Good morning and happy Monday! I’d like you all to meet Danica of Chic Runner,  author of the running and lifestyle blog that I’ve been frequenting for the past 3+ years. Danica shares some of her favorite items below, and why did I never think to buy Lululemon product off-price? Enjoy!

First and foremost: favorite sport, favorite team, and favorite athlete?

Favorite sport for me is such a hard question to answer. I love running personally, but I love watching baseball and college football. I do love watching running, as well, but it’s not on often enough! Favorite team is the Anaheim Angels! Favorite Athlete… well, I don’t really have one. I guess I really like watching Jered Weaver pitch because his passion for the game is amazing. I also like a few college players and anyone on the Angels.

As a runner, how does the sport translate into your personal style, if at all? How would you describe your style?

Running really doesn’t have too much to do with my personal style, unless I’m being lazy and decide to wear running clothes throughout the day, which is rare and mostly only done on the weekends. I love Lululemon pants though. My personal style is really about comfort and being true to myself. I wouldn’t call myself fashionable at all, but I always am comfortable. I would consider my style to be somewhat of a tomboy look. 

Running skirts have boomed over the past couple of years, have you given them a try?

I have! I tried running in skirts, and I wasn’t a huge fan, but I do like the idea of adding a sparkle skirt to my attire when I run instead of just wearing a skirt to run in. I love the Team Sparkle Skirts myself, they fit better than the others I’ve tried and are more flattering as well.

Favorite style trend of the moment for running:

I don’t know if this is a thing of the moment, but I’m so obsessed with Lululemon capris and Wunder Unders. I wear them for everything. I’m the girl who wears leggings as pants, and I don’t care.

What are your essential running items?

My favorite running essentials: The skinny strap Zensah bra is my go to workout sports bra. It fits perfectly, keeps everything in place, and is the softest material I’ve ever felt. Another Zensah product I love is their compression socks, they help with recovery and training. I also love my K-Swiss Keahou II shoes, they are perfect for my neutral foot and work well for long and shorter runs. As I mentioned before, Lululemon Wunder Unders are incredible, and so are Nike Tempo shorts in fun colors.

Favorite race outfit you’ve worn:

My favorite race outfit I’ve worn is Nike booty shorts and a bright orange Nike Dri-fit top. I love this outfit because this is the race that I broke four hours in the marathon, which was so incredibly special to me.  Another fun run that I’ve done is the Disney Half, which I was Mike Wazowski, which it was so fun to hear everyone yelling “GO MIKE” at me and it was so much fun to be in ‘character’. I wore a Team Sparkle Skirt and everyone was commenting on my skirt too, which was awesome!

With so many themed races and fun runs popping up, are there any events you’d like to sign up for based on outfit potential? (e.g. Bay to Breakers, Disney Princess Half)

I have found that running in costume is really fun! I used to ‘race’ competitively, so those days are in my past and I’m enjoying running just for fun a lot more now, which means costumes are exciting and make the race more fun! I have thought about running another Disney race just because they are so much fun and so different. I do want to run another marathon in costume too. 

You’ve been to many races, both as a competitor and for work; what are some of the worst/impractical outfits you’ve spotted?

See through leggings are the WORST. I don’t know if women don’t realize that they are see through, or if they just don’t care? It is mind boggling to me that people would wear them in public and just not care. Another is the men who don’t take care of the chafing issues and have blood running down their shirts. That always freaks me out. 

In addition to running, you also played soccer. Do any other sports influence your taste in workout gear or beyond?

I’m really casual when it comes to workout gear. Most of the time I wear old race shirts or even my husband’s old work shirts to the gym. If I’m going for a run I make sure to wear more ‘high performance’ gear, but most of the time I can find cute stuff from Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Target and Forever 21. No need to pay high prices for what you are going to sweat it out in! I get all my Lululemon from online, it’s all used. 

For non-performance gear, what are some of your favorite brands or stores?

I’m probably one of the cheapest people out there, and paying an exhorbant amount of money for clothes is ridiculous to me. My go-to is Forever 21, hands down. I usually find stuff at TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I don’t mind the quality there since I’m not paying a ton of money for it. I love all my clothes across the board from those places.

If you were to compete in the Olympics, what sport would you play based on uniform/outfit alone?

I would play tennis. 🙂 

Bonus: How do I get Allyson Felix to follow me on Twitter?*

HAHA hmmmm I have no idea? If you just ask her? 

Thank you, Danica! Be sure to visit Chic Runner to see what she’s up to and follow her Twitter!

[photo via Chic Runner]

*I went to high school with Allyson Felix, who follows Danica and has no idea who I am, but will keep trying to get her to follow me.