Photos by Julia Romano Photography
Sweaty Betty glisten L/S top – black (Black Friday sale: 30% off with code BLACK30)
Lululemon cool racerback – heathered jeweled magenta
Vie Active rockell tights – blue satellite orchid (On sale: 30% off)
Nike metcon 1 – black/hyper jade
Hey guys, how’s your week? Things have been nuts over here. With Thanksgiving suddenly upon us, holiday season is in full swing, and things probably won’t slow down for many of us for several weeks. I just got back from an extended weekend in Denver with my sister, and less than 24 hours after getting home I now have family in town for Thanksgiving for the next few days. Whew.
Btw, Black Friday sales are already starting! It just so happens that most of this outfit is on sale. :) If you want a review of the Vie tights, I have one here. These have actually been on sale at Carbon38 for a few weeks, so there’s a chance they’ll drop in price if you hold out for later in the week! I’ll have a roundup of Black Friday deals in a post Friday morning. In the meantime, Sweaty Betty, Splits59, Glyder, Six:02, Lorna Jane, Bandier, Alo (code: VIP30), Werkshop (code: HOLIDAZE20), Alala sales are already underway!
On a different note: workouts! Last week we did Diane at the gym. Diane is one of my favorite CrossFit benchmark workouts, and it goes like this: 21 reps of deadlifts (prescribed weight is 155# for women), 21 reps of handstand push-ups, then 15 of each, then 9. I did Diane a few months ago with the deadlifts scaled to 100#. I was really in the zone that day and was so proud of my time of 4:22. This time, I begrudgingly increased the weight to 105#. Even a small increase in deadlift weight can be tough for me since it’s arguably my worst lift, so my hope was to keep my time under 5 minutes.
My deadlift strategy went like this: 11-10, 5-5-5, and 5-4. After one of those sets within the set, I take a couple steps back from the bar and take 3 deep, controlled breaths, then I immediately step back to the bar and lift. If you’re doing a fast-paced workout like this (see also: Fran), I think this is a really helpful strategy for managing rest as well as stopping yourself from burning out too early. For the HSPU, I didn’t really have a strategy since I can basically do them unbroken (hence why I love Diane). I actually rest on my head (thanks, yoga) and don’t come off the wall during a set. I ended up taking a brief, 1-2 breath rest on my head in the sets of 21 and 15.
My time: 4:16! I haven’t had a lot of PRs lately, so getting a PR in terms of both weight and time was pretty exciting! After several hit-or-miss months of working out, maybe I am getting some of my mojo back. :)
Congrats on your PR! Also, you look super pretty in these pictures. :)
Aww thank you. :)
Since your review I have not stopped loving those pants! Also don’t forget Alo with a 30% early Black Friday sale, code VIP30.
Yay for the PR!!
Thanks, I added Alo!! :)
Love this outfit on you – the tights are awesome and nothing is better than a plain black LS. Congrats on the PR! :)
Off to check out your sales links. I started already with a couple of pairs of Zella leggings. I bought a pair over Canadian Thanksgiving and love them. Now that they’re on sale, they’re half the price of WUs and are fully opaque.
Yes, I’m finding that I want to wear plain black with everything!! The Zella sale prices are so awesome, unfortunately the few pairs I’ve tried haven’t fit right. :(
I like how you cuffed your pants! That’s what I have to do, too. I like doing that with my reversible tights because it all kinda looks like color blocking.
Actually, it’s just wrinkled from them being long, but I should try doing the cuffed thing more! It can definitely look really cute. :)
AA – thanks for all the detailed reviews and recommendations. Per your recommendation – I decided to give a few items a try from the C38 site (I’ve primarily been a Lulu collector but have tired of it and want new good quality work out wear). I absolutely love what I got. The black Dolman Hoodie from Alala is amazing – I’ve worn it almost every day since I bought it (you may want to give it a try if you haven’t), it is great for wearing with tights and a good layering piece, plus very soft. I also bought the Upside Lee Pant (navy/black) – also love these and have worn them a few times. If you have any recommendations of lower rise pants/tights from designers from C38- Id love to know. Thanks!
Oh that’s awesome!!! I’ve had my eye on the dolman hoodie for a while, I think I might cave and try it in heather grey. Glad you had a good experience branching out, there’s so much good stuff to be found! :) As for lower rises, I’ve found those to be increasingly harder to find. Medium rise (comparable to WUs) is about the lowest I’ve found. Alala’s fast tracks and rolldown sweats are a good medium rise, not high. Splits59 is more medium-to-low, but their quality has slipped lately so proceed with caution. Unfortunately, I can’t think of much else off the top of my head!
