folks at Oiselle have Olympic fever too. And in honor of this Olympic fever, the folks at Oiselle are going to give one lucky reader a London Calling tee! I have one that I won from an Instagram contest and I absolutely love it. I've already worn it to work and I wore it during the entire 2nd half of the track trials.
The winner has their choice of color (orange, grey or white) and size (this tee fits pretty true to size).

How do you enter to win? Leave a comment telling me the event you're most excited to watch at the Olympics

For additional entries, feel free to do any of the following and summarize everything in a single comment.
1) Like Running Kellometers on Facebook
2) Facebook about the giveaway, mentioning Running Kellometers
3) Tweet about the giveaway, mentioning @kellywils0n
4) Follow my blog through Blogger (on the right-hand side of the home page)

Entries will be accepted until Monday, July 23 at 11:59 pm CST. The winner will be chosen on Tuesday, July 24 by 9:00am. This contest is open to any readers in the U.S.

Thanks to everyone again who contributed to my charity, Open Heart Magic, this past week for the Oiselle Raffle. Using the Random.org number generator, the winner is...

Please send me an email, Amanda, to claim your prize and we can coordinate! (runningkellometers at gmail dot com)

If you haven't won yet, stay tuned. I'll have another raffle in a few weeks!

As I mentioned last week, I gave the Oiselle Lori Shorts a try and absolutely LOVED them. This week I have a great announcement! The folks at Oiselle have been kind enough to donate an outfit for me to raffle off!

The shirt is the Running Squared V-Neck. It is a size medium and the color pink. It is dryfit and very soft. (This shirt retails for $34 and can be found on Oiselle's website here.) If you're wondering about the sizing, a chart can be found here from Oiselle's website.

Close up

The shorts are Lori Shorts that I've tried and loved! They are also a size medium and the color green. (These shorts retail for $38 and can be found on Oiselle's website here.) Again, if you're wondering about the sizing, a chart can be found here from Oiselle's website. In my opinion, the shorts were true to size. I didn't feel they were too tight and had additional room, comfortably.

Look at the size of that inner pocket!

I am super jealous of the winner of this raffle. I mean, look at how fashionable you'd be in this jazzy outfit! :)


As you know from my previous raffles, all you have to do to enter the raffle, is donate to my charity, Open Heart Magic by clicking HERE. For this raffle, every $3 donation = 1 entry. ($3 for 1, $6 for 2, etc.)

Those that have donated to this raffle (or any previous raffle) can gain additional raffle entries if you:
1) like Running Kellometers on Facebook
2) blog about the raffle
3) tweet about the raffle (@kellywils0n)
If you do any of the items mentioned above, please leave a comment letting me know so I can be sure to include the additional entries! (If you have any questions please leave a comment or send me an email!)

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email (runningkellometers at gmail dot com)!

Entries will be accepted until 9am (CST) on Monday, April 30 and the winner will be announced that same day. Best of luck! :)

Yesterday I decided to do my easy 2 mile run and have some fun with it. The weather was beautiful and I was dying to try out my new Oiselle Lori shorts ("Oiselle" is pronounced wa-zell) that I bought from The Clymb. I was originally going to run on the treadmill but when I heard the weather had warmed up a bit since the morning, I decided to run outside. I haven't run outside on my lunch break since last year's marathon training. I forgot how awesome it is to get a breath of fresh air and a workout in during the week.

Since I was only going 2 miles, I decided to have some fun with it and mess with the self timer app on my phone.


I first heard about Oiselle through Pinterest, coming across their Rundies.
Hello. Who wouldn't want this set? (For $65 though, I had to seriously restrain myself.) When looking for donations for my Open Heard Magic raffles, the folks at Oiselle were nice enough to donate some items (that will be raffled off very soon, btw). Then, Sarah at OuaL gave them a rave review as well. I seriously couldn't wait to try these shorts out and (spoiler alert) they didn't disappoint.

Now, to talk about the most important thing, my Oiselle Lori shorts. I ordered them through The Clymb a few weeks back and have been dying to try them out. Yesterday was a great excuse.

1. Fabric: The material is very soft and moisture wicking (obviously). The inside underwear is on a bit of the "grandma" size, but that just made them more comfortable to run in (in my opinion anyways. I love me some grandma underwear).

2. Functionality: The shorts had a huge pocket on the inside that could fit more than just a key (take note Nike!) You could comfortably carry a Gu (or even a Sports Beans bag), a key, and an ID badge.

Need to run with an ID badge? No problem!

I know other pairs of their shorts have even more pockets of different sizes. The Lori shorts, however, only have 1, but I like that it is a big one. I didn't feel concerned that anything was going to fly out, even though there was no flap on the top of the pocket.

The shorts stayed at the waist and didn't ride up or anything during the run.

3. Important Extras: I ordered a size small and they were great. I have what is known as a "pancake butt" so the Nike Tempo shorts end up looking like a balloon on my behind. These shorts were great because they looked fine on my pancake butt but had room if you had more than a pancake in your trunk.

As my skin is frequently described as pastey, see-through, and glow-in-the-dark, any shorts I wear (light or dark) end up accentuating my paleness. Granted, I love my pale skin and fully embrace it! As a first choice, I probably wouldn't have gone with lavender, but that is all that was available on the site in my size when I went to order. But I like that this color is out of my comfort zone and adds some colorful dimension to my running wardrobe.

Lori Shorts = Kelly Approved!

Another thing I like about Oiselle is that they only make and sell women's clothes. I feel they have a great understanding of what women are looking for in running attire. I also have a feeling this is the start of a new love/addiction (as if I needed to love another brand of running clothes). :) To find out more about Oiselle and to check out their products, click here.

*Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way for this review. I purchased these shorts myself with my own money. The opinions expressed on my blog are my own.