The trouble with giving a girl like me free stuff is that I generally get emotionally attached to it and approach its usage like an engineering problem. After four years of wearing hand-me-downs and thrift-store specials from Seattle and mom's old sweaters from the 1940s, I was overwhelmed when I got some awesome gear from my awesome new team TIMEX :) I got three varieties of hats, lots of lycra (yeay) and most importantly awesome watches that I can tap and that make great conversation pieces with the cute trainer in the gym that I am secretly hoping will ask me out someday! There IS a God and his name is Denzel Washington...

Back to the story in hand, I got so attached to my new tap-watch that I have been running like a maniac... tap at the start, tap half-way up our version of heart-break hill, tap when cute kiwi looks over at me, tap again when shoe laces come off, tap once more just to tap and so on..

Speaking of the hats, I decided to stress-test 'em all to see how I looked and give you a gear review on the aerodynamics of hats............ Perhaps I shouldve titled this article "of hats and hicks" :) Anyhoo, back to the point at hand.... The pink bling hat is very cute but makes me look scary so, while I love cute, I say no to the pink bling. The booster juice hat was shaped differently but a bit too purple so, while I am marrying a surfer who lives in a purple house (and is preferably Canadian), I say no to the purple as well... Which brings us to the mother of all non-hats, the VISOR....... This is a headless hat, which makes it instantly appealing as pursuing my doctorate left most of my brain in ethereal ruins anyway, I think most of what was left evaporated and this is the no-pretense hat......... so, I tested this in three positions, the usual route, makes me happy... the side Eminem-look-east-tries-to-ape-the-west look... makes me even MORE happy... the 180 degree turn all the way back makes me the happiest :) Who cares if its aerodynamic or not! Given that I have a new fashion mentor (Daniel Brienza) who has been training his tail off for upcoming races, I have to look good, AT ANY COST.

Back to the lycra, I decided to "suit up" for a 2 hour ride recently, and look like a "REAL ATHLETE" and all.. I didnt know how to wear the leg-warmers so, I sent a panic-mail to Daniel asking about the laws of gravity as applicable to these non-tights in white. He said, I should definitely wear them OVER my bike shorts and make sure I had them on first and then the shorts, so that I didnt spend too much time.. er.. suiting up. And so I did... it took a bit longer than I thought it would but Daniel knows best.............. In this moment of extreme fashion makeover-age, I forgot to eat breakfast and sure enough bonked 40 minutes into my ride and stopped for some coffee and goodies. I asked for the apple strudel with yoghurt and the chocolate brownie with cream and a latte... but on second thought, given that I had to fit into the lycra at least a few more times, I cancelled the brownie and asked for the strudel instead but with the cream, instead of the yoghurt... and oh, switched to plain coffee with *gasp* low-fat milk. This snack improved the quality of my ride by a little more than the matching clothes and I was convinced of my own awesomeness again! Mom's jacket and the thrift-store red-coat and my button-less blue wolly cap added a bit more color to the riding ensemble.. Be BRILLIANT, I say!


So, Im off to buy some MORE matching gear and have no fear, I will give you the review......... The runs are all coming back to me now........... 8 weeks in paradise swimming with big-a$$ paddles, and then Im off on the long brown road to yonder.