Ahh- thank you!! I’ve been looking at both the roll-downs and fast tracks- I think I will choose one to order on Black Friday. :-)
FYI everyone! Alala sales are up! 30% off! ordered too many things including the blanket wrap – can’t wait to get the goodies :).
Happy Thanksgiving, AA and all the devoted readers and contributors!
Thanks! What else did you get?
What’s the code? Couldn’t find it.
I found it thanks30
I got the pewter mesh clutch tank, pewter mesh blade tee, open up mesh tee, and roll down sweats. Really tempted by the Sherpa vest, dolman hoodie, blanket jacket, and pink zip chill tights, but these are all similar to stuff I already have. I tried to apply the aa15 code on top of thsnks30 but got denied:)
Nice!! I hope you love the sweats. :) In my cart right now I have the infinity scarf, imperial fractal tee, grey dolman hoodie, black snap bra, cerise zip bra, both chill tights, pewter blocked crops, and the sherpa vest. No way I can afford all that but not sure how to narrow it down! D:
In addition to the blanket wrap in black, I bought the shadow dolman hoodie in black, clutch tank in black (sized up to S), rolldown sweats (finally!), blocked crop tight in black and white on sale (the one AA reviewed a while back). YES, a lot of damage done, but I am so glad that my patience paid off. Thank you AA and Alala!
I wrote a post about the pewter blocked crop tight and clutch tank from Carbon38 the other day. The tank had a lot of gold glitters on it after I tried it on briefly. I don’t think that I mentioned that the pewter side panels on the crop have two vertical dark lines. I contacted the Carbon38 CS and was told that the lines should go away after the wash and the glitters coming off the mesh is normal. I returned them both. Just be aware if you are interested in any pewter piece.
By the way, I have been in love with my Sam Edelman “Petty” bootie. “Louie” bootie, the other Sam E. iconic style is on sale for ~$75 on the Nordstrom website. I pull the trigger on that one too.
Sounds like an awesome haul. I’m taking my chances with the glitters. Hoping that a wash will take care of that, but agree that metallic thread would have been best. Not sure if that would achieve the same look though, which I like. Let us know how you like your new stuff when you get it. I’m tempted by that dolman hoodie.
I have two pairs of petty boots–love them both! :) I’m going to chance it and keep my pewter crops. I don’t find the lines to be that big of a deal, perhaps because of the warning I got from you. Things bother me less when I know what to expect and it isn’t a surprise. We’ll see how they wear over time. The costume-y aspect is just too fun for me to pass up!
Totally. I wore them out the other night with black knee boots and kind of felt like a superhero. LOL
Ahhhh how am I going to narrow it down?! I hope you love the blanket jacket and the rest of your haul. :) To echo Guest below, I’d love to hear what else you got. Happy turkey day to you too!!! :)
Not sure if you’re on instagram and/or you follow Carbon38 but they posted a pic of you in some gear from one of these shoots! I thought hey, that’s agentathletica! Hope you’re having a great holiday!
Yeah I saw that, pretty cool! :) Thanks for the note.
AA- can you tell me how Sweaty Betty sizing compares to lulu? Want to order, but not sure what to go with. I wear 6 in lulu speeds and speed tights, but 4s in DSP, baserunners. etc. For tops I usually go with 4 in lulu. Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated!
That would probably depend on the specific style. Overall, the verdict seems to be that things run on the smaller side. Both pieces I have run small. The glisten top here in S would fit a 2 or 4 (very form-fitting). The SB tights I have (thermal running tights) are XS but fit me well as a lulu 2 (they may also fit a 4, though, not sure). For other styles, the reviews on their website can be pretty useful! Hope that helps.
That helps. Thanks. Probably going to be doing some exchanges- but hopefully not. I am excited to try their stuff. Their run tights have fantastic reviews so very curious to see how they compare to my much loved speed tights!
I have a pair of SB’s run tights that I’m very happy with. It’s nice that they have short, medium, and tall to choose from. I’m 5’7″ and wear a tall in other brands, but I found out the hard way that I should be a medium or regular in SB. I still think my flower camo run tights look very flattering (and not sheer) even though they gather a bit at the ankles on me (since they’re tall). Made in Lithuania.
Of all your leggings, I think these are my absolute FAVORITE.
Hehe, thanks friend!! They are pretty fun. :)